[EAS] Colorado makes the same WEA mistake as Utah - WEA can't target highwway crossings

[Dave Kline]

The lack of notification of new COGS coming on line is an issue.
If this new player is someone who will provide alerts on a statewide level, then I would expect the SECC to notify broadcasters. And they might do that, but then it may only be done as an amendment to a state plan. That's pretty much akin to a public notice in the newspaper, or an FCC regulation change that only first appears in the federal register. While we have systems in place, such as this forum, that give us a heads up about regulatory matters the readership is not 100%.
I assume that federal register readership is even less. So how does someone who isn't staying in touch with the latest news get the latest news? It should come from whatever ECC is responsible for the area covered by alerts that will be issued by the new player. However if a new COG pops up without there being a responsible LECC, then who is responsible for notifications? Without an LECC you don't even have a local plan to read to get the information.
I was under the impression that LECCs are subservient to the SECC in the sense that LECCs must receive the blessing of the SECC before being approved by the fed. Someone has to approve the COG right? If there is no LECC, then that authorization must have come from the SECC, wouldn't it?

Yes, you are correct that information about a local COG should not be the responsibility of the SECC. That is of course as long as everything is done "according to Hoyle." But the track record shows that it isn't in many instances. Yes! There is a big communication problem, but I think some of that stems from the lack of an entity to provide the communications. And if an LECC is not doing the job, or does not exist, I think it incumbent upon the SECC to step in and fix whatever problems exist.

And if we are really honest with ourselves, broadcasters for the most part don't care. At least on a level somewhere above the pay-grade of the person maintaining the EAS equipment. That poor slob is probably the station's C.O. and he is mandated by federal regulations to "care." Though my experience has been that most C.O.s care at a level well above minimum requirements. But beyond that, EAS is just something that interrupts programming. These interruptions are then exacerbated by the communications and training (or lack thereof) errors that contribute to more unnecessary program interruptions. IMHO, the SECC is the overriding authority for EAS in the state. When things are broken in that state, the SECC needs to step up.

State and local governments seem to think it is important to have the ability to use these warning systems. But when it comes to providing the tools to help the ECC do what they say they want them to do, the actual support rarely meets the desired need.

On Tue, Jul 21, 2020 at 9:47 AM Adrienne Abbott <nevadaeas at charter.net> wrote:
>Another wrinkle, Barry and Dave: There's no communication to the
>broadcasters when an agency comes online with CAP. The first indication
>broadcasters have that an agency is now using CAP is when there's an EAS
>activation for a county or an Event Code which stations may not have
>programmed in their equipment. Then the reaction is "Broadcasters don't care
>about EAS", when, in reality, we've been blindsided by IPAWS. Someone should
>have responsibility for making sure that broadcasters know when a new COG is
>created in their area, for making sure that emergency managers are aware
>that not all stations carry every Event Code for every county in their state
>and getting them a copy of the state/local EAS Plan. And no, the SECC is not
>the correct answer.

>Dave Kline wrote:
>        I certainly agree that someone needs to step in and put a halt to
>it. I'm just not convinced that FEMA should be the one doing it.
>        It breaks down into a free-for-all either to appear relevant or to
>CYA as the reasons for issuing alerts. If those are the primary
>motivations behind issuing alerts, then the whole system has lost it's way.

>Barry wrote:
>        At the risk of sounding a bit harsher than I wish,
>        this is a long standing issue that, sadly, in many
>        areas has let to the public no longer considering
>        EAS for what it should be - and worse, not even
>        knowing of many alerts because station program
>        directors and managers have long since blocked
>        anything but the most required alerts: RMT, RWT,
>        EAN, TOR, etc. due to many years of the disconnect
>        between broadcasters and EMs.

>        It is the long-term issue of EAS being mandatory for
>        broadcasters but cooperation voluntary for EMs.

>Adrienne Abbott, W6BCY
>Nevada EAS Chair

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Dave Kline - Solder Jockey
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