TVA maintains comprehensive emergency preparedness plans to help assure a coordinated response to any operational, weather-related or terrorist event impacting TVA's infrastructure, employees or public health and safety.
After the Kingston ash spill, TVA reviewed its emergency plans and improved its emergency management framework based on the latest industry best practices to make certain TVA seeks to have the highest capability to respond to an event and keep the public informed.
Actions are being developed and implemented during fiscal year 2010:
- A Crisis Information Plan to provide accurate, clear and timely information to all stakeholders in response to a crisis.
- Integration of emergency planning and crisis communications planning, training and drills to help assure overall preparedness.
- Agency-wide coordinated training to help emergency responders know their roles and responsibilities as part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency National Incident Management System.
- Each major operating organization maintains an emergency plan that details the prescribed response to multiple potential emergency situations. Training exercises are held regularly, and lessons gained from other utilities are reviewed to improve TVA's preparedness.
- The Crisis Information Plan is the framework for coordinating all TVA communication activities during an emergency event.
- The Nuclear Emergency Preparedness program operates under guidelines set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and is reviewed for compliance annually by the NRC at each of TVA's three nuclear sites.