WMD Response Planning

WMD Response Planning

Regional Response Team

Lancaster, Pennsylvania

September 15, 2011

04/21/23 1U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

EPA WMD Planning History• Core NAR Emergency Response (9/11 &

Katrina)• Getting to Five 2007• State Outreach (late) 2009• Liberty RadEX 2010• Food Modernization and Safety Act 2011• Core NAR CBRN 2011


Getting to Five

• Prepare for 5 Simultaneous Incidents of National Significance 2007

• Select 5 Scenarios – Catastrophic Hurricane– Catastrophic Earthquake – Aerosol Anthrax– Radiological Dispersion Device– Blister Agent


Getting to Five

• Back-up Region Group planning• Resource needs and gap identification• EPA Regions 3, 4 & 5 were assigned:

– Aerosol Anthrax– Radiological Dispersion Device

• Other EPA Backup Regions performed other scenario planning

• Completed 2008


Getting to Five

• Results:– Five simultaneous scenarios are beyond EPA’s current

capabilities– Did not account for state resources and priorities– Regions 3,4,5 Approach to RDD Response/Anthrax

response

• Need state outreach• Need for national EPA ESF-10/post-emergency

exercise


National State Outreach Initiative 9/09

• Each Region to meet with Individual States• Engage state environmental, health, & emergency

management agencies• Address State priorities, resources and planning

for 5 scenarios• Other State hazardous materials disaster needs

and priorities • EPA 3 busy with Liberty RadEx in 2010


National EPA Exercise: Liberty RadEx

• Week of April 26 – 30, 2010– 1000 Participants– 500 EPA participants from across country – Post-emergency ESF-10 response– Based upon Regions 3,4,5 RDD plans

• 150 Lessons Learned • 11 Principal Findings


Liberty RadEx Results

• Need state involvement in RDD planning• Planning Section Management• Wide-area contamination disasters• Waste Disposal• Community Recovery• Community Involvement


Core NAR CBRN 2011

• Push EPA preparedness for chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear response

• Addresses all aspects of preparedness:– Technology research– Laboratory/analytical capabilities– Training, resources, and capabilities– Cleanup & Disposal

• State input for CBRN response planning


Core NAR CBRN Requirements• Develop national EPA plans for chemical, biological

and radiological decontamination & cleanup

• Regions work with states to develop state annexes to national plans

• CBRN disposal planning– No current disposal options– Need local solutions– Work to develop siting and design criteria


Region 3 WMD Planning

• Support national EPA CBRN planning efforts– Region 3 pushed “national” planning

– Will participate in national planning work groups

– Want to bring state perspective to planning effort

• ESF-10 support planning• If wide area contamination disaster strikes, what

does state need from EPA????• How can we support your state?


Region 3 WMD Planning

• Engaging Region 3 states • Initiated Pennsylvania support/outreach

efforts in May 2011• 2 – 3 other states in 2012• Others states in 2013• Several year process


Pennsylvania WMD Planning Outreach

• Met with PADEP, PADOH, PEMA and PDA• FEMA 3 participated• Discussed

– State agency planning status– State agency priorities– State agency planning needs

• Follow-up on specific issues in over next months


Pennsylvania Priorities

• PEMA: Post plume exercise, ESF-14 community recovery planning

• PDA: Zoonotic diseases, large animal disposal, large outbreak

• PADEP: RDD Disposal• PADOH: Biological agents


Pennsylvania Next Steps• Follow-up subgroup meetings on:

– WMD disposal– Meeting with PDA, EPA & USDA– PEMA Community Recovery Planning: ESF-10 & ESF-14 coordination– Community Involvement

• Large Group task: Pennsylvania role(s) in ESF-10 ICS:– Which Sections/units are state and local led? – Which are state and local supported and what positions?


Next Steps Other States?• Schedule initial scoping meetings with other states

– Environment, health, emergency management, agriculture, other?

• Larger meeting to follow within 2-3 months• Meetings to address specific Issues/state input to

national plans • Long-term EPA R3 develops state specific

annexes to national/regional WMD plans


Questions?


WMD Response Planning

Documents

state resources

national epa esf

cbrn response planning

state annexes

state perspective

priorities epa

national planningwill

support planning