Generic Continuity of Operations/Continuity of Government Plan for State-Level Transportation Agencies

Abstract:

The Homeland Security Presidential Directive 20 (HSPD-20) requires all local, state, tribal and territorial government agencies, and private sector owners of critical infrastructure and key resources (CI/KR) to create a Continuity of Operations/Continuity of Government Plan (COOP/COG). There is planning and training guidance for generic transportation agency COOP/COG work, and the Transportation Research Board has offered guidance for transportation organizations. However, the special concerns of the state-level transportation agency’s (State DOT’s) plan development are not included, notably the responsibilities for the entire State Highway System and the responsibility to support specific essential functions related to the State DOT Director’s role in the Governor’s cabinet. There is also no guidance on where the COOP/COG planning and organizing fits into the National Incident Management System (NIMS) at the local or state-level department or agency. This report covers the research conducted to determine how to integrate COOP/COG into the overall NIMS approach to emergency management, including a connection between the emergency operations center (EOC) and the COOP/COG activity. The first section is a presentation of the research and its findings and analysis. The second section provides training for the EOC staff of a state-level transportation agency, using a hybrid model of FEMA’s ICS and ESF approaches, including a complete set of EOC position checklists, and other training support material. The third section provides training for the COOP/COG Branch staff of a state-level transportation agency, including a set of personnel position descriptions for the COOP/COG Branch members.

Publications:

Generic Continuity of Operations/Continuity of Government Plan for State-Level Transportation Agencies (1.1MB)

Research Brief (606K)

Authors:

FRANCES L. EDWARDS, MUP, PhD, CEM

Frances Edwards is the director of the Master of Public Administration program and a professor of political science at San José State University. She is Deputy Director of the DHS NTSCOE of the Mineta Transportation Institute at SJSU where she is also a Research Associate and teaches emergency management in the Master of Science in Transportation Management program. Her current research is focused on the continuity of operations process and its relationship to emergency management in transportation organizations. She is also researching issues related to climate change and transportation, and transportation security issues. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences Transportation Research Board’s ABE40 Committee, focused on critical infrastructure security.

DANIEL C. GOODRICH, MPA, CEM

Dan Goodrich is a Research Associate with the Mineta Transportation Institute, and an instructor in the Master of Science in Transportation Management program where he teaches Security for Transportation Managers. His current research is focused on the continuity of operations process and its relationship to emergency management in transportation organizations, and on transportation security issues, especially related to critical infrastructure protection.

WILLIAM M. MEDIGOVICH

Col. William M. Medigovich, USA, MI, Ret. is a Research Associate with the Mineta Transportation Institute specializing in transportation emergency management and national security programs. He retired from the U.S. government as a member of the Senior Executive Service in September 2005 following 45 years of Federal, State and military service. In his last position he served some eight years as the Director of the Office of Emergency Transportation within the U.S. Department of Transportation. Over the course of his career he held progressively responsible governmental positions ranging from field intelligence operations to senior executive. He has national and state emergency response expertise with Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) preparedness and consequence management response, special event planning, and continuity of government (COG)/contingency operations and planning (COOP).

Published:

August 2011

Keywords:

Disasters and emergency operations

Disaster preparedness

Emergency training

Hazards and emergency operations

Continuity of government

Continuity of operations