Seventeenth Annual Intergovernmental Meeting with the U.S. Department of Energy

November 14 – 16, 2018 | New Orleans, Louisiana

The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) hosted the 17th annual Intergovernmental Meeting. This meeting brought together the Department of Energy (DOE)’s Department of Environmental Management with stakeholders involved in cleanup of defense related nuclear waste, to discuss priorities and strategies for managing and storing defense nuclear waste and for remediation of production sites.

Participating intergovernmental groups included:

• Energy Communities Alliance (ECA)
• Environmental Council of the States (ECOS)
• National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG)
• National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL)
• National Governors Association (NGA)
• State and Tribal Government Working Group (STGWG)

 

Agenda

Wednesday November 14^th

Intergovernmental Groups Meet Separately

Optional Information Roundtable: Stakeholder perspectives on DOE’s Request for Public Comment on the Interpretation of High-Level Radioactive Waste

Thursday November 15^th

Welcome and Introduction

• Speakers:

• • Dan Lauf, Program Director, Environment, Energy and Transportation Division, National Governors Association Center for Best Practices on behalf of the Intergovernmental Groups
  • Brandt Petrasek, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM)
  • Doug Little, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Programs, U.S. Department of Energy
  • Tribal Invocation

Environmental Management Program Update

• Speaker
  • Anne White, Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management, U.S. Department of Energy
• Introduction:
  • Shelly Wilson, Permitting and Federal Facilities Liaison, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control

Environmental Management Priorities at the U.S. Department of Energy

• Speaker
  • Paul Dabbar, Undersecretary for Science, U.S. Department of Energy
• Introduction:
  • Ron Woody, County Executive, Roane County, Tennessee, Board Chair, ECA

Senior EM Leadership Panel Discussion with Site Managers

• Speakers:
  • Anne White, Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management, U.S. Department of Energy
  • Mark Gilbertson, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Associate Principle Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regulatory and Policy Affairs, DOE EM
  • Jeffrey Griffin, Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Field Operations, DOE EM
  • Paul Bosco, Associate Principle Deputy Assistant Secretary for Corporate Services, DOE EM
  • DOE EM Site Managers and Representatives:
  • Robert Boehlecke, Manager, Nevada Program
  • Michael Budney, Manager, Savannah River Site
  • Robert Edwards, Manager, Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office
  • Doug Hintze, Manager, Los Alamos Office of Environmental Management
  • John Jones, Director, Energy Technology Engineering Center
  • Jay Mullis, Manager, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management
  • Craig Rieman, Deputy Director, West Valley Demonstration Project
  • Doug Shoop, Manager, Richland Operations Office
  • Todd Shrader, Manager, Carlsbad Field Office
  • Brian Vance, Manager, Office of River Protection
  • Jack Zimmerman, Deputy Manager for the Idaho Cleanup Project, Idaho Operations Office

 

·         Moderator o   Pam Larsen, Executive Director, Hanford Communities

 

Roundtable Discussion: Perspectives from States, Local Governments, & Tribes

• Speakers:
  • Amy Fitzgerald, ECA
  • Greg Lovato, ECOS
  • Steve Stout, NAAG
  • Shelly Wilson, NGA FFTF
  • Representative John Ragan, NCSL NLWG
  • Debbie Duren, STGWG
  • Raymond Martinez, STGWG

• Moderator:
  • Ken Niles, Assistant Director, Oregon Department of Energy

Site Specific Breakout Session Orientation

• Speakers:

• • Bevin Buchheister, Senior Policy Analyst, National Governors Association Center for Best Practices on behalf of the Intergovernmental Groups
• Mayor Rebecca Casper, Idaho Falls, Idaho

Lunch Plenary: End State Contracting

• Speaker:
  • Angela Watmore, Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management, DOE EM
• Moderator:
  • Chris Grant, Assistant Attorney General, Illinois Attorney General’s Office

Breakout Sessions

Stem, Workforce Development, and Knowledge Transfer: Cultivating the Next Generation

• Introductory Remarks
  • Carmelo Melendez, Director of Legacy Management, U.S. Department of Energy

• Panelists:

• • Melody Bell, Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Resource Management, DOE-EM
  • Deb Bowen, Executive Director, Washington State STEM Education Foundation
  • Talia Martin, Director of Tribal/DOE-AIP, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Tribal Department of Energy
  • Rick McLeod, President/CEO, SRS Community Reuse Organization

• Jay Mullis, Manager, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, DOE EM

• Moderator:
  • Debbie Duren, Natural Resource Trustee Program Manager, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation

Friday November 16^th

High Level Waste Definition

• Speaker
  • Mark Senderling, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Waste and Materials Management, DOE EM
• Moderator
  • Paul Bembia, Director, West Valley Site Management, New York State Energy Research and Development

Waste Classification and Disposition

• Speakers
  • Kara Colton, Director of Nuclear Energy Programs, ECA
  • Andrew Fitz, Senior Counsel, Washington Attorney General Office
  • Alex Smith, Program Manager, Nuclear Waste Program Washington State Department of Ecology, NGA FFTF
  • Greg Lovato, Administrator, Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, ECOS
• Moderators
  • Paul Bembia, Director, West Valley Site Management, New York State Energy Research and Development

Congressional Budget, Appropriation, and Legislation Update

• Speaker
  • Adam DeMella, Professional Staff, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Energy and Water Development Subcommittee

• Moderator
  • Delegate Sally Jameson, Maryland General Assembly

Breakout Session Report Outs

• Moderator
  • Dan Lauf, Program Director, National Governors Association Center for Best Practices

Intergovernmental Groups – Next Steps and Joint Activities

• Speaker
  • Bevin Buchheister, Senior Policy Analyst, National Governors Association Center for Best Practices