410104 ‘R sBaltelle December 21, 1978 Pacific North\vest Baiielle Boulevard Richland, \$”ashinglon Telephone Mr. Hal Iiollister Scientific Advisor Office of the Assistant Secretary for Environment Department of Energy 20545 ‘Washington, D.C. Telex . Laboratories 99352 (509) 32-6345 .. Dear Hal: This letter is in response to your request for suggestions on the management of the Northern Marshall Islands program following our discussion of the subject with Mrs. Clusen. As you remember from my letter of October 23, 1978, a major concern of the Northern Marshall Islands Advisory Group is the Iack.of a coordinated effort in the Marshall Islands. Me believe this fragmentation exists because there is no single DOE administrator with overall management responsibility and While the members of the Advisory Group are in agreement about authority. the nature of the problem, we might not all agree upon a solution. Therefore the following represents my own view. A major source of this fragmentation is the independent funding of projects in the marshall Islands by several divisions within the EV program and by the Nevada Operations Office. The information from these projects is generally (but not always) shared among the DOE organizational components. However, since the areas of interest and concern vary among these relatively independent projects, it is necessary to provide ongoing administrative guidance to integrate and focus their activities to the needs of the Marshall Island inhabitants and I be-iieve that guidance can be best achieved by mak~ng the the U.S. government. overall management responsibility and authority for the program independent of the Therefore, my first suggestion is that the current participating organizations. Marshall Islands program be directed fromthe Office of the Assistant Secretary. This will have the added value of correcting two weaknesses of the current effort. It will provide the high visibility needed to assure DNA and DOI that the Assistant Secretary for Environment recognizes the sensitivity and importance of the Marshall also. assure that. the Assistant Secretary’s authority is Islands issues. -Itwill behind the Marshall Islands program management. Concerning the.program management organization, I believe the Marshall Islands effort will be best served by forming a task group with a program manager as This task group should include persons from the EV Divisions who have chairman. responsibility for the various projects and persons from the Enewetak Radiological Support Project, which reports to the Nevada Operations Office. The task group The should report to the office of the Assistant Secretary for Environment. program manager would serve as the principal advisor to the Assistant Secretary on matters concerning the Marshall Islands and, at her discretion, would represent the Assistant Secretary in relationships with other DOE components and other It should not matter to whom the program manager reports governmental agencies. “ .