Northern New Mexico Citizens’ Advisory Board

MJ Byrne, Deputy Designated Federal Official called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. and turned over the meeting to the Chair George Chandler.

B. The Board approved the agenda as presented. The Board approved the April 28, 1999 Board meeting minutes as amended.

MJ Byrnes presented a suggested agenda for the Board retreat June 4-6, 1999.
The Retreat begins Friday at 6:00 p.m. and ends on Sunday at 12:00 p.m.

Bob Clark expressed interest in the Board meeting with the Sandia Citizens'
Advisory Board.

George Chandler announced the next Site Specific Advisory Board Chair's meeting in September. In October, Oak Ridge will hold a national workshop on Stewardship. MJ Byrne announced that the Board received $25,000 from DOE Headquarters for Board members to attend inter-site events.

Mr. Chandler requested that the Transportation Seminar materials be distributed to the Board.

Mr. Chandler would like to have a monthly meeting with the Chairs of all the Committees.

MJ Byrne reported on the search for office space in Española and Pojoaque. No
landlords responded to the Request for Proposals. Ms. Byrne will call CAB members to look at more office spaces.

Anthony Armijo reported on the April meeting that he attended that measured the progress made to date and planned next year's work. The purpose of the Hydrological Work Plan is to characterize and monitor surface and groundwater. The Monitoring and Surveillance Committee is drafting a recommendation on this plan. Mr. Armijo commended the people working on this plan. Ms. Byrne suggested that the Committee send a letter to Charles Nylander expressing the Board's appreciation for being included in this meeting.

Dr. Patrick Feehan asked if the high explosive contamination found in the monitoring wells might affect the Buckman well used by Santa Fe County. Mr. Armijo reported that the aquifer from which comes the drinking water has not been contaminated.

Dr. Fran Berting asked about if some Board member could be included in the
quarterly meetings of Work Plan. Mr. Chandler asked Mr. Armijo if he would check into this possibility.

Dr. Fran Berting distributed a written report and the May 10 meeting minutes were sent to Board members in the pre-meeting packet. Dr. Berting attended the Environmental Protection Agency sampling briefing on May 8, 1999.

Dr. Berting moved, seconded by Bob Clark, that the Board adopts the
recommendation:

"With the current target budget, LANL and the DOE Los Alamos Area Office estimate that the cleanup of LANL would be completed in 2013, rather than in 2008 as set forth in the Accelerated Paths to Closure, or in the "Meeting the 2006 Vision" document produced by LANL and the DOE. Therefore, the Northern New Mexico Citizens' Advisory Board recommends that the DOE request significant increases in the Environmental Restoration budget to enable LANL to meet the 2008 deadline."

Mr. Chandler expressed his concern about the lack of funding when set DOE sets these cleanup goals. Ms. Connie Thompson-Ortega asked about the airport landfill site. Dr. Berting responded that the contaminants are low level, and there is little erosion moving the ash from the former incinerator and cans. The ER Committee is more concerned about the effects of the cleanup than the original contamination. The New Mexico Environment Department is concerned about the erosion on this slope and identified the site as high priority.

Mr. Anthony Armijo reported on the successful April 29 workshop on monitoring and surveillance. The Board was a cosponsor of this event along with the New Mexico Environment Department, the Pueblos of Jemez, San Ildefonso, Santa Clara and Cochiti.

Mr. Armijo reported on the May 8 briefing on the Environmental Protection Agency monitoring report on wells, springs and groundwater data. Mr. Chandler expressed his concern about the tritium contamination in Mortandad Canyon and possible pathways to the aquifer. He asked that the Board and LANL to investigate this situation.

At the May 20 Committee meeting, Chris Armijo, the All-Indian Pueblo Council, reported on the Air media. Hank Daneman and Steve Yanichek reported on the water media and the Hydrogeological Work Plan.

The next Committee meeting will be on June 24 at the St. Vincent's Hospital in Santa Fe.

Jim Johnston reported that the Board's website has been updated with Board meeting minutes and the bylaws.

Mr. Johnston presented a report on the Site-Specific Advisory Board Transportation Seminar held on May 20-22, 1999. He distributed materials and fact sheets produced for the conference. Mr. Johnston discussed the core topics and the statements prepared by conference participants for the Department of Energy.

Mr. Augustin Garcia asked about the reliability of Type B containers and what could destroy them. Mr. Johnston responded that the containers are used for multiple shipments before they are sent to WIPP. Dr. Berting asked about the containers used for WIPP shipments. Mr. Johnston responded that they are TRU packs or Type B containers. Dr. Berting expressed concern about lack of information and education that could allay the public's fears. Ms. Byrne thanked Jim Johnston for his work with the conference.

Mr. Joel Grimm, Waste Management DOE Albuquerque Operations distributed a written report on the Off-Site Recovery Project.

Mr. Jim Johnston questioned Mr. Grimm on the testing of packaging. Mr. Grimm responded that the prototype packaging has been tested but not the newly designed packages.

Mr. Bob Clark asked if the commercial sites are charged fees for this work. Mr. Grimm responded that the sites will be charged when the DOE has determined what is "reasonable" fee.

Mr. Clark asked about why LANL Area G was the preferred site for disposing of this hazardous waste. Mr. Grimm responded that a range of radioactivity sites was considered.

Mr. Chandler assigned this topic to the Waste Management Committee to further investigation.

Connie Thompson-Ortega noted that phone and publicity line items are over budget. At the next Board meeting, the Committee will have a specific recommendation on changes to these line items.

Menice Manzanares reported that the Outreach Committee did not meet this month. The Committee is updating the Board's mailing list. Ms. Manzanares thanked Bob Clark for arranging the PAC 8 coverage and the radio announcements. The PAC 8 tape can be used with other stations. Ms. Manzanares suggested that the next Board meeting have a topic on agenda related to Jemez Pueblo where the Board is meeting. This topic could be put on the postcard and announced in the meeting publicity. In July, the Board will meet in Taos. Ms. Byrne suggested that Taos Pueblo's War Chief could present to the Board. Mr. Anthony Armijo will invite a Jemez Pueblo Council member to address the Board.

The next Committee meeting will be on June 11 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the LANL Outreach Office at the Northern New Mexico Community College in Española.

Jim Johnston recommended that the Board hold its own seminar on Transportation and Packaging. Mr. Chandler asked the Waste Management Committee make a proposal about the seminar. Mr. Bob Clark asked about the conference's purpose. Mr. Johnston said that the seminar would explore safe packaging and transportation. The Board could invite city and county officials and the proceedings could be put on television. He agreed to talk with the Waste Management Committee about this possibility.

The minutes are an accurate and complete summary of the matters discussed and conclusions reached at the Northern New Mexico Citizens' Advisory Board meeting held on May 26, 1999.

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Northern New Mexico Citizens Advisory Board
1660 Old Pecos Trail, Ste B
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505
(800) 218-5942
(505) 989-1662 FAX (505) 989-1752
E-Mail CAB

Los Alamos Citizens Advisory Board
P.O. Box 1665
Los Alamos, New Mexico 87544
(505) 662-1234 FAX (505) 662-4321
staff@lacab.org