NCAI

NCAI Participation in FEMA Oversight Committee

NCAI Nuclear Waste Program Director Robert Holden has been named as a member of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Oversight Work Group (OSWG) to implement recommendations from the agency's Strategic Review of the Radiological Emergency Preparedness (REP) Program. The Strategic Review began in 1996 to improve, streamline, and enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the REP Program.

The recommended initiatives include: 1. Streamline the REP Program 2. Increase federal participation in REP exercises 3. Use state, tribal, and local personnel as federal evaluators 4. Include Native American tribal nations in the REP preparedness process 5. Enhance the REP training program. A strawman was sent to the FEMA regions in April and also published on the REP home page . The OSWG met in May and is expected to operate for approximately one year.

The OSWG Chair is Russell Salter, Director, FEMA Chemical and Radiological Preparedness Division. OSWG members include Douglas Boggs, Coordinator, Hazardous Materials and Emergency Services, Spotsylvania, VA; Nancy Crowley, Director Manitowoc County Emergency Management; James Hardeman, Manager, Environmental Radiation Program; Leigh Trocine, Incident Response Division, Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Alan Nelson, Senior Project Manager, Nuclear Energy Institute; Sandra Pace, Nebraska Emergency Management Agency; Vanessa Quinn, Acting Chief, FEMA Radiological Emergency Preparedness Branch; Larry Robertson, FEMA Region IV RAC Chair; and, Daniel McElhinney, FEMA Region I RAC Chair.