Legalectric

The January 22, 2024 Red Wing City Council meeting was jam packed full of goofy ideas. Yesterday, I posted about the limitation of public comment to 3 minutes at the beginning of the meeting in the Public Comment period. Today’s post is about nuclear… as I go critical seeing what they’ve done and are doing.

A lot happened at the Red Wing City Council meeting on January 22, 2024. In addition to cutting public comment opportunities, there were two nuclear items, the first on the CONSENT AGENDA (yes, I’m SHOUTING!) and the second in general business:

Here’s the video of the meeting:

January 22, 2024 Red Wing City Council meeting

Let’s start with the first – 10 F in the Consent Agenda – beginning on the video at 1:07:

In the Staff Report from the Police Captain, Travis Bray, also Emergency Management Director, he states:

And sure enough, there is no emergency plan in the packet, only discussion of it and a signature page.

On the first page of the Staff Report:

The plan does detail certain steps relative to activation of the EOC and certain contacts that
must be made, however department and division heads still retain the responsibility for
determination of the appropriate level of response given the situation along with other demands
on their personnel by other events.

Do department and division heads know enough about all things nuclear to “retain the responsibility for
determination of the appropriate level of response…?” Shouldn’t the NRC and state Emergency Management be the deciders on this, with advice from those on the ground?

The Emergency Plan is to be reviewed and approved each year by:

Travis Bray’s Staff Report gives the Council two alternatives and a recommendation:

… or…

Travis Bray, Police Chief and Emergency Management Director for the City of Red Wing, was one of those to review and approve the plan. He was at the City Council meeting for the other agenda item, but this was on the consent agenda, and it was passed with zero discussion.

Because “[a] copy of the plan may be viewed at the EOC or the City of Red Wing Emergency manager’s office,” you can guess what I’ll be doing someday soon. I’m remembering the horrific/hilarious Emergency Plan for Site P “in Goodhue County,” the dry cask storage facility proposed in Florence Township.

Here’s the NRC on “Federal, State, Tribal, and Local Responsibilities” in nuclear emergency.

Click here for the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant (PINGP) Emergency Plan test and Final Action Report from 2016!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

And back to the video of the January 22, 2024 meeting:

January 22, 2024 Red Wing City Council meeting

Moving on to Agenda item 11.C.

Xcel Energy wants to “donate” the 33 emergency warning sirens and donate the costs of operation and maintenance to Red Wing. Great idea… Here’s the packet for 11.C with all the details we have:

The Council was told that the Emergency Plan was essentially changed… but wait…

Slide 5 says that Xcel Plans to decommission all outdoor sirens:

Slide 7 notes that “the State of MN has agreed to be the responsible party…”

I have a few very logical questions:

• What jurisdiction currently has responsibility for emergency alerts?
• Cite the NRC regulations for Emergency Warning Systems, including sirens.
• “State of MN has agreed…” Who? What? Where? Why? When? Produce the agreement.
• Were the affected Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant and Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant host communities involved in negotiating this agreement?
• Emergency sirens owned and maintained are a cost of doing business — why are they shifting this cost to us?
• If “donated” they’d get the benefit of being relieved of that cost, PLUS would likely receive a tax deduction for this “donation.”

Chief Bray is supposed to come back to the Council with more information and a recommendation.

Soooooooo, will try to keep an eye out for this. It’s NOT on the March 11, 2024 agenda.

p.s. And again, click here for the Emergency Plan test and Final Action Report from 2016!