FEMA National Advisory Council Quarterly Meeting May 11-12, 2011 Kyoto Grand Hotel, 120 South Los Angeles Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY NAC MEMBER ATTENDANCE NAME DISCIPLINE Jim Featherstone, Chair Emergency Response Present Don Dunbar, Vice Chair Emergency Response Present Beth Armstrong Standard Settings Present David Barron Communications Present Ann Beauchesne Infrastructure Protection Present Paul Biedrzycki Public Health Present Joe Bruno Emergency Management Absent Steve Cassidy Emergency Response Absent Bob Connors Standard Settings Present Mark Cooper Emergency Management Present Russ Decker FEMA Administrator Selection Absent Nancy Dragani FEMA Administrator Selection Present Lee Feldman FEMA Administrator Selection Present Ellen Gordon Homeland Security Advisory Council Absent Jane Halliburton Local Elected Official Present John Hines State Elected Official Absent June Kailes Functional Accessibility Present Chuck Kearns Emergency Medical Provider Present Chuck Kmet Tribal Government Present Larry Larson FEMA Administrator Selection Present Bob Lay Emergency Management Present David Markenson In-Patient Medical Provider Present Sue Mencer FEMA Administrator Selection Present David Miller State Non-Elected Official Present Ken Miller Health Scientist Present Adora Obi Nweze FEMA Administrator Selection Present Mike Phillips Cyber Security Present Chuck Ramsey Local Government Absent Teresa Scott FEMA Administrator Selection Present John Stensgar Tribal Elected Government Present Mary Troupe Disabilities Present Kevin Yeskey U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Absent OTHER ATTENDEES NAME ORGANIZATION TITLE Patricia A. Kalla FEMA Designated Federal Officer Richard Serino FEMA Deputy Administrator Jason McNamara FEMA Chief of Staff Eileen Decker City of Los Angeles Deputy Mayor for Homeland Security and Public Safety Corey Gruber FEMA Assistant Administrator National Preparedness Dr. Dennis Mileti Natural Hazards Center University of Colorado Professor Emeritus, Sociology Dr. Michele Wood California State University, Fullerton Professor, Health Science Ed Connor FEMA Acting Administrator for Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration Ken Murphy FEMA Region X Administrator James Kish FEMA Director of Technological Hazards Division, National Preparedness and Protection Directorate Brian J. McDermott FEMA Director, Division of Preparedness and Response Nuclear Regulatory Commission Beth Zimmerman FEMA Deputy Associate Administrator, Response and Recovery ACTION ITEMS Please see below for a list of major outstanding action items that resulted from the meeting: ACTION ITEM TOPIC AREA RESPONSIBLE PARTY DUE DATE Work with the Deputy Administrator and Regional Administrators to determine the most appropriate way for NAC to be engaged in the RAC. RAC Office of the NAC 2012 Provide the NAC with a briefing on the comprehensive evaluation of the National Emergency Management Academy pilot and a briefing on the integration of comments into the Emergency Management Training and Education System (EMTES). Training FEMA September 2011 Participate in the second review of the Public Assistance Program scheduled for late summer. Recovery NAC September 2011 Codify public works as part of response and identify what FEMA can do to enhance this. Response NAC September 2011 MEETING SUMMARY-DAY ONE The meeting was called to order at 10:08 am PDT and roll call taken by Patricia Kalla, Designated Federal Officer. Jim Featherstone – Chair, FEMA National Advisory Council • The recent multiple significant events in Japan are an example of the Maximum of Maximum concept. • Face of emergency management changes between each Council meeting. • Council support to FEMA needs to be nimble, agile and flexible. Patricia Kalla – Designated Federal Officer, FEMA National Advisory Council • Reminded Council that any member who has a financial interest related to any item listed on the agenda and may be impacted by the ultimate outcome of any of these particular matters, or is affiliated by family or business relations to someone who may have a financial interest that may be affected by the ultimate outcome of any of these matters, must recuse him or herself from participation in discussions, deliberations or voting that issue. • Reminded members of requirement to have quorum to concur recommendations. Richard Serino – Deputy Administrator, FEMA • Provided an update on the recent tornado events in Mississippi, Georgia, and Alabama: - Visited the area, along with the FEMA Administrator, to meet with governors and emergency management directors, and see damage area. - The damage was significant, but people in those areas showed resiliency. - “Whole Community” becoming part of people’s vocabulary. - Biggest issue is housing. - FEMA’s FCO’s quickly responded and worked with community organizations to reduce duplicated efforts. • Mentioned the goal of being proactive and speeding up the response with a focus on survivors. - FEMA is a recommended tool for response and is putting into place metrics for arrival times of FEMA staff and partners. • FEMA is pushing to inform people, especially in rural areas, about registering for help, what people’s options are after a disaster, and general information. Important to have consistent message. - Not all people have access to internet during a disaster, so sharing information online shouldn’t be the only method. FEMA has seen success with cell phones and text messaging. Ensuring the right people are in the DRCs, such as bilingual speakers. - Sharing information prior to a disaster is important, but getting people to listen is the biggest challenge. • Discussed the internal shifts with FEMA’s workforce. - New hires are spending a week at EMI for orientation. - Tapping into emergency management academic institutions. • NAC members questions and comments included: - Points of reference from NGA to help better define catastrophic? NGA catastrophic means that the there is nothing left, ground is flat. - Growing concern about brain drain in mitigation insurance which is a critical piece to mitigation. - Craig’s work on the unified command concept. - The timeframe for implementing the National Disaster Recovery Framework should be shortened given the recent significant disasters. - For temporary housing, what is the current plan for innovation, such as bringing in manufactured homes? Eileen Decker – Deputy Mayor for Homeland Security and Public Safety, City of Los Angeles • Presented remarks on behalf of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa who was called at the last minute to Sacramento to deal with budget issues. • Greatest responsibility of government is to ensure the safety of the people. And be ready to assist in any capacity. Emergency management is key. • Government can’t work alone. Must call upon partnerships with private sector. Taking on task of early earthquake warning system. Corey Gruber – Assistant Administrator, FEMA National Preparedness • Provided overview of Presidential Policy Directive on National Preparedness (PPD8). • Council members questions and comments included: - Are the core competencies being defined from entry to senior level training? - Are the formulas and tools to assess the objectives and tasks in the first 72 hours scalable from the Federal response level to the local jurisdiction? The issue is the 72 hours plus and how to get the national and economic security issues back up and running. - Can the cyber catastrophic event be compared to a mass human causal event? - How can FEMA have a dialogue with the public about what they are willing to invest in their preparedness efforts and relate it to the roles of all federal levels? How do we address different audiences and enlist people? - The cost of stockpiling is high. Need to have conversation with business partners in addition to building a database of private sector resources. Dr. Dennis Mileti – Professor Emeritus, Sociology, Natural Hazards Center University of Colorado Dr. Michele Wood –Professor, Health Science, California State University, Fullerton • Provided overview of crisis communications and presented new scientific findings about how public information reaches, teaches, and motivates public disaster preparedness. • Council members questions and comments included: - How is the message standard and consistent when the scenario is constantly evolving, such as terrorism? • Standard message should focus on what people should do to prepare for when things happen instead of on risk. Preparations are generally the same in different hazards. - Messages to people with physical disabilities should address all hazards instead of specific events. - How can all-hazard preparedness activities be integrated into the fabric of daily life? Larry Larson – Chair, Federal Insurance & Mitigation Subcommittee • Several Council members expressed they were impressed with the FEMA mitigation graphic tools and communications. • Recommendation: The National Advisory Council recommends that FEMA messaging includes: - Guiding aspects of trust and empathy used in the FIMA Strategic Initiative be carried over to other FEMA programs and initiatives. - Communication to audience where the message is clear, simple, and visual (e.g. photos, graphics). - Examples for actions the audience can take and examples of consequences. - Leveraging current and region specific events. • The National Advisory Council concurred to move theses four recommendations forward to the FEMA Administrator. • FEMA Strategic Plan: - We value people and relationships. - We want to enhance our credibility to public and stakeholders. - Advance the full notion of disaster resistibility and communities and resilient communities. Chuck Kmet – Chair, Preparedness & Protection Subcommittee • The main discussion topics were of the Emergency Management Institute and NIMS credentialing working groups. Highlights from Emergency Management Institute Working Group included: - Academy classes be structured to represent the whole of community by including members of state, local, tribal, territorial, and federal, private sector, non governmental - Educational approaches should include adult learning, blended approach, and competency based education, and fixed period for review the currency of material - This program must address issues regarding delivery and integration - Higher education stakeholders must be involved throughout - Integration with other professional and organizational certification - Link to academic degrees with the issuance of appropriate associates, baccalaureate, graduate - Ability for institutions and individuals with appropriate qualifications to teach the courses. This could be accomplished through EMI acting as accreditor of the course and instructor. • Recommendation: The National Advisory Council recommends that FEMA provide the Council with a briefing on the comprehensive evaluation of the National Emergency Management Academy pilot and a briefing on the integration of comments into the Emergency Management Training and Education System (EMTES). This should be completed prior to the September 2011 National Advisory Council meeting and be coordinated with the Designated Federal Officer Patricia Kalla. • The National Advisory Council concurred to move this recommendation forward. • Recommendation: In regard to the implementation of the NIMS Credentialing Guide, the National Advisory Council made the following seven recommendations: - FEMA engages the National Advisory Council in the ongoing development of the credentialing process. - The implementation and distribution of this Guideline highlights the importance of a process behind the issuance of a credential (badge). - FEMA develops a common lexicon (resource typing) with an associated dictionary for the terminology to be used on the credential that defines and distinguishes qualifications and credentials. - FEMA creates and distributes guidelines for the process of credentialing, which includes either the full or partial revocation of the credential, and establishes the framework and commonalties needed but leaves the actual logistics to the entity credentialing. - FEMA develops a template for a credential term with the associated certifications and qualifications. - FEMA conducts a formal review of other credential specifications and creates a cross walk reference of differences in these requirements so to the extent possible a single credential can be used. - If a sponsoring organization identifies an entity which they believe needs a credential, the sponsoring organization may assume the role of credentialing and issuance to the sponsored, as needed. • The National Advisory Council concurred to move these seven recommendations forward. The proceedings recessed at 5:32 pm PDT. MEETING SUMMARY-DAY TWO The meeting was called to order at 8:30 am PDT and roll call taken by Patricia Kalla, Designated Federal Officer. Teresa Scott –Chair, Response and Recovery Subcommittee • Recommendation: Based on questions from the FEMA Issue Paper, the National Advisory Council recommends that the following eight concepts be incorporated into the Bottom-Up Review of the Public Assistance (PA) Program: - Self-Managed States – incentivizes a broader comprehensive role for states and locals in managing the recovery role with the federal government providing high-level oversight. One example of the pros and cons of this is the Enhanced Mitigation Plan. • Administrative Costs – This structure may be one incentive mechanism. State and local administrative allowance needs to be truly reflective of costs incurred rather than a set percentage split. Possibly build in administrative costs into covering your cost share requirements. - Formula Reimbursement for Emergency Protective Measures – a formula for reimbursement that is reflective of the effort rather than simply supported by time and materials documentation. For example, shelter management could be reimbursed on a per capita basis and some regard must be included for the level of effort of volunteers. • Background: There was additional discussion regarding handling of debris. Excessive cost and effort of current oversight leads to a delay in recovery efforts. For example, this could be addressed through the use of historical data in a formula for covering these costs after a disaster. - Reimbursement for Permanent Work – Assuming the broader role for states and localities, this would be a component of the comprehensive plan for response, recovery and mitigation. Move from one-for-one reimbursement to overall recovery within the state and local’s broader comprehensive framework possibly utilizing formula or insurance model based processes. - Immediate Needs Funding: • Cost of borrowing funds – as a part of the comprehensive plan, interest costs paid by State and, particularly, local government for borrowing fund to implement response and recovery activities should be a reimbursable expense under PA. • Loan guarantees – State and local governments would be able to borrow at a lower rate if the PA program provides loan guarantees to financial institutions providing loans. - Hazard Mitigation Program (404 and 406 Program) – There needs to be further ties and incentives to do this as a part of any comprehensive plan in order to have mitigation programs and recovery operate in a more coordinated manner. The cost-benefit analysis needs to be restructured in order to allow local governments, of all sizes, to effectively participate. - Revision of Categories –remove distinction between small and large projects. Alternatively, remove the limitation on small projects if the distinction cannot be removed. - Snow Policy/Wildfire Policy – Review of current policies need to ensure consistency with the definition of major damage as defined by within the Stafford Act. - FEMA Lead Coordinator – Consistent with the National Advisory Council’s previous recommendations on the National Response Framework, FEMA serves as the lead coordinator to bring other federal partners and their programs to complement FEMA’s work on PA projects. • The National Advisory Council concurred to move these eight recommendations forward. • Recommendation: Based on the questions outlined in the FEMA Issue Paper, the National Advisory Council recommends that in order to implement the Whole Community concept in Catastrophic Planning, FEMA needs to - Engage academic and direct existing academic partners to establish the hypothetical benchmarks (baseline) specific to the community. - Develop the tools and identify the barriers to real-time outcome data collection to both modify the benchmarks and modify progress toward the benchmarks. • Include mitigation, preparedness, protection, response, and recovery and occur concurrent to the event, not solely occur after the event. - Push out the whole community catastrophic planning initiative to regions in order to draw State, local stakeholders. - Provide tools for State, local, and tribal officials for subcomponents to self-determine what components make up their Community of Whole, and, therefore, the solutions(s) for resiliency that work for them. - Show how public input and lessons learned from past disasters has led to changing behavior, motivating people to participate, and engaging the community. - Expand planning initiative for whole community out the regions in order to draw from local and state stakeholders. • The National Advisory Council concurred to move these six recommendations forward. Ed Connor –Administrator (Acting), FEMA Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration • Provided status update on the flood insurance policies, providers, and policy holders. • More people may join the Community Rating System (CRS) if joining and achieving was celebrated. That individuals and communities are not communicating benefits widely to the constituents within those cities. • Council expressed their interest in hearing more information about community participation in the National Flood Insurance program, and what it means in terms of public property, public entities, and self-insurance. Ken Murphy – Regional Administrator, FEMA Region X • Provided an overview of tsunamis and no notice events. - If an earthquake happens within 200 miles of the US coast, we will have 5, 10 or 15 minutes to respond. - Some coastal communities, such as in Oregon, are constructing demonstration buildings that are resistant to tsunamis with parking on the bottom floor and roofs that hold 3000 people. • Council members commented that the messaging from the Federal Government in the event of tsunamis needs to be improved and roles should be clarified. James Kish –Director of Technological Hazards Division, FEMA National Preparedness and Protection DirectorateBrian J. McDermott –Director, Division of Preparedness and Response Nuclear Regulatory Commission • Provided an overview of Aligning the Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program with the National Preparedness System. - Given the events in Japan, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission developed a task force to examine any immediate actions that need to be taken relative to US Nuclear Facilities today and to review the long term actions around the design of US Nuclear Facilities to ensure there enough margin in the design assumptions of those plants. Currently, the NRC found no immediate actions to take. - 6.5 to 7 million people live in the ‘Emergency Planning Zone’, within 10 miles of a nuclear power facility; 150 million people live the ‘Ingestion Zone’, within 50 miles of a nuclear power facility. - At times, the off-site emergency response for nuclear facilities, and the onsite emergency response are not aligned, and there is not a lot, or any, overlap and mutual understanding of procedures. This is a problem that arises from the closed off nature of nuclear power. Elizabeth Zimmerman –Deputy Assistant Administrator, FEMA Response and Recovery • Provided an update on the real event exercises that include the private sector and applying lessons learned to test the doctrines. One of the lessons learned was decentralizing the program to the neighborhoods. • HUD currently moves temporary units in and out for post-disaster housing; is there any discussion about moving toward a more permanent solution, such as using foreclosed homes? • HowwouldFEMAestablishgovernancewithinapostmetadisasterhousingcomplex? • MembersexpressedinterestinlearningmoreaboutdisastercasemanagementandFEMA'sconnectionwith advocacy organizations focused on disabilities and functional needs. • What state laws and regulations were waived, the period it was waived, and the reasoning behind it should be included in the review process. • The recovery process should be part of the national level exercises. The meeting adjourned at 3:15 pm PDT. I hereby certify that to the best of my knowledge, the foregoing executive summary of the National Advisory Council Quarterly Meeting on May 11-12, 2011 is accurate and complete. Signature James Featherstone Chairman FEMANational AdvisoryCouncil