[DOE LETTERHEAD]

February 16, 1999

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:

Please find enclosed a copy of the "Strategy for Managing Risks at the Chemistry Metallurgy Research (CMR) Facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory." This document puts into context the latest information on risk to operation of CMR from a seismic event. It further describes the integrated strategy we are pursuing of near-term risk mitigation programs and long-term site and facility planning efforts for the CMR facility.

The document describes the activities we intend to pursue and general time period in which they will be conducted. It does not provide, however, a detailed schedule and integrated plan to carry these activities out. I have requested the Albuquerque Operations Office to develop these as soon as possible. Notional schedules and plans have been briefed to me.

Your staff was briefed late last year on the progress we were making on the development of the strategy document. We will continue to keep you and your staff informed of the progress on the activities described in the strategy and the development of the overall schedule and plan.

If you have any questions, please contact me or have your staff contact Michael Mitchell staff at (301) 903-3085.

Sincerely,

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

Enclosure

cc w/o enclosure:
M. Whitaker, S-3.1