House Republican Press Release

January 4, 2006

Press Office: 860-240-8700

Hetherington Announces Plan to Notify Towns of Emergency at Indian Point

State Representative John W. Hetherington (R-125^th) announced that James M. Thomas, Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, has agreed to relay to requesting towns in Southwest Connecticut reports of an emergency at the Indian Point nuclear facility at Buchanan, New York.  The plan was outlined in a letter to Hetherington and follows a long effort by him to have Entergy, the facility operator, notify nearby Connecticut towns in case of an incident. Hetherington said that, pursuant to the agreement, he has requested notification on behalf of New Canaan and Wilton.

“I very much appreciate Commissioner Thomas stepping up to assist towns in emergency planning Region 1,” Hetherington said. “We are directly in the path of danger or flight from danger, and we need to know immediately if there is a problem.”

According to Representative Hetherington, he and other officials repeatedly called upon the Indian Point operators to add towns in lower Fairfield County to the list of municipalities to be alerted in the event of trouble, but Entergy consistently failed to respond. “These people have an enormous responsibility for our safety,” Hetherington stated, “and we should be able to trust them. But they seem determined to make that hard, and they give their critics credibility.”

Hetherington explained that notification to New Canaan would go to First Selectman Judy Neville and Jim Cole, Director of Emergency Preparedness. In Wilton, an alert would be relayed to First Selectman Bill Brennan and Fire Chief Paul Milositz, who is in charge of emergency preparedness.