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1 Several major disasters in the United States, including the Loma Prieta Earthquake (1989), Hurricane Andrew (1992), the 9/11 terrorist attacks (2001), and Hurricane Katrina (2005), have resulted in major changes to the way the United States and its citizens think about and approach response and recovery. From the development of local mitigation strategies to community long-term recovery plans, local governments throughout the United States have taken steps to improve their disaster planning, as well as response and recovery capabilities. Likewise, federal and state agencies have also improved their planning and preparedness based on lessons learned from man-made and natural disasters over the past several decades. The goal of this project is to build on this progress by identifying best practices, lessons learned, and sound planning approaches aimed at restoring and revitalizing a community following a disastrous hazardous materials transportation incident. Understanding the chal- lenges facing emergency managers and transportation officials in the short term, as well as the hurdles that city planning officials, economic development councils, and environmental specialists will face in long-term local recovery, are key to effectively addressing this goal. It is important to recognize that recovery from a disaster is a process largely independent of the incident itself. Whether resulting from natural or man-made causes, disaster recovery involves effective planning and mitigation efforts on the part of local, regional, and national entities in order to quickly reduce risk, address human impacts, recover from environmental damage, and restore stability in communities. To address these factors, this report takes a strategic approach to discussing the process of recovery that begins when the incident has been mitigated and the community starts to address the consequences of the incident. Top- ics addressed include the following: ⢠Federal roles and responsibilities in recovery; ⢠Resources available to assist communities with their recovery efforts; ⢠Best practices, lessons learned, background information, and examples related to community recovery planning, operations, and information sharing; and ⢠Gaps in information and guidance. The output of the project is a compendium of best practices, lessons learned, and recom- mended initiatives structured to assist local communities in developing and/or improving their recovery planning and operations as these relate to disastrous hazardous materials transportation incidents. S U M M A R Y A Compendium of Best Practices and Lessons Learned for Improving Local Community Recovery from Disastrous Hazardous Materials Transportation Incidents
