Monroe County alert about Fermi II nuclear plant was sent in error, officials say

Some Monroe County residents received an emergency alert Thursday morning related to the Fermi 2 nuclear power plant, but officials say it was sent by mistake and there is no emergency at the plant

Michigan State Police said the message was accidentally sent to opt-in subscribers of the Monroe County Everidge alert system and has since been retracted. "THERE IS NO EMERGENCY at Fermi II," state police said.

Monroe County Emergency Management provides local emergency alerts via home phone or mobile device to community residents who sign up for the Everidge system. The alert was revoked a few minutes after it was sent, and Monroe County EMD has confirmed it was issued in error.

"Monroe County agencies were executing a drill exercise this morning at Fermi II in Frenchtown. An accidental message was sent in ERROR to shelter in place. Again this was an error. If you have any questions, please contact our hotline 734-243-8600. Thank you and have a great day."

The Fermi II Nuclear Power Plant, operated by DTE, is along the Lake Erie shoreline in Monroe County's Frenchtown Township. The plant employs about 850 workers and supplies about 20% of the power DTE generates for its customers in Southeast Michigan.

As explained in DTE's Emergency Preparedness book for residents of Monroe and Wayne counties, the 10-mile Emergency Planning Zone area around the power plant includes parts of Ash, Berlin, Brownstown, Frenchtown and Monroe townships, along with the cities and villages of Estral Beach, Flat Rock, Gibraltar, Monroe, Carleton, Rockwood and South Rockwood.

"The Fermi 2 emergency plans are tested regularly," DTE says in that community guidebook.

Should there be an emergency at the power plant, state and county officials can ask area residents to evacuate or shelter in place, with instructions depending on the circumstances.