The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Region VII office announced Monday (today) the states of Nebraska and Iowa, along with Washington County in Nebraska and Pottawattamie and Harrison counties in Iowa, will participate with the Omaha Public Power District in a one-day exercise on Dec. 3rd, 2013, in support of the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station, located near Fort Calhoun, Neb.

The routine exercise will test the abilities of the states of Nebraska and Iowa, the utility, and the participating counties to protect the health and safety of the public living and working in the vicinity of the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station. The exercise is a biennial requirement to determine the adequacy of the state and local radiological emergency preparedness and response plans. It will require the activation of emergency facilities by the participating state and local officials.

The activities of the state, county and local units of government will be observed and evaluated by the FEMA Region VII Radiological Emergency Preparedness (REP) Program. Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station on-site performance will be observed and evaluated by officials from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

On Thursday, Dec. 5th a public meeting will be held to describe and explain the full-scale response exercise process. Since the process of evaluating the full-scale response exercise will take months, the preliminary findings are very limited in scope. Members of the public are invited to attend this meeting beginning at 11 a.m. in the City Council Chambers of Blair City Hall, located at 218 S. 16th St., Blair, Neb. Representatives from FEMA Region VII will chair the meeting and explain the exercise process. A representative from the NRC Region IV office, located in Arlington, Texas, will discuss activities conducted on-site at the power plant during the exercise.