© Michael Rieger/EP FEMA Region VIII Annual Report 2008 January 2, 2009 Table of Contents Introduction 1 Goal 1: Preparedness is the Foundation 1 Goal 2: The Sharp End of the Spear 8 Goal 3: Knowledge is Empowering 12 Goal 4: Our People Make It Happen 14 Goal 5: Get It Done 15 Conclusion 17 Appendix A: Personnel Status & Recruitment 18 Appendix B: 2008 Financial Assistance Report 19 Appendix C: RAC Recommendations for 2009 21 Appendix D: Regional Performance Measures & Metrics 23 Produced by Donovan Puffer, Regional Analyst, based on an initial concept by Garry Briese, Regional Administrator. Introduction The year 2008 was a year of firsts for our region. For the first time since 1908, a national political convention was held here as Denver hosted the Democratic National Convention in August, with 170 participating jurisdictions, 65 public safety and service agencies, and more than 50,000 visitors. In 2008 the State of Utah, FEMA, and a wide range of other stakeholders launched one of the largest planning initiatives in the Region’s history – focused on the hazard of a catastrophic earthquake in Utah along the Wasatch Fault. And for the first time in 15 years, the state of North Dakota did not receive a major disaster declaration in 2008 – a streak Region VIII staff and North Dakotans surely would like to see continue in 2009 and beyond. Preparing for a complex, high-visibility event like the Democratic National Convention gave the region a tremendous opportunity to plan, train, and collaborate with an incredible variety of jurisdictions and cooperating agencies. It was a testament to their professionalism that the events comprising the convention were conducted smoothly and without disruption. The Convention preparations served as a homeland security/emergency management exercise, providing all of us the opportunity to work closely as local, state, and federal partners. As a result, the level of preparedness and security for Denver, Colorado, and the region were significantly enhanced. As we look forward to a new year with new challenges ahead of us, Region VIII takes a moment with this Annual Report to summarize the key activities and accomplishments of the previous year, described under the goals of Region VIII’s Strategic Plan. In doing so, we hope to provide our staff, partners, and stakeholders with information to assess the “State of the Region,” review the path we’ve taken together in 2008, and forge the way ahead in 2009. Goal 1: Preparedness is the Foundation. Lead an integrated approach that strengthens the Region's ability to address disasters, emergencies, and terrorist events. In CY2008, Region VIII accomplished work in the following areas to build a culture of preparedness and encourage safer, stronger, more resilient and sustainable communities: Regional Organization. Region VIII worked throughout 2008 to implement the Regional National Preparedness Concept of Operations, a national initiative to manage in a standardized way the transition of new and existing preparedness programs, personnel, and responsibilities from DHS and FEMA headquarters to the Regional Offices. As part of the new concept of operations, each FEMA Regional Office established the position of Federal Preparedness Coordinator to coordinate preparedness efforts in the region and oversee the realignment of programs and personnel in the National Preparedness Division. Region VIII’s Federal Preparedness Coordinator, Tim Deal, formerly of the U.S. Coast Guard, joined the regional staff on March 17. A related organizational change involved creation of a Grants Management Branch in the Management Division, to administer grant programs to assist state and local preparedness. Region VIII also established a new Disaster Operations Division in 2008, to coordinate response efforts and programs in the region. The Disaster Operations and National Preparedness divisions established a working partnership this past year on a number of joint regional planning and preparedness projects, described in more detail in the following pages. Alignment with National Standards. For many years, Region VIII States have been promoting a culture of preparedness, working to build more resilient communities, and contributing to the development and attainment of nationwide standards for emergency management. For 2008, all six States served by Region VIII have approved State Hazard Mitigation Plans in place. All six States were assessed to be in full compliance with National Incident Management System requirements for FY2008. All six States updated their emergency operations plans within the past three years. In 2008, North Dakota undertook a particularly challenging revision of its emergency operations plan to reflect national doctrine, including the Target Capabilities List, the National Response Framework, and the National Incident Management System. All six States have shelter plans, Citizen Corps Councils, and Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) Groups or Unmet Needs Committees in place, which are key indicators of capability-based planning and preparedness. The Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) is a nationally recognized, standards-based, voluntary assessment and accreditation process for State and local government emergency management programs. EMAP accreditation is based on compliance with collaboratively developed national standards. Accreditation is a means of demonstrating, through program assessment, documentation and on-site assessment by an independent team, that a program meets national standards. Within our Region, North Dakota was an early adopter of the EMAP concept, and was integrally involved in the development of the EMAP Standards. In 2003-2005, five of the six States served by Region VIII completed comprehensive baseline assessments using the 2003 EMAP Standards, and to date three of our States – North Dakota, Montana, and Utah – have achieved full EMAP accreditation, a distinction attained by only 17 States nationwide. Regional Advisory Council. Region VIII convened meetings of its Regional Advisory Council in August and November 2008. The Council welcomed three new members in 2008, including Regional Administrator Garry Briese; Chief Dwight Henninger, chief of police for Vail, Colorado, and current president of the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police; and Jeff Jahnke, Colorado’s state forester. The intent of the Regional Advisory Council is to create a cross-cutting panel of experienced representatives drawn from a range of jurisdictions and disciplines to advise the Regional Administrator on the unique characteristics, challenges, and opportunities of the region. During its November meeting, Council members agreed on a set of eight recommendations to promote a shared vision and common goals among our regional partners. See Appendix C for the full text of the recommendations. Regional Interagency Steering Committee. As one of Region VIII’s longest standing forums for information sharing and coordination, the Regional Interagency Steering Committee continued to hold quarterly meetings in 2008, typically attended by 75-100 representatives of regional federal agencies and States. The RISC provided a medium for information sharing on a range of initiatives in 2008, including the rollout of the National Response Framework; planning for the 2008 Democratic National Convention; and planning for a major earthquake along the Wasatch Fault in Utah. During the past year, the RISC launched a significant realignment project, including creation of an Executive Committee and subcommittees to collaborate on Mitigation, Catastrophic Planning, Critical Infrastructure, Tribal Issues, Community Preparedness, and Crisis Communications/External Affairs. Some of their collaborative efforts are described in more detail below. 2008 Democratic National Convention. Culminating more than a year of planning, Region VIII participated in contingency operations during the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, August 25-28. This highly complex National Special Security Event involved more than 170 cooperating jurisdictions, 65 public safety and service organizations, and 50,000 visitors, including 6,000 delegates, 14,000 party members, and 15,000 members of the media. A record crowd of 84,000 people attended Senator Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at Invesco Field at Mile High on August 28 – as shown in our cover photo, taken just as Senator Obama prepared to speak. Region VIII produced a comprehensive Concept of Operations, Operations Supplement, and Field Operations Guide to document the contingency plans and operations for the event. Region VIII had liaison officers at the Denver emergency operations center and other key coordination centers in the area. The Region staffed its Regional Response Coordination Center and, with the National Incident Management Team-East, established a standby Joint Field Office in the Denver area. Region VIII Public Affairs staff worked closely with their local, state, and federal counterparts through the DNC Public Affairs Subcommittee to help them establish a Joint Information Center and a “virtual” Joint Information System, train personnel in Joint Information System processes, and staff the Joint Information Center in the Denver Emergency Operations Center for 24/7 operations throughout the event. The coordination and planning that went into this event provided an opportunity for a wide range of federal, state, local, and private-sector partners to work together, and significantly enhanced the level of preparedness for the Denver metropolitan area, the state, and the region. Catastrophic Planning for a Utah Earthquake. One of the Regional Advisory Council’s recommendations for 2009 was to commend an ongoing initiative to plan for a catastrophic earthquake in Utah, and to advocate using this planning effort as a basis for enhancing readiness throughout the region. In 2008 Region VIII and Utah continued work on a joint planning effort to produce an emergency operations plan for earthquake response, based on the planning scenario of a 7.0 earthquake occurring along the Wasatch Fault. Region VIII Mitigation staff worked to develop a major Salt Lake earthquake catastrophic planning scenario, which included the integration of Shakemap and HAZUS; helped organize and deliver a FEMA course in Salt Lake City in “Rapid Visual Screening of Buildings for Seismic Hazards;” and worked with Utah to develop a new guidebook titled, “Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country.” Region VIII planners worked with their counterparts in Utah and in other regional federal agencies to agree on the scope, deliverables, tasks, and timeline for the planning project. Members of the RISC in November formed subcommittees to accomplish various aspects of the planning work. On December 12, Region VIII management met with Utah Governor Jon Huntsman and senior staff to brief them on the status of the planning effort and ensure it reflected the Governor’s executive direction. Community Preparedness and Participation. In 2008, Region VIII supported efforts underway by our States, tribes, and local jurisdictions to build preparedness and resiliency at the community level by coordinating and encouraging citizen participation. One of the ways we supported community preparedness efforts this year was by developing a Community Preparedness Program Status Measurement Tool. The tool can be used by any State to assess where they stand in terms of building, improving, and maintaining the essential capabilities of prepared, resilient communities and citizens. After being tested in our Region, the tool is being offered for use in other regions of the country. This year Region VIII also created its “Partners in Preparedness” recognition program, initially to highlight local volunteers in the Citizen Corps program who devoted their time and effort to promoting community preparedness. Subsequently, the Partners in Preparedness program was expanded to enable Region VIII to recognize a broad range of individuals and organizations throughout the region who contributed significantly to the readiness of their community, jurisdiction, or organization. State and Local Mitigation Planning. Region VIII provided extensive technical assistance and support to all six States as they worked to complete and gain approval of standard State Hazard Mitigation Plans. In 2008, Regional staff oversaw the review and approval of approximately 50 local mitigation plans, 12 tribal plans, and 18 university plans in support of the Disaster Resistant University initiative. To date an additional 15 local mitigation plans were approved and are pending adoption at the local level. To assist in the effort to track the status of mitigation plans in the Region’s six States and 1200 jurisdictions, Region VIII initiated work in 2008 to create a new Mitigation Plans Tracking System. When complete, this database application will greatly enhance tracking ability, reduce staff time, and provide structure to the plan review process. Regions IX and X have expressed an intent to utilize this tracking system as well. Map Modernization. The Map Modernization Program, now in its final year, was begun to reduce the potential loss of life and property by providing accurate, updated flood insurance rate maps. The program was undertaken with the goal of covering 92 percent of the Nation’s population with current flood maps, which provide local communities with new and more accurate tools for floodplain management and flood hazard awareness. The Map Modernization Program provided $8.4 million in FY2008 funding within Region VIII – $3.7 million via 34 Cooperating Technical Partner and Map Modernization Management Support Grants to our States, and $4.7 million via 20 contracts. In 2008, Region VIII Mitigation staff managed 158 open projects to produce updated flood insurance rate maps, of which 12 new countywide digital maps are in effect and 12 additional maps are in preliminary use while undergoing review and comment. Region VIII Mitigation representatives reached out to affected States, communities and citizens through public meetings, awareness events, coordination with Congressional staffs, and other partnership opportunities. Risk MAP Initiative. During 2008, Region VIII participated in the development of Risk MAP, the next phase in mitigation support to State and local jurisdictions that moves beyond the Map Modernization Program to fully integrate mapping, assessment, and mitigation planning. Region VIII was integrally involved in developing the Risk MAP concept of operations; serving on national selection panels for Risk MAP production and technical services support; and developing a national approach to stakeholder engagement. In the very first national model, Region VIII Mitigation staff developed and conducted a Risk MAP pilot for Miles City, Montana that consisted of using the modernized map products and conducting a detailed HAZUS-based risk assessment that was then used to develop potential alternative community mitigation strategies. The results of this pilot have been presented at conferences across the country, and there has been an unprecedented level of national interest in this Region VIII Mitigation pilot project. Regional Wildfire Initiative. In April 2008, regional staff began working with state and local elected officials, foresters, emergency managers, and other stakeholders to support ongoing efforts to mitigate potential losses from fires in the wildland-urban interface throughout Colorado and Wyoming as a result of mountain pine beetle infestation, and to plan for an effective response in the event of a complex “mega-fire” in the region. The Region VIII Mitigation Division also directly facilitated the issuance of a new Agency wildfire mitigation policy by developing a white paper that outlined the weaknesses in policy constraints and associated program limitations, and worked to bolster current FEMA-funded wildfire mitigation efforts. Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program. In 2008, the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP) in Region VIII, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency, continued to provide financial and technical assistance to Colorado and Utah. This support was focused on off-post emergency preparedness surrounding the chemical stockpiles at the Deseret Chemical Depot in Utah and the Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado. Emergency planning efforts, the annual joint on- and off-post full scale exercises, and the maintenance of emergency alert and communication systems continued. Both the Colorado and Utah CSEPP communities have been rated as fully capable in all of the emergency preparedness performance benchmarks. As of December 2008, the Tooele Chemical Disposal Facility at the Deseret Chemical Depot in Utah has destroyed 75 percent of its original chemical stockpile tonnage and more than 90 percent of the original munitions on site. The Pueblo Chemical Depot received the required environmental clearance needed to move into the third phase of the Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant. The focus now will be on completing facility construction to process the chemical agent, munitions, and secondary waste. A Congressional mandate now calls for agent destruction at the Pueblo Chemical Depot to be completed in 2017 instead of 2023. Additional financial support to Utah in 2008 substantially assisted in the construction of the new Tooele County Emergency Operations Center. This facility will be complete in March 2009. Financial support to Colorado resulted in the completion of the Digital Trunked Radio System for Pueblo County and surrounding counties. CSEPP also provided support to the community for a responder training facility and an alternate Joint Information Center in a new building under construction for the Pueblo City/County Health Department. Continuity of Operations. Region VIII Continuity program staff continued to provide guidance and technical assistance to two Continuity Working Groups within the Region: The Rocky Mountain Intergovernmental Continuity Planning Council, which represents the Denver/Boulder metropolitan area, and the Utah Homeland Security Council Continuity Working Group, which represents the greater Salt Lake City community. Both groups conducted a number of continuity and pandemic-related events during 2008. The Region VIII Continuity staff trained more than 550 Federal, State, local, and private sector representatives in 2008. As part of the National Continuity Working Group, Region VIII staff also participated in the writing of the new Federal Continuity Directive, FCD-1, which was released in February 2008. This year Region VIII began work on updating its Continuity of Operations Plan to ensure compliance with FCD-1 and other national-level guidance. The update project will continue into 2009, but during the past year each Region VIII division and office completed initial efforts to create Implementing Procedures and Response Checklists for their organization. In 2008 the National Preparedness Division also planned and conducted three Continuity Exercises and three all-hands training sessions for Region VIII staff. Goal 2: The Sharp End of the Spear. Deliver easily accessible and coordinated assistance for all programs. In 2008, Region VIII accomplished a wide range of activities to deliver easily accessible and coordinated program assistance. Grants Management. 2008 was a year of transition and realignment for DHS preparedness grant programs, as we worked to implement the post-Katrina legislative changes that called for moving many of these grant programs into FEMA from the DHS Preparedness Directorate. In 2008, DHS and FEMA coordinated efforts to transition responsibility for eight of these grant programs from FEMA Headquarters to the Regional Offices. As part of this realignment, Region VIII established a Grants Management Branch to better integrate and meet grant responsibilities during the transition. In total, FEMA currently offers 52 financial assistance programs, and Region VIII’s divisions provide monitoring for 29 of these programs. Region VIII staff worked throughout the year to deliver and support $155 million in assistance during 2008. See Appendix B for a complete listing of DHS and FEMA financial assistance delivered to Region VIII States in the past year. In support of the transition of certain preparedness grants to the Region, the Mitigation Division prepared a white paper on Regional Environmental and Historic Preservation (EHP) Staffing Shortfalls to address the issue of the transfer of the EHP compliance process to the Regions without identified staff resources to support the increased workload. The paper contained extensive background on the history of past efforts to obtain staffing support, the impact of this staffing shortfall on the timelines of our grant programs and relationship with our State partners, and actions required to address the issue. State Support Team. In 2008, Region VIII continued implementing its State Support Team concept, which gives FEMA the capability to “lean forward” in the earliest stages of a rapidly developing incident within the region. Rather than a single liaison officer, Region VIII committed to providing a fully capable, six-person team to deploy to a State emergency operations center and begin coordinating with their State counterparts. Region VIII implemented a monthly rotational schedule for its three State Support Teams, so that rostered personnel knew in advance they would be on-call for specific months, and thus could be better prepared to be enroute to an affected state within four hours of activation. Region VIII’s State Support Team was employed three times in 2008 for incidents in Colorado, Wyoming, and South Dakota. Points of Distribution Assessment. Region VIII worked with Utah in February and Colorado in March to conduct an assessment of statewide ability to set up and operate Points of Distribution (PODs), a key capability needed for distributing food, water, and other essential supplies at the local level following a major disaster. The goals of the assessment effort are to educate local emergency managers on the logistical support requirements for operating a POD, share information about nationwide best practices in commodity distribution, and identify capability gaps where Region VIII can provide assistance in the future. POD capability assessments for North Dakota and South Dakota were completed in 2006. Montana and Wyoming plan to conduct their POD assessments in 2009. Declared Disasters. Region VIII States received five major disaster declarations in CY2008. South Dakota was hit by a severe storm and record snows on May 1-2, which resulted in a major disaster declaration (DR-1759) on May 22 providing Public Assistance to six counties and Hazard Mitigation assistance statewide. Kristi Turman was designated the State Coordinating Officer for this event, Tony Russell served as the Federal Coordinating Officer, and a field office was established in Pierre. A total of $9,169,859 in Public Assistance funding has been delivered to date under this declaration. On May 1-2, Montana experienced the same winter storm with high winds and record snows of up to four feet in the southeast part of the state, impacting two rural electric cooperatives servicing four counties. On June 13, the President issued a major disaster declaration (DR-1767), authorizing Public Assistance for the four affected counties and Hazard Mitigation assistance throughout the state. Dan McGowan was designated the State Coordinating Officer and Tony Russell served as the Federal Coordinating Officer for this event as well. A field operation was established briefly at the state emergency management office in Helena, but the decision was made to manage all Public Assistance programmatic work through the South Dakota field office, and Hazard Mitigation assistance through the state and regional offices. To date, Region VIII has provided $3,312,191 in Public Assistance aid for this event. On May 26, the President declared a major disaster for Colorado (DR-1762), after a tornado passed through Larimer and Weld Counties and struck the town of Windsor, east of Fort Collins, on May 22. The town and nearby communities suffered one fatality, 78 homes destroyed, 228 homes with major damage, and 179 homes with minor damage. Additionally, an estimated $2.5 million in damage occurred to public infrastructure. Hans Kallam served as the State Coordinating Officer and Kenneth Tingman was the Federal Coordinating Officer. On May 27, FEMA and the State established an Initial Operating Facility in Centennial, near the State emergency management office, followed by an operational Joint Field Office three days later that remained open until July 9. We also established a joint Disaster Recovery Center in Windsor from May 27 to June 28 at the high school, and two additional Mobile Disaster Recovery Centers were operated in the towns of Gilchrist and Wellington from May 31 to June 7. The Disaster Recovery Centers served 1,038 visitors by providing information about how to apply for disaster assistance. 1,579 people registered for aid through FEMA, and $404,114 in assistance was delivered to individuals and families as a result of this disaster. For the first time, FEMA deployed an ESF-14 Long-Term Community Recovery team to assist local and state efforts. FEMA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services approved two grants totaling $555,219 for the State to provide crisis counseling services to affected individuals and families through July 2009. On June 2-12, South Dakota again experienced severe storms and flooding in 26 counties and three tribal reservations. On July 9, the President signed a major disaster declaration (DR-1774), authorizing Public Assistance for the affected areas and Hazard Mitigation assistance statewide. Tony Russell again served as the Federal Coordinating Officer and Kristi Turman as the State Coordinating Officer for this event, and the existing field office in Pierre was utilized for managing this event. A total of $4,859,765 in Public Assistance funding has been delivered to date under this declaration. For the third time in 2008, South Dakota was granted a major disaster declaration (DR-1811) on December 12, as a result of a blizzard that struck the state November 5-7 with nearly four feet of snow in the northern Black Hills and a foot or more of snow on the Plains, affecting 13 counties, four tribal reservations, and impacting the state’s rural electrical system. The declaration also included emergency snow removal assistance for Butte and Perkins counties. Kristi Turman was appointed the State Coordinating Officer, Nancy Casper served as the Federal Coordinating Officer, and the State and Region agreed to establish a “virtual Joint Field Office” to manage the disaster activity from their respective home offices, with a Forward Field Office in Rapid City. Eventually, this disaster is estimated to yield about $5.9 million in Public Assistance aid, with Hazard Mitigation assistance available for statewide use. Fire Declarations. Region VIII States also received two Fire Management Assistance Grant declarations in 2008. Fire Management Assistance Grants are made available by FEMA to assist in fighting fires that threaten to cause a major disaster, and can pay 75 percent of the state’s eligible firefighting costs under an approved grant for managing, mitigating, and controlling designated fires. Colorado received Fire Management Assistance Grants for the Ordway Fire in mid-April (2760-FM) that burned 3,500 acres and threatened 400 to 500 homes in Crowley County at the time of the request, and the Nash Ranch Fire in late June (2778-FM) that threatened 150 homes and burned 400 acres of federal and private land in Teller and Park counties at the time of the request. Under this grant program, States have 9 to 12 months to submit their costs for reimbursement by FEMA. As of the date of this annual report, FEMA and the State of Colorado are continuing to work together to document the eligible costs from these two fires. Mutual Aid to Other FEMA Regions. As backup to Region IV in Atlanta, Region VIII typically provides assistance during hurricane season when a storm affects a number of states by providing an emergency team to cover one of the affected states. In 2008 Region VIII deployed staff to Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina under the backup Region concept. After hurricanes Gustav and Ike struck the Gulf Coast in August, 141 Region VIII fulltime staff and reservists deployed to support Region IV and VI’s response and recovery efforts. Region VIII successfully established the Mitigation Staffing Center in 2007, providing centralized deployment support for mitigation field operations nationwide. In 2008, the Region VIII Mitigation staff documented its procedures for Staffing Center operations and coordinated transfer of the function to Region VII in May. Due to significant disaster activity, Region VII was unable to assume the lead role for operating the Staffing Center, so in mid-June Region VIII agreed to continue this responsibility. Region VIII managed the Staffing Center through the Midwest floods that impacted seven States, then regrouped to coordinate Mitigation field support during an active hurricane season along the Gulf Coast that impacted 14 States and Territories. Assistance to FEMA Headquarters. In 2008, Region VIII staff continued to support their counterparts at the national level by providing technical assistance to program reviews, policy development, and Agency-wide process improvement in the following areas: * National Housing Strategy Work Group * Public Assistance Steering Committee * Disaster Reserve Workforce Work Group * Disaster Workforce Credentialing Work Group * Grant Task Force * Grant Executive Advisory Committee * Wildfire Policy Working Group * Map Mod Phase II/RiskMAP Strategy Working Group * Mitigation Field Operations Guide revision project * Western Integration Group, to develop a Regional Vulnerability Index * 406 Mitigation/Public Assistance Work Group * Gap Analysis Conference * Operational Planners Conference * Emergency Management Information Management System Training Conference * Total Asset Visibility Kickoff Meeting * 2008 Hurricane Season CONPLAN Workshop * National Continuity Working Group * FEMA Senior Leadership Conferences * U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Senior Leaders Conference * U.S./Canada Regional Emergency Management Assistance Committee Meeting * U.S./Canada Prairie Regional Emergency Management Assistance Committee Meeting Goal 3: Knowledge is Empowering. Provide reliable information at the right time for all users. During 2008, Region VIII accomplished the following actions to provide reliable information at the right time for all users: Strategic Planning. In May 2008, Region VIII produced its first Strategic Plan. The plan provided regional staff and stakeholders with a summary of the Region’s vision, values, strategic goals, objectives, and possible actions for the next five years, FY2008 to 2013. The Mitigation Division also completed a 2008 Operational Strategic Plan to guide the Division’s performance management and measure progress toward their vision, goals, and objectives, and conducted a full-day retreat to further refine objectives with the three lines of business inherent in the mitigation transformation. The management team of the Division conducted the first off-site retreat for the newly established and staffed team, which provided a unique opportunity to conduct more full-scale discussions on issues to address and activities to pursue to enhance a performance culture. Mitigation Division branches also conducted individual mini-retreats to hone in on specific initiatives. Situational Awareness. Starting in July 2008, the Region began conducting daily morning stand-up Situational Awareness Briefings for the management team. The meetings provide an opportunity for the Regional Response Coordination Center watch officers to provide a quick status report on disaster-related activity, and for managers to share information that may be useful to other divisions. In August 2008, display monitors were installed in common areas throughout the Regional Office, to ensure staff had daily access to a full range of summary information regarding disaster status on a regional and national basis. This information was created and updated daily by the Regional Response Coordination Center watch officers. Video teleconference equipment was installed in the Regional Administrator’s conference room in August, providing staff with an additional resource for communicating across the Region or the country with their partners. Information Sharing. The Region conducted monthly all-hands meetings for staff in 2008. During these meetings, the Regional Administrator and Deputy Regional Administrator shared information about ongoing activities in the Region; presented awards and recognized staff accomplishments; and concluded each meeting with a short presentation on a topic related to professional development. Region VIII continued to use and expand the Sharepoint collaborative tool on the Regional intranet homepage, as a way of providing equal access to announcements, events, and common documents for all Region VIII information system users. Regional Emergency Communication Coordination Working Group. In 2008 Region VIII established its Regional Emergency Communication Coordination Working Group, designated a Group Coordinator, and convened meetings in July and November. The group includes 15 members representing a range of federal, state, and local communications coordinators. The intent of the Group is to share information and integrate efforts to identify emergency communications needs and to promote operability and interoperability throughout the region. In 2008 the Group worked on identifying how to meet the goals established in the National Emergency Communications Plan; discussed the potential impact and opportunities created by growing use of informal “social networking” communications during disasters; and began reviewing the State Communication Interoperability Plans to better understand each State’s current communications capabilities and future plans. Disaster Emergency Communications. Region VIII invested $267,206 in 2008 to significantly enhance its emergency communications capabilities in a number of ways. The Region upgraded the equipment on its two mobile communications vehicles. Both trucks carry their own emergency power generators and can provide satellite communications in field environments. The Region also obtained two trailer-mounted satellite systems that can provide similar capabilities. Both of the truck/trailer units were extensively used last year by Region VIII personnel deployed to Texas for the Hurricane Ike response. In 2008 Region VIII added a second “On Call System” portable communications package to the initial package it obtained in 2007. These packages, carried in five portable cases designed to fit into a single vehicle, enable us to access the FEMA Wide Area Network and provide up to 24 lines of telephone service in a field environment. One of these systems was used by Region VIII in Texas during Hurricane Ike operations, and again to provide backup communications during the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Region VIII also purchased four Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN)-based portable communications units, which can provide a user with voice and data communications in a briefcase-sized unit small enough to be carried aboard a commercial aircraft. And finally, Region VIII procured two Rapid Deployment Cellular Repeater Systems to boost cellular signals in disaster-affected environments where cellular coverage is inadequate. Goal 4: Our People Make It Happen. FEMA invests in people and people invest in FEMA to ensure mission success. In 2008, Region VIII and its staff invested in each other, their workplace, and their community through the following actions: From January to December 2008, nine new employees made the decision to invest in FEMA by accepting positions in Region VIII, while the Region invested in its current employees by filling 11 other positions through internal selections. 56 Disaster Assistance Employees also joined the Region’s disaster reserve workforce this year – 34 as new hires, and 22 as transfers from other Regions or FEMA offices. See Appendix A for details of the Region’s staffing status. Region VIII Training staff developed a New Employee Orientation Handbook to provide essential information about federal employment, Region VIII procedures, and other subjects of interest to new hires. During the past year, 63 full-time Region VIII personnel participated in 116 Emergency Management Institute-sponsored training events during the year, including 70 training sessions (800 student completions) conducted in Joint Field Offices during disasters through the Disaster Field Training Office. The Region’s employee development budget for 2008 was $24,600, which translated to $324 per fulltime employee. For professional development, six Region VIII staff completed the requirements for a graduate-level Certificate in Homeland Security at the University of Denver this year. In September two staff members completed and in October two other staffers began the year-long Colorado Leadership Development Program, offered through the Western Management Development Center of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. The Deputy Regional Administrator completed a year-long Executive Leader Program sponsored by the DHS Center for Homeland Defense and Security through the Naval Postgraduate School, and our senior Federal Coordinating Officer, Tony Russell, completed a Masters Degree in Homeland Security Studies through the same program. In 2008, Region VIII invested in our workplace by spending $585,464 on facility and work-space improvements to Buildings 710 and 710A, including upgrades to the heating and air conditioning systems, utilities, office furnishings, computers, and other information systems. In addition, the Region began negotiations with the General Services Administration to lease a closeout center nearby on the Denver Federal Center, enabling us to move 35 to 40 employees into an additional 9,200 square feet of usable office space. The annual cost of this workspace is estimated at $191,200 for FY2009, and the Region expects to begin moving staff into the closeout center by October 2009, depending on when the space is vacated. In 2008, Region VIII distributed $240,360 in performance awards to staff, including $150,218 in awards to permanent fulltime staff and $90,142 in awards to COREs and Disaster Assistance Employees. Region VIII also put in place a non-monetary awards program for employees and external partners to recognize significant contributions toward accomplishing FEMA’s mission. The Region also developed a Safety Policy and initiated the purchase of standardized equipment sets for field personnel, to increase personal safety in hazardous work environments frequently encountered in disasters. In the 2008 Combined Federal Campaign, 44 percent of the Regional staff contributed a total of $14,438 to support the work of community, state, and national charities and eligible non-profit organizations. Goal 5: Get It Done. Build public trust and confidence through performance and stewardship. Ultimately, the desired outcome of all our efforts in Region VIII is to build public trust and confidence in their own capabilities to build safer, stronger, more resilient, and sustainable communities – but also to know that FEMA will be at their side as a federal partner to support their efforts. In 2008, Region VIII maintained and strengthened the public’s trust and confidence in FEMA through the following actions: Trust through Transparency. Region VIII continued to fulfill a commitment to its employees and partners to create a working environment that uses transparency to educate the public about FEMA, to allow more participation in emergency management processes, to build public trust, and to encourage feedback and thoughtful criticism to improve the Agency. Our Regional Interagency Steering Committee meetings provided a quarterly forum for information sharing, and our Regional Emergency Communications Coordination Working Group shared information across the region regarding communications interoperability in disasters. In 2008 the Region created and disseminated its first Strategic Plan and Annual Report, to openly share information concerning our vision, goals, objectives, actions, and performance results. (See Appendix D for a complete set of 2008 performance measures and metrics for the Region.) Region VIII continues to expand its use of the Sharepoint collaborative work tool, which allows any employee to access via the Wide Area Network an expanding range of shared documents, references, contacts, and other useful information. Our External Affairs staff worked throughout the year to share information, answer questions, and build trust with Congressional staffs, elected officials, members of the media, and their other partners. Region VIII took a collaborative approach to operational planning for the Utah earthquake scenario, actively involving a range of partners in determining the planning project’s scope, timeline, and expected outcomes. And as described below, Region VIII staff worked continuously in 2008 to reach out to their partners across the spectrum of FEMA programs, in advance of disasters and in their aftermath. Outreach to States and Local Governments. In 2008 the Mitigation Division staff conducted community outreach meetings across the region to provide elected officials and interested citizens with accurate information about local hazards and risks, changes to flood insurance rate maps, local mitigation planning, levee safety, and effective mitigation measures that can be adopted at the local level. Of particular note, Mitigation Division staff conducted 94 community assistance visits that served as key opportunities for staff to assist local jurisdictions in implementing the National Flood Insurance Program and continuing sound floodplain management practices. Although Region VIII is not scheduled to conduct Gap Analysis projects in our States until 2009, last year our Disaster Operations and National Preparedness staff did initial outreach and orientation briefings in each of our States, to answer their questions and prepare them for the joint work ahead. Region VIII Disaster Assistance staff also launched an effort in 2008 to provide Public Assistance training and technical assistance to their State counterparts, delivered through extensive travel to all six States. In a related effort, the Region worked with States on a debris planning initiative, with the goal of assisting all six States in completing Debris Management Plans. Our External Affairs staff conducted a number of training sessions throughout Region VIII States to familiarize others with the concepts and practices of Emergency Support Function 15, External Affairs, under the new National Response Framework. Outreach to Native American Tribes. Throughout the year, Region VIII staff worked to provide information and assistance to emergency managers and other representatives of the 28 federally recognized tribal governments served by the Region. For example, in support of tribal emergency managers, Region VIII arranged to deliver National Incident Management System training and FEMA’s “Emergency Management Framework for Tribal Governments” Course in Billings, Montana in August. When tribes were affected by incidents and disasters, Region VIII Tribal Liaison staff worked closely with emergency managers to ensure tribal members had equal access to disaster assistance programs. On its own initiative in September 2008, Region VIII began working with its tribal partners to offer surplus travel trailers to alleviate chronic housing shortages on tribal reservations, in accordance with recent changes to FEMA’s policy on the disposition of surplus trailers purchased for disaster housing in previous years. In North Dakota, the Turtle Mountain Band of the Chippewa requested assistance under this initiative, and Region VIII staff worked closely with tribal and state emergency managers to identify their needs, locate suitable units at a FEMA staging area in Arkansas, advise the tribe on arranging pickup and transport of the units, and work through related environmental issues. To date, Region VIII has worked to make available 26 housing units for the tribe. Conclusion In summary, this 2008 Annual Report is a snapshot of who we are and what we do in Region VIII, as shown in our work and performance results over the past year. The coming year will bring similar activities, accomplishments and challenges, plus no doubt a few new ones. We can expect snowmelt to bring flooding to the region in the spring; and summer is wildfire season, with the increased risk of a “mega-fire” in the wildland-urban interface due to the mountain pine beetle’s impact on forests in our region. Summer and fall mean hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, with Region VIII continuing to provide backup support to the impacted Regions as needed. Any time of year in the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains can bring the threat of tornados and snowstorms, as our States experienced in 2008. And always in the background is the threat of an earthquake some day along the ever-changing, shifting fault lines that move slowly beneath Utah, Montana, and other areas in the region. One thing that will not change, however, is Region VIII’s commitment to doing the best we possibly can to meet the needs of our States, tribes, local communities, and citizens. Across the mountains and plains that define our region, we are joined together by our willingness to plan and work with each other to ensure we are ready for the hazards we face, risk-based in our planning and decision making, responsive when disaster strikes, and resilient in our ability to help each other recover. © Earth Satellite Corp. / NaturalVue License Appendix A: Personnel Status & Recruitment As of January 2, 2009, Region VIII has an authorized personnel strength of 113 permanent fulltime positions. In addition, Region VIII has 4 authorized two-year Katrina CORE positions, for a total authorized strength of 117 personnel. Including COREs, we currently have 92 personnel on-board and 25 vacancies. The break down of vacancies is as follows: * 5 personnel selected, pending security approval * 0 positions in the interviewing stage of selection * 4 positions pending preparation of certification lists * 0 positions advertised and open for application * 3 positions pending preparation of recruitment package in Region VIII * 10 positions not yet advertised * 3 retirements as of January 3, 2009 Region VIII’s Disaster Assistance Employee strength currently is 363 personnel, in the following cadres. In early January 2009, Marsha Bicanovsky moved into a newly created CORE position to coordinate Region VIII’s support to our disaster reserve workforce. Program / Functional Area Strength Division Cadre Manager Federal Coordinating Officer 2 DA John Kainrad Public Assistance 54 DA Tom Bush / Richard Bardsley Individual Assistance 47 DA Martin McNeese Logistics 51 DO Kevin Moore Planning 14 DO Susan Jones Operations 12 DO Tom Schmidt Hazard Mitigation 54 MT Tony Mendes Environmental 9 MT Tony Mendes Finance 3 MG Steve Reaves Human Resources (Admin.) 8 MG Misty Kostick Information Technology 25 MG Tammy Littrell Training (DFTO) 9 NP Anne Griffin Tribal Relations 3 NP Scott Logan Public Affairs 35 ORA Jerry DeFelice Congressional Liaison 7 ORA Derek Jensen Intergovernmental Affairs 0 ORA Megan Floyd Community Relations 30 ORA Ed Conley TOTAL 363 Appendix B: 2008 Financial Assistance Report Assistance Program Grantee / Recipient CO MT ND SD UT WY TOTAL NON-DISASTER ASSISTANCE, FY2008 Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) 1 1,608,682 2,842,765 2,730,640 1,719,574 828,185 883,678 10,613,524 AFG / Fire Prevention & Safety (FP&S) Grants 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 AFG / Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response (SAFER) Grants 1 325,140 650,280 0 0 1,400,560 355,024 2,731,004 Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP) Funds 9,084,360 0 0 0 6,233,482 0 15,317,842 Urban Search & Rescue (US&R) Funds 1,038,179 0 0 0 1,000,179 0 2,038,358 Emergency Management Performance Grant 3 4,961,430 2,732,741 2,551,104 2,640,453 3,696,157 2,484,371 19,066,256 Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Grant 0 0 0 0 250,000 0 250,000 State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) 11,880,000 6,170,000 6,170,000 6,170,000 6,810,000 6,170,000 43,370,000 Citizen Corps Program (CCP) Grants 249,368 136,893 127,726 132,235 185,514 124,358 956,094 CCP NET Guard Pilot Program 0 0 0 0 80,000 0 80,000 Metro. Medical Response System (MMRS) 963,663 0 0 0 321,221 0 1,284,884 Operation Stonegarden Grants (OPSG) 0 2,030,000 480,000 0 0 0 2,510,000 Interoperable Emergency Communications Grant Program (IECGP) 609,616 242,875 242,875 242,875 366,269 242,875 1,947,385 Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) Grant 7,614,500 0 0 0 1,845,000 0 9,459,500 UASI / Nonprofit Security Grant Program 55,843 0 0 0 0 0 55,843 UASI / Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program (RCPGP) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Infrastructure Protection Program (IPP) / Buffer Zone Protection Program (BZPP) 1,597,000 199,000 0 0 398,000 597,000 2,791,000 IPP / Transit Security Grant Program (TSGP), Tier II 831,648 0 0 0 0 0 831,648 Intercity Bus Security Grant Program 184,415 0 0 0 0 0 184,415 REAL ID Demonstration Grant Program 1,169,678 0 500,000 300,000 1,006,418 500,000 3,476,096 Commercial Equipment Direct Assistance Program (CEDAP) 4 124,070 125,120 0 52,735 83,500 11,785 397,210 Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) Grants 699,610 384,846 539,378 145,524 123,817 27,375 1,920,550 Legislated PDM (LPDM) Grants 220,000 0 0 0 200,000 0 420,000 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) Program 144,375 0 0 0 0 0 144,375 NFIP / Community Assistance Program-State Support Services Element (CAP-SSSE) 121,977 110,012 94,695 50,624 92,185 72,656 542,149 NFIP / Cooperating Technical Partner funds 5 1,664,749 1,265,485 711,713 1,012,508 427,369 500,509 7,823,026 NFIP / Map Modernization Management Support (MMMS) 115,840 112,940 133,940 117,240 95,000 0 574,960 Dam Safety Program funding 70,924 100,359 45,851 92,606 45,154 62,264 417,158 SUBTOTAL FOR NON-DISASTER ASSISTANCE 45,079,728 15,807,031 14,281,369 11,627,218 25,442,544 11,469,122 129,303,918 DISASTER ASSISTANCE, CY2008, AS OF 1/2/09 (FOR DECLARATIONS DR-1759-SD, DR-1767-MT, DR-1762-CO, DR-1774-SD, DR-1811-SD) Public Assistance (PA) Program Grants 6 0 3,312,191 0 19,929,623 0 0 23,241,814 Individual and Households Program (IHP) 404,114 0 0 0 0 0 404,114 Disaster Housing (DH) Program 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) 13,415 0 0 0 0 0 13,415 Crisis Counseling (CC), Immediate Services & Regular Services Program Grants 555,219 0 0 0 0 0 555,219 Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) 7 0 0 722,848 971,106 0 0 1,693,954 Fire Management Assistance Grants (FMAG): For Declarations FM-2760-CO, FM-2778-CO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 SUBTOTAL FOR DISASTER ASSISTANCE 972,748 3,312,191 0 19,929,623 0 0 25,908,516 TOTAL FOR ALL ASSISTANCE 46,052,476 19,119,222 14,281,369 31,556,841 25,442,544 11,469,122 155,212,434 1 AFG and SAFER are still awarding FY2008 funds. 2 FP&S FY2008 awards are on hold. 3 EMPG totals include an estimated $280,000 in Earthquake Program funding under the National Earthquake Hazard reduction Program (NEHRP). 4 CEDAP assistance is delivered via grants of equipment, not funding, so the dollars above represent total value of equipment granted. 5 NFIP / Cooperating Technical Partner funding totals include $4,713,349 in contracts and $3,109,677 in grants. 6 Includes $5.9 million in estimated Public Assistance grants for DR-1811. 7 HMGP funding granted in 2008 to North Dakota for prior-year disasters. Appendix C: Regional Advisory Council Recommendations for 2009 As a result of discussions during its meeting on November 17-18, 2008, the Region VIII Regional Advisory Council concurred in offering the following eight recommendations to guide future planning and enhance the effectiveness of federal, state, tribal, and local homeland security and emergency management efforts throughout the Region: Regional Advisory Council Members (As of January 2, 2009) Garry Briese (Chair) FEMA Regional Administrator Neil H. Ashdown UT Governor’s Chief of Staff Chris Burbank Chief of Police, Salt Lake City UT Dr. Greg Burcham Emergency Physician, Denver CO Dwight Henninger Chief of Police, Vail CO Bruce Hoover Fire Chief, Fargo ND Jeff Jahnke CO State Forester Hans Kallam Director, CO Div. of Emergency Management Dan McGowan MT Homeland Security Advisor Joe Moore Director, WY Office of Homeland Security Keith D. Squires Deputy Commissioner, UT Dept. of Public Safety Pete Red Tomahawk Tribal Director of Transportation, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Kristi H. Turman Director, SD Office of Emergency Management Mason C. Whitney CO Homeland Security Coordinator Greg M. Wilz Director, ND Div. of Homeland Security 1) Use the Utah earthquake scenario as the primary basis for our regional joint planning efforts. Cross-cutting preparedness planning, mitigation efforts, response readiness, and post-disaster recovery capacity for a 7.0 earthquake along the Wasatch Front in Utah would engage all of the regional stakeholders, not solely the state of Utah, in developing the planning basis, target capabilities and capacities appropriate for a large-scale incident anywhere in the region. 2) Identify ways the regional stakeholders jointly can promote and strengthen citizen preparedness. Promoting a culture of individual, family and community responsibility and preparedness is the best means of ensuring our communities have the resilience needed to reduce their potential losses from future disasters and to recover quickly from the consequences in the event a disaster occurs. 3) Initiate a program among regional stakeholders to plan jointly for the pre-identification, provision, deployment and employment of resource packages for all-hazards incident response. Resource packages would include teams, task forces, strike teams, equipment sets, and commodity orders intended to perform pre-identified missions or to fulfill pre-identified unmet needs arising from an incident, emergency, or declared disaster within the region. The planning and agreement to identify, provide, deploy and employ resource packages would constitute an intra-regional mutual aid system among the States in the region. 4) Promote the creation, maintenance, and interoperability of Type 3 Incident Management Teams (IMTs) throughout the region. In the experience of our states, the creation of regional Type 3 IMTs has proven to be a sound decision and investment. IMTs are a force multiplier, enabling a responding jurisdiction to magnify the effectiveness of its other response and recovery capabilities. A network of Type 3 IMTs provides the capability and capacity to deploy one or more trained and equipped teams to assist impacted local jurisdictions anywhere in the state. A joint regional effort to share information and best practices about the creation, training, equipping, deployment, employment, and reimbursement of Type 3 IMTs would promote their development throughout the region. This effort also would relieve some of the strain on the limited number of existing Type 3 IMTs in the wildland fire system, and would constitute an added resource for intra-regional mutual aid. Council members differed on the question of whether new Type 3 IMTs should be organized for all-hazards missions, or whether states should add new Type 3 IMTs to the existing wildland fire system. 5) Establish one or more intra-regional mutual aid advisory teams. State-to-state mutual aid through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) system has proven its worth in national-level disasters like hurricanes Katrina and Ike. Region VIII states are interested in establishing an intra-regional mutual aid system. The level of experience and expertise, however, in using mutual aid and EMAC differs among our regional stakeholders. States within the region would benefit if they were able to request the use of a small, intra-regional team of personnel who are subject-matter experts in obtaining resources through mutual aid and the EMAC system. This team would be staffed, requested, deployed, employed, and reimbursed through cooperative agreement among the Region VIII states. 6) Identify and improve the information sharing priorities and processes in the region. The infrastructure for information sharing exists within the region, but it is unclear whether the regional stakeholders agree on what information we need, and how it should be shared. Consider taking action to identify the regional Essential Elements of Information for scenarios that are likely to be of common interest or are likely to require incident management. Consider bringing in key stakeholders to identify how these Essential Elements of Information can best be fulfilled; how to simplify and improve the information products currently being disseminated by national and regional fusion centers and operations centers; and how to safeguard the sharing of law enforcement information currently being disseminated through state fusion centers, while improving the flow of other information of interest to emergency management and other disciplines. Assess the role of the Regional Response Coordination Center, its relationship to the state fusion centers, and a potential role the FEMA Regional Office can play in the fusion center system. 7) Consider the adoption of WebEOC as a common platform for information sharing within the region. Four of the six states within Region VIII already use WebEOC, and the remaining two states are adopting it. Assess the feasibility of Region VIII becoming a WebEOC account holder, and reach agreement among the regional WebEOC participants in the content, formats and protocols for sharing specific information products via WebEOC. 8) Establish a process that links the recommendations of the Regional Advisory Council to the work priorities of the Regional Interagency Steering Committee. The Regional Advisory Council’s mission is complementary to the purpose of the Regional Interagency Steering Committee, in identifying areas where the regional stakeholders can collaborate to maintain and enhance the region’s emergency management capabilities. It would be worthwhile for the two organizations to agree specifically on how the Regional Advisory Council’s recommendations would be incorporated into the RISC Executive Committee’s guidance to its members and subcommittees. Additionally, a process should be established for the Regional Interagency Steering Committee to provide feedback to the Regional Advisory Council on the status of its efforts. (Source: Final approved minutes, Region VIII Regional Advisory Council Meeting, November 17-18, 2008.) Appendix D: Regional Performance Measures & Metrics Core Competency: INCIDENT MANAGEMENT GOAL 1A FEMA will be a leader and model of effective implementation of incident management skills and practices for the Nation. OBJECTIVE 1A.1 Implement the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the National Response Framework (NRF). PERFORMANCE MEASURES METRIC 1A.1a Achieve FY08 NIMS implementation targets for Regional Office training and plans, consistent with State requirements. ? Green: 95% of fulltime staff meet training standards; >90% of plans are compliant ? Yellow: 80 to 94% fulltime staff meet training standards; 51- 89% of plans compliant ? Red: < 80% of fulltime staff meet training standards; <50% of plans are compliant POC: R8-NP 1A.1b Develop and implement a regional plan to conduct NIMS/NRF orientation and outreach for Federal, State, Local, and Tribal partners. ? Green: On target by phase ? Yellow: Not greater than 25% below target by phase ? Red: Greater than 25% below target by phase POC: R8-NP OBJECTIVE 1A.2 Develop situational awareness and operational capability at the regional level. PERFORMANCE MEASURES METRIC 1A.2a Operate RRCC 24/7 at a Watch-level with dedicated resources. 1 ? Green: Fully capable of 24/7 operation ? Yellow: Capable of 24/7 with moderate degradation of capability ? Red: Unable to operate an RRCC at 24/7 POC: R8-DO 1A.2b Field a Regional Incident Management Team (IMT). 2 ? Green: Fully capable of fielding an IMT ? Yellow: Capable of fielding an IMT with moderate degradation of capability ? Red: Unable to field an IMT POC: R8-DO 1 Region VIII is at Green 24/7 capability if the Denver MERS Operations Center is included in this metric, or at Yellow if the Denver MERS Operations Center’s capabilities are not factored in. 2 FEMA has not approved or funded the establishment of an IMAT with dedicated resources in Region VIII. Thus the performance metric above is adapted to show our capability of fielding an Emergency Response Team (ERT), which is staffed by Region VIII personnel as a collateral duty. Core Competency: OPERATIONAL PLANNING GOAL 2A Provide leadership to insure that State, local, tribal, and territorial jurisdictions have specific operational plans to guide their response activities and help build a culture of preparedness. OBJECTIVE 2A.1 Provide leadership to regionalize the joint capability-based planning effort. PERFORMANCE MEASURES METRIC 2A.1a Provide direct assistance in the development of capability-based State and local integration for planning for catastrophic disasters. ? Green: On track for each State selected for catastrophic planning ? Yellow: Trending below “on track” but above 75% ? Red: 75% below the trend line for “on track” POC: R8-DO 2A.1b In coordination with Federal and State partners, work to develop integrated operational plans. ? Green: On track for an annex to the Regional Supplement to the NRF for each State, and on track for each of the seven Incident Annexes ? Yellow: Trending below “on track” but above 75% ? Red: 75% below the trend line for “on track” POC: R8-DO Core Competency: EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS GOAL 4A Lead the assessment and coordination of Federal and State emergency communication preparedness & interoperability for disaster response and recovery operations. OBJECTIVE 4A.1 Establish emergency communications protocols and capabilities. PERFORMANCE MEASURES METRIC 4A.1a Establish a functional Regional Emergency Communications Coordination Work Group. ? Green: All five items accomplished ? Yellow: Three items accomplished ? Red: Less than three items accomplished POC: R8-MG-IT 3 4A.1b Establish a RECCWG Work Plan for FY2008. ? Green: On track ? Yellow: Trending below “on track” but above 75% ? Red: 75% below the trend line for “on track” POC: R8-MG-IT 3 4A.1c Develop a plan to maintain Regional emergency and backup communications capability to support RRCC, Disaster Operations, and COOP (including VHF & HF communications packages). ? Green: On track ? Yellow: Trending below “on track” but above 75% ? Red: 75% below the trend line for “on track” POC: R8-MG-IT 3 Responsibility transitioned in December 2008 from R8-MG-IT to R8-DO. Core Competency: DISASTER LOGISTICS GOAL 3A Redefine disaster logistics to provide for integrated coordination and activation of a range of assets, teams, equipment & supplies that may be needed in response to an all-hazards event. OBJECTIVE 3A.1 Facilitate integrated logistics planning and operations through continuous contact and coordination with Federal, State, and local agencies. PERFORMANCE MEASURES METRIC 3A.1a Ensure that each State establishes adequate Commodity Points of Distribution (PODs) with an execution plan, updated annually. ? Green: On track ? Yellow: Trending below “on track” but above 75% ? Red: 75% below the trend line for “on track” POC: R8-DO 3A.1b Develop and maintain agreements and SOPs for Mobilization Centers and Federal Operational Staging Areas (FOSAs) per State. ? Green: ? 80% completed ? Yellow: < 80% completed, > 40% completed ? Red: < 40% completed POC: R8-DO 3A.1c Complete Gap Analysis of the full range of assets and plans for the Region (using the FEMA Gap Analysis tool). 4 ? Green: ? 75% completed ? Yellow: < 75% completed, > 50% completed ? Red: < 50% completed POC: R8-NP OBJECTIVE 3A.2 Maximize use of private sector expertise. PERFORMANCE MEASURES METRIC 3A.2a Develop a plan to project logistics-related needs, including advisory services, and identify national, regional, and local businesses with expertise or access to that expertise. ? Green: ? 75% completed ? Yellow: < 75% completed, > 50% completed ? Red: < 50% completed POC: R8-DO 4 As agreed to by FEMA Headquarters, Region VIII was not scheduled to complete any Gap Analyses in its States during 2008. These assessments are scheduled to begin in 2009, starting with Colorado. Core Competency: SERVICE TO DISASTER VICTIMS GOAL 5A Provide rapid, compassionate, and simply accessed disaster assistance for individuals and families. OBJECTIVE 5A.1 Improve delivery of Individual Assistance to disaster victims. PERFORMANCE MEASURES METRIC 5A.1a Mass Care: Support State, local and tribal emergency assistance to individuals and families through the development of integrated shelter plans. ? Green: On track ? Yellow: Trending below “on track” but above 75% ? Red: 75% below the trend line for “on track” POC: R8-DA 5A.1b Housing: In coordination with ESF-6 other Federal agency housing partners and State counterparts, maintain readiness to provide short- and long-term financial and direct housing assistance for disaster victims through the development of integrated housing plans. ? Green: On track ? Yellow: Trending below “on track” but above 75% ? Red: 75% below the trend line for “on track” POC: R8-DA 5A.1c Human Services: In coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services and other Federal agency partners, establish integrated regional plans, procedures, and support mechanisms to provide for the special needs populations. ? Green: On track ? Yellow: Trending below “on track” but above 75% ? Red: 75% below the trend line for “on track” POC: R8-DA 5A.1d Voluntary Agencies: Establish VOAD groups and unmet needs committees to build an organized and cohesive mass care and Human Services delivery structure. ? Green: Groups established in all States ? Yellow: Greater than 50% of States have groups ? Red: Less than 50% of States have groups POC: R8-DA 5A.1e Donations Management: Develop a comprehensive plan for addressing all aspects of donations management. ? Green: On track ? Yellow: Trending below “on track” but above 75% ? Red: 75% below the trend line for “on track” POC: R8-DA GOAL 5B Provide support for the rebuilding of damages to public entities through the Public Assistance Program. OBJECTIVE 5B.1 Improve the efficiencies and responsiveness of Public Assistance to states and communities. PERFORMANCE MEASURES METRIC 5B.1a Work with States to establish and maintain integrated debris plans. ? Green: On track ? Yellow: Trending below “on track” but above 75% ? Red: 75% below the trend line for “on track” POC: R8-DA 5B.1b Annually close out 25% of Public Assistance portion of open disasters, including appeals, audits, and project revisions. ? Green: ? 25% of disasters closed, including appeals, audits and revisions ? Yellow: ? 25% of disasters closed, with the exception of audits or appeals ? Red: ? 25% of disasters closed POC: R8-DA Core Competency: CONTINUITY PROGRAMS GOAL 6A Ensure essential services are maintained at Federal, State, and local levels and information is provided to the public. OBJECTIVE 6A.1 Ensure capability for essential Regional Office operations. PERFORMANCE MEASURES METRIC 6A.1a Maintain a FEMA COOP capability within the Region. ? Green: Fully capable COOP function ? Yellow: COOP function with moderate degradation ? Red: COOP function with severe degradation POC: R8-NP 6A.1b Support other Federal agencies through FEAs and FEBs in their ongoing delivery of essential functions to the public through workshops, coordination meetings, training, and exercises. ? Green: ? 90% of regional targeted FEBs and FEAs provided assistance ? Yellow: 50 to 89% of regional targeted FEBs and FEAs provided assistance ? Red: < 50% of regional targeted FEBs and FEAs provided assistance POC: R8-NP 6A.1c Support tribes and local entities’ strategies to deliver essential functions to the public through either a workshop of train-the-trainer annually in each State. ? Green: On track ? Yellow: Trending below “on track” but above 75% ? Red: 75% below the trend line for “on track” POC: R8-NP 6A.1d Develop and implement an outreach plan to assist States in their ongoing delivery of essential functions. ? Green: On track ? Yellow: Trending below “on track” but above 75% ? Red: 75% below the trend line for “on track” POC: R8-NP 6A.1e Develop a plan to implement regional support for IPAWs, based on HQ guidelines. ? Green: On track ? Yellow: Trending below “on track” but above 75% ? Red: 75% below the trend line for “on track” POC: R8-NP Core Competency: PUBLIC DISASTER COMMUNICATIONS GOAL 7A Assume leadership in coordinating the all-hazards message to the American public before and during a disaster, and for greater personal and community preparedness. OBJECTIVE 7A.1 Build a national culture of preparedness. PERFORMANCE MEASURES METRIC 7A.1a Regional implementation of FEMA’s integrated public information plan to encourage personal and community preparedness, and disaster response actions. ? Green: On track ? Yellow: Trending below “on track” but above 75% ? Red: 75% below the trend line for “on track” POC: R8-ORA-EA 7A.1b Ensure outreach efforts consistently incorporate tactics to effectively reach special needs groups including children, elderly, multi-lingual audiences, and people with disabilities. ? Green: On track ? Yellow: Trending below “on track” but above 75% ? Red: 75% below the trend line for “on track” POC: R8-ORA-EA OBJECTIVE 7A.2 Strengthen relationships with stakeholders and the media. PERFORMANCE MEASURES METRIC 7A.2a Build regionally focused and integrated ESF-15 capabilities and relationships with stakeholders to support crisis communication strategies and messaging. ? Green: On track ? Yellow: Trending below “on track” but above 75% ? Red: 75% below the trend line for “on track” POC: R8-ORA-EA OBJECTIVE 7A.3 Improve employee communications with the media. PERFORMANCE MEASURES METRIC 7A.3a Conduct media training for Regional personnel to enhance their ability to address their area of responsibility with the media and public. ? Green: 95% of fulltime staff meet training standards ? Yellow: 80 to 94% of fulltime staff meet training standards ? Red: < 80% of fulltime staff meet training standards POC: R8-ORA-EA Core Competency: INTEGRATED PREPAREDNESS GOAL 8A Create a national preparedness system. OBJECTIVE 8A.1 Reintegrate programs to provide a baseline level of preparedness activities to State, local, and tribal jurisdictions. PERFORMANCE MEASURES METRIC 8A.1a Work with States to establish an integrated plan to ensure FEMA programs are used to assess the identified gaps in a baseline level of preparedness. ? Green: ? 75% of benchmarks completed ? Yellow: ? 25% to 74% of benchmarks completed ? Red: < 25% of benchmarks completed POC: R8-NP OBJECTIVE 8A.2 Coordinate training and exercise management with State, local, and tribal jurisdictions. PERFORMANCE MEASURES METRIC 8A.2a Regionalize the National Exercise Program by creating a work group of State/Tribal liaisons, private sector, and Federal partners and develop a work plan. ? Green: Work group is established, work plan produced, AND 1st-year objectives met ? Yellow: Work group is established, OR a work plan is produced ? Red: Work group is not established AND work plan is not produced POC: R8-NP OBJECTIVE 8A.3 Promote and institutionalize mechanisms for information sharing and collaboration to enhance preparedness at the Regional level. PERFORMANCE MEASURES METRIC 8A.3a Establish a Regional Advisory Council. ? Green: RAC is established ? Yellow: A functional RAC is under development ? Red: A functional RAC is not established POC: R8-ORA Core Competency: HAZARD MITIGATION GOAL 9A Analysis to promote disaster resilience through effective risk analysis and hazard mitigation planning. OBJECTIVE 9A.1 Implement the mid-course adjustment for the Flood Map Modernization while coordinating with the Corps of Engineers to assess the risk status of levees on flood maps. PERFORMANCE MEASURES METRIC 9A.1a Provide preliminary digital FIRMs to 50% of the Region’s population. ? Green: ? 50% of identified population ? Yellow: < 49% of identified population ? Red: < 40% of identified population POC: R8-MT 9A.1b Complete the Region’s portion of the assessment of the National Levee Inventory and issue Levee Letters to communities. ? Green: ? 80% of assessments and letters completed ? Yellow: > 50% to < 80% of assessments and letters completed ? Red: ? 50% of assessments and letters completed POC: R8-MT OBJECTIVE 9A.2 Increase local, State, and Federal government participation as well as the private sector in the planning process. PERFORMANCE MEASURES METRIC 9A.2a Increase the number of communities covered by Local Mitigation Plans by 15% yearly. ? Green: ? 15% increase in communities covered ? Yellow: 10% to < 15% increase in communities covered ? Red: < 10% increase in communities covered POC: R8-MT GOAL 9B Risk Reduction to create safer communities by enhancing the capabilities of States and local communities to proactively reduce risk. OBJECTIVE 9B.1 Implement Unified Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA). PERFORMANCE MEASURES METRIC 9B.1a Meet or exceed obligation of pre-disaster grant funding within one year (year based on date of allocation for RFC and FMA, and based on selection for award of PDM-C). ? Green: ? 80% of obligation targets met ? Yellow: 50% to < 80% of obligation targets met ? Red: < 50% of obligation targets met POC: R8-MT 9B.1b Meet or exceed obligating HMGP funds within one year of project selection. ? Green: ? 80% obligations ? Yellow: 50% to < 80% obligations ? Red: < 50% obligations POC: R8-MT GOAL 9C Reduce costs to the Nation in flood-prone areas through sound floodplain management practices and flood insurance coverage. OBJECTIVE 9C.1 Encourage communities and tribes to join the NFIP and adopt and enforce sound floodplain management practices and regulations. PERFORMANCE MEASURES METRIC 9C.1a Ensure FEMA’s priorities and performance measures are integrated into State FPM Programs (FY2008 CAP-SSSE grants). ? Green: 100% of States completed ? Yellow: ? 75% of States completed ? Red: < 75% of States completed POC: R8-MT 9C.1b Close 50% of all Community Assistance Visits requiring corrective action within six months of opening. ? Green: 50% CAV issues closed ? Yellow: Between 20% and 50% CAV issues closed ? Red: < 20% CAV issues closed POC: R8-MT FEMA Region VIII Denver Federal Center Building 710, Box 25267 Denver, Colorado 80225-0267 (303) 235-4812 Telephone (303) 235-4976 Fax (303) 235-4357 Communication Center www.fema.gov/about/regions/regionviii