DOE National Long-Term Stewardship Working Group (LTSWG)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Long-Term Stewardship Working Group (LTSWG) is a cross-program team established by the DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM), Office of Legacy Management (LM), and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to address national and crosscutting site-level Long-Term Stewardship (LTS) activities and issues. DOE organizations have varying Long-Term Stewardship (LTS) responsibilities. While EM performs LTS at remediated locations within active EM cleanup sites, and NNSA performs LTS at remediated locations at active NNSA sites, LM performs LTS only at remediated sites that no longer have an active mission. The Working Group will collaborate on high-priority LTS topics of interest, align practices, share lessons learned, leverage contacts, and make recommendations to resolve issues. LTSWG will foster communication across DOE offices and with other federal agencies, states, tribes, stakeholders, and communities.

Mission

The mission of LTSWG is to develop tools and provide recommendations to DOE leadership to foster a collaborative, consistent approach to LTS planning and execution across the DOE enterprise. This is accomplished through information sharing regarding key programmatic elements, such as the status of LTS planning and implementation at individual DOE sites, best management practices, and lessons learned. Although LTSWG may provide recommendations, these recommendations are advisory only and decision-making regarding cleanup strategies and long-term institutional controls rests with the respective DOE offices and sites that hold the requisite authority. DOE sites will remain the primary points of contact with local stakeholders.

- Develop a consistent approach for LTS site transfer and stewardship that addresses best practices and lessons learned.
- Develop and recommend common approaches to information management with an initial focus on Geospatial Information System (GIS) data collection and platforms for sites transitioning to LTS, including best practices for sharing site-level cleanup information through GIS.
- Enhance communication related to LTS across DOE offices and programs.
- Site Transfer Committee: develop a consistent approach for LTS site transfer and stewardship by reviewing existing LTS documents and practices to identify best practices and lessons utilized by DOE program offices.
- Information Management/GIS Committee: develop and recommend common approaches to information management with an initial focus on Geospatial Information System (GIS) data collection and platforms for sites transitioning to LTS.
- Communications and Education Committee: Establish internal and external communication channels to share LTSWG activities, DOE best practices, community priorities, and other topics of interest.
- When do LTS activities begin and how long are LTS activities required?
  In general, LTS activities begin when cleanup objectives are met and long-term surveillance and maintenance is required. LTS activities are continued until applicable requirements are met.
- Why are LTS activities different at every site?
  The requirements for LTS are dependent upon the cleanup decision documents developed during the cleanup process, in accordance with the regulatory framework applicable to each site.
- Which organizations perform LTS?
  Multiple DOE organizations perform LTS:
  LM performs LTS at its sites.
  EM performs LTS at its sites for the portion(s) of the EM sites at which cleanup objectives have been met.
  NNSA performs LTS at its sites for the portion(s) of the NNSA site at which cleanup objectives have been met.
- For sites currently being cleaned up, when will they be transitioned to the Office of Legacy Management?
  The current schedule for the transition of sites to the Office of Legacy Management is provided in the LM Site Management Guide, available at: www.energy.gov/lm/articles/site-management-guide
This guide also provides information on the transition process of sites to LM.
- DOE LTSWG Charter
- DOE Long-Term Stewardship Resource Center