[DOE LETTERHEAD]

 

National Nuclear Security Administration

 

October 21, 2004

 

The Honorable John T. Conway

Chairman

Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board

625 Indiana Avenue, NW.

Suite 700

Washington, D.C. 20004

 

Dear Mr. Chairman:

 

This letter provides you our revised schedule for updating National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and Site Office Functions, Responsibilities and Authorities Manuals (FRAMs).  In a letter of June 4, 2004, we had informed you that we expected to update the NNSA FRAM by October 15, 2004, and the Site Office FRAMs by January 15, 2005.

 

It is our understanding that the annual update of the Department of Energy (DOE) FRAM, DOE M411.1C, will be completed by the end of December 2004.  In order to ensure consistency with the updated DOE FRAM, we now plan to update the NNSA FRAM by February 28, 2005.  The Site Offices will update their FRAMs within the ensuing 90 days.

 

Also, we had planned to provide you an approved Los Alamos Site Office (LASO) FRAM by October 15, 2004.  The LASO FRAM development has been delayed as a result of the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) stand down. We now plan to provide you the approved LASO FRAM within 90 days of the update of the NNSA FRAM.

 

If you have any questions, please contact me or have your staff contact Rabi Singh of my staff at (301) 903-5864.

 

Sincerely,

 

Everet H. Beckner

Deputy Administrator

for Defense Programs

 

cc:

M. Whitaker, DR-1