Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription or Fee Access

Redefining regional planning

Preeti V. Emrick, JD, Kimberly L. Nagel, MA, CEM

Abstract


In the wake of recent disasters including September 11, 2001, and the 2005 hurricane season, regional planning has become a high priority. Despite the 2007 release of the National Preparedness Guidelines, improving regional collaboration has continued to be a significant challenge and remains immeasurable. Regional operational plans are ineffective during disasters because of the differing goals of the jurisdictions within that region. It is evident that regions should be formed naturally based on how jurisdictions usually interact with each other. Regional planning is ineffective today because the federal funding process does not promote regional planning as a main goal. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identified Expanding Regional Collaboration as a National Priority; however, DHS does not effectively target this priority with grant money. To accomplish true regional collaboration, it is important to remember that all disasters are local. The federal government has become highly reactionary to major incidents and has forgotten this basic truth. Federal policies are built from the top down and do not effectively facilitate the traditional decentralized system of emergency management. The overhaul of existing systems to conform with national policies has resulted in less effective planning and disaster response. Regional planning needs to incorporate local jurisdictions and define their roles and processes. Local operational plans must be developed in concert with each other. Plans created for the region should be regional coordination plans. Additionally, the grant money must be tied closer to the National Priority of Expanding Regional Cooperation.

Keywords


regional planning, planning, DHS, grants, national preparedness guidelines

Full Text:

PDF

References


U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Target Capabilities List: A Companion to the National Preparedness Guidelines.Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2007: 12-21.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security: National Preparedness Guidelines. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2007: 1.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security: National Preparedness Guidelines. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2007: iii.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security: The Federal Preparedness Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2009: 40.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security: National Preparedness Guidelines. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2007: 12.

United States Government Accountability Office: Report to the Chairman, Committee on Governmental Reform, House of Representatives. Homeland Security: Effective Regional Coordination Can Enhance Emergency Preparedness. Washington, DC: United States Government Accountability Office, 2004: 14.

Pennsylvania Counterterrorism Planning, Preparedness and Response Act: Pub L 1967 No. 227, Section 202, 2002.

Urban Areas Security Initiative: Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency Web site. Available at http://www.fema.gov/government/grant/hsgp/index.shtm. Accessed August 17, 2010.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Fiscal Year 2010 Homeland Security Grant Program: Guidance and Application Kit. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2009: 25.

United States Government Accountability Office: Report to Congressional Committees. Urban Area Security Initiative: FEMA Lacks Measures to Assess How Regional Collaboration Efforts Build Preparedness Capabilities. Washington, DC: United States Government Accountability Office, 2009: 6.

United States Government Accountability Office: Report to Congressional Committees. Urban Area Security Initiative: FEMA Lacks Measures to Assess How Regional Collaboration Efforts Build Preparedness Capabilities. Washington, DC: United States Government Accountability Office, 2009: 3.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance: Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program no. 97.111. Available at https://www.cfda.gov/?s=program& mode=form&tab=step1&id=d3e5284f484c7b7e4575658c19f5c0c5. Accessed August 10, 2010.

Federal Emergency Management Agency: FY 2010 Homeland Security Grant Program. Available at http://www.fema.gov/ government/grant/hsgp/index.shtm. Accessed August 3, 2010.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Fiscal Year 2010 Homeland Security Grant Program: Guidance and Application Kit. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2009: 8.

Federal Emergency Management Agency: FY 2010 Emergency Management Performance Grants. Available at http://www.fema.gov/ government/grant/empg/index.shtm. Accessed August 3, 2010.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Fiscal Year 2010 Emergency Management Performance Grants Program: Guidance and Application Kit. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2009: 5.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Fiscal Year 2010 Emergency Management Performance Grants Program: Guidance and Application Kit. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2009: 3.

Gerber B, Robinson S: Local government performance and the challenges of regional preparedness for disasters. Public Performance Manage Rev. 2009; 32: 346.

Gerber B, Robinson S: Local government performance and the challenges of regional preparedness for disasters. Public Performance Manage Rev. 2009; 32: 349.

Gerber B, Robinson S: Local government performance and the challenges of regional preparedness for disasters. Public Performance Manage Rev. 2009; 32: 347.

Select Bipartisan Committee: A Failure of Initiative: Final Report of the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina. Washington, DC: U.S. House of Representatives, 2006: 104.

Select Bipartisan Committee: A Failure of Initiative: Final Report of the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina. Washington, DC: U.S. House of Representatives, 2006: 107.

Kaniewski Daniel J: PKEMRA Implementation: An Examination of FEMA’s Preparedness and Response Mission. Washington, DC: Homeland Security Policy Institute, George Washington University, 2009: 5-6.

United States Government Accountability Office: Actions Taken to Implement the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006.Washington, DC: United States Government Accountability Office, 2008: 1.

Bea K: Proposed Transfer of FEMA to the Department of Homeland Security.Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2002: 3-4.

Homeland Security Presidential Directive/HSPD-5: Management of Domestic Incidents.Washington, DC: Office of the Press Secretary, 2003.

Homeland Security Presidential Directive/HSPD-8: National Preparedness.Washington, DC: Office of the Press Secretary, 2003.

Gerber B, Robinson S: Local government performance and the challenges of regional preparedness for disasters. Public Performance Manage Rev. 2009; 32: 354.

myregion.org: What is the east central Florida regional planning council? myregion.org Web site.Available at http://www.enewsbuilder. net/myregion/e_article000098106.cfm. Accessed August 18, 2010.

Withlacoochee Regional Planning Council: Evacuation planning. Withlacoochee Regional Planning Council Web site. Available at http://www.wrpc.cc/evacuationplanning.asp. Accessed August 18, 2010.

Florida Statutes: Title XIII Planning and Development, Chapter 186 State and Regional Planning, Sections 504 and 505. Online Sunshine Web site. Available at http://www.leg.state.fl.us/ Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0100-0199/ 0186/0186ContentsIndex.html&StatuteYear=2010&Title=%2D% 3E2010%2D%3EChapter%20186. Accessed August 18, 2010.

Florida Statutes: State of Florida, Governor’s Executive Order 80-29 (Disaster Preparedness), April 14, 1980.

State of Florida Regional Evacuation Procedure: Florida Division for Emergency Management Web site: 1. Available at http://www.floridadisaster.org/EMIT/Accreweb/Documents/ Operations/RegionalEvac/2002%20REVAC%20ROLR.doc. Accessed August 18, 2010.

United States Government Accountability Office: Report to Congressional Committees. Urban Area Security Initiative: FEMA Lacks Measures to Assess How Regional Collaboration Efforts Build Preparedness Capabilities. Washington, DC: United States Government Accountability Office, 2009: 19.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.2010.0028

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2018 Journal of Emergency Management