Letter to Michael Brown, Under Secretary of Emergency Preparedness and Response

June 2, 2003
Michael D. Brown
Under Secretary of Emergency Preparedness and Response
Federal Emergency Management Agency
500 C Street SW
Washington DC 20472

Dear Under Secretary Brown:

I am writing to respectfully urge you to have representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) meet with local officials and residents of Orange County to discuss evacuation plans and accident scenarios for the Indian Point nuclear plant. I was discouraged to learn that no representatives from both FEMA and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission attended a recent meeting held by the County to serve this purpose.

On May 13, local officials from neighboring Orange Country held a meeting at which disaster plans and evacuation procedures for Indian Point were to be discussed by federal representatives and area residents. Unfortunately, your agency chose not to be represented, apparently on advice from an agency lawyer.

Given the integral role that the FEMA plays in developing and certifying disaster plans for Indian Point, it is essential that local officials and residents have access to agency officials, both to voice their concerns and to be reassured about plans already in place during these tense times. In your capacity as Under Secretary of Emergency Preparedness and Response, I am sure you appreciate the need for federal officials to be present at local meetings on subjects of such national importance.

Now more than ever communication between federal and local entities is vital when it comes to security. We have just come off of a heightened terror alert, and with an air of uncertainty surrounding Indian Point, FEMA and NRC not attending the meeting sends the wrong message to Orange County. I urge the federal agencies to schedule a new meeting where they can discuss with local representatives the power plant's accident scenarios.

Sincerely,
Charles Schumer
U.S. Senator