Communications Worker Credentialing Requirements (2017)

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Final Report – Page iv Table of Contents List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. v  List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ v  Project Summary ........................................................................................................................ vi  Chapter 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1  Background ............................................................................................................................... 1  Objective ................................................................................................................................... 1  Chapter 2 Credential Elemental Analysis (Phase I) ...................................................................... 2  Task 1. Elemental Analysis ....................................................................................................... 3  Literature Review ................................................................................................................... 4  National Agencies and Programs .............................................................................................. 6  Department of Homeland Security (DHS) (www.dhs.gov) and National Incident Management System (NIMS) (www.fema.gov/national-incident-management-system) ........ 6  Department of Defense (DoD) – Defense Biometric Identification System (http://dbids.dmdc.mil/about.html) ........................................................................................ 10  FEMA (www.fema.gov) ........................................................................................................ 10  National Emergency Management Basic/Advanced Academy and Emergency Management Professional Program (EMPP) (http://training.fema.gov/empp/basic.aspx http://training.fema.gov/empp/advanced.aspx) .................................................................... 12  Office of National Capital Region Coordination (http://hsema.dc.gov/) ............................... 12  The National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) (http://iqcsweb.nwcg.gov/) .................. 12  FCC ......................................................................................................................................... 13  Private Sector Communications .............................................................................................. 14  Civilian Emergency Assistance Groups ............................................................................... 14  Elemental Analysis Matrix .................................................................................................... 16  Task 2. Requirements to Obtain (RTO) Analysis .................................................................... 17  Task 3. Regulatory Analysis .................................................................................................... 19  Summary of Current Credentialing Practices across Different Agencies ................................ 21  Task 4. Interim Report and Panel Meeting .............................................................................. 24  Phase II: Identification of Effective Practices .............................................................................. 24  Task 5: Identification of EffectivePractices .............................................................................. 24  DHS/NIMS Credentialing ......................................................................................................... 24  DOI Credentialing .................................................................................................................... 28 

Final Report – Page v Private Sector Credentialing .................................................................................................... 28  Appendix A: Additional Sources .................................................................................................. 30  Selected State Emergency Plans ............................................................................................ 30  References .................................................................................................................................. 33  List of Figures Figure 1. National departments and agencies issuing worker credentialing for various emergency response activities. ..................................................................................................... 4  Figure 2. Stakeholder emergency response for different levels of incident management on multi- jurisdictional deployments. ............................................................................................................ 5  Figure 3. Example of PIV-I card required for state and regional employees. ............................... 7  Figure 4. Example of TWIC card. .................................................................................................. 8  Figure 5. Example of AW badge. .................................................................................................. 9  Figure 6. Example of national training programs and associated costs. ..................................... 11  Figure 7. Example of Red Card. ................................................................................................. 13  Figure 8. Flow chart illustrating the security credentials processes for hazardous materials transport. ..................................................................................................................................... 25  Figure 9. Key components of TWIC program. ............................................................................ 26  Figure 10. Comparison of TSA and state agency credentialing processes. ............................... 27  Figure 11. SCTE Certification Process. ...................................................................................... 28  List of Tables Table 1. Elemental Analysis Matrix Showing the Credential Type and Attributes....................... 16  Table 2. RTO Matrix .................................................................................................................... 18  Table 3. State Emergency Management Credentialing Summary Matrix ................................... 19  Table 4. Classification of Identified Credentials Function of Security Level or Access Area ...... 23  Table 5. Vetting and Communication Framework for Worker Credentialing Programs .............. 29 

Final Report – Page vi Project Summary Transportation agencies at both state and federal levels are increasingly challenged by newer and greater responsibilities and roles related to natural disasters and other emergency events such as terrorist attacks or industrial accidents. It is expected that the costs related to such disasters will increase. One major activity during and after these events is the restoration of power and communications as part of a complex emergency management plan once alternative traffic access routes (i.e., emergency routes) to the incident site have been established. This report focuses on credentialing requirements needed for communications workers to physically access disaster-impacted areas to restore the damaged wireline telecommunication networks. Under the advice of a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) panel that reviewed the impact of Hurricane Katrina on communications networks, the Warning, Alert and Response Network (WARN) Act designated cable companies and other telecommunications services as “essential service providers” for emergency management. Credentialing is a system by which identification cards or other tokens are used to authenticate a person and verify their expertise and qualifications for the purpose of access. The literature search conducted for this report indicated that the majority of credentialing efforts for emergencies are led by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which consolidated federal emergency management and response agencies following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. DHS leads these initiatives through two major federal agencies: the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which are responsible for large-scale emergency response functions. Other agencies, such as the FCC, are developing policies, plans, guidelines, and procedures to aid and improve ongoing efforts to develop a national credentialing system. This report presents information on established and emerging national and state credentialing programs and systems that provide insights on how communications workers can be credentialed and given physical access to repair, service, or replace communications or network infrastructure during and after emergency incidents. Specifically, basic credentialing elements (i.e., security attributes, related costs, time to acquire, issuing agencies, etc.), issuing agencies, security exemptions, and identification of effective practices were researched to cover critical aspects that facilitate the restoration of public safety communications. Credentialing data were structured by a matrix containing elemental analysis, requirements to obtain access passes, and regulatory specifications needed to issue access permits for communications workers. As such this information can prove beneficial for crafting and proposing credentialing guidelines that apply to the communications industry under DHS jurisdiction. As DHS also noted, efforts are under way to spur the implementation of a national standard for the credentialing of telecommunications repair workers encompassing all communications infrastructure (i.e., wireless, cable, satellite). This process will not only allow communications infrastructure providers and their contracted workers priority access to affected areas but will also track the status of their restoration operations in the aftermath of a disaster through “situational awareness” information acquired and submitted to monitoring agencies. The findings of this research indicate that although there are no standardized national level credentialing programs or systems in place for communications repair workers, the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and FEMA play key roles in establishing appropriate credentialing criteria to facilitate emergency public safety communications capabilities. Currently, the FCC is working closely with the communications industry to enhance first responder interoperability, which allows communications infrastructure providers and their

Final Report – Page vii contracted workers to promptly access an affected area during and after a disaster. As noted by the FCC independent review panel, several restorations of public communications were delayed or hampered by the lack of proper credentialing. For example, problems with maintaining and restoring power for communications infrastructure significantly affected the recovery process during the Hurricane Katrina aftermath. The findings also indicate that the identification, qualification, and classification of incident management personnel are the key elements in providing appropriate public safety network communications worker credentials. Typically, Personal Identity Verification (PIV) and PIV- Interoperable cards, the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC), the Red Card, and the Hazardous Material Endorsement badge, along with other various licenses and permits, are the main credentials for emergency responses. Correspondingly, departments of transportation (DOTs) are issuing similar credentials through their emergency operations centers. In addition to standardizing responder credentials, NIMS and FEMA, through their National Integration Center (NIC), offer training programs on developing and implementing emergency preparedness for communications and resource management. Incident response practices and organizational processes related to vetting and certification to ensure proper credentialing are identified herein. Finally, this report identifies the major steps required during the credentialing process (e.g., enrollment, background check, etc.) that can potentially be extended to other nonfederal agencies that may wish to develop and implement a nationally reliable and effective credentialing system for communications restoration workers.