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As we watch the devastation from Hurricane Katrina unfold in the southern states, the concept of emergency planning is a very familiar one to many residents of Oswego County. The county, state, and our utility partners have been exercising our radiological emergency plans for more than 20 years.

Oswego County has the lead responsibility for off-site procedures to ensure that the health and safety of the public is protected during an emergency at Nine Mile Point

The county Emergency Management Office, under the direction of Patricia Egan, has responsibility for the county's emergency planning efforts, making sure that we are up-to-date on our training and written procedures. Egan coordinates a very large and dedicated team of agencies and volunteers.

A few weeks ago hundreds of county and state employees, volunteers, and utility workers spent a day testing their ability to protect the public during a radiological emergency. Every two years Oswego County conducts a full-scale exercise of its radiological plan that is evaluated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). On off years, we hold training sessions that are observed and evaluated by the State Emergency Management Office.

This year's drill involved a simulated emergency at Constellation Energy's Nine Mile Point II station. On-site and off-site plans were tested. Oswego County's command center, referred to as the Emergency Operations Center, is in the Emergency Management Office in the basement of the county office building in Fulton.

Ten FEMA observers spent the day at the EOC and at the Joint News Center at the County Airport, evaluating the decision-making process, and watching to see that we understood our responsibilities and emergency procedures. At the Joint News Center, FEMA monitored how the county, state and utility share information with the public and with the news media as the scenario unfolded. FEMA evaluated 120 components in all.

The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission conducted a similar scrutiny of Constellation's response procedures.

By the end of an intense day, we had demonstrated that we could recommend protective actions that were appropriate and that reflected changing conditions at the nuclear plant, communicate effectively through the news media, the Emergency Alert System and other means, rely on backup communications in case of power or phone outages, notify the schools and send children to a safe place until their parents could pick them up, and provide transportation to people who needed it during a simulated evacuation.

Even though all of the players know that the scenario is simulated, there is still a great sense of urgency in these exercises. I am very happy to report that in their initial evaluation, FEMA stated that the drill "went quite well."

Rebecca Thomson, chair of the radiological assistance committee at FEMA Region II, announced that the county is prepared if an emergency should occur at Nine Mile Point. FEMA's complete report is due in 90 days.

Several county agencies had a big role in making the exercise successful. Legislature Vice Chairman Greg Osetek and I worked at the county Emergency Operations Center in Fulton. Our job was to digest all of the changing information on the status of the plant, and decide what protective actions we should take. The sheriff's department conducted backup "route alerting" for residents nearNine Mile Point. We demonstrated that we have enough buses and trained drivers who could drive evacuation routes in the emergency planning zone.

The county sent out two radiological monitoring teams who demonstrated that they could correctly use their equipment, interpret the data, and relay it to the county dose assessment people at the EOC. Even WSYR Radio in Syracuse was involved, showing that they could simulate an activation of the county EAS System and transmit messages relayed from the Joint News Center. Hopefully, we will never be faced with the need to exercise them fully, but it is comforting to know that plans are in place and are practiced every year by a team of hundreds of well-trained and dedicated workers.

Emergency instructions for people who live in the 10-mile radius of Nine Mile Point are contained in the 2005 "Public Emergency Response Information Calendar," in the yellow pages of local phone books, and in posters placed at public locations. Those who would like more information on emergency planning may contact the Oswego County Emergency Management Office at 591-9150 or 1-800-962-2792, or visit the county Web site at www.oswegocounty.com/emo/planning.html