Title: WaterWastewater Agency Response Network WARN Atlantic States Rural Water Works Association Rhode Isl
1Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network
(WARN)Atlantic States Rural Water Works
AssociationRhode Island WARNMay 30, 2008
2Three Subjects
- WARN Introduction
- CalWARN, the evolution into a National WARN
program - CalWARN response to 2007 San Diego Fires
3Establishing Resiliency in the Water SectorThe
WARN Initiative
4Objectives
- What is and why consider WARN
- Supporting Actions
5Why do we need WARN?
6Because stuff happensUtilities will need HELP!
7Preparing for
8Responding and Recovering
9All-Hazards
10WARNs Support Resiliency
Resilience -- the ability to accommodate change
gracefully and without catastrophic failure, is
critical in times of disaster. (Foster
1997) Local resiliency with regard to disasters
means that a locale is able to withstand an
extreme natural event without suffering
devastating losses, damage, diminished
productivity, or quality of life and without a
large amount of assistance from outside the
community. (Mileti 1999) Resiliency is the
capability of an asset, system, or network to
maintain its function during or recover from a
terrorist attack or other incident (NIPP 2006).
11WARNs Link to the Federal Strategy
12National Incident Management System (NIMS)
- Full compliance with NIMS is an eligibility
condition for all federal preparedness assistance
grants for state, territorial, tribal, local
entities in FY 2008. - These criteria include formalizing mutual aid
agreements with surrounding communities and
states for the purposes of sharing equipment,
personnel, and facilities during emergencies.
13National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP)
- NIPP released July 7, 2006
- Risk management framework uses an all-hazards
approach - Resiliency is a key overarching goal
- 17 CI/KR Sectors Water Wastewater
- Sector-Specific Plan
- Under White House review
14The Water Sector Vision
- A secure and resilient drinking water and
wastewater infrastructure that provides clean and
safe water as an integral part of daily life.
This Vision assures the economic vitality of and
public confidence in the nation's drinking water
and wastewater through a layered defense of
effective preparedness and security practices in
the sector.
15Supporting Goal 3 Objective 2
- The water sector is actively seeking to leverage
the success and lessons learned from existing
intrastate mutual aid assistance networks to
support the formation of state-level
Water/Wastewater Agency Response Networks (WARNs) - AWWA, with the support of an existing USEPA
grant, has been facilitating the establishment of
WARNs nationally via regional workshops
16WARN The Beginning (April 2006)
17Utilities Helping Utilities (Feb 2006)
- Joint Policy Statement
- 8 major water organizations
- Encourages the creation of intrastate mutual aid
assistance networks - Provides for greater water sector resiliency
against natural or manmade incident
18The WARN Action Plan
- Utilities Helping Utilities
- Outlines 10 key steps in the formation of a WARN
- Includes sample agreement that satisfies NIMS and
comparative assessment of existing WARN programs - Recognized by DHS as model for the water sector
www.NationalWARN.org
19Whats Involved - 10 Steps to Success
- Identify interest in starting a program
- Form an initial leadership team
- Prepare a kick-off session
- Establish a steering committee
- Identify a mission for the program and steering
committee goals - Review use of state regions
- Identify mutual aid and assistance activation
criteria - Draft an agreement
- Create facilitation tools
- Maintain the program
20Workshops Helped Implement the 10 Steps
- 2006
- May 11 - WA, OR, UT, NV, ID, AZ (Oakland)
- July 6 - KY, TN, GA (Chattanooga)
- Aug 6 - SC, NC (Charlotte)
- Nov 1 VA, MD, DE, PA, DC (Baltimore)
- Dec 5 AR, MO, IL, IN (St. Louis)
- 2007
- Feb 23 AL, MS (Meridian)
- Mar 15 OH, MI, WV, NY, CT (Cleveland)
- Apr 26 MN, WI, IA (Minneapolis)
- May 16 ME, VT, RI, NH, MA (Boston)
- July 11 - OK, SD, ND, KS, NE (Denver)
- July 12 - CO, NM, MT, ID, WY (Denver)
- 2008
- Apr 29, HI (Honolulu)
- May 8, AK (Anchorage)
Note CA, FL, TX had a WARN in place when the
workshops started. LA was right behind.
21Whos Involved?
- Utility owner/operators
- Professional association representation
- (AWWA, NRWA, WEF, sanitation association, etc.)
- State water and wastewater primacy agency
- (State health, environmental protection, etc.)
- State emergency management and/or homeland
security agency - (State EMAC coordinator)
- US EPA region representation
22Benefits of Having an Agreement
- Increases planning coordination
- Provides an emergency contact list
- Enhances access to specialized resources
- Expedites arrival of aid
- FEMA is muscular and provides support, but is not
agile - Reduces administrative conflict
- Signed agreement in place
- Workmans comp, indemnification, etc. identified
- Increases community and customer hope
- The right resources with the right skills are
available
23Benefits Avoid the Bureaucracy
24Examples of WARN in Action
- Electrical components cleaned and replaced
- Control panels rebuilt
- Electrical motors replaced and rebuilt
- By-pass pumps installed
- Lift stations cleaned with vactor jet trucks
- Water main leaks located and repaired
- Valves located and isolated
- Chlorination equipment rebuilt
- Portable standby generators connected
- Any other work that required bailing wire, rubber
bands, duct tape, bubble gum or anything else
lying around - Excerpted from FlaWARN experiences during
Katrina, Rita and Wilma (2006)
25WARN Status April 2008
WARN State Agreement Pending Steering
Committee Leadership Team Workshop
AL, AZ, MA, NH, NV - Signed or draft agreement
does not directly include private utilities.
26The WARN Ultimatum
27Resource Typing Manual
- Purpose is to provide common set of terms for
requesting and providing certain resources that
only water sector utilities are likely capable of
providing - Follows FEMA guidance for typing resources which
is focused on teams that could be deployed in
response to an incident
www.NationalWARN.org
28EPA Efforts to Support WARN
- Mutual Aid Assistance Operational Plan
- Mutual Aid Table Top Exercise Facilitation Guide
- Interstate Mutual Aid/Assistance
29Purpose of the Sample MAAOP
- The Sample WARN Mutual Aid/Assistance
Operational Plan was developed to help each WARN
create procedures on how to activate and
implement its signed agreement - The MAAOP is the operational extension of the
WARN agreement - It is based on the NIMS IS 706 course materials
and recommended procedures - How to apply IS 706 and encourage consistency
30What is the Sample MAAOP
- The MAAOP provides pre-emergency, emergency, and
recovery activity suggestions for a WARN - Geared towards management level, not field
- It is a sample that is meant to be modified
31Sample MAAOP Overview
- The Sample MAAOP covers topics such as
- Concept of Emergency Operations
- WARN Activation
- WARN Member Mobilization
- WARN Coordination
- WARN Documentation
- After Action Report and Improvement Plan
- Supporting Documents, Checklists, and Forms
- Reader Notes boxes provide hints and
suggestions to assist in creating a MAAOP
32Purpose of the Exercise Materials
- The Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network
(WARN) Tabletop Exercise Facilitator Guide,
includes information a WARN can use in the
development and execution of a tabletop exercise
to create, update, and/or improve its program - Exercising allows WARN Members and other response
agencies to increase their chance of success in
responding to an actual event through WARN
33Exercise Materials Overview
- Similar to Simple Exercise
- Focus on Coordination
- 10 Step Guide
- How to set up conduct the exercise
- Participant handouts and presentation slides
- Discussion Questions
34Exercise Materials Overview
- Discussion Questions
- Agreement Activation
- Notification
- Resource Mobilization
- Resource Demobilization
- Coordination with Response Partners
35Three Exercise Scenarios
Flood
Earthquake
Hurricane
36Interstate Aid/Assistance via EMAC
- The National Emergency Management Agencys (NEMA)
Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) is
being explored as a potential tool to share
resources across state lines - EPA developed an outreach document, titled EMAC
Tips for the Water Sector, which includes
information the water sector can apply to utilize
EMAC more effectively
37What Exactly is EMAC
- Congressionally ratified emergency management
assistance agreement - All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto
Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands participate - A state-to-state compact accessed through your
state Emergency Management Agency - Facilitates interstate mutual aid/assistance for
multiple sectors/disciplines
38EMAC Tips Document Overview
- Provides background information on EMAC
provisions and processes - Includes list of EMAC tips to complete before a
disaster - Know the law
- Review all official EMAC request paperwork
- Includes list of EMAC tips to complete during a
disaster - Put out an early advisory through your state
Emergency Management Agency and EMAC - Use personal contacts to your advantage
39Bottom Line Establishing Resiliency
- All emergencies are local and require a local
response capability. - Participation in a WARN agreement will enhance
your utilitys preparedness and overall
resiliency against any disaster. - In its most basic form, WARN is a low or no-cost
action that helps ensure the continuity of
operations of the water infrastructure vital to
the well being of every community.