2007

ORSSAB Kicks Off Oral History Initiative
In spring 2007, ORSSAB formed a subcommittee to explore the possibility of facilitating an oral history program for the Oak Ridge Reservation. This history contains invaluable information to the Environmental Management program when determining the scope and the data necessary to approach areas of the reservation requiring remediation or in determining if an area does not require remediation.

About 275 oral history interviews have been conducted to date with Oak Ridge scientists, engineers, community leaders, and residents, but there is no central location housing all of the existing tapes, and no mechanism exists to manage an active oral history program in terms of cataloguing and transcribing tapes, identifying and interviewing people, and providing access to material to researchers and other interested parties.

The subcommittee has begun looking into funding options and how other DOE sites similar to Oak Ridge have conducted or are conducting oral history programs. In addition, the subcommittee organized a workshop that brought together many groups and individuals interested in preserving Oak Ridge history. The workshop, which was held October 11, 2007, was intended to help resolve several issues, including:
•  What is the definition of an oral history?
•  What are sources of funding?
•  Should all oral histories be housed at one location along with the transcripts and other relevant files?
•  Should a “permanent” administrative group/advisory committee be formed to oversee the oral history program, and if so, who?
•  What existing regulations/legislative acts control or influence an oral history program?
•  Who are the individuals who need to be interviewed in the near future?
•  What format of the end product will be most desired and easy to access?
•  What organization will handle transcribing oral histories that have not yet been transcribed?

ORSSAB’s work on the oral histories program was an important step in bringing cohesion to the various interests in the community on an issue of importance not only to the public but to the DOE Environmental Management program as well.

Melton Valley Closure Marks End of 10-Year ORSSAB Involvement
For many years the Melton Valley burial grounds posed the highest risk at the Oak Ridge Reservation to human health and the environment. As a result of more than 50 years of operation, production, and research activities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a legacy of disposal sites, contaminated facilities, and areas of secondary contamination were spread over 160 acres of the watershed’s 1062 acres. In the 1950s the area was also used as the Atomic Energy Commission’s Southeastern Regional Burial Ground, where largely uncharacterized radioactive wastes from over 50 other federal facilities were disposed.

DOE’s cleanup project for the valley included a wide array of complicated and difficult activities, such as hydraulic isolation through installation of multilayer caps; removal, treatment, and disposal of retrievable transuranic waste; and in situ grouting.

In March 2007, DOE completed remedial actions in the valley, bringing the project to a close and ending a decade of involvement and oversight by ORSSAB.

Beginning in January 1998 with its “End Use Recommendation for the Disposal Areas in Melton Valley,” the board made 20 recommendations to DOE related to various aspects of Melton Valley cleanup. An inestimable number of hours were devoted by the board members in studying, debating, and writing recommendations on numerous issues related to the project and the acceptable end state for the area.

The remediation work was a huge undertaking that addressed 219 release sites over the course of six years at a cost of $360 million. It could have cost as much as $1.6 billion had all the waste been removed and shipped off site, but the board played an instrumental role in the decision to leave some relatively short-lived contamination in place in order to save taxpayers millions of dollars.

ORSSAB Sponsors Public Meeting on the Remediation Effectiveness Report/CERCLA Five-Year Review
DOE is spending hundreds of millions of dollars in Oak Ridge each year cleaning up environmental contamination left from decades of nuclear enrichment and other activities. But how do you know it’s working?

The answers lie in an annual report and a rigorous review that occurs every five years. The annual report is the Remediation Effectiveness Report, and every five years it is expanded to include the Five-Year Review that’s required under CERCLA.

Because the Five-Year Review is so important, ORSSAB issued its “Recommendations on Logistics for a Public Meeting on the 2006 Remediation Effectiveness Report and CERCLA Five-Year Review” in November 2006. The board made several general recommendations about conducting the meeting, as well as specific recommendations concerning the agenda and publicity. A primary suggestion was to use an ORSSAB monthly meeting as a forum for the public meeting.

DOE agreed and set the date for May 9, 2007. About 50 people attended the meeting, which gave local stakeholders an important forum to express their views on both the Remediation Effectiveness Report and the CERCLA Five-Year Review.

Board Helps Out with Public Involvement Plan Update
Both the Comprehensive Environmental Restoration, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the “Federal Facility Agreement for the Oak Ridge Reservation” require DOE Oak Ridge to publish a Public Involvement Plan. The plan is updated every three years. The purpose of the plan is to communicate to the public its opportunities for participation in the decision-making process regarding the remediation of contaminated areas on the Oak Ridge Reservation. As such, the plan is one of the most important documents to citizens that the Environmental Management program prepares.

In 2007 DOE began working on an update of the 2004 plan. ORSSAB supplied numerous comments and suggestions, which were incorporated into the final document. Because of the board’s involvement, important additions and changes were made to better serve the community. DOE said in its response to the recommendation: “Thanks to the board’s knowledgeable input, we believe the document has been greatly improved since its previous update three years ago.”

ORSSAB Sponsors Workshop on “A General Overview of the Decommissioning Process”
On March 9, 2007, ORSSAB sponsored a day-long workshop on the decommissioning process to give members a better understanding of what it takes to deal with structures like the K‑25 building. Seven board members attended, plus DOE and state personnel. The workshop was held at the DOE Information Center
and led by Larry Boing of Argonne National Laboratory.

New Member Tours & Training Held
On July 27, 2007, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., ORSSAB hosted a training meeting at the DOE Information Center for new members and student representatives Bill Bass, John Coffman, Charles Jensen, David Martin, Hubert Gibson, and Ashlyn Hall.

Two tours of the Oak Ridge Reservation were held for members on September 16, 2006 (Donna Campbell, Norman Mulvenon, Ron Murphree, Donnie Patterson, Sondra Sarten, and Kevin Westervelt); and February 24, 2007 (Mike Haygood, Ted Lundy, Norman Mulvenon, Lou Rizzo, Jan Teague).

Board Members Attend Five National Meetings and Conferences
Each year, ORSSAB members take part in various meetings, workshops, and conferences to: participate in discussions on EM and waste management policy, gain understanding of relevant technical issues, discuss subjects of mutual interest with SSAB counterparts at other sites, and present technical papers on EM-related topics. Following are the meetings attended in FY 2007.
•   EM SSAB Chairs Meeting; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Sept. 6–8, 2006; Attendees: Ben Adams, Steve Dixon, Norman Mulvenon
•   Energy, Technology, and Environmental Business Association Business Opportunities Conference; October 31–November 2, 2006; Knoxville, Tennessee; Attendee: Steve Douglas
•   EM SSAB Chairs Meeting; Las Vegas, Nevada; March 28–30, 2007; Attendees: Steve Dixon, Norman Mulvenon, Steve Stow
•   Long-Term Stewardship Roundtable & Training; San Diego, California; April 4–5, 2007; Attendees: Ben Adams, Donna Campbell
•   EPA Community Involvement Conference; Jacksonville, Florida; June 19–22, 2007; Attendee: Ted Lundy

Annual Planning Retreat Held in August
The Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board held its annual planning retreat on Saturday, August 11, 2007, at Rothchild Catering in Knoxville.

Becky Brunton facilitated the meeting and began the day by focusing on board member responsibilities. She used the concept of obtaining the various levels of martial arts belts as an analogy for how one gains experience and takes on more responsibility within the board. New members are at a white belt level. As they gain experience and take on more responsibility they progress through yellow, green, brown, and black belts. She then asked retreat participants to work in groups to list the different board duties and assign a belt color to them.

The remainder of the day was spent reviewing results of a board member survey Brunton conducted prior to the meeting, reviewing the results of the annual Stakeholder Survey, and prioritizing and assigning work plan topics to the board’s committees for the 2008 fiscal year. Those topics included over a dozen key items.

Membership, Officers, Liaisons, and Staff
Members serving during FY 2007 were: Ben Adams, Bill Bass, Rhonda Bogard, Darryl Bonner, David Branch, Donna Campbell, John Coffman, Heather Cothron, Steve Dixon, Steve Douglas, Mike Haygood, Charles Jensen, Ted Lundy, David Martin, Gloria Mei, Lance Mezga, Norman Mulvenon, Ron Murphree, Tim Myrick, Robert Olson, Sandy Reagan, Sondra Sarten, Steve Stow, Jan Teague, Kevin Westervelt

Students serving in FY 2007 were Sarah Lewis from Oak Ridge High School and Sean Purdy from Webb School of Knoxville (for the term May 2006–April 2007), and Ashlyn Hall from Oak Ridge High School and Hubert Gibson from Oliver Springs High School (for the term May 2007–April 2008).

Board officers for the year were Chair—Lance Mezga, Vice Chair—Norman Mulvenon, Secretary—Steve Douglas (until his resignation in January 2007; replaced by Ben Adams). Committee chairs were: Board Finance—Steve Dixon, EM—Rhonda Bogard, Executive—Lance Mezga, Public Outreach—Steve Stow, and Stewardship—Darryl Bonner.

Agency liaisons and DOE staff remained unchanged from FY 2006: Deputy Designated Federal Officer—Steve McCracken, DOE Liaison—Dave Adler, Federal Coordinator—Pat Halsey, EPA Liaison—Connie Jones, TDEC Liaison—John Owsley. Support staff were Spencer Gross and Pete Osborne.
 

2006

Orssab Presented with Prestigious National Epa Award
In June 2006 ORSSAB and its Stewardship Committee were presented with the Citizens Excellence in Community Involvement Award. The national honor is given annually by EPA to recognize an individual or community group for outstanding achievement in the field of environmental protection. The award was presented at EPA’s 2006 Community Involvement Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

At the ORSSAB planning retreat for FY 2003, held August 2 and 3, 2002, the Board elected to keep the same three standing committees as FY 2002: Environmental Restoration, Stewardship, and Waste Management.

Three new members joined ORSSAB this year, and two members resigned. Two others retired upon serving the full six years allowed by ORSSAB bylaws (Steve Kopp and Charles Washington). Officers for the year were: Dave Mosby, Chair; Norman Mulvenon, Vice Chair; Donna Campbell, Secretary. Committee Chairs were: Dave Mosby, Executive Committee; Kerry Trammell, Environmental Restoration; John Million, Stewardship; Luther Gibson, Waste Management. High school student representatives for the year were Jenna Carignan from Oak Ridge and David Johnson from Karns.

Major highlights and accomplishments of the year include the following:

•     ORSSAB worked on several fronts to help break the logjam that has prevented the movement of remote-handled transuranic (TRU) waste to more secure storage. In October 2002, ORSSAB wrote to the State of New Mexico to endorse DOE’s remote handled TRU waste permit modification request to allow shipment of this waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. In January 2003, ORSSAB members attended the SSAB Workshop on TRU Waste Management at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, and the Board subsequently endorsed the workshop recommendations. ORSSAB followed up with a set of site-specific recommendations, sent to the Assistant Manager for EM.

•     In FY 2003 ORSSAB provided six recommendations and comments to DOE on various aspects of long-term stewardship. The ORSSAB Stewardship Committee established an Education Subcommittee, which prepared the Oak Ridge Reservation Educational Resource Guide. The guide was written to introduce the concepts of radiological and chemical contamination, EM, and stewardship to middle and high school students. The guide is the first part of a planned series of educational efforts by ORSSAB. The guide is being provided to the community at large through the ORSSAB web site, the DOE Information Center, and various ORSSAB public outreach events.

•     In July 2003, ORSSAB launched its video lending library at the DOE Information Center, providing the community with a valuable educational resource regarding EM Program issues. The library contains over 30 titles related to waste management, radiation, risk, environmental justice, environmental laws and regulations, history, and EM.

•     On October 17-19, 2002, ORSSAB hosted the fall EM SSAB Chairs Meeting at the Hilton Hotel in Knoxville. Fifty participants from across the DOE complex met to discuss EM projects and policy, share ideas and concerns among sites, identify and work on common issues, and gain understanding of relevant technical issues.

•     On October 9, 2002, the Board approved a change to ORSSAB Bylaws Article VII. C5. to allow members of the public to participate in ORSSAB standing committee business on a voting basis.

•     The Board generated 17 recommendations and comments during the year on various aspects of the ORR cleanup program.

2002

At its annual retreat, the Board elected to keep the same four standing committees as FY 2001 – Executive, Environmental Restoration, Stewardship, and Waste Management. Five new members were added this year, and student representatives were seated from Oak Ridge and Roane County high schools.

Major highlights and accomplishments for the year include the following:

·          The Board focused much of its attention on the Accelerated Cleanup Plan, which DOE introduced this year as a method to speed up cleanup of its Oak Ridge Reservation. The Board reviewed and commented on major documents associated with the plan and participated in several public forums. The Environmental Management Committee cosponsored a public meeting with DOE-ORO on budgets associated with the plan.

·          The Stewardship Committee formed a Stewardship Status Team to review every aspect of stewardship performance on the reservation and provide written reports to the public, DOE, regulatory agencies, local governments, and other interested parties.

·          The Education Subcommittee worked with advanced placement sciences classes at Oak Ridge and Roane County high schools to have the students create summary reports of the Oak Ridge Reservation Stakeholders Report on Stewardship, Volumes 1 and 2. The summaries will be distributed to area middle schools and high schools as part of an educational resource kit to help teachers introduce the concept of environmental cleanup to their students.

·          The Waste Management Committee sponsored a public meeting to discuss the proposed closure of the Toxic Substances Control Act Incinerator. Helen Belencan from DOE-HQ was the featured speaker.

·          ORSSAB members participated in a number of meetings and conferences around the nation to learn about EM and waste management policy and to gain understanding of relevant technical issues. Four ORSSAB members participated in the national SSAB Groundwater Workshop held at the Savannah River Site on January 31 – February 2.

The Board submitted 14 recommendations and comments to DOE. Officers for the year were: Chair – Luther Gibson, Vice Chair – Dave Mosby, Secretary – Corkie Staley.

2001

At the Board’s annual retreat, four standing committees were formed – Executive, Stewardship, Environmental Restoration, and Waste Management. The Public Outreach Committee was disbanded, and that function was placed under a staff public outreach coordinator, reporting to the Executive Committee. Seven new members joined ORSSAB this year, and considering that seven others had signed on near the end of FY 2000, 14 of the 20 members serving in FY 2001 had been on the Board for just over a year or less. The only three charter members to have remained on the board for the entire six years of service allowed by ORSSAB bylaws retired in July. Bill Pardue, Pat Rush, and Lorene Sigal served on ORSSAB since its inception in August 1995.

Major highlights and accomplishments of the year include the following:

·          ORSSAB established a Stewardship Education Task Team to reach out to students and the community at large with long-term stewardship education to help ensure that stewardship issues are understood.

·          The Board sponsored a tour of western U.S. disposal sites to educate ORSSAB members about waste disposal practices at locations where EM wastes are being disposed or may be disposed in the future. Sites included Envirocare of Utah, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the Nevada Test Site, and the Yucca Mountain Project.

·          Ad hoc committees were established to study and make recommendations on the FY 2001 Remediation Effectiveness Report/CERCLA 5-Year Review, EPA’s “Draft Public Involvement Policy, ” DOE-Headquarters' “Revised Public Participation Guidance,” and the draft Public Involvement Plan for CERCLA Activities at the U.S. DOE Oak Ridge Reservation.

·          An ad hoc committee was impaneled to participate in creation of an “Oak Ridge Success Story” document—a concept developed by a broad coalition of local community, government, and business groups to portray a factual picture of environmental conditions in Oak Ridge.

·          ORSSAB members participated in a number of meetings and conferences around the nation to learn about EM and waste management policy, gain understanding of relevant technical issues and present technical papers.

The Board submitted 20 recommendations and comments to DOE. Officers for the year were: Chair – Luther Gibson, Vice Chair – Dave Mosby, Secretary – Corkie Staley.

2000

The Board continued to streamline its organizational structure this year, paring down the standing committees to five (Executive, Environmental Restoration, Project Baseline, Stewardship, and Waste Management) and ad-hoc committees to two (Board Process and Public Outreach).

Several valuable improvements were made in the Board’s operating procedures, including development of a mentor program and a comprehensive training program and materials for new Board members. Materials included an orientation booklet, a training manual, and a reference manual. Extensive work also went into the annual planning retreat, and a set of guidance documents was developed to assist the Board in developing its work plan.

Board membership changed dramatically this year with the addition of eight new members and two new student representatives. Several longtime members stepped down, and charter member and former ORSSAB chair Randy Gordon died this year of cancer.

Major highlights and accomplishments of the year included the following:

• ORSSAB sponsored the national "SSAB Workshop on Stewardship," October 25–27, 1999, during which over 100 DOE stakeholders, including 50 members of SSABs from 9 DOE sites, met in Oak Ridge to discuss the current state of stewardship and the related actions and activities that are most important for DOE to pursue.
• ORSSAB continued the broad-based stakeholder effort to follow up on long-term stewardship initiatives developed by the SSAB over the past 3 years by including area stakeholders in the activities of the SWG. The group published the Oak Ridge Reservation Stakeholder Report on Stewardship, Volume 2, in December 1999.
• The Board reached out to local stakeholders by holding meetings in new venues, such as Pellissippi State and Roane State community colleges.
• ORSSAB expanded its commitment to including the younger generation in its activities by seating two student representatives on the Board.

The Board issued 15 recommendations and comments to DOE. Officers for the year were: Chair - Steve Kopp, Vice Chair - Demetra Nelson, Secretary - Rikki Traylor.

1999

At the start of the fiscal year (FY), ORSSAB reconfigured several of its project teams to reflect current areas of interest and concern to stakeholders. Five teams remained unchanged: Public Outreach, Budget & Prioritization, Waste Cell Management, Executive, and Bylaws (although the Waste Cell Team changed its name to "On-Site CERCLA Waste Disposal Facility," and Bylaws became "Board Process").

The agendas of the Equity Issues and Technology Development & Deployment teams were incorporated into the newly formed Waste Management Team, and the agendas of the Federal Facility Agreement Appendix E Documents and ETTP Remediation & Reindustrialization teams were included in the Watershed Cleanup Team. The End Use Working Group completed its mission and dissolved.

Major highlights and accomplishments included the following:

• The Board expanded its outreach effort to educate the public about ORSSAB and the importance of the DOE EM Program.
• Anne-Marie Wiest became the Board’s first high school student participant.
• Interaction and cooperation with other SSABs was improved to address problems of common concern, most notably in the areas of low-level waste disposal, transportation, and stewardship.
• The Board sponsored the Stewardship Working Group (SWG)—a broad-based community effort to help DOE and other sites recognize long-term stewardship needs following remediation. This effort led to a 3-day national SSAB workshop on stewardship, held in Oak Ridge in October 1999. The Board submitted Volume 2 of the ORR Stakeholder Report on Stewardship to DOE.

Six members whose terms of service expired chose not to be reappointed to the Board, and seven new members were seated during the year. In May, the Board voted to change its name from the Oak Ridge Reservation Environmental Management Site Specific Advisory Board to the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board. The Board issued 14 recommendations. Officers for the year were Chair - Bill Pardue, Vice Chair - Bob Peelle, Secretary - Rikki Traylor.

1998

The Board reorganized its committee structure from one that addressed broad subjects to one that was more focused. Project teams addressed the following subjects:

• Budget & Prioritization,
• Bylaws,
• End Use,
• East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) Remediation & Reindustrialization,
• Federal Facility Agreement Appendix E Documents,
• Equity Issues,
• Public Outreach,
• Technology Development & Deployment,
• Waste Cell Management, and
• Executive.

Major highlights and accomplishments included the following:

• The Board approved the recommendations developed by the EUWG for contaminated sites on the ORR and submitted to DOE the Final Report of the Oak Ridge Reservation End Use Working Group.
• The Board approved the recommendations of the EUWG’s Stewardship Committee and submitted the committee’s groundbreaking Stakeholder Report on Stewardship to DOE.
• The Board sponsored a public information meeting on the reindustrialization of ETTP in April, providing an important forum for discussion on a topic that will prove pivotal in remediation of the site.
• The Board sponsored a public meeting on the Toxic Substances Control Act Incinerator (TSCAI), at which Bill Rickman, a world-renowned incinerator expert, presented his findings on the incinerator.

The Board submitted 18 recommendations. Officers for the year were Chair - Bill Pardue, Vice Chair - Bob Peelle, Secretary - Peter Hillis.

1997

In January, the Board’s Land Use/Economic Development Committee organized the End Use Working Group (EUWG) to study future uses for contaminated areas on the ORR. The EUWG in turn formed the Stewardship Committee to study long-term stewardship on the ORR. In March, the Board adopted its "Vision, Critical Success Factors, and Principles" statement, which was developed to provide a set of long-term goals for the group. Several ad hoc committees were formed during the year to study subjects like the On-Site Waste Management Disposal Cell, DOE’s Accelerating Cleanup: Focus 2006, and the Human Health Effects Study for Oak Ridge and Vicinity. The Board issued 14 recommendations. Officers for the year were Chair - Randy Gordon, Vice Chair - Bill Pardue, Secretary - Bob Peelle.

1996

The Board adopted bylaws in February and standing rules in May. The following committees were formed:

• Executive;
• Environmental Restoration;
• Environmental Health, Safety, and Justice;
• Land Use/Economic Development; and
• Waste Management.

Work began on the Board’s newsletter, and a Web page was established in July. Six recommendations were submitted to DOE. Officers for the year were Chair - Bob Peelle, Vice Chair - Mary Bryan, Secretary - Donna Campbell.

1995

The SSAB formation process began in January, and informational meetings were held in the Oak Ridge area through March. A panel was formed in summer to screen applications, and in September DOE-ORO empanelled its 20-member SSAB. The first meeting of the Board was held on September 21.

1994

The SSAB steering committee issued its proposal in July and met with DOE Assistant Secretary for EM Thomas Grumbly in December to discuss it. That same month, the Assistant Secretary directed that an Oak Ridge SSAB be established.

1993

The first steps toward development of an Oak Ridge SSAB began in May when a local stakeholder group was formed to discuss environmental restoration and waste management issues. Six months later, the 45 members formed a steering committee to outline a proposal regarding establishment of an SSAB in Oak Ridge.