The Crisis Management course provides owners and operators with information relating to emergency response and preparedness issues.

Objectives: At the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Describe the mission and characteristics of the Dams Sector.
• Identify the elements of risk management related to the Dams Sector.
• Describe the purpose and elements of Emergency Action, Recovery, and Continuity Plans.
• Describe the purpose and elements of pandemic preparedness.
• Describe the purpose and types of exercises.

The next screens provide instruction on course navigation.

 This lesson should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

[Narrator]
Water is one of our most precious resources, and dams are used to harness the Nation’s water resources. The Dams Sector is composed of facility owners and operators at the Federal, State, tribal, and local levels, as well as the private sector.

The sector includes assets that are vital to the Nation, including dam projects, navigation locks, levees, hurricane barriers, mine tailings impoundments, and other similar water retention and control facilities. Dam projects are complex facilities that typically include water impoundment or control structures, reservoirs, spillways, outlet works, powerhouses, and canals or aqueducts. In some cases, navigation locks may be part of the dam project.

Through hydropower, dams provide 8 to 12 percent of our Nation’s electrical power. Dams Sector facilities prevent hundreds of millions of dollars of flood damage each year, and enable navigation by boats and barges that carry millions of tons of goods to market annually. Reservoirs, created by dams, also store water that is used to irrigate the Nation’s crops.

However, dams and levees do pose risks. These structures may fail for one or a combination of reasons, including:

• Overtopping caused by floods;
• Structural failures;
• Foundation failures;
• Piping and internal erosion;
• Inadequate maintenance;
• Operational errors; and
• Deliberate man-made actions.

Unfortunately, Dams Sector facilities present an inviting target for potential aggressors who want to harm people or inflict damage on our country. And certain characteristics make this valuable infrastructure difficult to protect. While the critical assets in many other sectors are small or concentrated and can be contained within buildings, dams are very large, and most components are not within buildings. Dams Sector facilities are often in remote locations, and they can be approached via land, water, and even air. And many facilities are open to the public, as in the case of levees used for recreation.

[Herbert Nakasone]
A lot of levees are used for recreational purposes and have access by the public. It’s almost impossible to completely secure a levee. You can’t put a fence around it and expect people not to use it. So you need to protect your most vulnerable spots and to be able to quickly respond if there’s an incident.

[Narrator]
In the event of a failure, the volume of the water stored, even behind a small structure, is capable of causing loss of life and significant property damage. For some sector facilities, failure has the potential to cause massive immediate casualties as well as severe long-term consequences. Even short-term damage could result in significant economic impacts.

[Alfred J. Hancock]
The consequences vary depending on the size of the project. You’ve got some reservoirs that are providing water for eight million people. And if that dam fails, not only are you losing the water, you’re going to also impact on casualties, destruction in the environment, homes, businesses. The impact varies widely depending on the facility. It comes down to a combination of many elements: the environmental aspects, the business aspects, or the economic aspects, and of course the casualties—that’s the biggest issue.

[Narrator]
Given the benefits provided by the Dams Sector, and the risks posed by potential failure, crisis management is critical to our Nation’s security and economic well-being.  By bringing together the partners involved in protecting Dams Sector facilities, crisis management planning ensures that our Nation’s infrastructure is adequately protected.

[Frank Calcagno]
Crisis management is important because if an emergency occurs you have to respond to it very quickly. You don’t want to make up things as you go along.

[Dick Robert]
You can’t anticipate what type of events or incidents may take place at your facility, and to learn how to handle them during an event or an incident is the wrong course to take. 

[Narrator]
In this course, you’ll learn about planning measures that should occur before an incident, and emergency response measures that should occur during and immediately after an incident. By implementing effective crisis management programs, we can better protect our Nation’s water containment and control infrastructure.

[Yazmin Seda-Sanabria]
Dam safety is an area where public safety is paramount.  We’re all in the same business line. Our business is mitigating consequences, saving lives, saving people.

Protecting the critical infrastructure and key resources (CIKR) of the United States is essential to the Nation’s security, public health and safety, economic vitality, and way of life.

• Critical Infrastructure includes systems and assets, whether physical or virtual, so vital that their incapacity or destruction may have a debilitating impact on the security, economy, public health or safety, environment, or any combination of these matters, across any Federal, State, regional, territorial, or local jurisdiction.
• Key Resources, as defined in the Homeland Security Act of 2002, are publicly or privately controlled resources essential to the minimal operations of the economy and government.

Click on the next slide to review information about CI and the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP).

America is an open, technologically sophisticated, highly interconnected and complex Nation with a wide array of infrastructure that spans important aspects of U.S. government, economy, and society.

Terrorist attacks on CIKR and other manmade or natural disasters could significantly disrupt the functioning of government and business alike, and produce cascading effects far beyond the affected CIKR and physical location of the incident.

Critical infrastructure and key resources encompass everything that provides the foundation for the Nation’s ability to survive and to maintain the quality of life Americans have today. Examples include:

• Electricity, drinking water, and other essential utilities  
• Transportation systems and shipping of goods
• Physical facilities that manufacture consumer products
• Cyber and communication systems.

Additional information about critical infrastructure and key resources is presented later in the course.

• Form partnerships throughout the government and with the private sector to promote protection and response efforts.
• Identify vulnerabilities and foster the development of protective programs.
• Develop and submit Sector-Specific Plans.
• Encourage the development of appropriate information-sharing and analysis mechanisms within the sector.

Additional information about SSAs is presented later in this course.

Agriculture and Food

Description:  The Food and Agriculture Sector comprises more than 2 million farms, 900,000 companies, and 1.1 million facilities, and accounts for roughly one-fifth of the Nation’s economic activity when measured from producer inputs to the end consumer.  Members of this sector include agricultural production services, animal producers, plant producers, food processors and manufacturers, restaurant and food service companies, and warehouse and logistics facilities.

Sector-Specific Agencies:  Department of Agriculture for agriculture and food (meat, poultry, and egg products) and Department of Health and Human Services/Food and Drug Administration for food other than meat, poultry, and egg products

Banking and Finance

Description:  The Banking and Finance Sector accounts for more than 8 percent of the U.S. annual gross domestic product and forms the backbone of the global economy.  This sector consists of more than 11,000 financial institutions including banks, credit unions, mortgage lenders, and investment companies.

Sector-Specific Agency:  Department of the Treasury

Chemical

Description:  The Chemical Sector has nearly 1 million employees and $637 billion in annual revenues.  The sector converts raw materials into more than 70,000 products that include basic chemicals, specialty chemicals, agricultural chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and consumer products.  These products are as diverse as fertilizers, adhesives, sealants, petroleum products, chlorine, plastics, paints, and explosives.

Sector-Specific Agency:  Department of Homeland Security/Office of Infrastructure Protection

Commercial Facilities

Description:  The Commercial Facilities Sector is an extremely diverse sector that has been divided into eight subsectors:  entertainment and media facilities, lodging, outdoor events, public assembly, real estate, resorts, retail, and sports leagues.  These subsectors include everything from theme parks to major league sports arenas to shopping centers to National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) tracks to self-storage facilities.

Sector-Specific Agency:  Department of Homeland Security/Office of Infrastructure Protection

Communications

Description:  The Communications Sector includes the broadcasting, cable, wireless, and wireline industries, as well as networks that support the Internet and other key information systems.  Members of this sector include telephone companies as well as the companies that produce communication equipment and the companies that carry broadcasts via cable to homes and offices.

Sector-Specific Agency:  Department of Homeland Security/Office of Cyber Security and Telecommunications

Critical Manufacturing

Description:  The Critical Manufacturing Sector is composed of four broad manufacturing industries, which employ 1.1 million workers and manufactured $678 billion in products in 2007.  The Critical Manufacturing Sector industries are: 

• Primary Metal Manufacturing
• Machinery Manufacturing
• Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing
• Transportation Equipment Manufacturing

Sector-Specific Agency:  Department of Homeland Security/Office of Infrastructure Protection

Dams

Description:  The Dams Sectors is made up of approximately 82,640 dams in the United States, of which about 70,000 are regulated by State agencies and 4,600 by Federal agencies.  More than 65 percent of the dams are owned by private entities including public utility companies.

Sector-Specific Agency:  Department of Homeland Security/Office of Infrastructure Protection

Defense Industrial Base

Description:  The Defense Industrial Base Sector includes hundreds of thousands of domestic and foreign entities and subcontractors that perform work for the Department of Defense and other Federal departments and agencies.  These firms research, develop, design, produce, deliver, and maintain military weapons systems, subsystems, components, or parts to sustain forces conducting military operations worldwide.

Sector-Specific Agency:  Department of Defense

Emergency Services

Description:  The Emergency Services Sector is made up of a network of preparedness, response, and recovery elements that forms the Nation’s first line of defense for preventing and mitigating the risk of terrorist attacks and manmade and natural disasters.  This includes law enforcement, bomb disposal, special weapons and tactics, fire service, emergency medical service, search and rescue, urban search and rescue, emergency management, and hazardous materials response.

Sector-Specific Agency:  Department of Homeland Security/Office of Infrastructure Protection

Energy

Description:  The Energy Sector consists of thousands of geographically dispersed electricity, oil, and natural gas assets that are connected by systems and networks.  This interdependent infrastructure is owned, operated, hosted, and regulated by a combination of public and private entities.

Sector-Specific Agency:  Department of Energy

Government Facilities

Description:  The Government Facilities Sector includes a wide variety of facilities owned or leased by Federal, State, local, or tribal governments, located domestically and overseas.  Not all government facilities are exclusive to the Government Facilities Sector, and those that exist in other sectors are the responsibility of other sectors as determined by the predominant use of the facility.

Sector-Specific Agencies:  Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Federal Protective Service

Information Technology

Description:  The Information Technology Sector accounts for more than $3 trillion worth of economic activity that passes over secure Federal financial networks.  Other elements of this sector include IT products and services; incident management capabilities; domain name resolution services; identity management; Internet-based content, information and communications services; and Internet routing, access, and connection services.

Sector-Specific Agency:  Department of Homeland Security/Office of Cyber Security and Telecommunications

National Monuments and Icons

Description:  The National Monuments and Icons (NMI) Sector encompasses a diverse array of assets located throughout the United States and its territories.  Many of these assets are listed on either the National Register of Historic Places or the List of National Historic Landmarks and include the monuments in Washington, D.C., Mt. Rushmore National Monument, etc.  All assets designated as NMI are owned by the Government but, based on primary uses, some NMI are included in other sectors (e.g., Golden Gate Bridge – Transportation Sector, Hoover Dam – Dam Sector, U.S. Capitol – Government Facilities Sector). 

Sector-Specific Agency:  Department of the Interior

Nuclear

Description:  The Nuclear Sector includes the Nation’s 65 commercial nuclear power plants, which are the source of nearly 20 percent of the U.S. capacity for electricity generation.  The Sector also includes nuclear fuel-capable facilities; non-power-generating nuclear reactors used for research and training; nuclear and radiological materials used in medical, industrial, and academic settings; and the transportation, storage, and disposal of nuclear materials and radioactive waste.

Sector-Specific Agency:  Department of Homeland Security/Office of Infrastructure Protection

Postal and Shipping

Description:  The Postal and Shipping Sector receives, processes, transports, and distributes billions of letters and parcels annually.  Government, businesses, and private citizens rely daily on the efficient and timely functioning of this sector.  The Postal and Shipping Sector is mainly composed of four large, integrated carriers that represent 93 percent of the sector:  the U.S. Postal Service, the United Parcel Service, Federal Express, and DHL International.  Smaller local courier, mail, and delivery services make up the balance of the sector.

Sector-Specific Agency:  Department of Homeland Security/Transportation Security Administration

Public Health and Healthcare

Description:  The Healthcare and Public Health Sector constitutes approximately 16 percent ($2 trillion) of the gross national product.  Privately owned and operated organizations make up approximately 85 percent of the sector and are responsible for the delivery of healthcare goods and services.  This sector includes hospitals, blood banks, health insurance providers, funeral homes, and pharmaceutical research and manufacturing companies.

Sector-Specific Agency:  Department of Health and Human Services

Transportation

Description:  The Transportation Sector is a vast, open network of interdependent systems that moves millions of passengers and millions of tons of goods annually.  There are six transportation modes in this sector:  Aviation, Maritime, Mass Transit, Highway, Freight Rail, and Pipeline.  Members of this sector include airlines, shipping companies, mass transit train and bus companies, highways and bridges, railroads, and pipeline companies.

Sector-Specific Agencies:  Transportation Security Administration and U.S. Coast Guard (for the maritime transportation mode)

Water

Description:  The Water Sector includes the approximately 160,000 public drinking water systems and more than 16,000 wastewater treatment systems in the United States.  Approximately 84 percent of the population receives its potable water from these drinking water systems and more than 75 percent of the population has its sanitary sewage treated by these wastewater treatment facilities.

Sector-Specific Agency:  Environmental Protection Agency

The NIPP establishes an overall framework for integrating programs and activities that are currently underway in the various sectors, as well as new and developing CIKR protection and resiliency efforts.

This screen concludes the CIKR & NIPP Refresher.

The following characteristics make Dams Sector facilities difficult to protect:

• Size: While the critical assets in many other sectors are small or concentrated and can be contained within buildings, dams are very large, and most components are not within buildings. Levees are geospatially extended systems that can run for miles.
• Location: Facilities are often in remote locations that can be approached via land, water, and air.
• Access: Certain owners are required to provide public access to certain portions of the dam project.

The Dams Sector-Specific Plan was created to complement the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) in improving the protection of the Dams Sector in an all-hazards environment. The plan constitutes the starting point to:

• Develop and implement the sector-wide processes required to identify and prioritize assets.
• Assess risk in the sector, implement protective programs, and measure the effectiveness of the protective programs.
• Develop information-sharing mechanisms for the communication of security issues within the industry.

The following Dams Sector handbooks detail the processes outlined in the Dams Sector-Specific Plan:

Continue on the next slide to view a description of the four handbooks.

The handbook provides an introduction to crisis management measures for dam owners. This handbook:

• Explains how such measures are an important component of an overall risk management program.
• Describes major components of crisis management.
• Provides a template for an Emergency Action Plan and guidelines for Recovery Plans, Continuity Plans, Pandemic Preparedness, and exercises.

This handbook has been written to apply across a broad range of types of dam projects. Each dam is unique because of numerous differences in project configurations, engineering details, project benefits, and potential consequences from possible damage to the dam. Therefore, selection of appropriate crisis management measures as part of a risk management program will be unique for each project.

Dams Sector structures may fail for one or a combination of the following reasons:

• Overtopping
• Structural failure
• Foundation failure
• Piping and internal erosion
• Inadequate maintenance
• Operational errors
• Deliberate, manmade actions

The industry has a long history of recognizing and dealing with the first six of these potential issues. However, deliberate, manmade actions are an area of more recent concern. The Security Awareness Handbook is designed to assist owners and operators in dealing with that issue by reinforcing good security practices. While the average dam owner or operator does not need to be a “security expert,” security awareness is the foundation upon which effective security programs are based.

The purpose of this guide is to provide information for levee owners and operators on issues related to potential terrorists’ surveillance objectives, indicators that such surveillance may be taking place, and methods for reporting incidents of surveillance or suspicious activity.

The handbook provides an introduction to risk reduction strategies and protective measures for dam owners. This handbook:

• Explains how protective programs should be developed by systematically assessing threat, level of protection, and constraints.
• Describes the basic protective measures related to:
• Deterrence
• Physical security
• Resilience
• Response
• Recovery
• Mitigation
• Points out that risk management should be used as the key decisionmaking tool for selecting and implementing appropriate security measures.

Examples of protective measures that might be implemented depending upon the current threat alert level are described in Appendix A of this handbook.

This Dams Sector Web-based training series provides instruction on the contents of the handbooks. This course is based on the Crisis Management Handbook.

While this course is available to the public, the sensitive nature of information in the other courses requires their designation as “For Official Use Only.” The remainder of the training series is available through the Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN) Dams Portal.

Click on this link to access the Dams Sector Crisis Management Handbook

This portal allows for invaluable information sharing among Federal, State, and local agencies and private-sector owners and operators.

If you do not already have access to the portal, contact damsportal@hq.dhs.gov

• Overview of Dams Sector and its partners.
• Purpose and benefits of dams.
• Potential risks associated with dams.
• Consequences of a dam failure.
• Characteristics that make dams difficult to protect.
• Components of a crisis management program.

The next lesson focuses on risk management.

Objectives: Identify the elements of risk management, including:

• Consequence
• Vulnerability
• Threat

This lesson should take approximately 15 minutes to complete. You must complete this lesson in its entirety to receive credit.

[Narrator]
Dams, levees, and other sector facilities contribute to our Nation’s security and economic well-being.

The combination of benefits that we derive from the Dams Sector, the potential consequences if a facility is damaged, and the difficulties in fully protecting assets present an inviting target for potential aggressors who want to harm people or inflict damage on our country.

Additionally, these valuable assets must be prepared to withstand natural disasters.

Therefore, it is critical for facility owners and operators to consider how best to manage risk. Simply stated, risk is the potential for an unwanted event. Risk is assessed as a function of the nature and magnitude of a threat, the vulnerabilities to that threat, and the consequences that could result.

[Dick Robert]
The consequences can range from the worst-case scenario, which would be death or injury, to the civil side, which is a liability, that could severely damage or economically damage your operation. As you look at each scenario, you have to look at the consequences first. And from the consequences you look back at where are my vulnerabilities and then you look back, what are my threats. And putting those three together you should be able to build on what we just talked about, the scenarios that will protect your facilities.

[Narrator]
The goal of risk management is to identify appropriate protective strategies and measures to prevent or contain damage, improve safety, and minimize potential economic loss. By building on or enhancing current programs and practices, owners and operators can mitigate risk using existing resources.

In this lesson you will learn how risk management serves as a foundation for your crisis management program.

[Frank Calcagno]
Hopefully an attack will never occur at a dam, but you’re never quite sure. In historical times, dams have been attacked for various reasons, usually to stop essential services, but there have been cases where dams have been used to hurt people downstream. So, at least in history it’s been known to occur. The question is: Can it occur in the future? We just don’t know that. It’s best to be educated, to know what could happen and be prepared for any eventuality.

Consequence is the range of loss or damage that can be expected as the result of an undesired event.

Consequences may be both direct (e.g., fatalities, cost to rebuild) and indirect (e.g., long-term costs due to environmental damage). Estimating potential indirect impacts requires the use of assumptions and other complex variables.

Human Impact (Public Health and Safety)
Potential effects on human life and physical well-being include:

• Direct loss of life.
• Flood-caused pollution (e.g., if impounding untreated industrial waste).
• Damage to downstream water treatment facilities.
• Loss of domestic water supply.

Economic Impact
Potential direct and indirect effects on the economy include:

• Property damage.
• Loss of project-specific benefits (e.g., power generation, flood control, irrigation, navigation, recreation).
• Loss of area business (e.g., products, services, payroll).
• Emergency response and cleanup costs.

Impact on Public Confidence
Potential effects on public morale and confidence in national economic and political institutions include:

• Displacement of downstream persons/communities.
• Damage to infrastructure (e.g., roads, communications, pipelines).
• Loss of confidence and other psychological impacts.

Impact on Government Capability (National Security and Government Functionality)
Potential effects on the government’s ability to maintain order, deliver minimum essential public services, ensure public health and safety, and carry out national security-related missions include damage to downstream military or law enforcement facilities or to infrastructures serving those facilities (e.g., electrical system or water supply).

Other Impact
Other potential effects include compromise of the missions of downstream dams and upstream reservoirs.

Frank Calcagno

You may have hospitals downstream that either rely on the power or they could be flooded out. You may have schools in the neighborhood where classes are going to have to be interrupted because you can’t get the transportation. Bridges might come out. So there’s a lot of things that could be impacted by an emergency at a dam, not only the services that the dam provides but the simple infrastructure that’s downstream of the dam that could be affected by a major flood. So people may be displaced and they may have to live in temporary quarters for a long time, just essential services may not be available until things are brought back online.

Yazmin Seda-Sanabria

The consequences of not knowing how to be prepared could be really as simply stated as not being able to know what to do under a certain crisis or during a crisis event. That could have very adverse impacts and result in an increased consequence both at the human impact level, economic, and in terms of the inability for a facility to perform its intended mission.

Alfred J. Hancock

The consequences vary depending on the size of the project. Your major impact there is going to be either environmental and the loss of the generation capacity or the reservoir capacity which is basically used to provide generation. And again it comes down to a combination of many elements, the environmental aspects, the business aspects or the economic aspects, and, of course, the casualties, that’s the biggest issue.

• Human Impact: Effect on human life and physical well-being (e.g., fatalities, injuries).
• Economic Impact: Direct and indirect effects on the economy (e.g., cost to rebuild asset, cost to respond to and recover from attack, downstream costs resulting from disruption of product or service, long-term costs due to environmental damage).
• Impact on Public Confidence: Effect on public morale and confidence in national economic and political institutions.
• Impact on Government Capability: Effect on the government’s ability to maintain order, deliver minimum essential public services, ensure public health and safety, and carry out national security-related missions.

Vulnerabilities are the characteristics of design, location, security posture, process, or operation that render an asset, system, or network susceptible to destruction, incapacitation, or exploitation.

The vulnerability assessment process identifies areas of weakness that could result in undesired consequences, by taking into account:

• Intrinsic structural weaknesses
• Protective measures
• Resiliency
• Redundancies 

 Click on this link to access information to consider as you prepare to assess your facility’s vulnerabilities.

Intrinsic Structural Weaknesses
Intrinsic structural weaknesses may include an inadequate or dysfunctional spillway, settlement of the dam crest, foundation defects, internal erosion or piping, seepage, and structural problems due to other reasons such as inadequate materials or unsound design.

Protective Measures
Protective measures can include a wide range of activities, such as hardening facilities, building resiliency and redundancy, incorporating hazard resistance into initial facility design, initiating active or passive countermeasures, installing security systems, promoting workforce surety, training and exercises, and implementing cybersecurity measures, among various others.

Resiliency
Resiliency is the ability to resist, absorb, recover from, or successfully adapt to adversity or a change in conditions.

Redundancies
Redundancies are the duplication or repetition of elements to provide alternative functional channels in case of failure. For example, it might be necessary to provide backup communications systems for use during emergencies, as normal communications systems are often unreliable in such situations.

Dams Sector facilities must address two main categories of vulnerability: site-related and interdependency vulnerabilities.

Site-related vulnerabilities are conditions or situations existing at a particular site that could be exploited by a terrorist or terrorist group to do economic, physical, or bodily harm or to disable or disrupt operations or critical infrastructures.

The next screen provides examples of possible site-related vulnerabilities.

Whereas potential site-related vulnerabilities arise from the specifics of a particular site, interdependency vulnerabilities arise from the relationship between two or more sites or infrastructures. Interdependencies can be physical, geographic, logical, or information-based.

You’ll learn more about vulnerabilities in the Security Awareness Overview course.

Threat is the probability (or likelihood) of an attack by an aggressor/adversary based on an analysis of motivation (intent) and capability.

Threat estimates should not only include what an aggressor/adversary might be expected to do (method), but also likely tactics, tools, weapons, or explosives.

The following types of incidents could affect Dams Sector facilities:

• Attack
• Breach or Failure
• Controlled Breach
• Cybersecurity Incident
• Earthquake
• Emergency Action Plan Activation
• Emergency Condition
• Equipment Malfunction
• Excessive Release
• Facility Mis-operation
• Lock Closure
• Physical Security Incident
• Regulatory Action
• Reservoir Incident
• Sabotage

 Click on this link to access information to consider when assessing your facility’s threats.

The following types of incidents could affect Dams Sector facilities:

• Security Posture Modification
• Significant Inflow Flood
• Significant Inflow of Ice and Debris
• Structural Modification
• Suspicious Activity
• Unsafe Condition
• Unsatisfactory Condition Report
• Unusual Observation
• Vandalism/Theft
• Vessel Allision/Collision/Grounding

  Click on this link to access information to consider when assessing your facility’s threats.

Attack: A hostile (cyber or physical) action aimed at disrupting or destroying operational capability and/or causing significant damage to the facility.

Breach or Failure: Any condition characterized by total or partial loss of the capability to impound water.

Controlled Breach: Planned (nonemergency) breach of an impounding structure, possibly carried out to remove the facility from service or to make major repairs.

Cybersecurity Incident: Any denial of service attacks incidents, identification of malicious codes, unauthorized access, and/or inappropriate usage of information systems.

Earthquake: Operations and structural performance are affected by a nearby seismic event.

Emergency Action Plan Activation: Implementation of the emergency action plan (or emergency actions) in part or whole.

Emergency Condition: Any event or circumstance that clearly compromises the structural integrity of the facility and could lead to breach or failure (for example, water has overtopped a dam or dike).

Equipment Malfunction: Failure of mechanical or electrical equipment to perform the functions for which they were intended.

Excessive Release: Reservoir discharge that exceeds downstream capacity and/or causes downstream damage.

Facility Mis-operation: Unintentional operator error affecting the operations of the facility.

Lock Closure: Unscheduled or scheduled interruption of partial or total navigation traffic through the facility.

Physical Security Incident: Any breach in access control systems such as fences, doors, gates, locks, and security zones.

Regulatory Action: The regulatory agency has determined an unsafe condition exists, or that the facility does not meet applicable design criteria (e.g., inadequate spillway capacity), and requires action to be taken by the owner (e.g., reservoir restriction, safety modification).

Reservoir Incident: Any event in the reservoir that may impact the structural/functional integrity of the facility (for example, landslides).

Sabotage: A deliberate action aimed at weakening or destroying operational capability through subversion, obstruction, disruption, and/or destruction.

Security Posture Modification: Any change of security activities and protocols in response to specific threat reports.

Significant Inflow Flood: Operations and structural performance are affected by significant inflow flood.

Significant Inflow of Ice and Debris: Operations and structural performance are affected by significant inflow of ice and debris.

Structural Modification: Modifications to improve the safety and/or operational characteristics of the facility.

Suspicious Activity: Any indication that surveillance activity (such as elicitation of inappropriate information, suspicious photography, attempted intrusion, steady observation, etc.) could be taking place.

Unsafe Condition: Any developing or occurring event or circumstance that may adversely affect the structural integrity of the facility but that is considered controllable through the appropriate remedial actions. For example: Water level of the reservoir reaching unsafe levels; any developing downstream erosion or settlement; any unusual leakage; etc.

Unsatisfactory Condition Report: The findings of any inspection, assessment, or investigation that identify unsatisfactory or unsafe conditions at the facility.

Unusual Observation: An unusual situation is detected but there is no indication that the structural/functional integrity of the facility may be immediately compromised. For example: Observations of damage, deterioration or signs of distress; instrumentation readings reaching pre-determined limits; signs of piping, slumping, unusual cracks, or sinkholes; any obstruction in the spillway; etc.

Vandalism/Theft: Willful or malicious destruction or defacement of public or private property/ taking and removing of personal property with intent to deprive the rightful owner of it.

Vessel Allision/Collision/Grounding: Any events involving vessel impacts on other vessels, structures or operating equipment at the facility.

Alfred J. Hancock

You need to know what people are planning on doing to you to protect yourself. And the only way you can do that is to be aware of what’s going on around you. Basically just being observant in your day-to-day activities about things that are out of place. If they’re not supposed to be there, and it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t right and get to the right authorities to check it out for you.

Richard Myers

Maintain vigilance from an everyday perspective. You don’t let people tailgate in behind you one day. If you see somebody taking suspicious photographs or they look suspicious in a particular area, it’s a matter of just reporting these types of things. If you have operators at facilities and they say, “My job is to produce electricity, make sure the turbines are still working, make sure our water levels are OK,” and what you have to get across to them is that if something untoward happens, all those other issues become moot. You won’t be worried about what’s going on operating-wise if you’ve got somebody that’s run amuck in your plant because you didn’t pay attention to access alarms or you shut them off or you had something better to do at that time.

Instructions: Complete the following self-assessment checklist on a separate note or paper.

Has your organization analyzed...

• Consequences
• Vulnerability
• Threat

The next lesson focuses on Dams Sector crisis management programs and the planning process.

In the previous lesson you learned about the potential risks associated with the Dams Sector. Crisis management consists of planning for and responding to any emergency incidents that might occur.

Objectives: Describe the purpose and elements of:

• Emergency action plans.
• Recovery plans.
• Continuity plans.
• Pandemic preparedness.
• Computer incident response.

This lesson should take approximately 45 minutes to complete. You must complete this lesson in its entirety to receive credit.

[Narrator]
Recent failures of the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis and the Taum Sauk Reservoir in Missouri are reminders that aging infrastructure is always at risk for unexpected failures. Incidents affecting the Dams Sector in particular have the potential for serious consequences, including loss of life.

[Alfred J. Hancock]
People don’t understand the power of water. You’re not going to stop it.

[Narrator]
When the upper reservoir at Taum Sauk failed in 2005, it took only 12 minutes for a billion gallons of water to rush down the Black River, creating a crest approximately 20 feet high. Though no one died in the incident, a family, including three children, was swept away in the flood and required treatment for injuries and exposure.

Despite sound design, proper operation, and excellent emergency planning, a full or partial facility failure remains a real possibility. Therefore, it’s critical that facility owners and operators develop, maintain, and exercise plans for responding to a crisis.

[Alfred J. Hancock]
Any organization or hydro project needs to have the plan available in case there is either a natural disaster or a terrorist act that would destroy a portion of the facility and put it out of commission.

[Narrator]
In a broad sense, crisis management consists of planning for and responding to any emergency incidents that might occur. Security plans, emergency action plans, and dam safety programs are intended to reduce the chances of damage and to limit the immediate consequences if failure does occur.

[Frank Calcagno]
Most people think that it’s much more complicated than it needs to be. What you have to do is just think out what you have to do, write it down, make sure that all the people that are in your organization know what to do, and simply get the job done. So it’s all common sense really.

[Narrator]
Dam safety programs have long relied on emergency action plans to mobilize a response, prevent uncontrolled release of water from the dam, and maintain public safety.

[Richard Myers]
In order to have an appropriate response to any type of an emergency or crisis, you have to have some sort of organized response to an unorganized event.

[Narrator]
In addition to the immediate safety issues addressed in the emergency action plan, damage to or failure of a facility can have long-term economic impacts for the wider community. Recovery plans help minimize such impacts, by addressing both short- and long-term repairs.

[Yazmin Seda-Sanabria]
We have to find a way to prioritize our limited resources and make smart investments with those limited resources. Risk-informed decisions help us prioritize those resources and focus them on those facilities that are critical.

[Narrator]
In some types of incidents, such as pandemic influenza, it might be necessary to continue dam operations during the absence of several key personnel. Continuity planning can be used to identify personnel with necessary skill sets and to define shifts of roles and responsibilities to respond to the major absence of personnel.

[Frank Calcagno]
Be prepared is the number one message I would like to say. Think about what could occur. Think about what you could do to stop anything, any potential event. Education is the best thing you can come up with. Know what you are facing—a lot of times you are not going to know what the threat is. But just being aware of what could be done will help you plan for the eventuality.

Preparedness is essential for effective incident response and recovery. The preparedness cycle begins with planning. Planning:

• Can influence events before they occur.
• May shorten the time required to gain control of an incident.
• Provides a methodical way to think through the entire lifecycle of a potential crisis.
• Facilitates the rapid exchange of information about a situation.
• Helps stakeholders learn and practice their roles.

As the preparedness cycle indicates, plans must be exercised and continually evaluated and improved.

Experience and lessons learned indicate that planning is best performed by a team. Using a team or group approach helps organizations define their perception of the role they will play during an operation.

One goal of using a planning team is to build and expand relationships that help bring creativity and innovation to planning during an event. This approach helps establish a planning routine, so that processes followed before an event occurs are the same as those used during an event.

Plans often receive wide distribution, and it might be necessary to exclude sensitive information from some copies.

Necessary but sensitive information could be included in planning documents as a supplement or as another appendix. For example, development of a recovery plan might require use of sensitive information such as specific vulnerabilities and potential consequences.

Distribution of this portion could be limited to those individuals or agencies with a specific need to know.

Since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, infrastructure security has received much greater attention. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a National Infrastructure Protection Plan and a Dams Sector-Specific Plan.

Most larger dams now have some type of security plan in place, and these plans should be coordinated with the plans developed as part of your Crisis Management Program. Because of the areas of potential overlap between the security plans and crisis management plans, an appropriate security representative should be involved in developing and exercising the crisis management plans.

Additional information about security plans is presented in the Dams Sector Protective Measures Handbook and overview course.

The Interagency Committee on Dam Safety has established Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety. One component of these guidelines is Emergency Action Planning for Dam Owners (FEMA 64), published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Much of the content and plan template presented in this section of the lesson parallels the FEMA 64 guidelines.

Dick Robert

The people you serve, the people in your community, the people who are affected by your facility—they just inherently believe that you have some process in place, if you have a catastrophic failure you’re going to protect them, you’re going to warn them, you’re going to save them. And the emergency action plan, maintained at a current level, gives you all those tools.

Yazmin Seda-Sanabria

An emergency action plan helps you set the stage for the preparedness portion, to know how to be better prepared prior to the event happening, and then immediately respond after the event happens. It allows us to have a one-stop source of information on how to be better prepared to face a crisis. It has key elements such as an alert notification chart, know who needs to be called first on our calling tree, when the emergency arises and how to reach out to all the potential elements that can be adversely affected, so we can move forward faster. One of the key benefits of emergency action plans is that it assists first responders to get people fast out of harm’s way, during a catastrophic event or an emergency.

Herbert Nakasone

The value is in being able to react in an orderly and rapid manner. If one didn’t have a plan, you wouldn’t know whether you’re doing the best thing possible or the right thing and you wouldn’t have made the contacts of the various organizations you need to contact in a crisis. One organization can’t do it alone. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a levee crisis or a dam crisis, any kind of crisis really amounts to doing the same kind of thing: Informing people, letting them know whether they’re in harm’s way and then what to do.

Alfred J. Hancock

The emergency action plan is a notification of the people downstream and the businesses downstream to let them know that there is an imminent danger or that it has occurred and get the evacuations going. It’s notification of the emergency management folks, to get their plans and put them into place and start evacuating people. It’s basically saving lives, saving injuries, but also on the other side you have the economic impact, you’ve got to make sure the businesses get notified, and if possible, remove as much stuff as they can. It comes down to trying to get the people out of the danger zone.

Emergency action plans must be site-specific because conditions are unique at each facility and watershed, but they typically include the following elements:

The next screens present a brief review of each element.

A Notification Flowchart identifies who is to be notified of a dam safety incident, by whom, and in what order. The information on the flowchart is critical for the timely notification of those responsible for taking emergency actions.

For example, within the dam owner’s organization, the notification list should include at least representatives from project operations, engineering, and management. In addition to the internal list, the notification flowchart should include external agencies such as the State dam safety official, the local emergency management agency, and local law enforcement.

Click on this link to view sample notification flowchart for potential or imminent failure. 

Click on this link to view sample notification flowchart for non-failure concern.

There are generally four steps that should be followed when an unusual or emergency incident is detected at a dam. These steps constitute the EAP response process. These steps are:

• Step 1: Incident detection, evaluation, and emergency level determination
• Step 2: Notification and communication
• Step 3: Emergency actions
• Step 4: Termination and follow-up

Early detection and evaluation of condition(s) or triggering event (s) that initiate or require an emergency response action are crucial. It is important to develop procedures for reliable and timely determination of an emergency level to ensure that the appropriate response actions are taken based on the urgency of the situation.

In your emergency action plan you should include emergency detection and evaluation procedures. Listed below are some of the events that can lead to the failure of the facility and a brief outline of steps to take to address the situation:

• Flooding
• Erosion, Slumping/Sloughing, or Cracking of the Dam or Abutment
• New Springs, Seeps, Bogs, Sandboils, Increased Leakage, or Sinkholes
• Abnormal Instrumentation Readings
• Malicious Human Actions (Sabotage, Vandalism, or Terrorism)

Additional information about the actions to be considered for various situations is included in the Preparedness Section.

Flooding

The _________ Dam is designed to safely convey the expected runoff from a _________ (____inches in ____ hours).

However, if during a major flood event, the reservoir level rises to within 1 foot of the top of the dam (elevation _______), conduct periodic (at least daily) inspections of the dam to check for and record the following:

• Reservoir elevation;
• Rate the reservoir is rising;
• Weather conditions—past, present, predicted;
• Discharge conditions of creeks and rivers downstream;
• Downstream toe and abutments for any new seepage or abnormal (muddy flow) toe drain leakage;
• Increased seepage rate as reservoir level rises; and
• Cracks, slumping, sloughing, sliding, or other distress signals near the dam abutment or crest.

If any of the above conditions occurs, implement the Notification Flowchart for Potential or Imminent Failure.

Erosion, Slumping/Sloughing, or Cracking of the Dam or Abutment

Determine the location, size of the affected area(s) (height, width, and depth), severity, estimated seepage discharge, clear or cloudy seepage, and the reservoir and tail water elevations. If the integrity of the dam appears to be threatened, immediately implement the Notification Flowchart for Potential or Imminent Failure.

New Springs, Seeps, Bogs, Sandboils, Increased Leakage, or Sinkholes

If there is a rapid increase in previously existing seep areas, an increase in toe drain flow, or if new springs, seeps, or bogs appear, determine the location, size of the affected area, estimated discharge, nature of the discharge (clear or cloudy), and reservoir and tail water elevations (a map of the area may be helpful to illustrate where the problem is located). If the integrity of the dam appears to be threatened, immediately implement the Notification Flowchart for Potential or Imminent Failure.

Abnormal Instrumentation Readings

After taking instrumentation readings, compare the current readings to previous readings at the same reservoir level. If the readings appear abnormal, determine reservoir and tail water elevations, and contact the State Dam Safety Officer.

Malicious Human Actions (Sabotage, Vandalism, or Terrorism)

If malicious activity on or around the dam has been identified, immediately make an assessment of the existing conditions and determine the potential for dam failure. If the integrity of the dam appears to be threatened, immediately implement the Notification Flowchart for Potential or Imminent Failure.

Erosion, Slumping/Sloughing, or Cracking of the Dam or Abutment

Determine the location, size of the affected area(s) (height, width, and depth), severity, estimated seepage discharge, clear or cloudy seepage, and the reservoir and tail water elevations. If the integrity of the dam appears to be threatened, immediately implement the Notification Flowchart for Potential or Imminent Failure..

New Springs, Seeps, Bogs, Sandboils, Increased Leakage, or Sinkholes

If there is a rapid increase in previously existing seep areas, an increase in toe drain flow, or if new springs, seeps, or bogs appear, determine the location, size of the affected area, estimated discharge, nature of the discharge (clear or cloudy), and reservoir and tail water elevations (a map of the area may be helpful to illustrate where the problem is located). If the integrity of the dam appears to be threatened, immediately implement the Notification Flowchart for Potential or Imminent Failure.

Abnormal Instrumentation Readings

After taking instrumentation readings, compare the current readings to previous readings at the same reservoir level. If the readings appear abnormal, determine reservoir and tail water elevations, and contact the State Dam Safety Officer.

Malicious Human Actions (Sabotage, Vandalism, or Terrorism)

If malicious activity on or around the dam has been identified, immediately make an assessment of the existing conditions and determine the potential for dam failure. If the integrity of the dam appears to be threatened, immediately implement the Notification Flowchart for Potential or Imminent Failure.

High flow. The High Flow emergency level indicates that flooding is occurring on the river system, but there is no apparent threat to the integrity of the dam. The High Flow emergency level is used by the dam owner to convey to outside agencies that downstream areas may be affected by the dam's release.

Potential Failure. The Potential Failure emergency level indicates that conditions are developing at the dam that could lead to a dam failure. Examples are (1) rising reservoir levels that are approaching the top of the non-overflow section of the dam, (2) transverse cracking of an embankment, and (3) verified bomb threat. Potential Failure should convey that time is available for analyses, decisions, and actions before the dam could fail. A Failure may occur, but predetermined response actions may moderate or alleviate failure.

When developing notification and communication procedures, dam owners should coordinate closely with emergency management authorities. All parties must understand that the formal declaration of public emergency by emergency management authorities can be a very difficult decision. During this step, the dam owner should provide any information that will assist in that decision. An early decision and declaration are critical to maximizing available response time.

After initial notification, the dam owner should make periodic status reports to the affected emergency authorities and other stakeholders in accordance with the Notification Flowcharts and associated procedures.

Termination
Generally, the dam owner, or the dam owner's dam safety expert, is responsible for notifying the authorities that the condition of the dam has been stabilized. Government officials are responsible for declaring an end to the public emergency response.

Click on this link for an example of guidelines for dams on declaring an emergency and taking immediate actions.

Below are sample sections from the emergency action plan template:

• Emergency Level 1: Nonemergency, Unusual Event; Slowly Developing
• Emergency Level 2: Potential Dam Failure Situation; Rapidly Developing
• Emergency Level 3: Urgent; Dam Failure Is in Progress or Appears To Be Imminent
• End of Emergency Situation and Followup Actions
• Malicious Human Actions (Sabotage, Vandalism, or Terrorism)

Emergency Level 1: Nonemergency, Unusual Event; Slowly Developing

Contact the State Dam Safety Officer. Describe the situation and discuss the next steps that should be taken.

 Emergency Level 2: Potential Dam Failure Situation; Rapidly Developing

The following message may be used to help describe the emergency situation to local law enforcement and emergency management personnel:

“This is ___[your name and position]___. We have an emergency condition at ___[dam name and location]___. We have activated the emergency action plan and are currently under emergency level 2. We are responding to a rapidly developing situation that could result in dam failure. Please prepare to evacuate low-lying areas along ___[name of stream]___, per the evacuation map in your copy of the emergency action plan. I can be contacted at ___[phone number[___. If you cannot reach me, please call ___[name of alternate contact and phone number]___.”

End of Emergency Situation and Followup Actions

Once conditions indicate that there is no longer an emergency at the dam site, __________ will contact the county emergency management agency, which will then terminate the emergency situation.

Malicious Human Actions (Sabotage, Vandalism, or Terrorism)

If malicious activity on or around the dam has been identified, immediately make an assessment of the existing conditions and determine the potential for dam failure. If the integrity of the dam appears to be threatened, immediately implement the Notification Flowchart for Potential or Imminent Failure.

A determination of responsibility for EAP-related tasks must be made during the development of the plan. Dam owners are responsible for developing and maintaining the EAP. Dam owners in coordination with emergency management authorities are responsible for implementing the EAP. Emergency management authorities with statutory obligations are responsible for warning and evacuation within affected areas. All entities involved with EAP implementation should document incident-related events.

The EAP must clearly specify the responsibilities of all involved entities to ensure that effective and timely action is taken if an emergency at the dam occurs. The EAP must be site-specific because conditions at the dam and upstream and downstream of the dam are unique to every dam.

Preparedness, as it relates to an EAP for a dam, typically consists of activities and actions taken before the development of an incident.

Preparedness activities attempt to facilitate response to an incident as well as prevent, moderate, or alleviate the effects of the incident.

This section of the EAP should describe preparedness actions already completed, as well as established preplanned actions that can be taken after development of emergency conditions.

Click on this link to review examples of preparedness actions at dams for different types of events.

The following actions describe some of the steps that could be taken at the dam to prevent or delay failure after an emergency is first discovered:

• Overtopping by Floodwaters
• A Slide on the Upstream or Downstream Slope of the Embankment
• Erosional Seepage or Leakage (Piping) through the Embankment, Foundation, or Abutments
• Failure of an Appurtenant Structure such as an Inlet/Outlet of Spillway
• Mass Movement of the Dam on its Foundation (Spreading or Mass Sliding Failure)
• Spillway Erosion Threatening Reservoir Evacuation
• Excessive Settlement of the Embankment
• Malicious Human Activity (Sabotage, Vandalism, or Terrorism)

These actions should only be performed under the direction of the dam safety office or other qualified professional engineers.

Overtopping by Floodwaters

• Provide erosion-resistant protection to the downstream slope by placing plastic sheets or other materials over eroding areas.
• Divert floodwaters around the reservoir basin, if possible.

A Slide on the Upstream or Downstream Slope of the Embankment

• Lower the water level in the reservoir at a rate, and to an elevation, that is considered safe given the slide condition. If the outlet is damaged or blocked, pumping, siphoning, or a controlled breach may be required.
• Stabilize slides on the downstream slope by weighting the toe area below the slide with additional soil, rock, or gravel.

Erosional Seepage or Leakage (Piping) Through the Embankment, Foundation, or Abutments

• Plug the flow with whatever material is available (hay bales, bentonite, or plastic sheeting, if the entrance to the leak is in the reservoir).
• Lower the water level in the reservoir until the flow decreases to a nonerosive velocity or until it stops.
• Place an inverted filter (a protective sand and gravel filter) over the exit area to hold materials in place.
• Continue lowering the water level until a safe elevation is reached; continue operating at a reduced level until repairs are made.

Failure of an Appurtenant Structure Such as an Inlet/Outlet of Spillway

• Implement temporary measures to protect the damaged structure, such as closing the inlet or providing temporary protection for a damaged spillway.
• Employ experienced, professional divers, if necessary, to assess the problem and possibly implement repair.
• Lower the water level in the reservoir to a safe elevation. If the inlet is inoperable, pumping, siphoning, or a controlled breach may be required.

Mass Movement of the Dam on its Foundation (Spreading or Mass Sliding Failure)

• Immediately lower the water level until excessive movement stops.
• Continue lowering the water level until a safe level is reached; continue operation at a reduced level until repairs are made.

Spillway Erosion Threatening Reservoir Evacuation

• Provide temporary protection at the point of erosion by placing sandbags, riprap materials, or plastic sheets weighted with sandbags. Consider pumps and siphons to help reduce the water level in the reservoir.
• When inflow subsides, lower the water level in the reservoir to a safe level; continue operating at a lower water level in order to minimize spillway flow.

Excessive Settlement of the Embankment

• Lower the water level by releasing it through the outlet or by pumping or siphoning.
• If necessary, restore freeboard, preferably by placing sandbags.
• Lower water level in the reservoir to a safe level; continue operating at a reduced level until repairs can be made.

Malicious Human Activity (Sabotage, Vandalism, or Terrorism)

• If malicious human activity that could endanger public safety is suspected, contact law enforcement to help evaluate the situation.
• If the principal spillway has been damaged or plugged, implement temporary measures to protect the damaged structure. Employ experienced, professional divers, if necessary, to assess the problem and possibly implement repair.
• If the embankment or spillway has been damaged or partially removed, provide temporary protection in the damaged area by placing sandbags, riprap materials, or plastic sheets weighted with sandbags. Use pumps and siphons to help reduce the water level in the reservoir.
• If the water supply has been contaminated, immediately close all inlets to the water supply system and notify appropriate authorities.

The primary purpose of an inundation map is to show the areas that would be flooded and travel times for wave front and flood peaks at critical locations if a dam failure occurs or there are operational releases during flooding conditions. Inundation maps are a necessary component of the EAP and are used both by the dam owner and emergency management authorities to facilitate timely notification and evacuation of areas potentially affected by a dam failure or flood condition.

Appendixes follow the main body of the EAP and contain information that supports and supplements the material used in the development and maintenance of the EAP.
Some of the topics that should, at a minimum, be contained in the appendices are:

• Investigation and analyses of dambreak floods
• Plans for updating and distributing the EAP
• Plans for posting the Notification Flowcharts
• Forms and Log Sheets
• Site-specific concerns
• Sources of equipment or materials
• Names of contact information for technical support personnel
• Copies of contingency agreements with other organizations or service providers

Security Concerns

One area of interest in both the security plan and the emergency action plan is that a security incident could result in damage to a facility, possibly even facility failure. In such a case, the law enforcement agencies would have the added responsibility of investigating the incident to identify and apprehend the perpetrators. This could complicate the incident command authorities among local responders and potentially interfere with emergency actions planned by the facility owner.

One possibility of attack is on the cyber systems that are used to operate many dam projects. An aggressor could attempt to disable such systems or even hijack them to intentionally operate the facility improperly, in order to cause damage. Facility safety incidents caused by cyber attack should be considered during development of the emergency action plan.

Remember . . . Because emergency action plans often receive wide distribution, it might be necessary to exclude sensitive information from some copies. Necessary but sensitive information could be included in the emergency action plan as a supplement or as another appendix. Distribution of this portion could be limited to those individuals or agencies with a specific need to know.

Communications Procedures

Reliable communications are essential during emergency situations to quickly exchange critical information among key individuals and organizations. The possibility of unreliable primary communications systems in times of emergency should be addressed during development of the emergency action plan. Previous catastrophes have demonstrated that normal communications systems are unreliable during such events. It might be necessary to provide backup communications systems for use during emergencies. Such systems should be developed and regularly tested prior to an emergency.

Evacuation Planning and Implementation

Evacuation planning and implementation is typically the responsibility of State or local emergency management authorities. Although an EAP does not need to include an evacuation plan, it should indicate who is responsible for evacuation and whose plan will be followed. There may be situations where recreational facilities, campgrounds, residences are located below a dam where the dam owner could provide a more timely warning.

Inundation maps developed by the dam owner must be shared with emergency management authorities and included in the EAP. These maps may help in the development of warning and evacuation plans. It is important for dam owners to coordinate with the appropriate emergency management authorities and provide information from dam inundation studies that can assist with evacuation planning.

Dam owners should also include procedures in the EAP for ensuring that emergency management authorities are provided with timely and accurate information on dam conditions during an incident.
This information will help agencies make the appropriate decisions on evacuations.

Post-Emergency Evaluation

Following an emergency, all participants should participate in a review that identifies:

• Events occurring before, during, and following the emergency;
• Significant actions taken by each participant, and possible improvements for future emergencies, and
• Strengths and deficiencies found in procedures, materials, equipment, staffing levels, and leadership.

Maintaining an Emergency Action Plan

After the EAP has been developed, approved, and distributed, continual reviews and updates must be performed. Without periodic maintenance, the EAP will become outdated and ineffective.
The EAP should be updated promptly to address changes in personnel and contact information, significant changes to the facility, or emergency procedures. The EAP should be reviewed at least annually for adequacy and updated as needed. Even if no revisions are necessary, the review should be documented.

The review should include an evaluation of any changes in flood inundation areas, downstream developments, or in the reservoir and a determination of whether any revisions, including updates to inundation maps, are necessary.

The EAP should be updated promptly with the outcome of any exercises, including periodic reviews and verifications of personnel and contact information from Notification Flowcharts and contact lists. Any changes to the dam and/or inundation zone should be reviewed because the changes may affect the inundation maps. Maps should be changed as soon as practicable and noted in the EAP.

Once the EAP has been revised, the updated version (or only the affected pages in minor updates) should be promptly distributed to those on the distribution list.

Coordinating and Exercising the Plan

Effective exercises are an essential element of the preparedness cycle.  FEMA publication 64, Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety:  Emergency Action Planning for Dams, emphasizes that facility owners should exercise their emergency action plans.  The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) recommends an annual face-to-face meeting between the facility owner and primary emergency management agency, and an annual drill, as well as periodic higher level exercises. In the next lesson, you’ll learn more about the different types of exercises.

Instructions: Complete the following self-assessment on a separate note or paper to assess your organization’s emergency action plan.

In addition to the immediate safety issues addressed in the emergency action plan, damage to or failure of a facility can have long-term economic impacts, not only for the owner, but also for the community, other industries, and even regional or national economies.

Recovery plans serve to:

• Minimize the extent of damage progression.
• Restore project function, beginning just after initial response.
• Minimize economic losses through quick restoration of functions.
• Address all types of potential hazards (natural, accidental, intentional).

The recovery phase includes both an “initial” period following the incident (within one week) and “longer term” activities.

Recovery from a dam incident for example, could continue for months or years, depending upon the magnitude of impact on facility operations, including dams, powerhouses, and water conveyance. Recovery from a levee incident could also take a considerable length of time depending on availability of materials and equipment.

The goal of the recovery is to restore the facility and its operations. During the recovery phase, it is important to identify lessons learned, complete postincident reporting, and develop initiatives to mitigate the effects of future incidents.

Richard Myers

The recovery plan is the types of things that you are going to do after the fact to put your business back in business or back on line in the case of an electricity producer like we are. So it is all the events that are going to happen after the initial emergency is taken care of and you are back to restoring your business.

Identification of essential functions

Essential functions and the essential personnel to carry out the functions are primarily those related to the safe storage or release of water. These functions and personnel might include:

• Controls and systems that open or close gates and valves;
• Personnel who manipulate those systems and controls;
• Personnel who decide when and how much to adjust release of water;
• Dam safety engineers authorized to make decisions on the safety of the dam;
• Collection of data that forms the basis of such decisions; and
• Communication between those operating the controls and those deciding on releases.

Interoperable communications

Continuity of communications could become an issue during a crisis for a number of reasons. Phone systems (land line and cell) have occasionally experienced various degrees of disruption and disruptions have been even more prevalent during certain emergency situations. The crisis-related relocation of certain functions to alternate facilities can contribute to disruptions in communications systems and computer networks at a time when reliable communication is most needed. Continuity plans should focus on maintaining critical communications capabilities and what to do when that is not possible.

Delegations of authority

Certain types of emergency situations might result in the temporary or permanent loss or incapacitation of key personnel. This could also result in loss of communications between key personnel and others in the organization. Continuity plans should clarify what decisionmaking authority will be transferred in various circumstances. For example, if communications with the chief hydrologist are disrupted, will an onsite supervisor be expected to open gates after a heavy rain? It is also necessary to clarify, prior to an actual event, who has authority to commit resources or to sign emergency contracts.

Alternate facilities

Some continuity plans address relocation of essential functions if the primary location has been disrupted. In the Dams Sector, there is no possibility of relocation of the actual dam infrastructure, but relocation might apply to some of the functions that support onsite operations.

Vital records

At a minimum, vital records might consist of reservoir levels, stream-flow data upstream and downstream of a dam, expected near-term inflows, and release rates for various gate positions. All of this information is critical to maintaining safe water levels in the reservoir and downstream. There are a number of ways such data might become unavailable: computer network malfunctions, loss of communications, sensor failures, and disruption in National Weather Service systems. Continuity plans should focus on methods to maintain access to such information and alternatives when information is not available.

Human capital

Any organization is dependent upon its staff for successful operation. Continuity plans should describe how to maintain essential functions in case of serious disruption to staff. Planning should identify the staff needed to support essential functions, including the number of people and the skills required. These requirements should be matched against potential availability of others within the organization who might be able to fill in during emergency situations. It might even be necessary to develop plans for use of temporary staff from outside the organization, such as mutual aid agreements or contracts for line crews after extensive electrical power outages due to severe storms.

Computer disruptions

In the modern automated workplace, disruption of an organization’s information technology (IT) system could bring operations to a standstill or lead to a dangerous lack of control over sensitive records or over physical processes (e.g., operational control over dam releases or power generation). Considering the potential serious consequences of an IT disruption, it is important that this topic be specifically addressed during continuity planning. While plans for disruption of an organization’s IT systems might be considered to belong in discussions on interoperable communications, alternate facilities, or vital records, it might also be appropriate to include an additional, separate category.

Pandemic preparedness planning has been a focus area for many governments and organizations. The following table identifies generic types of planning actions that might be taken by a typical organization for the inter-pandemic, pandemic alert, and pandemic periods. The actions are keyed to pandemic phases defined by the U.S. Government. The generic actions in the table should be expanded into more detailed lists of specific actions applicable to a specific organization. An expanded version of the table is available on the HSIN Dams Portal.

Instructions: Complete the following self-assessment on a separate note or paper to assess your organization’s continuity plan. When you are done,

Does your organization’s continuity plan . . .		Yes	No
Identify essential functions and the essential personnel to carry out the functions, which are primarily those related to the safe storage or release of water?
Focus on maintaining critical communications capabilities and what to do when that is not possible?
Clarify what decisionmaking authority will be transferred in various circumstances?
Address relocation of essential functions that support onsite operations if the primary location has been disrupted?
Focus on methods to maintain access to vital records (e.g., reservoir levels, stream-flow data upstream and downstream of a dam, expected near-term inflows, and release rates for various gate positions) and alternatives when information is not available?
Describe how to maintain essential functions in case of serious disruption to staff (including pandemic influenza incident)?
Address the potential for disruption of the information technology (IT) system and its effects (e.g., operational control over dam releases or power generation)?

• Emergency action plans
• Recovery plans
• Continuity plans

The next lesson focuses on Dams Sector exercises.

This lesson presents an overview of Dams Sector exercises.

Objectives:  Describe the purpose and types of exercises, including: 

• Discussion-based exercises.
• Operations-based exercises.

 This lesson should take approximately 25 minutes to complete. You must complete this lesson in its entirety to receive credit.

[Narrator]
In the previous lesson you learned that planning is essential for effective crisis management.  To be fully prepared, it is necessary to test these plans by conducting periodic exercises.

Exercises raise the general awareness of potential crisis situations, and ensure that key staff members are familiar with their roles and expected actions.

[Frank Calcagno]
The key is to test to make sure that what you think will occur will occur, and that everyone knows their roles and responsibilities.

[Alfred J. Hancock]
If you don’t train the way that you want people to respond, they’re not going to respond that way.  You want to train so that it’s second nature to them.

[Narrator]
Because emergencies are not common events, training and exercises are important for maintaining operational readiness, timeliness, and responsiveness with local responders.

[Richard Myers]
The value of training and exercises is the familiarity that’s gained, especially by your emergency responders.  If they have knowledge of your facility, then it makes it easier for them to actually respond, and a lot of the upfront work is done in training and exercises. 

[Narrator]
Exercises provide an opportunity to build on current best practices and to identify needed corrective actions.  And most importantly, exercises ensure that we are better prepared.

[Yazmin Seda-Sanabria]
If we are better prepared than the day before, if we have facilitated, enabled with the right resources in place to collaborate with others—I think those are measures of success.

The Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) exercise and evaluation doctrine is flexible, scalable, adaptable, and is for use by stakeholders across the whole community. HSEEP doctrine is applicable for exercises across all mission areas – prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery. Using HSEEP supports the National Preparedness System by providing a consistent approach to exercises and measuring progress toward building, sustaining, and delivering core capabilities.

HSEEP doctrine is based on national best practices and is supported by training, technology systems, tools, and technical assistance. The National Exercise Program (NEP) is consistent with HSEEP methodology. Exercise practitioners are encouraged to apply and adapt HSEEP doctrine to meet their specific needs.

HSEEP exercise types can be categorized as either discussion-based or operations-based. Discussion-based exercises are seminars, workshops, tabletop exercises, and games. Drills, functional, and full-scale exercises are the operations-based exercises.

Define the Purpose of the Exercise

A clear definition of the need for the exercise and the purpose for conducting it will aid the planning process by clarifying who should be involved and exercise scope (e.g., tabletop, game, full-scale).

The following need and purpose statements were based on a tabletop exercise template provided by Alliant Energy: “Our business is highly dependent on moving information across telecommunication networks. We need to be prepared to continue important business activities even if telecommunication networks stop functioning. The purpose of this exercise is to ensure that business groups can adapt to unpracticed emergency situations, like loss of telecommunication networks, and understand the actions that may be needed to keep important business functions operating.”

Assemble the Planning Team

The size of the planning team and representation on it is dependent on the scope of the exercise. The team should include representatives from all the major facility organizations involved in the exercise and local law enforcement and first responders.

Develop the Scenario

The planning team’s initial task is development of the exercise scenario. The scenario should be a plausible event scaled to the purpose of the exercise.

The following sample scenario was developed for a full-scale exercise: “An individual wearing a backpack was found lying unconscious inside the north gate. The backpack was leaking an orange liquid. A security officer approached the individual and has been rendered unconscious. An unidentified individual was seen running from the vicinity of the administration building and has caused an explosion resulting in a fire inside the building. His current whereabouts are unknown but he is believed to be somewhere on the site.”

Develop Exercise Guidelines

Depending on the type of exercise and the scenario, the planning team should describe any limitations placed on the design, development, and implementation of the exercise. Limitations could be the ability of responders to participate, lengthy authorization protocols, areas that may be off-limits for safety reasons, or financial constraints.

The following is an example of a guideline: “No personnel may enter the switchyard at any time because it will continue to be energized.”

Prepare Exercise Materials and Evaluator Guides

Participants should receive invitation letters describing the exercise purpose and goal; scenario descriptions pertaining to their role; and safety, health, and logistics plans. Equally important are the guidelines developed for the observers who will be evaluating actions and decisions as the exercise unfolds.

Complete Post-Exercise Evaluation

Post-exercise evaluations provide the basis for improving the plans or procedures that were tested as part of the exercise.

Discussion-based exercises include seminars, workshops, tabletop exercises, and games. These types of exercises are used:

• As a starting point in the building-block approach of escalating exercise complexity.
• To highlight existing plans, policies, interagency/interjurisdictional agreements, and procedures.
• As valuable tools for familiarizing agencies and personnel with current or expected capabilities of an entity.
• To focus on strategic, policy-oriented issues.

The next part of this lesson addresses each type of discussion-based exercise in more detail.

Seminars bring together those with a role or interest in the plan—owner and State, tribal, and local emergency management agencies—to discuss the plan and initial concepts for an annual drill or more indepth comprehensive exercise. Seminars:

• Are typically conducted in a lecture-based format with limited feedback or interaction from participants.
• Do not involve an actual exercise of the plan.
• Enable each participant to become familiar with the plan and the roles, responsibilities, and procedures of those involved.
• Can also be used to discuss and describe technical matters with involved, nontechnical personnel.

Seminars can be used to address a wide range of topics. Although the topics may vary, all seminars:

• Are conducted in a low-stress environment.
• Convey information through different instructional techniques, which may include lectures, multimedia presentations, panel discussions, case study discussions, expert testimony, decision support tools, or any combination thereof.
• Include informal discussions led by a seminar leader.
• Have no real-time “clock” constraints.
• Are effective for both small and large groups.

Prior to participating in a seminar, participants should have a clear understanding of exercise objectives.

Typically, workshops begin with a presentation or briefing, during which the background and rationale for the workshop are conveyed, and specific activities and expected outcomes are delineated. The presentation is usually followed by facilitated breakout sessions, in which workshop participants break into groups for focused discussions of specific issues. Breakout sessions are used to increase participant interaction regarding the issues most relevant to their functional areas.

Ideally, breakout sessions are facilitated by someone with both subject-matter knowledge and facilitation experience. If this is not possible, it is more important to have a good facilitator who can keep the discussion on track than to have subject-matter knowledge. Following breakout group discussions, the groups reconvene in a plenum session to present outcomes.

Tabletop exercises are effective for evaluating group problem solving, personnel contingencies, group message interpretation, information sharing, interagency coordination, and achievement of specific objectives. The tabletop exercise:

• Involves a meeting of the owner and the State, tribal, and local emergency management officials.
• Begins with the description of a simulated event and allows participants to assess the plan and response procedures.
• Encourages participants to discuss issues in depth and develop decisions through systematic problem solving, rather than the rapid, spontaneous decisionmaking that occurs under actual or simulated emergency conditions.

When conducting tabletop exercises, you should:

• Provide reference materials such as emergency action plans, maps, and other relevant materials.
• Use effective communication skills to facilitate discussions and problem solving.
• Be aware of applicable plans and organizational responsibilities.

Click on this link to review optional methods for presenting problem statements.

A tabletop exercise is like a problem-solving session. The facilitator can structure the exercise in any of the following ways:

• Verbal Messages: The facilitator can verbally present general problems, which are then discussed one at a time by the group or they can be verbally addressed to individuals first and then opened to the group.
• Pre-Scripted Messages: Another approach is to deliver pre-scripted messages to players. The facilitator presents them, one at a time, to individual participants. The group then discusses the issues raised by the message, using the emergency action plan or other crisis management plan for guidance. The group determines what, if any, additional information is needed and requests that information. They may take some action if appropriate.
• Individual Messages: A third option is for players receiving messages to handle them individually, making a decision for the organization they represent. Players then work together, seeking out information and coordinating decisions with each other.

Games are a simulation of operations that often involve two or more teams and use rules, data, and procedures to depict an actual or assumed real-life situation.

The goal of a game is to explore decisionmaking processes and the consequences of those decisions. A game differs from the tabletop in that the sequence of events affects, and is in turn affected by, decisions made by players.

Computer-generated scenarios and simulations can provide a more realistic and time-sensitive method of introducing situations for analysis during the game. They also provide a collaborative environment that reflects realistic occurrences.

Click on this link to learn more about games.

Games are hypothetical situations steered by player actions. Games explore the consequences of player decisions and actions. Therefore, they are excellent tools to use when validating or reinforcing plans and procedures, or evaluating resource requirements.

Games have the following common characteristics:

• Play unfolds contingent on player decisions.
• They encourage a competitive environment.
• They provide rapid feedback.
• They improve teamwork.
• They foster an environment in which to practice group problem solving.
• Group message interpretation is tested.
• Interagency coordination is assessed.
• Senior officials become familiar with individual responsibilities.
• Players explore potential future scenarios.
• Consequences of player actions are demonstrated.

A major variable in games is whether consequences of player actions are scripted or random. After each player action or move, the controller presents the outcome. Depending on the game’s design, this outcome can be either pre-scripted or decided after play. Identifying critical decisionmaking points is a major factor in the success of games because players make their evaluated moves at these crucial points.

Due to the usual limitation on number of players, planners are encouraged to open the exercise to observers, if possible. Observers are asked not to participate in discussions and strategy sessions, but can be tasked to make notes and report back to controllers with feedback.

Seminar

Seminars involves bringing together those with a role or interest in the plan—dam owner and State, tribal, and local emergency management agencies—to discuss the plan and initial concepts for an annual drill or more indepth comprehensive exercise. The seminar does not involve an actual exercise of the plan. Instead, it is a meeting that enables each participant to become familiar with the plan and the roles, responsibilities, and procedures of those involved. A seminar can also be used to discuss and describe technical matters with involved, nontechnical personnel.

Tabletop

The tabletop exercise involves a meeting of the dam owner and the State, tribal, and local emergency management officials in a conference room environment. The format is usually informal with minimum stress involved. The exercise begins with the description of a simulated event and proceeds with discussions by the participants to evaluate the plan and response procedures and to resolve concerns regarding coordination and responsibilities. Tabletop exercise participants are encouraged to discuss issues in depth and develop decisions through slow-paced problem solving, rather than the rapid, spontaneous decisionmaking that occurs under actual or simulated emergency conditions. Tabletop exercises are effective for evaluating group problem solving, personnel contingencies, group message interpretation, information sharing, interagency coordination, and achievement of specific objectives.

Workshop

Workshops differ from seminars in two important respects: participant interaction is increased, and the focus is on achieving or building a product (such as a draft plan or policy). Workshops are often used in conjunction with exercise development to determine objectives, develop scenarios, and define evaluation criteria. To be effective, workshops must be highly focused on a specific issue, and the desired outcome or goal must be clearly defined.

Games

Games are a simulation of operations that often involve two or more teams and use rules, data, and procedures to depict an actual or assumed real-life situation. The goal of a game is to explore decisionmaking processes and the consequences of those decisions. A game differs from the tabletop in that the sequence of events affects, and is in turn affected by, decisions made by players.

Operations-based exercises include drills, functional exercises, and full-scale exercises. Operations-based exercises are:

• Used to validate the plans, policies, agreements, and procedures solidified in discussion-based exercises.
• Used to clarify roles and responsibilities, identify gaps in resources needed to implement plans and procedures, and improve individual and team performance.
• Characterized by actual reaction to simulated intelligence; response to emergency conditions; mobilization of apparatus, resources, and/or networks; and commitment of personnel, usually over an extended period of time.

The next part of this lesson addresses each type of operations-based exercise in more detail.

A drill is a low-level exercise that tests, develops, or maintains skills in a single emergency response procedure. A drill:

• Is a coordinated, supervised activity usually used to validate a specific operation or function in a single agency or organization.
• May be part of a training program to provide instruction on new equipment, develop or validate new policies and procedures, or maintain current skills.
• Has a narrow focus but is conducted within a realistic environment.
• Provides instant feedback using established standards to measure performance.
• May be used to prepare personnel for larger scale exercises.

A functional exercise is the highest level exercise you can conduct without fully activating all aspects of your emergency action plan or evacuating residents. A functional exercise:

• Involves various levels of facility and local emergency management personnel.
• Involves the simulation of a facility failure or other specified events that require rapid responses by trained personnel “acting out” their actual roles.
• Takes place in a stress-induced environment with time constraints.
• Evaluates both the internal capabilities and responses of the facility owners and emergency management officials.
• Evaluates the coordination activities between the facility owner and emergency management personnel.

Click on this link for more information about the purpose of functional exercises.

The functional exercise makes it possible to test the same functions and responses as would be tested in a full-scale exercise, without the high costs or safety risks. Functional exercises are lengthy and complex; they require careful scripting and careful planning.

The action begins as simulators communicate messages to players, and players respond as they would in a real emergency. The players then make requests of simulators, and simulators react convincingly. This ongoing exchange takes place according to the carefully sequenced scenario of events that governs what takes place, when each event occurs, and the messages used to inform the players.

In order to include multiple phases of the emergency (preparation, response, recovery, mitigation) in a 2-day exercise, it may be necessary to stop the exercise periodically and advance the time by a number of hours or days.

The functional exercise is well suited to assess:

• Direction and control of emergency management;
• Adequacy of plans, policies, procedures, and roles of individual or multiple functions;
• Individual and system performance;
• Decisionmaking process;
• Communication and information sharing among organizations;
• Allocation of resources and personnel; and
• Overall adequacy of resources to meet the emergency situation.

FEMA recommends that dam owners conduct a functional exercise at least once every 5 years.

When conducting a functional exercise, it is important that:

• Participants are briefed on objectives, how the exercise will be carried out, the time period to be simulated, and ground rules and procedures.
• To the extent possible, the exercise takes place in the same facility and in the same operational configuration as a real emergency.
• The players can decide among the full range of responses normally available to them during an emergency.
• The participants’ ability to make decisions, communicate, and carry out responsibilities is not constrained.
• When depicting events and situations that would occur over an extended time period, skip-time transitions are kept to the minimum, and when possible, coincide with a natural break point.

A full-scale exercise:

• Is an interactive exercise designed to evaluate the operational capability of all facets of the emergency management system under review in a highly realistic and stressful environment.
• Differs from a functional exercise by involving actual field movement and mobilization, instead of simulation.

The realism of the full-scale exercise can be conveyed through on-scene actions and decisions, simulated “victims,” communication devices, equipment deployment, and resource and personnel allocation.

Click on this link for more information on the purposes of full-scale exercises.

Full-scale exercises are valuable because they enable an organization to evaluate its ability to perform many functions at once. They are also effective at pinpointing resource and personnel capabilities, revealing planning and resource shortfalls, and testing interorganizational and intraorganizational coordination.

The primary objectives of a full-scale exercise are to:

• Reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the plan, including specified internal actions, external notification procedures, and adequacy of other information, such as inundation maps.
• Reveal deficiencies in resources and information available to the facility owner and State and local agencies.
• Improve coordination efforts between the facility owner and State and local agencies.
• Clarify the roles and responsibilities of the facility owner and State and local emergency management officials.
• Improve individual performance of the people who respond to the facility failure or other emergency conditions.
• Gain public recognition of the emergency plans.
• Test the monitoring, sensing, and warning equipment at remote/unattended facilities.
• Test the functionality of sirens or other types of public warning systems.

When conducting a full-scale exercise, it is important that:

• The entire series of lower level exercises has already been conducted and any needed corrective actions have been taken.
• The notification and activation of personnel is as realistic as possible.
• All decisions and actions occur in real time and generate real responses and consequences.
• Great care is given to developing, implementing, and monitoring health and safety plans.
• Multiple observers record and assess decisions, outcomes, conflicts, resource use, and the effectiveness of plans or protocols.
• Safety is treated as a major concern because of the extensive field activity.

Click on this link for more guidance on conducting full-scale exercises.

The full-scale exercise begins in a fashion similar to the functional exercise; whether it is announced or “no notice” depends in part on the objectives. The exercise designer will decide how and when the exercise is to begin. The trigger may simply be a call from dispatch, a radio broadcast, or a telephone call from a private citizen. The beginning for each participant should be as realistic as possible (that is, personnel should receive notification through normal channels).

All decisions and actions by players occur in real time and generate real responses and consequences from other players. The exercise messages may be scripted or use visual-staged scenes, props, or role-playing victims.

Because the activity during the exercise is at a very high level, great care must be given to developing, implementing, and monitoring health and safety plans. The high level of activity also suggests that multiple observers must be on hand to record and assess decisions, outcomes, conflicts, resource use, and the effectiveness of the plans or protocols being tested.

Full-scale exercises should be considered as optional emergency exercise activities, and should be conducted primarily when there is a specific need to evaluate actual field movement and deployment. When a full-scale exercise is conducted, safety becomes a major concern because of the extensive field activity. If a facility owner has the capability to conduct a full-scale exercise, a commitment should be made to schedule and conduct the entire series of exercises of increasing scope and scale before conducting any full-scale exercise.

This will also require that at least one functional exercise be conducted before conducting a full-scale exercise. Functional and full-scale exercises can be coordinated with other scheduled exercises to share emergency management agency resources and reduce costs.

Drill

A drill is a low-level exercise that tests, develops, or maintains skills in a single emergency response procedure. A drill:

• Is a coordinated, supervised activity usually used to validate a specific operation or function in a single agency or organization.
• May be part of a training program to provide instruction on new equipment, develop or validate new policies and procedures, or maintain current skills.
• Has a narrow focus but is conducted within a realistic environment.
• Provides instant feedback using established standards to measure performance.
• May be used to prepare personnel for larger scale exercises.

Functional Exercise

A functional exercise is the highest level exercise you can conduct without fully activating all aspects of your emergency action plan or evacuating residents. A functional exercise:

• Involves various levels of facility and local emergency management personnel.
• Involves the simulation of a facility failure or other specified events that require rapid responses by trained personnel “acting out” their actual roles.
• Takes place in a stress-induced environment with time constraints.
• Evaluates both the internal capabilities and responses of the facility owners and emergency management officials.
• Evaluates the coordination activities between the facility owner and emergency management personnel.

full-scale exercise

A full-scale exercise:

• Is an interactive exercise designed to evaluate the operational capability of all facets of the emergency management system under review in a highly realistic and stressful environment.
• Differs from a functional exercise by involving actual field movement and mobilization, instead of simulation.

The realism of the full-scale exercise can be conveyed through on-scene actions and decisions, simulated “victims,” communication devices, equipment deployment, and resource and personnel allocation.

A post-exercise evaluation is completed following all exercises. Post-exercise evaluations include the following elements:

• Hot Wash
• Debrief
• "Controller/Evaluator" Debriefing
• After-Action Report (AAR)
• Improvement Plan

  Click this link to access all information presented.

A post-exercise evaluation is completed following all exercises. Post-exercise evaluations include the following elements:

Hot Wash

A Hot Wash provides an opportunity for exercise participants to discuss exercise strengths and areas for improvement immediately following the conduct of an exercise. The Hot Wash should be led by an experienced facilitator who can ensure that the discussion remains brief and constructive. The information gathered during a Hot Wash can be used during the After Action Report/Improvement Plan (AAR/IP) process, and exercise suggestions can be used to improve future exercises. Hot Washes also provide opportunities to distribute Participant Feedback Forms, which, when completed by players, can be used to help generate the AAR/IP.
For operations-based exercises, a Hot Wash should be conducted for each functional area by that functional area's controller or evaluator immediately following an exercise. It can also provide an opportunity for players to gain clarification on exercise play at other exercise sites or in other functional areas.

Debriefs

Immediately following the exercise, a short debriefing should be conducted with exercise planning team members to ascertain their level of satisfaction with the exercise, discuss any issues or concerns, and propose improvements. Planners should collect exercise attendance lists, provide copies to the exercise planning team leader, collect Participant Feedback Forms, and develop debriefing notes.

Controller/Evaluator Debriefing

The C/E Debriefing provides a forum for functional area controllers and evaluators to review the exercise. The exercise planning team leader facilitates this debriefing, which provides each controller and evaluator with an opportunity to provide an overview of the functional area they observed and to discuss both strengths and areas for improvement. During the debriefing, controllers and evaluators complete and submit their Participant Feedback Forms. Debriefing results are captured and may be included in the AAR/IP. Similarly, for discussion-based exercises, a Facilitator/Evaluator Debriefing is held to review exercise conduct. This debriefing can be facilitated by the exercise planning team leader and provides a forum for facilitators and evaluators to discuss strengths, areas for improvement, and progress in completing exercise objectives.

After-Action Report

The After Action Report is the document that summarizes key information related to evaluation. The length, format, and development timeframe of the AAR depend on the exercise type and scope. These parameters should be determined by the exercise planning team based on the expectations of elected and appointed officials as they develop the evaluation requirements in the design and development process. The main focus of the AAR is the analysis of core capabilities. Generally, AARs also include basic exercise information, such as the exercise name, type of exercise, dates, location, participating organizations, mission area(s), specific threat or hazard, a brief scenario description, and the name of the exercise sponsor and POC.

The AAR should include an overview of performance related to each exercise objective and associated core capabilities, while highlighting strengths and areas for improvement. Therefore, evaluators should review their evaluation notes and documentation to identify the strengths and areas for improvement relevant to the participating organizations' ability to meet exercise objectives and demonstrate core capabilities.

Improvement Plan

Upon completion, the evaluation team provides the draft AAR to the exercise sponsor, who distributes it to participating organizations. Elected and appointed officials, or their designees, review and confirm observations identified in the formal AAR, and determine which areas for improvement require further action. Areas for improvement that require action are those that will continue to seriously impede capability performance if left unresolved. As part of the improvement planning process, elected and appointed officials identify corrective actions to bring areas for improvement to resolution and determine the organization with responsibility for those actions.

Dick Robert

Right after the exercise, we have a hot wash. All the people involved in the exercise can all share their experience, and then we capture that in an after-action report, and once that’s completed, we bring everybody back together again and talk about how we might have improved on the situation. Not taking upon ourselves to make all the decisions, but getting input from everybody, and then try to put into effect what we can, we take it to management, explain what the value was, here are the action items.

Yazmin Seda-Sanabria

We conduct after-action review conferences where the participants of our exercise, including all of the Federal, private, State, and local level, have an opportunity to discuss the findings, the outcomes, the challenges encountered, the good news also learned through the whole process of events, and that by itself becomes a key element of a strategy moving forward to implement some of those lessons learned, and develop a plan with a timeline that provides a road map on how to get better prepared, should a situation like that arise.

Richard Myers

You don’t learn unless you have feedback, as far as I’m concerned. You’ll never progress past the first stage. So until you get feedback as to how well it’s run or how not well a certain incident went then you are basically wasting your time.

Frank Calcagno

One of the key things for assessing the effectiveness of the exercise is to come up with objectives before you even do the plan, so that you have very clear-cut ideas of what needs to be accomplished in the exercise. Make sure that all those objectives are met. If they aren’t, during the after-action report, discuss why they were not met, and what can be done in the future to help you achieve the goals that you have set out to do for the exercise. Make sure that all participants in the exercise are contacted, give them ample opportunity to provide their critique. Whether it’s written or oral, always try to get people to respond.

For most owners, the orientation seminar, drill, tabletop exercise, and functional exercise should receive the most emphasis in their exercise programs. FEMA recommends that dam owners conduct a functional exercise at least once every 5 years. Tabletop exercises are usually conducted on a more frequent basis.

Full-scale exercises should be considered as optional emergency exercise activities, and should be conducted primarily when there is a specific need to evaluate actual field movement and deployment. When a full-scale exercise is conducted, safety becomes a major concern because of the extensive field activity. If a facility owner has the capability to conduct a full-scale exercise, a commitment should be made to schedule and conduct the entire series of exercises listed above before conducting any full-scale exercise. This will also require that at least one functional exercise be conducted before conducting a full-scale exercise. Functional and full-scale exercises can be coordinated with other scheduled exercises to share emergency management agency resources and reduce costs.

In this lesson you learned that an effective crisis management program requires that you conduct periodic exercises.

Exercises help ensure that key staff members are familiar with the plans and understand their roles and expected actions. In addition, exercises can help identify best practices and shortcomings in the plans, leading to continuous improvements.

The next lesson summarizes the main points of the course.

This lesson summarizes the main points of the course using a series of interactive questions.

  This lesson should take approximately 10 minutes to complete. You must complete this lesson in its entirety to receive credit.

• Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN) Dams Portal 
• Emergency Action Planning for State Regulated High-Hazard Potential Dams (FEMA 608)
• Federal Guidelines for Dams Safety: Emergency Action Planning for Dam Owners (FEMA 64)
• Federal Guidelines for Dams Safety: Hazard Potential Classification System for Dams (FEMA 333)
• National Incident Management System (NIMS)
• National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP)
• Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs (NFPA 1600)

You’ve completed the course. Before taking the exam, you may want to print the course summary.

Acknowledgments:

Many thanks to the following organizations for providing photographs for use in this course:

• Chelan County Public Utilities District
• South LaFourche Levee District
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Click on this link to access a printable version of the entire course.