wen elemmeee oe , 14 ' Much has been said, but too few words have been written about Certi- fication. With your concurrence, I wrote Jim Liverman on November 11, / 1977, proposing a format for Certification. I have not had a response to. that letter, but I am aware that it is under consideration by OES. I have not changed my view that the Certification provided by the Project Manager should be documentation of the condition in which each island is left, rather than a judgement as to whether that was the appropriate thing for the Defense Department to de. Any such judgement would necessarily contemplate the entire cleanup effort, rather than each individual island as a separate entity. Yet DNA insisted upon, and ERDA agreed to, an "“island—by-island" Certification (see LivermanShedd MOU of September 1975). Someone at some level in one of our departments must have the authority to make the day-to-day cléanup decisions. In my view, that is clearly the Task Group Conmmander. 'The DOE Project Staff is a part of his Task Grouo and is committed to assisting the Commander with advice and technical support. We have devoted a great deal of energy over the past few years to heloing DNA to interpret the AEC guidance for cleanup. If a judgement is now to be made as to whether DNA has adequately followed the guidance, I believe that that judgement should come from some independent appraiser or from the authors of the guidance themselves. Permit me one final point. Be assured that neither I nor any of my deputies will hesitate to argue with the Task Group Commander if we have views that are at variance with his. Nor will we hesitate to notify you of differences which we cannot resolve. But until otherwise instructed and empowered, I intend that our project role continue to be support. Soerboy . Roger RS, eject en anager fist Cr cae CFI = .Fnewetak Radiological Support Project