Developing a Guide to Emergency Management at State Transportation Agencies (2020)

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14 CHAPTER 6 UPDATED GUIDE NCHRP REPORT 525: SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY, VOLUME 16: A GUIDE TO EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANNING AT STATE TRANSPORTATION AGENCIES (the 2010 Guide) provided an approach to all-hazards emergency management and documented current practices in emergency response planning. The guide was designed to support executive management and emergency response planners in assessing their emergency plans and identifying areas needing improvement. NCHRP RESEARCH REPORT 931: A GUIDE TO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AT STATE TRANSPORTATION AGENCIES (2020 Guide) updates the 2010 Guide and was developed for use by state transportation agencies as they plan and develop their organizational functions, roles, and responsibilities for emergency management within the all-hazards context of the NIMS. Similar to the 2010 Guide, the update is designed to support executive management and emergency response planners assess their emergency management programs and identify areas needing improvement. Since the 2010 Guide was published there have been significant advances in emergency management practices. Significant advances in emergency management, changing operational roles at state DOTs and other transportation organizations, along with federal guidance issued since 2010 has resulted in a need to re-examine requirements for state transportation agency emergency management functions, roles, and responsibilities. The 2020 Guide incorporates current practices and guidance in emergency management, recognizing these advances and changing roles and guidance. The 2020 Guide expands the focus from emergency response to all aspects of emergency management and reflects the evolving threats and hazards to transportation networks and systems. In addition, the 2020 Guide addresses emergency management in the broader context of community, regional, and national resilience and sustainability. Similar to the 2010 Guide, the 2020 Guide is  NIMS-compliant, as it fully embraces the incident command, joint planning, standardization, and performance-based improvements in incident/emergency management (NIMS refresh, 2017).  All-hazards oriented, which considers the full range of hazards and threats from minor traffic 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.  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 2020 Guide is a light update to the 2010 Guide; it is not a major rewrite of the original. The update has consolidated the extensive material contained in both the 2010 Guide and supplemental web-only material into a more concise Guide with appendices.

15 Consistent with the 2010 Guide, the 2020 Guide explores how transportation fits into the traditional emergency management community and what transportation offers. It is important to understand that a state transportation agency will always fulfill a role in the emergency management effort for all incidents from the routine traffic incident through major emergencies to catastrophic events. State agency plans and procedures are expected (indeed required if the agency seeks federal compensation) to be related to state and regional emergency structure and plan(s). This involves multiagency, multijurisdictional cooperation in emergency planning and operations. The 2020 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. Similar to the 2010 Guide, the updated 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 emergency management process (e.g., aviation and marine have a place in emergency evacuations). Section 1 of the update provides an introduction to emergency management. Overall DOT efforts have improved emergency response planning and training since the 2010 Guide was prepared. There have been significant advances in emergency management and transportation response planning and recent guidance at the national level reshaping the focus and long-term directions of transportation agencies. It includes information to assist transportation agencies in understanding the impact of shift in focus from protection of assets to resilience of systems. Section 2 provides an overview of the current state of emergency management and the institutional context for emergency management. It includes a summary of what emergency management is and places it in the context of preparedness and the objectives of the National Preparedness Framework. It summarizes the emergency management legal authorities and the current national frameworks, strategies and guidance related to emergency management. Section 3 discusses all-hazards emergency management and provides a summary of the hazards and threats that affect transportation systems and the typical impact of each hazard, including space weather and cyber threats, which are new for the 2020 Guide. Section 4 discusses the components of an emergency management program including cross-cutting capabilities – planning, staffing, communication, and collaboration – along with the mission areas of the National Preparedness Framework – protection, preparation, mitigation, response, and recovery. Section 5 provides an overview of the significant role transportation agencies have in emergency management and identifies functions, roles, and responsibilities of all stakeholders, including MPOs, required over the continuum of emergencies (i.e., planned activities, minor incident, major incident, hazmat incident, natural disaster, and terrorist incident). The update to Appendix C Emergency Response Stakeholder Responsibilities from the 2010 Guide is included in Section 5. Section 6 contains information on developing and maintaining an effective emergency management transportation agency workforce. It also provides an overview of training available, methods of training delivery for employees, and information on full-scale exercises and drills.

16 Appendix A contains an annotated bibliography of information sources and a resource guide with checklists, templates, and other tools for transportation agencies to use in supporting their emergency management responsibilities. Appendix B contains case studies from state DOTs. Appendix C contains acronyms, abbreviations, and initialisms. Appendix D is a glossary of key terms used in emergency management. Appendix E contains Tennessee DOT’s exercise program and needs assessment form documents. Appendix F contains agency wallet card examples.