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 1      PUBLIC HEARING OF THE NEW JERSEY RADIOLOGICAL
       EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
 2   
 3                         * * * *
 4                 Wednesday, July 7, 2010
 5                  Bridgeton, New Jersey
 6                         * * * *
 7   PANEL PRESENT:
               CAROL SHEPARD, Hearing Officer
 8             THOMAS SCARDINO, Sergeant First Class
               JON CHRISTIANSEN, New Jersey Division of
 9             State Police
               PAT MULLIGAN, Manager of the DEP's Bureau
10             of Nuclear Engineering
               JEFFREY WINEGAR, New Jersey Department of
11             Health and Senior Services
12   ALSO PRESENT:
               ALLEN SMITH, Lead Planner for the Salem,
13             Hope Creek Site
               SERGEANT FIRST CLASS STEVEN MORRISON
14             TROOPER WILLIAM CRANEY
               ELLIOT ROSENFELD
15             TOM WESNIC
16   HELD AT:  Cumberland County Administration Building
               790 East Commerce Street, Route 49
17             Bridgeton, New Jersey
18   REPORTED BY:
               Renée Helmar, Shorthand Reporter
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21   
22             CLASS ACT COURT REPORTING AGENCY
23            Registered Professional Reporters
     1420 Walnut Street            133 Gaither Drive
24   Suite 1200                    Suite H
     Philadelphia, PA  19103       Mt. Laurel, NJ  08054
25   (215) 928-9760                (856) 235-5108
0002
 1                       (Whereupon, the proceedings
 2                       commenced at approximately 7:00
 3                       p.m.)
 4             MS. SHEPARD:  Okay.  Good evening; my name is
 5        Carol Shepard.  I am a Radiation Physicist in the
 6        Bureau of Nuclear Engineering within the New Jersey
 7        Department of Environmental Protection.  I will be the
 8        hearing officer this evening.
 9             The purpose of this hearing is to receive
10        testimony, comments and questions regarding the
11        adequacy and effectiveness of the New Jersey
12        Radiological Emergency Response Plan for
13        Nuclear Power Plants.
14             In order that this hearing may be properly
15        documented, these proceedings are being
16        recorded by a certified shorthand reporter.
17             Everyone attending this meeting is asked
18        to sign the attendance sheet before leaving.
19        The attendance sheets for these hearings are
20        used to update the Bureau of Nuclear
21        Engineering's public hearing mailing list.
22             Public notice of this hearing was
23        published in the New Jersey Register on June
24        7th, and June 21st, 2010.
25             In addition, public noticed was published
0003
 1        in the Bridgeton Evening News from June 29th,
 2        through July 6th, 2010.  Copies of the public
 3        notice for the three hearings were mailed in
 4        June to all persons who attended last year's
 5        hearings.
 6             This hearing will proceed as follows: I
 7        will provide a brief background on why we are
 8        conducting this hearing, then I will introduce
 9        the panel members and ask them to briefly
10        describe the role of their organization in
11        nuclear emergency preparedness and response.
12             Finally, I will open the hearing for
13        comments and questions from the public.
14             The New Jersey Radiation Accident Response
15        Act requires that the Department of
16        Environmental Protection, in cooperation with
17        the New Jersey Division of State Police,
18        conduct public hearings to take comment on, and
19        to address questions relevant to, the adequacy
20        and effectiveness of the New Jersey
21        Radiological Emergency Response Plan for
22        Nuclear Power Plants.
23             These hearings are held annually in each
24        of the three counties affected by the plan;
25        Ocean County for the Oyster Creek Nuclear
0004
 1        Generating Station, and Salem and Cumberland
 2        Counties for the Salem Unit 1, Salem Unit 2 and
 3        Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Stations.
 4             We are here tonight to listen to your
 5        questions and comments on New Jersey's nuclear
 6        emergency response plan.  Comments on more
 7        general nuclear power issues or issues that
 8        relate to licensing and regulatory matters at
 9        nuclear power plants are not within the purview
10        of this meeting and, hence, are not
11        appropriate, and will not be addressed.
12             The purpose of the plan is to coordinate
13        and implement an immediate and comprehensive
14        response at the state, county and municipal
15        levels to a radiological emergency associated
16        with any nuclear power plant affecting the
17        State of New Jersey.
18             Copies of the plan are available for
19        inspection at the Salem County Emergency
20        Management Office in Mannington Township, the
21        Cumberland County Office of Emergency
22        Management in Bridgeton, the Ocean County
23        Office of Emergency Management in Berkeley
24        Township and the New Jersey Office of Emergency
25        Management in West Trenton, and in public
0005
 1        libraries in Salem, Cumberland and Ocean
 2        Counties.
 3             Now I would like to introduce the members
 4        of the panel.  Sergeant First Class Thomas
 5        Scardino and Mr. Jon Christiansen are
 6        representing the New Jersey Division of State
 7        Police.
 8             Sergeant Scardino is the Unit Head of the
 9        Radiological Emergency Response Planning and
10        Technical Unit, and Mr. Christiansen is an
11        Executive Assistant II in the Radiological
12        Emergency Response Planning and Technical Unit.
13             Mr. Mulligan is representing the New
14        Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
15        Mr. Mulligan is the manager of the DEP's Bureau
16        of Nuclear Engineering.
17             Representing the New Jersey Department of
18        Health and Senior Services is Mr. Jeff Winegar.
19        Mr. Winegar is a Response Coordinator in the
20        Department's Operations Program for Emergency
21        Preparedness and Response.
22             If questions arise that involve the
23        responsibilities of DHSS, I will call on him
24        for a response.
25             Now I will ask Sergeant Scardino to
0006
 1        briefly describe the role of the State Police
 2        in the plan.
 3             MR. SCARDINO:  Thank you, Carol.  Good evening,
 4        everyone.  For the record, my name is Sergeant First
 5        Class Thomas Scardino, and I am representing the State
 6        Office of Emergency Management within the Division of
 7        State Police.
 8             Our office, as you may know, has the
 9        responsibility of administering and
10        implementing the Radiological Emergency
11        Response Plan for instance at nuclear power
12        plants in the State of New Jersey.
13             In addition to the preparation of
14        Radiological Emergency Plans, the New Jersey
15        State Police is the lead agency in the
16        following functional areas: notification and
17        communication, command and coordination,
18        protective actions, which include evacuation,
19        shelter in place, access control, food, water
20        and mill control, parallel actions would also
21        include traffic control, decontamination,
22        exposure control, mass care, law enforcement,
23        fire control, public health and reentry, return
24        and recovery.
25             I would also like to introduce Mr. Allen
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 1        Smith, who is seated in the audience, he is the
 2        lead planner for the Salem, Hope Creek Site, my
 3        assistant is Sergeant First Class Steven
 4        Morrison, also in the audience is Trooper
 5        William Craney represents the southern region
 6        as the liaison to Cumberland County Emergency
 7        Management.
 8             Thank you.
 9             MS. SHEPARD:  Now I will ask Mr. Mulligan to
10        briefly describe the role of the Department in the
11        plan.
12             MR. MULLIGAN:  Thank you, Carol.
13             Good evening; my name is Pat Mulligan, and
14        I am the manager of the Bureau of Nuclear
15        Engineering.
16             I will briefly discuss the role of the
17        Department of Environment Protection in New
18        Jersey in Radiological Emergency Response Plan.
19             The New Jersey Radiological Response Plan
20        includes the plan, standard operating
21        procedures and annexes.
22             The plan identifies all responsible state
23        agencies and outlines their specific roles in
24        the event of a nuclear emergency.
25             It is based on five primary functions that
0008
 1        outline the actions to be performed in the
 2        event of a radiological emergency at one of the
 3        four nuclear power plants in New Jersey or a
 4        plant in the neighboring state.
 5             These actions are: notification and
 6        communication, accident assessment, command and
 7        coordinations, protective actions and parallel
 8        actions.
 9             Since agency roles and responsibility
10        don't change often, the plan essentially does
11        not change.  The Standard Operating Procedures
12        are specific instructions and guidelines used
13        by each agency when performing their specific
14        duties.
15             The procedures are reviewed and tested
16        annually and revised whenever necessary in
17        order to enhance emergency response.
18             The annex is A and B on the Radiological
19        Emergency Response Plans for Salem, Hope Creek
20        and Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Sites.
21             Respectively, each annex describes the
22        planning basis and concept of operation for
23        each of the municipalities within a ten-mile
24        emergency planning zones around each site.
25             Under the New Jersey Radiation Accident
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 1        Response Act, the Department of Environmental
 2        Protection is responsible for accident
 3        assessment and control the food, water and mill
 4        following an incident.
 5             Accident assessment involves two separate
 6        analysis.  An engineering analysis of the event
 7        at the plant as it unfolds, and an analysis of
 8        the amount of radiation to which the public may
 9        be exposed in the event of a release.
10             Depending upon the severity of an
11        accident, the Department provides protective
12        action recommendations to the governor, will
13        make a final decision on actions to be
14        implemented to protect public health and
15        safety.
16             The protective action recommendations for
17        the public may include the administration of
18        potassium iodide, evacuation, sheltering and
19        access control within the affected or
20        potentially affected area.
21             The act also specifies that the Department
22        develop and implement a comprehensive
23        monitoring strategy that includes the daily
24        monitoring of levels of radioactivity in the
25        environment.
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 1             The Department also provides public
 2        health, safety and technical guidance with
 3        respect to the preparation and implementation
 4        of the plan.
 5             The Department's final responsibility
 6        under the act is to conduct, in cooperation
 7        with state police, public hearings annually in
 8        each designated county to determine the
 9        adequacy and effectiveness of the plan.
10             Members of my staff who are here
11        representing the Department of Environmental
12        Protection are Mr. Elliot Rosenfeld, who is a
13        nuclear engineer in our engineering sections,
14        and Mr. Tom Wesnic, who is a nuclear engineer
15        in our environmental section.
16             Thank you.
17             MS. SHEPARD:  We will now proceed with the
18        public's questions and comments.
19             Those individuals who wish to speak should
20        complete a speaker registration card and hand
21        it to one of the staff.
22             I will call the speakers' names in the
23        same order as I receive the registration cards.
24             Please be certain to clearly print your
25        name and address on the registration card so
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 1        that we may contact you if we need to respond
 2        to your comments and questions more fully in
 3        writing.
 4             When I call your name, come forward to the
 5        microphone, face the panel and make yourself
 6        comfortable.  Before you begin your comments,
 7        please state and spell your name for the
 8        reporter.
 9             Speakers will be limited to five minutes
10        each.  If time still remains after everyone has
11        had a chance to speak, I will invite additional
12        comments from those individuals who have
13        already spoken.
14             In fairness to the speaker and in order
15        that we all can make the best use of this time,
16        I ask cooperation from the audience in
17        refraining from calling out.
18             Comments from the audience will only delay
19        the proceedings and will disrupt our ability to
20        hear and accurately record the speaker's
21        statements.
22             Again, I would like to emphasize that we
23        are here tonight to listen to your questions
24        and comments on New Jersey's Nuclear Emergency
25        Response Plan.  Comments on more general
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 1        nuclear power issues or issues that relate to
 2        licensing and regulatory matters at nuclear
 3        power plants are not within the purview of this
 4        meeting and, hence, are not appropriate and
 5        will not be addressed.
 6             Thank you.  We will now proceed to our
 7        first commenter.
 8             But since there are no members of the
 9        public here, we'll close the meeting until
10        7:30.
11                       (Whereupon, there was a brief
12                       recess.)
13             MS. SHEPARD:  Okay.  It is now 7:30, I guess the
14        record can show that no members of the public were in
15        attendance and we're going to close the meeting.
16             Thank you, everybody, for coming.
17             MR. SCARDINO:  I second that.
18                       (Whereupon, the proceeding was
19                       adjourned at approximately 7:30
20                       p.m.)
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 1                  C E R T I F I C A T E
 2   
 3             I, RENÉE HELMAR, a Shorthand Reporter, and
 4   Notary Public, certify that the foregoing is a true
 5   and accurate transcript of the proceedings which
 6   were held at the time, place and on the date herein
 7   before set forth.
 8             I further certify that I am neither
 9   attorney, nor counsel for, nor related to or
10   employed by, any of the parties to the action in
11   which these proceedings were taken, and further that
12   I am not a relative or employee of any attorney or
13   counsel employed in this action, nor am I
14   financially interested in this case.
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19                                     Renée Helmar
20                                     Shorthand Reporter
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