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NIMS Compliance Self-Assessment Tool Ready
Department of Homeland Security
Jan 27, 2005

The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency and the NIMS Integration Center have released a Web-based self-assessment system that will allow federal, state, tribal and local departments and agencies evaluate their incident preparedness and response capabilities. The voluntary system, the National Incident Management Compliance Assessment Support Tool, or NIMCAST, will also help users determine what they need to do to comply with National Incident Management System requirements. "NIMCAST is a valuable tool that will allow organizations to evaluate and monitor their progress in implementing NIMS," said Michael D. Brown, under secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response. "But it's more than just a technical assessment system. It also will help the federal government target NIMS improvement strategies in areas where there is the greatest need."

Although the NIMCAST is a permission-based system, anyone may access the site and use the NIMCAST "Demo Assessment" to work through topics, descriptions and questions associated with all of the primary NIMS categories. Users may also download the complete assessment tool, chapter by chapter, in pdf, "read-only" format. NIMS points-of-contact for each of the FEMA Regional Offices were trained on the use of the system in mid-January. They will in turn provide NIMCAST training to state contacts.

NIMCAST may be accessed via the NIMS home page at www.fema.gov/nims, or directly at www.fema.gov/nimcast. For more information about NIMS and NIMCAST e-mail the NIMS-Integration-Center@dhs.gov, or call 202-646-3850.

NIC Extends NIMS Implementation to FY 2007
Pat West, Senior Editor
Jan 28, 2005

State and local organizations will have until the end of fiscal year 2006 to implement the National Incident Management System – a one-year extension on the Department of Homeland Security’s previously announced target, according to the acting director of the NIMS Integration Center.

But federal funding will be conditioned on “full compliance” with the NIMS starting in FY 2007, and state and local organizations will need to at least “institutionalize” the ICS portion of NIMS and take basic NIMS awareness courses this fiscal year to qualify for federal grants in FY 2006, according to Gil Jamieson, acting director of the NIMS Integration Center.

“What we are saying to state and local governments is that, for the first time, all of the funding that is flowing out to the state and local governments is going to be conditioned on their complying with the NIMS beginning in fiscal year 2007,” said Jamieson.

Appointed by Secretary Tom Ridge last fall, Jamieson is in charge of overseeing NIMS implementation and the maintenance and development of NIMS-related standards, guidelines and support to all incident management and responder organizations. For the purposes of federal grants, the NIC validates compliance with the NIMS and the National Response Plan standards.

The NIMS involves many components: ICS, personnel credentialing, interoperable communications and formalized interstate and intrastate mutual aid agreements, to name just a few.

Testifying on NIMS before Congress for the International Association of Fire Chief’s last September, Chief Michael Freeman of Los Angeles noted that the NIMS includes 518 specific requirements and called the DHS plan to require implementation by the end of FY 2005 a “Herculean and perhaps unreasonable task.” The IAFC suggested a phased-in approach.

“There was general agreement that Chief Freeman, representing the fire service, made some very valid points in his testimony,” said IAFC Government Relations Director Alan Caldwell, “and they’ve taken into consideration what we have suggested and have acted on it, to their credit.”

Jamieson is optimistic that NIMS implementation is being embraced by the fire service. Fire provided the NIMS’ backbone: it's ICS system, a part of fire service operations for decades. He said he hopes fire service executives will serve as “mentors” to the other disciplines where ICS has not been a part of their culture: medicine, health, law enforcement, public works, humanitarian aid groups and others that the NIMS integrates in its top-to-bottom plan for improving management of resources at major emergencies.

“The fire service is in a unique position and is leading the way towards national NIMS implementation,” said Jamieson.

It’s already beginning to happen, he said. Fire department executives in departments of all sizes -– career, combination and volunteer -– are bringing the broad spectrum of organizations that take part in emergencies in their communities together under the NIMS.

Of course, NIMS is an extensive plan, and Jamieson realizes there are some fire officials out there who may not have read the doctrine cover-to-cover. “But the fire service, by and large, has embraced ICS and the NIMS for quite some time,” he said. “It’s at the backbone of their operation and command strategies, so we very much see them as, quite frankly, the center of gravity in terms of the national implementation effort.”

As for the mechanism the NIC will use to validate compliance with NIMS, Jamieson said state and local organizations will be required to “self-certify” their compliance by the end of FY 2006 to qualify for federal grants. As opposed to taking on a strong enforcement role, he said, the NIC will offer guidance and technical assistance to the state and local communities to help them get to where they need to be.

The NIC and the IAFC are working on helping to establish intra-state mutual aid agreements. “We’re in pretty good shape with the interstate mutual-aid agreements that we’ve gotten, with 50 states now participating in that,” he said. The IAFC is helping the NIC to establish a template for intrastate mutual aid agreements.

“I’m very excited about our continued relationship as we roll out the NIMS,” Jamieson said. “But also from a practical standpoint, there are some project-specific things that we’re doing with the IAFC that I think are really going to bear fruit.”

Another key issue to watch will be how the NIC rolls out training. Distance learning and classroom training through the National Fire Academy and the Emergency Management Institute will be stepped up. But the NIMS is developing a national standard curriculum for NIMS, Jamieson said, that will be used as a measuring stick for all NIMS training -- including federal, state, local and vendor-provided training.

“We’re trying to bring all the federal training providers under the tent and establish this national standard curriculum, which we’re real excited about,” Jamieson said, “because there are some questions out there about ‘If I take this training from XYZ vendor, is that going to count? The curriculum will help on that and some of the guidelines that we have underway will help local firehouses evaluate some of the training that vendors are clearly going to be pushing at them.”

Even though the fire service is ahead of other sectors on the NIMS learning curve, Caldwell concedes complete implementation of the NIMS by the end of 2006 will be “quite a leap.” Fire officials have a lot of work ahead of them. “But you’ve got to set hard targets, and you’ve got to set targets that are a little ambitious, because if you don’t make it at least a little ambitious, people will go back to sleep again.”

Security System in Place for Super Bowl
By Jackelyn Barnard
First Coast News
1/26/05

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- They will be walking along side you on the street.

They will be watching from buildings you would never suspect they are in.

Some will be in uniform, some will not.

First Coast News has learned, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and federal agents are setting up in at least ten different command posts around the city.

It's all part of a plan called NIMS, or National Incident Management System.

NIMS is now a system being used by the Department of Homeland Security to combat terrorism.

The system is based out of Duval County's emergency operations center.

"NIMS is a system to help manage events and incidents," says EOC director Chip Patterson.

NIMS works by bringing all law enforcement agencies together.

In one part of the EOC is a room called the unified command center. In it, there will be six leaders from JSO to the FBI, even the U.S. Coast Guard who will be in control around the clock.

What they will be controlling is what comes over computer screens in another room at the EOC, the operations center.

"It monitors what's going to be going on with planned events."

All events are already in the NIMS computer system.

If there is an incident, one of those officers or agents roaming the streets can send back a report immediately to the ones making all the decisions at the EOC.

"It just makes sense using this particular system," says Patterson.

Police, Public Works, and the Coast Guard being in one room together is not a new concept.

It was actually developed back in the 1970s during California wildfires.

The system laid out a specific chain of command, rules and even terminology so everyone battling the fires were on the same page.

Patterson says NIMS is a first for an event as big as Super Bowl XXXIX.

"It is one of the first times it's being used."

The hope is this new plan will run as smoothly as plans set for the big game.

"The city's working hard to make sure festivities go off as planned."

Organizing for Victory: Proposals for Building a Regional Homeland Security Structure
Edwin Meese III, James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., and Richard Weitz, Ph.D
January 21, 2005

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is preparing to create a new regional structure that will govern how the DHS interacts with state and local offi­cials and members of the private sector. The plan, which could take several years to implement fully, will undoubtedly engender controversy and debate. Local officials will rightly insist on upholding the principles of federalism. Others are actively lobbying for estab­lishing regional centers in their cities or states.1 Mem­bers of Congress, many of whom have been advocating such a structure for years, will evaluate the rationale and costs of implementing the regional framework.

To make rollout of the plan as effective as possible, DHS leaders should first enunciate its goals and guiding principles. They also must explain how they will reorganize the DHS secretariat to provide effi­cient oversight of the new structure and achieve all these goals in a cost-effective manner. The DHS should create a regional framework that primarily serves the needs of states, local communities, and the private sector. Its purpose should be to improve coordination, planning, and information sharing, with an emphasis on strengthening intelligence and early warning, critical infrastructure protection, and the preparedness and response components of homeland security.

The Plan for the Plan

Although state and local officials will undoubtedly lead the initial response to any crisis, it is improbable that a major terrorist attack would affect only a single city or that a single municipal authority would have sufficient assets to manage such a calamity alone. At a minimum, response efforts would likely require mutual aid from multiple jurisdictions. In a major crisis, federal assets would supplement state and local resources. Effective cooperation among officials at all levels of government and the private sector is essential, yet the DHS lacks an adequate regional structure to facilitate coordination.[1]

The National Response Plan (NRP) and the National Incident Management System (NIMS) provide a framework for this activity.[2] These ini­tiatives provide a single “all-hazards” approach to directing federal resources for meeting any national emergency, ensuring that responses to future incidents, both natural and manmade, will be more coordinated effectively and effi­ciently. Additionally, the department has estab­lished an effective Homeland Security Operations Center (HSOC), a round-the-clock “nerve center” that provides a national hub for organizing the federal response to homeland security–related incidents.

The NRP, NIMS, and HSOC were prerequisites to establishing the objective requirements for a regional homeland security framework. The DHS, however, still lacks a suitable operational structure to support them.

The Homeland Security Act of 2002 merged over 22 federal organizations and programs into a single department. As part of this legacy, the DHS inherited at least a dozen different regional struc­tures. Each agency brought its own national framework for directing its operations. For exam­ple, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) still has 10 regional offices and two area offices. Each region serves several states, and the regional staffs work directly with the states to help plan for disasters, both natural and man­made; develop mitigation programs; and meet needs when major crises occur.[3] However, before the department was established, no national framework existed to coordinate all critical homeland security missions.

The Homeland Security Act requires the DHS to propose a regional framework but provides no guidance on how to implement the system or its purpose. It states only that:

Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the [DHS] Secretary shall develop and submit to Congress a plan for consolidating and co-locating—

(1) any regional offices or field offices of agencies that are transferred to the Department under this Act, if such officers are located in the same municipality; and

(2) portions of regional and field offices of other Federal agencies, to the extent such offices perform functions that are transferred to the Secretary under this Act.[4]

Although the department failed to meet the time line established by Congress, it has dedi­cated considerable effort to developing a national regional structure. DHS leaders intend to establish some eight to 10 regional homeland security centers. At a news conference in New Orleans in February 2004, DHS Secretary Tom Ridge said, “As part of our restructuring plans, we made a decision to establish regional Home­land Security offices.”[5] Ridge added that each office would employ 50–100 people, most of whom would be administrators.[6]

The proposed regional organization is likely to arouse intense interest among state and local lead­ers and Members of Congress.[7] Accordingly, DHS representatives should conduct an effective public information and awareness campaign before the department rolls out its reorganization strategy. At a minimum, this effort should:

Enunciate the goals of the regional framework (i.e., what the regional offices are supposed to accomplish);

Explain how the regional framework will be compatible
with the principles of federalism;

Include a plan for restructuring the DHS sec­retariat to provide effective oversight of the regional framework;

Explain the criteria for selecting regional offices and their personnel (including their directors); and

Include a sensible plan to fund the reorganiza­tion without detracting from other high-prior­ity DHS projects.
Above all, DHS leaders need to explain how the regional structure will assist state and local homeland security managers to protect their communities better with respect to all-hazard preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery. Before the DHS releases its plans, important issues require resolution—including specifying the potential roles, missions, and functions of the regional offices, as well as their relationships with state and local officials and the private sector.

Whatever regional security structure the Admin­istration decides to support, the DHS should imple­ment the proposal in a way that allows stakeholders an opportunity to participate in the process to a greater extent than has been the case to date. Through speeches, publications, and other media events, DHS representatives should first announce the principles for regional design that underpin their recommendations. Stakeholders should then be allowed time to comment on them through for­mal and informal mechanisms. Ideally, such an interactive process would result both in a better proposal and in stakeholders’ becoming more com­mitted to the subsequent reorganization.

DHS Management of a Regional Framework

As a first step, the DHS needs to create a leader­ship structure to oversee the regional framework. Vesting all responsibility for coordination and out­reach with state and local governments and the private sector in a single undersecretary in the directorate should be a priority.

The DHS should consolidate its critical infra­structure protection, preparedness, and state/local/ private-sector coordination efforts under an Undersecretary for Protection and Preparedness. This reorganization would merge the following agencies, components, and authorities:

The infrastructure protection component of the Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Directorate,

The Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness,

The non-operational transportation infrastruc­ture protection mission of the Transportation Security Administration,

The preparedness responsibilities of the Emer­gency Preparedness and Response Directorate,

The private-sector preparedness mission of the Office of Private Sector Liaison, and

DHS grantmaking authority.
Consolidating these disparate efforts would provide the DHS Secretary with a stronger plat­form from which to lead national efforts, deter­mine priorities, identify critical vulnerabilities, work with state/local/private-sector entities on securing those vulnerabilities and preparing for attacks, and make grants to accomplish missions and induce cooperation.[8]

The DHS should construct a regional network of support offices reporting to the Undersecre­tary of Protection and Preparedness. The offices should be led by political appointees who enjoy sufficient clout to gain ready access to local lead­ers. Ideally, these individuals would include former politicians, police chiefs, and other peo­ple who have some background in both home­land security issues and their geographic areas of responsibility.

The DHS could organize periodic specialized training programs for the directors to ensure that they possess adequate expertise in all dimensions of homeland security. The department should also arrange for the directors to meet, perhaps as a group, at least bimonthly in Washington with DHS senior officials. These meetings would keep them knowledgeable about the latest developments at DHS headquarters and provide a nationwide per­spective to complement their regional focus. The personnel at the regional offices should number approximately 100 people and include a planning staff, a training staff to coordinate regional exer­cises, and information technology (IT) and other specialists to administer the office’s small commu­nications/operations center.

The first priority of this regional organization should be to support the flow of information and coordinate training, exercises, and professional development for state and local governments and the private sector. The structure’s key operational mission should be to enhance prevention, pre­paredness, response, and critical infrastructure protection at the regional level, as well as to coor­dinate activities like intelligence sharing and early warning with the Justice Department’s regional Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs).

Although an important task would be to foster mutual aid compacts and joint planning, DHS regional directors should not have authority over existing DHS agencies (such as the Coast Guard or Customs and Border Protection Bureau) or have operational or policymaking responsibilities. For example, FEMA should continue as an indepen­dent agency responsible for coordinating federal response to natural and manmade disasters, including terrorism. Similarly, customs and border protection should remain federal responsibilities, with appropriate policies determined in Washing­ton, although reflecting local conditions. DHS regional directors will need to rely primarily on persuasion and on local actors’ self-interest in using the regional offices to develop better ties and access to DHS leaders and assets in Washington, including grants and other funding.

As a secondary priority, the DHS regional frame­work could achieve cost savings and other efficien­cies by highlighting regional redundancies and promoting consolidations across geographic boundaries. The July 2002 National Strategy for Homeland Security called for enhanced coopera­tion among actors at the various levels of govern­ment and the private sector to avoid duplication and better integrate scarce national homeland security assets. Obvious candidates for improved regional integration of support functions include IT systems and administrative activities.

Even when state and local actors desire to pos­sess their own independent support structures, shared procurement could produce cost savings because sellers might lower unit prices in return for the larger purchases. Furthermore, the network could develop resource-sharing and cost-sharing plans for activation during a crisis and manage the coordinated stockpiling of equipment. Congress also might give regional offices discretion over some grant money and other forms of federal pre­paredness assistance to help correct suboptimal spending allocations within a region as well as to promote homeland security cooperation within regions more generally.[9]

Third, regional offices could better integrate the homeland security programs of state and local entities, both public and private, with DHS policy­makers in Washington. Serving as conveniently located points of contact for state, local, and pri­vate actors, regional coordinators could assume a lead role in identifying the needs and resources that exist both nationally and within their regions.

Not being based in Washington, DHS officials posted at regional offices might be more attuned to the peculiar needs of state and local stakeholders within their areas, including public officials, first responders, commercial actors, National Guard commanders, and other community leaders. In effect, they would serve as the eyes and ears of the DHS Secretary at the regional level. They could also sponsor pilot projects that, if successful, could be adopted in other regions if not nationally.

Regional offices should also improve situational awareness and transparency among homeland secu­rity actors by promoting information sharing among them. Increased data exchanges could occur both electronically, through an expansion of the horizon­tal communication provided by the Joint Regional Information Exchange System (JRIES) and related networks, and through additional opportunities for personal encounters. People involved with home­land security at the state and local levels—including first responders, public health experts, and law enforcement officials—have diverse backgrounds and expertise, so their approaches to these issues (as well as their insights regarding them) likely differ. State-level actors in particular could benefit from more frequent interaction with their nearby col­leagues given that many crises could easily spill across state boundaries.

The National Incident Management System could provide a framework for sharing regional response assets. It might be appropriate to estab­lish separate Regional NIMS Centers (perhaps with associated Regional Homeland Security Opera­tions Centers or Regional Emergency Operations Centers) within each DHS regional office to super­vise and implement this process.[10] These centers could help to shape the elements of the National Response Plan that most concern their regions so that they complement the specific response activi­ties that federal, state, and local agencies are already tasked with developing and implementing.

DHS regional offices could also receive author­ity over “force packages” consisting of baskets of homeland security resources available within their geographic areas. Supplemented by federal assets, these force packages could bolster state and local entities responding to natural and man-made emergencies.

An Exception to the Plan: The National Capital Region

As defined in U.S. law, the National Capital Region (NCR) encompasses the District of Columbia; Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland; Arlington, Fairfax, Lou­don, and Prince William Counties and the City of Alexandria in Virginia; and all cities and other units of government within those jurisdictions.[11] Following the terrorist incidents of September 11, 2001, which included an attack on the Penta­gon in Arlington, authorities in the NCR enhanced their cooperation on homeland secu­rity issues, including emergency preparedness and response. For example, regional working groups (such as the Emergency Preparedness Council, the Senior Policy Group, and the Criti­cal Infrastructure Protection Steering Group) have begun to meet, and NCR-wide exercises have increased in terms of frequency and dimen­sion. The U.S. Northern Command also recently established a new subordinate command, the Joint Force Headquarters–National Capital Region (JFHQ–NCR), to coordinate Department of Defense involvement in the NCR’s homeland security activities.

Although the NCR today represents the most prominent regional homeland security organization, the DHS should not attempt to replicate its struc­ture elsewhere. The NCR is atypical in many respects. It does not border a foreign country, and it has a high concentration of closely located federal, state, and local government entities with multiple and often overlapping jurisdictions. It also pos­sesses many high-value terrorist targets, including public officials and national monuments.[12]

Furthermore, Congress singled out the NCR for special treatment when it created an Office of the National Capital Region Coordination (ONCRC) within DHS in the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The ONCRC is tasked with enhancing information sharing within the NCR, coordinating its diverse preparedness programs, and pooling homeland security resources among NCR-based entities with the intention of encouraging them “to think, plan and prepare regionally” when it comes to security.[13] The ONCRC does not have an operational mission or crisis-management responsibilities.

Despite these caveats regarding the appropriate­ness of generalizing from the NCR, designers of future regional DHS offices should examine it closely for lessons that might be applicable elsewhere.

Conclusion

The DHS should create a regional framework with the primary aims of enhancing information sharing and other coordination among the states, the private sector, and the DHS headquarters in Washington. The regional offices should not have operational or policymaking responsibilities.

For the most effective rollout of the plan, DHS leaders should first enunciate its goals and guiding principles. They also must explain how they will reorganize the DHS secretariat to provide effective oversight of the new structure. Stakeholders should be allowed time to comment on the plan’s goals and objectives, which should result both in a better proposal and in stakeholders’ becoming more committed to the subsequent reorganization.

Edwin Meese III is a Distinguished Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, where he holds the Ronald Reagan Chair in Public Policy. James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., is Senior Research Fellow for National Security and Homeland Security in the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies at The Heritage Foundation. Richard Weitz, Ph.D., is a mem­ber of the senior staff at the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis.

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[1]For example, see Nancy A. Youssef and Kathleen Gray, “Ridge Responds
About Area Security Issues; Selfridge Not Likely for Regional Leader,” Detroit Free Press, February 28, 2004.

[2]The NRP integrates a family of federal domestic prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery plans into a single all-hazards plan. See U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “National Response Plan,” December 2004, at www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/NRP_FullText.pdf (January 6, 2005). The NIMS establishes standardized procedures for national response, providing a comprehensive national framework for incident management. See U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “National Incident Management System,” March 1, 2004, at www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/NIMS-90-web.pdf (January 6, 2005).

[3]Federal Emergency Management Agency, “Regional and Area Offices,” updated October 22, 2004, at www.fema.gov/regions (January 6, 2005).

[4]The Homeland Security Act of 2002 explicitly defines “local government” to include a “regional or interstate government entity.” Homeland Security Act of 2002, Public Law 107–296, Section 706.

[5]Cited in John McMillan, “Ridge Says La. May Get Security Site,” The Advocate (Baton Rouge), February 27, 2004, on Lexis/ Nexis.

[6]Michael Perlstein and Stewart Yerton, “Ridge Says N.O. in Running for National Security Office; Local Officials Pushing to Land Center in City,” Times-Picayune (New Orleans), February 27, 2004.

[7]Members of Congress recently reaffirmed their interest in overseeing the department’s regional organization plans, instruct­ing the DHS to notify the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations “at least 10 days prior to any public announce­ment of any changes to regional or field offices.” U.S. House of Representatives, Making Appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2005, and for Other Purposes, H. Rpt. 108–774, 108th Cong., 2nd Sess., October 9, 2004, p. 29.

[8]James Jay Carafano and David Heyman, “DHS 2.0: Rethinking the Department of Homeland Security,” Heritage Founda­tion Special Report No. 2 , December 13, 2004, p. 14, at www.heritage.org/Research/HomelandDefense/sr02.cfm.

[9]The efficacy of using federal grants to support regional cooperation is discussed in U.S. Government Accountability Office, Homeland Security: Effective Regional Coordination Can Enhance Emergency Preparedness, GAO–04–1009, November 2004, at www.gao.gov/new.items/d0549.pdf (January 6, 2005). The report also concluded that “federal emergency preparedness grants were often spent by each jurisdiction without considering whether assets and resources purchased already existed in neighboring jurisdictions and could be shared.” Ibid., p. 25. H.R. 3266, which received bipartisan support in the House Homeland Security Committee in 2004, would have provided for such regional terrorism preparedness grants if it had become law.

[10]Such a change might require modifying Homeland Security Presidential Directive-5, issued February 28, 2003.

[11]For example, see Homeland Security Act of 2002, Public Law No. 107–296, Section 882, and 10 U.S.C. 2674(2).

[12]The NCR “is home to 12 local jurisdictions, two states, the District of Columbia, three branches of the federal government, 2,100 non-profit organizations, private sector interests and over 4 million Americans.” U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “Office of National Capital Region Coordination,” fact sheet, August 5, 2003, at www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?theme=43&content=1161 (January 6, 2005).

[13]Tom Davis, chairman, opening statement in hearings, Target Washington: Coordinating Federal Homeland Security Efforts With Local Jurisdictions in the National Capital Region, Committee on Government Reform, U.S. House of Representatives, 108th Cong., 2nd Sess., June 24, 2004, at reform.house.gov/GovReform/Hearings/EventSingle.aspx?EventID=1120 (January 6, 2005).

City approves emergency system
Krista Wilkinson
01/10/2005

Measure opens doors for future grants
Two weeks ago the world watched in horror as a massive tsunami ravaged the coastlines of the Indian Ocean leaving a trail of death and destruction in its wake that is nearly incomprehensible. Should, God forbid, a disaster of similar proportions natural or otherwise ever strike here, the city of Edwardsville is doing what it can to prepare itself.

On Tuesday, the Edwardsville City Council approved a resolution to adopt the National Incident Management System (NIMS), which is a standardized emergency response system designed to help local, state and federal agencies communicate and work together better in the event of a major disaster. NIMS was developed through the Department of Homeland Security at the request of President Bush as the standard response system used throughout the country.

According to Edwardsville Fire Chief J. Brian Wilson, this system ensures that all local, state and national agencies are "speaking the same language" if a large-scale natural disaster or terrorist attack were to occur. At a recent Public Services Committee meeting, Wilson gave the example of a chemical spill.

" Depending on the chemicals involved, we could quickly move to a state level operation," said Wilson.

While the city is not required by law to adopt NIMS, all future grant funds will be connected to it. Failure to adopt the system could have prevented the city from obtaining federal reimbursement money in the event of a national disaster, for emergency training and from obtaining funds from the Department of Homeland Security.

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Web site, some of the benefits of adopting NIMS include:

- Standardized organizational structures, processes and procedures;

- Standards for planning, training and exercising;

- Personnel qualification standards;

- Equipment acquisition and certification standards;

- Interoperable communications processes, procedures and systems;

- Information management systems with a commonly accepted architecture;

- Supporting technologies -- voice and data communications systems, information systems, data display systems, specialized technologies; and

- Publication management processes and activities

Ridge Announces Completion of the National Response Plan
Sandy Smith
01/07/2005

The U. S. Department of Homeland Security has completed the National Response Plan, which establishes a unified and standardized approach within the United States for protecting citizens and managing homeland security incidents.

All federal departments and agencies that may be required to assist or support during a national incident – whether from threats or acts of terrorism, major natural disasters or man-made emergencies – will use the plan.

The National Response Plan standardizes federal incident response actions by integrating existing and formerly disparate processes. The plan uses the National Incident Management System (NIMS) to establish standardized training, organization and communications procedures for multi-jurisdictional interaction and clearly identifies authority and leadership responsibilities. The plan also provides a comprehensive framework for private and non-profit institutions to plan and integrate their own preparedness and response activities, nationally and within their own communities.

"With the National Response Plan, our nation and its federal, state, local and tribal response communities now have a comprehensive, all-hazards tool for domestic incident management across the spectrum of prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery," said Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge. "The complex and emerging threats of the 21st century demand this synchronized and coordinated plan in order to adequately protect our nation and its citizens."

The National Response Plan was developed by teams of experts from: federal departments and agencies; state, local and tribal officials; incident response; and private sector communities from around the nation. Ridge said, "We brought together the best of the best in our nation's incident management and first responder communities for a singular but critical national endeavor."

The National Response Plan and the supporting National Incident Management System establish incident management processes to:

Improve coordination and integration between federal, state, local, tribal, regional, private sector and non-governmental organization partners;
Integrate the federal response to catastrophic events;
Improve incident management communications and increase cross-jurisdictional coordination and situational awareness;
Improve federal to federal interaction and emergency support;
Maximize use and employment of incident management resources; and
Facilitate emergency mutual aid and federal emergency support to state, local and tribal governments.

The plan further recognizes the potential magnitude of threats from weapons of mass destruction and severe natural disasters by adoption of a new term, the Incident of National Significance. An incident of national significance is described as an incident with high impact requiring an extensive and well-coordinated response by federal, state, local, tribal, and nongovernmental authorities to save lives, minimize damage, and provide the basis for long-term community and economic recovery.

The National Response Plan fulfills a requirement in Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5 and provides a core operational plan for all national incident management. When fully implemented, it will supersede the Initial National Response Plan (INRP), the Federal Response Plan (FRP), the U. S. Government Interagency Domestic Terrorism Concept of Operations Plan (CONPLAN), and the Federal Radiological Emergency Response Plan (FRERP).

To get more information about the National Response Plan:

First responders and incident management authorities may call 1-800-368-6498 [8 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST weekdays].
Interested citizens may view and download a PDF copy of the National Response Plan online at http://www.dhs.gov/nationalresponseplanwww.dhs.gov/nationalresponseplan.
Information on FEMA National Response Plan training courses is available through links at the above Web site.

AMERICAN RED CROSS KEY PART OF NATIONAL RESPONSE PLAN
January 6, 2005

WASHINGTON, Thursday, January 06, 2005 — The Department of Homeland Security today announced the completion of the National Response Plan (NRP), the all-hazards strategy that establishes a unified and standardized approach to domestic disaster planning, preparedness, response and recovery activities. The American Red Cross was a key partner in the development of the NRP. The NRP establishes standardized training, organization, and communications procedures through the National Incident Management System (NIMS), and clearly identifies authority and leadership responsibilities.

“The American Red Cross plays a vital role in preparedness and response in communities from coast to coast,” says Marsha J. Evans, president and CEO. “In recognizing that role, the NRP strengthens our relationships with our nonprofit partners and with government at all levels.”

The Red Cross not only assisted in the development of the NRP, the successor to the Federal Response Plan, but remains the only nongovernmental organization with primary agency responsibilities as the lead for mass care under Emergency Support Function #6. Under the NRP, the Red Cross assumes the role of providing food, shelter, emergency first aid, disaster welfare information and bulk distribution of emergency relief items. The organization also serves as a support agency to the Department of Health and Human Services for public health and medical services—providing blood, mental health services and disaster health services, among other support functions.

Governed by volunteers and supported by community donations, the American Red Cross is a nationwide network of nearly 900 field units dedicated to saving lives and helping people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Led by 1 million volunteers and 36,000 employees, the Red Cross annually mobilizes relief to families affected by more than 70,000 disasters, trains almost 12 million people in lifesaving skills and keeps U.S. military families connected worldwide. The Red Cross is the largest supplier of blood and blood products to more than 3,000 hospitals across the nation and also assists victims of international disasters and conflicts at locations worldwide. Marsha J. Evans is the President and CEO of the American Red Cross.

NRP FACT SHEET AMERICAN RED CROSS

American Red Cross Listed as a Primary Agency:
ESF #6 – Mass Care, Housing and Human Services

American Red Cross Listed as a Support Agency:
ESF #3 – Public Works and Engineering
ESF #5 – Emergency Management
ESF #8 – Public Health and Medical Services
ESF #11 – Agriculture and Natural Resources
ESF #14 – Long-Term Community Recovery and Mitigation
ESF #15 – External Communications

The American Red Cross Listed as a Cooperating Agency Under the NRP Support Annexes:
Financial Management
International Coordination
Private Sector Coordination
Public Affairs
Tribal Relations

The American Red Cross Listed as a Cooperating Agency Under the NRP Incident Annexes:
Biological
Catastrophic
Nuclear/Radiological

National Response Plan debuts
BY Dibya Sarkar
Published on Jan. 6, 2005

Homeland Security Department officials unveiled today the National Response Plan that will, for the first time, provide a standardized federal response coordinated with state, local and tribal jurisdictions to any man-made or natural disaster or incident.

"In the past, I have referred to the National Response Plan as a playbook," Homeland Secretary Tom Ridge said at a press conference. "It makes sure that the quarterback, wide receivers, and offensive line all know how to get to the end zone together. If football isn't your game, it's like sheet music for an orchestra or the script on a movie set."

The plan, he said, establishes processes, protocols and best practices for the federal government to work with state, local and tribal governments and the private sector for all hazards. The plan, which fulfills a presidential directive issued in 2003, will establish standardized training and, organization and communication procedures for an incident involving multiple jurisdictions. It also identifies local jurisdictions and first responders as the primary entities for handling incidents.

It is built on the National Incident Management System (NIMS) that will integrate response practices into a comprehensive framework for managing emergencies nationwide. NIMS is currently being developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and is supposed to be in place by the end of fiscal 2007.

While the National Response Plan and NIMS are not information technology systems, emergency managers and first responders are relying more on technology to help them in their prevention, response, and recovery efforts. By mandating uniform terminology, processes and procedures, government officials hope to better effectively respond to incidents.

The Homeland Security Operations Center, described as a round-the-clock "nerve center," serves as the primary national hub for real-time situational awareness and coordinates incidents and response activities.

Statement By Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman Regarding the Completion of the National Response Plan

Jan. 6, 2005
" The National Response Plan, unveiled today by Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, continues the Bush Administration's commitment to strengthen homeland security protections, including in the food and agriculture sector. The National Response Plan will serve as a guide to coordinate between Federal, state, local and tribal governments, along with critical partners in the private sector to ensure we are prepared in the event of an emergency to respond quickly and effectively.

"Following September 11th, we took immediate steps to develop a single unified management plan for all USDA emergency response and recovery activities. In March 2003, USDA implemented the National Interagency Incident Management System (NIIMS), unifying emergency response and recovery efforts under one management system for the first time in USDA history.

"USDA has a long history of leadership in managing natural disasters, such as wildfires. Building on the system successfully used by USDA's Forest Service for decades, in March 2004, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced the National Incident Management System (NIMS), which outlines a standard incident management structure called the Incident Command System and includes five functional areas - command, operations, planning, logistics and finance/administration.

"In June 2004 USDA launched web based National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Incident Command System (ICS) training programs available to all USDA employees. With offices in almost every county in the nation, many USDA employees serve as first responders in their local communities. USDA used NIIMS/ICS on the ground to assist in the Columbia Shuttle recovery and managing such incidents as Exotic Newcastle Disease in 2003 and Avian Influenza, marshalling additional tactical resources to support functional areas while focusing technical resources- veterinarians, epidemiologists, scientists and economists- on immediate and longer-term impacts of the incident.

"Today we remain vigilant and are strongly committed in working with all critical partners to make sure we have a strong line of defense to protect American agriculture against potential threats.

The ICS training courses are available through AgLearn, USDA's web-based Agriculture Learning Management System at http://www.aglearn.usda.gov/

F.O.P. Welcomes Completion of the National Response Plan
1/6/2005 2:00:00 PM

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Chuck Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police (F.O.P.), welcomed the announcement by Tom Ridge, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, that the National Response Plan (NRP) was finally complete, fulfilling Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5 (HSPD-5) by providing a core operational plan for all national incident management.

"The National Response Plan, which was designed with input from the Fraternal Order of Police, will help to strengthen our response capabilities by establishing a unified and standardized approach within the United States for protecting citizens and managing homeland security incidents," Canterbury explained.

The National Response Plan was developed by teams of experts from federal departments and agencies, state, local, and tribal officials, incident response, private sector committees, and organizations like the Fraternal Order of Police. Secretary Ridge praised those that helped develop the plan, saying, "We brought together the best of the best in our Nation's incident management and first responder communities for a singular but critical national endeavor, and I am honored to recognize their achievement in completing this landmark Plan and making America safer."

"Federal, State, local, and tribal first responders now have a comprehensive plan to guide domestic incident management across the spectrum of prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery," Canterbury said. "Our nation is better prepared, our communities are better protected, and our citizens are safer from threats to the United States."

The NRP provides that all Federal departments and agencies which may be required to assist or support during a national incident, whether from threats or acts of terrorism, major natural disasters, or man-made emergencies, will be able to affect a more coordinated, integrated response. The NRP establishes standardized training, organization, and communications procedures through the National Incident Management System (NIMS), which was rolled out last March, and clearly identifies authority and leadership responsibilities.

"The F.O.P. is proud to have contributed to the National Response Plan and, like President Bush and Secretary Ridge, we welcome its completion and look forward to continuing to work with the Administration in an effort to make our nation safer," Canterbury said.

The Fraternal Order of Police is the largest law enforcement labor organization in the United States, with more than 318,000 members.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge Announces Completion of the National Response Plan

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010
January 6, 2005

The U. S. Department of Homeland Security, in partnership with federal departments and agencies, state, local and tribal officials, private sector and national and international associations, today announced completion of the National Response Plan.

“The National Response Plan embodies our nation’s commitment to the concept of one team, one goal -- a safer and more secure America,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge. “Completion of the National Response Plan has been one of my department’s highest priorities, and this achievement is a bold step forward in bringing unity in our response to disasters and terrorist threats and attacks.”

The National Response Plan now establishes a unified and standardized approach within the United States for protecting citizens and managing homeland security incidents. All federal departments and agencies that may be required to assist or support during a national incident will use this Plan, whether from threats or acts of terrorism, major natural disasters, or man-made emergencies. The National Response Plan standardizes federal incident response actions by integrating existing and formerly disparate processes. The Plan uses the National Incident Management System (NIMS) to establish standardized training, organization, and communications procedures for multi-jurisdictional interaction and clearly identifies authority and leadership responsibilities. The Plan also provides a comprehensive framework for private and non-profit institutions to plan and integrate their own preparedness and response activities, nationally and within their own communities.

“With the National Response Plan our nation and its federal, state, local, and tribal response communities now have a comprehensive, all-hazards tool for domestic incident management across the spectrum of prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery,” said Ridge. “The complex and emerging threats of the 21st century demand this synchronized and coordinated plan in order to adequately protect our nation and its citizens.”

The National Response Plan was developed by teams of experts from federal departments and agencies, state, local, and tribal officials, incident response and private sector communities from around the nation. Ridge said, “We brought together the best of the best in our nation’s incident management and first responder communities for a singular but critical national endeavor, and I am honored to recognize their achievement in completing this landmark Plan and making America safer.”

The National Response Plan fulfills a requirement in Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5 and provides a core operational plan for all national incident management. When fully implemented, it will supersede the Initial National Response Plan (INRP), the Federal Response Plan (FRP), the U. S. Government Interagency Domestic Terrorism Concept of Operations Plan (CONPLAN), and the Federal Radiological Emergency Response Plan (FRERP).

The National Response Plan and the supporting National Incident Management System establish incident management processes to:

Improve coordination and integration between federal, state, local, tribal, regional, private sector, and non-governmental organization partners;
Integrate the federal response to catastrophic events;
Improve incident management communications and increase cross-jurisdictional coordination and situational awareness;
Improve federal to federal interaction and emergency support;
Maximize use and employment of incident management resources; and
Facilitate emergency mutual aid and federal emergency support to state, local, and tribal governments.

The National Response Plan further recognizes the potential magnitude of threats from weapons of mass destruction and severe natural disasters by adoption of a new term, the Incident of National Significance. An incident of national significance is described as an incident with high impact requiring an extensive and well-coordinated response by federal, state, local, tribal, and nongovernmental authorities to save lives, minimize damage, and provide the basis for long-term community and economic recovery.

To get more information about the National Response Plan

First responders and incident management authorities may call 1-800-368-6498 [8 am to 7 pm EST Weekdays].
Interested citizens may view and download a PDF copy of the National Response Plan online at http://www.dhs.gov/nationalresponseplan.
Information on FEMA National Response Plan training courses is available through links at the above website.

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Ridge's legacy a safer America
By Mike Walker
1/4/05

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge leaves a legacy that will make America safer for decades to come. Quietly and methodically, he has introduced new plans and programs that have garnered little publicity — but are enormously important for defeating terrorism. Now, it is our shared responsibility to take those plans forward, and build on the solid foundations that Mr. Ridge has laid.

September 11 revealed fatal gaps in the ability of local firefighters and police to work together during an attack, and to cooperate with federal and state agencies. The National Incident Management System, or NIMS, will make that cooperation far more effective. Launched by Mr. Ridge in March, NIMS creates a universal incident response system, so that different agencies and jurisdictions will share unified command structures and be spring-loaded to collaborate against terrorism.