incorporating hostile action drills into the rep program in illinois ken evans illinois emergency...
TRANSCRIPT
INCORPORATING HOSTILE ACTION DRILLS INTO THE REP PROGRAM IN ILLINOIS
Ken EvansIllinois Emergency Management Agency
Division of Nuclear Safety
Bureau of Nuclear Facility Safety
(REP Conference: April 21 2009
OVERVIEW:
State of Illinois conducts many exercises– Six nuclear plant sites in Illinois– Three exercises per year, plus three practice drills, for a total
of six drills a year– In 2007, 2008 and 2009, this increased with two tabletops and
two hostile action-based EP drills added
We can not and should not be required to do everything in every drill
March 2007-Quad Cities NPP conducts the first official Phase III Threat-Based tabletop in the nation
THE ROOM WAS CROWDED, ESPECIALLY WHEN EVERYONE WAS MOVING AROUND
HERE IS A TABLE WITH EVERYONE AT THE TABLE. THIS IS UNUSUAL BECAUSE NO INFORMATION IS EXCHANGED THIS WAY.
WE ALL LEARNED FROM SHARING THOUGHTS WITH THOSE NOT NORMALLY PRESENT AT THE TABLE
April 2007 – Quad Cities Threat-Based drill
LESSONS LEARNED: STATESUCCESS FACTORS (WHAT WE THINK WE DID RIGHT)
Treated the hostile action-based EP drill with the same effort as a REP Exercise
Communicated frequently with Exelon the special needs for a successful State demonstration
Build on past experience– Incorporated lessons learned from first drill into the second,
and then third drill and then the fourth and now working on the fifth (continue to enhance)
LESSONS LEARNED: WHAT WENT WRONG
Scheduling is harder than you think April 22, 2009 LaSalle Tabletop Here I am I was to be there
LESSONS LEARNED: FROM 2007 TO 2008
Rev 1 to NEI document allowed drills to flow normally in 2008
Shelter became our preferred protective action recommendation
We developed a “Stay in Place” message during the Byron Drill
In a hostile action drill the radiation threat can be secondary
The utility impediment clause was not used by the utility in the Braidwood and Dresden drill
The State of Illinois recommended shelter even though the utility recommended evacuation
LESSONS LEARNED: PROTECTIVE ACTION RECOMMENDATIONS
PAR LESSONS LEARNED CONTINUED
Many First Responders are trying to enter the EPZ as fast as possible
The public evacuating at the same time first responders are entering creates a problem
Stay in Place messages are not PARS since their main purpose is to keep the public off the roads
SOME PAR OBSERVATIONS
Hostile Action Drills can introduce additional risks to PAR decisions
REP Exercises have viewed evacuations as a no risk decision
We used stay in place messages not as a PAR but as a tool to increase response time
LESSONS LEARNED: COMMUNICATIONS
Adding an Incident Command Post (ICP) created a new challenge for communications
At the first drill there was not a utility representative
At the second drill we added a utility representative to the ICP
There are now two representatives one from security and one from operations
COMMUNICATIONS LESSONS LEARNED CONTINUED
Timing is everything in communications. The first source fills a vacuum
One example was the ICP started to communicate the utility’s evacuation PAR and did not receive the State’s shelter PAR until later
In another our REAC facility heard of an attack on the station from our Terrorism center before we received a call from the station
COMMUNICATIONS CONTINUED
Hostile Action Drills present more communications challenges because more organizations participate than in a normal REP Exercise
It is important that communication channels be formally defined
In Illinois the use of the StarCom radio system has solved some of these problems
NIMS AND STANDARD DRILLS
After running several Hostile Action Drills it is obvious that one size does not fit all
NIMS purpose was to standardize the response
The NRC is currently considering requiring licensees to adopt NIMS
NIMS may have standardized terminology but you can never standardize personalities
PLANNING FOR A HOSTILE ACTION DRILL
Today as we plan for the LaSalle drill we use many of the same tools we would for a REP Exercise
The big difference is that the Tabletop is part of the planning process
The tabletop is more important than the Dress Rehearsal has been for the Exercise because you have organizations that normally do not participate in a REP Exercise
DEFINE THE SCOPE
In our first year of hostile action drills we were not sure who would participate
Timelines were vague at the start of the planning process
The end result was by not defining the scope at the start the expectations were not always met
Secure commitments early on so the scope can be established
OBJECTIVES IN HOSTILE ACTION DRILLS
At the State level we are not required to submit objectives as we do for a REP Exercise
In 2008 we started to do objectives Many of the standard REP objectives can and
are demonstrated during a Hostile Action Drill Objectives although not required are helpful to
evaluate the success of the drill
TIMELINE FOR A HOSTILE ACTION DRILL
Timelines are critical for a Hostile Action Drill Use of a timeline is the quickest way to
determine if participants will have adequate time to play and accomplish their objectives
One problem noted has been most timelines have not supported UAC participation
MESSAGES FOR A HOSTILE ACTION DRILL
The tabletop has proven to be a valuable tool for identifying agencies that may require special messages to drive their actions in a manner to support the drill
Our experience has been that Hostile Action Drills initially require more coordination to develop messages than a REP Exercise
MESSAGES CONTINUED
Use the tabletop to identify normal lines of communication
Messages take the place of information that would have been provided in a real event by an organization or individuals that are not able to participate in a drill
MESSAGES CONTINUED
The new FEMA REP Manual may add additional objectives
Messages may be needed to drive new objectives
In summary messages are your friends
GOING FORWARD
REP Exercises will benefit from the lessons learned from Hostile Action Drills
A Hostile Action Drill will become a REP Exercise
All REP Exercises share core objectives
GOING FORWARD CONTINUED
A Hostile Action Drill introduces additional functions beyond a typical REP Exercise
In the past REP Exercises may have included additional objectives associated with severe natural phenomena such as a tornado.
The response in the past may have been limited to core REP objectives
GOING FORWARD CONTINUED
Hostile Action Drills have expanded the scope of a REP Exercise
As we go forward we need to remember that not every Exercise requires everyone to play
Realistic Exercises like real events are limited to certain key responders.
This is why it may take an eight year cycle to exercise all agencies
GOING FORWARD CONTINUED
We need to be creative to maximize the use of the time allocated for a drill or exercise
One idea proposed in the current guidance is to delay responders 10 minutes for every hour of real response time
The goal is to make the response somewhat realistic but not exclude organizations because they would never show up before the drill ends
MORE OPTIONS
The good news is that REP Exercises will become less predictable now that there is more flexibility with objectives
Design exercises where the responders whether onsite or offsite have a chance to succeed
The bad news is more work
THE CHALLENGE
Everyone is already busy with required exercises and real events
We are expanding the universe of participants We can not expect everyone to play all the time Balance the eight year exercise cycle
END RESULT
More realistic and less predictable drills Vertical integration of federal state and local
responders Clearly defined lines of communication Partnerships established among the utility and
all response organizations
QUESTIONS?
Contact information:
Ken Evans
Illinois Emergency Management Agency
1035 Outer Park Drive
Springfield, IL 62704
(217) 558-6248