State and Federal agencies, in conjunction with Potash-Corp Aurora and area emergency responders will be practicing on the Pamlico River today to prepare — just in case of emergency.

PotashCorp-Aurora was invited by the U.S. Coast Guard to participate in PREP, a training event that pulls together emergency response organizations from the federal, state and local level. The Coast Guard is required to do this type of large-scale training involving an industrial site every four years, according to Ray McKeithan, PotashCorp-Aurora’s manager of public affairs. The Army Corps of Engineers, National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, North Carolina Division of Water Resources, N.C. Coastal Management, N.C. Emergency Management, Beaufort County Emergency Management, Aurora, Bath and Bunyan volunteer departments will participate in the daylong training.

Residents and those boating on the river may see oil boom deployment in the Pamlico near the Aurora site, as well as official vessels in the area, McKeithan said.

The on-the-water drills are practice — coordinating the roles and efforts of agencies during a given emergency. The drills aren’t limited to action, but encompass communication, as well, by setting up clear pathways for information flow to and from participating agencies, as well to the public.

“We view this as an excellent opportunity to partner with federal, state and local agencies for valuable training that will benefit each organization, and those we serve,” said Mark Johnson, assistant general manager of the PotashCorp-Aurora.

“Basically, this is so we can all have experience working with each other, developing  best practices and continuous improvement in the event an actual incident,” McKeithan said. “It helps them (USCG) on a number of different levels, but it also helps us too. It helps us to get organized for any sized event. We do it to be prepared and as a precaution, because that’s one of our core values — safety.”

McKeithan said, in PotashCorp-Aurora’s 50 years, the phosphate mining company has never experienced an incident requiring an emergency response on the level of today’s practice drills.

The drills are expected to start early morning.

“We end when we successfully meet the objectives — and there are many of those,” McKeithan. “But it’s a one-day exercise.”