PROGRAMS TO ENCOURAGE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AT DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY SITES

U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Congressional, Public and Intergovernmental Affairs
Media Contacts: Jayne Brady and Jeff Sherwood
(202) 586-5806

U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Environmental Management
Program Contact: James D. Werner
(202) 586-9280

The Department of Energy is committed to improving communications with the public and to actively encouraging public input into decisions. Initiatives have included educational tours and lectures, the formation of Citizens Advisory Boards, public meetings, information fairs, local media tours and briefings, and the formation of Outreach Programs. All initiatives are tailored to needs expressed by the local and general publics. Together with improved accessibility to information, the programs are designed to foster good relations with the Department's neighbors and to provide them with the opportunity to participate actively in the consideration of means to address current issues and concerns.

SPECIFICALLY

Each of the Department's sites has tailored its programs to the needs of its particular neighbors, its mission, and the resources available. This Fact Sheet contains specific information on the programs at four sites.

• Savannah River Site.
  • Educational tours and lectures allow the public to learn about scientific and technical advances applied to Savannah River Site missions.
  • The Savannah River Site's Citizens Advisory Board, formed in February 1994, provides informed and timely recommendations about environmental remediation, waste management, and related issues.
  • Over 100 public meetings have been held on topics such as environmental cleanup and restoration, operational concerns, site use initiatives, search for human experimentation records, and future missions.
  • The technical library at the Savannah River Technology Center has been open since January 1994 for public use. Escorts assist visitors and describe the resources available.
  • An Office of Community Outreach was established to seek community and business input for future missions.
  • Domestic and foreign visitors have been granted access to Savannah River Site facilities, such as reactors and processing canyons, that never before have been opened for tours.
• The Pantex Plant.
  • In July 1993, the Secretary approved the makeup and membership of the Citizens Advisory Board, which consists of 20 local citizens. Representatives of the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the State of Texas serve as exofficio members. The Board's scope includes environmental, safety, and health issues from past, present, and future program options.
  • The plant hosts monthly and quarterly public meetings to address items of interest or concern in the community, to update plant activities, and to provide opportunities for citizens to communicate with plant management.
  • The plant initiated an annual information fair with exhibits that highlight activities, information, and equipment in such areas as environmental restoration activities, educational outreach programs, and weapons dismantlement.
  • The plant opened its facilities and conducts weekly tours in unclassified areas and semiannual media tours for representatives of local, national, and international news media.
  • The plant reading rooms are currently working to make all information available on electronic media.
• Los Alamos National Laboratory.
  • The laboratory issued a Public Participation Policy in July 1994, outlining the intent to "develop a more open and participatory culture" by ensuring that stakeholders receive "appropriate information on existing and planned facilities, programs and technologies" and on opportunities for meaningful involvement.
  • The laboratory supported "Our Common Ground," an employee initiated group that involved stakeholders in a study related to a proposed major expansion of the Area G low-level radioactive waste disposal area. The study recommended that proposed expansion be sizably reduced and that a vigorous waste minimization program be implemented. The laboratory adopted the recommendations.
  • The laboratory is considering how best to treat its industrial and radioactive liquid waste now that the existing facility has exceeded its design life. The staff of the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility Project welcomed public involvement at the project's outset.
  • A proposed seismic tomography experiment in the Jemez Mountains was initially opposed by neighboring tribes. After dialogue between the Los Alamos National Laboratory and tribal representatives, the experimental method was changed without compromising its scientific objectives, and the tribes actively participated in the experiments's design and implementation.
  • The laboratory established an Outreach Center in Taos to provide public access to laboratory information. As a result, the laboratory is able to anticipate and respond more readily to the concern of northern New Mexico residents.
  • Jointly signed tribal cooperative agreements have produced dramatic improvements in laboratory-pueblo relations. Accomplishments include formation of an Environmental Quality Working Group with tribal, laboratory, and Department of Energy representation; implementation of a sampling plan for tritium in groundwater near San Ildefonso, Cochiti, Santa Clara, and Jemez pueblos; and discussions with pueblo officials about cooperative agreements, air and ground water monitoring, emergency response procedures, and rights-of-way.
  • The laboratory established a community Home Page on the World Wide Web to provide outreach and public access to information. During a 5-month period in early 1995, the community Home Page files were accessed 18,305 times.
• Sandia National Laboratories.
  • The Citizens Advisory Board for the Sandia National Laboratories has held four meetings to date. The Board has 30 members who represent a cross section of the Albuquerque metropolitan community. The board has reviewed future land use for Department of Energy property and a proposal to treat and dispose of environmental cleanup wastes on site.
  • Environmental Restoration Public Participation meetings have been held quarterly by Sandia for the last 2 years. The meetings have focused on such issues as: voluntary corrective measures at Sandia's environmental restoration sites and the Sandia Site Treatment Plan; declassification of documents; the radioactive content of waste water discharged to the Albuquerque sewer system; and the proposed production of medical isotopes at Sandia.
  • Sandia has supported many National Environmental Policy Act public participation activities. A Department of Energy proposal to make medical isotopes at Sandia resulted in nine public meetings on the Environmental Assessment of the proposal from November 1994 to March 1995. Other National Environmental Policy Act public meetings have focused on the Stockpile Stewardship and Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement.
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
  • Established the Environmental Communications Coordinator who serves as the laboratory's primary contact with the public, the University, the Department of Energy, Regulatory Agencies, professional associations and societies on public information, and public involvement and public participation relating to environmental, safety and health issues.
  • A community work group for main site restoration was created by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to obtain comments from the local community through the investigation, research and design phases of the superfund cleanup process.
  • A community review panel for Site 300 restoration was created to obtain community comments and concerns on public information concerning this superfund cleanup. Operates in concert with a communications process that assures site employees and neighbors are informed early and regularly.
  • An environmental community newsletter shares news of primarily environmental activities with employees and interested community members on a quarterly schedule.
  • Environmental tours offer a 4-hour guided presentation of the broad range of environmental related activities onsite, ranging from energy research to groundwater restoration. They are usually conducted once a month.
  • Currently host twice a month regularly scheduled small group tours including environmental, safety and health issues as part of a site overview.
  • Videos, multimedia, posters, publications, and displays at the Visitors Center inform visitors to the center about environmental, safety and health activities.
  • An onsite reading room is available with complete site documents and executive summaries of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory activities.

BENEFITS

• The sites have built trust and credibility with the public by encouraging an open environment for communication and participation.
• The Department's openness, including the many public participation activities and initiatives, have strengthened the dialogue among the Department of Energy, the public and regulatory officials and have helped all parties better to understand and respond to diverse ideas, attitudes, and concerns.
• Concerned citizens, environmentalists, and special interest groups can now tour many facilities and receive information on site activities, issues, and concerns.
• Citizens have access to management personnel through public involvement initiatives.

WHO ARE THE KEY STAKEHOLDERS?

• The Public. The public has increased opportunities to visit and learn about site activities and is encouraged to participate in the Department of Energy decision making process.
• Public Interest Organizations, Local Government Organizations, Educational Institutions, Environmental Specialists, Researchers, and Scientists. Individuals and organizations benefit from having greater access to and information about activities at Department of Energy sites.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q. Is public participation in the Department of Energy decision making process the rule or the exception?

A. It is the rule. Sites proactively seek diverse stakeholder participation early in the decision making process. The building of trust and credibility are based on professional competence, honesty and openness, and responsiveness to public concerns.

Q. How can you participate in public meetings about a particular site if you live outside the immediate area?

A. Public meetings are sometimes held in locations other than the immediate site area. Information on public meetings can be obtained from local or Headquarters Public Affairs Offices, and details are usually provided in press releases or announcements on the Department of Energy Home Page on the Internet World Wide Web.

Q. How can one find out about upcoming activities at various sites?

A. Activity schedules are usually publicized locally and may also be obtained by calling a Department Public Affairs Office or going to the Department of Energy Home Page on the Internet World Wide Web.

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