A Compendium of Best Practices and Lessons Learned for Improving Local Community Recovery from Disastrous Hazardous Materials Transportation Incidents (2012) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 73-110
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73 5.1 Overview Recovery from a disastrous hazardous materials transportation incident presents a number of challenges that need to be addressed in a timely fashion. The response to the incident, mitigation of the causative spill, and cleanup -- including decontamination of the environment and infrastructure (if required)
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74 A Compendium of Best Practices and Lessons Learned The following case study further highlights the importance of communication and coordination and presents some of the lessons learned from Aiken County's recovery operations following the 2005 Graniteville, South Carolina, train derailment. This derailment was caused by a Norfolk Southern train hitting a parked train at the Avondale Mills Textile Plant.
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Best Practices for Community Recovery Operations 75 3. Sheltering; 4.
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76 A Compendium of Best Practices and Lessons Learned from sources like the state National Guard, or through a request to the FOSC. Technical assistance can also come from the EPA's National Decontamination Team, Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA)
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Best Practices for Community Recovery Operations 77 nation area where they would leave their vehicles to be decontaminated once the people and animals have exited them. Another issue in this process will be the decontamination of domestic pets and livestock.
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78 A Compendium of Best Practices and Lessons Learned Assistance may need to be provided to the individuals that are being evacuated. This assistance includes, but is not limited to, door-to-door announcement of the evacuation; security staff to provide direction as people are evacuating and to ensure they follow the identified route out of the affected area; staff to assist the elderly, children, or the infirm in departing the impacted area; and reminders to evacuees to take pets with them as they leave.
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Best Practices for Community Recovery Operations 79 Case Study State Response to the Graniteville Train Derailment: Lessons Learned, Team Visionary Collective under the Mentorship of Ron Fisher, May 27, 2006 (www.llis.gov) The information presented in this case study is taken directly from the referenced document.
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80 A Compendium of Best Practices and Lessons Learned • A process is established to handle domestic pets; and • A screening process for possible contamination is implemented. This screening process is an important element, especially if decontamination of individuals is required.
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Best Practices for Community Recovery Operations 81 In the short term, the medical treatment component will likely be an intense operation, especially if it is determined that the event is a mass casualty and/or mass fatality event. Available resources will often be significantly taxed, and many communities will need additional assistance.
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82 A Compendium of Best Practices and Lessons Learned Events involving mass fatalities present unique issues, such as identification of bodies, decontamination of remains and family notification. Through ESF #8, assistance can be provided by the DMORTs.
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Best Practices for Community Recovery Operations 83 As soon as medical personnel can determine the needs for long-term medical and behavioral care for victims and responders, the programs and mutual aid assistance identified in pre- incident planning for long-term care can be implemented. Grant applications to support clinical long-term care can be submitted to appropriate agencies for funds to sustain the long-term care operations.
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84 A Compendium of Best Practices and Lessons Learned develop the NDHS, and also assigned new authorities for the agency to offer disaster case management services, established a Disabilities Coordinator position at FEMA, authorized a rental repair program, and expanded the authority for permanent construction.90 Interim housing encompasses sheltering, temporary housing, and permanent housing. Shelters will remain open long enough for local officials to assist evacuees in finding interim housing.
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Best Practices for Community Recovery Operations 85 vehicles after decontamination will have been addressed and appropriate resources identified. However, there are still several operations that should take place prior to allowing individuals back into their homes and businesses within the impacted area.
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86 A Compendium of Best Practices and Lessons Learned Short-Term Recovery Component Action Resources Barriers Barrier Resolution Determine if evacuation and decontamination of evacuees will be necessary Incident Commander, EOC Manager, Legal Counsel Lack of legal authority Develop ordinance establishing authority to order evacuation Establish hot zone and cold zone and clearly mark the perimeter of the hot zone Fire, Law Enforcement, Public Works Identification of lead agency Pre-incident planning to include identification of lead agency Monitoring hot zone for potential spread of contamination Monitoring equipment; computer models Evacuation Provide security around the hot zone with checkpoints and provide them with location of the reception and decontamination area Law Enforcement, Local Security Contractors, National Guard Lack of adequate staffing Develop mutual aid agreements with surrounding jurisdictions, develop contracts with private security firms, recruit volunteers, and provide appropriate training Need for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Provide pre-incident training for all levels of PPE Public resistance Public Information campaign to explain the process Announce evacuation order Incident Commander, EOC Manager, Law Enforcement; Fire, EAS, Reverse 9-1-1 Lack of legal authority Develop ordinance establishing authority to order evacuation Public resistance Public Information campaign pre-incident to explain authorities Provide security at the shelters Law Enforcement, Local Security Contractors, National Guard Public resistance Public Information campaign pre-incident to explain authorities Provide security at the shelters Law Enforcement, Local Security Contractors, National Guard adequate staffing Lack of Develop mutual aid agreements with surrounding jurisdictions, develop contracts with private security firms, recruit volunteers and provide appropriate training Track evacuees System for tracking especially those who leave the area Lack of adequate staffing Develop mutual aid agreements with surrounding jurisdictions, recruit volunteers, and provide appropriate training Table 5-1.
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Best Practices for Community Recovery Operations 87 Short-Term Recovery Component Action Resources Barriers Barrier Resolution Open shelters Red Cross, Emergency Management, FaithBased Organizations, Community-Based Organizations, Local/State Dept. of Social Services, Federal ESF #6 Lack of available locations Survey jurisdiction and locate facilities that could be used for shelter locations Develop MOU(s)
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88 A Compendium of Best Practices and Lessons Learned Intermediate Recovery Component Action Resources Barriers Barrier Resolution Evacuation Demobilize established hot zone and remove perimeter marking Fire, Law Enforcement, Public Works Demobilize security staff and provide debriefing Law Enforcement,Shelter Manager Transfer tracking records to established office and continue tracking of evacuees Emergency Management, Local/State Dept. of Social Services Long-Term Recovery Component Action Resources Barriers Barrier Resolution Evacuation Close out tracking records as evacuees transition from longterm housing to return to their homes Emergency Management, Local/State Dept.
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Best Practices for Community Recovery Operations 89 As in other previously discussed aspects of recovery, opportunities for innovative solutions may become evident as recovery operations progress. For example, following a disastrous snowstorm in Velva, North Dakota, in 2010,92 power was knocked out to numerous remote locations.
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90 A Compendium of Best Practices and Lessons Learned be required for a full-scale decontamination operation for the built environment, an operation that can often take more than a year. Shortly after the occurrence of the event, the community would either activate their pre-bid debris operations contracts or develop the necessary bidding documentation to bid debris operations under standing procurement policies.
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Best Practices for Community Recovery Operations 91 considered as debris, including decontamination materials (chemicals or water) ; clothing (both victims' and decontamination specialists')
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92 A Compendium of Best Practices and Lessons Learned 5.3.2 Infrastructure Decontamination There are numerous hazardous materials that require some form of decontamination in order to render an area safe for human occupancy. This can be compounded in a hazardous materials transportation incident through the involuntary mixing of hazardous materials as a result of the incident.
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Best Practices for Community Recovery Operations 93 Conversely, the underground utilities are more likely to be impacted by a pooling spill than those above ground. The most difficult of all the spills to mitigate are those involving radio active materials.
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94 A Compendium of Best Practices and Lessons Learned necessary building permits, and follow-on building inspections for the repair work. To expedite the process further, it may also make sense to consider either a reduced building permit fee or even the elimination of all, or part, of the fee.
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Best Practices for Community Recovery Operations 95 • Attending the kickoff meeting, at which time the list of damaged sites will be provided to FEMA and appropriate schedules and programmatic timelines will be established and discussed (meeting with the FEMA Public Assistance Coordinator Crew Leader, state representative, and FEMA and state Project and Technical Specialists) ; • Working with FEMA and State Project Specialists at each site to develop the required project worksheets, which provide a description of the damages, an eligible scope of work for repair, and a cost estimate; • Completing the eligible work to restore the facility to pre-incident condition; and • Upon completion of all public assistance projects, attending the close-out briefing with FEMA and state representatives.
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Short-Term Recovery Component Action Resources Barriers Barrier Resolution Debris Management Establish temporary debris storage and reduction site Local Public Works, Local Sanitation Dept., Local Planning Dept. No pre-defined storage and reduction areas Work with Local/State Resources Dept., Local Planning Department, and Public Works to identify potential sites Implement pre-approved debris contract for clearance from critical roads and highways Local Public Works, Local Sanitation Dept., Debris Contractor(s)
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Best Practices for Community Recovery Operations 97 Table 5-2. (Continued)
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98 A Compendium of Best Practices and Lessons Learned (SOURCE: http://www.fema.gov/photolibrary; Photo credit: FEMA/Leif Skoogfors: FEMA News Photo) Figure 5-8.
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Best Practices for Community Recovery Operations 99 Information from the UC is essential for local land managers to make the most appropriate closure decisions. Such information should include current and predicted status of oiled beaches and response activities scheduled for those beaches.
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Short-Term Recovery Component Action Resources Barriers Barrier Resolution Restore Environment Perform assessment to identify impacts on environment Local/State Office of Natural Resources, Local Planning Dept., EPA, Responsible Party Determine level of decontamination/restoration that will be required (how clean is clean?
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Best Practices for Community Recovery Operations 101 5.5 Operations for Economic Recovery Perhaps the greatest underlying challenges associated with long-term recovery from catastrophic events stem from psychological and cultural issues. Americans tend to be steeped in nostalgia regardless of their experience, education, economic status, or professional level.
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102 A Compendium of Best Practices and Lessons Learned • Separate property damage settlements (amount unknown) ; and • Claims for injuries or death (amount unknown)
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Best Practices for Community Recovery Operations 103 When faced with a disastrous hazardous materials incident, the community's and even the county's budget process may be severely challenged. Hard decisions will need to be made on priorities for spending.
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104 A Compendium of Best Practices and Lessons Learned Strategies for economic growth in the post-disaster environment incorporate economic diversification, expanding and enhancing innovation clusters, supporting new business growth, and mitigating disaster impacts on existing businesses. When disaster strikes, these strategies can help lead to the rapid deployment of economic resources for recovery.
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Best Practices for Community Recovery Operations 105 • Emergency reconstruction of essential water, sewer, electrical, and telephone facilities; • Provision of a variety of relief services to individuals and businesses; and • Matching FEMA or other aid programs. Table 5-4 presents several examples of innovative ways of using CDBG funds for disaster recovery.
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106 A Compendium of Best Practices and Lessons Learned If the incident receives a declaration of major disaster from the President of the United States, there are several other federal programs that can also be employed to assist communities. One of these programs is the Community Disaster Loan Program.
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Best Practices for Community Recovery Operations 107 based on need and shall not exceed 25 percent of the local government's annual operating budget for the fiscal year in which the disaster occurs or $5 million.102 5.5.4 Summary of Economic Recovery Operations Table 5-5 summarizes the components and actions addressed in the section on economic recovery operations and can be adapted for local planning. Short-Term Recovery Component Action Resources Barriers Barrier Resolution Long-Term Recovery Planning Hold community meeting(s)
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108 A Compendium of Best Practices and Lessons Learned Intermediate Recovery Component Action Resources Barriers Barrier Resolution Working with the identified funding sources, begin development of grant applications Local Economic Development Dept., Local Chamber of Commerce, Other Community-Based Organizations, Public Funding source for local match on grants Develop public-private partnerships Assistance to Impacted Businesses Implement program to assist local business to relocate Chamber of Commerce, Community-Based Organizations, Real Estate Agents Implement programs for local business to address economic losses not covered by negotiated settlement with Responsible Party Financial Institutions, Chamber of Commerce, Community-Based Organizations Lack of funds Develop and submit Community Development Block Grant applications Economic Base Implement public relations campaigns State and Local Economic Development, Public Information Officers Lack of funds Apply for and secure Economic Development Grants Perform initial environmental studies to identify what the community needs to do to bring in more business and industry Local Planning Department, State and Local Economic Development, Local Chamber of Commerce Long-Term Recovery Component Action Resources Barriers Barrier Resolution Long-Term Recovery Planning Implement the Long-Term Recovery Plan Local Economic Development Dept., Local Chamber of Commerce, Other Community-Based Organizations, Public Economic Base Negotiate agreements with new business and industry Elected Officials, State and Local Economic Development Implement infrastructure improvements for new business and industry Public Works, New Businesses or Industry, Contractors Long-Term Recovery Planning Identify lead agencies and organizations for potential projects Local Disaster Recovery Manager, Community BasedOrganizations, Public Develop schedule for implementation of LongTerm Recovery Plan Local Planning Dept., Local Economic Development Dept., Local Chamber of Commerce, Other Community-Based Organizations, Public 5.6 Summary of Case Studies Table 5-6 provides a summary of the recovery operations case studies presented in order of appearance in this section. Table 5-5.
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Best Practices for Community Recovery Operations 109 Lessons Learned/Best Practices Summary Findings: Disaster Recovery -- FEMA's Long-Term Assistance was Helpful to State and Local Governments but had Some Limitations (GAO-10-404) , GAO, March 2010 (http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-404)
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110 A Compendium of Best Practices and Lessons Learned Lessons Learned/Best Practices Summary Case Study: State Response to the Graniteville Train Derailment: Lessons Learned, Team Visionary Collective under the Mentorship of Ron Fisher, May 27, 2006 (www.llis.gov) Recommendation: An organizational structure should be established between agencies as soon as the different agencies begin working together so that there is no confusion with the order of hierarchy.
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