On October 24, 1992, President Bush signed into law the National Energy Policy Act of 1992. The bill is a sweeping, comprehensive overhaul of the Nation`s energy laws, the first in more than a decade. Among other provisions, the National Energy Policy Act reforms the licensing process for new nuclear power plants by adopting a new approach developed by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in 1989, and upheld in court in 1992. The NRC 10 CFR Part 52 rule is a three-step process that guarantees public participation at each step. The steps are: early site permit approval; standard design certifications; and, combined construction/operating licenses for nuclear power reactors. Licensing reform increases an organization`s ability to respond to future baseload electricity generation needs with less financial risk for ratepayers and the organization. Costly delays can be avoided because design, safety and siting issues will be resolved before a company starts to build a plant. Specifically, early site permit approval allows for site suitability and acceptability issues to be addressed prior to an organization`s commitment to build a plant. Responsibility for site-specific activities, including communications and public participation, rests with those organizations selected to try out early site approval. This plan …

This document is a program from the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) Forum on Technology and Governance in the 1990s, held on January 27, 1993. The program includes a schedule of events and biographical information on each of the forum speakers.

The Fernald Environmental Management Project (FEMP) has initiated the Minimum Additive Waste Stabilization (MAWS) Program to demonstrate and evaluate integrated treatment of the FEMP site`s Operable Unit 1 contaminated soils and sludges. The demonstration will require on-site operation of an integrated treatment system consisting of soil washing, water treatment by ion exchange, and vitrification of all contaminated solid wastes at a rate of 300 kg per day. Compliance with all relevant environmental regulations is a major priority of this program. Relevant regulatory requirements come under the jurisdiction of the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA), and the Department of Energy (DOE). The plethora of potentially applicable regulations were reviewed and an efficient regulatory compliance strategy developed. This strategy was documented in the MAWS Regulatory Compliance Plan which was presented to the regulatory agencies as a reasonable working plan. The FEMP has found the development of a comprehensive, organized regulatory plan to be critical to the successful implementation of integrated demonstration projects such as the MAWS Program. This paper discusses the approaches used in the MAWS Regulatory Compliance Plan and highlights which could prove useful for others that want to approach the DOE and/or …

The workshop was called to assess the performance of neutron dosimetry per the responses from ten DOE accelerator facilities to an Office of Energy Research questionnaire regarding implementation of a personnel dosimetry requirement in DRAFT DOE 5480.ACC, Safety of Accelerator Facilities''. The goals of the workshop were to assess the state of dosimetry at high energy accelerators and if such dosimetry requires improvement, to reach consensus on how to proceed with such improvements. There were 22 attendees, from DOE Programs and contract facilities, DOE, Office of Energy Research (ER), Office of Environmental Safety and Health (EH), Office of Fusion Energy, and the DOE high energy accelerator facilities. A list of attendees and the meeting agenda are attached. Copies of the presentations are also attached.

The workshop was called to assess the performance of neutron dosimetry per the responses from ten DOE accelerator facilities to an Office of Energy Research questionnaire regarding implementation of a personnel dosimetry requirement in DRAFT DOE 5480.ACC, ``Safety of Accelerator Facilities``. The goals of the workshop were to assess the state of dosimetry at high energy accelerators and if such dosimetry requires improvement, to reach consensus on how to proceed with such improvements. There were 22 attendees, from DOE Programs and contract facilities, DOE, Office of Energy Research (ER), Office of Environmental Safety and Health (EH), Office of Fusion Energy, and the DOE high energy accelerator facilities. A list of attendees and the meeting agenda are attached. Copies of the presentations are also attached.

Document outlining the Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) for Texas, including statistics and assessment data, strategies to address housing needs, and updates about various initiatives that have been started.