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1 NCHRP Research Report 931: A Guide to Emergency Management at State Transportation Agencies (2020 Guide) was developed for use by state transportation agencies as they plan and develop their organizational functions, roles, and responsibilities for emergency management within the all-hazards context of the National Incident Management System (NIMS). The 2020 Guide is an update to NCHRP Report 525: Surface Transportation Security, Volume 16: A Guide to Emergency Response Planning at State Transportation Agencies (2010 Guide), which provided an approach to all-hazards emergency management and documented existing prac- tices in emergency response planning. Similar to the 2010 Guide, the 2020 Guide is designed to support executive management and emergency response planners as they assess their emergency management programs and identify areas needing improvement. The 2020 Guide will help state transportation agency program level managers and their counterparts at other levels of government plan, organize, staff, train, exercise, manage, implement, and fund preparations to carry out their emergency management responsibilities. These include the primary and supporting agencies identified in each stateâs Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) under Emergency Support Function (ESF) #1âTransportation. These responsibilities include all transportation modes that are under state control or influence and the functions agencies perform to support multistate, state, and local emergencies. Significant advances in emergency management, changing operational roles at state DOTs and other transportation organizations, and federal guidance issued since 2010 have resulted in a need to re-examine requirements for state transportation agency emergency manage- ment functions, roles, and responsibilities. The 2020 Guide incorporates current practices and guidance in emergency management. The 2020 Guide expands the focus from emergency response to all aspects of emergency management and reflects the evolving threats and hazards to transportation networks and systems. In addition, the 2020 Guide addresses emergency management in the broader con- text of community, regional, and national resilience and sustainability. The 2020 Guide is similar to the 2010 Guide in the following aspects: ⢠NIMS-compliant. It fully embraces the incident command, joint planning, standard- ization, and performance-based improvements in incident/emergency management (NIMS refresh 2017). ⢠All-hazards oriented. It considers the full range of hazards and threats from minor traffic incidents to catastrophic events. It applies to all transportation agencies, at the state, local, tribal, and territorial levels, and to interregional coalitions. A Guide to Emergency Management at State Transportation Agencies P R E F A C E
2 A Guide to Emergency Management at State Transportation Agencies ⢠Multimodal. It addresses all modes and sectors that use the highway system, including personal travel, transit, and commercial vehicle transport. ⢠Oriented to safety and management efficiency. It addresses the safety of respond- ers and victims and offers guidance for preserving public and private infrastructure and socioeconomic activities, and for rapid restoration to normalcy. The 2020 Guide is an update to the 2010 Guide. The 2020 Guide explores how transporta- tion fits into the traditional emergency management community and what transportation offers. It is important to understand that a state transportation agency will always fulfill a role in the emergency management effort for all incidents from the routine traffic inci- dent through major emergencies to catastrophic events. State agency plans and procedures are expected (required if the agency seeks federal compensation) to be related to state and regional emergency structures and plans. This involves multiagency, multijurisdictional cooperation in emergency planning and operations. The 2020 Guide also provides legal and institutional perspective, because it is imperative that a transportation agency understand what it must or should do and assess its capability to do it. The 2020 Guide does not directly address aviation, marine, heavy rail, or pipeline modes, although these modes and the threats against them can impact transportation infrastruc- ture and operations. These modes should be considered, as appropriate, in the emergency management process (e.g., aviation and marine have a place in emergency evacuations). Finally, the 2020 Guide is a guide not a standard.
