Dear Mayor:

The New Jersey Emergency Alert System (EAS) Plan has been revised and is being distributed to all New Jersey broadcasters, cable operators, and government officials. This revision includes procedures for activation of the EAS for transmitting AMBER Alerts. An AMBER Alert is a wide-area alert for a missing child that is believed to have been criminally abducted. AMBER Alerts may only be activated by the New Jersey State Police, through the State Office of Emergency Management.

As you may already be aware, the EAS may be activated by the State Office of Emergency Management, county Emergency Management Coordinators or the National Weather Service. The EAS may only be activated for wide-area emergencies that require the public to take immediate action, such as taking shelter, evacuations, or remaining tuned for further instructions. The EAS may not be activated by municipal officials.

Events which may require activation of the EAS include, but are not limited to, floods, explosions, and large scale HazMat incidents. Municipal Emergency Management Coordinators may request activation of the EAS through the county Emergency Management Coordinator. Any large scale emergency incident, regardless of whether the EAS is activated, requires notification to the county Emergency Management Coordinator and the State Office of Emergency Management at (609) 882-4201.

The EAS Plan does not preclude local governments or school boards from making public service announcements of school closings or road detours in conjunction with local television, cable or radio stations. Announcements of this type would be handled through existing relationships or contracts between the local government and the local television, cable or radio station.

The State Office of Emergency Management and the League of Municipalities encourages local officials to develop relationships with local broadcasters to facilitate the dissemination of non-emergency information.