[DOE LETTERHEAD]

 

November 29, 2004

 

The Honorable John T. Conway

Chairman

Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board

625 Indiana Avenue, NW, Suite 700

Washington, DC 20004-2941

 

Dear Mr. Chairman:

 

The purpose of this letter is to respond to your July 29, 2004, request for a Program Plan to specify how the ground motion issues relating to the design of the Waste Treatment Plant at the Hanford Site will be addressed.  The Department of Energy responded on August 27, 2004, addressing each of the seven issues identified in the Staff Issue Report forwarded by your letter.

 

As committed in the Program Plan, we have made significant progress in acquiring additional velocity data, analyzing this data to understand its significance, and documenting these results.  We have worked closely with several members of your staff to communicate the study’s preliminary results and our progress in satisfying the commitments set forth in the Program Plan.  The Program Plan also committed to provide the final reports to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board by November 15, 2004.  However, due to complexities realized following the data acquisition and analysis phase, the final reports will be delayed and delivered by December 17, 2004.  This extension has been discussed and agreed to by the Office of River Protection and your staff.

 

If you have any questions, please call me at (202) 586-7538 or Ms. Patrice Bubar, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Integrated Safety Management and Operations Oversight, at (202) 586-5151.

 

Sincerely,

 

Inés Triay

Deputy Chief Operating Officer

Environmental Management

 

cc:   R. J. Schepens, ORP

M. B. Whitaker, DR-1