PP&L, Inc., said Friday (9/18) that the federal government's endorsement of the state's emergency response plan for the Susquehanna nuclear power plant is a tribute to the collaborative process that has marked the interaction between the company and emergency planning officials.

"From the day we began the emergency planning process at Susquehanna, the cooperation of the people in the surrounding municipalities and at the county and state levels has been outstanding," said Herbert D. Woodeshick, PP&L, Inc.'s special assistant to the president for Susquehanna. "We are very pleased that Susquehanna's plan has been endorsed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but we're more pleased that the approval highlights what has been an enormously successful collaboration."

FEMA announced recently that it has certified the commonwealth of Pennsylvania's emergency response plan for Susquehanna, the first such certification in the state.

"At Susquehanna, we are very fortunate to have county and state EMA volunteers and staff, who worked tirelessly to develop and implement an emergency response plan that will protect the health and safety of the public living in the vicinity of the Susquehanna plant, in the unlikely event of a radiological emergency," Woodeshick said.

Emergency management officials from the 27 municipalities that surround the Susquehanna plant, from Luzerne and Columbia counties and from the state worked with PP&L, Inc., to develop plans for responding to an emergency involving the plant. These plans are tested twice a year and are evaluated by federal agencies every two years.

"We thank all of the volunteers and staff members in the county and state emergency management agencies who are responsible for emergency planning in the vicinity of the Susquehanna plant and we commend them on this achievement," Woodeshick added.

He also pointed out that the planning for unlikely Susquehanna emergencies has resulted in significant improvements in the overall emergency preparedness of the communities surrounding the nuclear plant.

The FEMA certification, which is voluntary, caps an ongoing planning and preparedness process that began when the commonwealth submitted the emergency response plan for the Susquehanna plant in 1989. Included in FEMA's evaluation of the plan was an emergency preparedness exercise conducted in August 1995 by local and state EMA volunteers and staff. Based on its evaluation, FEMA recommended approval of the plan.