[SOE
LETTERHEAD]
August 29, 2007
The Honorable A. J. Eggenberger
Chairman, Defense Nuclear Facilities
�Safety Board
Dear Mr. Chairman:
The purpose of this letter is to update you on one
element of our Implementation
Plan to
Improve Oversight of Nuclear Operations,
dated October 12, 2006,
developed in response to Board Recommendation 2004- 1,
Oversight of Complex,
High-Hazard
Nuclear Operations.
Commitment 5 of the Implementation Plan called for
development and issuance
of a DOE Safety Oversight Guide for effectively
implementing this Order.�
Specifically, Commitment 5, Deliverable A, called for
the Department to draft a
DOE Safety Oversight Guide, including a Criteria and
Review Approach
Document, to be transmitted for Board review and
comment by the Departmental
Representative.
I have approved a change to the schedule for
completing this commitment in light
of other activities that had to be completed first,
namely the revision of Order
226.1 A, a copy of which is enclosed. �The new due date for completion of the
Oversight Guide will be February 1, 2008. �Development of the Oversight Guide
had to follow the Order revision so that it would
accurately reflect approved
requirements. �Development of this Guide is an important
activity, and the new
schedule will allow us to make it a valuable aid.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to
contact me or have your staff
contact Dr. Patricia Worthington at (301) 903-5926.
Sincerely,
Samuel W. Bodman