AUGUSTA — Representatives from eight advisory boards that make recommendations to the Department of Energy met in Augusta on Wednesday to discuss communication strategies and the Department's budget outlook.
One of those boards is the Savannah River Site's Citizens Advisory Board, or CAB, which is a group within the larger Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board.
A significant portion of the meeting was spent having a roundtable discussion on exactly what role Energy Department advisory boards should play.
Ben Peterson, a site-specific board member from the Paducah Citizens Advisory Board in Kentucky, said the boards should have an ability to communicate concerns of the community to DOE.
His statement came after a comment that advisory boards should communicate issues with site managers.
"It's not my job to trust the site manager," Peterson said. "My job is to know what priorities are to the community and provide that input to DOE."
Harold Simon, the chairman of the SRS advisory board, said decision-making has to be concise and that CAB members should have the ability to express their own opinions.
"When you're substituting your opinion to influence a board, that can be problematic," Simon said.
Candice Trummell, director of external affairs for environmental management, agreed that advisory boards are there to represent various interests of the community and to provide recommendations to the Department.
"These advisory boards are ultimately one board to make recommendations to Environmental Management," Trummell said. "We're trying to find that balance to make sure boards are organized and working well."
Officials also discussed the budget outlook for the different Energy Department sites.
The outlook reflects a drop in funding for environmental management missions at SRS, but also shows a higher budget request for fiscal year 2016 totaling $1.34 billion. Other sites also have experienced budget issues - something mediator Eric Roberts said is expected when trying to satisfy the needs of the complex.
Those needs include: Recovery of transuranic waste disposal operations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant; construction of waste facilities at the Hanford Site; liquid waste processing and construction of facilities at SRS; and addressing infrastructure needs throughout the complex.
"I know we get caught up in the year-to-year for the budget, but, I think, if you look closely, we're moving in the right direction," Roberts said.
Day 2 of the meeting begins at 8 a.m. today.
Derrek Asberry is the SRS beat reporter for the Aiken Standard and has been with the paper since June 2013.