ALABAMA EAS STATE PLAN

IV. ORGANIZATION AND CONCEPTS OF ALABAMA EAS

A. EAS Designations

NP (National Primary) Primary source of all National EAS Alerts.

These stations along with the NWS and State EOC will receive and relay all National level EAS Alerts.

SR (State Relay) Primary source of all State EAS messages.

These stations will receive State level messages from the State EOC and NWS and will also relay all National level messages.

LP-1 (Local Primary) Primary source of all local area EAS messages.

These stations were previously the EBS CPCS-1 stations. They will be relaying National, State, and Weather Alerts. These may also be the input point for Local EAS Alerts. In some areas, due to the size, there maybe an LP-2 and LP-3 station to help cover the entire area.

PN (Participating National) Most broadcasters and cable operators are designated as "PN".

These sources are for delivering all levels of EAS to the general public.

NN (Non-Participating National) Broadcasters who hold an "NN" authorization from the FCC must sign off the air during a National Emergency.

B. Other Definitions

STATE EOC: Alabama State Emergency Operation Center in Clanton.

This will be the origination point for messages from the Governor.

ADSN/ARN: Alabama Digital Satellite Network (ADSN) and Alabama Radio Network (ARN).

These two statewide satellite networks will monitor the State EOC, NWS, and NP-1 and relay all national and state level alerts.

NWS: National Weather Service.

Under the EAS, NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) stations are encoding all of their alerts using the same coding as used for EAS alerts. Broadcasters and cable operators can feed their EAS Decoders with the audio from any normal NOAA Weather Radio receiver, and their EAS Decoder will react just as it does with broadcaster EAS codes. NWS will also relay all National and State Level Alerts.

NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS AND CHEMICAL STOCKPILE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PROGRAM.

The nuclear power plants (Browns Ferry and Farley) and the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program for Anniston Army Depot will not have their own EAS encoder. The Emergency Management Agency in these areas will monitor the plants via direct telephone. The EAS messages are then released by local EMA Offices to or through designated local EAS stations for activation. The State EMA provides back-up capabilities to activate EAS in the appropriate operational areas.

C. Delivery Plan

This plan was designed to set up a primary and secondary delivery method for each level of EAS alerts. Stations who elect to monitor only the two assigned sources (FCC-mandated) will have two paths for each alert. Stations that monitor all four assigned sources will have three paths for all alerts. Stations that have ADSN and/or ARN downlinks should monitor it as source number 3 (see station database in Appendix D). Stations without a ADSN/ARN downlink will monitor a station in their area with a downlink as their source 3. Consult the section of this plan entitled, "Table of Monitoring Assignments" (Appendix D), to determine the specific two mandated and two optional sources that each broadcaster and cable operator should monitor.

D. Local Area Planning

The Alabama SECC has written this plan to set up the delivery system for National and State level alerts and messages. It is not within the scope of this plan to set up the local area webs. Some local areas and large cities have already developed sophisticated Local EAS plans. These plans involve local EMA offices, County Sheriff or local police departments, and 911 Centers. Local stations are encouraged to foster a relationship with their local emergency agencies and the Area EAS chair-person. Having a well designed local web will be an important spoke in the EAS wheel since most EAS alerts are generated at the local level.

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