To assist decisionmakers in making a proper classification and taking the proper actions, the plan could include descriptions of severity levels for various types of events such as flooding, embankment cracks, unexpected seepage, or unusual instrumentation readings. After the situation is classified, you will be able to implement the appropriate notification flowchart and response actions. The owner is usually responsible for making decisions that an emergency condition exists or no longer exists at the facility or that the level of the emergency has changed.
Plans should clearly designate the individual responsible for making those decisions. State or local emergency management officials are responsible for initiation and termination of the evacuation or disaster response activities. The owner and State and local officials should agree on when it is appropriate to terminate an emergency. A determination of responsibility for emergency action plan-related tasks must be made during the development of the plan.
Preparedness actions are taken to prevent a facility failure incident or to help reduce the effects of a facility failure and facilitate response to emergencies. These actions should only be performed under the direction of the facility safety office or other qualified professional engineers. This portion of the emergency action plan should include a set of pre-planned actions to facilitate response to various types of emergency situations.
The preparedness section of the plan should also include identifying and ensuring the availability of materials, equipment, and personnel needed for an emergency response.
Examples of items include:. You can simply compile a list of local suppliers and contractors, or you may determine that you should stockpile certain materials. Inundation maps are used by the facility owner and emergency management officials to facilitate timely notification and evacuation of areas affected by a facility failure.
These maps greatly facilitate notification by graphically displaying areas expected to be flooded and showing travel times for wave front and flood peaks at critical locations.
The traditional hardcopy maps are being reproduced in digital formats to facilitate their use with Geographic Information Systems GIS. Appendixes can be used to provide information that supports and supplements the material used in the development and implementation of the emergency action plan. An appendix might be used to provide supplemental information that would be useful during an emergency situation including:. 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. 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.
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 are the responsibility of State and local officials. The dam owner should not usurp that responsibility; however, there may be situations where recreational facilities, campgrounds, or residences are located below a dam where the dam owner could provide a more timely warning.
In such cases, the dam owner should coordinate with local emergency management officials to determine who will warn these people and in what priority. Without periodic maintenance, the emergency action plan will become outdated and lose its effectiveness. Regular exercises and periodic reviews of the emergency action plan should be conducted to assess its workability and efficiency, identify weak areas, and recommend revisions. It might be necessary to frequently revise an emergency action plan to reflect changes in personnel of various organizations and changes in communications systems.
There should be a periodic—typically done on an annual basis—review and updating of telephone numbers and personnel included in the notification flowchart. Changes to the maps should be made as soon as practical and noted in the emergency action plan. Each new revision of an emergency action plan should be identified with a revision number and date to ensure the latest plan is being used. Scheduled revisions can also coincide with informal meetings with appropriate emergency management agencies to ensure they are familiar with and understand the emergency action plan.
Effective exercises are an essential element of the preparedness cycle. 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 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 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.
Recovery plans should provide information to deal with mitigation and emergency repair of affected projects for any emergency arising at the site, whether from natural or manmade causes. 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.
A recovery plan assists the owner and operator get those key pieces in place to set back the operations of the facility, drive the attention to what elements need to be restored and be the main focus of attention right after the event occurs, so the critical functions can be restored in the facility. The recovery plan is how to get the plant back in operation, whatever that dam provides, whatever services it provides, to get those services back as quickly as you can.
So the emergency action plan responds to the emergency and helps save lives; the recovery plan brings the services back as quickly as they can. Some organizations include the equivalent of a recovery plan as a section of another document such as an emergency action plan. This course uses the term recovery plan as a generic, encompassing term to refer to any of these documents. The process of making recommendations can be fairly simple; it does not necessarily require lengthy evaluations.
Preparedness Activities: The recovery plan should specify preparedness activities, including procurement, stockpiling, on-the-shelf designs, or general preparedness actions such as identifying local equipment repair contractors, suppliers of key materials or equipment, providers of rental equipment or heavy transport, etc.
The recovery plan should describe the roles and organizational structures to ensure effective communications and logistics support. Authorities and Coordination: Recovery and reconstruction might require coordination with local authorities and regulatory agencies. To facilitate a quick response, it might be necessary to streamline internal authorities for procurement or contracting. Having these agreements established in advance will facilitate the recovery process.
Automated Systems: Many projects are becoming more highly automated, relying on automatic computerized control systems, or on remote operation and monitoring via communications links.
The recovery plan should address possible loss of project function caused by interruption of communications links or by cyber attacks that render the automated control system inoperable.
Information Access: Recovery will also likely require rapid access to key information such as maps, drawings and specifications, and original design documents; this information or references to where it can be found should be included in the recovery plan.
Training and Exercises: Just as for other types of plans, such as emergency action plans, the recovery plan should address training of appropriate personnel, and periodic exercises simulating the plan implementation.
Plan Maintenance: The recovery plan should specify the requirement for periodic updating. Army Corps of Engineers have developed guidelines for the content of recovery plans.
In the event of any major damage to a dam or to other infrastructure, multiple agencies could have significant roles in the initial response to the incident. This involvement might extend into the recovery phase for restoring project function. For more information on effective coordination between various entities, jurisdictions, and agencies, refer to the IS NIMS Multiagency Coordination Systems course.
For the common types of project components, the recovery plan should include tables that list:. These tables can provide a quick reference to assist decisionmakers during the tense postincident period when important decisions must be made quickly. Continuity of operations COOP is a term in wide use. Often COOP refers to an entire continuity program, covering all the interrelated aspects of continuity including business continuity in the absence of key personnel.
This course uses the simpler term "continuity plan. When it is necessary to continue facility operations during the absence of several key personnel, a continuity plan can help by:. Continuity of operations brings in every element of your business from the economic side to the operations side to the administrative side.
It defines what people will do in a catastrophic event. If your basic service is generation of electricity like ours, how do we continue to keep that electric power going into the grid or into the community?
How do you pay salaries? How do you know what crews to maintain on alert or on duty or what people to stay home and work from their house? The continuity of operations is again a smart best business practice. Whether they are broken into separate plans or part of an overall continuity program, the following elements should be included:. 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:. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
Considering the potential serious consequences of an IT disruption, it is important that this topic be specifically addressed during continuity planning. A pandemic influenza incident has the potential to cause serious disruption to operations in the Dams Sector.
It is estimated that up to:. Because such absentee rates would cause great difficulty in performing normal functions, continuity plans should account for this possibility by detailing how an organization will provide for staffing needs during a potential outbreak. 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. The generic actions in the table should be expanded into more detailed lists of specific actions applicable to a specific organization. Additional pandemic planning information is available at www. A full copy of this DHS guide is available at www. In the modern automated workplace, disruption of the Information Technology IT system could bring any organization to a standstill or lead to a dangerous lack of control over sensitive records or over physical processes e.
Objectives: Describe the purpose and types of exercises, including:. 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. 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.
And most importantly, exercises ensure that we are better prepared. HSEEP exercise types can be categorized as either discussion-based or operations-based. Discussion-based exercises are orientation seminars, workshops, tabletops, and games. Drills, functional, and full-scale exercises are the operations-based exercises. Although the exercise types will vary significantly in terms of scope and scale, the same general framework can be applied when planning most of the exercise types.
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. 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.
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.
The scenario should be a plausible event scaled to the purpose of the exercise. 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. 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. 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. Post-exercise evaluations provide the basis for improving the plans or procedures that were tested as part of the exercise. The exercise objectives provide a framework for scenario development, guide development of individual organizational objectives, and supply evaluation criteria.
The objectives help you identify the following types of exercises:. Discussion-based exercises familiarize participants with current plans, policies, agreements, and procedures, or may be used to develop new plans, policies, agreements, and procedures.
Operations-based exercises validate plans, policies, agreements, and procedures; clarify roles and responsibilities; and identify resource gaps in an operational environment.
Discussion-based exercises include seminars , workshops , tabletop exercises , and games. These types of exercises are used:. 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 can be used to address a wide range of topics. Although the topics may vary, all seminars:.
Prior to participating in a seminar, participants should have a clear understanding of exercise objectives. During workshops 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:. To be effective, workshops must be highly focused on a specific issue, and the desired outcome or goal must be clearly defined.
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:. 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. Operations-based exercises include drills, functional exercises, and full-scale exercises.
Operations-based exercises are:. A drill is a low-level exercise that tests, develops, or maintains skills in a single emergency response procedure. A drill:. Note: The drill begins when controllers and evaluators are properly stationed. If no safety issues arise, the drill continues until the process is complete, time expires, or objectives are achieved.
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:. A post-exercise evaluation is completed following all exercises. Post-exercise evaluations include the following elements:. A hot wash is a facilitated discussion held immediately following an exercise among exercise players from each functional area.
It is designed to capture feedback about any issues, concerns, or proposed improvements players may have about the exercise. The hot wash is an opportunity for players to voice their opinions on the exercise and their own performance. This facilitated meeting allows players to participate in a self-assessment of the exercise play and provides a general assessment of how the jurisdiction performed in the exercise.
At this time, evaluators can also seek clarification on certain actions and what prompted players to take them. Evaluators should take notes during the hot wash and include these observations in their analysis. The hot wash should last no more than 30 minutes. A debriefing is a forum for planners, facilitators, controllers, and evaluators to review and provide feedback after the exercise is held.
It should be a facilitated discussion that allows each person an opportunity to provide an overview of the functional area they observed and document both strengths and areas for improvement. Debriefs should be facilitated by the exercise planning team leader or the exercise program manager; results should be captured for inclusion in the After-Action Report and Improvement Plan. A debriefing is different from a hot wash, in that a hot wash is intended for players to provide feedback. An after-action report AAR should be developed upon conclusion of the exercise.
The purpose of an AAR is to provide feedback to participants on their performance during the exercise. The AAR summarizes exercise events and analyzes performance of the tasks identified as important during the planning process.
It also evaluates achievement of the selected exercise objectives and demonstration of the overall capabilities. After the AAR is complete, the last step is to develop an improvement plan. Its purpose is to convert lessons learned from the exercise into concrete, measurable steps that result in improved response capabilities.
The last step is to develop an improvement plan to convert lessons learned from the exercise into concrete, measurable steps that result in improved response capabilities. The improvement plan lists the corrective actions that will be taken, the responsible party or agency, and the expected completion date.
The improvement plan is incorporated into the final after-action report. Right after the exercise, we have a hot wash. 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.
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.
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. Make sure that all participants in the exercise are contacted, give them ample opportunity to provide their critique. The diagram below summarizes the continuum of discussed-based to operations-based exercises presented in this lesson.
As the level of capabilities exercised is increased, the commitment needed for planning and training time also increases. 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. 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 pandemic preparedness. Describe the purpose and types of exercises. 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. 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 , are publicly or privately controlled resources essential to the minimal operations of the economy and government. Protecting Dams Sector Structures 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. Therefore, selection of appropriate crisis management measures as part of a risk management program will be unique for each project.
The councils provide a forum for asset owners and operators, and their government agency counterparts, to discuss, act in concert, and monitor security issues affecting the Dams Sector.
The annex describes policies, roles and responsibilities, and the concept of operations for assessing, prioritizing, protecting, and restoring the Nations CIKR following natural disasters, terrorist events, or other man-made or technological emergencies. The sector security partners jointly identified security-related priori-ties for the Dams Sector, which include, among other things, the need for developing mechanisms for the communication of security issues among member organizations.
This handbook is one outcome of that process. Dam projects are complex facilities that typically include water impoundment or control structures, reservoirs, spillways, outlet works, power-houses, and canals or aqueducts.
In some cases, navigation locks are also part of the dam project. Dams are a vital part of the Nations infrastructure and are among its key resources. The benefits of dams are countered by the risks they present. In the event of a dam failure, the volume of the water stored, even behind a small dam, is capable of causing loss of life and significant property damage. Dams may fail for one or a combination of the following reasons:.
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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, , infrastructure security has received much greater attention. 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. Following an incident or emergency, all participants should participate in a review of relevant plans that identifies:.
Without periodic maintenance, plans become outdated and lose their effectiveness. Regular exercises and periodic reviews help assess workability and efficiency, identify weak areas, and recommend revisions. There are three types of plans included in a comprehensive crisis management program. The next section of the lesson presents an overview of emergency action plans.
The owner is responsible for the development of the emergency action plan. During the planning process, owners:. Much of the content and plan template presented in this section of the lesson parallels the FEMA 64 guidelines.
And the emergency action plan, maintained at a current level, gives you all those tools. 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.
The value is in being able to react in an orderly and rapid manner. 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 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:. A notification flowchart shows who is to be notified, by whom, and in what priority.
The information in the notification flowchart is necessary for the timely notification of persons responsible for taking emergency actions. 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. It is crucial to provide early detection and timely evaluation of any situation that requires an emergency action.
A proper evaluation will help ensure that the appropriate course of action is taken. Daily surveillance and instrumentation readings at the site will be the normal methods of detecting potential emergency situations. For conditions beyond the normal range of operations, contact the operations manager for assistance with evaluation of the conditions.
Nonfailure Concern —This classification indicates a situation is developing; however, the dam is not in danger of failing, but flooding is expected downstream from the dam.
Downstream residents need to be notified if flooding increases and life and property are threatened. Potential Failure —This classification indicates that a situation is developing that could cause the dam to fail. Residents in affected areas shall be alerted that an unsafe situation is developing. A reasonable amount of time is available for analysis before deciding on evacuation of residents. Imminent Failure —This classification indicates dam failure is occurring that may result in flooding that will threaten life and property.
To assist decisionmakers in making a proper classification and taking the proper actions, the plan could include descriptions of severity levels for various types of events such as flooding, embankment cracks, unexpected seepage, or unusual instrumentation readings.
After the situation is classified, you will be able to implement the appropriate notification flowchart and response actions. The owner is usually responsible for making decisions that an emergency condition exists or no longer exists at the facility or that the level of the emergency has changed. Plans should clearly designate the individual responsible for making those decisions. State or local emergency management officials are responsible for initiation and termination of the evacuation or disaster response activities.
The owner and State and local officials should agree on when it is appropriate to terminate an emergency. A determination of responsibility for emergency action plan-related tasks must be made during the development of the plan. Preparedness actions are taken to prevent a facility failure incident or to help reduce the effects of a facility failure and facilitate response to emergencies. These actions should only be performed under the direction of the facility safety office or other qualified professional engineers.
This portion of the emergency action plan should include a set of pre-planned actions to facilitate response to various types of emergency situations.
The preparedness section of the plan should also include identifying and ensuring the availability of materials, equipment, and personnel needed for an emergency response. Examples of items include:. You can simply compile a list of local suppliers and contractors, or you may determine that you should stockpile certain materials.
Inundation maps are used by the facility owner and emergency management officials to facilitate timely notification and evacuation of areas affected by a facility failure. These maps greatly facilitate notification by graphically displaying areas expected to be flooded and showing travel times for wave front and flood peaks at critical locations.
The traditional hardcopy maps are being reproduced in digital formats to facilitate their use with Geographic Information Systems GIS. Appendixes can be used to provide information that supports and supplements the material used in the development and implementation of the emergency action plan.
An appendix might be used to provide supplemental information that would be useful during an emergency situation including:.
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. 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. 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 are the responsibility of State and local officials. The dam owner should not usurp that responsibility; however, there may be situations where recreational facilities, campgrounds, or residences are located below a dam where the dam owner could provide a more timely warning.
In such cases, the dam owner should coordinate with local emergency management officials to determine who will warn these people and in what priority.
Without periodic maintenance, the emergency action plan will become outdated and lose its effectiveness. Regular exercises and periodic reviews of the emergency action plan should be conducted to assess its workability and efficiency, identify weak areas, and recommend revisions. It might be necessary to frequently revise an emergency action plan to reflect changes in personnel of various organizations and changes in communications systems.
There should be a periodic—typically done on an annual basis—review and updating of telephone numbers and personnel included in the notification flowchart. Changes to the maps should be made as soon as practical and noted in the emergency action plan. Each new revision of an emergency action plan should be identified with a revision number and date to ensure the latest plan is being used. Scheduled revisions can also coincide with informal meetings with appropriate emergency management agencies to ensure they are familiar with and understand the emergency action plan.
Effective exercises are an essential element of the preparedness cycle. 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 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 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. Recovery plans should provide information to deal with mitigation and emergency repair of affected projects for any emergency arising at the site, whether from natural or manmade causes.
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.
A recovery plan assists the owner and operator get those key pieces in place to set back the operations of the facility, drive the attention to what elements need to be restored and be the main focus of attention right after the event occurs, so the critical functions can be restored in the facility. The recovery plan is how to get the plant back in operation, whatever that dam provides, whatever services it provides, to get those services back as quickly as you can.
So the emergency action plan responds to the emergency and helps save lives; the recovery plan brings the services back as quickly as they can. Some organizations include the equivalent of a recovery plan as a section of another document such as an emergency action plan.
This course uses the term recovery plan as a generic, encompassing term to refer to any of these documents. The process of making recommendations can be fairly simple; it does not necessarily require lengthy evaluations. Preparedness Activities: The recovery plan should specify preparedness activities, including procurement, stockpiling, on-the-shelf designs, or general preparedness actions such as identifying local equipment repair contractors, suppliers of key materials or equipment, providers of rental equipment or heavy transport, etc.
The recovery plan should describe the roles and organizational structures to ensure effective communications and logistics support. Authorities and Coordination: Recovery and reconstruction might require coordination with local authorities and regulatory agencies. To facilitate a quick response, it might be necessary to streamline internal authorities for procurement or contracting. Having these agreements established in advance will facilitate the recovery process.
Automated Systems: Many projects are becoming more highly automated, relying on automatic computerized control systems, or on remote operation and monitoring via communications links. The recovery plan should address possible loss of project function caused by interruption of communications links or by cyber attacks that render the automated control system inoperable. Information Access: Recovery will also likely require rapid access to key information such as maps, drawings and specifications, and original design documents; this information or references to where it can be found should be included in the recovery plan.
Training and Exercises: Just as for other types of plans, such as emergency action plans, the recovery plan should address training of appropriate personnel, and periodic exercises simulating the plan implementation.
Plan Maintenance: The recovery plan should specify the requirement for periodic updating. Army Corps of Engineers have developed guidelines for the content of recovery plans.
In the event of any major damage to a dam or to other infrastructure, multiple agencies could have significant roles in the initial response to the incident. This involvement might extend into the recovery phase for restoring project function. For more information on effective coordination between various entities, jurisdictions, and agencies, refer to the IS NIMS Multiagency Coordination Systems course. For the common types of project components, the recovery plan should include tables that list:.
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