[DOE LETTERHEAD]

January 29, 2002

The Honorable John T. Conway
Chairman
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board
625 Indiana Avenue, NW
Suite 700
Washington, D.C. 20004-2901

Dear Mr. Chairman:

The purpose of this letter is to inform you of a schedule delay in completing Commitment 3.1 of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Implementation Plan (IP) for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) Recommendation 2001-1, High Level Waste Management at the Savannah River Site.

Commitment 3.1, due to the DNFSB on January 31, 2002, requires the DOE to complete assessments of high-level waste system vulnerabilities and tank farm space management options. The DOE also committed to provide technical papers summarizing the results of the space management assessment pertaining to options that would add new evaporators and new tanks.

Assessment of the high-level waste system vulnerabilities was completed in December and is currently undergoing review. While we completed our assessment of tank farm space management options last June, additional work was required to complete the technical papers summarizing new evaporator and new tank options. We understand the Board's expectation that these technical papers communicate and provide a clear basis for our decision. We will need additional time to further integrate information from the reference materials to ensure that the technical papers meet the Board's expectations.

We will transmit a complete and thorough product to you by February 15, 2002. Should you have any questions or need additional information, I would be happy to discuss this with you at your convenience.

Sincerely,

Paul M. Golan
Chief of Staff
Office of Environmental Management

cc: Jessie Roberson
Greg Rudy
Mark Whitaker