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Suggested Citation:"Section 1 - Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. A Guide to Emergency Response Planning at State Transportation Agencies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14469.
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Page 5
Page 6
Suggested Citation:"Section 1 - Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. A Guide to Emergency Response Planning at State Transportation Agencies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14469.
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Page 6
Page 7
Suggested Citation:"Section 1 - Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. A Guide to Emergency Response Planning at State Transportation Agencies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14469.
×
Page 7
Page 8
Suggested Citation:"Section 1 - Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. A Guide to Emergency Response Planning at State Transportation Agencies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14469.
×
Page 8
Page 9
Suggested Citation:"Section 1 - Introduction." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. A Guide to Emergency Response Planning at State Transportation Agencies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14469.
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Page 9

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

Background September 11, 2001. Northeast Blackout. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Wildfires in the West. Tornadoes in the Midwest. Flooding in New England and the upper Midwest. Threat of pan- demic influenza. Paralyzing snow and ice storms. The nation’s emergency preparedness and response framework is being challenged by the more extensive all-hazards definition of emergency. At all levels of government, practices in place to plan for and respond to emergencies have had to evolve rapidly, driven by the chang- ing risk environment, emergency technology, and new policy direction at both state and federal levels. At the state level, perhaps no agency is more affected by these changes than the transportation agency.1 No longer are these agencies primarily focused on construction and maintenance of the infrastructure, they are assuming greater responsibility for large-scale evacuations in response to natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires. They are also being asked to establish and assume new roles and systems to address no-notice evacuations and situations requiring limited mobility (e.g., shelter-in-place/quarantine) such as responding to biological outbreaks, epi- demics, pandemics, and the threat of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). In response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the anthrax attacks that followed, a newly formed AASHTO Security Task Force (now the Special Committee on Transportation Security and Emergency Management—SCOTSEM), in cooperation with the FHWA and with funding from NCHRP Project 20-07, Task 151A, produced A Guide to Updating Highway Emergency Response Plans for Terrorist Incidents (the 2002 Guide, AASHTO, 2002). The 2002 Guide clearly responded to the threat of terrorism. Subsequently, the newly created Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which includes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Transportation Security Administra- tion (TSA), and the U.S. Coast Guard, became the focal point for federal emergency response. One of DHS’s first actions was to consolidate the emergency planning/emergency response 5 S E C T I O N 1 Introduction 1State transportation agencies, often Departments of Transportation (DOTs), are those agencies responsible for major components of a state’s transportation system. Some states have separate agencies responsible for different transportation modes—highways, transit, rail, aviation, ports. Other agencies may support the transportation agency, such as traffic enforcement and regulation of motor carriers, which may have transportation-related security needs. When state transportation agency is used in this Guide, it generally applies to transportation agencies, not just at the state level, but also to territorial, multi-regional, local (county and city), and tribal authorities. Nongovernment organizations and private-sector stakeholders involved in emergency response will also find the guidance useful.

(EP/ER) process and begin to publish policies and guidelines to help ER planners at all levels standardize ER doctrines, processes, and resources to ensure a consistent program nationwide. The 2002 Guide was conceived as a quick-response project. AASHTO’s intent was to work- shop the 2002 Guide; allow time for state transportation agencies to identify necessary changes through their experience in implementing the 2002 Guide; allow time for federal roles to be clar- ified; and then to publish a new emergency response guide for state transportation agencies that reflects mature regulations, requirements, and research. The product of that effort is NCHRP Report 525: Surface Transportation Security, Volume 16: A Guide to Emergency Response Planning at State Transportation Agencies (the Guide; the 2010 Guide), which was developed under NCHRP Project 20-59(23). Object and Scope of the 2010 Guide A Guide to Emergency Response Planning at State Transportation Agencies was developed for use by state transportation agencies as they plan and develop their organizational functions, roles, and responsibilities for emergency response within the all-hazards context of the National Incident Management System (NIMS). Guide Scope The 2010 Guide reflects the evolving context of threats and hazards, improved state trans- portation agency organization for traffic management, and the nation’s emergency management context (DHS, FEMA, etc.). Consistent with this context, the Guide is • NIMS-compliant, as it fully embraces the incident command, joint planning, standardization, and performance-based improvements in incident/emergency management (NIMS, 2008). • All-hazards oriented, which considers the full range of hazards and threats from minor traf- fic incidents to catastrophic events. It applies to all transportation agencies, from the state to territorial, local, and tribal-level agencies, and even to interregional coalitions. • Multimodal, including all modes and sectors that use the highway system, including personal travel, transit, and commercial vehicle transport.2 • Oriented to the safe and efficient management of incidents, for the safety of responders and victims alike, for preserving public and private infrastructure and socioeconomic activities, and for rapid restoration to normalcy. The 2010 Guide also explores how transportation fits into the traditional emergency manage- ment community and what transportation offers. The 2010 Guide provides the legal/institutional perspective because it is imperative that a transportation agency understand what it must—or should—do and assess its capability to do it. Through its ER planning evaluation and assessment, the agency can incorporate a stronger, broadly focused operations and management perspective. It is also important to understand that a state transportation agency will always fulfill a sup- port role in the emergency response effort to major incidents. Rather than serving as the lead emergency response agency, the transportation agency will receive direction from the state or some higher government authority. 6 A Guide to Emergency Response Planning at State Transportation Agencies 2The 2010 Guide does not directly address aviation, marine, heavy rail, or pipeline modes, although these modes and the threats against them can impact transportation infrastructure and operations. These modes should be considered, as appropriate, in the ER planning process (e.g., aviation and marine have a place in emergency evacuation planning).

Material in the 2010 Guide connects the state agency’s participation in state/regional ER community plans and its internal Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). Readers will also under- stand that responses range from the routine traffic incident—so familiar to transportation agencies—through major emergencies, to catastrophic events. The 2010 Guide also updates previous NCHRP work related to transportation, security, and emergencies. Appendix K, Annotated Bibliography, covers a number of other relevant guidance documents referenced in the 2010 Guide (Appendix K can be accessed at http://www.TRB.org/ SecurityPubs). The 2010 Guide incorporates advances made over the last decade in Traffic Incident Manage- ment (TIM); Emergency Transportation Operations, and supporting programs developed by the FHWA. These include the Strategic Highway Research Program, second generation (SHRP II); the National Traffic Incident Management Coalition (NTIMC); National Unified Goal (NUG) for Traffic Incident Management; and AASHTO’s Subcommittee on Systems Operations and Management (SSOM) and SCOTSEM research programs. Finally, this is a guide, not a standard. Guide Audience Organizationally, the 2010 Guide is designed to help state transportation agency program- level managers and their counterparts at other levels of government plan, organize, staff, train, exercise, manage, implement, and fund preparations to carry out their emergency response responsibilities. These include the primary and supporting agencies identified in each state’s Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) under Emergency Support Function (ESF) #1–Transportation. These responsibilities include all transportation modes that are under state control or influence and those functions agencies perform to support multi-state, state, and local emergencies. Often the state transportation agency, including its headquarters, divisions/districts, depart- ments and bureaus, and/or transportation management centers (TMCs), is the lead ESF #1 agency. Support agencies to ESF #1 often include state patrol and other law enforcement agencies, State National Guard/Department of Military Affairs, and the State Emergency Management Agency. Other state transportation agencies involved could include turnpike and toll, state railroad, and port authorities and waterway agencies (if not part of the transportation agency); civil aviation authority (if not part of the transportation agency); and state pipeline authorities. Other state department-level involvement could include education (school buses and school shelters), agri- culture, corrections, and environmental protection. How individual transportation agencies use the 2010 Guide will depend on their current levels of ER planning: • Agencies that have no EOP in place. These agencies will find that the 2010 Guide covers the entire gamut of ER planning, but as the scope can be complex, the Guide includes suggestions for prioritizing ER planning requirements. • Agencies that have some EOPs within the larger EM community and/or at the agency level. Aimed primarily at this group, the 2010 Guide provides a mechanism for identifying gaps in the planning process and the plans themselves and can help agencies prioritize the needed improvements. • Agencies that have very comprehensive interagency EOPs that fully comply with all national policies and recommended guidelines. The 2010 Guide serves as a double check. It is important to stress that not all actions suggested in this 2010 Guide will be the responsibility of the state/territorial/tribal transportation agency; in some states, these may be the responsibility Introduction 7

of local jurisdictions. What is most important is that—together—all levels of government agree on who is responsible for what and that their respective emergency response plans reflect those responsibilities. Guide Organization and Structure The 2010 Guide follows the basic structure established by FEMA in Comprehensive Prepared- ness Guide 101 (CPG 101) Developing and Maintaining State, Territorial, Tribal, and Local Gov- ernment Emergency Plans.3 (CPG 101, 2009) The March 2009 CPG 101 expands upon FEMA’s previous guidance regarding emergency operations planning for transportation agencies. As noted, it also integrates NIMS and NRF concepts and incorporates recommendations from FEMA’s 2005 nationwide review of all state EOPs and references the Target Capabilities List (TCL), which outlines the fundamental capabilities essential to implementing the National Preparedness Guidelines. In addition to introductory material and the institutional context for emergency response, the two major sections of the 2010 Guide are • Guidelines for Developing an Emergency Response Program. A detailed step-by-step guide for assessing transportation agency status for emergency response planning that relates ER planning and operations with Emergency Transportation Operations. It addresses prioritiz- ing improvement for both internal agency EOP and the State EOP, introduces the more detailed self-assessment tool, and identifies other external assessments. • Resource Guide. Includes key resource issues related to surface transportation (generally highway-based) and provides further detailed guidance on ER policies and practices. This sec- tion contains guidance on organizational, staffing, and position decisions; decision-making sequences; a full emergency response matrix; and a purpose and supporting resources for action reference matrix. The first section—a detailed high-level review—relies on the FEMA CPG 101 planning process and will be valuable to those who do the ER planning and implement EOPs, both for the agency’s involvement within the larger EM community and for the agency’s own internal EOP—at both state transportation agency central offices and their regional/district offices and TMC. Addition- ally, the 2010 Guide is aimed at all individuals involved in design, deployment, operation, and maintenance of transportation infrastructure and ongoing operations. Guide Development Process In developing the 2010 Guide, research team members reviewed guidance materials, many other documents, and websites and held discussions with knowledgeable individuals. A key step in the process was to survey state transportation agencies. The team used survey results to iden- tify areas that particularly needed emphasis in the 2010 Guide. The team used the National Response Framework, which establishes new response capability requirements for states and their respective agencies. The team reviewed self-evaluation and guidance practices to develop evaluation criteria against which agencies can assess their current response programs. The criteria use and build upon existing state transportation agency proto- cols and procedures, especially those used for different types of emergencies. 8 A Guide to Emergency Response Planning at State Transportation Agencies 3FEMA published the newly revised CPG 101 in March 2009. The research team had access to a draft copy of that report and information in the 2010 Guide reflects the FEMA 2009 publication.

The focus is on the key elements of NIMS: Command and Management, Preparedness, Resource Management, Communications and Information Management, Supporting Technologies, and Ongoing Management and Maintenance—in combination with the following institutional dimensions: • All-hazards preparedness; • Formal program with senior responsibility, organization, and reporting; • Adequate resource allocation; • Objectives with related performance measures and accountability; and • Laws, regulations, agency policies, and interagency agreements. Based on the above evaluation criteria, the core of the 2010 Guide is a practical self-assessment tool, developed to enable state transportation agencies to (1) evaluate their plans along several response parameters, including training, exercising, adequacy of plans, and interagency relation- ships and (2) recognizing and building on existing agency protocols and procedures, rather than starting from a blank slate. The remainder of the 2010 Guide is organized as follows. Section 2, Institutional Context for Emergency Response, covers the authorities (e.g., laws, policies, and guidelines), the institutional architecture of ER, guiding principles, and key definitions, and the state transportation agency’s role in planning and implementing the National Preparedness Guidelines. Section 3 discusses how to Assess Agency Status in Emergency Response Training. Section 4 is an in-depth guide to help state transportation agencies Develop an Emergency Preparedness Program. Section 5, Nature and Degree of Hazards/Threats, identifies the array of hazards/threats faced by states that affect transportation and indicates the typical impacts of each hazard on the transportation sys- tem and how the transportation system contributes to emergency responses. Section 5 concludes with a list of acronyms, references, and other resources. Section 6 is the Resource Guide. A series of appendices conclude the Guide. Appendices A–J are printed in the 2010 Guide. Appendix A is a Guide to Using Portions of the 2002 Guide (as a matrix). Appendix B identifies Emergency Response Legal Authorities. Appendix C identifies Emergency Response Stakeholder Responsibilities. Appendix D is a glossary of Key Emergency Response Definitions. Appendix E provides Key Traffic Incident Definitions. Appendix F identifies the nation’s Intelligence Fusion Centers. Appendix G describes the Transportation Emergency Response Effects Tracking (TERET) Tool. Appendix H provides links to Model Emergency Operations Plans. Appendix I provides links to Policy and Procedural Memoranda and Memoranda of Under- standing. Appendix J provides links to resources for state transportation agency Training and Exercise Plans. Appendices K through M and spreadsheet tools referenced in the 2010 Guide and its appendices are available by download and can be accessed at http://www.TRB.org/SecurityPubs; search for A Guide to Emergency Response Planning at State Transportation Agencies. Appendix K is an Anno- tated Bibliography. Appendix L is a white paper, “Identification and Delineation of Incident Man- agement and Large-Scale Emergency Response Functions.” Appendix M is a PowerPoint presen- tation that provides an overview of NCHRP Project 20-59(23). Introduction 9

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TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 525: Surface Transportation Security, Volume 16: A Guide to Emergency Response Planning at State Transportation Agencies is designed to help executive management and emergency response planners at state transportation agencies as they and their local and regional counterparts assess their respective emergency response plans and identify areas needing improvement.

NCHRP replaces a 2002 document, A Guide to Updating Highway Emergency Response Plans for Terrorist Incidents.

NCHRP Report 525, Vol. 16 is supported by the following online appendixes:

Appendix K--Annotated Bibliography

Appendix L--White Paper on Emergency Response Functions and Spreadsheet Tool for Emergency Response Functions

Appendix M--2010 Guide Presentation

NCHRP Report 525: Surface Transportation Security is a series in which relevant information is assembled into single, concise volumes—each pertaining to a specific security problem and closely related issues. The volumes focus on the concerns that transportation agencies are addressing when developing programs in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the anthrax attacks that followed. Future volumes of the report will be issued as they are completed.

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