Insights reflects the Local Oversight Committee's most recent effort to reach out to a larger portion of the community. It aims to help the LOC achieve an ambitious set of goals: to promote maximum public awareness; to provide an effective avenue for sharing accurate information; and to inform the public of environmental, waste management and emergency planning activities.

The Citizens Advisory Panel voted unanimously to name the newsletter Insights, and I feel this word accurately reflects the values embodied in the LOC: discernment, understanding, common sense, wisdom and prudence.

The implications of DOE actions, though far-reaching, are often unstated. We will strive to shed light on these implications and, in so doing, earn the name Insights.

Our vision for Insights is to brief the public on current LOC activities, advertise meetings of interest and provide commentary on DOE issues. Because this is a small publication, articles will be succinct and to the point. We plan to have several regular information boxes and columns:

To help the uninitiated navigate the initials and acronyms in which these issues are deliberated, we have Alphabet Soup as a pathfinder.
Under Hot Flashes, you'll find news briefs and announcements.
To help you understand where these insights come from, we have listed the LOC's Board, the CAP and the LOC staff. If you have specific concerns, contact a board member representing your area, or contact the LOC office.
Please feel free to send us suggestions for improvement, and please don't hesitate to submit corrections and different viewpoints. These will be included as space permits.

So welcome. We hope this newsletter helps boost your own insight into a wide range of critical issues.

Meet your Citizens Advisory Panel

by Steve Kopp

Who are we? We are a diverse group of citizens from communities adjacent to and downstream of the Oak Ridge Reservation.

The CAP represents a variety of professional and technical backgrounds. Several members are retired Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists and engineers, some with significant experience working with contaminated operations and facilities on the ORR.

A number of our members work for DOE contractors and subcontractor. We also have a representative of organized labor, a member of the clergy, and several other individuals who live and work in the area but who have no direct professional connection with the ORR. Our technical backgrounds include such disciplines as chemistry, health physics, biology, botany, geology, environmental toxicology, environmental law, and chemical, mechanical and nuclear engineering.

What is our role? Our primary role is to provide guidance to the LOC Board, DOE and the State of Tennessee on issues related to environmental restoration and waste management activities on the ORR. The CAP provides the Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee with citizen input from a technical perspective. LOC Board members include the Mayor of Oak Ridge and the County Executives from Anderson, Knox, Loudon, Meigs, Rhea and Roane counties.

Whom do we represent? We use the term "your" in connection with the CAP because we are appointed to represent you, the citizens of the area, in this technical advisory capacity to the LOC. In this capacity we sincerely seek your input regarding the environmental restoration and waste management activities at the 0ORR and the impacts of those activities on you and your neighbors.

How can we best represent you? We need to hear from you. Plan to attend our public meetings beginning at 5:15 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month at the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation DOE-Oversight offices at 761 Emory Valley Road in Oak Ridge. Participate in our working subcommittee meetings conducted at other times in other locations. Write or call the LOC office to find out about scheduled committee meetings or to learn about other ways you can get involved.

Finally, feel free to call or to fax information to any of the LOC Board members at the numbers shown in this issue of LOC Insights. Let us hear from you!

Steve Kopp chairs the CAP.

Stanley, we will miss you

The LOC suffered a huge loss with Stanley Reel's death on February 23.

Many of us had attended the tour of ORNL and Melton Valley waste sites the previous day with Stan. He will be remembered for his faithful service to his community and his tireless promotion of the City of Oak Ridge's rights with respect to land use on the ORR.

He brought this perspective not just to the CAP, but also to CROET, the Oak Ridge Regional Planning Commission and numerous DOE hearings, meetings, and working groups.

Stan was a gentleman within the stakeholder community, and he will be sorely missed.

Hot Flashes

New CAP members

The CAP welcomes Kenny Cook and the Rev. Howard Box as its newest members.

Mr. Cook is a chemical operator for Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, recording secretary for the Atomic Trades and Labor Council, and financial secretary for the International Chemical Workers Union Local 252. He will be representing organized labor's concerns with respect to DOE issues.

The Rev. Box, a retired Unitarian Universalist minister and 20-year Oak Ridge resident, is supportive of environmental groups and has been directly involved in direct human needs issues. He is interested in the impact of scientific issues and developments on the common life.

Membership opportunities

There are several vacancies on the LOC Citizens Advisory Panel. We are looking for members who can devote at least four hours a month to DOE-related issues important to their community. Call Eleanor Cole at the LOC office (483-1333). LOC homepage

Alphabet Soup

(Initials and acronyms to make this newsletter and other DOE-related documents easier to read)

CAP = LOC Citizens Advisory Panel
CROET = Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee
DOE = U.S. Department of Energy
EQAB = Oak Ridge Environmental Quality Advisory Board
EUWG = End Use Working Group
LOC = Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee, Inc.
ORNL = Oak Ridge National Laboratory
ORR = Oak Ridge Reservation
RCERB = Roane County Environmental Review Board
SSAB = DOE Oak Ridge Reservation Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board
TDEC = Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation

Back to the top