DOE advisory board to meet in North Las Vegas

Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2000 | 10:50 a.m.

Energy Secretary Bill Richardson is expected to introduce three new members of his advisory board during a meeting in North Las Vegas on Friday.

The Secretary of Energy's Advisory Board is the highest-ranking external advisory board in the Department of Energy and will be meeting at the Nevada Operations Office in North Las Vegas for the first time.

The board was chartered in 1990 to offer the secretary timely, balanced and independent advice. The North Las Vegas meeting will run 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the DOE's office, 232 Energy Way.

The public is welcome. The board will accept public comment at the meeting or in writing.

Nevada plays a major role in DOE activities. The DOE operates the Nevada Test Site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, where the United States experimented with nuclear weapons from 1951 until 1992. The Test Site remains ready to resume full-scale nuclear weapons experiments if a moratorium is ever lifted.

In addition, Yucca Mountain, a site 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas owned by the U.S. Air Force and the Bureau of Land Management, is under study by the DOE as the only site in the nation where 77,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste would be buried.

Former Gov. Bob Miller said he was invited to join the board about a year ago.

"Whenever something comes up that is important to Nevada, I chime in," he said. Miller said he plans to attend Friday's meeting.

The board reports directly to the energy secretary with independent advice and recommendations on national issues such as nuclear weapons and nuclear energy.

New members expected to attend include:

Board members serve two-year terms.

In addition, the board has scheduled reports on racial profiling, laboratory operations, laboratory research and development.

Richardson announced a new $100 million initiative with Russia to secure its weapons-grade plutonium and other radioactive wastes. A report from the DOE's Russia task force is also expected.