STATE
OF WASHINGTON
EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM
Approved by the
Federal Communications Commission, March
3, 1997
September 9, 2009
Present: Andrew Kinney - Thurston Co Emerg Mgmt; Doug Dahl - Whatcom Co Emerg Mgmt; Phil Johnson - Central Puget Sound LECC Chair; Don Miller - Wash State Emerg Mgmt Division; Dick Pust - KGY Radio Olympia; Mark Allen - Wash State Assn of Broadcasters; Ted Buehner - National Weather Service - Seattle/Tacoma
Via Phone: Kris McGowen – FCC; Ruth Brownstein - KAOS Radio Olympia; Kevin Noyes - Skagit Co Emerg Mgmt; Don Eckis - WSU Pullman; Don White - KCPQ-TV Seattle; Pascel Schuback - King Co Emerg Mgmt; Arthur Willets - KWDK-TV Tacoma; Clay Freinwald – Entercom
The meeting was called to order and introductions made. Minutes from the previous meeting were reviewed and approved. Don Miller conducted the meeting until Clay was able to join the group via the conference call.
Vandals recently toppled two of KRKO Radio Everett transmitter towers during the wee hours one night using on-site heavy construction equipment. The ELF claimed responsibility for the incident. Damage was estimated at over $2 million dollars. The station remained on the air using backup resources.
Clay Freinwald, Kris McGowen and Ted Buehner participated in a North Puget Sound Local Area EAS meeting on July 29 near Bellingham. About 20 area broadcast station managers and staff, county and local emergency management, and amateur radio representatives attended. The meeting’s focus was to revive the region's EAS program. Clay moderated the meeting. An assessment of the program's status was established, target goals were laid out, and elements to address at the next area LECC meeting were established. The next meeting was planned for mid Sept at the county admin building in Bellingham.
The question was raised whether the Wash St Emerg Mgmt EAS tests forwarded to the remailer were useful. The answer was a unanimous yes.
The question regarding who gets the SECC Cable Chair job and a solution for the West Clallam LECC remained unanswered at this point. Ted still has plans to visit the Forks radio stations later this year or perhaps early next year and can ask the new station manager in person about the LECC chair position then.
Regarding the Howard Hanson Dam / Green River potential flooding situation and where does EAS play a role, Ted addressed this question based on recent response and recovery planning meetings. The NWS will activate EAS for any 'major' flood category flood warnings including the Green River, per the current guidelines in the state EAS plan. The NWS will also activate EAS for any flash flood watches or warnings, most likely in a levee failure scenario. A flash flood watch would involve the potential of one or more levee failures reported by levee watchers. A flash flood warning would involve the imminent failure or actual failure of one or more levees. Local authorities would activate EAS for immediate evacuations in both the main stem river major flood situation as well as the levee failure scenario.
Mark Allen reported: The AMBER Alert National Symposium will be held in Tampa, FL October 27-29. Hewill be attending, but he didn't know whether anyone else from Washington state will be. The funding comes from the federal Dept. of Justice and they have scaled way back. The State Patrol AMBER Coordinator, Marty Knorr, has a conflict and cannot attend and DOJ is reluctant to let him send his second in command as a substitute. Also relating to AMBER Alert, the Washington AMBER Alert Advisory Committee that Allen chairs met yesterday (09/08/09) to work on the draft language for a revised Statewide AMBER Alert Plan and Statewide Endangered Missing Person Advisory Plan. With yesterday's revisions, we are ready to finalize it for the full committee and send it to the State Patrol Chief with the recommendation that the WSP adopt the two plans as sections of the WSP's Washington Administrative Code. That process could take until early 2010.
The National Emergency Alert System Summit VI, presented by the National Alliance of State Broadcasters Associations and the National Association of Broadcasters will take place on March 1, 2010 in Washington, D. C. Allen is on the planning committee and would like to hear ideas for topics, panels or speakers for the Summit. The planning committee will be holding a conference call next week.
Phil Johnson reported on the Aug 2nd Island Co failure to transmit the RMT. The county emergency management director will address the situation with the 911 center supervisor.
It was reported that an RMT transmitted by
Rivercom in Wenatchee was successfully received by area stations for
the first time in 18 months, after much work on the local system.
KAOS Radio Olympia reported they are not getting KGY Radio Olympia's RWTs. Dick Pust said he would look into it and coordinate with Ruth.
Roland could not attend this meeting, but reported that the 2010 RMT scheduled is planned to be posted on the WSAB EAS web site just after the December RMT airs. This plan will avoid any potential confusion about the posted RMT schedule between the 2009 edition and the coming year's version. The 2010 RMT will be compiled in the coming weeks and reviewed at the next SECC meeting. The Tri-Cities area requested obtaining the 2010 test schedule by Nov 1st and since it has its own local schedule, that goal can be met.
Kris reported that the new bureau chief is P Michelle Ellison. She also noted that there will be some October broadcast station visits.
The technical committee has lost some valuable members and help to participate in this committee was solicited.
The next SECC meeting date is planned for Thu Nov 12 beginning at 930 AM at Camp Murray. Agenda items can be forwarded to Clay Freinwald.
Submitted
Ted Buehner
NWS Seattle
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