[EAS] CAP EAS Geography Problem

[Lucero, Mark]

All,
Don nailed it.  I will double check, but I'm fairly certain Nevada does not have alerting authority established for areas outside the state.  The way to resolve this is for Nevada DEM to request alerting authority for all FIPS codes for which they are authorized to send.  This will be coordinated with neighboring states to ensure the request is in line with state plans.  Then I can add these FIPS codes into Nevada DEM's IPAWS permissions and this problem goes away.

The reason for establishing alerting permissions is to prevent unauthorized alerts, mistakes, misuse, etc.  The reason for doing this up front at the beginning of the process is to avoid having to make changes "in the heat of battle".  Sometimes there are requirements that are overlooked (like the need to send across state lines) but thankfully vigilant stakeholders like Adrienne identify these issues before a major disaster.

FEMA does not REQUIRE an MOU between states for cross-border alerting via IPAWS, but this is encouraged for situations just like this.  The need for paper between jurisdictions becomes more and more clear when one considers public reaction, issuing follow-up information, keeping the messaging consistent, providing back-up capabilities, and so on.

I will reach out to Nevada DEM to determine how they want to proceed and bring in the appropriate parties from neighboring states as necessary.  I will also work with our outreach section to see how we can emphasize the importance of cross-jurisdictional coordination.

Thank you for identifying this issue, Adrienne!

v/r
Mark A. Lucero
Chief, IPAWS Engineering
FEMA National Continuity Programs
202-646-1386 (w)
202-257-1364 (bb)
mark.lucero at dhs.gov

----- Original Message -----
From: Don  Heppelmann [mailto:DHeppelmann at tpt.org]

Adrienne,

Curious if Nevada EM received COG authorization from California through IPAWS authorization process? Perhaps there is a two-step process, one for Nevada and the other for California. In either case, the application(s) defining the types of alerts they intend to issue and the extent of their geographic warning area should have been specified. 

This is raising a very interesting situation for EAS participants near state borders. I hope this gets resolved fairly soon. 
 
Don Heppelmann
MN SECC

-----Original Message-----
From: eas-bounces at radiolists.net [mailto:eas-bounces at radiolists.net] On Behalf Of Adrienne Abbott

Another EAS "hairball".FEMA's aggregator has apparently developed a geography problem and cannot handle CAP EAS messages for multiple states. In other words, if station KKUD is licensed to a California border community which is considered part of the Nevada EAS Operational Area and has offices, studios and transmitter in Nevada, the station won't receive CAP EAS messages because it is licensed to California. If a Nevada official tries to send a CAP EAS message with a FIPs code for any state other than Nevada, the aggregator will kick it back even if the COG originally included California FIPS codes. Has anyone else had this problem? 

 

Adrienne Abbott

Nevada EAS Chair

 

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