ML18139A975

Advises That Response Plan Not Acceptable in Present Form. Supplies,Personnel & Technical Assistance to Be Provided by State Health Dept in Most Cases Nonexistent

ML18139A975
Person / Time
Site:	Surry
Issue date:	12/31/1980
From:	Holmes M SURRY COUNTY, VA
To:	Chapin N VIRGINIA, COMMONWEALTH OF
References
NUDOCS 8101140467
Download: ML18139A975 (3)

Text

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,_1.?J jurr~ OlounfU J.. ~ox 65 M. SHERLOCK HOLMES,

~urru, 'irginia 23"883 Chairman, Board of Supervisors EDWARD W. JOHNS Vice-Chairman December 31~ 1980 *J. RICHP.RD ANDREWS .

WALTER N. HARDY "The Countrie it selfe, I must JOHN.,.R. CURTIS confesse is a very pleasant land, rich in commodities; *~*C-:l.

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and fertile in -sayle ... "

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-Samuel Argall, ca. 1609 t/_._, 2 Mr. Neil M. Chapin, Planner l.;-j '

State Office of Emergency Services 310 Turner Road Richmond, Virginia 23225

Dear Mr. Chapin:

The Board of Supervisors at our last meeting requested that your office give us a written response to the exceptions we noted in your local response plan (during the meeting with us the night of November 26.) We would like to po:int out this Board does not approve of the plan in its present form.

Specifically, we question the absence of a County spokesman who relates directly to the news media. The plan rather emphasizes a partnership between the State and Vepco.

Even the physical location of the news media at the power

• plant successfully excludes the County from any cooperative arrangement. This Board feels statements made by the State and Vepco should be general in nature and limited to their area 0£ responsibility. Any-instructions to County residents or statements relating to response activities of County government should be made only by our County spokesman.

A possible case in point is the recent VEPCO drill where the County was placed,in the position of having to justify and convince the State Desk Officer why-a news release was necessary to travelers*in the area during the evacuation of the Surry power plarit personnel. Decisions should b~ made only by the people who bear -the responsibility of those decisions. Should a traffic accident have* occurred due to the evacuation of plant personnel, the County could have been forced to bear some responsibility for having failed to noti_fy motorists of traffic conditions in the area.

A relited concern is the authority of the Gbvernor over local jurisdictions (which you have written into both the State and lbcal plans). We see nothing in the Code of Virginia

Mr. Chapin 12/31/80 e

• which suggests the Governor has authority over the local jurisdictions in an emergency except in the case of*natural resources. Our interpretation of the law is that the Governor has the choice to declare a "State of Emergency" committing State and some federal resources to "supplement" local activities. The law in no way implies the Governor can order an evacuation in a local jurisdiction or make statements pertaining to local response activities. If the Governor has this jurisdiction over multi-county. emergencies it would not seem to be necessary to have a local emergency organization.

We would" like also to emphasize one enormously weak area in the S:tate's plan to assist local jurisdictions.

This is in the area of radiation exposure control. We under-stand .there are currently orily si~ persons in the State Health Department who have training in this area. In any given emergency the State *would be fortunate if two of those persons would be available. Surry*county alone has a need for a trained person at the Command Post, the Evacuation Center and at the off-site facility at Vepco. We wo~ld like the State to place particular emphasis in assuring the State agencies are capable of assisting us in an emergency. We find the supplies, personnel and technical assistance to be supplied by the State Health Dep~rtment in most cases non existent.

Surry- County.has committed endless hours, and a sub-stantial amount of money to plan, upgrade equipment and train personnel .. We do not wish:to endorse a plan which looks attractive on piper .(merely to maintain a utility license) without assuring the plan is*functional to the point we are prepared, to the maximum extent possible, to protect the health and safety of the residents living around the power plant. Great strides have been made but much more is needed beyond the stack of papers being submitted to FEMA.

We look £orward to working cooperatively to this end.

Sincerely,

~

M. Sherlock Holmes, Chairman Board*o.f.Supervisors cc: David Rhoer, NRC

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'1,ur-rp, l'itginia 23883 Board of Supervisors

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Mr. David Rhoer Nuclear Regulatory Commission Room 240

• Phillips Building 7920 Norfolk Avenue Bethesda, Maryland 20014