LOC is resurrecting its dormant newsletter Insights, with the goal of producing quarterly issues to keep members and friends up to date on our activities. Indeed, there have been too many changes since our last issue to talk about them all. We have lost several former members of the CAP and Board and have gained some new ones. Office staff has changed. The LOC has also moved to the historic Midtown Community Center at the corner of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Robertsville Road. These changes are noted in more detail in the Hot Flashes column.

The Environmental Management (EM) program here in Oak Ridge is facing some big changes as well. Assistant Manager Rod Nelson retired late in 2001 to enjoy some well-earned relaxation. His replacement is Gerald Boyd, who moved to Oak Ridge from DOE Headquarters where he served as head of EM's Science and Technology program.

Mr. Boyd faces multiple challenges-he must not only take over a complex cleanup program, but he is to reorganize the local EM program to address the findings of the newly released "Top-to-Bottom Review" conducted by Jessie Roberson, DOE's new Assistant Secretary for EM. Under the new paradigm, sites competed for a portion of $1.1 billion set aside in the fiscal year 2003 budget for accelerated remediation activities. The resulting Performance Management Plan (PMP) for Oak Ridge proposes a complete reevaluation of the cleanup program's goals.

Ms. Roberson has requested the participation and concurrence of contractors, state and federal regulators, local governments, and stakeholders in crafting a plan to address the highest risk sites and make remediations more efficient. In response to her original call for input, the LOC Board endorsed 18 suggestions crafted by the Citizens' Advisory Panel to improve efficiency and control costs in the EM Program. After the draft PMP was released, the CAP submitted detailed comments on the proposed reorientation of remediation priorities.

LOC members are eager to see cleanup activities go into high gear on the Oak Ridge Reservation. Realignment of priorities may require that some popular-but low-risk-activities be postponed for the near term in order to demonstrate Oak Ridge's commitment to becoming more efficient in use of its resources. Early and open communication between all interested parties will be the key to achieving popular concurrence with DOE's new objectives.

Susan Gawarecki is Executive Director of the LOC.

More changes ...

By Susan Gawarecki

Oak Ridge Operations (ORO) is in the throes of change. Manager Leah Dever left Oak Ridge at the end of March and has been replaced on an interim basis by Michael Holland, Manager of Brookhaven (New York) National Laboratory. Mr. Holland's primary mission is to recommend and implement a major reorganization of ORO, based on the President's Management Agenda. The result is detailed in "Oak Ridge Operations Alternative Management Model Initiative Report" (June 2002).

ORO is to be deconstructed. Paducah and Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plants will report to a manager located in Kentucky. Each of the three major programs on the reservation will report directly to their respective sponsors at DOE Headquarters. Rather than an overall ORO manager, now there will be an Executive Council of managers from each program to address cross-cutting issues on the Reservation. This reorganization includes creation of a fourth major office designed to provide a variety of services to the different programs. This "service center" will be called the Office of Operations Support.

The LOC has evaluated the proposed reorganization of DOE's structure in Oak Ridge. While we have expressed our continuing support for the DOE missions in Oak Ridge, especially that of the Environmental Management office, we do have serious concerns about how effectively a multiple program site can be managed without any individual having overarching responsibility for Reservation affairs. It will be a great challenge for local governments and stakeholders to effectively interface with several different organizations, none of which is bound by reservation-wide policies. Furthermore, this reorganization moves DOE back to the Bad Old Days when "stove-piping" of the different offices caused duplications of effort, inhibited communications over issues of mutual concern, and contributed to poor waste-management decisions.

Perhaps the most problematic part of the reorganization is that DOE headquarters will have significantly more influence over decisions and activities at the site level. In the past, headquarters' interference-based largely on political motivations-has contributed to delays, false starts, changes of direction, and abandonment of effective efforts, especially in the EM program. The proposed reorganization seems to be primarily an effort for the current administration to leave its mark on the agency, an exercise the community must endure every four to eight years. If there is any increase in efficiency, cost-effectiveness or performance, it will be in spite of the changes, not because of them.

CAP Comments on Decisions

Following are excerpts from comments by the LOC's Citizens' Advisory Panel on two recent DOE documents.

Oak Ridge Performance Management Plan (Revision 3)

Under the accelerated cleanup plan, a major challenge will be involving the stakeholders in a meaningful way in commenting on decision documents and post-ROD documents. The CAP suggests that all documents be posted on Oak Ridge Operations' Web site as soon as they are released for regulatory review. Allowing Web-based feedback, as was done for this PMP, would expedite review time and enable input from stakeholders. Special considerations will be needed for local government input, due to the time needed for an environmental review board to consider comments and then recommend them to the city council or county commission for approval. ORO should propose and implement a local government participation plan in order to assure that elected officials and city or county staffs are kept informed of pending decisions that affect their communities. (July 5, 2002)

Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Transfer of Facilities and Equipment to the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) Centrifuge Research and Development Project at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP)

The major concern regarding this undertaking is not its effect on the local environment; rather, it is how the accelerated clean-up at ETTP will affect USEC's planned activities. The EA does not examine how these buildings can continue to be used and the workers kept safe in the presence of large-scale decontamination and decommissioning (D&D), including vibration, noise, dust (including radioactive or hazardous-materials dusts), heavy equipment, and potential disruption of utilities.

Once USEC is finished with its lease-possibly after the cleanup of the rest of the site is complete-the question arises as to who will be financially responsible for D&D of the remaining facilities. If DOE, then there will be a considerable increased cost in having to hire another contractor, reopen the CERCLA disposal cell (or ship offsite) and ensure sufficient Environmental Management funding to complete the job. If USEC will have responsibility for the D∓D, then the community will want financial assurance that they will be able to follow through on their commitment. (Sept. 4, 2002).

Did you know?

... that releases from the Oak Ridge Reservation have contributed only 25% of the PCBs found in the Clinch River arm of Watts Bar Reservoir. The present PCB contamination came from a wide variety of industrial sources.

... that the level of mercury in the Lower East Fork Poplar Creek has been reduced by a factor of more than 5000 and continues to decrease.

... that under federal law, the United States government is forever responsible for contamination on the Oak Ridge Reservation, even if the land passes into private ownership.

Hot Flashes

New Administrative Assistant

We welcome Joyce Cardwell to the LOC staff. Since stepping into work her first day November 13, 2001, Joyce seems to be thriving on minutes, agendas, action items, newsletters, Web pages, and the like. Joyce gets credit for the colorful flower garden that has graced the LOC's front door.

New LOC Board Members

The LOC welcomes its newest Board members and alternates. David Bradshaw is the new Oak Ridge Mayor; he has named Councilman Leonard Abbatiello as his alternate on the LOC Board. New county executives are Ken Jones for Meigs County, Mike Ragsdale for Knox County, and Billy Ray Patton for Rhea County. The new Anderson County alternate is Keith Grayson, and the new Rhea County alternate is Jerry Morgan.

New (and old) CAP Members

The newest members of the LOC CAP are: Luther Gibson, Helen Terry, and Jo Ann Thompson. Their contributions to the CAP will, without a doubt, be of the utmost caliber and importance. A recent bylaws change will also allow long-time CAP members to serve beyond the previous three-term limit.

Move Complete

The Local Oversight Committee has completed its relocation to the historic Midtown Community Center at 102 Robertsville Road, Suite B (at the corner of Robertsville Road and Oak Ridge Turnpike across from the Civic Center walking trail). We especially appreciate the donation of the carpeting in the office by Creative Carpet and Tile, 100-C, North Lincoln and the installation of the same by Len Hart. Watch for our new sign on the turnpike this fall.

Alphabet Soup

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

CAP = LOC Citizens' Advisory Panel
CAP = LOC Citizens' Advisory Panel
CERCLA = Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980
D&D = Decontamination and Decommissioning
DOE = U.S. Department of Energy
EA = Environmental Assessment
EM = Environmental Management
ETTP = East Tennessee Technology Park (formerly the K-25 Site)
LOC = Oak Ridge reservation Local Oversight Committee, Inc.
ORO = DOE Oak Ridge Operations
PCBs = polychlorinated biphenyls
PMP = Performance Management Plan
ROD = Record of Decision
TDEC = Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
USEC = United States Enrichment Corporation