WMD Response Planning
Regional Response Team
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
September 15, 2011
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Liberty RadEx Results
• Need state involvement in RDD planning• Planning Section Management• Wide-area contamination disasters• Waste Disposal• Community Recovery• Community Involvement
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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
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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
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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?
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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
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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
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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
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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?
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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
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Questions?
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