Director Joanne Potvin

Phone: 207-784-0147

E-mail: anem1@adelphia.net

Do the plans allow citizens to stay home (if they are informed), or can counties force evacuations?

We cannot go in blanketly and force people to evacuate their homes.

I think local government needs policies requiring people to sign a waiver if you want to stay. Number one, if you stay, we are not going to put public safety in jeopardy to come get you off of your rooftop if the water gets that high. And when we are able to get out there, you will pay for the rescue.

Are there provisions to absorb refugees from other emergencies (like Katrina) into each county?

Some plans do exist in how we take people in. It started really when Maine Yankee was in operation. Anyone that was outside the 50-mile emergency evacuation zone for Maine Yankee had to create plans. Some towns were responsible for receiving and registering them, others were for doing decontamination. Then they’d move on to the next town, where they’d be sheltered.

What will the revisions cost?

We really try to keep up-to-date all along, so this won’t be a major project for us.

Paper revision does not cost anything. Most of the plan already exists on paper, or in the computer.

What do you perceive to be the greatest natural or man-made threat to our counties?

Our greatest threat now is from flooding.

We don’t have a problem with certain flood stages, say below 13 feet. When we get to 16 feet on the river, we start to get concerned and at 17 we have serious problems in Auburn. By 20 feet, we are now looking at evacuating Newberry Street, Laurel Street, Little Canada, and Lincoln Street. Down in that area, we have a lot of people that live along the river.

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