This newsletter is supported by readers like you. Thank you for your interest and support of Cops & Congress. Your subscription for yourself (or a gift) brings you closer to the decisions shaping the community and ensures I can continue delivering the stories that matter most. Step-by-step instructions to upgrade as an unpaid reader are available here. If you value this reporting, please consider helping sustain it. Situational awareness: A scoop is exclusive reporting—when no one else is on the story. It’s not just breaking news. It’s journalism with impact.
TERRELL, N.C. — Federal evaluators have reaffirmed that state and local governments are adequately prepared to protect the public in the event of a radiological emergency at the McGuire Nuclear Plant in Mecklenburg County. But at an Aug. 28 briefing to present those findings, no members of the public attended that I saw — only emergency personnel and two journalists, myself included.
I drove more than three hours round-trip to this briefing because no one else was recording it. FEMA didn’t, the state didn’t, and local emergency management didn’t. In 2025, with cameras and phones everywhere, there is no excuse for leaving a public safety briefing undocumented. If the government won’t record its own meetings, the public has no official record — and without a recording, it effectively doesn’t exist. That’s why I recorded it myself: to create a verifiable account of what was said and what was not.
The public session, held at Sherrills Ford Library, followed a full-scale exercise on August 26 hosted by Catawba County Emergency Services in Newton. The drill tested coordination across multiple counties around Lake Norman and Charlotte within the 10-mile Emergency Planning Zone, including Mecklenburg, Lincoln, Gaston, Iredell, and Catawba, as well as Duke Energy and state agencies.
Under congressional authority, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requires FEMA to conduct and evaluate these biennial drills to ensure that evacuation, sheltering, communications, and other protective actions can be carried out. While FEMA Region 4 affirmed “reasonable assurance” that offsite preparedness remains sufficient, the absence of public participation raised questions about outreach and transparency for an exercise that could affect more than 284,700 people living near the plant.
JT Ackerman, the Technological Hazards Branch Chief for FEMA Region 4 and Chair of the Regional Assistance Committee (RAC), led the review.
“What we look at is the validation of the plans and procedures for the counties and the state,” Ackerman said. “And so we evaluate against their plans and procedures.”
Catawba County Emergency Services, which hosted the exercise, stated on September 2, highlighting the scope of the response team:
“This drill is required and evaluated by FEMA to ensure quality Emergency Services readiness and coordination across multiple counties and departments. Catawba County Emergency Services and its partners stand ready to provide a rapid and coordinated response to all affected areas; protecting, relocating, and providing resources for all affected citizens, in the event of any emergency involving the McGuire Nuclear Station in Mecklenburg County, NC.
Based on the outcome of the exercise, it is FEMA Region 4’s position that reasonable assurance relative to offsite preparedness for the McGuire Nuclear Station will be continued.”
The Regional Assistance Committee (RAC) is a federal-state advisory group chaired by FEMA and includes representatives from the NRC, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Health and Human Services. The RAC ensures that state and local plans align with federal standards and can be implemented effectively in the event of a nuclear incident.
For more details on evacuation maps, an emergency preparedness guide, and planning information, visit Duke Energy’s official McGuire Nuclear Emergency Preparedness page.
