| Feds seek to reassure
local officials ahead of Indian Point drill
The Associated Press
May 20, 2004
NEW YORK (AP) _ Federal officials met Wednesday with local
leaders around the Indian Point nuclear power plant to discuss
its security.
Mike Brown, the head of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, and Nils Diaz, the chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, met with county executives for the four surrounding
suburban counties.
The meeting came ahead of a security drill next month.
"It was a good roomful of folks; I felt we had a very
collegial, frank discussion among ourselves about what their
concerns are, how we can help them," said Brown, whose
agency was criticized last year by those who feel the plant
does not have adequate security in the post-Sept. 11 era.
Other critics contend Indian Point is too close to the New
York metropolitan area to be safe, but that argument has lost
a great deal of momentum in the last year, especially after
last summer's blackout.
Brown said the agency is using federal hazard mitigation
dollars to offer the counties technical advisers and support.
The advisers will come from Argonne National Labs, a Department
of Energy facility in Illinois, Brown said.
An NRC spokesman said the chairman met with the executives
to discuss emergency preparedness and security concerns.
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