[DOE LETTERHEAD]

March 30, 1998

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

Dear Mr. Chairman:

In my letter to you of March 5, 1998, I stated that I would provide a date by which the report you requested on the evaluation of project management at the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) would be provided. Based on the discussions between our staffs on March 11, 1998, the report will be provided by June 5, 1998.

This report will address the concerns outlined in your December 5, 1997, letter and will include a description of the implementation of the plans and schedule for implementing DOE Order 430.1, "Life Cycle Asset Management," the Joint Program Office Direction on Project Management described in the March 25, 1996, memorandum of D. W. Pearman, Jr., and DOE Notice 430.1, "Energy Systems Acquisitions Advisory Board", and any proposed interim measures until implementation is complete. This letter will also identify the key DOE and LANL personnel and their qualifications and authority for implementing required changes to project management.

The June 5, 1998, date provides sufficient time for our staffs to review the draft in progress and to coordinate the final report within the Department.

Attached is the schedule my staff will follow for completing the report and interfacing with your staff. Please contact me should you have any questions or your staff may contact Mike Mitchell at (301) 903-3085.

Sincerely,

Gene Ives
Deputy Assistant Secretary
for Military Application and
Stockpile Management
Defense Programs

Attachment

cc: M. Whitaker, S-3.1