[DOE LETTERHEAD]
October 6,
2005
The Honorable A. J. Eggenberger
Chairman
Defense Nuclear Facilities
Safety Board
625 Indiana Avenue, N.W., Suite
700
Washington, DC 20004-2901
Dear Mr. Chairman:
This is in response to your
February 4, 2005, letter which expressed concerns about the continued
difficulties and slow progress in the Sludge Retrieval and Disposition Project.
On April 8, 2005, former Acting
Assistant Secretary Paul Golan provided our path forward to resolve issues with
this project to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. Details are provided in the enclosure.
The Department of Energy remains
committed to the safe removal of sludge from the K-Basins. Despite the challenges and issues associated
with this complex activity, we believe that moving forward with
containerization, transfer, and treatment to achieve a stable waste form still
represents a significant improvement in risk reduction and cleanup progress.
If you have any questions,
please call me at (202) 586-0738 or Mr. Dae Chung, Acting Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Integrated Safety Management and Operations Oversight, at (202)
586-5151.
Sincerely,
Dr. Inés R. Triay
Chief Operating Officer for
Environmental Management
cc: M. Whitaker, DR-1
K.
Klein, RL