Ten years after 9/11, the emergency management policy outlook for 2012 Laura M. Berkey-Ames Government Affairs Manager American Public Works Association Washington, D.C. n response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York City, Washington, D.C. and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (PL 107-296) was signed into law on November 25, 2002. This law established the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and ushered in a new era of national security initiatives such as the National Incident Management System and the National Infrastructure Protection Plan. The tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks has come and gone, and over a decade later, the United States has striven to be more resilient and its citizens endeavor to be more prepared to mitigate, respond to and recover from emergencies that range from natural disasters to manmade hazards to terrorist attacks. However, this is not to say that our nation’s homeland security and emergency management policies and practices are perfect—they are always a work in progress. The New Year signals the start of the second session of the 112th Congress and legislators will be busy tackling key emergency management issues. Importantly, this year will also be a year of change—as the President, the entire U.S. House of Representatives and one-third the U.S. Senators are campaigning for reelection. As politicians canvass for votes during campaign season, APWA will continue advocating for emergency management policies that benefit public works professionals. APWA’s Emergency Management and Government Affairs Committee members continue to advocate for 6 APWA Reporter
January 2012
increased federal investment to public works as first responders for an all-hazards approach to disaster assistance, the security of public works infrastructure systems and emergency management with the goal of moving toward effective mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery support. The emergency management policy outlook for 2012 will be dynamic, and APWA is at the forefront working alongside fellow stakeholders, Congress and the Administration as they tackle the following key issues and initiatives:
Implementation of Homeland Security Presidential Policy Directive 8 On March 30, 2011, the Obama Administration released Homeland Security Presidential Policy Directive 8 (PPD-8). This directive replaced Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8 which was released in 2003 during the Bush Administration. APWA was one of 24 national stakeholders that worked closely with the White House’s National Security Staff on developing the policy directive by way of providing comments on national preparedness, interagency coordination, response capabilities, and state and local resilience efforts. The Directive emphasizes three national preparedness principles: 1. An all-of-nation approach, aimed at enhancing integration of effort across federal, state, local, tribal,
and territorial governments; closer collaboration with the private and nonprofit sectors; and more engagement of individuals, families and communities; 2. A focus on capabilities, defined by specific and measurable objectives, as the cornerstone of preparedness. This will enable more integrated, flexible, and agile “all hazards” efforts tailored to the unique circumstances of any given threat, hazard, or actual event; and 3. A focus on outcomes and rigorous assessment to measure and track progress in building and sustaining capabilities over time. Since PPD-8’s release, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has taken the lead in developing a National Preparedness Goal and a National Preparedness System. The National Preparedness Goal identifies core capabilities necessary to prepare for the specific types of incidents that pose the greatest risk to national security. The first edition of the Goal was released on September 30, 2011. The National Preparedness System will be an integrated set of guidance, programs and processes that will enable the nation to meet the National Preparedness Goal. On September 23, FEMA released the National Disaster Recovery Framework, a guide that provides recovery support to disaster-impacted states, tribes, territorial and local jurisdictions. The Framework is structured to enable disaster recovery
