On June 3, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a public notice announcing that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with the FCC, will conduct the next nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) on August 7, 2019, at 2:20 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), with a backup date of August 21, 2019, in case of inclement weather. This nationwide test will only be disseminated using the broadcast based EAS “daisy chain” system. It will be initiated using Primary Entry Point “PEP” stations. The test message will use the National Periodic Test (NPT) event code and be geo-targeted using the All-US (000000) geocode.
The FCC’s Public Notice also stated that the EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS) is now open and accepting 2019 filings. All EAS Participants must renew their identifying information in ETRS Form One on or before July 3, 2019. Each EAS Participant should file a separate copy of Form One for each of its EAS encoders/decoders.
On or before 11:59 p.m. EDT, August 7, 2019, EAS Participants must file “day of test” information sought by ETRS Form Two. On or before September 23, 2019, EAS Participants must file the detailed post-test data sought by ETRS Form Three. ETRS Forms Two and Three will become available in the ETRS at the time of initiation of the 2019 nationwide test. Filers can access ETRS here.
For further information regarding the nationwide EAS test, contact Elizabeth Cuttner, Attorney Advisor, Policy and Licensing Division, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, at (202) 418-2145 or elizabeth.cuttner@fcc.gov, or Maureen Bizhko, Attorney Advisor, Policy and Licensing Division, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, at (202) 418-0011 or maureen.bizhko@fcc.gov.