How to not accidentally break into a nuclear power plant

http://www.ydr.com/story/news/2016/06/01/nuclear-power-plant/85186618/

These tips should keep area hikers and boaters away from nuclear power plants. York and Dauphin counties are home to two nuclear power plants, both of which share some real estate with area hikers and boaters.Though deliberate security breaches are rare, there's a chance people could get on power plant land without realizing it.

Last Friday, a Virginia couple said they got lost around Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station. They were arrested — police say they allegedly cut a lock on a security fence — charged with criminal trespassing and are being held at York County Prison awaiting a preliminary hearing, police said.

Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station sits along the West bank of the Susquehanna River in Southern York County, surrounded by 600 acres of land, according to Krista Merkel, the power plant's spokeswoman. A popular hiking trail, the Mason-Dixon Trail, traverses a portion of that wilderness.Farther north on the Susquehanna, Three Mile Island sits on a 382-acre tract near popular areas for boaters and anglers.

Both plants are heavily guarded by security forces with military-grade rifles and the authority to use them, said Neil Sheehan, Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman.With that in mind, here are some tips on how to avoid getting arrested or detained for trespassing or getting inadvertently stuck in the intake area on the river that routes water into the reactors' cooling system.

Hikers: Call security first When the Mason-Dixon Trail was created in 1981, hikers worked out a deal with the power plant to route more than 15 miles of trail through its property, said Jim Hooper, the former hiking club president who also helped to build the 199-mile trail through Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware.Since 9/11, the power plant has asked hikers to notify security prior to accessing its land, Hooper said.It's more of a courtesy than a requirement, Hooper said. The plant's security force, which uses cameras and other monitoring equipment, will know you're on the property either way.Still, Hooper said that after after his trail maintenance team had a brush with security in 2001, he said he prefers to play it safe.

"Right after 9/11 we were working just north of Peach Bottom," Hooper said. "We had a truck come by with a guy with a machine gun looking at us. After that we always let them know."Once on power plant land, Hooper said his best advice is the same advice he'd give hikers regardless of whose property they're on: Stay on the trail.The number for security is 717-456-4212.

Boaters: Obey the buoys

Nuclear power plants need a lot of water to cool them, said Sheehan. That's why they're usually found on rivers, where the flowing water can be cycled into the reactors' cooling systems. That means Peach Bottom and Three Mile Island are visible by boaters on the Susquehanna. Marker buoys surround both plants, warning watercraft to stay away, said Steve Winand, owner of Shanks Mare Outfitters, a kayak rental and tour company in Lower Windsor Township.

With more appealing spots nearby, such as Clarke Lake and several Islands north of the lake, most kayakers don't venture too close to Peach Bottom, said Brad Nelson, owner of Starrk Moon Kayaks in Delta.Those who do navigate past one of the plants should pay close attention to buoys and warning signs and follow all instructions, said Eric Levis, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission spokesman.Power plants around the country have had issues with kayakers getting stuck in off-limits areas near plant's water intakes.

Although, neither of the area power plants have had recent issues with boaters, Sheehan said."Kayakers could get cited," he said.Waterways around nuclear plants, known as "exclusion zones," are technically in the Coast Guard's jurisdiction, Levis said. However, a Fish and Boat Commission officer could still cite a boater who was in an exclusion zone."Our officers are out there to make sure people are following safe boating practices," Levis said. "So the officer would probably talk to the person to see why they're there and tell them to stay out of the exclusion zone."