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Hurricane Katrina, followed by Rita, has had devastating impacts on the South that are affecting the entire country. Many states, including Maryland, have become formally engaged in providing varying degrees of mutual aid to the declared disaster area under the
Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC).
Here in Maryland, Tropical Storm Isabel is still fresh in the minds of those who have yet to fully recover from the effects of property damage and displacement. Fortunately, the magnitude of Isabel was not nearly as great as Katrina’s and, for the most part, the state’s efforts have been brought to successful closure. Nevertheless, recent events cause Marylanders to wonder about our own state’s ability to respond to natural or man-made disasters of unusually great proportions.
In March 2005, MDE in cooperation with the
Maryland Emergency Management Administration (MEMA) became an active participant in the
National Incident Management System (NIMS). NIMS was developed by the federal Secretary of Homeland Security to enable responders at all levels to work together to effectively manage domestic incidents no matter what the cause, size or complexity.
Planning and Simulation Exercises
MDE, in cooperation with other state agencies, continually enhances and improves Maryland’s disaster response capability. A good example is the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant exercise. In recent years, the state, in partnership with local government and private industry, received high marks for both planning and live drills. The purpose of such drills is to ensure safety of workers and the public in the event of a radiation release incident. The state also participates in similar activities at the
Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania – the emergency planning zone for this facility extends into Maryland.
Federally evaluated simulation exercises are conducted each year with Maryland generally receiving high performance marks. Such drills involve national representatives from the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and several contractors. state, local and industry participants actively involved in this type of exercise include: 200 power plant employees, 40 State employees from 7 cabinet agencies and 200 local representatives from surrounding counties. The drills focus on preparation for and response to a release, and involve:
- sampling during the hypothetical event,
- tracking the release plume through affected areas,
- evacuation of citizens and non-essential plant employees as required by the scenario,
- monitoring of civilians,
- safely staging emergency workers and vehicles at reception and decontamination facilities outside of affected areas.
Communication System Function
An extremely critical component of disaster preparedness is ensuring that communication systems function well and are “interoperable.” MDE is working closely with several local jurisdictions to craft intergovernmental agreements that will provide
MDE's Emergency Response Division (ERD) with direct access to local emergency radio frequencies whenever a participating local jurisdiction requests state environmental response assistance. “Guaranteeing that communications can be immediate and direct can mean saving minutes critical to ensuring that life and property are protected in a given response scenario," said Alan Williams, Program Administrator, Technical and Regulatory Service Administration.
State’s Continuity of Operations Planning
A relatively new avenue of preparedness is MDE’s participation in the
State’s Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP), a MEMA initiative. COOP requires that state agencies have a contingency plan for conducting critical business at an alternate site in the event the agency’s headquarters becomes unavailable due to an unpredictable emergency (e.g., fire, flooding, electrical power outage).
MDE was among the first group of agencies to complete its initial plan. A revised version is being prepared during 2005. MDE anticipates conducting an agency-wide drill to test its COOP and will make periodic future revisions to ensure that critical functions continue during emergencies.
Tropical Storm Isabel
While Tropical Storm Isabel was still in the Atlantic, MDE was busy preparing for the worst. The State Emergency Operations Center (EOC) was activated at MEMA, bringing together representatives of all of the State Cabinet agencies.
Regarding preparedness, MDE literally sits in the front row with the most critical agencies in a disaster scenario including Maryland Department of Transportation, Maryland State Police, and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The collective mission of this group is to coordinate the State response and to assist local governments when their resources are depleted. MEMA will serve as Maryland’s coordinator with the Federal Emergency Management Agency when a Presidential disaster is declared.
MDE's Emergency Response Division is Always Prepared
Each day MDE's Emergency Response Division is prepared to jump into action on behalf of a requesting local jurisdiction. ERD’s small, but dedicated staff provides around-the-clock emergency response for the department. In 2004, ERD responded to 610 incidents while during Tropical Storm Isabel, the six members of ERD handled more than 400 incidents as a direct result of the storm’s damage.
MDE's Emergency Response Division protects public safety and the environment through planning, training, and the expert application of emergency mitigation techniques to minimize impacts. Highly trained ERD staff members prepare for and respond to emergencies involving oil and hazardous chemical spills, as well as nuclear power plant incidents. They can also handle other environmental crises, including incidents involving weapons of mass destruction and acts of terrorism, doing so in cooperation with federal, state and local law enforcement authorities.
MDE, as well as other governmental agencies and private parties, can also sign the environmental covenant to assure that land use controls are maintained into the future.
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