On April 21, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced plans for the formation of a community advisory council to provide input directly to Laboratory management.
The community-based Council is meant to ensure that the ideas, interests, and concerns of the laboratory's neighboring communities are considered and addressed by the Laboratory in its decision-making processes.
The Council will provide advice to Brookhaven Science Associates, the management and operating contractor of the Laboratory, and create a new communication channel through which the Laboratory and DOE can listen and respond to the ideas and concerns of the community.
The Council is being established at the request of the community, following several DOE-sponsored discussions, studies, surveys and workshops conducted since mid-1997, as well as a recent survey conducted by a community-based Exploration Committee.
The Brookhaven Executive Round Table (BER), a forum for communication and integration of information and activities related to BNL, is assisting the Laboratory to formulate the draft Council Charter and identify diversified membership. Council membership will be discussed and decided upon by the BER at its May 26 meeting.
The BER consists of Laboratory regulators and representatives of other federal, state, and local government organizations as well as DOE and BNL management. The BER will develop a charter and identify Council membership within the broad range of community interests.
According to the draft charter, which will be finalized by the Council, the council's membership will include representatives from groups including civics , local government, business, education, environmental, activists, health, senior citizen, labor, emergency response, BNL users and employees.
For more information, contact Kathy Geiger at 344-3129.