roane county emergency services testimony
TRANSCRIPT
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8/14/2019 Roane County Emergency Services Testimony
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ROANE COUNTY
OFFICE OF
EMERGENCY
SERVICES
200EastRaceStSuite18
POBox1196
Kingston,TN37763
Office(865)7174115
Fax(865)7170615
ResponseSynopsis:At0040onDecember22
nd,2008theRoaneCountyEmergencyCommunicationCenterreceivedthefirst
911callreportingalargemudslidethathadcollapsedhousesandtrappedoccupants.Various
emergencyagenciesincludingtheRoaneCountyofficeofEmergencyServicesweredispatchedtothe
location.RoaneCountySheriffsOfficeunits,whileenrouteencounteredalargewallofearth
obstructingSwanPondRoadadjacenttothenorthentrancetotheKingstonFossilPlant.TheSheriffs
Officeunitsadvisedallrespondingunitsthattherehadappearedtohavebeenafailureoftheashpond
dikethatrunsparalleltoSwanPondRoadandthatallotherrespondingunitsshouldusethealternate
entranceofSwanPondCircle.Firstarrivingemergencyrespondersarrivedinthe100blockofSwan
PondCircleRoad;theretheroadbecameimpassableduetodebrisfromtheashslide.Emergency
respondersarrivednearthefirsteffectedresidentialstructureat0106.Anincidentcommandpostwas
establishednear175SwanPondCircleRoad.InitialrescuecrewsweresenttotheScheanresidence
whereoneadultmalewasfoundextricatinghimselffromapartiallycollapsedhome.Mr.Scheanwas
notinjuredanddidnotrequestEMStreatment.TheinitialsceneassessmentrevealedSwanPond,Swan
PondCircle,andtherailwayintoTVAKingstonFossilPlantwereimpassableduetodebris.Notification
toNorfolkSoutherndispatchadvisingthemofthesituationwasmadeat0217.Emergencyresponse
crewsbeganadoortodoorsearchofallresidentialstructuresinthearea.Homesalongthelakeshore
wereevacuatedduetofearsofsecondaryslideandthepotentialofrupturedgaslinesinthearea.One
additionalhomethathadsustaineddamagewasfoundtobeoccupied.Oneadultfemale;Mrs.James
wastakentoanearbyneighborshome.At0349theRoaneCountyEmergencyOperationsCenterwas
activatedaswellasashelteratRoaneStateCommunityCollegewasopenedforevacuees.Roane
Countyutilizeditsemergencynotificationsystemtocontactallresidentsintheaffectedareatoinform
themoftheeventat0352.TheRoaneCountyBasicEmergencyOperationsPlanwasactivatedbringon
lineallemergencyassetsofRoaneCounty.MyselfandCountyExecutiveMikeFarmerestablished
contactwithTVAattheKingstonFossilPlantatapproximately0445am.TVApersonneladvisedusthat
theywereintheprocessofassessingtheashpondandmobilizingtheemergencyresourcesatthattime.
Afinalsearchoftheareawascompletedat456amandallemergencypersonnelwereorderedoutof
theareaandtostageatSwanPondandSwanPondCircleat0625.At0636theRoaneCountyEmergency
CommunicationCenterreceiveda911callfromNorfolkSouthernRailroadstatingthattheirtrain
headingtotheKingstonFossilPlanthadderailed.UponourarrivalwithTVAPoliceatSwanPondRoad
andSwanPondCirclecommunicationswasestablishedwithaNorfolkSouthernrepresentativethat
advisedustherewerenoinjuriesandthatthetrainhadimpactedtheslidearearesultinginan
emergencystopfromthetraincrew.Thetrainhadnotderailedandwasstuckinthedebris.After
returningallemergencyunitstoservicefollowingtheresponsetothe911callconcerningthetrainall
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8/14/2019 Roane County Emergency Services Testimony
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8/14/2019 Roane County Emergency Services Testimony
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ROANE COUNTY
OFFICE OF
EMERGENCY
SERVICES
200EastRaceStSuite18
POBox1196
Kingston,TN37763
Office(865)7174115
Fax(865)7170615
Environmental:RoaneCountyrecognizedthatthiseventpresentedseveralcomplexenvironmentalissuesforthe
residentsofRoaneCounty.Werecognizedtheneedforbothlongandshorttermenvironmental
monitoringisperformed.RoaneCountydoesnothaveanenvironmentalmonitoringcapabilityatthe
levelneededforthisrecoveryoperation,thereforeRoaneCountymadearequestoftheStateof
Tennesseeforair,surfacewater,groundwater,andsoilsamplingtodetermineifanyenvironmental
effectsfromtheashspillexistnoworinthefuture.Manyunansweredquestionsaboutthe
environmentalimpactofthiseventstillexist.Itwilltakemanymonthsbeforeweareabletofully
characterize
this
event
as
it
pertains
to
its
impact
on
the
environment
and
health
of
the
area,
therefore
RoaneCountyhasrequestedfromtheStateofTennesseethataninteragencyoversightgroupconsisting
ofstateandlocalorganizationsbecreatedformonitoringtherecoveryefforts.
AfterActionReview:OnJanuary5th,2009anafteractionreviewofeventsfollowingtheresponsetothedikefailureatthe
TVAKingstonFossilPlantwasheldwithlocalemergencyresponseorganizations.Severalissueswere
identifiedthatneedaddressedascorrectiveactionsforfutureemergencypreparednessactivities.
ChallengeImmediatelyfollowingtheeventitwasdifficulttoformacohesiveUnifiedCommandwithTVAduetothefactTVAwasnotusingtheIncidentCommandSystemasdefinedbythe
NationalIncidentManagementSystem.
CorrectiveAction TVA,likeallfederal,state,andlocalagenciesshouldadopt,train,exercise,andconductemergencyresponseoperationsutilizingtheIncidentCommandSystemasdefined
bytheNationalIncidentManagementSystem
Challenge TheredoesnotexistfortheTVAFossilPowerDivisionthesamestringentemergencypreparednessandplanningprogramasdoesforTVAsnuclearandhydroelectricfacilities.
CorrectiveAction TVAshouldimplementsystemwidearigorousandcomprehensiveemergencypreparednessprogramthatincorporatesallaspectsofemergencymanagement:
preparedness, response,recovery,andhazardmitigation
Challenge AcomprehensivehazardanalysisandriskassessmenthadnotbeperformedattheTVAKingstonFossilPlant
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8/14/2019 Roane County Emergency Services Testimony
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ROANE COUNTY
OFFICE OF
EMERGENCY
SERVICES
200EastRaceStSuite18
POBox1196
Kingston,TN37763
Office(865)7174115
Fax(865)7170615
CorrectiveAction TVAshouldconductandmakeavailabletothelocalcommunityacomprehensivehazardanalysisandriskassessmentforallTVAownedandoperatedfacilities.
ClosingComments:TheeventofDecember22ndhaschangedthefaceofRoaneCounty.Icountitablessingthatliveswere
notlostandthatphysicalinjuriesweresustained.OnbehalfofRoaneCountyIwanttothankallthe
local,state,andfederalorganizationsthathavehelpedandwillcontinuetohelpusdealwiththisevent.
Iwant
to
thank
TVA
for
their
response
in
repairing
critical
county
infrastructure.
Iam
pleased
to
say
that
asoftodayIfeelthatTVAhasbroughtitsentirecadreofresourcestobearonthisevent.Many
challengesbothenvironmentalandeconomicexistnowandmanymorewillariseinthecomingdays
andmonths.Inclosing,IwanttosayasalifelongresidentofRoaneCountythatIhavefaithinthe
peopleofRoaneCountyandIknowthemtoberelentlesswhenfacedwithachallenge.Iknowthat
giventheopportunitytheywillrisetotheoccasionandcreatemanysolutionstothechallengesthatlie
ahead.
Respectfully,
WilliamHowardRoseJr.
Director
RoaneCountyOfficeofEmergencyServices
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8/14/2019 Roane County Emergency Services Testimony
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ROANE COUNTY
OFFICE OF
EMERGENCY
SERVICES
200EastRaceStSuite18
POBox1196
Kingston,TN37763
Office(865)7174115
Fax(865)7170615