Maryland Emergency Managers Newsletter February, Vol 2, Issue 3

Page 1

Maryland Emergency Managers Newsletter February 2017 Planning for the 2017 Inauguration By Ian Alexander, Senior National Capital Region Planner, Maryland Emergency Management Agency

Planning for the 2017 Presidential Inauguration started in June last year with a joint senior leader brief and overall direction from the Directors of the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), the Montgomery County of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (OEMHS), and the Prince George’s County Office of Emergency Management (OEM). Throughout the year local, state, and federal partners joined in the planning process to prepare for one of the biggest anticipated events of the new year. The 2017 Presidential Inauguration was designated a National Special Security Event (NSSE) by the United State Secret Service and like all NSSEs, this event required a great deal of planning, coordination, and operational support from multiple departments and agencies. MEMA, with state partners and local OEMs, participated in the Consequence Management Subcommittee of the NSSE which included multiple public safety entities and other worked to create an interagency consequence management plan and other consequence management planning products through specific workgroups. At the same time as the NSSE planning, MEMA, Montgomery County OEMHS, and Prince George's County OEM formed a core planning team (CPT) to embark on creating a unified concept of operations plan detailing the Maryland support to the event. The CPT met bi-weekly and discussed various aspects of the plan development and future planning process. Once completed, the group presented to the Expanded Planning Team (EPT) which consisted of State and local departments and agencies with roles in supporting the Inaugural event. The Maryland Concept of Operations Plan focused on the coordination and operations of multiple State and local partners through activated Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) and regionally deployed liaisons, as well as the overarching responsibilities of Maryland entities involved in supporting the event and the operational phases of consequence management. It was a unified effort of State and local agencies, as well as a simultaneous effort of local, state, and federal partners that was well established and implemented for the January 20, 2017 Presidential Inauguration event. This newsletter also includes an Inauguration planning article from the Prince George’s County Office of Emergency Management explain their coordination and process of working with local, state, and federal partners for the national event located on page 3.

This quarter’s issue: This newsletter highlights different local and state emergency management agencies across Maryland and their initiatives for ensuring that everyone in the state is provided the resources/support needed to prepare for, mitigate against, respond to, and recover from the consequences of emergency and disaster events.

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-Newsletter, February 2017, Page 1-

MEMA from the Director P.2 MEMA Program Spotlight P.2 State Spotlight: P.3 Local Spotlight: P.3 Directorate Update P.4 http://wwww.mema.maryland.gov


From the Maryland Emergency Management Agency A Message from the Executive Director I would like to briefly inform you regarding an initiative that Governor Hogan launched in June 2016--the Customer Service Promise. MEMA and all state agencies are focusing on three key elements to this promise aimed at improving services to our stakeholders and Maryland residents. The first is renewing the focus on a strong service culture in state agencies, second is improving our customer service training for our state employees, and third is establishing new service performance Russell Strickland metrics, which will allow the administration MEMA Executive Director and all Marylanders to track improvements in customer service over time. You may even see on our website or within our e-mails a three question customer service survey that you can take to give us feedback on how we are doing.

As I have told the MEMA staff, I consistently hear excellent feedback about the agency, but there is always room to grow. This initiative is an opportunity for us to recognize those areas in which MEMA is doing well and identify areas for improvement, as well as to hear different perspectives and learn from one another. MEMA has received positive feedback with this survey and I believe these survey results are a reflection of our hard-working employees and their willingness to do a little extra to meet the needs of others, for both our internal interactions with one another and externally with you, our valued partner and customer. I will end this message with a quote that I and this agency believes sums up what exactly we are committed to do for you regarding customer service: “Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best.” - Tim Duncan

MEMA Program Spotlight: The Maryland Customer Service Promise By Emily Allen, Digital Engagement Coordinator, Maryland Emergency Management Agency After the launch of Governor Hogan’s Customer Service Promise, a small team within MEMA was established and tasked to come up with a customer service training that fit the needs of our staff and our federal, state, local, and non-profit partners. The group focused training topics to encompass five main objectives found on the Customer Service Promise pledge: to be helpful and supportive and have a positive attitude and passion for what we do, be proactive, take initiative, and anticipate our customers’ needs, to always aim for 100% accuracy, and be consistent in how we interpret and implement state policies and procedures, to continue to simplify and improve access to information and resources and to advance a culture of honesty, clarity and trust. Over half of MEMA’s staff has taken the training and we hope to have everyone trained before the end of March. The training consists of visuals from pop culture sitcoms such as “The Big Bang Theory” and “Seinfeld” which amuses the staff a bit, but also shows great examples of both good and bad customer service. The class is interactive and allows for others to learn from each other. We all have good and not-so-great customer service experiences to learn and grow from, but in the training we can take the time to examine those interactions and find ways to improve or ways to expand our interaction with our partners and customers. As Executive Director Strickland mentioned, we are always looking for new ways to continue to improve and grow which help us serve you better. Please take some time to share your feedback on the three question survey link below to help us continue to find even better ways or working and serving you and the residents in the great State of Maryland. Click here to provide MEMA feedback.

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-Newsletter, February 2017, Page 2-

http://wwww.mema.maryland.gov


State Agency Spotlight Department of Human Resources (DHR) By Marci Catlett, National Capital Region Planner, Maryland Emergency Management Agency

for the processing of over 500 evacuees in an emergent exodus where they can get provisions of temporary assistance such as:

T he U.S. HHS Repatriation Program provides temporary assistance to U.S. citizens and their dependents identified by the U.S. Department of State (DOS) as having returned, or been brought from a foreign country, to the United States because of civil unrest, war, illness, threat of war, natural disasters or similar crisis, and are without resources immediately accessible to meet their needs. The Maryland Department of Human Resources (DHR) is the lead Maryland Agency for an Emergency Repatriation event with MEMA providing coordination for all the organizations and agencies with roles within the State Emergency Repatriation Plans (SERP) to ensure that services necessary to the operation can be delivered during an emergency repatriation event.

           

Our SERP entitled the State Of Maryland Emergency Repatriation Plan addresses the needs of those forced to depart quickly, leading to a myriad problems, which are exacerbated by individual circumstances, lack of resources, limited coping skills, chronic illness, mental illness, and lack of supporting networks. The plan implements and operationalizes the State’s role in establishing an Emergency Repatriation Center (ERC) which is used

Medical care Mental Health Counseling Temporary lodging General transportation and onward movement Legal assistance Financial assistance Receive safe haven entitlements Emergency relief assistance, if needed Veterinary services Family/child care Family support center information Other goods and services

The plan delineates roles and responsibilities for our State partner agencies and Maryland Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (MD VOAD) organizations to open, staff, operationalize and decommission an ERC. In 2006 our SERP was activated for the Lebanese Emergency Repatriation of over 4500 evacuees arriving on nineteen flights within an eight day span. MEMA plans to exercise this plan in future months with all our involved partner agencies so that we are prepared if this should occur again.

Local Agency Spotlight Prince George’s County Prepares for 2017 Inauguration By Michelle Ezeofor, Regional Planner, Prince George’s County OEM The Prince George’s County, Office of Emergency Management (OEM) serves as a central point within the community that ensures adequate preparation and resiliency of its citizens in the event of an emergency or disaster. Located in Landover, Maryland, OEM oversees county-wide emergency preparedness, response, recovery activities, and mitigation planning in collaboration with Federal, State, and local partners.

Events Unit for Public Safety, the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management/Office of Homeland Security (OEMHS). The planning process involved the identification of roles and responsibilities before, during, and after the inauguration. OEM, in collaboration with MEMA, hosted an inaugural workshop for partner agencies to assess the event overview, identify potential threats, discuss resource management, and review response plans. On inauguration day, the Prince George’s County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) was partially activated in coordination with Federal, State, and local agencies. Primary functions of EOC staff included: maintaining situational awareness, advising partners of potential hazards, and increasing public awareness using social media outlets. Additionally resources, such as Emergency Liaison Officers, were deployed to Washington, D.C. to support public safety efforts.

The Office of Emergency Management was comprehensively involved in preparations for the 58th Presidential Inauguration. Due to OEM’s proximity to Washington, D.C., Prince George’s County is routinely impacted by events that impede traffic, lodging, public transportation, public safety, and more. To alleviate any obstacles, OEM coordinates emergency In comparison to previous inaugural events, activities specific to the most preparations with municipal partners, County Police, Fire/EMS, the recent inauguration were not tremendously impacting to Prince George’s Department of Social Services (DSS), the Department of Public Works and County. This event served as a great learning opportunity for all of the Transportation (DPWT), Joint Base Andrews and neighboring jurisdictions. agencies involved. Through lessons learned, best practices will be utilized Prior to the inauguration, the Office of Emergency Management coordinated for future events. planning and resource allocation in partnership with the County’s Special

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-Newsletter, February 2017, Page 3-

http://wwww.mema.maryland.gov


Directorate Update Administration One of the many and varied functions of the Administration Directorate is the administration of grants. The Maryland Emergency Management Agency, MEMA, receives grant awards on an annual basis from several entities. The Agency receives grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), US Department of Transportation: Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) through the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and from the Robert B. Thomas, Jr. Director of Administration National Capital Region Urban Area Security Initiative (NCRUASI) through the Washington Mission Support DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA).

The Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) incorporates the State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) and the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) are awards issued to local governmental entities and other state agencies. The Non-Profit Security Grant Program (NSGP) are awards issued to non-governmental entities primarily for infrastructure security enhancements. These awards fund projects designed for the preparedness and protection of entities within the State of Maryland against possible terrorist attacks. The SHSP is managed and coordinated by Janet Moncrieffe – Kee. She can be reached at janet.moncrieffe-kee@maryland.gov. The UASI and NSGP awards are program managed by the Urban Area Work Group under Cal Bowman, the UASI Chair and the grant is managed by Ms. Moncrieffe-Kee.

The Hazardous Material Emergency Preparedness grant (HMEP) is managed and coordinated by Wilson Low, a relatively new addition to the Grants Team within the past year. This award is focused on planning, training and exercising and requires a 20% match by the recipients. Each of the grant awards has a unique performance period and is governed Individuals with questions, concerns or seeking additional information may by individual program guidance from the respective federal agencies. contact Mr. Low at Wilson.low@maryland.gov. The Administration Grants Team serve as the program managers for the Finally, the National Capital Region UASI (NCRUASI) grant is presently preparedness grants received by MEMA. program managed by Kate Hession and coordinated by Wilson Low. Those The Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) is managed with questions or concerns regarding this specific grant award may contact and coordinated by Toni Cosden. The EMPG grant is a 100% match award. Ms. Hession at Kate.Hession@maryland.gov. Questions concerning this grant should be directed to her at toni.cosden@maryland.gov. Additionally, Ms. Cosden is the Grant The Grants Unit is available Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Compliance Monitor for all preparedness awards and the Hazard Mitigation to assist with questions, concerns or interest in any of the various federal Awards. Direct any compliance concerns to her attention. and state grants managed by the Grants Unit.

Operations The time is now! MEMA is gathering project submissions for funding that will be available out of the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) from the 2016 snowstorm declaration. Submissions and questions may be sent to MEMA’s mitigation team at mitigation.mema@maryland.gov. The Planning Branch is working to finalize the Maryland Emergency Management System (MEMS). MEMS describes the activities, responsibilities, and mechanisms Kate Hession that local, State, Federal, private, and nonDirector of Operations profit agencies use to conduct coordinated emergency management and homeland security actions in Maryland.

is underway and will outline how State agencies coordinate to prevent, respond to, and recover from disasters. Additionally, work has begun on the development of a DRR Plan. DRR is a different type of program than Consequence Management. While Consequence Management centers on responding to a specific threat, DRR focuses on all of the activities that alleviate or decrease risk throughout the State. On the training and exercise front, many of our local and State partners will participate in this year’s 2017 FEMA-graded Ingestion Pathway Exercise series. This series will test the coordinated response capabilities of local and state-level partners when managing a radiological incident within a 50 mile radius from the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant (CCNPP). Following the graded exercise later this year, MEMA will also participate with FEMA on a tabletop exercise that will focus on the recovery from the CCNPP ingestion pathway scenario.

At the core of the MEMS are Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Consequence Management activities. Collectively, the activities within Throughout the next quarter we will continue to conduct our monthly the System decrease the overall risk to the residents, businesses, and WebEOC drills and a quarterly Maryland Emergency Management environment of Maryland. The Consequence Management Plan (CMOP) Assistance Compact (MEMAC) exercise used to enhance our staff and our partners’ use of WebEOC and MEMAC.

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-Newsletter, February 2017, Page 4-

http://wwww.mema.maryland.gov


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