In this lesson, you will learn about how to plan for each activity in the emergency management process as it relates to public works.

Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to:

• Define the purpose of a public works emergency plan.
• Define the components of a public works emergency plan.
• List common planning assumptions for a public works emergency plan.
• Describe response activities that must be included in the emergency plan.
• Describe recovery activities that must be included in the emergency plan.
• Describe how risk and vulnerability assessment information can be used to identify mitigation opportunities.

The resource base should also include a list of facilities vital to emergency operations, and the list should indicate how individual hazards might affect the facilities. Whenever possible, planners should match resources with other geographical/regional needs so that multiple demands for the same or similar resources can be identified and conflicts resolved (coordination of efforts).

This step provides planners an opportunity to identify resource shortfalls to pass to higher levels of government and to prepare pre-scripted resource requests, as appropriate. The emergency operations plan (EOP) should account for unsolvable resource shortfalls so they are not just “assumed away.” This includes identifying the need for outside resources, such as:

• Mutual Aid and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
• Contracting and the Private Sector
• State and Federal Resources

Mutual Aid and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

Mutual aid agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) are agreements between jurisdictions, organizations, or agencies to provide services, equipment, personnel, facilities, and/or supplies across boundaries in the event of an emergency or major disaster. The primary difference between the two is that a mutual aid agreement is reciprocal, while an MOU can be used to pledge assistance without mutual benefits.

The conditions of the agreement can be to provide reciprocal services or direct payment for services. The costs for these services may be eligible for reimbursement and should be coordinated with state and federal agencies. The employees of the entity providing supplemental assistance are considered as extra hires or contract labor; therefore, both regular and overtime labor are eligible.

The local community should consider both forms of agreements with nearby communities as well as those that are 100-200 miles away. During large events, neighboring communities may be affected in a similar way, so an agreement with a community some distance away will be beneficial to ensure availability of services or resources that are not in use already.

Mutual aid agreements need to be done ahead of time. This helps determine if activities are reimbursable or not, and ensures that resources are available when they're needed.

Contracting and the Private Sector

Local government officials, especially public works professionals, should have a thorough understanding of the capabilities available in the private sector and how they may assist the public works function in a disaster. They should encourage participation from the private sector and create partnerships or agreements to work together in the management of an incident or emergency.

The private sector should make their resources available and have working relationships with local government officials. They should train their employees in emergency response and recovery procedures and participate in training offered by the local government. The private sector should also be represented on local emergency management councils.

Some examples of services that can be provided by the private sector include:

• Transportation
• Technical expertise
• Damage assessment
• Heavy equipment operation
• Debris management
• Utility and infrastructure restoration
• Facility repair and reconstruction
• Contract monitoring
• Inspection Services

State and Federal Resources

Planners should be familiar with different types of available state and federal resources and the processes for obtaining these.

For example, the state Department of Transportation might assist with highway and bridge reconstruction or provide estimates for construction projects. Federal resources could include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers who might manage debris removal contracts.

The next step in the planning process is to actually develop the plan. This step may be done simultaneously with determination and planning of resources. Keep in mind that the public works EOP should coordinate with the community-wide EOP and with other plans.

You can learn about creating a damage assessment plan in the IS-556 course, Damage Assessment for Public Works. You can also learn about creating a debris management plan and a recovery plan in the IS-558 course, Public Works and Disaster Recovery.

Although there is no mandatory format, the recommended format (for the sake of compatibility with other jurisdictions and levels of government) for the community-wide or public works agency-specific plan includes the following components:

• Roles and responsibilities of the command, lead, and support teams, the functional assignments and changing roles of the team members, as well as the administrative duties
• Resources and their locations/staging areas (internal/external – including need for mutual aid, MOUs, contracts, state, and federal resources)
• Inter-and intra-agency coordination
• Operational priorities (life safety; restoration and reconstruction of lifelines, critical infrastructure, and key resources; and protection of the environment)
• Communication capabilities (internal, other agencies, and with the public)
• Safety procedures and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Damage assessment plan
• Debris management plan
• Recovery plan

Planning assumptions should include information about public works pre-established priorities and the functions of the public works agency following a hazard event. There should also be information about resources and potential needs. The public works agency should plan to support the community-wide effort through participation in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

The planning assumptions define what was assumed to be true when the plan was developed. The assumptions statement shows the limits of the plan, limiting liability. It may be helpful to list even “obvious” assumptions, such as:

• Identified hazards will occur.
• Individuals and organizations are familiar with the EOP.
• Individuals and organizations will execute their assigned responsibilities.
• Assistance may be needed and, if so, will be available.
• Executing the EOP will save lives and reduce damage.

The planning assumptions should be monitored and updated periodically. Changes in the community and agency will change the assumptions identified in the EOP.

Development of a plan falls under the preparedness, protection, and prevention functions of emergency management. These are continuous processes that are ongoing whether an event occurs or not.

Preparedness refers to actions taken to plan, organize, equip, train, and exercise to build and sustain capabilities necessary to prevent, protect against, mitigate the effects of, respond to, and recover from threats that pose the greatest risk.

Protection refers to capabilities necessary to secure critical infrastructure or key resources against acts of terrorism and all disasters.

Prevention refers to capabilities necessary to avoid, prevent, or stop a threatened or actual act of terrorism. Prevention involves actions taken to avoid an incident or intervene to stop an incident from occurring.

Identification of roles and responsibilities prior to an event is key to an effective response and recovery effort. First is the decision of command and control—determining the role of the public works function (i.e., command, lead or support). In many instances, such as natural disasters, public works will serve in a lead role. In other instances, such as a terrorist attack, public works may serve as support. Engineers, manpower, and equipment will provide support to the actions determined by public safety.

A documentation unit should be created in the public works agency and those assignments made prior to the event. There will be mountains of paperwork related to managing the event.

Assigned roles from the day-to-day to disaster roles may change significantly. As a result, pre-incident assignment and training for the changing roles is essential. All training and exercises should coordinate with other agencies and especially those with a public works function or a public works support function.

In order for plan development to take place, the following statements must be true:

• The planning team is in place and expectations are defined.
• Situation analysis is complete and all hazards and vulnerabilities are identified.
• The impact of all hazards to public works’ ability to respond, recover, and provide routine services has been evaluated.
• Operational priorities have been identified.
• Communication capabilities have been evaluated.
• All available resources have been identified.
• Major operational tasks have been identified.
• Operational priorities are identified.

Remember, the response function of emergency management includes actions taken immediately following an event or incident to save lives, meet the service needs of the community, reduce the loss of personal or public property, and lessen the impact to infrastructure and the environment.

Response activities include damage assessment, based on current disaster information. They also include the identification of lifeline and infrastructure disruption. This consists of detection and isolation of disruptions, securing systems (water, sewer, electric, bridges, highways, etc.), securing facilities, and clearing streets.

As a part of planning for response activities, your agency and community should consider the impact of hazard events on the resources of your community. This can include determining the need for building inspection services, establishing debris removal strategies and priorities, and identifying sanitation and environmental issues that your community may face. It might also involve the disposal of not only household waste, but of hazardous waste, as well as other waste that occurs as a result of damages.

This step is the time to establish operational priorities. You should establish coordination with other agencies, and, if necessary, initiate acquisition of outside resources. Be sure to consider technical support needs of these other agencies. Establishing a communications strategy will make this process go more smoothly.

In the interest of preserving life safety for citizens, public works employees will often be put in hazardous situations. They may have to enter affected areas where flood waters, debris, animals, or other dangers exist. It is critical to focus on employee safety, including the use of personal protective equipment (and training on its use), especially when public works assists with activities such as search and rescue.

Keep in mind that all response activities and costs should be documented. This information can be used to help your community develop a recovery plan.

Some response activity continues as the community begins to transition to recovery. Recovery activity includes operational and administrative action to return the community to as close as possible to the pre-event condition, “normal.” The transition should be seamless.

Recovery activity includes efforts to restore interrupted utilities or lifelines, reestablish transportation routes and access, clear debris, and restore facilities and services to critical customers. Some examples of critical customers are nursing homes, hospitals, schools, and airports.

Compare your response to the suggested answer below. When you are ready to proceed, click on the right arrow.

Sample Response

Your emergency plan should include the following components:

• Roles and responsibilities of the command, lead, and support teams, the functional assignments and changing roles of the team members, as well as the administrative duties
• Resources and their locations/staging areas (internal/external – including need for mutual aid, MOUs, contracts, state, and federal resources)
• Inter- and intra-agency coordination
• Operational priorities (life safety; restoration and reconstruction of lifelines, critical infrastructure, and key resources; and protection of the environment)
• Communication capabilities (internal, other agencies, and with the public)
• Safety procedures and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Damage assessment plan
• Debris management plan
• Recovery plan

Two primary functions performed by public works during recovery are:

• Restoration of lifelines, utilities, and infrastructure
• Debris clearance, removal, and disposal

Some local agencies that work with or provide support to public works in the recovery process include police, fire, finance, emergency management, public information, geographic information systems (GIS), the business community, private utility agencies, Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD), and other nonprofit organizations. State and federal agencies also provide support to public works during this process.

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Restoration of Lifelines, Utilities, and Infrastructure

Restoration of lifelines such as utilities and other infrastructure by public works is important to the revitalization of the community. While much of this is reimbursable, it’s a very expensive part of recovery. The cost of lifeline disruption may exceed the damages themselves, as a result of economic impact, business interruption, and environmental clean-up.

Restoration of services in a major event is beyond the scope of resources on the local level. Public works should consider any and all options for mutual aid and contracting for services. Pre-arranged agreements and contracts will expedite the process, reduce the possibility of litigation, and likely cost less to accomplish.

Priorities should be identified in the risk and vulnerability assessments during preparedness planning and adjusted as damage assessment is completed. Generally, the priorities for restoration of services are:

1. Critical need
2. Economic or business
3. Community

Debris Clearance, Removal, and Disposal

Debris management includes initial street clearance, removal, and disposal. In most cases, debris management is assigned to public works, but in some cases, the engineering function may be assigned this task.

Debris management is a challenge and a very expensive process in a major event. Pre-arranged agreements or contracts should be considered just as they are for infrastructure restoration because the local agency will be beyond its means in a major incident or disaster.

As part of the EOP, plans for effective debris management should be developed prior to an incident. Public works professionals should consider participating in FEMA’s E0202 Debris Management Course.

When conducting community-wide planning, local government should consider establishing a Disaster Recovery Planning Committee. Working together, the committee would assist with the development of recovery plans for the local community. The committee would include representatives from local government, nonprofits, private utilities, and the business community. The public works agency will be a part of this committee.

The primary function of the committee is policy development. This policy includes guidelines for:

• Short-term recovery efforts
• Long-term recovery efforts

Short-term Recovery

Short-term recovery activities are generally those actions initiated to assist citizens to return to their homes. Examples of short-term public works objectives include:

• Complete damage assessment
• Open roads and highways
• Coordinate critical utility restoration
• Support public information
• Mitigate environmental issues
• Support other agencies as needed

Long-term Recovery

Long-term recovery usually involves those activities taken to return the community to as near pre-disaster condition as possible. Additionally there is an effort to take advantage of opportunities to mitigate the impacts of future incidents or disasters. Long-term recovery activities can last many years.

Examples of long-term public works objectives include:

• Remove and dispose of debris
• Repair and restore facilities
• Open all roads and highways
• Assist with hazard mitigation
• Support reconstruction efforts
• Coordinate lifeline and infrastructure restoration
• Support public information
• Contribute to environmental preservation and/or restoration efforts
• Contribute to historical preservation and/or restoration efforts
• Support other agencies as needed
• Identify mitigation opportunities

In addition to the Disaster Recovery Planning Committee, local government should consider establishing a Recovery Task Force (RTF) or Long-Term Recovery Committee (LTRC). This is a smaller advisory committee whose members are the leaders of local government agencies, including public works, with the following objectives:

• Coordination of recovery efforts
• Recommendation of actions to restore normalcy
• Assistance with the identification of mitigation opportunities
• Identification of the recovery functions to be activated

Compare your response to the suggested answer below. When you are ready to proceed, click on the right arrow.

Sample Response

Response activities for your agency could include:

• Safety
• Identification of lifeline and infrastructure disruption
• Impact of hazard events on the resources of your community
• Identification of sanitation and environmental issues that your community may face
• Establishment of operational priorities
• Establishment of coordination with other agencies
• Acquisition of outside resources

Recovery activities for your agency could include:

• Removal and disposal of debris
• Repair and restoration of facilities
• Opening of all roads and highways
• Assisting with hazard mitigation
• Supporting reconstruction efforts
• Coordination of lifeline and infrastructure restoration
• Supporting Public Information
• Contributing to environmental preservation and/or restoration efforts
• Contributing to historical preservation and/or restoration efforts
• Supporting other agencies as needed

A key area to consider during mitigation planning is vulnerability to critical infrastructure and key resources, such as the waste water treatment plant.

Areas to consider include:

• Critical infrastructure and key resources
• Service provision
• Building safety/codes
• Public awareness

Through effective mitigation planning, your community can reduce the loss of life and property, as well as the costs that could result from a hazard event. Mitigation planning results in a more prepared community.

Once all necessary components have been included in the plan, it should be sent to all team members and stakeholders for review. The team will then meet to discuss recommendations for improving the plan.

After the agreed-upon revisions are made, it must be approved by management before implementation.

In this lesson, you learned the purpose of a public works emergency plan and some common planning assumptions that you need to be aware of while developing your emergency plan.

You learned about planning for each activity in the emergency management process.

Keep in mind that an emergency plan is a living document, so updates will be required.