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INCORPORATING HOSTILE ACTION DRILLS INTO THE REP PROGRAM IN ILLINOIS

INCORPORATING HOSTILE ACTION DRILLS INTO THE REP PROGRAM IN ILLINOIS. Ken Evans Illinois Emergency Management Agency Division of Nuclear Safety Bureau of Nuclear Facility Safety (REP Conference: April 21 2009. OVERVIEW: . State of Illinois conducts many exercises

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INCORPORATING HOSTILE ACTION DRILLS INTO THE REP PROGRAM IN ILLINOIS

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  1. INCORPORATING HOSTILE ACTION DRILLS INTO THE REP PROGRAM IN ILLINOIS Ken Evans Illinois Emergency Management Agency Division of Nuclear Safety Bureau of Nuclear Facility Safety (REP Conference: April 21 2009

  2. OVERVIEW: • State of Illinois conducts many exercises • Six nuclear plant sites in Illinois • Three exercises per year, plus three practice drills, for a total of six drills a year • In 2007, 2008 and 2009, this increased with two tabletops and two hostile action-based EP drills added • We can not and should not be required to do everything in every drill

  3. March 2007-Quad Cities NPP conducts the first official Phase III Threat-Based tabletop in the nation

  4. THE ROOM WAS CROWDED, ESPECIALLY WHEN EVERYONE WAS MOVING AROUND

  5. HERE IS A TABLE WITH EVERYONE AT THE TABLE. THIS IS UNUSUAL BECAUSE NO INFORMATION IS EXCHANGED THIS WAY.

  6. WE ALL LEARNED FROM SHARING THOUGHTS WITH THOSE NOT NORMALLY PRESENT AT THE TABLE

  7. April 2007 – Quad Cities Threat-Based drill

  8. LESSONS LEARNED: STATESUCCESS FACTORS (WHAT WE THINK WE DID RIGHT) • Treated the hostile action-based EP drill with the same effort as a REP Exercise • Communicated frequently with Exelon the special needs for a successful State demonstration • Build on past experience • Incorporated lessons learned from first drill into the second, and then third drill and then the fourth and now working on the fifth (continue to enhance)

  9. LESSONS LEARNED: WHAT WENT WRONG • Scheduling is harder than you think • April 22, 2009 LaSalle Tabletop • Here I am • I was to be there

  10. LESSONS LEARNED: FROM 2007 TO 2008 • Rev 1 to NEI document allowed drills to flow normally in 2008 • Shelter became our preferred protective action recommendation • We developed a “Stay in Place” message during the Byron Drill

  11. LESSONS LEARNED: PROTECTIVE ACTION RECOMMENDATIONS • In a hostile action drill the radiation threat can be secondary • The utility impediment clause was not used by the utility in the Braidwood and Dresden drill • The State of Illinois recommended shelter even though the utility recommended evacuation

  12. PAR LESSONS LEARNED CONTINUED • Many First Responders are trying to enter the EPZ as fast as possible • The public evacuating at the same time first responders are entering creates a problem • Stay in Place messages are not PARS since their main purpose is to keep the public off the roads

  13. SOME PAR OBSERVATIONS • Hostile Action Drills can introduce additional risks to PAR decisions • REP Exercises have viewed evacuations as a no risk decision • We used stay in place messages not as a PAR but as a tool to increase response time

  14. LESSONS LEARNED: COMMUNICATIONS • Adding an Incident Command Post (ICP) created a new challenge for communications • At the first drill there was not a utility representative • At the second drill we added a utility representative to the ICP • There are now two representatives one from security and one from operations

  15. COMMUNICATIONS LESSONS LEARNED CONTINUED • Timing is everything in communications. The first source fills a vacuum • One example was the ICP started to communicate the utility’s evacuation PAR and did not receive the State’s shelter PAR until later • In another our REAC facility heard of an attack on the station from our Terrorism center before we received a call from the station

  16. COMMUNICATIONS CONTINUED • Hostile Action Drills present more communications challenges because more organizations participate than in a normal REP Exercise • It is important that communication channels be formally defined • In Illinois the use of the StarCom radio system has solved some of these problems

  17. NIMS AND STANDARD DRILLS • After running several Hostile Action Drills it is obvious that one size does not fit all • NIMS purpose was to standardize the response • The NRC is currently considering requiring licensees to adopt NIMS • NIMS may have standardized terminology but you can never standardize personalities

  18. PLANNING FOR A HOSTILE ACTION DRILL • Today as we plan for the LaSalle drill we use many of the same tools we would for a REP Exercise • The big difference is that the Tabletop is part of the planning process • The tabletop is more important than the Dress Rehearsal has been for the Exercise because you have organizations that normally do not participate in a REP Exercise

  19. DEFINE THE SCOPE • In our first year of hostile action drills we were not sure who would participate • Timelines were vague at the start of the planning process • The end result was by not defining the scope at the start the expectations were not always met • Secure commitments early on so the scope can be established

  20. OBJECTIVES IN HOSTILE ACTION DRILLS • At the State level we are not required to submit objectives as we do for a REP Exercise • In 2008 we started to do objectives • Many of the standard REP objectives can and are demonstrated during a Hostile Action Drill • Objectives although not required are helpful to evaluate the success of the drill

  21. TIMELINE FOR A HOSTILE ACTION DRILL • Timelines are critical for a Hostile Action Drill • Use of a timeline is the quickest way to determine if participants will have adequate time to play and accomplish their objectives • One problem noted has been most timelines have not supported UAC participation

  22. MESSAGES FOR A HOSTILE ACTION DRILL • The tabletop has proven to be a valuable tool for identifying agencies that may require special messages to drive their actions in a manner to support the drill • Our experience has been that Hostile Action Drills initially require more coordination to develop messages than a REP Exercise

  23. MESSAGES CONTINUED • Use the tabletop to identify normal lines of communication • Messages take the place of information that would have been provided in a real event by an organization or individuals that are not able to participate in a drill

  24. MESSAGES CONTINUED • The new FEMA REP Manual may add additional objectives • Messages may be needed to drive new objectives • In summary messages are your friends

  25. GOING FORWARD • REP Exercises will benefit from the lessons learned from Hostile Action Drills • A Hostile Action Drill will become a REP Exercise • All REP Exercises share core objectives

  26. GOING FORWARD CONTINUED • A Hostile Action Drill introduces additional functions beyond a typical REP Exercise • In the past REP Exercises may have included additional objectives associated with severe natural phenomena such as a tornado. • The response in the past may have been limited to core REP objectives

  27. GOING FORWARD CONTINUED • Hostile Action Drills have expanded the scope of a REP Exercise • As we go forward we need to remember that not every Exercise requires everyone to play • Realistic Exercises like real events are limited to certain key responders. • This is why it may take an eight year cycle to exercise all agencies

  28. GOING FORWARD CONTINUED • We need to be creative to maximize the use of the time allocated for a drill or exercise • One idea proposed in the current guidance is to delay responders 10 minutes for every hour of real response time • The goal is to make the response somewhat realistic but not exclude organizations because they would never show up before the drill ends

  29. MORE OPTIONS • The good news is that REP Exercises will become less predictable now that there is more flexibility with objectives • Design exercises where the responders whether onsite or offsite have a chance to succeed • The bad news is more work

  30. THE CHALLENGE • Everyone is already busy with required exercises and real events • We are expanding the universe of participants • We can not expect everyone to play all the time • Balance the eight year exercise cycle

  31. END RESULT • More realistic and less predictable drills • Vertical integration of federal state and local responders • Clearly defined lines of communication • Partnerships established among the utility and all response organizations

  32. QUESTIONS? Contact information: Ken Evans Illinois Emergency Management Agency 1035 Outer Park Drive Springfield, IL 62704 (217) 558-6248 Ken.Evans@Illinois.gov

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