OEI 2003 National Meeting December 10, 2003 Scottsdale, AZ

1. In the Aftermath of Disaster:Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery ServicesRegional Operations OEI 2003 National Meeting December 10, 2003 Scottsdale, AZ

2. Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery Services – Regional Operations Much work already done: • Collaborative efforts to define infrastructure requirements • COOP/RRC IT needs defined • Information requirements still evolving

3. Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery Services – Regional Operations IT Responsibilities: • Provide data and voice communications at COOP site, if needed • Ability to expand capacity for additional staff • Support Regional Response Center/ response activities • Communicate with regional staff via multiple communication channels • Communicate with the public • Reestablish voice and data capacity at primary site

4. Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery Services – Regional Operations • COOP/RRC Needs defined in OEI memo Dated _/_/_ • List includes:

5. Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery Services – Regional Operations Information requirements: • Information needs dependent on type of incident and response • Grouped generically according to available infrastructure: • No connectivity • Limited connectivity • Full connectivity

6. Regional emergency contacts Incident Command System and forms GIS “go kit” with key regional data, portable plotter Facility, population and natural resource risk maps and access to GIS coverages Hard Copy maps: urban and regional DeLorme Quad map CD’s ER reference materials e..g. CAMEO PC NIOSH and DOT chemical reference CD’s Vital Records e.g. facility drawings SCRIBE Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery Services – Regional Operations Information Requirements – No Connectivity:

7. Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery Services – Regional Operations Information Requirements – Limited Connectivity: • Webmail • Agency phone book • Automated fax lists • Regional main office 800# access • Local budget system • Envirofacts • Internet and Intranet web sites and posting • Cyber/antihack tools

8. Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery Services – Regional Operations Information Requirements – Full Connectivity: • National program systems such as AIRS, PCS, RCRAInfo, ICIS, TRI • IFMS and ICMS • Data communications to commercial and ORD labs

9. Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery Services – Regional Operations Information requirements – What’s missing? • Geospatial data still problematic • GIS Workgroup focus: • COOP/RRC GIS Readiness Survey completed • Met in Dallas……. GIS and OSC staff to prepare white paper and marketing plan to address critical data needs • Created ER/COOP section of Work Group Web site: http://intranet.epa.gov/gis/emerg_resp-coop/index.html

10. Top five data sets identified as needed for emergency response: 1 roads 2 demographics 3 sensitive areas 4 drinking water intakes, general water features 5 schools Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery Services – Regional Operations COOP/RRC Readiness Survey Results Summary • Be careful about surveys; consensus seemed to be not quite what everyone expected. Missing DOQs and Scanned Topo maps.

11. Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery Services – Regional Operations Likely Scenarios: COOP/RRC • Variety of situations that could depend on mapping/GIS support • Emergency Response • Chemical releases, fires and oil spills • Natural disasters • Terrorism • COOP • Weather, power outages lead to short term facility shutdowns • Buildings unavailable as part of a broader disaster • Except for short term COOP activation, all of these require quick basemapping and modeling

12. Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery Services – Regional Operations GIS Needs…days 0-3 • Basemapping…simple maps of situation - important data: roads, admin. boundaries, scanned topo maps, DOQs, elevation data, hydrography, critical infrastructure (facilities, schools, water supplies, utilities, etc) • Georeferencing of events, activities and resources • Integration with weather data and quick dispersion model outputs • Mapping assistance in planning initial monitoring • Video display in response centers essential, • Quick dissemination of hard copy also vital

13. Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery Services – Regional Operations GIS Needs…..days 4-14 • Basemapping and logistical mapping requirements continued, standardized outputs begin to evolve. • Integration of early data, environmental information and models to help long term monitoring development and QA plans • Integrate SCRIBE (or other monitoring database system) with GIS to develop standard data visualizations, situation and pollution reports.

14. Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery Services – Regional Operations Acquisitions needed to support these GIS requirements: • National, updated address matched road and transportation data: matching administrative and census boundaries as web services and as downloadable data • Web service subscriptions for updated scanned quads and digital orthophotos, need option for downloads • These data are available commercially now, should be purchased this year and made available. • Adds value in most other EPA applications, including locational data improvement

15. Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery Services – Regional Operations Longer term, but vital spatial data investments: • 1:24 K NHD, Reach Address Database and Watershed Boundary dataset • Critical Infrastructure • Pipelines • Schools, hospitals • Water supplies • Endangered Species (NatureServe data), NOAA environmental scnsitivity maps • DayTime/Night Time Population Estimates (Landscan) • Need to participate collaborative efforts to acquire or build these data sets and fund our share of their development. • Chemical storage facilities • Utilites • Dams, canals

16. Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery Services – Regional Operations Regional spatial data issues: • Some regions are better off than others in these data areas, no consistency across the board • Currency and quality of data they have are issues (e.g. age of DOQs, use of Census roads for address matching, lack of agreement between Census roads and imagery) • Need consistent national datasets as default, use better local data when available

17. Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery Services – Regional Operations Data Management Lessons Learned from Region 2 August 2003 Emergency Response Drill: • IT support and specialized staff to support vital tools • Redundant network and internet access • Development of standard map templates and geocoding tools (GDT/DOQs)for a range of anticipated emergencies • Develop data management SOPs centered around SCRIBE, PDAs, and Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) • Define redundant information transfer and storage systems (FTP, e-mail, modems)

18. Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery Services – Regional Operations Data Management Lessons Learned from Region 2 August 2003 Emergency Response Drill…..continued: • Development of critical information in electronic format is a critical piece of the response process. This includes: • digital images, GIS themes, database files, etc. • The movement and interpretation of these work products between response groups is critical to developing response strategies and analysis of the situational picture. • If you don’t have the infrastructure in place, you waste the human resources.

19. Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery Services – Regional Operations Data Management Lessons Learned – Recommendations: 1. Identify specific IT staff for supporting vital tools and network access. 2. Provide connectivity for staff from cooperating organization to connect their computers to local network and/or get Internet access. 3. Develop standard map templates, geocoding tools for range of anticipated emergencies. 4. Develop data management SOPs centered around SCRIBE, PDAs and Laboratory Information Information System (LIMS). 5. Define redundant information transfer and storage systems, i.e. FTP, email, modem. 6. Standardizing and training of risk assessment staff on core tools

20. Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery Services – Regional Operations Data Management Lessons Learned – Recommendations: 7. Identify ER geospatial data needs assessment; fill any critical gaps. 8. Have follow- up drills to test data management SOPs and ability to produce critical information products. 9. Reasonable time targets to create and distribute information deliverables need to be developed. 10. Develop and assign a core of “technical specialists” assigned to assist the OSC in the field, including telecom technicians 11. Protocol needs to be established for the handling of sensitive information within the response organization. 12. Full Region 2 Drill lessons learned presentation and report at: http://www.epaosc.net/ResponseExercise

21. Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery Services – Regional Operations • Questions/Comments? Bob Messina Chief, Information Systems Branch Region 2Phone: 212-637-3342 Email: messina.bob@epa.gov Harvey Simon GIS Coordinator Region 2Phone: 212-637-3594 Email: simon.harvey@epa.gov