NEA Mandates and Structures


Working Party on Management and Organisational Aspects of Decommissioning and Legacy Management (WPMO)

Chair(s): Simon BONIFACE, United Kingdom
Secretary:  Haimanot YILMA
(haimanot.yilma@oecd-nea.org)
Vice-Chair(s): Iiro AUTERINEN, Finland
Philippe DERYCKE, France
Emilio GARCIA NERI, Spain
Member(s):All NEA member countries*
Russia (Suspended*)
*Russian Federation suspended pursuant to a decision of the OECD Council.
Full participant(s): European Commission
Under the NEA Statute
Observer(s)(International Organisation): International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
By agreement
Date of creation:15 March 2021
End of mandate:14 March 2024

Mandate (Document reference):

  • Revised mandate of the Committee on Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations and Legacy Management approved under the written procedure on 11 January 2019 by the CDLM members [NEA/DLM(2018)3] and on 20 March 2019 by the Steering Committee members [NEA/NE(2019)8]
  • Summary Paper from the NEA Workshop on Defining Issues for the CDLM Programme of Work [NEA/DLM(2019)3]
  • Committee on Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations and Legacy Management Programme of Work 2020-2022 [NEA/DLM(2020)8/FINAL]
  • Summary Record of the First Meeting of the CDLM Task Group held on 29-30 April 2019 [NEA/DLM/M(2019)5/PROV]
  • Summary Record of the CDLM Bureau meeting held on 9 October 2019 [NEA/DLM/M(2019)7/FINAL]
  • Draft Summary Record of the Extraordinary CDLM Bureau Meeting held on 24 January 2020 [NEA/DLM/M(2020)2/FINAL]
  • The CDLM Matrix [NEA/DLM(2020)7/FINAL]
  • Draft Summary Record of the Extraordinary Bureau Meeting of the Committee on Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations and Legacy Management (CDLM) on 16 April 2020 [NEA/DLM/M(2020)3/FINAL]
  • Sub-Group Reporting to the Parent Committee [NEA/CDLM/RWMC(2019)2]
  • CDLM Structure Development Proposal [NEA/DLM(2020)9]
  • Draft Summary Record of the Second Plenary Meeting of the CDLM [NEA/DLM/M(2021)2/PROV, forthcoming]
  • Terms of Reference – Working Party on Management and Organisational Aspects of De-commissioning and Legacy Management (WPMO) [NEA/DLM(2020)11]
  • Mandate of the Working Party on Management and Organisational Aspects of Decommissioning and Legacy Management (WPMO) [NEA/DLM(2021)2/FINAL]

Mandate (Document extract):

Extract from document NEA/DLM(2021)2/FINAL

Background

In order to more effectively address the Nuclear Energy Agency’s (NEA) activities, the Committee on Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations and Legacy Management (CDLM) has agreed to create second level bodies focused on addressing concerns in the area of decommissioning of nuclear installations and management of legacy sites [NEA/DLM/M(2021)2/PROV, forthcoming]. The background for this proposal is described in the CDLM Structure Development Proposal [NEA/DLM(2020)9] and the Terms of Reference – Working Party on Management and Organisational Aspects of De-commissioning and Legacy Management (WPMO) [NEA/DLM(2020)11].

Based on the recommendations of CDLM bureau, this mandate has been drafted by the Secretariat, and further reviewed by the CDLM Bureau followed by a review by the CDLM through a written process in November 2020.

Scope

The WPMO will address management and organisational issues for decommissioning of nuclear installations and legacy management projects as a level-two NEA body. To address the broad scope of cross-cutting issues the working party will incorporate areas such as programme and project management, cost, scheduling and funding issues, supply chain considerations, societal impact, communication, people and organisational structures and development (including change management), knowledge management and record keeping, education and training of staff.

Mandate

In order to progress work on the further development of approaches on management and organisational aspects, the CDLM has determined to establish the Working Party on Management and Organisational Aspects of Decommissioning and Legacy Management (WPMO) to:

i. foster exchange of information and experience between its members on issues concerned with management and organisational aspects with a view to promoting collective learning and to enhance the credibility, reliability, and auditability of both decommissioning and legacy management and thus to enhance stakeholder confidence in the process involved;

ii. describe good practices in the field of management and organisational aspects for decommissioning and legacy management projects, including understanding and communication of associated risks; and planning for uncertainties, with an overall aim to assist member organisations to develop robust and efficient project management processes, and examine the scope for achieving consensus on overall objectives and for developing common approaches;

iii. advise the CDLM on major and emerging issues in the area of management and organisational aspects for decommissioning and legacy management projects, and provide appraisals of the state-of-the-art with a view to consolidating knowledge and making it transferable to a variety of different audiences.

Working methods

The mode of operation of the WPMO is based upon plenary meetings (once year and more, as needed, upon decision of the working party and taking into account the Secretariat’s resources) and an ongoing, project-oriented, programme of work.

The Bureau of the WPMO (elected from members of WPMO) co-ordinates and facilitates the work of the working party. The Bureau would preferably meet twice a year, with one meeting normally held in conjunction with the annual plenary meeting.

The communication within the WPMO primarily takes place through plenary meetings. The plenary meeting will be devoted to:

  • exchange information on recent developments in the member countries;
  • in-depth discussions of current developments and of topical issues, where specialists from outside the WPMO may also be invited;
  • the identification of main lessons to be reported to the CDLM, including organising topical sessions at the WPMO plenary meetings; and
  • the discussion and co-ordination of the working programme.

The WPMO reports to the Committee on Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations and Legacy Management (CDLM). At the end of the mandate period, according to the procedures described in document [NEA/CDLM/RWMC(2019)2] entitled Sub-Group Reporting to the Parent Committee, the WPMO will deliver to the CDLM at its plenary meeting a report at the end of the mandate, which will include  achievements for the whole period and, in case of mandate extension proposals on further development and justification for the mandate extension.

Additionally, the WPMO: (i) identifies resources and schedules its activities; (ii) forms ad hoc bodies to work on specific projects and to organise workshops, as appropriate; (iii) creates third-level expert groups for more task oriented work in consultation with the CDLM; and (iv) annually review the programme of work of the WPMO and the effectiveness of the programme.

Membership

The WPMO is a discipline-oriented body. It aims for a composition, which includes a diverse range of senior specialists who have considerable experience and knowledge in the area of management and organisational aspects in decommissioning and legacy management. This representation will be wide-ranging, and includes policy-makers, regulators, implementers and specialists in decommissioning and legacy management. 

Interactions

The primary interaction of the WPMO will be with the CDLM and the Working Party on Technical, Environmental and Safety Aspects of Decommissioning and Legacy Management (WPTES) to co-ordinate its work to support a holistic approach to decommissioning and legacy management.

The work of the WPMO on management and organisational aspects is complementary to the activities of other international organisations, thus using or taking into account the outcomes of activities of the IAEA and the European Commission as well as other relevant organisations. When appropriate, the WPMO can provide input relevant to the activities of these organisations and institutions.

In fulfilling its mandate, the WPMO will be primarily supported by the staff of the NEA Division of Radioactive Waste Management and Decommissioning (RWMD). Through the CDLM and Secretariat, the WPMO will co-operate with the subsidiary bodies of other NEA standing technical committees when relevant, in particular those of the Radioactive Waste Management Committee (RWMC) and the Committee for Technical and Economic Studies on Nuclear Energy Development and the Fuel Cycle (NDC).

The Expert Group on Costing for Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations and Legacy Management (EGCDL) created in June 2020 under the CDLM will be assigned to the WPMO. The mandate of EGCDL [NEA/DLM(2020)5/FINAL] has also been updated to reflect this new structure in their revised EGCDL mandate [NEA/DLM(2021)4].

Deliverables

The working party will produce appropriate reports, presentations or workshops with the support of the Secretariat.