**July 31, 2007 FEMA Emergency Management Higher Education Project
Report**

\(1\) CATASTROPHE READINESS AND RESPONSE COLLEGE COURSE DEVELOPMENT
PROJECT:

In order to secure dorm room space, have reserved a dozen dorm rooms to
support a two-day meeting the first week of October, in anticipation
that a Work Plan will be signed-off on and this course development
project be put into operation in the near future.

\(2\) CITIZEN DISASTER PREPAREDNESS:

Lopes, Rocky. \"Bottom Line: Helping People Get Ready and Know What To
Do for Disaster.\" Home Safety Council Current News, August 2007.

Accessed at:
[[http://www.homesafetycouncil.org/expert_network/en_blaug07_w001.aspx]{.underline}](http://www.homesafetycouncil.org/expert_network/en_blaug07_w001.aspx)

\(3\) FEMA PREPAREDNESS:

House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. FEMA Preparedness in
2007 and Beyond (Hearing). Washington, DC: July 31, 2007. Chair and
several witness prepared statements accessed at:
[[http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1439]{.underline}](http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1439)

Hearing Witnesses:

FEMA Administrator R. David Paulison (Prepared Statement available)

National Guard Bureau Director of Joint Staff, Major General Terry
Scherling

DHS Office of the IG, Deputy Inspector General Matt Jadacki

NEMA Representative, Oklahoma Emergency Management Director Al Ashwood
Director, Office of National Capitol Region Coordination, Christopher
Geldart

IAEM Representative, Johnston County, NC Director of Emergency
Management, DeWayne West

Director of DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency,
Darrell Darnell Director of Homeland Security & Justice Issues, GAO,
William Jenkins Director,

Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado at Boulder, Dr. Kathleen
Tierney

From Chairman Waxman\'s Opening Statement:

\"Today\'s hearing will focus on FEMA\'s preparedness going forward. We
will take a broader look at the agency and ask whether the federal
government is better prepared now for natural disasters than it was when
Hurricane Katrina struck.

These hearings are part of a series of hearings in this Committee on how
to make government work. The goal of these hearings is to spotlight
deficiencies in government and restore public confidence in key
government agencies.

FEMA used to be widely admired for its effectiveness. But as Hurricane
Katrina showed, cronyism, under-funding, and lack of leadership turned
FEMA into the most ridiculed agency in government.

The question we will ask in today\'s hearing is a simple one: Has FEMA
restored its capacity to serve the public effectively in times of
crisis?\"

See, also:

Government Accountability Office. Homeland Security: Observations on DHS
and FEMA Efforts to Prepare for and Respond to Major and Catastrophic
Disasters and Address Related Recommendations and Legislation (Statement
of William O. Jenkins, Jr., Director, GAO Homeland Security and Justice
Issues, Before House Committee on Oversight and Government Affairs).
Washington, DC: GAO (GAO-07-1142T), July 31, 2007, 38 pages. At:
[[http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d071142t.pdf]{.underline}](http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d071142t.pdf)

\[Abstract: \"As GAO has reported, FEMA and DHS face continued
challenges, including clearly defining leadership roles and
responsibilities, developing necessary disaster response capabilities,
and establishing accountability systems to provide effective services
while protecting against waste, fraud, and abuse. This testimony (1)
summarizes GAO\'s findings on these challenges and FEMA\'s and DHS\'s
efforts to address them; and (2) discusses several disaster management
issues for continued congressional attention.\"\]

\(4\) FEMA AND \"TOXIC TRAILERS\" HEARING:

House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Committee Probes
FEMA\'s Response to Reports of Toxic Trailers (Hearing). Washington, DC:
Full Committee,

July 19, 2007. Chair and Witness Prepared Statements accessed at:
[[http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1413]{.underline}](http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1413)

\(5\) HAZARDOUS MATERIALS:

Environment News Service. \"Congress OKs Toxic Train Protections for
Major Cities.\" Washington, DC\" ENS, July 30, 2007. At:

[[http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jul2007/2007-07-30-09.asp]{.underline}](http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jul2007/2007-07-30-09.asp)

Government Accountability Office. Environmental Protection: EPA-State
Enforcement Partnership Has Improved, But EPA\'s Oversight Needs Further
Enhancement (Report to Congress, GAO-07-883). Washington, DC: GAO, July
2007, 51 pages. At:
[[http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07883.pdf]{.underline}](http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07883.pdf)

U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. \"Final CSB Report
on Synthron Explosion Finds Inadequate Safety Controls for Chemical
Reaction Hazards.\" Washington, DC: CSB News Release, July 31, 2007.

Accessed at:

[[http://www.csb.gov/index.cfm?folder=news_releases&page=news&NEWS_ID=390]{.underline}](http://www.csb.gov/index.cfm?folder=news_releases&page=news&NEWS_ID=390)

\[Excerpt: \"In a final report released today on last year\'s fatal
explosion at the Synthron chemical manufacturing facility in Morganton,
North Carolina, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) concluded that the
company\'s management of reactive chemical hazards was inadequate and
that the facility was unprepared for a chemical process emergency. The
CSB also found that ineffective corporate oversight by French parent
company Protex International contributed to the likelihood and severity
of the accident.\"\]

The above-noted report can be accessed at:

U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. Case Study:

Runaway Chemical Reaction and Vapor Cloud Explosion - Synthron, LLC,
Morganton, NC, January 31, 2006. Washington, DC: CSB, No.

2006-04-I-NC, July 31, 2007, 17 pages. At:

[http://www.csb.gov/completed_investigations/docs/Synthron%20Final%20Report.pdf](http://www.csb.gov/completed_investigations/docs/Synthron Final Report.pdf)

\(6\) HURRICANE:

Stooksbury, David. \"A \'Katrina\' Will Hit Georgia, Climatologist
Says.\"

LakeFront Hartwell.com. July 30, 2007. Accessed at:

<http://www.lakefronthartwell.com/news29672/a-katrina-will-hit-georgia-climatologist-says~print.shtml>

\(7\) NURSING HOME AND HOSPITAL FACILITY PREPAREDNESS:

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Emergency Preparedness
Atlas - U.S. Nursing Home and Hospital Facilities (AHRQ Publication No.

07-0029-2). Rockville, MD: AHRQ, April 2007. Accessed at:

[[http://www.ahrq.gov/prep/nursinghomes/atlas.htm]{.underline}](http://www.ahrq.gov/prep/nursinghomes/atlas.htm)

\(8\) PANDEMIC:

Occupational Safety & Health Administration. Pandemic Influenza
Preparedness and Response Guidance for Healthcare Workers and Healthcare
Employers. Washington, DC: OSHA 3328-05, U.S. Department of Labor, 2007,
104 pages. Accessed at:

[[http://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA_pandemic_health.pdf]{.underline}](http://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA_pandemic_health.pdf)

\(9\) PRINCIPLES OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT:

Received for review from Carol Cwiak, 1st draft of a 90-page report
commissioned by the FEMA EM HiEd Project, to report on a survey of
emergency management practitioners, academics, and consultants on an
identification of the core or foundational principles of emergency
management.

B.Wayne Blanchard, Ph.D., CEM

Higher Education Project Manager

Emergency Management Institute

National Emergency Training Center

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Department of Homeland Security

16825 S. Seton, K-011

Emmitsburg, MD 21727

\(301\) 447-1262, voice

\(301\) 447-1598, fax

wayne.blanchard@dhs.gov

[[http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu]{.underline}](http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu)

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