DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES

 

SAFETY BOARD
Washington. DC 20004-2901
June 30, 2017
FROM: Joyce Connery. Board Member
TO: Sean Sullivan. Acting Chairman
SUBJECT: Proposed Reform Plan"
CC: Board Members Roberson. Daniel Santos. Bruce Hamilton

General Counsel. James Biggins

The Agency ?Reform Plan" provided to the Board and select staff members on June 12. 2017
represents the view of the current Acting Chairman. Any representation that this action was
taken in collaboration with and support of this Board Member or through established procedures
is false.

Further. this document does not re?ect an effort to apprOpriately understand the mission of the
Agency and its value to the Department of Energy. the National Nuclear Security
Administration. Congress. and the stakeholder community.

I fundamentally disagree with the statement that the Board only provides value on the margins
and ?creates a myriad of unnecessary costs" to the Department. The provides a
necessary function to ensure that Defense Nuclear Facilities are being adequately overseen by
the Department of Energy and provides con?dence to Congress and stakeholder communities
these facilities are operating safely and that the Secretary of Energy is providing adequate
protection to the public. The Department has net incurred any costs as a result of
communications from the Board as the Board has no power to mandate actions be taken?the
Department must undertake its own cost/bene?t analysis and accept risk as it sees Congress
balanced the burden on the Department of Energy by creating the Board.

My views regarding the value placed on the Agency by external stakeholders were confirmed
during my tenure as the Chairman of the Board in my discussions with Department of Energy
and National Nuclear Security Agency of?cials. site of?ces. community interest groups, and
Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle in whose states and districts Defense Nuclear
Facilities are located.

The mere fact that the Acting Chairman of the Agency. who has been a Board Member since
2012, believes that the only reason that the Board should exist is to prevent ?political blowback"
is problematic and demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of the importance of

independent safety oversight.
05/9! Connery. Member