[SOE
LETTERHEAD]
October 25, 2004
The Honorable John T. Conway
Chairman
Defense Nuclear Facilities
Safety Board
625 Indiana Avenue, NW, Suite
700
Washington, D.C. 20004
Dear Mr. Chairman:
Please be advised that, pursuant
to 42 U.S.C. 2286d(e), the Department of Energy will require up to an
additional 45 days to finalize and transmit our implementation plan for
addressing the issues raised in the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board’s
(Board’s) Recommendation 2004-1, Oversight of Complex, High-Hazard Nuclear Operations.
As you discussed by phone with Deputy Secretary Kyle E.
McSlarrow, we need more time to finalize and fully articulate several key
decisions and their implications. The
Department remains committed to fully resolving the issues that are raised in
your recommendation.
We appreciate the advice and
feedback provided by you, other Board members, and the Board’s staff during the
development of this plan, and look forward to continued positive interactions
as we finalize and implement the plan. Please contact me, or have your staff contact
Mr. Ted Sherry at (865) 576-0752, if you have any questions regarding our path
forward.
Sincerely,
Spencer Abraham