FEMA-rated emergency drill Tuesday at Oyster Creek

On Tuesday afternoon, emergency vehicles will race to the Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant and its surrounding environs in Lacey Township for a thorough check of how first-responders and plant staffers would handle actual emergencies. If you're anywhere near the site, you'll see some of the activity.

Of the many emergency-response drills that revolve around the generating station, Tuesday's is, arguably, of the highest visiblity and the greatest significance.

Ocean County and municipal emergency management teams from all communities in the 10-mile Emergency Planning Zone take part in a drill to be evaluated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as well as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Scheduled to start in the afternoon and continue into the evening, it will test plant personnel and outside agencies for their speed and efficiency in responding to several emergency scenarios.

Tuesday's drill also includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the New Jersey State Police Office of Emergency Management.

The drill is part of the series that has continued throughout the plant's life cycle, which is scheduled to start ramping down in 2019.