[DOE LETTERHEAD]
September 3,
2004
The Honorable John J. Conway
Chairman
Defense Nuclear Facilities
Safety Board
625 Indiana Avenue, N.W., Suite
700
Washington, D.C. 20004
Dear Mr. Chairman:
The purpose of this letter is to
provide the Department of Energy (DOE) program plan requested in your letter of
July 29, 2004. The enclosed program plan
is for reassessment of the predicted Hanford seismic ground motion,
particularly related to resolving uncertainty in shear wave velocity at
different depths under the Waste Treatment Plant. The
program plan is structured to identify how each of the seven specific technical
issues raised in the Staff Issue Report will be addressed.
As requested, DOE will provide a
report to the Board upon completion of this work. The report will include the
findings of the field studies, analysis of the field data, conclusions
regarding the adequacy of the current Hanford ground motion criteria, and
assessment of the impact, if any, on the design of WTP structures and components.
Thank you for the assessment of
this important area. If you have further questions, please call me at (202)
586-7709.
Sincerely,
Paul M. Golan
Acting Assistant Secretary for
Environmental Management
cc:
B. A. Fiscus, RL
M. Frei, EM-22
D. J. Grover, DNFSR Hanford Site
Rep.
R. J. Schepens, ORP
S. Schneider, EM-44
M. B. Whitaker, DR-1