Emergency action plan exercises

Abstract Only - The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regulates private hydropower projects. Since 1981, FERC has required operators of all hydropower projects to have an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) which is a document that formally establishes the process of alerting upstream and downstream interests of either an actual or impending failure of the dam or impounding structures or potential flooding due to an unusual high water event. Proper planning and coordination between the dam owner and the personnel responding to an emergency at a dam are essential during the development and testing of an EAP. The dam owner and response agencies must work together to fully express what information is critical and how best to communicate mutual needs during an emergency.

The EAP identifies potential emergency conditions at a dam; specifies pre-planned actions for issuing an early warning and notification along with mitigating problems at the dam. Dam failure under all conditions is considered; sunny-day and flood events. Warnings are issued for both an actual failure and potential (imminent) failure. In some cases, the EAP addresses non-failure situations where an unusual high water event could result in downstream flooding.

In order to determine if the EAP is workable, the plan must be tested. Face-to-face meetings are an essential part of this planning process. Experience shows that pre-planned procedures are necessary for an effective early warning system. The dam owner must convey to the Emergency Management Agencies (EMAs) the information contained in their EAP (that includes the technical details and effects of potential dam emergencies) so that it complements the Emergency Response Plan specific to the EMA (that includes the generic emergency response procedures). A thorough knowledge of how a dam emergency could affect the generic response plan will alleviate many of the potential problems that can arise during an event. The FERC has been working closely with jurisdictional dam owners and EMAs for several years to strengthen these ties. Pre-planning, timely updating, and frequent functional exercises will pay large dividends to the overall effort.

FERC requires that the owner periodically test the EAP. There are five levels of review and testing: orientation, drill, tabletop, functional, and comprehensive. The level of realism increases from orientation to comprehensive. The tabletop EAP exercise allows for more detailed review and interaction between the owner and EMAs and is less demanding than a functional or comprehensive EAP exercise. The steps in planning and conducting a tabletop EAP exercise will be presented. A dam owner will share his experiences in conducting a tabletop exercise with the pros and cons.