ML19327B692

Forwards Author 891013 & Jf Bassett 891020 Ltrs to Util, Contradicting Applicant Submission to NRC That Applicant Cooperating W/Commonwealth of Ma Emergency Broadcast Sys

ML19327B692
Person / Time
Site:	Seabrook
Issue date:	10/25/1989
From:	Rowe D MASSACHUSETTS, COMMONWEALTH OF, WSRO, MARLBORO, MA
To:	Matt Young NRC OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL (OGC)
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ML19327B691	List: ML19327B692
References
OL, NUDOCS 8911060319
Download: ML19327B692 (13)

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October 25, 1989 i

Mitizi A. Young  :

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of General Counsel 11555 Rockville Pike, 15th Floor ~

Rockville,.MD 20852

Dear Mr. Young:

l Attached please' find my. letter of October 13, 1989 to Seabrook as well as a copy of an October 20, 1989 letter to Seabrook from  ;

l. John F. Basett. It is my understanding that Seabrook included,

in its submission to the NRC, representations that they were ,

l cooperating with the Massachusetts EBS System. As you can see l h

from the enclosed, that is not true. +

1 Very truly yours, ,

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Douglas J. F#we, .

. Co-Chairman Massachusetts Emergency -

, Broadcast System l-DJR/ks

. Encl. j cca Mr. R. Boyd, Jr.

Performance Services Manager P.O. Box 300 Seabrook, NH 03874 l

l' You're in Gr&at Gompany - Gf&at 'Rgdio L HA2288M8u886 C PDR 1WSROu70 -

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[ ..Gibat R"adio..

Serving the Affluent Suburban Market Between Boston and Worcester 24 Hours a Day c_._...____.. _ ._._ __ .___5"#bff..M".ssagpusgtts g},J,52 e_ _ __ - _{glj (6 },7) 4 8 5jj ? g _ _ _ __ ,, _ _ _-_, _ ___ _ _ _ __ ,, _ _ _ __,_ __

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.. i October 20, 1989 1 l

Mr. B. Boyd, Jr. ,

Performance Services Manager lO l

P.O. Box 300  :

Seabrook, New Hampshire 03874

Dear Mr. Boyd:

t I have received a copy of the letter of October 13,1989, to New Hampshire Yankee from Douglas Rowe.

I am in agreement with the facts as stated by Mr. Rowe. WCGY has not received the promised equipment or services as outlined in the letter of agreement response organization.between radio station WCGY and New ilampshire Yankee's offsite There is NO pre-arranged authentification system, there is NO dedicated telephone line and answering device, there is NO RPU or similar 4.ransmit/

receive equipment to the incident area.  !

The letter of September 14, 1987 was to become valid when signed and the equipment and services were rendered.

and services September are not forthcoming, I consider the CPCS-1/WCGY letter ofSince y 14, 1987' void effective today. The management of WCGY does not intend to perpetuate an agreement that the public may rely on, when , in fact, to there notify theisgeneralno agreement, public. or'more importantly NO E.B.S. system in place

,Very truly yours, John F. Bassett

Attachment:

WCGY-NilY/ORO Letter 9/14/87 cc: Douglas J. Rowe, Esq.

Leslie,Greer, Esq.

33 FRANKLN STREET, LAWRENCE. MA 01840 (617) 6B3 7171/ BOSTON (617) 729-9470 WCCM & WOGY Boston /Lowence. Mossochusetts WEAT & WEATfM West . ng Palm B

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M ..Grbat Radio.. 1

.P.O. Box 566 e 48 Fitchburg St e Marlboro, Massachusetts 01752 * (508)485 1470

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% October 13,'1989

- w I I Mr. R.-Boyd, Jr' 88 Performance Services Manager  ;

M- Sq ~P.-O. Box.300 -

i Seabrook, NH 03874-

, Dear Mr. Boydr .

l' Your,lottor of September 29, 19119, 'i ts not accurato! IL ,

attempts to describo a mocLing' bt'Lucon 0 :1. If you will recall, at the end of that mooting there was no spirit of cooperation.

5 I said to you that as Co-Chairman of the EDS Systems in Messachusetts, I was going to withdraw my letter of September [

14, 1987. In fact, a copy of the lotter I ~ intended to sond ,

you'was FAX'D to you on September 20th qiving you the rurther opportunity to review tho commitmont made by Mr. Thomas.  !

After. telephone calls and a roquest by N.!!.Y. to delay the withdrawal, I agroed. It was understood that the reason for the delay was N.H.Y. was to submit a revised commitment.

Your plan as submitted to NRC includos the EBS System.

You now say, and I quoto, 'IF the Morrimac Valloy E.B.S.

Network is utilized."s I still remember the days of N.II.Y. asking Mr. Bassott of WCGY  !

L and myself to sign, " quick instant" drawn agreements with tho' intent of complying with FEMA requirements. My recollection was that the FEMA regulations requiro nucioar plants to cooperate with and be integrated with the E.B.S. System. As I I

tried to toll you at our mooting, thoro was an intent to put

... Massachusotta residents on equal footing with Now llampshiro residents. Mr. Ca ta pa no a nnured mt' L h.i t he would install a l, system in the Morrim.ie Valley conninLant with the nynLem i described lator in the attached totLor.

To my disappointmont, the CPCS-1 station WCGY "the gateway" to Massachusetts, has not received the committed equipment or services, not to montion the other stations of the Morrimac

.., Valloy. Your soloction of WLYT as a sourco to activato specific receivers is well intentioned and commendablo, but does not activato the E.D.S. System.

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.. Serving the Afquent Suburban Market Botween Boston and Worcester 24 Hours o Day l

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Your letter indicates a total lack of understanding of the E.B.S.

. System. WLYT does~NOT trigger a notification to the general  :

public. It triggers only YOUR system. The many radio stations serving the general public would receive NO notice.' Your idea that the media would decend on your media center is perhaps accurate, but FEMA and the E.B.S. System do not work by press e release. FEMA regulations involve agreements'with CPCS-1 stations and coordination with state emergency E.B.S. chairmen. I suggest.

you review the regulations.

My most disappointing thought about your letter is that you say that N.H.Y.'s commitment concerning Public Notification was negotiated. Can you please tell me when, where and who negotiated i away the rights of the general public ?

i As you can read from the attached copy, which was previously FAX'D to you, I said that I had reviewed your plans and determined that N.H.Y. was a " recognized responsible" organization. In view of the apparent change in attitude of the operators of N.H.Y., I now formally submit withdrawal authorization, dated September 20, 1989, and I am sending a copy of this communication to the CPCS-1 station WCGY.

very truly yours, h--

Douglas J Rowe Co-Chairman-Massachusetts Emergency i

Broadcast System l

l. ATTACHMENTS; l:

A. Letter of withdrawal 9/20/89 B. Co-Chairmans EBS letter 9/14/87  ;

C. WCGY letter 9/14/87  ;

D. All CommSystem Plan & Letter dated 11/14/88 E. N.H.Y. letter'9/29/89 l cca WCGY l

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ee ee i Grbat Radio 1i P.O. Box 566 48 Fitchburg St e Marlboro, Massachusetts 01752 . (508)485-1470 9ennq '20-September 1989 j 1

I V  %- $r. Michael Lewis

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ggi 9 Emergency' Preparedness / Resource Supervisor 8,, F 'New Hampshire Yankee l Post Office Box 300 J

1. 4. Seabrook, New Hampshire,03874  !

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Dear Mr. Lewis:

Pursuant to our meeting today I, as'Co-Chairman  ;

of the Massachusetts Emergency Broadcast System ,

hereby revoke my letter of 14 September 1987.

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New Hampshire Yankee has, regretfully, refused +

to honor the terms and conditions of that letter of. agreement.

It has been'two years since the letter was tendered and the E.B.S. stations of Merrimac Valley have.not received the promised. cooperation. The limited equipment-installed has not fulfilled commitments '

made, oral or written.  ;

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Sincerely,

'C, .5'

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Douglas J. Rowe Co-Chairman Massachusetts Emeregency Broadcast System Enc 1: Agreement 14 September 1987 l:

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!- , Serving the Affluent Suburoor. Market Between Boston ona Worcester 24 Hours O Day

l The Messachusetts Emergency Breedcast System is

. Conunitted to responding to eng emergency that meg effect residents e of Messachusetts.The Emergency treadcast System is a voluntary ,

ergentration authertred by and created by the Federal l Communications Commission. Its primary function is to alert the public in the event of a Presidential Beclaration of Emergeneg; most specificig nuclear attack. But the authority to use the EBS has been delegated down to the individual licenses which must use its

" independent discretion and responsibility ".

The Messachusetts Emergency Breedcast System would recognize eng responsible iscal business or ergenization that meg he responsible for creating er reporting a local emergency.

After review of New Nampshire Yankee's Offsite Response Srganization and determining that en incident at New itempshire Venkee could effect Messachusetts residents and that activation of I the EBS could mitigets the effects caused by on incident the New Hampshire Yankee Offsite Response Organization is recogenized as a responsible local ergenization within the meaning of the Rules and r Regulations governing the EBS.

IUlth regard to the planning and implementation of the eierting system it is understood that NNY/080 elli provide certain t , services and equipment et its supense and that this process of planning and implementation will be en ongoing one.

The following equipment and services will be inittely supplied:

1. Dedicated telephone line and answering device with competable taping equipment.

2. Feu or similar device for receiving hard copy of eng ,

message.

3. RPU or similar transmit / receive equipment to enable messages to be sont / received without rollence en telephone. Also, to enable EBS station to transmit from incident eroe er from erees that the incident meg cause en effect.

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l George S./fhomas Douglas J. Rowe 1 Vice President of Production Co. Chairman l New Hampshire Yankee Massachusetts Emergency Division of Public Service Broadcast System Company of New Hampshire l Agent for the Seabrook Joint Owners in/ / >'. H) ,

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A LETTER OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN RADIO STATION WCGY AND NEW HAMPSHIRE YANKEE'S OFFSITE RESPONSE ORGANIZATION

Purpose:

To activate Emergency' Broadcast System as Provided Title 47 U.S.C. 151, 154 (i) and (o), and 303 (r); Chapter 1, Part 73, Subpart G, Fede,ral Communications Commission Rules and Regulations, Radio Broadcast System (EBS) es pertains to day-to-day emergency operation and to rjrovide for cooperation and coordination between New Hampshire Yankee's Offsite Response Organization (NHY/ORO) and the management of radio station WCGY 93.7 FM, Lawrence, Massachusetts, in the event of an accident / incident at the Seabrook Nuclear Power Station (SNPS) in Seabrook, New Hampshire.

Scope of Activity.of WCGY:

The management of WCGY, Lawrence, Massachusetts, (when requested) agrees to activate the Emergency Broadcast System for the Emergency Planning Zone located within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts which consists of the following six (6) communities:

.Amesbury, Merrimac, Newbury, Newburyport, Salisbury, and West Newbury.

The management of WCGY further agrees to activate (when requested) the tone-activated radios supplied as part of the public I- notification system and broadcast emergency public information when notified to do so by the Offsite Response Director of the NHY/ORO, using a pre-arranged authentication system.

WCGY further agrees that they have and will maintain a recording capability to record the actual voice of the NHY/ORO Offsite Response Director, and they will broadcast the message, acceptance r

of/or participation in this plan shall not be deemed as a relinquishment of program control and shall not be deemed to prohibit the licensee from exercising its independent discretion and responsibility in any given situation.

WCGY further agrees that the'NHY/ORO offsite Response Director is authorized (through a pre-arranged authentication procedure) to activate the Emergency Broadcast System servicing the Seaorook Emergency Planning Zone area in the event that there is an accident and/or incident at the Seabrook Nuclear Power Station with off-site consequences.

The NHY/ORO Offsite Response Director will notify the management of WCGY when to activate the tone-alert radios and when to begin broadcasting Emergency Public Information messages. The context of these messages and the interval at which the messages will be repeated will be supplied by NHY/ORO.

This agreement becomes valid when signed by the signatures indicated below. Once valid, it can be terminated by either NHY/ORO or the management of WCGY by written notification ninety (90) days

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prior to the date of termination.

- T $ GP- M George $1; Thomas nager Vice Pgesident of. Production CGY 93.7 FM New Hampshire. Yankee Division of Public Service Company of New Hampshire ,

-Agent for the Seabrook .

Joint Owners

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L Mr.EDoug Rowe, Esq.

Morse, Morte and Rowe

'P.O. Box 617 Marlboro, Massachusetts 01752 L

Dear <Doug,

Per.our discussions, attached is a description of the EBS equipment package AllComm,-Inc. has developed for broadcast stations.  ;

'This' package was developed based upon research relative to the EBS network!s current' configuration and its operational status. This ,

l research specifically examined these issues for the New England area, i' however, our research included discussions with Emergency Management Agencies in Florida, California, and Tennessee, broadcasters from

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around the country and officials from FEMA and the FCC. 4 l

The basic intent of these efforts was to determine the operational status of the EBS network. We needed to know what was broken and what could be done to fix it, if anything. These efforts were all

) encompassing and not limited to hardware issues. They included other important areas such as training of station personnel, development of EBS procedures for each station, and the need for ongoing preventative maintenance and surveillance programs for station EBS s hardware packages.

At the same time we were conducting our re. view, there were several other efforts underway at a federal level which may have appeared at first to be headed towards the same goal. These efforts, however, were directed towards the further development of EBS as a communications link from the President'to the public during a time of an emergency. This of course was the original purpose for which EBS was conceived.

In contrast to these efforts, the problems facing emergency management personnel and broadcasters on a daily basis are quite different. These problems often require the activation of EBS for rapidly developing technological incidents that effect several It is for these types of municipalities or a county-wide area.

incidents and regional weather advisories for which EBS is most often utilized. Therefore, it is logical to conclude that EBS must be fine-tuned on a station-by-station basis in order to be responsive to N, these types of incidents. Our research and recommendations for creating a responsive functional EBS network are focused along these lines.

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L c In order.to achieve this goal, we have developed a basic generic equipment package to be' installed at each station in the operational area. This equipment package is designed to "fix" all of the hardware items.that we identified during our research as being

. inadequate. The package-is also designed to facilitate the initial notification to station personnel and to assist personnel with EBS responsibilities once activiated. This " generic" package is then tailored to fit a particular station's needs and management concerns.

Procedures for station personnel are reviewed, revised or developed, and a specially developed training procram is initiated. Once installed, the EBS equipment itself is also placed under a A training review preventative maintenance and surveillance program.

is conducted on an annual basis and training is provided for new station personnel as required.

Collectively, these efforts combined with the willing participation of the broadcasters, state, and local authorities create a viable and j

-responsive EBS network.

This program and hardware equipment packages have been in place and operational in the State of New Hampshire for the Seacoast Operational Area since March of 1987. Several broadcast stations outside of New Hampshire also have installed these equipment

<" packages. If you would like to visit one of these stations, or would prefer a. demonstration of the hardware package at your location, l please let me know.

Thank you again for your interest in our products and services.

i Sincerely,

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Gary J. Catapano, l

President 1

GJC/cer Attachments l

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165 Martell Court, Kww, NH 03431 603/357 0009 OPERATION OF THE CATAPLUNKT EBS NOTIFICATION SYSTEM The system utilizes the CPCS-1 station as a " gateway" station allowing access and control of the operational area. The other

. stations in the operational' area monitor the gateway station. These stations are termed satellite stations.

The equipment at the satellite stations monitors the CPCS-1 station continuously. The equipment package installed at each station consists of the following: the EBS Custom Control Unit, a TFT EBS Receiver, Encoder, Decoder Unit and a specially modified Nakamichi MR-2 Cassette Deck. High power strobe lights are utilized as visual and silent means of notification to personnel in the air studio (s).

.When the gateway station transmits an EBS tone, the TFT Decoder decodes the signal and activates the EBS Control Unit which causes the following events to occur simultaneously:

(, 1. The strobe light (s) in the air studio (s) begin to flash.

2. The receiver on the TFT "unmutes" and the emergency message being transmitted by the CPCS-1 becomes audible over the speaker. A " mute" switch is provided to override this feature if the equipment is installed in the air studio.

3. The cassette deck starts automatically and begins recording the emergency message being broadcast.

4. The broadcast audio from the CPCS-1 station comes up on the console on the channel utilized for EBS and the DJ can select it on " cue" channel in order to monitor it.

The strobe light remains " flashing" until reset by a remote reset button installed on the audio console. However, the remote reset button does not stop the tape recorder which continues to run for 10 minutes or until manually reset via a switch on the EBS Control Unit.

When alerted by the flashing strobe light (s), station personnel are trained to select the appropriate channel on the audio board and bring up the EBS audio on " cue" to determine if it is a test or an  ;

actual emergency EBS activiation.

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g-i If it is an actual emergency, the station can rebroadcast the message ,

recorded from the CPCS-1.

The encoder portion of the TFT Unit is wired to the EBS activation button installed on the audio board to allow activation from the air studio. Should an AM and FM station be co-located, the equipment can

, be remoted to both air studios. Special audio bridging can be added L

for simulcasting emergency information. Additional equipment wiring is performed at each station to allow operation of the features L described above.

An outdoor antenna is normally provided with each package. Where necessary, a notch filter or " trap" is also provided to ensure proper

(- operation in the presence of strong R.F. fields.

When complete and installed, the system is placed under a monthly preventative maintenance and surveillance program.

! In order to allow integration of the Operational Area with the state-wide EBS Network, the EBS equipment package at the CPCS-1 station is tuned to monitor the State Operational Primary Relay Station.

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September 29, 1989 L

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l Douglas Rowe  ;

Mass. Energency Broadcast System l P.O. Box.566

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Marlboro, MA 01752-I

Dear:

Mr. Rowe, 1 Pursuant to our meeting of September 20, 1989, New Hampshire Yankee would.like to outline'its commitments with regard to

'Public Notification and future Energency~ Planning participation-

, by the State of Massachusetts. .l

NHY's comattaent concerning Public Notification, as .

negotiated with-federal officials, is to issue all residents,

' schools, businesses, public buildings, nursing homes, etc. public i i

information material. This material outlines the responses the public should follow in the event emergency strens are' sounded ~ i l

within the six towns of the Seabrook Emergency Planning Zone. In

, addition,; tone alert radios are being distributed to public &

private. schools, day care facilities, nursing homes, special needstfacilities, hotels, notels, inna, hospitals and businesses, u These radios will activate once an EBS tone is received from WLYT, and then monitor the station for emergency information.

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The second issue is the future participation of Mass. in Emergency Planning for Seabrook Station. Once the State begins to plan with NHY, we vill re-evaluate our broadcasting capabilities and requirements, will formulate cost effective alternatives and implement the selected alternative. If the Merrimack Valley EBS Network is utilised, due to prudency considerations, federal and State assistance must be requested, documented and denied' prior to a re-evaluation by NHY.

We hope our position in this matter is clear and appreciate the support you continue to provide on our behalf. NHY wishes to continue our relationship with you and the Mass. EBS. If you have any questions or concerns please call no at (603) 474-9521 Ext. 2417. Thank you for your time and we look forward to your continued cooperation.

Sinc ely,

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R. Boyd, r.

Performance Services Manager jjg9451 New Hampshire Yankee Division of Public Servia Company of New Hampshire

___________ardti%nSW6tMMip?7&oMMi@L474 9521 __