[DOE LETTERHEAD]

December 28, 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 the Revised Implementation Plan (IP) for Board Recommendation 93-3, Improving DOE Technical Capability in Defense Nuclear Facilities Programs, the Department commits to line management ownership and enhancing executive commitment as essential elements for the successful implementation of a corporate program to recruit, develop, deploy, and retain technical capability at defense nuclear facilities.

As a deliverable pursuant to Commitment 5.2.2 of the IP, the Federal Technical Capability Panel reviewed the existing Technical Excellence Policy, and updated it to ensure that the Federal Technical Capability Program principles were incorporated into the revised Policy. The revised Policy was renamed the Federal Technical Capability Policy and was incorporated into the Department's Directives Management System. The Secretary approved and signed the enclosed Policy on December 10, 1998. The Policy was subsequently posted on the Department's Directives Home Page on December 24, 1998.

The Department has completed the actions identified under Commitment 5.2.2 and proposes closure of this commitment.

If you have any questions please call me, or your staff may contact Mr. Dave Roth at (202) 426-1506.

Sincerely,

Thomas W. Evans
Executive Secretary to the
Federal Technical Capability Panel

Enclosure

cc:
Steve Richardson, Panel Chair
Panel Members
Mark B. Whitaker, Jr., S-3.1

Enclosure is available in [PDF].