Amy Sebring: On behalf of Avagene Moore and myself, welcome once again to the EIIP Virtual Forum! With any luck at all, and your cooperation, we will have a smooth session today! Amy Sebring: Our session today is devoted to a topic of considerable interest in the Emergency Management community, and derive from Homeland Security Presidential Directive #5. Amy Sebring: Our title is -- Going from a 'Federal' to a 'National' Approach -- The Interim National Response Plan (INRP) and The National Incident Management System (NIMS) Amy Sebring: First, for the benefit of any first-timers, we will go over the order of business. We will begin today's session with a presentation, and then we will proceed to your questions. Amy Sebring: We will provide further instructions just before we begin the Q&A section, but you may wish to jot down your questions or comments as we go along. Amy Sebring: Please do not send private messages to our speaker or the moderator, as we will be busy with the presentation. Amy Sebring: An edited transcript of today's session, will be available by late this evening -- just check back on our home page or the background page. Amy Sebring: Now, I have the pleasure of introducing today's speaker, Mr. Charles M. Hess, Deputy Response Division Director in the Emergency Preparedness and Response Secretariat, Department of Homeland Security. Amy Sebring: Mr. Hess is responsible for planning and executing the Federal government's response to natural disasters and the consequence management of all hazards including terrorist events involving Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). Amy Sebring: As Deputy to the Response Division Director, Mr. Hess is responsible for directing and overseeing the development and implementation of operational policies and procedures, and deployment of resources for use by DHS and other Federal departments and agencies. Amy Sebring: Further information, and links to relevant documents are available from the Background Page. Amy Sebring: Unfortunately, Mr. Hess will need to leave a little early today ... Amy Sebring: so in the interest of time, I am going to input his prepared remarks .. Amy Sebring: but welcome Charles, and please say hello. Charles Hess: Hi All: good to be with you today!! Amy Sebring: Good afternoon. I am pleased to have the opportunity to talk with you all today about the National Response Plan and the National Incident Management System. Amy Sebring: During the next few minutes, I will provide you with the latest information that I have about the NRP and the NIMS. Amy Sebring: I will talk with you about the objectives and principles used in the development of these documents, particularly the guidance provide by Homeland Security Presidential Directive #5 (HSPD-5),... Amy Sebring: the challenges of developing a management system and an operations plan that span the Incident Spectrum and provide a Layered Response Strategy. Amy Sebring: I will also talk with you about some of the key provisions and concepts of the NRP and the NIMS. Amy Sebring: HSPD-5 set forth the mandate for development of the NRP and the NIMS. The key objective for the NRP and the NIMS is to provide a comprehensive, single, national approach to incident management. Amy Sebring: The term incident management, in this context, is being used broadly to include natural disasters AND terrorist events. Amy Sebring: The HSPD-5 directive institutionalizes the all-hazards approach that we have used for years in emergency management, and promotes full integration of all phases of incident management - prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. Amy Sebring: Another HSPD-5 objective is to ensure a system that allows all levels of government to work efficiently and effectively together; ... Amy Sebring: to provide seamless integration of resources and capabilities; to provide a common lexicon and systems for horizontal and vertical integration; and to establish networks and systems for effective communication. Amy Sebring: HSPD-5 also mandates full integration of the crisis and consequence management components of incident manager and eliminates any barriers between the criminal investigation and the emergency response components. Amy Sebring: As you all know, all incidents are local and MOST incidents are resolved at the local or Regional level without intervention or involvement of the Federal government. Amy Sebring: Or, if there is Federal involvement, it is based on specific authorities or day-to-day functions such as hazardous materials response. Amy Sebring: The NIMS, which is now out for review and comment, provides a common operational framework for all levels of government. Amy Sebring: The NIMS is based on the National Interagency Incident Management System and the Incident Command System. Amy Sebring: Once the NIMS is finalized and fully adopted by States and Federal departments and agencies, it will provide the common operational concepts and basic organizational structure needed to ensure seamless transitions and integration of resources. Amy Sebring: This compatibility and interoperability is critical particularly for incidents that exceed local boundaries, and even more particularly for those less frequent incidents that require support from Federal resources. Amy Sebring: The challenge in developing the NIMS and the NRP was to create a system that works equally well for the low impact events as for the high impact events;. . . Amy Sebring: a system that works equally for local responders as for State or Federal Responders; and a system that truly supported the Incident Commander. Amy Sebring: The building blocks of this layered strategy, described in NIMS, are Standard Resource Typing and Standard Organizational Structure. Amy Sebring: Standard Resource Typing is vital for making certain the right resources get to the right place at the right time. Amy Sebring: With a Resource Typing system in place, an incident commander can requests assets from anywhere in the country with confidence that he will get what he needs - . . . Amy Sebring: whether the assets are from other local or State jurisdictions or from the Federal Government. Amy Sebring: A Standard Organizational Structure for command and control ensures that responders from anywhere in the nation can work together regardless of the nature or the location of the incident. Amy Sebring: With a common structure and with proper training, responders know where they fit into the organization, they know their own roles and responsibilities, and they know what is expected of them. Amy Sebring: HSPD-5 provided an exacting time frame for development of the NIMS and the NRP. Amy Sebring: The Initial National Response Plan was issued on September 30, 2003, as a bridging document to the full NRP, which should completed by the end of June 2004. Amy Sebring: The new NRP will replace the Federal Response Plan, the United States Government Interagency Domestic Terrorism Concepts of Operations Plan (CONPLAN), and the INRP. Amy Sebring: It will integrate and provide linkage to the National Contingency Plan and the Federal Radiological Response Plan. Amy Sebring: The draft of NRP base plan should be out for comment within the next month or so. Amy Sebring: As it stands now, the new NRP preserves what works from the current national plans, adds homeland security focus, fully integrates criminal investigation and emergency response, and broadens the planning focus to include prevention and preparedness as well as response and recovery. Amy Sebring: Meanwhile, the INRP continues the operational framework of the existing national plans and adds the new elements introduced with the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Amy Sebring: The INRP requires changes to existing plans to accommodate the new DHS elements. Amy Sebring: The new Homeland Security elements included in INRP and most likely in the new NRP include the Homeland Security Operations Center, the HSOC, the Interagency Incident Management Group (IIMG), the Principal Federal Official (PFO), and the Joint Field Office (JFO). Amy Sebring: The HSOC is located at DHS headquarters and is the primary national-level hub for operational communications and information pertaining to domestic incidents. The HSOC provides situational awareness for the Secretary and the common operating picture needed to manage complex domestic incidents. Amy Sebring: The National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) at FEMA continues to provide the resource and operational interagency coordination for major disasters, emergencies and other events. Amy Sebring: Most of you know this as the Emergency Support Team (EST). Amy Sebring: The IIMG is senior level interagency policy coordinating group that is activated to support senior strategic decision-making. Amy Sebring: The IIMG is composed of representatives from all DHS components and other Federal departments and agencies as required by the nature of the specific event. Amy Sebring: HSPD-5 designates the Secretary of Homeland Security as the principal Federal official for domestic incident management. Amy Sebring: To help carry out this important role in large-scale, complex, high-visibility, terrorist or catastrophic events, the Secretary may designate a Principal Federal Official (PFO) as his representative at the incident. Amy Sebring: The PFO provides senior leadership for the event, but does not replace or duplicate the roles of the Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO) or the FBI Senior Agent in Charge (SAC). Amy Sebring: The Joint Field Office provides a single, integrated field location for Federal, State and local incident management entities. Conceptually, it unifies the FBI Joint Operations Center (JFO) and the FEMA Disaster Field Office (DFO) into a single location. Amy Sebring: It is likely that the JFO could replace the DFO for all incidents involving a DHS response. Amy Sebring: Most likely, FBI will retain the JOC as the operational facility for events that exclusively involve law enforcement. Amy Sebring: The NRP and NIMS development are on a fairly fast track, when you consider most government planning efforts. Amy Sebring: Even so, the DHS leadership recognized the importance of including stakeholders in the process and providing mechanisms from key stakeholders - particularly representatives of state and local government. Amy Sebring: An advisory group made up of representatives from key stakeholders was formed and meets periodically to review and provide input for drafts of the NIMS and NRP. The group is scheduled to meet again on January 19. Amy Sebring: Organizations represented in the group include the National Emergency Managers Association, International Association of Emergency Managers, National Association of Counties, International Association of Fire Chiefs, and others including law enforcement. Amy Sebring: The stakeholders delivered a clear message: "Keep it simple. Keep it Very Simple. Use what works. And build on good State and local systems and process - not the reverse." Amy Sebring: We are listening to our State and local partners and we believe the NIMS and NRP will meet these expectations. This concludes my prepared remarks. Amy Sebring: Thank you very much Charles. Our protocol for audience questions is to enter a question mark ? to indicate you wish to ask a question or make a comment. Amy Sebring: Then go ahead and compose your question or comment to have it ready, but do NOT hit your Enter key or click on the Send button until you are recognized by name. Please WAIT your turn. Amy Sebring: We will take questions in the order the question marks are sent to the screen. One question at at time please. If you have a follow up, please get back on line with a ? Amy Sebring: There is a system limitation on length of one entry, so please keep them reasonable in length. We are ready to begin now. Doug Adams: ? Rob Moffat: ? Kay Back: ? ken konigsmark: ? Amy Sebring: Doug, when you are ready please. Doug Adams: How will the NRP fit in the National capital region? ray pena: ? Burt Wallrich: ? Duke Roberts: ? In light of the existing overseas manning and standing up of the three new divisions, how will all this coordination be worked out Charles Hess: The NRP will be the overarching plan for coordinating Federal Response... Feldt: When are Federal agencies expected to designate IMG members? Charles Hess: applicale everywhere Amy Sebring: Please just put your question mark in folks. Amy Sebring: Rob Moffat next please. Rob Moffat: Where and how do you see wireless technologies fitting into the NIMS? Charles Hess: Duke: Each agency supporting the NRP will have to develop their own unique resource plans to support. Charles Hess: We will establish rosters and call down lists for the IIMG just as we do for ESFLG members. Charles Hess: Commo and other supporting technologies are a key component of NIMS.... Mike Ganley: ? Dewey Harris: ? How close will the new NIMS Standards be to the current ICS structure being used by the Coast Guard and other agencies? Charles Hess: Challenge will be to assure that all levels of govt and interested parties have an opportunity to input on protocols and systems. Amy Sebring: Kay next please. Kay Back: Where does the public fit in among the stakeholders? Will the public comment on the NRP? Charles Hess: Kay: Both the NIMS and NRP are going to be available to the public... Peter Casals (IAEM): ? Ken Parrish: ? Dewey Harris: ? Kay Back: ? George Buck: yes, I understand it will be avaiable, but does that mean we'll have input?? Charles Hess: Comment has been solicited from state and local entities as well as constituent groups such as IAEM and NEMA, etc. Principal concern is to assure governmental entities can use the NIMS and NRP. Amy Sebring: Ken K. next please. Ken Parrish: Can a JFO/PFO be activated in advance of a Presidential Declaration be approved? ken konigsmark: Are there roles/responsibilities for large private companies in the NRP or NIMS? Amy Sebring: Oops wrong Ken, but let's go ahead and take both now. Charles Hess: Ken: Yes, If there were a particular threat or impending event, a PFO could be pre-positioned for activation. Charles Hess: Similar to what we do for commodities and teams pre hurricane landfall. Amy Sebring: And second Ken question re private sector role? Doug Adams: ? Charles Hess: Ken K; Yes, Candidly this is probably weakest link at this time. Have spoken with U.S. Chamber of Commerce to solicit their thoughts on private sector involvement. Amy Sebring: Ray next please. ray pena: I'm guessing locals will need to revise emergency operations plans. By what date? Will there be guidance? When? Charles Hess: Dates are currently in a state of flux.... Doug Adams: Does ERD have plans for managing the national effort to incorporate this new NRP, and if so, how will it do so? Amy Sebring: (we have several online Doug, and will come back to you in a bit) Isabel McCurdy: ? Doug Adams: (straying cursors--my apologies) Charles Hess: I still believe we are shooting to have a "final draft" NRP available this summer, followed by a period of training, exercising and evluation w/ modifications as necessary prior to going live with new plan. Amy Sebring: Burt is next please. Burt Wallrich: Comment: When the phases of disaster are seen as prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery it does not really allow for full consideration of the relief work - taking care of the immediate life needs of victims such as food and shelter... Burt Wallrich: - which is neither first response nor recovery. Because relief isn't considered to be one of the phases it can be difficult to plan systematically for the role of private sector partners... Burt Wallrich: like Red Cross and other VOAD and Citizen Corps members in a disaster. So at the local level we have to insert relief as an unofficial but crucial "phase." Amy Sebring: Comment on Burt's comment Charles? William Douglas: ? Charles Hess: Your point is well taken. Anytime we attempt to divide phases of an incident or disaster we run the risk of marginallizing key activites just by our naming conventions... Charles Hess: Response includes lots of things including certain relief activities if needed. Amy Sebring: Mike Ganley is next please. Mike Ganley: Will the current ESF structure /format be effected at the FEMA ROC's ? William Douglas: Charlie, is NORTHCOM involved in the planning effort, if so, to what degree? Amy Sebring: (We will come back to William in turn.) Charles Hess: ESF structure is under review and is reason I am leaving early from this session. Expect to see added ESF's but not too many ---- am looking at state added ESF's as a model. Amy Sebring: peter next please Peter Casals (IAEM): What is the target roll-out date for the NIMS? This summer as well, along with the NRP you mentioned above? Lynn Orstad: ? Charles Hess: Latest version of NIMs (7.1) has been available for about one month I believe. Comments are being reviewed even now. Expect an updated version within next several weeks. Amy Sebring: Dewey next please. Dewey Harris: How close will the new NIMS standards be to the current ICS Structure being used by the Coast Guard and other agencies? Charles Hess: Amy I can field 3 more ?'s Amy Sebring: Ok, thanks Charles. Charles Hess: Dewey: Expect NIMS and ICS to be somewhat consistent with adjustments made to focus on potential terrorist threats. Amy Sebring: Kay is next please. Kay Back: Is there public voice on an advisory group? Any group you'd go to (like Chamber for business) for thoughts on public voice? Charles Hess: Kay: The simple answer is no ... have not identified a specific individual to represent the American Public at large... Charles Hess: The reason we are trying to wrk closely with state and locals is that they theoretically represent the interest of the public. Amy Sebring: Doug next please. Doug Adams: Does ERD have plans for managing the national effort to incorporate this new NRP, and if so, what do they look like (inspections, training, etc.)? Charles Hess: Doug: You've lost me on "ERD". Doug Adams: your division Charles Hess: Got it.... Charles Hess: We will establish supporting standards, criteria, and processes (similar to EMAP) which will describe how an entity achieves appropriate credentials. Amy Sebring: And last one for today, Isabel please. Please note that if we did not get to you, you may write to Mr. Hess at charles.hess@dhs.gov Isabel McCurdy: Charles- what is your email address where stakeholders can send their comments and suggestions to? And where can the latest version of NIMS be accessed? Amy Sebring: Ok, email address is up there. Amy Sebring: We have a link on our background page Isabel. Amy Sebring: That's all we have time for today. Thank you very much Mr. Hess for your time and effort Peter Casals (IAEM): Thanks! Charles Hess: I will provide Amy with latest NIMS version which she can post or otherwise make available. Amy Sebring: Help us show our appreciation and we will come back to announcements ... Jennifer Vuitel: Very informative - thank you! Debra Yamanaka: Thank you Amy Sebring: //rose Lloyd Bokman: Thank you, Charles, and thanks to Amy too! //thumbsup Doug Adams: Super Isabel McCurdy: //rose Charles Hess: Thx very much. Appreciate your interest in NIMS and NRP development!!!! Burt Wallrich: Thank you. Great presentation! carl willecke: Thank You Judi Riutort: Thanks Avagene Moore: Thank you, Charles, Megs and Barbara. Thomas Prescott: //flagusa Amy Sebring: Ok, some announcements ...If you are not currently on our mailing list, and would like to get program announcements and notices of transcript availability, please see the Subscribe link on our home page. Thomas Prescott: Thank you, sir. Colleen Kaelin: //flagusa Neil VandeVoorde: Thank you from Miss. Bill Yamanaka: Thanks much RicWitowski: Thank You. Amy Sebring: Again, the transcript will be posted late tonight and you will be able to access it from our home page or the background page. Amy Sebring: We are pleased to announce three new partners today, Korea Emergency Management Alliance, Kyoo-Man Ha, Research Fellow, URL: http://www.kema.re.kr , ... Amy Sebring: Resource Consultants, Inc., POC: Bob Fitton, Sr Director for Homeland Security, URL: http://www.resourceconsultants.com , and ... Amy Sebring: Bank of America, Seattle WA, POC: Gennie Thompson, Vice President & Regional Manager, Business Continuity Emergency Manager, URL http://www.bankofamerica.com Ken Parrish: //happycomp Charley Savage: Thanks Amy Sebring: If your organization is interested in becoming an EIIP Partner, please see the Partnership link on our home page. Avagene Moore: //smiley Great presentation, Charles! Hope you enjoyed it. Amy Sebring: Thanks to everyone for participating today. Welcome to the 'first- timers', and we hope you will join us again. Amy Sebring: //gavel