A Guide to Emergency Response Planning at State Transportation

Agencies

NCHRP Project 20-59(23)

Published as NCHRP Report 525, Vol. 16

Project Purpose

Project 20-59(23) initiated to replace 2002 Guide to Updating Highway Emergency Response (ER) Plans for Terrorist Incidents

Expand scope Implement new national policy

and guidance

Project Objective

. . . to develop a recommended guide for use by state transportation

agencies in planning and developing their organizational functions, roles, and responsibilities for emergency

response within the all-hazards context of NIMS (the National Incident Management System)

Why NIMS is Important National uniformity in emergency

management Multi-agency cooperation:

• Collaborative planning• Interoperable communications

Incident Command System• Unified Command• Structured response, even to minor incidents• Flexibility to grow/adapt to meet complexities

of large-scale events Standardize resource definitions Continued improvement through after-action

reporting and inclusion in emergency operations plans

Project Overview—2002 Guide

A Guide to Updating Highway Emergency Response (ER) Plans for Terrorist Incidents

Quick, direct response to 9/11 Addressed terrorist attacks, emphasis on

weapons of mass destruction (WMD) Highway oriented Preliminary guidelines

Update Project Stimuli New national initiatives:

National Incident Management System (NIMS) all-hazards approach, Incident Command System (ICS)

National Response Framework (NRF) Guidance

National Preparedness Guidelines (NPG) Examples

Consistency through 15 standardized Emergency Support Functions (ESFs)

• National Unified Goal (NUG) for Traffic Incident Management (TIM)

Update Project Stimuli (cont’d) Build on completed research:

• Guide to Emergency Transportation Operations (ETO)

• Complements risk management guidance, including Costing Asset Protection: An All Hazards Guide for Transportation Agencies (CAPTA)

A different approach from 2002:• Now have how-to Comprehensive

Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101• Emphasis on NIMS/NPF/NUG compliance• Much of 2002 Guide still useful

2010 Guide Differences Emergencies―larger scale All hazards―more than traffic issues Multimodal―more than highways Operationally oriented and practical NIMS/NRF/NPG―more application and

emphasis State transportation agency in support role

(ESF #1, etc.) Covers preparedness functions to support

state and local emergencies to include:• Plan, organize, staff, train, exercise,

manage, implement, and fund preparations Not a how-to-plan Guide―refer to

Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 101

Some Key Tenets of Emergency Management Planning

Agency-wide emergency operations plan

State transportation agency plans and procedures complement state’s overall emergency structure and plans

Agency plans adhere to all-hazards approach

Use conventional emergency management planning cycle (plan, prepare, respond, recover)

Key Tenets (cont’d)

Acknowledge that different state transportation agencies (particularly DOTs) view their response roles differently

Encourage agencies to be full players within state emergency management community

Recognize need for agencies to understand basic NIMS concepts of incident command system (ICS), including unified command

Encourage agencies to reallocate resources used originally to prepare for terrorist incident responses to pre-event preparedness efforts that enable agency response to full range of emergencies

National Context for Emergency Response

Implementation of HSPD-5,Management of Domestic Incidents

Implementation of HSPD-7, Infrastructure Identification,

Prioritization, and Protection

Implementation of HSPD-8, National Preparedness

Emergency Management Planning Process

Plan

Prepare

Respond

Recover

PLAN Steps

Form collaborative planning team Research state’s hazards and their

consequences Analyze information Determine goals and objectives Develop and analyze courses

of action and identify resources

PLAN Steps (cont’d)

Write plan Approve and implement plan Train staff on plan Exercise the plan

• Evaluate its effectiveness• Create list of improvements

demonstrated in exercise Review, revise, and maintain plan

PREPARE Steps Develop approaches to implement state

transportation agency roles and responsibilities during emergencies, as specified in state’s EOP and supporting annexes and referenced materials

Establish protocols to communicate with employees and general public

Develop plans and procedures to manage traffic under emergency conditions

Develop mobilization plans to ensure readiness to deploy agency personnel and resources

Ensure cost tracking and accountability

RESPOND Steps

Initiate emergency response Address emergency needs

and requests for support Coordinate emergency response

with state transportation agency providing support

Support evacuation/shelter-in-place/quarantine in conjunction with law enforcement

Conclude response

RECOVER Steps

Restore services and traffic to affected area

Identify and implement lessons learned

Learn–learn–learn Replan

Agency Involvement by Incident Level

State Transportation Agency Planning Contexts

Within role as transportation lead in State Emergency Operations Plan (EOP)• Primary: ESF #1―Transportation• Secondary: ESF #3―Public Works

ESF #6―Mass Care ESF #13―Public Safety/Security ESF #14―Long-Term Recovery – others as needed

Within agency’s own EOP

2010 Guide Products Guide

• Summary• Overview for state transportation agencies

(authorities, etc.)• High-level requirements based on national

policies and guidelines• High-level self-assessment w/pointers toward

Section 6 Section 6: Resource Guide

• Organizational/staffing/position guidance• Decision-making sequences• Detailed self-assessment and resource lists

2010 Guide Products (cont’d) Appendices (A–M)

• Applicable parts of 2002 Report (A)• Details of material summarized

in Sections 1–5 (B–G)• Links to model emergency operations plans

(H)• Policy/procedural memoranda/MOUs (I)• Training/exercise plans (J)• Annotated bibliography (K)*• White Paper on Emergency Levels (L)*• PowerPoint presentation (M)*

*Available by download

TRB Web site:http://www.trb.org/SecurityPubs

Search for A Guide to Emergency Response Planning at State Transportation

Agencies

Thank You

Any Questions?