**February 27, 2008 FEMA Emergency Management Hi-Ed Program Report**

**(1) Homeland Security Planning for Campus Executives & June 2-5, 2008
EM Hi-Ed Conference??  Express Your Interest Please:**

We are seeking to determine the level of interest in scheduling a
workshop on June 2, 2008 during the "Workshop Day" which kicks off the
11^th^ Annual FEMA Emergency Management Higher Education Conference. We
are in communication with staff at West Virginia University, with the
VMC/Homeland Security Programs, who are open to bringing their workshop
to the HiEd Conference. The normal targeted audience for this workshop
includes such people as "campus presidents and vice presidents; key
staff members; safety committees; and incident management teams." This
workshop "usually" takes 4-5 hours. The "Overview" from a workshop flier
notes that "The workshop provides a basic overview for those
institutions attempting to develop an approach to solving homeland
security planning, and it provides useful resources and tools. The
material covered includes:

-   Homeland Security Act of 2002

-   Risk Management, Threat and Vulnerability Assessments

-   Relevance to Higher Education

-   National Response Plan

-   National Incident Management System

-   Incident and Unified Command Systems

-   All-Hazards Response Planning Process

-   Components of a Risk Communication Plan;

-   Crisis Communications Management

-   Recommended Priorities for Campus Preparedness -- and more.

Both the workshop development and instructional team, and we here in the
FEMA EM Hi-ED Program feel that even though the audience for the EM HiEd
Conference is not exactly "on target" for the targeted audience, it is
close enough and relevant enough to try to make it work. Thus, if you
are planning on attending the June 2-5, 2008 EM HiEd Conference and
would be interested in attending this workshop email either Wayne
Blanchard or Barbara Johnson to indicate interest. We are not making
reservations for this workshop. We are simply seeking to determine if
the response to this query will be sufficient to schedule this workshop.
We think so and thus encourage your response. We do not know yet whether
this would be a morning or an afternoon workshop. The other workshops
scheduled on June 2^nd^ are:

-   ArcGIS

-   EOC Simulation Exercise/Workshop

-   "GIS in Emergency Management" Workshop and Breakout Session

-   Introduction to Teaching Emergency Management

-   National Incident Management System (NIMS)

-   Writer's Workshop

**To indicate interest in attending the workshop described above, if
scheduled, please email to**: <Barbara.l.johnson@dhs.gov> or
<wayne.blanchard@dhs.gov>

 

**(2) Department of Homeland Security Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Request:**

Peters, Katherine McIntire. "Administration Budget Shortchanges 'Urgent'
Security Needs, Lieberman Says." *Government Executive*, February 25,
2007. Accessed at:
<http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=39360&dcn=e_hsw>

> "The influential chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and
> Governmental Affairs Committee is urging congressional appropriators
> to substantially increase funding for the Homeland Security Department
> in 2009, especially for grants to state and local entities with
> responsibilities for security and emergency response. The
> administration is requesting \$50.5 billion for the department. 'The
> proposed budget, once again, shortchanges too many urgent homeland
> security needs,' said Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn. 'I am particularly
> troubled by the aggressive cuts to core federal grant programs that
> states, municipalities and tribes rely on to keep their citizens
> safe.' Last Friday, in letters to Sens. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and Judd
> Gregg, R-N.H., the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Budget
> Committee, Lieberman urged increasing funding for various homeland
> security grant programs, as well as more money to:
>
> •        Hire more Customs and Border Protection officers at ports of
> entry;
>
> •        Improve the screening system used to process travelers at
> ports of entry;
>
> •        Hire more FEMA employees and boost pre-disaster mitigation
> programs;
>
> •        Restore the Coast Guard\'s research and development budget,
> which the Bush administration wants to eliminate.
>
> "The administration\'s budget request for the Federal Emergency
> Management Agency is particularly problematic, Lieberman said, because
> it does not fully address personnel and resource needs identified by
> Congress in the 2006 Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act.
> Further strengthening the agency is especially critical as the
> American Red Cross, upon which FEMA relies heavily during disasters,
> is undergoing significant staff cuts and reorganization due to its own
> funding deficit, he said. 'Given FEMA\'s reliance on the American Red
> Cross in large part for mass care in the event of a disaster, I\'m
> concerned that FEMA will also need additional resources to fill this
> gap....'"

The Lieberman Letter referenced above can be accessed at:
<http://hsgac.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Print&PressRelease_id=1626&suppresslayouts=true>

A previous Committee Press Release dealing with the FY 2009 DHS Budget
is noted below:

Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
*Lieberman, Collins Will Work to Strengthen State and Local Homeland
Security Grants; Chertoff Answers FY 2009 Budget Questions*. Washington,
DC, February 14, 2008. Accessed at:
<http://hsgac.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&Affiliation=C&PressRelease_id=1623&Month=2&Year=2008>

 

**(3) Emergency Planning and Colleges in Virginia -- and Perhaps A State
Near You Soon:**

From the *Richmond Digest* \[VA\] and picked up by the *Washington
Post*, February 27, 2007: "Bill Requires Colleges to Have Emergency
Plan."

> "Legislation requiring colleges and universities to better plan for
> emergencies such as school shootings is on its way to \[VA\] Gov.
> Timothy M. Kaine...The bill would require universities to develop an
> emergency plan and update it every four years, establish a
> threat-assessment team, and create a system to notify students and
> employees of emergencies by e-mail, phone, text messages or other
> means. The House of Delegates voted unanimously yesterday to send the
> bill to the governor after agreeing to a Senate change making the bill
> take effect in January rather than August. The legislation mirrors the
> recommendations of a panel that investigated the April 16 shootings at
> [Virginia
> Tech](http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Virginia+Polytechnic+Institute+and+State+University?tid=informline),
> where a student killed 32 students and faculty before turning a gun on
> himself. The panel appointed by Kaine concluded that lives could have
> been saved at Virginia Tech if alerts had been sent earlier and
> classes canceled. Kaine will review the legislation but generally
> supports efforts to improve emergency planning on campuses...".

At:
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/26/AR2008022603216.html>   
\[Thanks to Kay Goss for the tip.\]

 

**(4) FEMA Emergency Management Higher Education Conference, June 2-5,
2008 \-- Invitations Going Out!:**

Finished the "Topics" page to insert in invitations to the 11^th^ Annual
FEMA Emergency Management Higher Education Conference today.
Invitational packets containing applications to attend the conference
will begin to go out tomorrow. Last year there were about 220 dorm rooms
provided to house conference attendees, and about 270 participants. We
have received an increased allotment of dorm rooms this year, but
probably not enough for all participants, thus necessitating staying in
nearby motels. The point is that for those who receive an conference
packet, please be sure to fill the application form out completely, sign
and return to the address noted on the form, in order to reserve a dorm
room. Next week the "Topics" document and the conference application
form will be uploaded to the EM HiEd Program website -- and placed
within the "Conference box" near the top-center of the homepage.

 

**(5) Flood and Levee Hazards - Two Types of Levees: Those That Have
Failed, Those That Will:**

Prud'homme, Alex. "There Will Be Floods." *New York Times*, February 27,
2008.

Accessed at:
<http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/27/opinion/27prudhomme.html?_r=2&ref=opinion&oref=slogin&oref=slogin>

> "LAST month, a 30-foot section of levee ruptured in Fernley, Nev.
> While the cause of the breach, which swamped 450 homes and forced
> dozens of people to evacuate, is unknown, anyone familiar with the
> drowning of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina will tell you this:
> Levees fail. Indeed, there are more than 100 antiquated earthen berms
> across the country in danger of collapsing. What happened in Nevada is
> a harbinger of a much larger problem nationwide....
>
> "Even more vulnerable are the 1,100 miles of levees in the
> Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, north of San Francisco. Cobbled
> together 150 years ago to provide farmland, they are now part of an
> intricate, fragile system that supplies fresh water to California, the
> eighth-largest economy in the world. On a recent visit, I noticed that
> the water had risen nearly to the top of the levee on one side, while
> the land had subsided at least 30 feet below on the other side. The
> water pressure against the decrepit berm was palpable. Should the
> levee crack, be overtopped by a storm or liquefied by an earthquake,
> saltwater will surge inland, destroying lives, perhaps flooding
> Sacramento and paralyzing California....
>
> "Sadly, America's flood-protection system has long been undermined by
> bureaucratic turf wars, chronic underfinancing by Congress and a lack
> of political leadership. The heart of the problem is the Corps of
> Engineers, which Congress has "streamlined" relentlessly for decades,
> imperiling its mission through budget cuts and neglect. The Corps has
> a good set of engineering guidelines for levees, but it doesn't always
> follow them. Now largely staffed by civilians, the Corps has a backlog
> of projects it does not have the money to accomplish.
>
> Business has also ignored the levee problem. Developers, abetted by
> the Supreme Court's vague 2006 ruling on the Clean Water Act, have
> rushed to fill in wetlands and build in floodplains....
>
> "...citizens and businesses who benefit from levees should apply their
> skills and resources to their upkeep. For years, we have relied on
> dredging, bulldozing and building ever-taller walls to control nature.
> Instead, the Corps should work with other government agencies,
> businesses, scientists and environmental groups to develop a greener,
> more intelligent system that integrates traditional engineering with
> natural defenses like wetlands, islands and reeds. Such an approach
> will be costly and require maintenance, but will prove far more
> effective than our current methods. The need to eliminate dangerous
> levees gives Congress the chance to rethink land and water use, and
> how they are connected. We should integrate nature and technology,
> build only in areas that can be adequately protected and allow some
> wetlands to return to their naturally unconstrained state. After all,
> experts say, there are only two types of levees: those that have
> failed, and those that will fail. If we have learned anything from
> Hurricane Katrina, it's that we cannot simply wish natural flooding
> away."
>
>  

**(6) Government Accountability Office Report on \"National Disaster
Response\" -- Released Today:**

Government Accountability Office. *National Disaster Response: FEMA
Should Take Action to Improve Capacity and Coordination between
Government and Voluntary Sectors* (GAO-08-369). February 2008, 63 pages.
At: <http://www/gao.gov/new/items/d08369.pdf>

Abstract:

> "Using lessons from the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes, the federal
> government released the National Response Framework (NRF) in January
> 2008. This report examines (1) why the primary role for mass care in
> the NRF shifted from the Red Cross to the Federal Emergency Management
> Agency (FEMA), and potential issues with implementation, (2) whether
> National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (NVOAD)\--an
> umbrella organization of 49 voluntary agencies\--is equipped to
> fulfill its NRF role, (3) the extent to which FEMA has addressed
> issues with mass care for the disabled since the hurricanes, (4) the
> extent to which major voluntary agencies have prepared to better serve
> the disabled since the hurricanes, and (5) the extent to which FEMA
> has addressed issues voluntary agencies faced in receiving Public
> Assistance reimbursement. To analyze these issues, GAO reviewed the
> NRF and other documents, and interviewed officials from FEMA,
> voluntary agencies, and state and local governments."

 

**(7) Mock Gunman Exercise at University -- Gone Wrong -- Reread Item
1---and Sign-Up for the Workshop.**

From the Associated Press, February 27, 2008, under the title "Mock
Gunman Drill Terrifies Students, Faculty...":

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C.  ---  Elizabeth City State University is offering
counseling to faculty and students after some became unknowing
participants in an emergency response drill. The News & Observer of
Raleigh reported in Wednesday\'s editions that an armed man burst into a
classroom Friday, threatening to kill students. The drill came eight
days after a gunman killed five people and himself in a classroom at
Northern Illinois University. \[The\] vice chancellor of student
affairs, said ECSU was testing its response to such shootings. E-mail
and text messages were sent five days before the drill, notifying
students, staff and faculty, he said. \"The intent was not to frighten
them but to test our system and also to test the response of the
security that was on campus and the people that were notified,\" Brown
said. But not everyone got the word, including assistant professor
Jingbin Wang, whose American foreign policy class was held hostage. \"I
was prepared to die at that moment,\" Wang said Tuesday of the moment
the gunman entered the room." Click on the following for ... the rest of
the story: <http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,333069,00.html>

 

**(8) Nuclear Terrorism Hazard and Readiness:**

Was reminded today that we had not yet posted a note on a series of
hearings which were scheduled earlier in the month and have now begun:

Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
*Lieberman, Collins Move Forward on Investigation Into Nuclear Terrorism
Readiness: Building on Past Oversight, Committee Seeks Information on
Level of Preparedness*. February 8, 2008. Accessed at:
<http://hsgac.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&Affiliation=C&PressRelease_id=1618&Month=2&Year=2008>

> "Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe
> Lieberman, ID-Conn., and Ranking Member Susan Collins, R-Me., Friday
> moved forward in their broad inquiry into the nation's preparedness to
> prevent, respond to, and recover from a nuclear attack on the
> homeland. The Committee intends to hold a series of hearings, starting
> next week with an examination of the Department of Defense's role in
> supporting civilian authorities during and after a catastrophic event.
> Friday, the Senators asked relevant agencies to provide information
> about their roles and responsibilities for preventing and responding
> to a terrorist nuclear attack.... 'DHS Secretary Chertoff has said
> that what keeps him awake at night is the prospect of a terrorist
> attack using weapons of mass destruction," Lieberman said. "We need to
> know where the federal government is in preventing the unthinkable
> from happening and preparing to deal with the consequences of a
> nuclear attack'."

**(9) Terrorism:**

Grant, Greg. "Analyst Warns of Third Islamic Terrorism Wave, Enabled by
Internet." *Gov. Executive*, 25 Feb 08.
<http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=39361&dcn=e_hsw>

> "Al Qaeda is not the central planning, recruiting and organizing force
> for global terrorism it once was, but has become more of a brand name
> that leaderless terrorist groups around the world assume to gain
> recognition and notoriety, according to a leading terrorist expert.
>
> The third wave of terrorists comprises mostly \"terrorist wannabes,\"
> said Marc Sageman, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute
> in Philadelphia, who was a CIA case officer in Afghanistan in the
> 1980s. They are a post-Iraq terrorist generation made up predominately
> of Muslims in Europe who feel shut out of the labor market, said
> Sageman, speaking in Washington on Feb. 20 at an event sponsored by
> the New America Foundation. They become increasingly radicalized by
> shared group discontent and join the terrorist jihad in a quest for
> glory and heroism, he added..."

**The End.**

B.Wayne Blanchard, Ph.D., CEM\
Higher Education Program Manager\
Emergency Management Institute\
National Emergency Training Center\
Federal Emergency Management Agency\
Department of Homeland Security\
16825 S. Seton, K-011\
Emmitsburg, MD 21727\
wayne.blanchard@dhs.gov\
<http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu>

**"Please note: Some of the Web sites linked to in this document are not
federal government Web sites, and may not necessarily operate under the
same laws, regulations, and policies as federal Web sites."**

EMI, the nation's pre-eminent emergency management training
organization, offers training at no charge to emergency managers and
allied professions through its resident classes in Emmitsburg, MD, its
online courses <http://training.fema.gov/IS/> and through development of
hands-off training courses.  To access upcoming resident courses with
vacancies <http://training.fema.gov/EMICCourses/>. 

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