Kewaunee County Emergency Management to conduct exercise

LUXEMBURG-CASCO – Kewaunee County, along with Manitowoc County and Wisconsin Emergency Management, will participate in a Plume Exposure Based emergency response exercise on Tuesday, June 10 with Point Beach Nuclear Plant. The exercise will be evaluated offsite by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Federal regulations require local and state government agencies, in whose jurisdiction a nuclear plant is located, to biennially demonstrate that they can protect the health and safety of people potentially at risk in a 10-mile radius of the plant.

Later in June, the Kewaunee County Reception Center portion of the exercise will be evaluated by FEMA. The Reception Center portion will be done out of sequence of the exercise.

This is where emergency personnel responding to the incident go to receive proper personal protective equipment (PPE) for response and where local populations evacuated from the emergency planning zone around the nuclear plant go to be monitored for any radiological contamination and to obtain further assistance they may need during their relocation.

The reception center for Kewaunee County is the Luxemburg-Casco Intermediate School.

According to Kewaunee County Emergency Management Director Tracy Nollenberg, more than 80 employees and volunteers will participate in this year’s exercise. Similar staff operations will occur simultaneously in Manitowoc County by emergency management officials, as well as in Madison, where state government response is coordinated.

“It is highly unlikely we will ever have to implement the complex procedures in Kewaunee County’s Emergency Operations Plan for a nuclear plant incident,” said Nollenberg. “However, practicing the principles for our response to a nuclear plant accident pays dividends in our overall emergency preparedness for all hazards.”

During this exercise, the general public may see emergency teams out and about. They may also see a number of federal or governmental vehicles in the area. The emergency response plan can be implemented in the county for any type of disaster, including tornado, chemical spills and floods. Please address any comments or concerns about this exercise by calling Director of Kewaunee County Emergency Management Tracy Nollenberg at (920) 845-9701. Reminder, this is a drill and not a real emergency.