WA State Emergency Communications Committee — Washington Military Department (December 10, 2024)
Summary
Slides from the Washington Military Department Emergency Management Division on the WA State Emergency Communications Committee (SECC), for the House Innovation, Community & Economic Development, and Veterans Committee, December 10, 2024, listing Robert Ezelle, Director, and Kevin Wickersham, Response Section Manager. The slides describe SECCs as volunteer non-governmental organizations that develop plans for administering the Emergency Alert System (EAS) in each state, and say the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires each state to maintain an EAS Plan and an SECC. Under current concerns, they say the federal infrastructure for EAS is outdated and that EAS and WEA only support English and Spanish language characters.
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“WA State Emergency Communications Committee — Washington Military Department (December 10, 2024).”
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Washington Military Department
Emergency Management Division
WA State Emergency Communications
Committee (SECC)
Presentation to the House Innovation, Community & Economic
Development, and Veterans Committee
December 10, 2024
Robert Ezelle
Director, Emergency Management Division
Washington Military Department
Kevin Wickersham
Response Section Manager
Washington Military Department
Emergency Management Division
Overview of Alert and Warning Systems and Roles
• Federal
• Regulates alert and warning systems and practices (FEMA)
• Provides infrastructure and guidance (FEMA)
• Regulates telecommunications companies (FCC)
• Issues weather alerts for urgent situations (NWS)
• State
• Coordinates among and provides guidance to local jurisdictions
• Coordinates with FEMA to provide appropriate alerting authority to
WA jurisdictions
• Can alert on behalf of local jurisdictions when requested
• Issues AMBER alerts (WSP and EMD at request from local law
enforcement)
• Local A diagram illustrating the distribution of information utilizing IPAWS.
• Have jurisdiction and responsibility (in WA) for emergency alert and Source: FEMA.gov
warning (RCW 38.52.070)
• Determine needs for alerts and warnings; issues when needed
• Statutory responsibility for multilingual alerting (RCW 38.52.070 (3))
2
Washington Military Department
Emergency Management Division
What are SECCs?
• Volunteer non-governmental organizations
that develop plans for administering the
Emergency Alert System (EAS) in each state
• The Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) requires that each state maintain an EAS
Plan and an SECC
• SECC members typically represent EAS
participants, such as radio broadcasters and
cable companies, and may also include state Image of EAS message on broadcast television
during 911 outage in 2018
and local government officials
3
Washington Military Department
Emergency Management Division
The WA SECC
• Meets every other • Entities represented on
the WA SECC:
month • WA EMD (Alert and Warning Center and
State 911 Office)
• Responsibilities include: • Washington State Patrol (having
• Maintaining the State EAS Plan per FCC responsibility for AMBER Alerts)
requirements • National Weather Service
• Guide and coordinate among Local • County emergency managers
• FEMA Region 10 Emergency
Emergency Communications Committees Communications
(LECCs) • Local Emergency Communications
• Address issues and concerns related to Committees (LECCs)
operation of the EAS in WA including • WA State Association of Broadcasters
technical issues, testing, etc. • Radio broadcasters
• Support emergency management • Cellular providers
jurisdictions by providing alerting • Cable providers
• Amateur radio clubs
guidance
4
Washington Military Department
Emergency Management Division
The WA EAS Plan aka WA-PAWS Plan
• Washington Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (WA-PAWS) Plan
• FCC required “EAS Plan,” formal documentation of WA adoption of EAS
• Serves as official documentation of:
• Membership and operating bylaws of the SECC
• Processes for appropriate use of EAS and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) in WA
• Roles and responsibilities for use of EAS and WEA in WA
• Procedures and schedules for regular EAS tests
• Defines Operational Areas and Local Emergency Communications Committee (LECC)
areas
• Provides recommendations for LECC structure, operation, LECC plans, etc.
• https://mil.wa.gov/wa-paws
5
Washington Military Department
Emergency Management Division
WA Operational Areas (OAs)
• Each Operational Area has:
• An Operational Area Plan
• An LECC
• Two WA OAs are unique in the USA
• Portland, OR OA includes Clark Co, WA
• Inland Northwest (WA) OA partners
closely with Kootenai Co., ID
• In both cases, member counties jointly
coordinate test alerting and are able to
send emergency alerts across state lines
when appropriate
A map showing the different Operational Areas within the WAPAWS Plan.
Source: EMD (WA PAWS Plan Tab B9) 6
Washington Military Department
Emergency Management Division
Current Concerns
• Federal infrastructure for EAS is outdated and does not make use of
modern technologies (streaming TV/video services, internet-connected
home devices, etc) so has limited reach
• EAS and WEA only support English and Spanish language characters
• Confederated approach to emergency alerts in WA severely limits
opportunities for multilingual alerting statewide
• Resources and expertise for effective alert and warning are limited
statewide
7
Washington Military Department
Emergency Management Division
Questions?
8
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- SHA-256
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- Original
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