Overview

The Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER) held BLUE CASCADES, an infrastructure interdependencies-focused tabletop exercise co-sponsored by the US Navy Critical Infrastructure Protection Office, FEMA Region 10, and the Canadian Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection and Emergency Preparedness on June 12, 2002 immediately following the PNWER Annual Meeting in Welches, Oregon (45 minute drive from Portland). This exercise was the second in a series of activities that are elements of a unique initiative - the Partnership for Regional Infrastructure Security - launched by PNWER in late 2001. (The first activity was the Partnership kick-off meeting on Nov. 30, 2001 in Spokane, Washington, attended by over 120 private and pubic sector organizations from the five states and three provinces that comprise PNWER.)

Background

More than other areas of the country, the Pacific Northwest is interdependent with our neighbor Canada: The two countries have a vital trade relationship, interconnected infrastructure and common border issues; for example, more than 80% of the region's natural gas supply flows south from Canada to the U.S.

On November 30, the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER) sponsored the first bi-national, multi-state regional meeting of both public and private stakeholders in North America. The meeting, called the Partnership for Regional Infrastructure Security successfully began a process whose goal is to develop a cooperative preparedness strategy using a risk-based approach to enhance the security of critical systems region-wide.

Discussions based on both geography and infrastructure similarities and interdependencies were held. PNWER's challenge now is to build on the momentum generated on November 30, to encourage each state and province to engage the private sector stakeholders in similar forums and exercises, and to move toward a regional 'disaster resistant' preparedness plan.
Blue Cascades is the second phase of a larger, multi-year effort to help the region determine which assets must be protected and how to enhance recovery and mitigate the effects of disruptions, be they natural disasters or terrorist acts. Directed by a regional Steering Committee, it will be important for the Partnership to provide resources for disaster resistance planning, including defining a basis for a common "language" or format for vulnerability assessments in the region so that the next step can be taken in creating a critical path analysis to clarify interdependencies, and determine where the crucial nodes for each technology are located and where they overlap.

n the case of any large-scale emergency, response will require very close communication with border officials and regional infrastructure partners. Working out these scenarios in advance and developing clear lines of communication and action plans will greatly enhance the economic security of the Pacific Northwest.

Exercise Focus

The tabletop exercise will be both multi-jurisdictional and cross-border in scope. BLUE CASCADES will focus on the linkages between and among infrastructures that could make a region vulnerable to cascading impacts in the event of an attack or disruption, and which could complicate expeditious response and recovery. Critical infrastructures include energy (electric power, oil, natural gas), telecommunications, transportation, water supply systems, banking and finance, emergency services, and government services.
BLUE CASCADES is intended to help the PNWER jurisdictions assess the current state of stakeholders' understanding and preparedness, particularly from the perspective of infrastructure interdependencies. It also will be designed to provide a baseline for identifying their needs, priorities, and resource requirements. This information, along with the lessons learned from the exercise, will help sensitize public and private-sector decision makers to infrastructure security issues and provide the impetus to prioritize and implement activities that will ensure the reliability and security of critical infrastructures in the post-September 11 world.

Purpose

The purpose of BLUE CASCADES is to identify what needs to be done to develop a "disaster resistant" region and to provide a model for holding interdependencies exercises in other locations within the PNWER region, contributing to, and validating implementation of a comprehensive preparedness approach for the eight PNWER member jurisdictions.

Objectives

The exercise will have several objectives:

Intent

BLUE CASCADES will allow participants (players) to discuss the impacts of attacks and disruptions on the infrastructures that they represent. It will also provide a setting to become more informed about other infrastructures and to learn about the potential for cascading effects that could result from interdependencies.
All participants will be encouraged to think out loud and "outside the box". Doing so will maximize the opportunity to discuss issues freely in a no fault setting. The exercise will involve minimal interaction with the facilitators.

Scenario

Scenario development will be the responsibility of a small group of stakeholder volunteers representing key infrastructures and government organizations. The scenario will reflect those threats that the exercise participants are most concerned about - both deliberate and "non-deliberate" (e.g., natural disasters, systems failure, human error). Infrastructure operational information will be solicited from utilities and other critical infrastructure managers in the region to make the scenario as realistic as possible. The scenario will be crafted to provide a framework for participants to discuss infrastructure interdependencies and infrastructure protection, mitigation, response, and recovery requirements across government agencies and the private sector. Participants will be asked a series of questions to enable them to explore how a complete disruption or a service curtailment in one infrastructure could cause cascading effects on other infrastructures and how infrastructure interdependencies could exacerbate repair and restoration efforts

Exercise Structure and Dynamics

The tabletop exercise will take place 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and include a working lunch. To maximize the benefits of the exercise, all participants will be located in the same room. The number of participants and observers will be limited only by the allowed capacity of the room selected. Every attempt will be made to ensure the inclusion of stakeholders who would play a role in a regional emergency.

The principal participants will be organized into approximately 20 infrastructure-specific and functional areas. Observers from other PNWER jurisdictions and relevant external public and private sector organizations will be invited to attend and provide input as needed. The facilitators will control the progression of the scenario, verbally and by using one or two large screens for displaying scenario progression and key issues for discussion. Maps and other visual information aids also will be displayed.

BLUE CASCADES will be divided into three sections: (1) orientation, (2) exercise moves (scenario progression), and (3) a "hot wash" immediately following the end of the exercise. The purpose of the hot wash will be to capture feedback and lessons learned. A follow-on meeting will be held to discuss the feedback and lessons learned in greater detail and to plan next-step activities that will be part of an overall comprehensive preparedness plan for both the area that is the focus of the exercise and the collective eight PNWER jurisdictions.