​The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) is an independent authority within the U.S. Department of Commerce NTIA created to provide emergency responders with the first nationwide, high-speed, broadband data network dedicated to public safety. The FirstNet effort in Washington is known as Washington OneNet. 

Beginning in 2015, the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region's Center for Regional Disaster Resilience and the Washington State University Division of Governmental Studies and Services as well as other partners held 17 meetings across Washington to provide a brief overview of FirstNet and Washington OneNet to gather input from first responders, emergency managers, and other stakeholders. The sessions included tabletop scenario discussion and activities to gather data (surveys and coverage maps) as well as discussion to identify next steps.  

For more information on Washington OneNet, visit ocio.wa.gov/washington-onenet.

View an overview presentation of Washington OneNet here.

​The Washington Public Ports Association (WPPA) has adopted a Washington State Port Mutual Aid Agreement that provides the legal framework for ports to request and provide assistance to other ports. “WPPA is pleased to be able to administer this mutual aid agreement on behalf of our member ports,” said Ginger Eagle, Assistant Director for WPPA. “By having the WPPA involved, we can administer the agreements and assist in the coordination of resources when there is a disaster.” 

Disasters can happen at any time, and maritime industries and ports are especially vulnerable to disruptions caused by natural and technological disasters. Earthquakes are of special concern, as ports are located close to waterways and on soils that magnify ground shaking due to liquefaction. 

To date, ten Washington State ports have agreed to participate in this agreement. The Port Commissions for the Ports of Tacoma and Seattle both acted in the last two weeks to join this mutual aid agreement.

The creation and adoption of the Inter-Port Mutual Aid Agreement was an outgrowth of a Regional Catastrophic Planning Grant administered by the Seattle Office of Emergency Management. Director Barb Graff said, “I am very pleased to see this positive outcome from our work on regional disaster preparedness. The maritime industry is critical to our economic wellbeing and it is heartening to see our larger ports taking advantage of this agreement to become better prepared to assist one another in times of disaster.” 

The Center for Regional Disaster Resilience, part of the Pacific Northwest Economic Region, was the organization responsible for the coordination and adoption of the agreement. Neil Clement, Emergency Management and Security Officer for the Port of Bellingham, was a key author in the development of the mutual aid agreement’s language.

Over 115 participants gathered at the Hewlett Packard Campus in Garden City, Idaho on November 13, 2014 for the Idaho Cyber Security Interdependencies Workshop hosted by the Idaho Bureau of Homeland Security (IBHS) with assistance from the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER) Center for Regional Disaster Resilience (CRDR). The one day workshop provided information on current Cyber threats, and best practices utilized to develop organizational Cyber Security plans. Guest speakers, panel discussions, and round table facilitated conversations contributed to a very successful workshop.

The event was developed over the course of four months through a series of conference calls and meetings. The planning team included local public and private sector organizations, including: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), MK Hamilton & Associates, Office of the Idaho State Controller, Office of the Idaho Chief Information Officer, Idaho Bureau of Homeland Security, Petso Financial Consultants LLC, University of Idaho, Hewlett Packard, Idaho State Police, Zions Bank, Idaho Transportation Department, and St. Luke’s Health System.

This workshop was the first in a three year initiative to develop a public/private sector partnership for resilience in the state of Idaho. In 2015 IBHS and PNWER CRDR will host a table top exercise to help identify interdependencies and gaps in existing partnerships. Following that, the team will develop a Action Plan for the development of an Idaho Public/Private Sector Resilience Partnership.

View the Event Summary and Report
View the Agenda

​The Center for Regional Disaster Resilience (CRDR) worked with key private sector organizations and the Puget Sound Regional Catastrophic Planning Team (RCPT) to implement a series of stakeholder identified strategies to improve regional supply chain resilience. The goal of the project was to develop a supply chain resilience working group made up of public/private stakeholders to provide input and advise the region on issues related to supply chain resilience. Read the Final Report here. 

Through this process, the working group developed a mutual aid memorandum of understanding for Puget Sound ports to share resources during a catastrophic event; develop a regional strategy for supplying Community Points of Distribution for needed post-disaster government provided commodities; and create a strategy for coordinating between the government led recovery efforts and the private sector to more rapidly restore commerce and the economy.

Executive Summary
Washington State is one of the most trade dependent states in the United States, with an estimated one in three jobs being dependent on trade. It is projected that the supply chain network in the region and the state would be severely disrupted following a major earthquake on any of a number of the Northwest’s major faults. Additionally, a terrorist attack against a single point target or multiple targets of critical infrastructure could cripple the region’s ability to conduct commerce. Lessons learned from past events, such as the Kobe and Christchurch earthquake, reinforced the importance of recovery planning for the region.

The Regional Catastrophic Planning Team identified Supply Chain resilience as a priority issue for the region. As part of the work to build a more resilience Regional Supply Chain it was recommended to exam several of the past lessons learn from regional exercises and real world events. This report will highlight initial priorities that the Supply Chain Work Group identified as well as provide recommendations for regional coordination for supply chain resilience. The initial priorities the work group focused on include: designation of points of distribution, identification of alternate means of delivery, and disaster recovery transition planning between the government and private sector.

​It is important to note that this work group is committed to meeting beyond the end of the Regional Catastrophic Planning Grant Program. This project will be sustained through ongoing recovery planning activities in further developing comprehensive recovery plans. The PNWER Center for Regional Disaster Resilience in Partnership with the Washington State Homeland Security Region 6 Critical Infrastructure Work Group will manage any follow-on efforts after the time of the grant.

Scope
The main objectives of the project were to develop a supply chain resilience working group consisting of transportation and supply chain stakeholders across the 8 county RCPGP. A series of workshops conducted by the working group researched the designation of community points of distribution (CPODs), identification of alternate means of delivery, and transition plan from government to private sector.

Final Products/Deliverables

• Task 1. Create a working group to focus on supply chain resilience. This group will include key transportation and supply chain stakeholders, and additional state and local agencies, infrastructures, industry, businesses, and community organizations essential to sustaining the regional economy.
• Task 2. Develop a memorandum of understanding for Puget Sound ports for post-disaster mutual aid to assist in keeping maritime business in the region.
• Task 3. Identify best practices and develop a transportation strategy for community points of distribution for government provided commodities post disaster, track supply chain routes and alternate means of delivery.
• Task 4. Develop a strategy for coordination between government and the private sector after the government’s role in disaster response and short-term recovery are reduced and to more rapidly restore commerce and the economy.
• Task 5. Develop a Critical Infrastructure Protection Action Strategy in response to the transportation impacts identified during the Evergreen Earthquake, Blue Cascades, Maritime Projects, and other CIP related exercises.
• Task 6. Develop tools and pre-messages for sharing important transportation information between jurisdictions and transportation stakeholders, including promotion of the FirstToSee social media management system to the eight counties and all cities over 50,000 in the Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program planning area

The Puget Sound ports – Port of Everett, Port of Olympia, Port of Seattle, and Port of Tacoma – collectively represent the third largest port load center in the nation, with Washington State being one of the most trade-dependent states in the United States. These ports are vital to the local, regional, and interstate economies and are critically dependent on electricity, fuel, rail, road transportation assets, and other critical infrastructures that facilitate the movement of passengers and cargo.

The Puget Sound Region experiences significant impacts from natural hazards including floods, storms, fires, earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes. There are also numerous technological hazards, including industrial hazardous materials, military hazardous materials, and vulnerable Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources (CIKR). These hazards are further complicated by human-driven factors such as the potential for terrorist and criminal activity. It is anticipated that given the importance of trade to our economy, a major incident such as an event or terrorist attack in the Pacific Northwest would have a large effect on the flow of commerce. This is based upon the findings published in the 2009 Washington State Hazard Identification and Vulnerability Assessment (HIVA), and given the important role the ports play in our region, state and nationally.

It is expected that commerce in the region and throughout the state would likely grind to a halt following a major incident or event involving an earthquake on one of the Northwest’s major fault systems or a terrorist attack against a single point target or multiple targets of critical infrastructure.

To further address the Port of Tacoma’s interest in an analytically driven exercise supported by realistic simulation, the PSMRT used the results of the Phase I exercises to design and develop an interactive simulation of the economic interdependencies within the regional maritime transportation community. This technology was used as the foundation for the design, development, conduct, and evaluation of a regional discussion-based exercise for Phase II of the exercise program. This exercise was the first of its kind, incorporating regional players with the economic models that focused on the recovery phase of incident management. Integrating advanced modeling and simulation technology into the discussions provided the framework to achieve a common understanding of the need for a sustainable regional recovery program between Puget Sound’s public and private sectors.

The Phase II regional exercise focused on port-wide risk management, mitigation, continuity of operations, and resumption of trade after an earthquake. The exercise used an earthquake scenario that impacted maritime commerce and engaged the private sector, local, state, tribal, and federal governments. The Regional Catastrophic Transportation Disaster Recovery Plan was also exercised with a focus on the identification of interdependencies between industries that centered specifically on disaster recovery, beginning at day 31 post-disaster and continuing out to year five.

Both Phase I and Phase II of the exercise program were very well attended, with representatives from the local, state, tribal, and federal levels of government, along with numerous private sector entities, and port employees.

In the Phase II regional exercise, the participants were split into breakout groups to focus on the geographic region surrounding a specific port. An additional breakout group for representatives of State and Federal entities created an opportunity for discussion of individual department and agency priorities at that level as well as providing a single point of reference for any questions or concerns generated by the local breakouts. In these smaller groups, each port was able to use feedback from the regional simulation to inform their tactical and strategic decisions on specific recovery investments. This allowed the groups to see how their decisions directly affected their port’s financial recovery in near real-time during the exercise. Plenary sessions were used to report out the group work and to view the projected effect each port’s decision made on the region’s economic recovery.

During this phase, the team integrated both the qualitative and quantitative elements. These tools were used to inform the facilitated discussion. With the help of the simulation tools, the participants were able to experience the potential physical, economic, and financial impacts of a catastrophic earthquake and view the results of their recovery planning in a new way. This allowed the participants of the region to expand their knowledge of the potential impacts. These tools also help the participants observe the level of effort that will be required to recover from such a large scale event or disaster. The exercise provided a forum for the ports and the regional stakeholders to build a broader joint understanding of the economic impact of such an event. 

Read the full report here.

Strengths

• Participants exhibited amazing momentum and desire to work rapidly to identify key problems that need to be solved. They were eager to develop a timeline to identify issues and set expectations for when problems would be solved, especially from external partners.
• Interdependencies, port-to-port agreements to provide cooperation, and opportunities for partnerships were identified and explored between the participating ports, stakeholders, and government entities.
• Participating ports were willing to prioritize regional recovery over individual short-term business recovery, with the recognition that each port must restart their individual revenue-based activities quickly to enable their financial survival.

Areas for Improvement

• Few, if any, mutual aid agreements currently exist to support recovery planning and operations between ports, government entities, and the private sector.
• Regional maritime business continuity and continuity of operations plans are not regularly updated due to limited resources.
• There is no clear way for ports and stakeholders to collectively communicate their transportation infrastructure requirements to State and Federal authorities following a disaster.

Participants exhibited impressive momentum and desire to work rapidly to identify key problems that need to be solved and commitment to a timeline to solve the issues and problems. Attendees agreed the exercises were beneficial and the content addressed would assist the ports with reducing future disaster recovery times. Stakeholders agreed they were reminded of the importance of listening to one another and highlighted the value of building relationships. By engaging a broad spectrum of government and private sector participants from across the ports in this exercise program, regional recovery strategies and plans were initiated. As the contract comes to a close, the participants, the ports, the cities, and the region have all benefited from the recovery exercises by identifying areas for improvements, recognizing their strengths, strengthening their relationships, and gaining a better understanding of options and challenges for port and regional recovery following a significant disaster.

In 2013, PNWER/CRDR partnered with Pierce County, Washington, to develop an informational booklet on how social media could be used for emergency management. This guide was produced as part of the Puget Sound FirstToSee Social Media Situational Awareness Project. 

View the Social Media Guide Here.
​
*Please note that this guide was developed in 2013, and some of the information contained within may no longer be applicable. ​​

​The United States Coast Guard, Transport Canada and PNWER partnered in the development of a framework for swiftly managing traffic in the event of an emergency, with the goal of expediting maritime commerce recovery through regional collaboration between Canada and the United States. The pilot project included the planning and execution of several cross border, multi-sector workshops and a tabletop exercise which led to the development of a protocol framework for regional maritime commerce recovery.  

President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced on February 4, 2011 the Beyond the Border initiative to ensure that the vital economic partnership that joins our two countries continues to be the cornerstone of our economic competitiveness and security as we jointly face the challenges of the 21st century. The Beyond the Border Working Group has proposed the development of a framework for swiftly managing traffic in the event of an emergency, with the goal to expedite maritime commerce recovery through regional collaboration between Canada and the United States. Development of the Framework will be guided by a Pilot Project in British Columbia (BC) Lower Mainland – United States Pacific Northwest region. Specifically, the pilot project will leverage region-based, cross-border maritime resilience and recovery committees. The outcomes of this pilot guided similar work in the Atlantic and Great Lakes regions beginning in 2013. 

Read the final report here.

The Region 6 Critical Infrastructure Protection Workgroup recognized the need for an informative workshop that allowed private, public, and non-profit sector members to receive briefings on supply chain issues and information sharing. The Workshop agenda was designed by regional stakeholders and addressed issues that have surfaced during previous events. A number of prior workshops and exercises have pointed to the need to identify and share best practices between public and private sector organizations. The workshop focused on the importance of supply chain resilience to manufacturing and the broader business community.  Business leaders discussed supply chain and related continuity challenges and needs regarding business impacts, restoration decision-making, and potential areas of improvement. Read the Final Report here. 

Executive Summary
The workshop provided stakeholders from all infrastructure sectors an opportunity to learn about regional initiatives in critical infrastructure protection and resiliency. Topics included coordination of Regional Critical Manufacturing and Supply Chain Resilience; Private Sector Resilience; and Emergency Communications and Information Sharing. The Washington State Homeland Security Region 6 Critical Infrastructure Protection Workgroup composed the planning team for the Workshop. The purpose of this After Action Report (AAR) is to provide a summary of the proceedings from the Workshop. Organizations should use this document as an information tool for understanding topics highlighted during the Workshop. The AAR meets the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) guidelines and is meant as a reference guide to the issues covered during the Workshop. The participant feedback forms provided a majority of the information on attendees’ overall impression of the Workshop.

Major Strengths
The major strengths identified during this Workshop are as follows:

• The region has a developed relationship between the public and private sectors
• The workshop highlighted several interdependencies between the public and private sectors regarding supply chain and business continuity
• The organizations shared best practices for business continuity in the public sector

The Action Plan identifies needs and recommends more than six dozen activities to meet these needs in 12 focus areas. It provides a template in matrix format that stakeholders can use to prioritize these recommendations and determine lead and partner organizations for each activity. This matrix offers a tool for stakeholders to use to take the next step to create work groups to identify project requirements and sources of potential funds and expertise for implementation. Lastly, the Action Plan includes guidance on how stakeholders can create a sustainable, continuous improvement process through incorporating into the Plan new bio-resilience needs and activities based on lessons learned from events and exercises. This continuous improvement process will provide a means to measure progress as Action Plan activities are completed.​

​This document describes a holistic, systematic approach for determining needed actions to improve regional capabilities to withstand bio-events that significantly impact community health and safety, and to rapidly recover to normal or new normal conditions. The geographic focus of the Comprehensive Community Bio-Event Resilience Action Plan is the Puget Sound Region of Washington State, which includes the Greater Seattle Area, the Pacific Northwest’s largest metropolitan area. The Action Plan is the culmination of a federally-sponsored pilot project led by the Center for Regional Disaster Resilience of the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER), a bi-national statutory non-profit organization comprised of Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. The Action Plan provides a template that can be readily customized for use by states and localities with key stakeholders to gauge the current level of preparedness to deal with anticipated and unexpected incidents and disasters.

This Action Plan was developed by a broad stakeholder group of public health, emergency management, and other government officials, and utility, business, and non-profit representatives. The approach used was a multi-step process developed by the PNWER Center for Regional Disaster Resilience that has been employed in other parts of the nation and Canada to bring cross-sector and multi-jurisdiction representatives together with experts from diverse disciplines to examine vulnerabilities, consequences, and preparedness gaps for all-hazards incidents and disasters. This facilitated process enables stakeholders to work with government partners to develop and conduct a series of educational workshops, a tabletop exercise and a baseline needs assessment to collectively determine areas of improvement and cost-effective solution options. While the Action Plan is focused on bio-events, the same template can be adapted for any hazard to identify, prioritize, and develop requirements for activities that can provide a dynamic, flexible, and ongoing path forward to enhance community resilience.

In 2008, the Blue Cascades V exercise focused specifically on how the region will restore and continue to provide food, fuel and water after a catastrophic earthquake. Both the public and private sector were included in this exercise because a majority of critical infrastructure owned and operated by the private sector. To ensure the region can continue to provide these services it is necessary for the public and private stakeholders to work together. The exercise examined supply chain recovery after the initial event moving out of the life safety issues and transitioning from the response to recovery phase. Read the Final Report here. 

Executive Summary
State and local governments and key stakeholder organizations convened on December 11, 2008 to hold a regional infrastructure interdependencies exercise focused on assuring critical supply chains in a major disaster. Blue Cascades V, the most recent exercise in the Blue Cascades exercise series, centered on providing food, fuel in a M. 6.7 Seattle Fault Earthquake scenario. The goal of the exercise was to explore impacts that would cause significant, extended disruptions in these critical supply chains; test disaster response plans and procedures; and identify gaps and mitigation and other measures that could expedite their restoration. Specific issue areas addressed in the exercise included interdependencies, coordination, roles and responsibilities, response, critical resource logistics and distribution, information sharing, economic/community recovery, public information, and training and education. The scenario, which was developed by an Exercise Planning Team with assistance from a regional stakeholder Scenario Advisory Group, also addressed infrastructure interdependencies that crossed state and national boundaries. The exercise used an interactive format of facilitated discussion among participants on scenario events using issues questions to focus discussion. An exercise evaluation team provided a hotwash presentation of lessons learned at the end of the exercise followed by participant discussion on exercise outcomes. The exercise concluded with a Next Steps session that outlined an After Action Report followed by development of an Action Strategy to address preparedness gaps and contribute to disaster supply chain planning and resilience.

Selected Findings