Governor Scott McCallum's Summary of Wisconsin Terrorism Preparedness Efforts for this Week

From: Gleason, Edward 
Sent: Friday, October 26, 2001 1:45 PM
To: *DMA-WEM Central; *DMA-WEM Regional Offices; *Legislative All
Assembly; *Legislative All Senate; Albert, Phil; Anderson, Thomas;

Subject: Governor's Terrorism Preparedness Weekly Update

Responding to the September 11 Terrorist Attacks:
Wisconsin's Terrorism Preparedness Efforts
October 26, 2001 Report

I had the occasion today to fly on the first Midwest Express flight from
Reagan National Airport to Milwaukee since September 11. The suspension hit
Midwest Express particularly hard, as flights to Reagan National accounted
for about 10% of its traffic. I am pleased that operations are resuming back
to normal and I will continue do whatever we can to support Midwest Express
and Wisconsin airlines.
 The following summarizes Wisconsin's terrorism preparedness efforts over
the past week: 

Suspicious Letters and Anthrax Threats  The past week we continued to see a
number of suspicious letters and packages disrupting business and government
activities and stretching the resources of our public safety community. Our
anthrax emergency response protocols, developed and modified over the past
several weeks, have helped in our response efforts, but I realize that
uncertainty remains and there is still a high degree of anxiety on the part
of the public because of developments on the east coast. To date, over 300
tests have been conducted in Wisconsin and it is important to note that all
have tested negative for anthrax. 

Public Health Issues  To meet the needs of health officials, the Department
of Health and Human Services is conducting weekly conference calls with all
local public health departments around the state to standardize response and
provide current information on issues of concern.  

Wisconsin Assembly Hearing on Bioterrorism  On October 22, the Assembly's
Public Health Committee held a public hearing on Wisconsin's State of
Preparedness for Bioterrorism.  Secretary Dubé, Department of Health and
Family Services (DHFS), and Administrator Gleason, Wisconsin Emergency
Management (WEM) who co-chair my Task Force on Terrorism Preparedness
testified before Chairperson Frank Urban and his committee about Wisconsin's
preparedness efforts. Other members of the Task Force testifying were  Dr.
Jeff Davis, State Epidemiologist, Dr. Dennis Maki, UW Hospital and Dr.
Stephen Hargarten, Froedtert Hospital.

Protecting Our Drinking Water  The Department of Natural Resource's (DNR)
drinking water program continues to provide assistance and guidance to
public drinking water facilities.  DNR is also developing training for
program personnel regarding security measures as well as response procedures
in the event of a chem/bio terrorist incident.

The Public Service Commission (PSC) is hosting a meeting of water utilities
on November 14.  This meeting, similar to the PSC's efforts with the
telephone and energy utilities held October 3, will provide water utilities
an opportunity to share security practices implemented and other efforts to
date.  The DNR and WEM have also been invited to participate. 

Protecting Our Food Supply  On October 25, the Department of Agriculture,
Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) issued a press release describing
safety measures that have been in place to protect the food supply.  DATCP
has about 110 inspectors that oversee food safety in grocery stores,
dairies, meat processors, bakeries and other food processors in the state.
DATCP also contracts with additional inspectors to help with oversight.
Additionally, DATCP has also prepared a comprehensive emergency plan to
address suspicious events involving the food chain. Department of
Corrections has implemented strict food safety procedures on state run farms
in response to the Foot and Mouth Disease alert that was issued earlier this
year.

Coordination with Law Enforcement  The FBI is providing regular
informational briefings for state and local law enforcement each Friday. To
date, the FBI has received over 360,000 leads nationwide with 3,500 leads
received in Wisconsin.  The State Patrol, DNR, WEM and Division of Criminal
Investigation (DCI) have been attending these meetings to ensure that the
state law enforcement remains abreast of the current situation.  In
cooperation with DCI, the FBI is exploring the ability to disseminate
information over the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Network to our law
enforcement community thereby facilitating information flow. Additionally,
the FBI briefs WEM several times a week to ensure I remain abreast of
federal efforts.  To date, no credible threats have been directed toward
Wisconsin. 

Meeting with Wisconsin State Fire Chiefs Association Executive Board   On
October 24, DCI Administrator Jim Warren and WEM Administrator Ed Gleason
met with Wisconsin's Fire Chiefs to discuss terrorism preparedness issues
related to fire service and law enforcement.   Incident Command was a topic
that generated considerable discussion. Although progress has been made in
this area, the need for more training and further acceptance by all levels
of the public safety community were the primary concerns. WEM has developed
training classes in this area and will continue to make this a high priority
in the coming months.

National Guard Activations The women and men of the Department of Military
Affairs are actively involved in America's response to the attacks on
September 11 - applying
their skills wherever needed. From the 128th Air Refueling Wing, the 115th
Fighter Wing, the 128th Air Control Squadron and their subordinate units we
have people serving at
Madison, Milwaukee, Volk Field and elsewhere.  The largely unpublicized
service of these men and women has been a major contribution to the total
effort and continues to be vital to sustaining it.

Aviation Security at our Major Airports National Guard airmen and soldiers
are on duty at seven Wisconsin airports. They are augmenting the security
operations at the following airports: Austin Straubel (Green Bay), Central
Wisconsin (Mosinee), Dane County Regional (Madison), General Mitchell
International (Milwaukee), La Crosse Municipal, Outagamie County (Appleton),
and Wittman Regional (Oshkosh). Our soldiers and airmen will be on duty at
these locations for the next four to six months.

General Aviation Security  Wisconsin's Department of Transportation has
created an aviation security unit that is working to address security issues
with general aviation. In Wisconsin, we have over 740 landing facilities
statewide with about 150-200 being public landing airports.  Wis DOT Bureau
of Aeronautics developed General Aviation Airport Security Recommendation
and mailed these to all airport operators on October 17.

Earlier this month, the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer
Protection contacted the state crop dusting association and forwarded them
the document "Security Considerations for Agricultural Aircraft Operators"
prepared by the National Agricultural Aviation Association.  These suggested
practices addressed plane, equipment and grounds security.

Homeland Defense  The Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) will
be conducting an assessment of Wisconsin's level of preparedness on Oct 31.
This assessment is being done in all states and terroritories to determine
the readiness levels of state and local governments. This assessment will
take a snap shot as to what the state and local governments are capable of
doing right now and then will address shortfalls. In addition to FEMA,
representatives from the departments of Justice, Defense and Health and
Human Services will participate in our assessment. We will have
representatives from respective agencies of state government to meet with
their federal counterparts.  FEMA will forward the completed nationwide
assessment to the Office of Homeland Security led by Governor Ridge. 

Governor's Terrorism Preparedness Task Force I am pleased to announce that
Dr Stephen Hargarten, Professor and Chair, Medical College of
Wisconsin/Froedtert Hospital's Department of Emergency Medicine has been
named to the Task Force. Dr. Hargarten will bring additional perspective on
emergency medical and trauma response capabilities and needs. I look forward
to his contributions in our efforts to ensure Wisconsin is prepared. 

The Task Force will review the work that has been done to date and provide
guidance and direction for work that remains.  The Task Force is comprised
of members from the public health, law enforcement, fire service, emergency
medical service, agriculture, information technology, emergency management,
and volunteer agencies.  Members of the Task Force will work with other
leaders in their response communities to ensure we are aware of the
strengths and gaps in our current preparedness efforts. The next meeting of
the Task Force is scheduled for November 9 in Madison.  

The Task Force developed "Frequently Asked Questions About Terrorism", which
can be found at www.wisconsin.gov. 

Statewide Domestic Preparedness Strategic Plan On October 25, Wisconsin
Emergency Management forwarded Wisconsin's Statewide Domestic Preparedness
Strategic Plan to the U.S Department of Justice. This plan assesses the
threats and vulnerabilities as perceived by our counties and the state,
addresses current capabilities and identifies needs at both the state and
local level. Wisconsin becomes the 10th state to complete the plan. Attorney
General Ashcroft has directed all states to complete their assessments by
December 15.  

Once the plan is completed and approved by the U.S. Department of Justice,
it will free up $2.6 million for equipment grants for our first responders.
To date, approximately $1 million has been distributed primarily to the
eight Regional Hazardous Materials Level A Teams, Milwaukee and Dane
Counties, State Patrol, bomb squads, DNR, DHFS, State Lab of Hygiene,
Capitol Police and UW Police. The funds are to be used for personal
protective, detection and monitoring, and communications equipment.  

Employee and State Building Security   Capitol Police continues to work with
state agencies to raise security levels.  All state agencies have been very
aggressive in meeting tighter security standards. Capitol Police continues
to conduct mail handling classes for state agencies. Some agencies have made
masks and latex gloves available to mail personnel to use at their
discretion.

Insurance Commissioners Meet in Washington, D.C.  On October 22- 24
Commissioner O'Connell and Deputy Commissioner Blumer participated in the
National Association of Insurance Commissioners Summit in Washington D.C. to
discuss in greater depth the industry challenges related to the Sept. 11
events.  Participants included key members of Congress and Bush
Administration officials and industry executives in addition to the 50 state
insurance commissioners.