[EAS] FCC BLU Alert Proposal

[Sean Donelan]

On Fri, 16 Jun 2017, Clay Freinwald wrote:
> This is one of the issues the FCC has to deal with as they clearly have done
> what you feel is not reasonable.    The existing FCC/SECC
> Relationship is somewhat a 'house of cards'.   The FCC clearly does not have
> an answer for a situation where a state elected to - Not play EAS and
> declined to have an SECC etc.    This would mean no daisy-chain monitoring
> assignments, RMT generation etc etc.     From my understanding the FCC has
> been operating, with fingers crossed, with a system based more on tradition
> that regulatory structure.

I think the FCC learned a lot about the state of EAS readiness from people 
calling with questions preparing for the 2016 National Test and trying to 
fill out the EAS Test Reporting System.

As I've pointed out before, there is a lot of variability how different 
states and territories maintain EAS readiness. The SECCs with 
representatives on this EAS forum list are some of the best prepared. 
But in some states the "SECC" is a single person, and occasionally the 
single person retires without replacement. I'm not blaming the lone-person 
SECCs. He or she is trying to make something work, without any support.
Just getting Required Monthly Tests scheduled is a major accomplishment. 
Expecting a lone-person SECC to conduct training for all the stakeholders 
in a state isn't reasonable.

I love volunteers and volunteer organizations. I got started in this 
business by volunteering during several disasters in the mid-west when I 
was young. But volunteers aren't a replacement for planning and training.
Over 55% of firefighters in the U.S. are volunteers, but they don't just 
show up knowing how to fight fires. There are grants and funding for 
training and professional development for volunteer fire departments.

Looking at all 50 states, territories and the District of Columbia, what I 
see, states with highly functional EAS plans have active participation by 
a designated, i.e. paid, staff person from the emergency management agency 
with responsibility for public warning in their job description. Not just 
an ex-officio representative from the governor's office or the state's 
director of the EMA.

As a practical thing, in state's where the state EMA originate at least 
some RMTs each year that seems to improve the state's EAS operations. 
Even mistakes issuing the RMT results in improvements of the state EAS 
plans.  Much like the national EAS tests have slowly improved national EAS 
operations.

Now that the FCC Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau has 
responsbility for both EAS and licensing public safety communications, it 
could provide joint guidance with FEMA and NOAA/NWS for state/local public 
safety agencies and EAS operations.