Department of Homeland Security 

Office of Inspector General 

Assessment of Federal Emergency 
 


Management Agency's Emergency 
 


Support Function Roles and 
 


Responsibilities 
 


OIG-11-08 November 2010 
£;/~c<.~

Office ofInspector General 

u.S. Department of Homeland Security 

Washington, DC 20528 

Homeland 

NOV 10 2010 Security 

Preface 

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) was 


established by the Homeland Security Act 0/2002 (Public Law 107-296) by amendment 


to the Inspector General Act 0/1978. This is one of a series of audit, inspection, and 

special reports prepared as part of our oversight responsibilities to promote economy, 


efficiency, and effectiveness within the department. 


This report addresses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's readiness to 


undertake its Emergency Support Function roles and responsibilities as outlined in the 


National Response Framework. It is based on interviews with agency employees and 


officials, direct observations, and a review of applicable documents. 


The recommendations herein have been developed to the best knowledge available to our 


office, and have been discussed in draft with those responsible for implementation. We 


trust this report will result in more effective, efficient, and economical operations. We 


express our appreciation to all of those who contributed to the preparation of this report. 

1­


Richard L. Skinner 

Inspector General 
Table of Contents/Abbreviations 

Executive Summary .............................................................................................................1 
 


Background..........................................................................................................................2 
 


Results of Review ................................................................................................................5 
 


ESF-2: Communications................................................................................................5 
 


Recommendations........................................................................................................10 
 


Management Comments and OIG Analysis ................................................................10 
 


ESF-3: Public Works and Engineering .......................................................................10 
 


Recommendations........................................................................................................16 
 


Management Comments and OIG Analysis ................................................................16 
 


ESF-5: Emergency Management ................................................................................17 
 


ESF-6: Mass Care, Emergency Assistance, Housing, and Human Services ...............23 
 


Recommendations........................................................................................................28 
 


Management Comments and OIG Analysis ................................................................29 
 


ESF-7: Logistics Management and Resource Support ................................................30 
 


ESF-9: Search and Rescue...........................................................................................36 
 


Recommendations........................................................................................................42 
 


Management Comments and OIG Analysis ................................................................42 
 


ESF-14: Long-Term Community Recovery ................................................................42 
 


Recommendations........................................................................................................47 
 


Management Comments and OIG Analysis ................................................................47 
 


ESF-15: External Affairs .............................................................................................48 
 


Recommendations........................................................................................................54 
 


Management Comments and OIG Analysis ................................................................54 
 


Appendixes 

Appendix A: Purpose, Scope, and Methodology.......................................................55 
 


Appendix B: Management Comments to the Draft Report .......................................56 
 


Appendix C: ESF Coordinators and Primary and Support Agencies ........................64 
 


Appendix D: Major Contributors to this Report ........................................................67 
 


Appendix E: Report Distribution ..............................................................................68 
 

Abbreviations 

DHS Department of Homeland Security 

ESF Emergency Support Function 

FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency 

OIG Office of Inspector General 
 

Executive Summary 

The National Response Framework is a guide to how the Nation 

conducts all-hazards response. It incorporates 15 Emergency 

Support Function Annexes that group functional capabilities and 

resources to provide federal support to states and federal-to-federal 

support for disasters and emergencies, including those declared 

under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

Assistance Act (Public Law 100-707). The Federal Emergency 

Management Agency (FEMA) is the coordinator or primary 

agency for eight Emergency Support Functions and is responsible 

for ensuring that activities for these functions are accomplished as 

outlined in the National Response Framework. 

FEMA generally has fulfilled its Emergency Support Function 

roles and responsibilities. Specifically, the agency manages 

mission assignments, executes contracts, and procures goods and 

services for its Emergency Support Function activities. However, 

the agency can improve its coordination with stakeholders and its 

operational readiness. 

FEMA should be coordinating with stakeholders for all Emergency 

Support Functions. For example, there was little evidence that 

support agencies are regularly included in planning meetings for an 

Emergency Support Function mission, even though agency 

officials said that such coordination would be beneficial. The 

agency must coordinate these activities with all relevant federal 

departments and agencies, state and local officials, and private 

sector entities to effectively execute the Emergency Support 

Function mission. 

FEMA also should be fully prepared to provide community 

assistance after a disaster. Specifically, it is not conducting longterm recovery exercises, and one Emergency Support Function 

does not have clearly defined procedures to identify and deploy 

needed recovery services to disaster affected communities. 

The report contains 11 recommendations that, when implemented, 

should improve FEMA’s efforts to meet its Emergency Support 

Function roles and responsibilities. 

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Background 

The National Response Framework presents the guiding principles 

that enable all response partners to prepare for and provide a 

unified national response to disasters and emergencies. The 

National Response Framework includes a number of Annexes that 

provide additional guidance for responding to disasters. These 

include support annexes, incident-specific annexes, and 15 

Emergency Support Function (ESF) Annexes. The federal 

government maintains a wide array of capabilities and resources 

that can be made available in response to a threat or disaster, and 

the ESF Annexes group together the key functions most commonly 

needed to respond to incidents. 

Each ESF has a coordinating federal agency, as well as primary 

and support agencies (see appendix C for a complete list of these 

agencies). The ESF coordinator is the entity with management 

oversight for that ESF and has ongoing responsibilities throughout 

the life cycle of incident management, from preparedness to 

response and recovery. Those responsibilities include— 

•	 Coordinating before, during, and after an incident, 

including pre-incident planning and coordination; 

•	 Maintaining ongoing contact with primary and support 

agencies; 

•	 Conducting periodic ESF meetings and conference calls; and 

•	 Coordinating efforts with corresponding private sector 

organizations. 

A primary agency is a federal agency with significant authorities, 

roles, resources, or capabilities for a particular function within an 

ESF. Primary agency responsibilities include— 

•	 Supporting the ESF coordinator and closely coordinating 

with the other primary and support agencies; 

•	 Notifying and requesting assistance from support agencies; 

•	 Working with appropriate private sector organizations to 

maximize use of all available resources; 

•	 Conducting situation and periodic readiness assessments; 

•	 Planning for short- and long-term incident management and 

recovery operations; 

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•	 Managing mission assignments1

 and coordinating with 

support agencies, as well as appropriate state officials, 

operations centers, and agencies; and 

•	 Ensuring financial and property accountability for ESF 

activities. 

Support agencies have specific capabilities or resources that 

support the primary agency in executing the ESF mission. These 

agencies’ responsibilities include— 

•	 Conducting operations, when requested by DHS or the 

designated ESF primary agency, consistent with their own 

authority and resources, except as directed otherwise 

pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act); 

•	 Participating in planning for short- and long-term incident 

management and recovery operations and the development 

of supporting operational plans, Standard Operating 

Procedures, checklists, or other job aids, in concert with 

existing first-responder standards; 

•	 Assisting in the conduct of situational awareness; and 

•	 Furnishing available personnel, equipment, or other 

resource support as requested by DHS or the ESF primary 

agency. 

Table 1 lists each ESF and the corresponding federal departments 

and agencies that serve as a coordinator and/or a primary agency. 

No fewer than 12 federal departments and agencies have this 

responsibility. ESFs where the Federal Emergency Management 

Agency (FEMA) serves either as coordinator, primary agency, or 

both are highlighted. 

1

 Mission assignments are work orders issued by FEMA to other federal agencies directing the completion 

of a specified task. As of June 2010, FEMA has developed 237 pre-scripted mission assignments with 29 

federal agencies. Pre-scripted mission assignments include statements of work and cost estimates than can 

be modified to meet event-specific needs. 

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Table 1. Emergency Support Functions with Coordinator and Primary Agencies 

Emergency Support Function ESF Coordinator (C) or Primary Agency (P) 

ESF-1 Transportation Department of Transportation (C/P) 

ESF-2 Communications DHS/National Communications System (C/P) 

DHS/FEMA (P) 

ESF-3 Public Works and Engineering 

Department of Defense/U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers (C/P) 

DHS/FEMA (P) 

ESF-4 Firefighting Department of Agriculture/Forest Service (C/P) 

ESF-5 Emergency Management DHS/FEMA (C/P) 

ESF-6 Mass Care, Emergency Assistance, 

Housing, and Human Services DHS/FEMA (C/P) 

ESF-7 Logistics Management and Resource 

Support 

DHS/FEMA (C/P) 

General Services Administration (C/P) 

ESF-8 Public Health and Medical Services Department of Health and Human Services 

(C/P) 

ESF-9 Search and Rescue 

DHS/FEMA (C/P) 

Department of Defense/U.S. Air Force (P) 

DHS/U.S. Coast Guard (P) 

Department of Interior/National Park Service 

(P) 

ESF-10 Oil and Hazardous Materials Response Environmental Protection Agency (C/P) 

DHS/U.S. Coast Guard (P) 

ESF-11 Agriculture and Natural Resources Department of Agriculture (C/P) 

Department of Interior (P) 

ESF-12 Energy Department of Energy (C/P) 

ESF-13 Public Safety and Security Department of Justice (C/P) 

ESF-14 Long-Term Community Recovery 

DHS/FEMA (C/P) 

DHS (P) 

Department of Agriculture (P) 

Department of Housing and Urban 

Development (P) 

Small Business Administration (P) 

ESF-15 External Affairs DHS (C) 

DHS/FEMA (P) 

Source: National Response Framework, Emergency Support Function Annex 

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Results of Review 

FEMA generally has fulfilled its Emergency Support Function roles and 

responsibilities. Specifically, the agency manages mission assignments, 

executes contracts, and procures goods and services for its Emergency 

Support Function activities. However, the agency can improve its 

coordination with stakeholders and its operational readiness. For example, 

there was little evidence that support agencies are regularly included in 

planning meetings for an Emergency Support Function mission, even 

though agency officials said that such coordination would be beneficial. 

FEMA must coordinate these activities with all relevant federal 

departments and agencies, state and local officials, and private sector 

entities to effectively execute the Emergency Support Function mission. 

FEMA also should be fully prepared to provide community assistance 

after a disaster. Specifically, it is not conducting long-term recovery 

exercises, and one Emergency Support Function does not have clearly 

defined procedures to identify and deploy needed recovery services to 

disaster affected communities. 

ESF-2: Communications 

ESF-2 Communications is responsible for supporting the restoration of the 

communications infrastructure, coordinating federal communications 

support to response efforts, and facilitating the recovery of systems and 

applications from cyber attacks. ESF-2 also provides communications 

support to federal, state, tribal, and local governments as well as first 

responders when their systems have been affected. Finally, ESF-2 

provides communications and information technology support to the Joint 

Field Office and field teams.2

 DHS’ National Communications System is 

both the ESF-2 coordinator and a primary agency, while FEMA is the 

other primary agency. 

2

 A Joint Field Office is a temporary federal facility established locally to provide a central point for federal, state, 

local, and tribal executives with responsibility for incident oversight, direction, and assistance to effectively coordinate 

protection, prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery actions. 

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Figure 1. Utility workers repair communication lines 

Source: FEMA 

FEMA’s ESF-2 focus is supporting public safety communications during a 

disaster. FEMA designates the personnel for supporting tactical 

communications functions and provides communications support to state, 

tribal, and local first responders, as well as to the Joint Field Office, its 

field teams, and other federal response teams. 

Coordination With ESF Stakeholders 

FEMA works closely with the National Communications System 

to coordinate with ESF-2 federal partners, state and local 

governments, and the private sector. This is accomplished through 

interagency meetings as well as more informal mechanisms, such 

as telephone calls and e-mail correspondence. During normal 

operations, FEMA participates in a weekly call hosted by the 

National Communications System with other federal agencies, 

state and local jurisdictions, as well as the private sector. 

When ESF-2 is activated, departments and agencies participate in 

FEMA video teleconferences run through the National Response 

Coordination Center, which provide situation awareness updates to 

stakeholders. A situation report is distributed detailing the current 

status of the event, communications issues that have arisen, 

ongoing communications activities by federal and state partners, 

and the priorities for ESF-2 moving forward. After an incident, 

FEMA officials participate in after-action reviews conducted 

through the National Communications System. The private sector 

is included in these reviews and in a winter seminar that brings 

together public and private sector partners. However, the most 

recent winter seminar was held in 2008. 

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To further facilitate coordination, FEMA has supported the 

establishment of the legislatively mandated Regional Emergency 

Communications Coordination Working Groups in the 10 FEMA 

Regions. Group membership includes emergency response 

organizations from federal, state, local, and tribal governments, 

nongovernmental organizations, and private sector entities. Each 

group meets at least twice a year to discuss emergency 

communications issues with federal, state, and local stakeholders. 

FEMA officials said that most groups supplement face-to-face 

meetings with regular teleconferences. FEMA is assisting each 

group to develop annual reports mandated by the Post-Katrina 

Emergency Management Reform Act (Public Law 109-295) to the 

FEMA Regional Administrators, which FEMA headquarters will 

then consolidate into a single report to the Federal 

Communications Commission and other federal partners. FEMA 

officials said that the groups are in various stages of drafting these 

annual reports. 

FEMA is involved in numerous catastrophic and other incident 

planning initiatives for ESF-2. For example, the Federal 

Interagency Hurricane Concept of Operations Plan and the Interim 

Federal Interagency Improvised Nuclear Device Concept of 

Operations Plan all contain an annex detailing communications 

plans for such events. FEMA is also helping create state and 

regional emergency communications plans and has assisted with 

developing 31 state and 9 regional plans to help these entities 

prepare to deploy and preposition resources for catastrophic 

events. 

Operational Readiness 

FEMA has trained staff and significant communications assets 

available for ESF-2 functions. If ESF-2 is activated, FEMA can 

provide communications support to the local emergency 

community. FEMA’s Mobile Emergency Response Support 

detachments have approximately 230 highly qualified 

multidiscipline personnel and more than 40 specialized vehicles 

spread across six geographical regions. Each detachment has a 

stand-alone capability to support federal, state, and local 

emergency responders with interoperable communications; 

information processing; and operational, logistical, power 

generation, and life support capabilities. FEMA has deployed 

Mobile Emergency Response Support detachments in connection 

with numerous major incidents. Training for personnel includes 

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operator-level, discipline-specific instruction by experienced 

members within each detachment, vendor-provided training, and 

training from the Emergency Management Institute. 

FEMA participates in both internal and external ESF-2 exercises. 

FEMA has participated in multiple communications-oriented 

exercises, including the Defense Interoperability Communications 

Exercise, Vigilant Accord, and Eagle Horizon. FEMA has also 

begun to conduct no-notice “thunderbolt” exercises3

 to assess the 

readiness of its components. One such exercise conducted in 

Region V deployed a Mobile Emergency Response Support 

detachment, which identified shortcomings in the information 

technology systems. In April 2010, FEMA participated in an 

exercise that replicated the activation, deployment, response, 

recovery, and deactivation of ESF-2 operations. The exercise 

included all ESF-2 partners, among them state, county, and city 

officials. After-action reviews are also conducted after each 

deployment and shared with all the Mobile Emergency Response 

Support detachments and FEMA headquarters. These reviews help 

identify areas of needed improvement for future events. 

FEMA is collaborating with the National Communications System 

to develop ESF-2 Standard Operating Procedures that will be the 

foundation for creating task books and job aids, as well as outline 

the roles, responsibilities, and procedures for incident 

management. While FEMA officials said that FEMA’s ESF-2 

responsibilities focus on response, the draft Standard Operating 

Procedures outline FEMA’s responsibility in ensuring a smooth 

transition to and help during the recovery phase of an incident. 

FEMA officials did not know when the National Communications 

System will publish the finalized Standard Operating Procedures. 

FEMA has worked to identify new technologies and other 

improvements to increase the capabilities of the Mobile 

Emergency Response Support detachments. A major component 

of this effort is upgrading the Mini-Emergency Operations 

Vehicles. These vehicles had limited communications capabilities, 

serving mainly as mobile offices for operations. FEMA has 

upgraded these vehicles to be able to provide better 

communications support to the mobile operations of the 

detachments. 

3

 Administrator Fugate instituted a program of notice and no-notice exercises to help determine the 

readiness of FEMA components to respond to incidents. 

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Financial Management and Accountability 

FEMA has pre-scripted mission assignments for ESF-2 and other 

mechanisms in place to help maintain financial management and 

accountability. FEMA has established 11 pre-scripted mission 

assignments for ESF-2 with five different federal agencies to 

expedite assistance. These assignments include statements of work 

and cost estimates that can be modified to meet event-specific 

needs. ESF-2 mission assignments include staffing for the 

National Response Coordination Center and other coordination and 

response teams, impact assessments of the affected area, and 

communications equipment support. The draft Standard Operating 

Procedures outline the importance of maintaining clear records of 

the mission assignments used during operations. 

FEMA officials said that they do not execute contracts to support 

ESF-2 operations specifically, but some contracts that FEMA uses 

on a day-to-day basis can also be used to respond to an incident. 

Conclusion 

Overall, FEMA is fulfilling its ESF-2 roles and responsibilities. 

FEMA coordinates well with the National Communications 

System and has mechanisms in place to coordinate with other 

stakeholders, including through the regions. However, FEMA 

needs to consistently hold meetings with stakeholders and 

complete required reports from the regions to ensure continued 

coordination with stakeholders and to assess emergency 

communications capabilities and needs. 

FEMA can provide trained staff and teams in the event of an 

incident. These operational detachments have identified 

technology needs for the mission, and FEMA is in the process of 

making the necessary equipment upgrades. FEMA also includes 

emergency communications needs in its planning initiatives and 

exercises its capabilities regularly. To supplement its own staff 

and resources, FEMA has 11 ESF-2 pre-scripted mission 

assignments to help respond to incidents. In addition, the draft 

ESF-2 Standard Operating Procedures outlines the importance of 

clear record keeping and financial accountability. 

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Recommendations 

We recommend that the Director for Disaster Emergency 

Communications: 

Recommendation #1: Complete the statutorily required annual 

reports from the Regional Emergency Communications 

Coordination Working Groups to ensure that any issues identified 

in the regions are addressed and to assess communications 

capabilities in the regions. 

Management Comments and OIG Analysis 

Recommendation #1: FEMA concurred with this recommendation 

and has provided OIG a copy of the FY 2009 Regional Emergency 

Communications Coordination Working Groups Report. 

We consider this recommendation closed because OIG was 

provided a copy of the FY 2009 Regional Emergency 

Communications Coordination Working Groups Report. 

ESF-3: Public Works and Engineering 

ESF-3 Public Works and Engineering coordinates and organizes the 

federal government’s capabilities and resources to deliver services, 

technical assistance, engineering expertise, construction management, and 

other support to prepare for, respond to, or recover from an incident. The 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is both the coordinating agency and a 

primary agency, while FEMA is the other primary agency. 

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Figure 2. Flooding in Tennessee 

Source: FEMA 

FEMA’s ESF-3 focus is recovery. FEMA is responsible for providing 

recovery resources and support, including assistance under the Public 

Assistance Grant Program. This program provides supplemental federal 

disaster grant assistance for debris removal and disposal; emergency 

protective measures; and the repair, replacement, or restoration of disasterdamaged public facilities and the facilities of certain qualified private 

nonprofit organizations. The Public Assistance Grant Program distributes, 

on average, just under $3 billion in disaster assistance to states and 

localities every year. 

Coordination With ESF Stakeholders 

FEMA is coordinating with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 

state and local governments, and private sector organizations. 

However, FEMA needs to enhance its coordination with ESF-3 

support agencies, which would be beneficial to the mission of the 

Public Assistance Grant Program. 

During an incident FEMA assigns an ESF-3 Public Assistance 

Officer to coordinate and manage interagency infrastructure 

recovery programs and the Public Assistance Grant Program. To 

aid coordination, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ ESF-3 

representative is physically located at FEMA headquarters. 

FEMA, however, demonstrated little coordination between ESF-3 

support agencies beyond operations within the National and 

Regional Response Coordination Centers. On the other hand, 

some of the ESF-3 support agencies may not be necessary to 

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conduct ESF-3 functions. For example, the American Red Cross is 

listed as a support agency that works with the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, FEMA, and other entities to “ensure integration of 

commodities requirements and distribution processes into mass 

care operations.” However, within the National Response 

Framework, ESF-6 covers mass care operations and ESF-7 handles 

logistics, so the American Red Cross may not be necessary as an 

ESF-3 support agency. 

After an incident, FEMA officials co-lead workshops and breakout 

groups at the annual U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Remedial 

Action Plan workshop to determine if policy or doctrinal 

adjustments are necessary. FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers held a Senior Leaders’ Seminar in April 2009 to work 

through additional interagency policy and procedural issues that 

occurred in real-world events and were raised during the 

workshop. Only 3 of 18 support agencies (the Environmental 

Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, and the U.S. 

Coast Guard) attended the most recent workshop held in December 

2009. 

To further coordinate recovery efforts with the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, other support agencies, state, local, and tribal 

governments, as well as the private sector, FEMA has published 

Standard Operating Procedures for Essential Infrastructure 

Assessments to establish a systematic approach for conducting 

assessments and to maintain consistency in the use of assessment 

results. The Standard Operating Procedures outlines the roles and 

responsibilities of FEMA, state and local governments, and other 

responding federal agencies. It ensures that all parties involved in 

infrastructure assessments understand the priorities and process by 

which assessments will be conducted. 

To coordinate with state and local governments, FEMA conducts 

annual meetings with the states to discuss issues relating to the 

Public Assistance Grant Program. The 13th annual meeting was 

held in November 2009, with discussions on public works issues 

such as debris removal and infrastructure assessments. To further 

help state and local government officials navigate the program, 

FEMA has also published numerous guides so participants can 

obtain and administer public assistance funding. Furthermore, 

after an incident, FEMA utilizes a customer survey for state and 

local governments to assess the program and suggest 

improvements. FEMA is also working with and encouraging state 

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and local governments to establish their own debris management 

plans. 

The private sector owns or operates a large proportion of the 

Nation’s infrastructure and is a partner or lead for the rapid 

restoration of infrastructure-related services. Because for-profit 

entities are not eligible for public assistance, FEMA primarily 

coordinates with trade associations that represent the private 

sector. FEMA engages with organizations such as the American 

Public Works Association and the National Rural Electrical 

Cooperative Association for technical assistance and information 

gathering to restore the Nation’s critical infrastructure. 

FEMA is involved in some catastrophic planning and exercises for 

ESF-3, but it is unclear how these efforts are coordinated with 

other ESF-3 agencies. FEMA is updating the Catastrophic 

Concept of Operations Plan for the Public Assistance Grant 

Program, which focuses on topics such as staffing levels, essential 

infrastructure assessments, and large facility assessments. The 

Public Assistance Division has also coordinated with various other 

FEMA components throughout the planning process for the New 

Madrid Seismic Zone Catastrophic Earthquake Planning Project. 

Additionally, FEMA has worked with the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency to plan for 

incidents requiring the removal of contaminated debris, and has 

conducted an exercise with those partners to test the plan. 

FEMA participated in exercise activities, such as planning and 

after action reviews, in October 2009 for eight exercises, including 

two major earthquakes, two radiological, two nuclear, and a mass 

migration event. These planning exercises incorporated ESF-3 

activation; however, it is unclear what role the Public Assistance 

Grant Program plays in these exercises. For example, during a 

July 2009 hurricane exercise involving the state of Florida and 

FEMA Region IV, only three ESF-3 personnel were in attendance: 

one from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and two from FEMA. 

No ESF-3 support agencies were involved in the exercise, the 

exercise documents do not show any requests for ESF-3 assistance, 

and none of the ESF-3 participants took part in the after-action 

review, even though Phase II of the exercise focused on response 

and recovery issues. One of the issues identified was the need for 

better communication and coordination between the ESFs and the 

Regional Response Coordination Center. It is unclear whether 

FEMA did not invite the support agencies to the exercise and the 

after-action review, or whether the agencies were invited but chose 

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not to participate. It is also unclear how FEMA will address this 

issue. 

In February 2010, FEMA released a draft copy of the National 

Disaster Recovery Framework; however, this document is not 

consistent with ESF-3 or the National Response Framework. 

Under the Infrastructure Systems Recovery Support Function of 

the National Disaster Recovery Framework, the coordinating 

agency for these recovery efforts has yet to be determined, even 

though FEMA is the primary agency responsible for coordinating 

recovery efforts under ESF-3. These two documents should be 

aligned to prevent confusion during and after an incident. 

Operational Readiness 

FEMA has a significant number of trained staff for operations 

functions at fixed and field facilities; however, this staffing level 

may not be sufficient to respond to an incident. When activated, 

ESF-3 representatives deploy to the National and Regional 

Response Coordination Centers. The ESF-3 Team Leader at the 

Regional Response Coordination Center coordinates assignments, 

actions, and other support until the Joint Field Office is 

established. FEMA Public Assistance personnel also deploy to 

initiate regional support of ESF-3 functions. According to FEMA 

officials, there are 36 full-time Public Assistance Grant Program 

employees working at FEMA Headquarters and approximately 30 

working in the FEMA regions. To supplement this force, the 

program has a cadre of more than 1,200 Disaster Assistance 

Employees who can be deployed to an incident. However, as of 

February 2010, 43% of the cadre was deployed to previous 

disasters and 42% was “unavailable,” leaving only 15% available 

for deployment. It is unclear whether the 191 remaining reservists 

are adequate to respond to future disasters. FEMA officials said 

that these numbers do not paint a complete picture, however, 

because when a disaster strikes, more Disaster Assistance 

Employees make themselves available. FEMA officials said that 

typically 50% of the reserve cadre is available for response. 

The Disaster Assistance cadre of employees will be one of the first 

with a credentialing system in place. There is also a training 

curriculum for each position. However, this training provides only 

basic Public Assistance Grant Program information and is limited 

to classroom instruction. 

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FEMA has identified new technology and procedures to improve 

its ESF-3 recovery capabilities. For example, FEMA’s Public 

Assistance Division has utilized new technology to estimate the 

size of debris that needs to be removed following an incident. The 

new technology uses geospatial information to estimate the amount 

of debris in a location. By using estimates, FEMA can determine 

more efficiently and effectively the amount of damage caused by a 

disaster and speed recovery funding to the area. This technology is 

available to FEMA in a limited quantity and has not been deployed 

nationwide. 

Financial Management and Accountability 

FEMA has executed contracts to help fulfill its ESF-3 roles and 

responsibilities. FEMA has three Public Assistance technical 

assistance contracts which it executes to procure architect and 

engineering services after an incident. These contracts also 

provide additional staffing for FEMA disaster activities. 

FEMA is also prepared to manage mission assignments. FEMA 

established 18 pre-scripted mission assignments with the U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers for ESF-3 missions that cover preincident, operational, post-incident, and oversight assistance. 

These missions include emergency power and water restoration, 

debris removal, technical assistance for states, and staffing 

assistance at all levels. 

To further assist with financial management oversight, recipients 

of Public Assistance grants of more than $500,000 are required to 

perform a single audit or a program-specific audit and are also 

subject to additional audits by the DHS Office of Inspector General 

and other state auditors. 

Conclusion 

Overall, FEMA is positioned well to fulfill its ESF-3 mission. 

FEMA coordinates with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as well 

as with state and local governments. However, FEMA needs to 

enhance its coordination with ESF-3 support agencies to fulfill its 

role as a primary agency. There is little evidence that support 

agencies are regularly included in planning for ESF-3 missions, 

despite the fact that FEMA officials said such coordination would 

be beneficial to its own efforts. On the other hand, some support 

agencies may not be necessary to conduct ESF-3 functions. 

FEMA should consider whether ESF-3 support agencies, such as 

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the American Red Cross, are better placed or are already covered 

within other ESF annexes. 

FEMA has a significant number of trained staff to be used for 

operations functions at fixed and field facilities; however, without 

a staffing model, it is unclear whether this staffing level is 

sufficient to respond to an incident. FEMA also has mechanisms 

in place to ensure that funds spent on ESF-3 missions are properly 

spent. FEMA has contracts and pre-scripted mission assignments 

to help control costs and assist in financial management oversight. 

Furthermore, regulations governing the Public Assistance Grant 

Program and audit requirements help to ensure proper use of 

government funds. 

The draft copy of the National Disaster Recovery Framework is 

not consistent with ESF-3 or the National Response Framework. 

These two documents should be aligned to prevent confusion 

during and after an incident. 

Recommendations 

We recommend that the Director of the Public Assistance 

Directorate: 

Recommendation #2: Ensure that FEMA fulfills its ESF-3 

requirements, including coordinating with ESF-3 primary and 

support agencies on both planning and operations. 

Recommendation #3: Examine FEMA’s classification as a 

primary agency for ESF-3 since its roles and responsibilities are 

similar to those of other support agencies and examine the 

suitability of all listed ESF-3 support agencies given that they are 

often not active participants in planning or exercises. 

Recommendation #4: Ensure ESF-3 responsibilities are aligned 

with the National Disaster Recovery Framework and evaluate 

whether FEMA’s recovery portion of ESF-3 is still a necessary 

part of ESF-3 and the National Response Framework as a whole. 

Management Comments and OIG Analysis 

Recommendation #2: FEMA concurred with this recommendation 

and said that it is fulfilling its ESF-3 requirements and 

responsibilities through the Public Assistance Program by staffing 

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the Infrastructure Support Branch Director position when ESF-3 or 

other infrastructure ESFs are activated pursuant to the National 

Response Framework. FEMA also said that they have held regular 

meetings, teleconferences, planning workshops, joint training, and 

issued guidance on debris removal. Additionally, FEMA said that 

interagency task forces are in place for debris, levee, and other 

recovery related matters in order to coordinate a federal response. 

We consider this recommendation resolved because steps are being 

taken to implement it; however, it will remain open until FEMA 

provides documentation that it is coordinating with ESF-3 primary 

and support agencies on both planning and operations. 

Recommendation #3: FEMA concurred with this recommendation 

and said that it will continue to examine its current role under ESF3; however, FEMA does not plan to propose a re-designation of 

FEMA under ESF-3. 

We consider this recommendation resolved because steps are being 

taken to implement it; however, it will remain open until evidence 

is provided that FEMA is examining its current role under ESF-3. 

Recommendation #4: FEMA concurred with this recommendation 

and said that it has continued its efforts with other federal agencies 

and partners in developing the National Disaster Recovery 

Framework and the Recovery Support Function construct. FEMA 

also said that transitions between ESFs under the National 

Response Framework and the Recovery Support Functions under 

the National Disaster Recovery Framework are being discussed 

and coordinated as the Recovery Support Functions annexes are 

developed. 

We consider this recommendation resolved because steps are being 

taken to implement it; however, it will remain open until evidence 

is provided that is has been fully implemented. 

ESF-5: Emergency Management 

ESF-5 is the coordination function for all federal departments and 

agencies across the spectrum of domestic incident management from 

hazard mitigation and preparedness to response and recovery. ESF-5 is 

designed to identify resources for alert, activation, and subsequent 

deployment for quick and effective incident response. During the postincident response phase, ESF-5 is responsible for the support and planning 

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functions which include critical activities that facilitate multiagency 

planning and coordination for operations involving incidents requiring 

federal coordination. They include alert and notification; staffing and 

deployment of DHS and FEMA response teams, as well as response teams 

from other federal departments and agencies; incident action planning; 

coordination of operations; logistics management; and other support 

functions as required. 

Figure 3. President Obama chairs hurricane briefing at the National 

Response Coordination Center 

Source: The White House 

FEMA is the coordinator and primary agency for ESF- 5 Emergency 

Management. FEMA is responsible for supporting overall activities of the 

federal government for domestic incident management. FEMA also 

coordinates with appropriate state and local officials, as well as the private 

sector, to utilize all available resources. 

Coordination With ESF Stakeholders 

FEMA is coordinating with ESF-5 support agencies, state and local 

officials, and the private sector. According to FEMA officials, 

they use a number of methods, including meetings, exercises, and 

video teleconferencing, to coordinate ESF-5 activities for all 

phases of an incident and develop disaster plans. 

Periodically, FEMA conducts ESF Leaders Group meetings and 

exercises, interagency planning meetings, and has Regional 

Interagency Steering Committees for all 10 FEMA regions. PreAssessment of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
 
 

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incident coordination among ESF-5 and the ESF Leaders Group 

allows an opportunity to discuss their roles and responsibilities in 

the context of National Response Coordination Center 

requirements and actions during a disaster. All 15 ESF Leaders 

were present at an exercise to discuss anticipated federal support 

requirements and policy decisions the ESF Leaders Group would 

likely encounter. In addition, the exercise allowed participants to 

identify gaps in interagency, agency, and National Response 

Coordination Center plans, policies, and prescribed procedures. 

During incidents, the primary coordination method is video 

teleconferences conducted at the National Response Coordination 

Center to discuss updates and response strategies to an incident. 

These teleconferences usually include White House, federal, and 

state officials, as well as national volunteer organizations involved 

in the response. Video teleconferences are critical to the 

coordination effort provided by ESF-5, not only during the 

response phase but also prior to a disaster and during the recovery 

phase. The video teleconferences enable all federal, state, and 

local response partners to communicate their efforts to one another 

and potentially eliminate duplicate response efforts. 

After incidents, FEMA and other federal agencies implement a 

daily disaster coordination plan to assist with response and 

recovery. The daily coordination plan provides federal incident 

managers with a daily meeting schedule and control objectives for 

the incident, ranging from maintaining situational awareness and 

supporting requests from impacted regions to general coordination 

among state, local, tribal, and nongovernmental partners. 

Additionally, at the Joint Field Offices, FEMA uses incident action 

plans to coordinate activities with federal and state partners. These 

plans include incident objectives to address issues at the local 

level, and may range from continuing hazardous material cleanup 

to conducting kickoff meetings for Public Assistance applicants. 

FEMA also coordinates the ESF-5 mission with the private sector. 

FEMA coordinated an outreach effort with the private sector in 

Tennessee regarding its recent flood disaster. At the request of a 

Home Depot store manager, FEMA extended an outreach program 

geared toward helping the local community mitigate any future 

disasters. 

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Operational Readiness 

FEMA has advanced its ESF-5 operational readiness efforts 

through “thunderbolt” no-notice exercises, National Response 

Team Readiness meetings, and new technology for incident 

response. Many of the resources utilized before and during an 

incident are also effective tools for short- and long-term recovery 

efforts, including the incident action plan and the federal 

interagency Terrorist Use of Explosives Concept of Operations 

Plans. 

FEMA’s Response Directorate, in partnership with the National 

Preparedness Directorate’s National Exercise Division, leads 

“thunderbolt” exercises for FEMA. Participants in these exercises 

include FEMA headquarters and field personnel. A team of 

subject matter experts observes and evaluates the exercises to 

identify strengths and areas for improvement. A recent 

“thunderbolt” exercise scenario tested the regional Incident 

Management Assistance Teams and focused on alerting, notifying, 

and activating the regional operations and establishing an initial 

incident management operating facility. 

Additionally, in June 2010 ESF-5 conducted a Tabletop Exercise 

for the 2010 Hurricane Season for the ESF Leaders Group. The 

interagency exercise was designed to promote informal discussion 

regarding the role and responsibilities of various interagency 

components during a plausible hurricane threat. Following the 

exercise, participants were given the opportunity to discuss 

strategies, planning, policies, procedures and resources to the 

needs of the overall response. In response to our inquiry about 

trained ESF-5 staff that could be provided for operations functions 

at fixed and field facilities to support interagency response efforts, 

FEMA officials provided us with its daily Disaster Reserve 

Workforce Division, Disaster Assistance Employee availability 

report. The Disaster Reserve Workforce consists of nonpermanent employees appointed under the Stafford Act and 

activated or deployed to perform disaster-specific response and 

recovery activities. 

FEMA is looking for new technological advances to assist its 

response effort. FEMA requirements for this system include the 

ability to interface with smartphones and multiple social media, to 

manipulate data for analysis, and to interact with other federal 

agencies, states, and nongovernmental organizations. The system 

must also interface with existing FEMA systems and provide 

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information-tracking and reporting functions, among other 

requirements. ESF-5 is considering multiple systems to fulfill 

these requirements. One such system is designed to increase the 

situational awareness of analysts and mission partners. This 

system is capable of showing geospatial information in 

chronological order of planned activities and reported incidents 

related to the public safety and security. 

To help facilitate short-term recovery activities, FEMA will open a 

Joint Field Office to centrally locate federal and state disaster 

employees. As part of the daily incident action plan, ESF-5 

distributes a division assignment list with all the work assignments 

due to start that day or continuing from previous days. To help 

conduct long-term recovery activities, Federal Concept of 

Operations Plans are being written for the 15 planning scenarios in 

which ESF-5 has a significant role. The purpose of the plans is to 

outline federal prevention, protection, response, and recovery 

operations. For example, ESF-5 will be responsible for 

coordinating, through the National Response Coordination Center, 

response and recovery efforts for all ESFs if a Terrorist Use of 

Explosives incident occurs. 

Incident action plans are another tool used to facilitate recovery 

efforts. The incident action plan work assignments are approved 

by the Federal Coordinating Officer at the Joint Field Office. 

Some of the work assignments include formation or reactivation of 

Long-Term Recovery Committees; coordination with ESF-10 

public assistance; and coordination with the Tennessee Emergency 

Management Agency on debris and hazardous waste issues. 

Financial Management and Accountability 

FEMA continues to improve its efforts with ensuring financial 

management and accountability for the ESF-5 mission. For 

example, FEMA requires mission assigned departments and 

agencies to submit a monthly progress report, a reimbursement 

transmittal, and a mission assignment bill review sheet. Mission 

assignment managers and regional coordinators analyze this 

information for accuracy and completeness. FEMA has also been 

instrumental in training DHS and other federal department and 

agency officials about the mission assignment process. 

FEMA uses pre-scripted mission assignments to procure services 

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scripted mission assignments with several federal agencies, 

including the Department of Defense’s National GeospatialIntelligence Agency and the National Weather Service. ESF-5 has 

a pre-scripted mission assignment with the National GeospatialIntelligence Agency to provide analytical support to the Regional 

Response Coordination Center. 

FEMA officials said that the agency annually provides DHS and 

other federal departments and agencies opportunities to attend 

mission assignment training prior to hurricane season. The goal of 

the training is to provide participants with key mission assignment 

concepts and the knowledge to carry out their assigned 

responsibilities related to mission assignment processing. A 

premise of the course is to bring together program and financial 

staff who share the responsibility for mission assignment issuance, 

execution, billing, reimbursement, and closeout. The last training 

session was held in May 2009 and was attended by representatives 

from several federal agencies and programs. 

Conclusion 

FEMA is fulfilling its ESF-5 roles and responsibilities. 

Throughout all phases of an incident, FEMA coordinates its ESF-5 

activities with its stakeholders by coordinating meetings, exercises, 

and Regional Interagency Steering Committees, and producing 

daily coordination plans to assist with disaster operations. 

Additionally, FEMA has made strides enhancing ESF-5 

operational readiness through “thunderbolt” no-notice exercises, 

National Response Team Readiness meetings, and incident action 

plans, and by actively participating in the development of the 

Terrorist Use of Explosives Concept of Operations Plan. 

Finally, FEMA has procedures in place to ensure financial 

management and accountability in support of the ESF-5 mission. 

FEMA also has pre-scripted mission assignments to procure 

services for the ESF-5 mission and has provided a vital service to 

DHS and other federal department and agency officials by offering 

mission assignment training. This training ensures that 

participants are made aware of concepts and procedures that will 

assist them in performing their mission assignment processing 

responsibilities. 

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ESF-6: Mass Care, Emergency Assistance, Housing, and Human 

Services 

ESF-6 Mass Care, Emergency Assistance, Housing and Human Services, 

is responsible for coordinating the delivery of federal mass care, 

emergency assistance, housing, and human services when response and 

recovery needs exceed state, local, and tribal capabilities. 

Figure 4. Tornado Survivors receiving meals from the American Red 

Cross 

Source: FEMA 

The National Response Framework designates FEMA as the coordinator 

and a primary agency for ESF-6. At FEMA Headquarters, the Individual 

Assistance Division in the Response and Recovery Directorate has the 

lead nationally for ESF-6; the 10 FEMA Regions coordinate and 

implement the ESF-6 mission on disaster operations. ESF-6’s primary 

implementation actions are performed at the lowest possible 

organizational level: the FEMA Regional Response Coordination Centers 

and Joint Field Offices. However, the Individual Assistance Division at 

FEMA Headquarters is responsible for coordinating national-level issues, 

addressing Regional Response Coordination Centers’ requests for 

additional support teams, and addressing multiple requests for resources. 

The headquarters branch is also responsible for coordinating information 

on mass care, emergency assistance, housing, and human services for 

senior leaders, and activating and distributing information for nationallevel support agencies. 

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Coordination With ESF Stakeholders 

ESF-6 headquarters officials coordinate with other federal 

agencies, state and local governments, and nonprofit and private 

organizations prior to, during, and after a disaster. Headquarters 

officials have created ongoing relationships with their partners 

throughout all phases of disaster preparedness, response, and 

recovery. 

Prior to an incident, FEMA coordinates with its ESF-6 partners by 

hosting or coordinating meetings and conference calls. They 

participate in committees, task forces, and working groups to 

engage in disaster coordination. ESF-6 headquarters officials also 

host “brown bag” sessions to share information about new and 

ongoing programs. They engage with voluntary organizations and 

state representatives in training development focus groups and 

course delivery. FEMA also maintains memorandums of 

understanding with voluntary organizations and interagency 

agreements with other support agencies. 

When an incident occurs, ESF-6 headquarters officials contact and 

activate support partners at the national level. They coordinate 

with partners daily during an incident to identify support needs, 

develop guidance, and address and resolve any issues. They also 

deploy support teams to assist regions and partners. 

After an incident, Individual Assistance officials at FEMA 

headquarters host and contribute to after-action events related to 

emergency assistance, housing, human services, and mass care. 

They also participate in the development of Long-Term Recovery 

Committees. 

Although ESF-6 headquarters officials coordinate with their 

partners, we are concerned that if a major disaster occurred in 

today’s economy, ESF-6 efforts with supporting nonprofit and 

private organizations (such as Voluntary Organizations Active in 

Disasters and other voluntary agencies) may be limited because 

these organizations may have staffing and funding resource 

limitations, leaving the federal government to rely heavily on 

mission assignments with other federal agencies to accomplish the 

ESF-6 mission. FEMA should have coordinated national and 

regional contingency and operational plans on how to handle an 

incident if nonprofit and private partners cannot help in the 

response efforts. 

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We are also concerned that FEMA’s Individual Assistance 

headquarters capabilities to respond and provide program oversight 

may be slowed because of ESF-6’s expansive scope of 

responsibility. ESF-6 consists of mass care, emergency assistance, 

housing, and human services, each of which has extensive 

missions. FEMA should assess each component’s role to ensure 

that the component responsibilities are coordinated within an 

appropriate disaster assistance delivery sequence. 

Operational Readiness 

FEMA leadership and headquarters officials have taken steps to 

achieve a high level of operational readiness through field level 

support, multilevel readiness exercises, disaster information 

updates, and new information systems. 

Individual Assistance headquarters officials support organizational 

activities by deploying subject matter experts. For example, 

FEMA deployed trained headquarters Voluntary Agency Liaisons 

to support field operations during hurricanes Gustav and Ike, the 

Midwest floods and tornadoes, the California wildfires, and the 

New Jersey floods. Deployed staff provided disaster survivor case 

management, preliminary damage assessments, disaster response 

and recovery training, and partner liaison services. 

The ESF-6 Voluntary Agency Liaison has conducted ESF-6 

specific readiness assessments, including regular strategic 

conference calls and e-mails to update FEMA regional office staff 

members on national partner capabilities and readiness, and to 

discuss other ESF-6 topics. Similarly, the ESF-6 Voluntary 

Agency Liaison regularly e-mails and conference calls agency 

partners to request feedback, offer assistance, and share disasterrelated information. 

To better prepare state, local, and tribal governments, 

communities, and individuals to recover from disaster events, 

Individual Assistance headquarters officials have developed new 

information systems, such as the following: 

•	 Disasterassistance.gov is a comprehensive disaster resource 

website with information on current disasters, available aid, 

survivor application processing, and status tracking. 

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•	 FEMA’s Housing Portal is an online tool that consolidates 

housing listings from many different sources into a single 

searchable database. The goal of the tool is to match 

displaced individuals and families with places to live. 

•	 National Donations Management Network is a donations 

management system that allows state governments to 

efficiently capture offers of unsolicited donated goods and 

communicate these offers with the members of the state’s 

Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster for possible 

accepting, processing, and delivery. 

•	 FEMA’s National Shelter System is a web-based planning 

and operational tool created to support federal, state, and 

local government agencies responsible for mass care and 

emergency assistance. It can be used to identify facilities’ 

capabilities and capacities; create custom maps of those 

facilities in relation to evacuation routes, hazards, and 

critical infrastructure; and share sheltering and feeding 

activity information among emergency managers. 

•	 The National Emergency Family Registry and Locator 

System is an electronic tool developed to help disasterseparated family members to communicate with and locate 

each other. Family members can register for the national 

database over the phone or Internet and leave messages for 

family and friends, who can search the database to locate 

displaced persons. In conjunction with the National 

Emergency Family Registry and Locator System, the 

National Emergency Child Locator Center was established 

to locate children who have become separated from their 

parents or guardians during a disaster. 

•	 The Direct Assistance, Replacement Assistance 

Consideration tool is used to process disaster assistance 

applicants through the direct housing replacement process. 

The tool is designed to increase process transparency and 

enhance disaster survivor services. 

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•	 The Assurance Monitoring and Operations Status is a webbased tool used to track temporary housing units’ (e.g., 

travel trailers and mobile homes) life cycles. The Indoor 

Air Quality testing program uses it to mitigate 

formaldehyde or other air quality issues associated with 

temporary housing units. 

Although FEMA has developed new ESF-6 information tools that 

increase its disaster response capabilities, we are concerned that 

FEMA has not clearly linked its new tools to its missions. As a 

result, state, local, and tribal governments, communities, and 

individuals may not fully understand the universe of disaster 

recovery tools. 

Financial Management and Accountability 

FEMA is fulfilling its ESF-6 financial management and 

accountability responsibilities. Individual Assistance headquarters 

officials have several funding mechanisms to provide disaster 

survivors with mass care, housing, and human services. Under the 

Stafford Act, FEMA may use mission assignments to other federal 

agencies to support the ESF-6 mission. FEMA can also activate 

standby Individual Assistance–Technical Assistance Contract 

services to support the ESF-6 mission. 

FEMA individual assistance funding is issued directly to individual 

households. FEMA’s three National Processing Service Centers, 

located in Maryland, Virginia, and Texas, are staffed by Individual 

Assistance personnel who perform registration intake, conduct 

damage verification inspections, determine applicant eligibility, 

and disburse FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program funds 

directly to disaster survivors. 

Individual Assistance headquarters officials work closely with 

FEMA’s Chief Procurement Office personnel to develop and 

execute several pre-disaster Blanket Purchase Agreements and 

Individual Assistance-Technical Assistance Contracts for various 

goods and disaster assistance services. These agreements include 

the following: 

•	 Contract to perform Indoor Air Quality Screening, 

including formaldehyde, mold, bio baseline, and 

environmental testing of all FEMA-acquired temporary 

housing units; 

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•	 Contract to provide support for the National Donations 

Management Network; 

•	 Blanket Purchase Agreement to procure pre-packaged food 

and beverage supplies; and 

•	 Blanket Purchase Agreement for food carrier containers. 

Conclusion 

FEMA is prepared to fulfill its ESF-6 headquarters roles and 

responsibilities. FEMA hosts or coordinates meetings and 

conference calls with its stakeholders and has achieved a high level 

of operational readiness by providing field-level support, initiating 

multilevel readiness exercises and disaster information updates, 

and developing new information systems. FEMA is also 

enhancing its financial management efforts related to its ESF-6 

mission by developing new programs and tools. 

However, we are concerned that the Individual Assistance 

Division’s overall ability to respond to a disaster may be slowed 

because its responsibilities are broad. We are also concerned that 

the partnerships that FEMA has formed with nonprofits and private 

organizations may be impaired if they do not have resources to 

respond to an event. Finally, we are concerned that because 

FEMA has not linked its new ESF-6 disaster information tools 

with its missions, stakeholders may not clearly understand the 

universe of disaster recovery resource tools available. 

Recommendations 

We recommend that the Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Recovery: 

Recommendation #5: Reassess the structure and function of 

ESF-6 to determine whether each component’s responsibilities are 

coordinated within an appropriate disaster assistance delivery 

sequence. 

Recommendation #6: Develop coordinated national and regional 

contingency and operational plans on how to handle an event if 

nonprofit and private sector partners cannot assist with response 

efforts. 

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Recommendation #7: Enhance the awareness of disaster 

assistance internet based resources to ensure that state, local, and 

tribal governments, communities and individuals clearly 

understand the universe of disaster recovery tools available. 

Management Comments and OIG Analysis 

Recommendation #5: FEMA did not concur with our draft report 

recommendation of FEMA reassessing the structure and function 

of ESF-6 to determine whether each component’s responsibility is 

essential when responding to an event. FEMA said it recognizes 

that the scope of ESF-6 can be cumbersome at times; however, 

they believe that all ESF-6 components are essential. FEMA also 

said that eliminating any component of the ESF-6 mission could 

diminish or eliminate critical services available in ESF-6. 

We revised our recommendation to ensure FEMA reassesses the 

structure and function of ESF-6 to determine whether each 

component’s responsibilities are coordinated within an appropriate 

disaster assistance delivery sequence. We believe that performing 

this assessment will enhance FEMA’s capabilities with responding 

to and providing program oversight for ESF-6. FEMA concurred 

with the revised recommendation. This recommendation will 

remain resolved and open until we are provided evidence that steps 

are being taken to implement it. 

Recommendation #6: FEMA said that it needed further 

clarification in order to respond to this recommendation. 

Specifically, FEMA said that the term private partner was unclear. 

We revised our recommendation to clarify its intent by 

recommending that FEMA develop coordinated national and 

regional contingency and operational plans on how to handle an 

event if nonprofit and private sector partners cannot assist with 

response efforts. FEMA concurred with the revised 

recommendation. This recommendation will remain resolved and 

open until we are provided evidence that steps are being taken to 

implement it. 

Recommendation #7: FEMA said that it needed further 

clarification in order to respond to this recommendation. 

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We revised our recommendation to clarify its intent by 

recommending that FEMA enhance the awareness of disaster 

assistance internet resources to ensure its stakeholders clearly 

understand the universe of disaster recovery tools available. 

FEMA concurred with the revised recommendation. This 

recommendation will remain resolved and open until we are 

provided evidence that steps are being taken to implement it. 

ESF-7: Logistics Management and Resource Support 

ESF-7 Logistics Management and Resource Support provides centralized 

management for the National Logistics Coordinator and management of 

resource support requirements in support of federal, state, tribal, and local 

governments. It establishes a framework of internal and external logistics 

partners through increased collaboration in the planning, sourcing, 

acquisition, and utilization of resources. FEMA’s Logistics Management 

Directorate and the General Services Administration are the coordinators 

and primary agencies for ESF-7. FEMA’s Logistics Management 

Directorate provides a comprehensive national disaster logistics planning, 

management, and sustainment capability that harnesses the resources of 

federal logistics partners, key public and private stakeholders, and 

nongovernmental organizations to meet the needs of disaster victims and 

responders. 

Figure 5. Water and ice being distributed after Hurricane Ike 

Source: FEMA 

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Coordination with ESF Stakeholders 

FEMA is coordinating with its ESF-7 partners. Specifically, the 

Logistics Management Directorate relies on and promotes 

communication and collaboration with the General Services 

Administration, ESF-7 support agencies, state and local 

governments, nongovernmental organizations, and the private 

sector. The Logistics Management Directorate has approached 

coordination with the ESF stakeholders through a variety of 

methods, such as communicating through liaisons, working groups, 

new initiatives, and timely input and feedback. For example, 

FEMA and the General Services Administration have collaborated 

on the Transportation Management Initiative, which has helped 

improve FEMA’s ability to provide rapid transportation support for 

disaster response operations. 

The national planning process and coordination involves the 

Logistics Management Directorate Plans and Exercises Division, 

which co-sponsors (with the General Services Administration) an 

annual Logistics Summit for ESF-7 partners, Regional Logistics 

Section Chiefs, and other internal FEMA partners from 

Acquisition, Operations, Grants and Disaster Assistance. The 

General Services Administration Liaison Officer also works with 

the Logistics Management Directorate Plans and Exercises 

Division to review, share, and vet contingency plans with other 

ESF-7 support agencies. 

The Logistics Management Directorate has worked with support 

agencies to create multiple liaisons to support communication 

between the agencies. The following Liaison Officer positions 

were created to support ESF-7: 

• The General Services Administration Liaison Officer 

• The U.S. Northern Command Liaison Officer 

• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Liaison Officer 

• The Defense Logistics Agency Liaison Officer 

The General Services Administration Liaison Officer position is 

assigned full-time to the Logistics Management Directorate. This 

officer works closely with other planning and exercise activities to 

support operational plans, including catastrophic planning. The 

Northern Command and Defense Logistics Agency Liaison 

Officers are also assigned long-term to the Logistics Management 

Directorate. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Defense 

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Logistics Agency Liaison Officers are available for planning 

support and immediate deployment to FEMA during an event. 

The Logistics Management Directorate has worked with support 

agencies to create an ESF support structure. The Logistics 

Management Directorate conducts weekly logistics partner calls 

during disaster and nondisaster periods. Call participants include 

Regional Logistics Chiefs and key ESF-7 partners. Several 

support agencies are also part of the Logistics Distribution 

Management Strategy Working Group, which is responsible for 

developing and disseminating policies and procedures in support of 

the ESF-7 mission. The Working Group also analyzes and refines 

the comprehensive distribution and supply chain management 

strategy, and participates in after-action reviews and improvement 

plan processes. 

Coordination with states is the responsibility of the Office of 

Protection and National Preparedness and FEMA Regional 

Offices. Although ESF-7 does not have the lead role in the 

coordination with state officials, the Logistics Management 

Directorate has collaborated with Florida, Texas, and the state of 

Washington to develop a comprehensive training program for 

operating points of distribution. The Logistics Management 

Directorate also embarked on an effort to disseminate the Logistics 

Capabilities Assessment Tool. This tool was developed in 

response to a congressional mandate to enhance state logistics 

preparedness. Since March 2009, FEMA has briefed and trained 

all 10 FEMA Regional Offices on the Logistics Capabilities 

Assessment Tool. 

To coordinate and collaborate with the private sector, the Logistics 

Management Directorate relies heavily on guidance and direction 

from the DHS Private Sector Office, which engages individual 

businesses, trade associations, and other nongovernmental 

organizations to foster dialogue with DHS. In 2008, the Logistics 

Management Directorate established an agreement with FedEx to 

allow use of FedEx facilities for Incident Support Base pre-staging 

operations. The Logistics Management Directorate also 

participates in industry day events hosted by the General Services 

Administration. At these events, private sector vendors present 

their products and services to FEMA subject matter experts. 

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Operational Readiness 

The Logistics Management Directorate’s operational readiness 

efforts address its ESF-7 responsibilities. For example, the 

Logistics Management Directorate Plans and Exercises Division 

develops and provides logistics plans that detail Concept of 

Operations for Logistics Management and resource supports to 

achieve short- and long-term readiness requirements. The Division 

also conducts planning for sustainment and future logistics 

operations and planning assessments and analysis for domestic 

emergencies and special events. The Logistics Management 

Directorate has also identified required training, pre-positioned 

disaster supplies, maintained agreements with ESF partners, and 

implemented new technology to support response operations and 

timely feedback. 

The Logistics Management Directorate, FEMA’s Emergency 

Management Institute, and the General Services Administration are 

collaborating with the Army Logistics University and the 

Department of Defense Joint Staff Logistics to develop a pilot 

interagency logistics course. Entities represented in this initiative 

include the U.S. Army North, U.S. Transportation Command, U.S. 

Pacific Command, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ESF-6 Mass 

Care Voluntary Agency Liaisons, and state and local governments. 

The Logistics Management Directorate Plans and Exercises 

Division hosted the 2010 Hurricane Concept of Resource Briefing. 

The briefing provided a comprehensive review of logistical 

readiness capabilities in hurricane-prone states and preparation for 

this year’s hurricane season. The session was attended by FEMA 

regions and partners, including the General Services 

Administration, the Defense Logistics Agency, the U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers, the National Guard Bureau, and ESF-6. The 

meeting also provided an opportunity for the FEMA regions to 

provide a detailed description of the collaborative efforts between 

the states and partners and the ongoing activities in place to ensure 

a rapid logistical response to any threat or event. 

To support disaster response, the Logistics Management 

Directorate uses Initial Response Resources and interagency 

agreements. Initial Response Resources are pre-positioned at areas 

with high hurricane and earthquake risk, as well as other locations 

in order to ensure that supplies are ready for transport. Prepositioned Initial Response Resources were delivered to Guam in 

preparation for a typhoon threatening the Northern Mariana 

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Islands. In addition, FEMA uses interagency agreements to access 

contracts held by other federal agencies. For example, FEMA has 

interagency agreements with the Defense Logistics Agency and the 

General Services Administration for a number of items, including 

water and emergency meals. 

The Logistics Management Directorate has developed a Logistics 

Fly-Away Team consisting of key partners, such as the General 

Services Administration and the Defense Logistics Agency. The 

team analyzes the logistics operations supporting disasters, tests 

revised processes and concepts, and gathers lessons learned in 

order to make the adjustments to improve support functions. The 

Logistics Fly-Away Team is designed to provide support to a Joint 

Field Office, specifically in support of the Logistics Section 

External Support Branch. This branch supports the external 

operations mission that provides direct federal assistance to the 

affected state(s). 

The Logistics Management Directorate and the General Services 

Administration conduct after-action reviews after each event. 

Additionally, the Directorate and the General Services 

Administration co-host an annual After Action Report Conference 

to discuss the findings and disposition of identified issues. 

The Logistics Management Directorate also has initiated the 

Logistics Supply Chain Management System, previously referred 

to as Total Asset Visibility. This system takes a comprehensive 

approach to the national logistics supply chain that includes ESF 

partners. The intent is to provide end-to-end supply management, 

visibility, and situational awareness among all participants. Such 

automated initiatives will help give visibility over critical partner 

shipments for ESF-7 operations. 

Financial Management and Accountability 

The Logistics Management Directorate has executed contracts and 

is prepared to manage mission assignments, interagency 

agreements, and vendor-managed contracts to fulfill its ESF-7 

financial management and accountability responsibilities. 

The Logistics Management Directorate project officer serves as the 

contracting officer’s technical representative for mission 

assignments and ensures that established guidance for managing 

mission assignments is followed. To expedite the delivery of 

federal assistance, the Logistics Management Directorate has 15 

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pre-scripted mission assignments with 4 federal agencies. Mission 

assignments include working with the Coast Guard to establish a 

Federal Operational Staging Area to support operational response 

to an incident, and working with the Department of Defense to 

establish and operate retail fuel distribution points to support 

disaster operations. 

FEMA also maintains multiple interagency agreements negotiated 

with the General Services Administration and the Defense 

Logistics Agency and has negotiated vendor-managed contracts. 

These agreements and contracts are activated in the event of an 

incident to provide services as needed. Interagency agreements 

and contracts that provide an enhanced logistics readiness 

capability include the following: 

•	 Vehicle Maintenance Contract Supplies and Services 

Interagency Agreement 

•	 Transportation Services Interagency Agreement 

•	 Plastic Sheeting (Blue Roof) Blanket Purchase Agreement 

•	 Supplies and Services Interagency Agreement 

Additionally, FEMA’s Logistics Property Management Division 

has full responsibility for disaster property accountability and 

conducts quarterly inventories of the top six disaster commodities 

stored in FEMA distribution centers and other select pre-positioned 

storage locations. 

Conclusion 

FEMA’s Logistics Management Directorate is actively engaged in 

fulfilling its ESF-7 roles and responsibilities and has a robust 

coordination network with ESF-7 stakeholders. FEMA and the 

General Services Administration have also collaborated on the 

Transportation Management Initiative, which has helped improve 

FEMA’s ability to provide rapid transportation support for disaster 

response operations. 

The Logistics Management Directorate has made strides in 

developing plans and exercises to improve operational readiness, 

as well as training and developing personnel to respond to an 

incident. Financially, the Logistics Management Directorate has 

implemented interagency agreements with the U.S. Coast Guard 

and the Department of Defense, has pre-negotiated contracts for 

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commodities needed in a disaster, and is prepared to manage 

mission assignments. 

Yet, FEMA continues to face logistics challenges. In July 2010,4 

and August 2009,5

 we issued two reports that provided a detailed 

look at the Logistics Management Directorate’s response 

capabilities and FEMA’s sourcing process. In our July 2010 

report, we concluded that FEMA should work with state partners 

to identify and overcome logistical deficiencies. In our August 

2009 report, we concluded that FEMA should integrate existing 

FEMA systems to support single-point ordering and enhance 

visibility over the sourcing process. 

ESF-9: Search and Rescue 

ESF-9 Search and Rescue is responsible for rapidly deploying components 

of the federal Search and Rescue Response System to provide specialized 

lifesaving assistance to state, tribal, and local authorities. The Search and 

Rescue Response System is composed of primary agencies that provide 

specialized expertise during incidents requiring a coordinated federal 

response. FEMA is both the coordinator and a primary agency for ESF-9. 

Figure 6. Urban Search and Rescue Task Force searches debris after 

Hurricane Ike 

Source: FEMA 

4

 DHS-OIG, FEMA’s Logistics Management Process for Responding to Catastrophic Disasters, (OIG-10-

101), July 2010 

5

 DHS-OIG, FEMA’s Sourcing for Disaster Response Goods and Services, (OIG-09-96), August 2009 

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As the ESF-9 coordinator, FEMA has management oversight with ongoing 

responsibilities throughout the preparedness, response, and recovery 

phases of incident management. A revised draft ESF-9 Annex states that 

FEMA activates ESF-9 when an incident is anticipated or occurs that may 

result in a request for a unified search and rescue response. Once ESF-9 is 

activated, FEMA will designate a lead primary agency that is appropriate 

for the type of response needed. The lead primary agency will coordinate 

the integration of federal search and rescue resources, and all ESF-9 

agencies will provide support as required. 

As a primary agency, FEMA oversees the National Urban Search and 

Rescue Response System, which is built around a core of 28 Urban Search 

and Rescue Task Forces staffed primarily by local fire department and 

emergency services personnel who are highly trained and experienced in 

urban search and rescue operations. FEMA’s responsibilities include (1) 

developing national Urban Search and Rescue policy, (2) providing 

planning guidance and coordination assistance, (3) standardizing task 

force procedures, (4) evaluating task force operational readiness, (5) 

funding special equipment and training requirements, and (6) reimbursing 

task forces for authorized deployments to Stafford Act declaration sites. 

Coordination With ESF Stakeholders 

As the ESF-9 coordinator, FEMA, specifically the Urban Search 

and Rescue Program Office, coordinates the ESF-9 mission with 

federal primary and support agencies before, during, and after an 

incident. The National Search and Rescue Committee is a federal 

interagency committee formed to coordinate civil search and 

rescue matters. FEMA coordinates ESF-9 response planning, 

including catastrophic planning, and doctrine development with 

primary and support agencies through the committee. Meetings 

are held regularly, and both primary and support agencies 

participate. Most recently, the committee worked on the 

Catastrophic Incident Search and Rescue Addendum and the 

Inland Search and Rescue Addendum to the National Search and 

Rescue Manual. It also revised the National Response Framework 

ESF-9 Annex. 

Within FEMA, Urban Search and Rescue officials participate as 

subject matter experts in catastrophic planning efforts, such as the 

New Madrid Seismic Zone Catastrophic Earthquake Response 

Planning Project, planning for the southern California earthquakes, 

and planning in Puerto Rico and Hawaii. Officials also said that 

they coordinate ESF activities for critical infrastructure 

preparedness through these planning efforts. Furthermore, FEMA 

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is working with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to 

map transportation routes and the location of critical infrastructure 

for the Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces. 

When an incident occurs, Urban Search and Rescue officials said, 

they send a team from the Program Office to the National 

Response Coordination Center to offer strategic support to search 

and rescue efforts. If it is a “notice” event, such as an approaching 

hurricane, officials coordinate and share information with ESF-9 

partners prior to the incident. For a “no-notice” event, such as an 

earthquake, officials contact ESF-9 partners as soon as possible. 

Officials also said that primary agencies will report any ongoing 

response-related activities to FEMA for inclusion in ESF-9 daily 

reports. 

After an incident, Urban Search and Rescue officials said, they 

contribute to after-action events related to an ESF-9 activation. 

For example, FEMA has coordinated in the past with the U.S. 

Coast Guard for an after-action review. Officials also said that 

they coordinate with the Department of Justice to process workers’ 

compensation claims resulting from a search and rescue 

deployment-related incident. 

As the ESF-9 coordinator, FEMA is responsible for identifying and 

maximizing use of private sector resources in response to an 

incident. Coordination with the private sector is important because 

the private sector owns 85% of the Nation’s critical infrastructure. 

Urban Search and Rescue officials said that they work with 

building owners during ESF-9 missions. For example, they 

coordinated with owners to obtain plans for the World Trade 

Center in New York City. 

As an ESF-9 primary agency, FEMA must coordinate with state 

officials, operations centers, and state agencies. When an incident 

requires urban search and rescue resources, FEMA deploys Urban 

Search and Rescue Task Forces and an Incident Support Team that 

provides coordination and logistical support to the task forces. 

There are three 21-member Incident Support Teams staffed by 

FEMA Urban Search and Rescue officials, Urban Search and 

Rescue Task Force representatives, and federal primary and 

support agency officials. According to a task force member, the 

Incident Support Team provides a critical link among the federal 

government, state and local governments, and the task forces 

during operations. The Incident Support Team must coordinate 

with state officials to (1) keep them informed on the status of ESFAssessment of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
 

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9 resources and incident activities and (2) support ESF-9 

integration into ongoing local urban search and rescue operations. 

The Incident Support Team may also assign a liaison to the State 

Emergency Operations Center. 

Operational Readiness 

FEMA is prepared to provide trained ESF-9 staff to fixed and field 

facilities for an incident requiring urban search and rescue 

resources. There are 28 FEMA-sponsored Urban Search and 

Rescue Task Forces strategically located throughout the Nation. A 

single task force has 210 task force members, who are required to 

complete courses in the Urban Search and Rescue training 

curriculum. FEMA confirms that task force members have met 

training requirements through on-site Operational Readiness 

Evaluations conducted by FEMA Urban Search and Rescue 

officials and task force peers. FEMA also facilitates training 

through an interagency agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, and in FY 2009 contributed $150,000 to support the 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Urban Search and Rescue Training 

Program. 

FEMA has deployed the Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces 

and Incident Support Teams in response to numerous incidents. 

For Hurricane Katrina, FEMA pre-deployed seven task forces to 

the region a day before landfall in New Orleans, but responders 

were neither trained nor equipped to perform rescues in a flooded 

environment, and not all of the federal government’s search and 

rescue assets were integrated for a coordinated response. For 

example, the Department of Interior has expertise in operating 

watercraft and conducting search and rescue operations, but at the 

time of Hurricane Katrina the department was not an ESF-9 

partner. Therefore, its offers to deploy rescue boats during the 

response never reached the operational level. If the Department of 

Interior had been considered an ESF-9 primary or support agency, 

then its water assets would likely have been integrated into 

response operations. After Hurricane Katrina, this situation was 

rectified by adding the Department of Interior’s National Park 

Service as a primary agency. In spite of the problems, the Urban 

Search and Rescue Task Forces rescued more than 6,500 people. 

More recently, a task force was deployed to Michigan in response 

to a tornado. 

FEMA conducts periodic readiness assessments of Urban Search 

and Rescue Task Forces to ensure that they are deployable. FEMA 

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requires that all 28 task forces conduct an annual self-evaluation on 

operational, logistical, and management readiness. FEMA verifies 

the self-evaluations through the on-site Operational Readiness 

Evaluations. These evaluations occur every 3 years, and FEMA is 

currently conducting the second cycle of evaluations. Urban 

Search and Rescue officials said that for this cycle they have 

evaluated 24 out of 28 task forces, and only 1 has been deemed 

“non-deployable.” If a task force receives a low score in a 

particular area, it is required to submit a corrective action plan, and 

FEMA conducts a follow-up visit. Urban Search and Rescue 

officials said that the remaining four evaluations should be 

completed by September 2010. 

FEMA has identified new equipment to respond to threats and 

hazards, such as personal protection equipment that will allow the 

task forces to operate safely within a water hazard or a weapons of 

mass destruction environment. The National Urban Search and 

Rescue Response System has a work group of subject matter 

experts that conducts a logistics vetting process. If a task force has 

identified new equipment that it believes is necessary, then the task 

force presents that equipment to the work group for approval. If 

the work group approves the equipment, then the request is 

forwarded to FEMA for approval and inclusion in the Urban 

Search and Rescue approved Equipment Cache List. FEMA tracks 

whether the task forces have complete and functioning equipment 

caches. FEMA has also identified the capabilities necessary for 

the task forces and Incident Support Teams to respond to threats 

and hazards and tracks whether the task forces have these 

capabilities. 

Urban Search and Rescue officials have planned for both shortand long-term incidents. For example, they have a Hawaii 

catastrophic disaster plan, a hurricane concept of operations plan, 

and a ‘no-notice’ earthquake concept of operations plan. Officials 

said that urban search and rescue operations generally last about a 

week, but they have planned for long-term operations—Hurricane 

Katrina operations lasted 6 weeks, with the focus going from 

search and rescue to the recovery of deceased victims. When a 

long-term operation is required, officials said they plan the 

continuation of effort by rotating task forces. 

Financial Management and Accountability 

FEMA uses contracts to procure goods and services to support the 

ESF-9 mission. For example, FEMA has executed contracts for 

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urban search and rescue training. Urban Search and Rescue 

officials said they also have pre-incident standby contracts with 

private industry for services and supplies required to support the 

ESF-9 mission. These include contracts for catering services, 

laundry services, and vehicle fuel. In addition, each Incident 

Support Team includes a warranted federal contracting officer who 

can execute purchases, rentals, and leases in the field. Historically, 

these procurements have included heavy equipment services (e.g., 

cranes and backhoes), equipment maintenance and repair, facilities 

leases, and supplies required to support and sustain urban search 

and rescue operations, such as global positioning systems, toilet 

paper, mosquito spray, maps, and dog food. 

FEMA has in place measures to promote financial and property 

accountability for ESF-9 activities. Urban Search and Rescue 

officials said that they conduct technical assistance visits to the 

Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces to review their finance 

systems and their documentation on property, personnel, and 

travel. Furthermore, all task forces are required to submit an 

annual financial status report, which includes a final performance 

narrative on use and disposition of equipment and the amount of 

residual/excess funding. The task forces’ sponsoring agencies 

must also have financial and accounting systems to ensure that 

funds have been spent properly. Additionally, deployed task 

forces are required to submit a detailed claim to FEMA for 

reimbursement after the mission is completed. These claims go 

through an established review process which determines cost 

appropriateness prior to payment. To ensure property 

accountability, all task forces must have an inventory system to 

manage their equipment cache, and an accountable officer deploys 

with the Incident Support Team. 

Urban Search and Rescue officials use mission assignments as a 

mechanism to call upon other departments and agencies to support 

the ESF-9 mission. For example, they are prepared to issue 

mission assignments to support ESF-9 operations with the National 

Geospatial-Intelligence Agency for mapping and analysis, the 

National Park Service for motorized boating crews, and the U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers for structural engineering support. 

Conclusion 

FEMA is fulfilling its ESF-9 roles and responsibilities. FEMA is 

coordinating with federal primary and support agencies before an 

incident, including catastrophic event planning, during an incident, 

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and after an incident. FEMA is also coordinating with state and 

local governments as well as with the private sector. 

Operationally, FEMA is well positioned to provide trained staff to 

fixed and field facilities during an incident, as the Urban Search 

and Rescue Response System has nearly 6,000 members. 

Moreover, through periodic readiness assessments, FEMA can 

determine the deployment readiness of the Urban Search and 

Rescue Task Forces. FEMA has also identified new equipment 

and capabilities necessary for an effective response. In recent 

years, FEMA has successfully deployed ESF-9 resources. 

FEMA has measures in place to ensure financial and property 

accountability for ESF-9 activities. Furthermore, FEMA has 

executed contracts for urban search and rescue training and 

developed pre-scripted mission assignments to support ESF-9 

operations. 

Recommendations 

We recommend that the Supervisory Program Specialist for the 

Urban Search and Rescue Branch: 

Recommendation #8: Complete Operational Readiness 

Evaluations for the Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces that 

have yet to be evaluated during this evaluation cycle. 

Management Comments and OIG Analysis 

Recommendation #8: FEMA concurred with this recommendation 

and said that it has completed on site Operational Readiness 

Evaluations for all 28 National Urban Search and Rescue Task 

Forces. 

We consider this recommendation resolved because steps have 

been taken to implement it; however, it will remain open until 

evidence is provided that Operational Readiness Evaluations of the 

four remaining National Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces 

were completed. 

ESF-14: Long-Term Community Recovery 

ESF-14 Long-Term Community Recovery is a non-funding entity within 

FEMA’s Recovery Directorate that coordinates federal support for state, 

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tribal, regional, and local governments, nongovernmental organizations, 

and the private sector to enable community recovery from the long-term 

consequences of extraordinary disasters. 

Figure 7. Mississippi cottage, created as part of FEMA’s Long-Term 

Community Recovery’s Alternative Housing Pilot Program 

Source: FEMA 

The National Response Framework designates FEMA as the coordinator 

and primary agency for ESF-14. The goal of ESF-14 is to provide support 

during the first 3 to 9 months of recovery; it is not designed to replace 

state and local authority and responsibility for long-term recovery. The 

ESF-14 mission is complete when all potential resources and analyses 

have been identified, coordinated, and given to disaster-affected state and 

local communities. Although ESF-14 activities are coordinated with 

federal and state partners throughout all phases of a disaster, its primary 

role takes place at the beginning of the recovery effort. 

ESF-14 may be deployed under the following scenarios: 

•	 A Federal Coordinating Officer in charge of a presidentially 

declared disaster may request ESF-14 services; 

•	 A State Coordinating Officer may request ESF-14 services; or 

•	 The National Response Coordination Center may activate ESF-14 

in disasters with potential long-term recovery issues. 

Coordination With ESF Stakeholders 

FEMA coordinates with its federal, state, local, nongovernmental 

organization, and private sector partners prior to, during, and after 

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a disaster. As a resource coordinator, FEMA does not have the 

clear authority to direct ESF-14 partners to provide recovery 

resources when a disaster strikes since ESF-14 partner activities 

are not emergency work as defined in 44 Code of Federal 

Regulations 206.201 (b). 

According to FEMA officials, they coordinate ESF-14 activities 

with federal and state partners throughout all phases of a disaster. 

During a disaster, Long-Term Community Recovery headquarters 

and field officials participate in interagency meetings to assess and 

promote interagency coordination at the designated Joint Field 

Office. Long-Term Community Recovery headquarters and field 

officials also provide a forum for multiple federal, state, and local 

stakeholders to discuss and develop long-term community 

recovery plans and activities. All disaster recovery efforts are 

guided by state and local disaster priorities. 

Long-Term Community Recovery headquarters officials provided 

the following examples to demonstrate ESF-14 coordination: 

•	 Long-Term Community Recovery officials worked with 

Texas and partnering federal agencies to address the 

recovery needs of the most heavily impacted communities 

following Hurricane Ike. Long-Term Community 

Recovery officials facilitated multiple interagency working 

groups, creating a forum for sharing information among 

government agencies, nonprofits, universities, associations, 

and private industry. Results of this work include the 

Hurricane Ike Impact Assessment. The joint analysis and 

the shared information helped recovery partners prioritize 

and direct their support to recovery efforts. Relationships 

were established across multiple sectors, making it easier 

for recovery partners to address challenges. 

•	 Through interagency meetings in 2008 and 2009, LongTerm Community Recovery officials and the state of Iowa 

identified federal funding sources available to support the 

state’s desire to utilize smart growth concepts in rebuilding 

efforts, including considerations for economic growth, 

public health, and quality of life. As a result of the 

interagency coordination that took place during these 

meetings, FEMA, Iowa’s recovery office, the Iowa 

Department of Economic Development, and U.S. 

Department of Agriculture partnered with the 

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Environmental Protection Agency’s Smart Growth program 

to offer smart growth support to rebuilding efforts of five 

communities. 

FEMA’s coordination efforts with other federal agencies, 

voluntary agencies, and private sector contractors aligned with the 

guidance stated in the National Response Framework. However, 

Long Term Community Recovery headquarters officials 

emphasized that they do not have the authority under the National 

Response Framework to direct ESF-14 partners to provide 

recovery resources. FEMA’s authority to direct federal agencies 

under other ESFs is based on provisions that support state and 

local governments’ emergency work through mission assignments. 

Additionally, Long-Term Community Recovery headquarters 

officials do not have clearly defined procedures to identify and 

deploy needed recovery services to disaster affected communities 

through its ESF-14 partners. 

Operational Readiness 

ESF-14 operational readiness efforts, which include staff hiring 

and training, are an initial step toward developing comprehensive 

disaster operational readiness; however, without properly held 

long-term community recovery exercises, ESF-14 will not be 

prepared to provide long-term community recovery activities after 

a major disaster. Long-Term Community Recovery headquarters 

officials coordinate with ESF 3-Public Works and Engineering; 

ESF 6-Mass Care, Emergency Assistance, Housing and Human 

Services; ESF-11 Agriculture and Natural Resources; DHS’ Office 

of Infrastructure Protection; and FEMA’s Public Assistance and 

Mitigation Programs to ensure a fluid transition between shortterm and long-term disaster recovery issues. 

FEMA augmented its disaster deployment capability through 

strategic hiring and increasing the number of disaster reservist staff 

with long-term community development experience. In 2009, 

FEMA initiated the development of a long-term community 

development disaster assistance employee cadre to augment its 

disaster recovery capability. Long-Term Community Recovery 

headquarters officials have taken community development training 

and provide similar training to FEMA regional and disaster 

assistance employees. Long-Term Community Recovery 

headquarters officials, along with other federal agencies, voluntary 

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action reports to capture lessons learned and identify opportunities 

for program and process improvements. 

ESF-14 readiness may be limited because FEMA has not 

conducted any long-term community recovery exercises. LongTerm Community Recovery headquarters officials said that the 

only post-disaster exercise within the federal government was 

conducted in 2009 by the Environmental Protection Agency. The 

Environmental Protection Agency’s Liberty RadEx was a 

multijurisdictional, recovery-based, post-emergency exercise that 

focused on the response and recovery efforts following a chemical 

attack at an urban federal building. The results of this exercise are 

not available and have not been assessed at the time of this report. 

Financial Management and Accountability 

FEMA adequately fulfills its ESF-14 financial management and 

accountability responsibilities. ESF-14 is not a funding entity, but 

facilitates the identification, coordination, and use of resources to 

support long-term recovery. However, Long-Term Community 

Recovery headquarters officials provide recovery coordinating 

activities through pre-scripted and post-event mission assignments 

with the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of 

Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Agriculture, 

the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development 

Administration, and the Department of Transportation. 

Long-Term Community Recovery officials work with technical 

support contractors. FEMA recently awarded a contract to 

Coordination and Planning Partners to serve as a dedicated longterm recovery service provider. In the past, FEMA has issued 

ESF-14 task orders under FEMA’s Public and Individual 

Assistance–Technical Assistance Contracts. For example, task 

orders were issued with some companies for long-term recovery 

services, program development, and post-event technical recovery 

support. Additionally, FEMA has contracted with another entity to 

support an ESF-14 Evaluation Tool. 

Conclusion 

FEMA is generally capable of fulfilling its ESF-14 roles and 

responsibilities. However, in a large-scale disaster, FEMA’s 

ability to assist state and local communities in providing long-term 

recovery services may be limited. ESF-14 Long-Term Community 

Recovery is a non-funding coordinating entity that cannot compel 

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federal agencies to provide disaster recovery support through the 

use of direct emergency work mission assignments. Additionally, 

FEMA does not have procedures to identify and deploy needed 

recovery services to disaster affected communities and has not 

assessed the abilities of its ESF-14 partners to respond to a 

disaster. Furthermore, FEMA does not conduct adequate longterm community recovery exercises. Without regularly scheduled 

exercises to ensure that Long-Term Community Recovery team 

members are prepared, ESF-14 will not be fully capable of 

providing recovery efforts to disaster-affected states and 

communities. 

Recommendations 

We recommend that the Deputy Assistant Administrator for the 

Recovery Directorate: 

Recommendation #9: Develop deployment procedures to assist 

ESF-14 officials to identify and deploy needed recovery services to 

disaster affected communities through its ESF-14 partners. 

Recommendation #10: Schedule regular ESF-14 exercises and 

establish outcome metrics for these exercises. 

Management Comments and OIG Analysis 

Recommendation #9: FEMA concurred with this recommendation 

and said that partner agencies will be expected to clearly identify 

their programs that contribute to recovery services and identify 

agency personnel with the necessary qualifications to participate in 

long-term community recovery assistance efforts. FEMA also said 

that this recommendation will be integrated into a general 

procedure for deployment of ESF-14 or successor efforts under the 

National Disaster Recovery Framework. 

We consider this recommendation resolved because steps are being 

taken to implement it; however, it will remain open until evidence 

is provided that FEMA has developed deployment procedures for 

identifying and deploying recovery services to disaster-affected 

communities through its ESF-14 partners. 

Recommendation #10: FEMA concurred with this 

recommendation and said that it has been working to include ESF14 Long Term Recovery in recent exercises. FEMA also said that 

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upon publication of the National Disaster Recovery Framework, 

additional efforts will be made to develop national doctrine and 

expectations for all levels of long-term recovery planning that will 

be useful in developing long-term recovery exercises. 

We consider this recommendation resolved because steps are being 

taken to implement it; however, it will remain open until evidence 

is provided that FEMA is scheduling ESF-14 exercises and 

establishing outcome metrics for these exercises. 

ESF-15: External Affairs 

Providing timely lifesaving information before, during, and after major 

incidents is a critical function of government and a priority for DHS and 

FEMA. Directed by the DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, ESF15 is designed to ensure that sufficient federal communication resources 

are assigned during an incident that requires a coordinated federal 

response in order to provide accurate, coordinated, and timely information 

to affected audiences, including governments, media, the private sector, 

and the public. ESF-15 integrates public affairs, congressional affairs, 

intergovernmental affairs (state, tribal, and local coordination), community 

relations, and the private sector under the coordinating support of external 

affairs. 

Figure 8. Administrator Fugate speaks at community press 

conference in Devils Lake, North Dakota 

Source: FEMA 

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FEMA has been designated as the primary agency to orchestrate federal 

actions to support state, tribal, and local incident management elements for 

ESF-15. DHS is the coordinating agency and is responsible for ESF-15 

management oversight. ESF-15 activities are implemented in 

coordination with the DHS Office of Public Affairs and components of the 

National Operations Center and Domestic Readiness Group.6 

Coordination With ESF Stakeholders 

Since Hurricane Katrina, FEMA has enhanced its capabilities to 

rapidly engage federal, state, and local authorities, and the private 

sector in order to coordinate, develop, and disseminate consistent 

and sustained public information and instructions during an 

incident requiring a coordinated federal response. Additionally, 

FEMA uses a collaborative process to develop and execute 

communications plans that include program and support offices, 

FEMA’s 10 Regional Offices, and the Office of External Affairs. 

DHS’ Office of Public Affairs and FEMA’s Office of External 

Affairs use the National Incident Communications Conference 

Line before, during, and after an incident to coordinate and 

implement the public message for a federal response to disasters 

and emergency declarations. The National Joint Information 

Center, operated by DHS’ Office of Public Affairs, is the central 

point for coordination of incident information, public affairs 

activities, and media access to information. Furthermore, FEMA’s 

Office of External Affairs compiles facts daily to update 

information on key federal efforts by responding agencies, key 

messages, essential statistics, and talking points about a disaster or 

emergency. 

Along with the National Incident Communications Conference 

Line, DHS and FEMA engage their state and private sector 

partners with similar communications, the State Incident 

Communication Conference Line and the Private Sector 

Communication Conference Line. The purpose of the State 

Incident and Private Sector Communication Conference Lines is to 

enable federal-to-state communication and coordination and to 

share federal incident information with appropriate private sector 

and critical infrastructure sources. Additionally, FEMA holds an 

annual meeting with state governors’ Principal Information 

6

 The Domestic Readiness Group is a White House led structure facilitating a comprehensive, integrated, and 

coordinated approach to domestic incident management. The Domestic Readiness Group convenes on a regular basis 

to develop and coordinate preparedness, response, and incident management policy. 

Assessment of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
 
 

Emergency Support Function Roles and Responsibilities
 
 

Page 49
 
 
 

Officers and states’ Homeland Security Principal Information 

Officers to coordinate prevention, protection, response, and 

recovery communications for the public. 

Besides developing the Private Sector Communication Conference 

Line, DHS and FEMA have reached out to the public sector in 

other ways. In September 2008, during the response to Hurricane 

Gustav, ESF-15 reached out to Entergy Power to participate in 

incident management briefings so that Governor Jindal of 

Louisiana could inform the public of power restoration efforts. In 

November 2009, Administrator Fugate delivered the keynote 

address at an event sponsored by communication industry leaders 

(such as Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo!), which built on National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration and World Bank efforts to 

bring together disaster relief experts and software engineers in 

order to identify key challenges and develop solutions for disaster 

relief. 

The most important coordination effort among White House Office 

of Communications, DHS, FEMA, and ESF-15 support agencies 

was the creation of the Domestic Communication Strategy, a 

dynamic, evolving strategy that includes federal department and 

agency options and actions that can be employed in response to a 

credible threat or “no-notice” incident. The strategy is adaptable 

and can be adjusted as necessary to support emergent 

communication planning efforts, particularly during the preincident phase. After a disaster, the Domestic Communication 

Strategy will evolve through after-action reports and lessons 

learned. 

Operational Readiness 

FEMA continues to make strides with its ESF-15 operational 

readiness efforts. Specifically, FEMA and numerous federal 

agencies worked closely with DHS’ Office of Public Affairs to 

update the ESF-15 Standard Operating Procedures in August 2009, 

and implemented corrective actions to address incident 

coordination concerns identified during the TOPOFF 4 exercise. 

In addition, following the implementation of the formalized 

mandatory credentialing initiative, FEMA developed a 

credentialing plan for 46 positions held by employees who deploy 

to disaster sites. DHS and FEMA have also embraced innovative 

technologies to disseminate accurate and timely information to the 

public. 

Assessment of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
 

Emergency Support Function Roles and Responsibilities
 

Page 50
 
 

The Department of Defense—specifically, the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers—is identified in the ESF-15 Standard Operating 

Procedures as a support agency capable of deploying a public 

affairs officer, but it is not listed as a support agency in the current 

version of the National Response Framework. The U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers supports ESF-15 activities by deploying a 

public affairs officer to provide external affairs support, to include 

pre-incident and post-incident assessments of public works and 

infrastructure as well as recovery efforts. This includes publicizing 

the availability of ice and water, debris removal, power, temporary 

housing demolition, logistical distribution points, and other related 

information for the survivor community and other audiences. 

When the National Response Framework is updated, FEMA needs 

to include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with the other 

support agencies to ensure that stakeholders and the public are 

aware of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ ESF-15 role and 

responsibilities. 

ESF-15 capabilities have been enhanced by testing and proving 

incident communications methods and operations, and identifying 

areas needing improvement, through national level exercises. For 

example, TOPOFF 4 tested the effectiveness of integrating the 

private sector and critical infrastructure and key resources public 

information offices into the National Joint Information Center and 

field centers. Most important, it revealed that ESF-15 needs to 

refine and improve the federal-state-local strategic communication 

flow within the National Joint Information Center structure. DHS 

and FEMA recognize that and other areas of concern require 

follow on discussions and attention for improvement. 

In January 2009, ESF-15 began implementing a mandatory, 

agency-wide credentialing initiative to ensure that deployed 

employees are qualified to perform specific duties in response to a 

disaster. ESF-15 has developed a credentialing plan for 46 

external affairs positions. The external affairs cadre is typed and 

credentialed at four levels: trainee, basically qualified, fully 

qualified, and expert. The goal is to have 85% of the external 

affairs cadre attain basically qualified credentialing standards and 

15% attain fully qualified within the first year. 

FEMA has adopted several recent technologies to optimize the 

dissemination of incident response information to the public. 

FEMA uses nationwide social media sites such as Facebook, 

YouTube, and Twitter to provide information related to disaster 

preparedness, response and recovery. FEMA has also procured 

Assessment of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
 

Emergency Support Function Roles and Responsibilities
 

Page 51
 
 

 

three Emergency Communication Kits. These kits are the size of a 

medium suitcase and can be carried by a single person, so they are 

deployable anywhere people can reside. These kits are specialized 

units with the capability to connect to remote resources while in 

the field under adverse circumstances. The user can establish 

satellite or cellular communications that can be used to set up a 

mobile office with a scanner, printer, webcam, and laptop. Other 

key technological updates include Deployable Satellite Uplink 

Units and a Ready Room, which allows full connectivity for 12 

users to field mobile devices. 

Financial Management and Accountability 

Contracts and mission assignments have been particularly valuable 

to advancing the ESF-15 mission. Through limited English 

proficiency and special needs communications contracts, FEMA is 

able to provide stakeholders involved with response and recovery 

an array of services, including language translation and 

interpretation. During the North Dakota floods in 2009, FEMA 

provided translation in Korean, Spanish, Vietnamese and other 

languages for disaster survivors with limited English proficiency. 

FEMA also provided special needs communication for American 

Sign Language and Braille. Such contracts allow FEMA to 

provide a valuable media service to individuals who do not speak 

English as a first language or who require special needs 

communication. The Post Katrina Emergency Management 

Reform Act requires FEMA to ensure that information made 

available to individuals affected by a major disaster or emergency 

is available in formats that can be understood by individuals with 

disabilities and special needs. 

Additionally, FEMA has issued contracts for media monitoring, 

analysis and metrics services. The purpose of these services is to 

search terms related to emergency management, gauge the tone of 

the media, and identify audiences reached and the coverage 

equivalent in terms of positioning and advertising dollars based on 

industry rate cards. FEMA deploys Media Analysis Specialists 

and managers to ensure financial accountability by reviewing 

media analysis reports for accuracy and content. 

FEMA also uses pre-scripted mission assignments directed to other 

federal departments and agencies to augment ESF-15 missions 

during a disaster or emergency. FEMA officials said that they 

have executed ESF-15 mission assignments with 15 other federal 

partners. For example, FEMA mission-assigned the 

Assessment of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s 

Emergency Support Function Roles and Responsibilities 

Page 52 
 

Environmental Protection Agency during the response to 

Hurricane Ike to deploy an environmental subject matter expert. 

FEMA believes using pre-scripted mission assignments allows 

federal resources to deploy quicker and standardizes the process of 

developing the mission assignments. 

Conclusion 

FEMA has greatly enhanced its capabilities over the past several 

years to fulfill its ESF-15 roles and responsibilities. Specifically, 

DHS and FEMA have developed instruments to promptly mobilize 

federal, state, and local authorities in order to coordinate, develop, 

and disseminate a consistent and sustained public message during 

an incident. 

DHS and FEMA operational readiness efforts continue to be 

enhanced, as evidenced by the August 2009 update of ESF-15 

Standard Operating Procedures and participation in the TOPOFF 4 

exercise. Additionally, following the implementation of the 

mandatory credentialing initiative, ESF-15 developed a 

credentialing plan for more than 45 external affairs positions that 

are regularly deployed to disaster sites. 

FEMA has also embraced emerging technologies to disseminate 

accurate and timely information to the public through a variety of 

methods. Such methods include social media sites, Emergency 

Communication Kits, and a Ready Room, which allows full 

connectivity for 12 users to field mobile devices. 

FEMA uses contracts and pre-scripted mission assignments to help 

publicize accurate and appropriate information. ESF-15 has predisaster contracts in place to provide limited English proficiency 

and special needs communications, and media monitoring. FEMA 

also has executed ESF-15 mission assignments with federal 

partners for major incidents, such as deploying subject matter 

experts during the response to Hurricane Ike. 

Assessment of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
 
 

Emergency Support Function Roles and Responsibilities
 
 

Page 53
 
 
 

Recommendations 

We recommend that the Director for External Affairs: 

Recommendation #11: Collaborate with the FEMA Office of 

Protection and National Preparedness to ensure that all federal 

agencies and departments with a role in ESF-15 activities are 

properly included in the National Response Framework. 

Management Comments and OIG Analysis 

Recommendation #11: FEMA concurred with this 

recommendation and said that it will ensure that the appropriate 

federal agencies and departments having a role in ESF-15 are 

included in the revised version of the National Response 

Framework. FEMA also said that its External Affairs office will 

coordinate with DHS – Office of Public Affairs to support and 

ensure all appropriate federal agencies and departments with a role 

in ESF-15 are closely coordinated. 

We consider this recommendation resolved because steps are being 

taken to implement it; however, it will remain open until evidence 

is provided that it has been fully implemented. 

Assessment of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
 
 

Emergency Support Function Roles and Responsibilities
 
 

Page 54
 
 
 

Appendix A 

Purpose, Scope, and Methodology 

The objective of our review was to determine the extent to which 

the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is prepared 

to fulfill its Emergency Support Function (ESF) roles and 

responsibilities under the National Response Framework. We 

focused our review on those ESF Annexes in which FEMA is a 

coordinator, a primary agency, or both. 

To conduct fieldwork we used the Inspection Guide “An IG’s 

Guide for Assessing Federal Response Capabilities” that the 

Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency 

developed. This inspection guide is being piloted by our office and 

other OIGs. We interviewed DHS and FEMA officials and 

examined the National Response Framework and its ESF annexes, 

as well as documentation relating to coordination with ESF 

stakeholders, federal planning initiatives, operational readiness, 

and financial management and accountability. 

We acknowledge the cooperation and courtesies extended to our 

team during this review. We conducted this review between 

November 2009 and June 2010 under the authority of the Inspector 

General Act of 1978, as amended, and according to the Quality 

Standards for Inspections issued by the Council of the Inspectors 

General on Integrity and Efficiency. 

Assessment of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
 
 

Emergency Support Function Roles and Responsibilities
 
 

Page 55
 
 
 

MEMORANDUM FOR: Malt Jad;lcki

Assistant lnspc<:tor Gencral

Office of Emcrgency Managcmcnt Ovcrsight

Office of InspL'ClOr General

FROM: D~vid J. Kaufman;rU ---

Director IJ-""'--

Officc of Policy and Prognun Analysis

SUBJ£cr: Comments on OIG Dmft Report, Auessmen! ofFederal

Emergency ManagenH,'nl Agency s Emergency SlIpporl

Function Roles ami Responsibilities

lbank you for the opportunity to review and comment on thc Office of Inspeaor

General's (OIG's) subject dr.lft audit report. As tnc Federal Emergency Managanent

Agency (FEMA) works toward refining its progrwns. tnc OIG's independent llIUllysis of

program performance greatly benefitS our ability 10 continuously improve our activities.

Technical comments h1l\'c been submitted under 5Cpar,l1e CO\'CT_

The following arc comments regarding the audit's obsL'TVations and condusions which

are organized below by the sections of your dmft report:

EXCl::uljvc Summary and Results of Revjew

With respl:(:tto thc asscrtion that Ihere was lillie c"idence that supporr "gel/cies are

regu/"rly ineluded in pfmming meetingsforml J;:mcrgelJey Support /;lIIlction il!i,fSioll

FEMA Tt:commends thalthc languagc in thcse st'Clions be rcvised to refle<:t FEMA's

incrcased proactivc cngagement. and succ<.'Ss(ul partnership wilh Emergency Support

Function (ESF) agencies. FEMA has invcsted suhstanlialtimc in mCCling with the ESF

ag<''Ilcics in both group lmd one-on-onc m<.'Ctings to discu~ disaster response roles and

responsibilities: address issues relating to functional and opcmtional procedures and

assignments; re'o'iew capabilities: and providc additional clarification where needed, The

meetings ha\"C ensured Ihat ESF agencies support critical planning activitics, and can

maintain response. situational awareness, and common operating picture capabilities.

FEMA routindy meets with its National· and Regional-level partners lhrough tnc

.......r......

1_... I,.,..,,_elll_s...fiI).' _ {" 'IoIat, Sl!.

" ......... I)(":»I'~

Appendix B 

Management Comments to the Draft Report 

Assessment of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
 
 

Emergency Support Function Roles and Responsibilities
 
 

Page 56
 
 
 

Plge2

luspices ofthe Emergency Support Functions Leadership Group (ESFLG) and the

Regional Inten.gency Steering Conuninoes (R1SCs). In fact, the priorities in the FEMA

Administrator's {ntMt are to "build unity ofeffort among the entire emergency

management team" and "work with our partners to address the most significant risks."

FEMA has been reinvigorating partDc:rships It alllevds and specifically has rc-c:ngaged

the members ofthe ESFLG to integrate the role oftile ESFs and RISCs more fully into

the disasler response structure, improving interagency coordination and facilitating

disaster response opentions. In addition to developing information sharing processes and

requirements and formalizing relltionships. I new ESFLG chatter has been drafted and is

in the final stages ofreview.

FEMA also coordinates with ESF partners in developing strategic all·hazards, timesequmced plans of preparedness, response IctiOns, and decision miling points. The

objective ofthc::se ongoing one-on-one meetings is to bolster apentional readiness and

ensure that the ESFs have the capability to maintain comprehensive situational

awarc:ncss, proper coordination, and resourceIaction lnIcting visibility dwing an incident.

Video-Teleoonfercnces (VICs) can also be held to coordinate and resolve any nwnber of

preparedness., response, and recovery issues. VICs are highlighted as a success story

related to information sharing among FEMA and its Federal Partners for the DHS

Infonnation Sharing and Governance Board.

FEMA routinely convenes multi-agency VICs and conference calls involving the

ESFLG, FEMA Regional staff, and incident-specific command and operations t:erltc:rs at

the Federal and State levels upon receipt ofactionable warnings. At these events. basic

incident-specific preparedness, response. and initial recovery actions are introduced,

coordinated, and synchronized in prepanltion for possible response. 11lrough the

experiences and lessons learned during disaster cycles, FEMA can note areas of

improvement and focus resources and capabilities appropriately on those regions and

states that may need assistance.

In another example, FEMA Headquarters staff and regional staff have been working

closely with the ESF departments and agencies to develop, enhance, and revise PreScripted Mission Assignments (PSMA) to ensure that they understand their roles,

responsibilities and requirements associated with developing and implementing the

PSMAs. PSMAs arc a mechanism through which Federal agencies, departments, and

organizations can come to agreement in advance of an event in order to provide

assistance to state and local governments during a disaster.

FEMA is now convening ESFLG meetings no less frequently than monthly. Agency

representatives are expected to represent their agency's National Response Framework

(NRF) function as well as their own department or agency. ESFLG member.; are

enoouraged to invite their supporting agencies to the ESFLG meetings. Ifthe supporting

agencies are not able to anend, it is the responsibility ofESFLG members to disseminate

information shared or decisions made at the meetings with them.

Appendix B 

Management Comments to the Draft Report 

Assessment of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
 
 

Emergency Support Function Roles and Responsibilities
 
 

Page 57
 
 
 

Page 3

With respect to the statement in the draft report on page 23, Allhough ESF-6

headquarter: official: coordinate with their partners, we are concerned that ifa major

dislUter occurred in today': economy, ESF-6 efforl: with :upporling nonprofit and

private organizations may be limited because these organizations may have staffing and

funding resource limitations, leaving the federal government to rely heavily on mission

assignment: with otherfederal agencies (OFA) 10 accompli:h the ESF-6 mi::ion. FEMA

:hould have contingency plans on how to handle an incident ifnonprofit and private

partner: cannot help in the response effort:, FEMA believes the term ''private

organizations" is unclear and needs clarification. Moreover, the conclusion incorrectly

suggests that FEMA has not established robust contingency plans to address potential

shortfalls in the Voluntary Agency response community. The opposite is actually true.

FEMA has well-established contingency plans in place at this lime to address shortfalls

when local, State, or Voluntary Agencies are not able to address response needs. FEMA

regions have established plans that include contingencies based on use of Mission

Assignment, Blanket Purchase order, or Technical Assistance Contract activation.

Regions have developed these plans with their State and Voluntary Agency partners so

that this contingency is well understood; FEMA Headquarters provides the same

planning and coordination with Voluntary Agencies at the National level.

In the event that a non-governmental organization, supporting a State, needs assistance

with resources or services, the State will submit a request to FEMA through the Action

Request Form process and after validation and approval, FEMA will meet those needs

through one ofits many sourcing mechanisms, This includes procurement of Durable

Medical Equipment, Consumable Medical Supplies, food product commodities, shelter

support items, infant and toddler supplies, and household pet supplies.

Ifsheltering and shelter staffresou~ are requested, those needs may be met by utilizing

the Mission Assignment process to request personnel through one of our federal partners.

such as the Corporation for National and Community Services (including AmeriCorps).

FEMA's Individual Assistance Technical Assistance Contracts (IA-TACs) may also be

tapped for tum-key sheller operation and management. The IA-TACs may also be used to

support or augment feeding missions. warehousing, and distribution ofemergency

supplies, FEMA 's support contractors have the capacity to shelter over 350,000

survivors per day and serve over two million meals per day.

Also on page 23, the following paragraph is incorrect: We are abo concerned that

FEMA ': Individual A::istance headquarter: capabilitie: to respond and provide

program oversight may be :lowed because ofESF-6 's expamive scope ofre:pomibility.

ESF-6 comi:t: ofmas: care, emergency as:i:tance, housing, and human :ervices, each of

which has extemive mi:siom. FEMA should assess each component's role to emure that

the component's respomibjfity i: essential when responding to an incident.

Appendix B 

Management Comments to the Draft Report 

Assessment of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
 
 

Emergency Support Function Roles and Responsibilities
 
 

Page 58
 
 
 

Page 4

FEMA recognizes that coordination ofESF-6 can be challenging at times; however, we

do not agree that any component part ofESF·6 is non-essential. FEMA coordinates the

many parts ofESF-6 from response through recovery, ensuring that individuals and

families have access to the spectrum of federal, State, voluntary agency, and private

sector assistance. Eliminating any single component ofthe ESF-6 mission could

diminish or eliminate the crilical services available to disaster survivors, from sheltering

and feeding through case management and interim housing. As an alternative to the

DIG's proposed recommendation, DIG could recommend that FEMA continue 10

enhance the coordination ofESF-6 through national exercises and training with their

ESF-6 support agencies.

With respect to the Operational Readiness discussion concerning ESF-6, this section does

not mention the multi-million dollar readiness contracts that support Housing, Mass Care,

Sheltering, Feeding, and other Technical Assistance requirements for the Individual

Assistance mission in the regions; nor does it cover the extensive training provided to

Individual Assistance cadre members during steady state and on response operations.

With respect to the draft report's eleven recommendations, FEMA concurs with the

recommendations with the exceptions noted below. While we will be providing

corrective action plans in our 90-day response, we provide the following information:

Recommendalion 1#1: Complete the statutorily required annual reports from the

Regional Emergency Communications Coordination Working Groups to ensure that any

issues identified in the regions are addressed and 10 assess communications capabilities in

the regions.

Response; FEMA concurs with this recommendation and has already finalized the 2009

Regional Emergency Communications Coordination Working Groups report. The report

is undergoing final review within FEMA and will be provided to the DIG upon final

clearance. Upon transmittal to the OIG. FEMA will ask that this recommendation be

considered closed.

Re<:ommendadon 1#2: Ensure that FEMA fulfills its ESF-3 requirements, including

coordinating with ESF-3 primary and support agencies on both planning and operations.

Response; FEMA concurs with this recommendation. The United States Anny Corps of

Engineers (USACE) is the lead ESF·3 agency during the response phase, while FEMA is

lead during the recovery phase. FEMA Public Assistance (PA) and the USACE have a

longstanding partnership that involves continued interaction and coordination before,

during, and after emergency and disaster declaration. FEMA ensures that it fulfills its

ESF-3 requirements and responSibilities through the PA Program by staffing the

Infrastructure Support Branch Director position when ESF-3 or other infrastructure ESFs

are activated pursuant 10 the National Response Framework (NRF). The strong

partnership has included regular meetings, teleconferences, planning workshops,joint

Appendix B 

Management Comments to the Draft Report 

Assessment of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
 
 

Emergency Support Function Roles and Responsibilities
 
 

Page 59
 
 
 

Page 5

training, and guidance of debris removal. Interagency task forces are also in place for

debris. levee, and other recovery related issues. FEMA and USACE are regular

participants in semi-annual Senior Leadership seminars, tabletop ellen::ises, and National

Level Ellercises. FEMA PA involves USACE and other relevant agencies, such as the

Envirorunental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United State Coast Guard (USCG) in

the development and review ofit guidance and policies. FEMA PA also regularly

partners with USACE, EPA, USCG, Department ofTransportation (DOn, and the

National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to establish Interagency Debris Task

Forces, Interagency Wet Debris Task Forces, and Interagency Levee Task Forces in order

to coordinate federal response.

FEMA asks that this recommendation be considered closed.

Recommendation #3: Eumine FEMA's classification as a primary agency for ESF-3

since its roles and responsibilities are similar to those ofother support agencies and

examine the suitability of all listed ESF-3 support agencies given that they are often not

active participants in planning or ellen::ises.

Response: FEMA concurs with this recommendation and will continue to ellamine its

current role under ESF-3. However, at this time. FEMA does not plan to propose a redesignation ofFEMA under ESF·3, and FEMA does play a primary role for

infrastructure during the recovery phase.

Recommendation #4: Ensure ESF-3 responsibilities are aligned with the National

Disaster Recovery Framework and evaluate whether FEMA's recovery portion ofESF·3

is still a necessary part of ESF-3 and the National Response Framework as a whole.

Response: FEMA concurs with this recommendation and has continued the partnership

with USACE, as well as with other agencies and partners, in the dcvelopment ofthe

National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF) and the Recovery Support Function

(RSF) construct. The transitions between ESFs under the National Response Framework

(NRF) and the RSFs under the NDRF are being discussed and coordinated as the RSF

annexes are developed. Additionally, the NRf is scheduled for revision in 2011,

providing an opportunity to address NDRF transitional issues within the NRF itselfas

appropriate.

Recommendation #5: Reassess the structure and function ofESF-6to detennine

whether each component's responsibility is essential when responding to an event.

Response: FEMA does not concur with this recommendation. FEMA recognizes the

scope ofESF-6 can be cumbersome at times; however, we do not agree that any pan of

ESF-6 is non-essential. FEMA coordinates the many parts ofESF-6 from response

through recovery, ensuring that individuals and families transition through the full

spectrom of federal, State, voluntary agency, and private sector assistance. Eliminating

Appendix B 

Management Comments to the Draft Report 

Assessment of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
 
 

Emergency Support Function Roles and Responsibilities
 
 

Page 60
 
 
 

Page 6

any single component ofthe ESF-6 mission could diminish or eliminate the critical

services available in ESF--6, from sheltering and feeding through case management and

interim housing. As an alternative to this recommendation, 010 could recommend that

FEMA continue to enhance the capability and readiness ofESF--6 through national

exercises and training with their ESF-6 support agencies.

R«ommendation #6: Develop contingency plans on how to handle an event if

nonprofit and private partners cannot assist with response efforts.

Response: In order to respond to this recommendation, FEMA needs further

clarification. The term ''private partners" is unclear in this context - is the DIG's concern

that Technical Assistance Contract support will be diminished, or the entire private

sector? FEMA recommends either re-writing or eliminating this recommendationcontingency plans are in place nationally and have been coordinated with our Voluntary

Agency partners.

Recommendation #7: Link the new ESF-6 disaster infonnation tools to its missions.

Response: In order to respond to this recommendation, FEMA needs further clarification

and will be unable to implement this recommendation as written.

Recommendation #8: Complete Operational Readiness Evaluations for the Urban

Search and Rescue Task Forces that have yet to be evaluated during this evaluation cycle.

Response: FEMA concurs with this recommendation and has taken the action to

implement it. The National Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) Program completed the

CWTent generation of on-site Operational Readiness Evaluations (OREs) ofTask Forces.

CA-TFI and CA-TF2 were completed in June 2010 and NY-TFI and VA-TFI were

completed in July 2010. All 28 National US&R Task Forces have now been evaluated

using the current ORE criteria.

FEMA asks that this recommendation be considered closed.

Rerommendation #9: Develop deployment procedures to assist ESF-14 officials to

identify and deploy needed recovery services to disaster affected communities through its

ESF-14 partners.

Response: FEMA concurs with this recommendation. ESF-14 has been making efforts

to evolve its interagency structure in its 5 years of existence. Prior to the initiation ofthe

National Disaster Recovery Framework, ESF-14 had been working to develop a

substructure 10 better organize agencies, and their capabilities. These Recovery Support

Functions groupings originally developed under ESF-14 were evaluated, and modified

for inclusion in the NDRF. When the NDRF is finalized, it is expected that roles and

responsibilities for partner agencies will be increased. In general, partner agencies will

Appendix B 

Management Comments to the Draft Report 

Assessment of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
 
 

Emergency Support Function Roles and Responsibilities
 
 

Page 61
 
 
 

Page 7

be expected to clearly identify the programs contributing recovery services and clearly

identify agency personnel with the necessary qualifications to participate in long term

community recovery (LTCR) assistance efforts. Concurrent with this recommendation,

ESF-14 is also underway with plans to address a similar recommendation from the

Government Accountability Office (GAO) to develop clear and consistent criteria for

when ESF-14 will become involved in a disaster. This recommendation and the GAO

recommendation will be integrated into a general procedure for deployment ofESF-14 or

successor efforts under the NDRF.

Recommendation #10: Schedule regular ESF-14 exercises and establish outcome

metrics for these exercises.

Response: FEMA concurs with this recommendation.. A significant challenge for

establishing proper exercises and measuring outcome metrics is the presence of an

organized and planned system that works between local and state govemments and then

regional and national federal agencies. There are currently no requirements nor doctrine

for preparedness plans for long term recovery planning at any level. It is challenging at

best to exercise plans that do not currently exist. Current catastrophic and other disaster

preparedness planning does not fully include long term community recovery.

FEMA has been working to include ESF-14 Long Term Recovery in recent exercises,

including Liberty RadEx, and National Level Exercise (NLE) 20 IO. More extensive long

term recovery elements are planned for inclusion in the National Level Exercise for 2011,

to include New Madrid. The National Disaster Recovery Framework, which is still

under development, sets expectations for recovery preparedness planning for all levels of

government. We expect that upon publication ofthe NDRF additional efforts will be

made to develop national doctrine and expectations for all levels oflong term recovery

planning that will greatly aid in definition ofmetrics that will be meaningful for use in

developing exercises.

Recommendation #11: Collaborate with the FEMA Office of Policy and Program

Analysis to ensure that all federal agencies and departments with a role in ESF-15

activities are properly included in the National Response Framework.

Response: FEMA concurs with the recommendation with the modification that the

Office ofPolicy and Program Analysis is not the proper collaborative partner for this

activity. FEMA will coordinate with the appropriate office, Protection and National

Preparedness, to ensure that the appropriate federal agencies and departments having a

role in ESF-15 are included in the revised version ofthe National Response Framework.

FEMA External Affairs will also coordinate with the DHS - Office of Public Affairs to

support and ensure all appropriate federal agencies and departments with a role in ESF 15

are closely coordinated. This process will begin in the next 30 days, and the timeline for

inclusion in the National Response Framework will be at the discretion of Protection and

National Preparedness.

Appendix B 

Management Comments to the Draft Report 

Assessment of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
 
 

Emergency Support Function Roles and Responsibilities
 
 

Page 62
 
 
 

Page 8

Thank you again for the opportunity to comment on this draft report and we look forward

to working with you on other issues as we both strive to improve FEMA.

Appendix B 

Management Comments to the Draft Report 

Assessment of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
 
 

Emergency Support Function Roles and Responsibilities
 
 

Page 63
 
 
Appendix C 

Emergency Support Function Coordinators and Primary and Support Agencies 

EMERGENCY SUPPORT FUNCTIONS 

Agency 

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #12 

Transportation

Communications

Public Works and

Engineering

Firefighting

Emergency

Management 

Mass Care,

Emergency

Assistance, Housing,

and Human Services

Logistics

Management and 

Resource Support

Public Health and

Medical Services

Search and Rescue

Oil and Hazardous

Materials Response

Agriculture and 

Natural Resources 

Energy

USDA S S S S S S C/P/S S 

USDA/FS S S S C/P S S S S S 

DOC S S S S S S S S S S S 

DOD S S S S S S S S P S S S 

DOD/USACE S C/P S S S S S S S S 

ED S 

DOE S S S S S S S C/P 

HHS S S S S C/P S S S 

DHS S S S S S S S S S S 

DHS/FEMA S P P S C/P C/P/S C/P S C/P S S 

DHS/NCS S S 

DHS/USCG S S S S P P HUD C/P S S 

DOI S S S S S S S S P S P/S S 

DOJ S S S S S S 

DOL S S S S S S S S S 

DOS S S SS S S S S SC/P 

DOT C/P S S S S S S S S 

 C = ESF Coordinator, P = Primary Agency, S = Support Agency 

Assessment of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s 

Emergency Support Function Roles and Responsibilities 

Page 64 
Appendix C 

Emergency Support Function Coordinators and Primary and Support Agencies 

EMERGENCY SUPPORT FUNCTIONS (continued) 

Agency 

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #12 

Transportation

Communications

Public Works and

Engineering

Firefighting

Emergency

Management 

Mass Care,

Emergency

Assistance,

Housing, and

Human Services

Logistics

Management and 

Resource Support

Public Health and

Medical Services

Search and Rescue

Oil and Hazardous

Materials Response

Agriculture and 

Natural Resources 

Energy

TREAS S S 

VA S S S S S 

EPA S S S S C/P S S 

FCC S S 

GSA S S S S S C/P S S S 

NASA S S S 

NRC S S S 

OPM S S SBA S S 

SSA S S 

TVA S S S USAID S S USPS S S S S S 

ACHP S ARC S S S S S 

CNCS S S 

DRA HENTF S NARA S 

NVOAD S 

 C = ESF Coordinator, P = Primary Agency, S = Support Agency 

Assessment of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s 

Emergency Support Function Roles and Responsibilities 

Page 65 
 

 

 

Appendix C 

Emergency Support Function Coordinators and Primary and Support Agencies 

Abbreviations for Departments and Agencies Listed in the Emergency 

Support Functions Table 

USDA 	 U.S. Department of Agriculture 

USDA/FS 	 U.S. Department of Agriculture/Forest Service 

DOC 	 Department of Commerce 

DOD 	 Department of Defense 

DOD/USACE 	 Department of Defense/U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

ED 	 Department of Education 

DOE 	 Department of Energy 

HHS 	 Department of Health and Human Services 

DHS 	 Department of Homeland Security 

DHS/NCS 	 Department of Homeland Security/National Communications 

System 

DHS/USCG 	 Department of Homeland Security/U.S. Coast Guard 

HUD 	 Department of Housing and Urban Development 

DOI 	 Department of Interior 

DOJ	 Department of Justice 

DOL 	 Department of Labor 

DOS 	 Department of State 

DOT 	 Department of Transportation 

TREAS 	 Department of Treasury 

VA 	 Department of Veterans Affairs 

EPA 	 Environmental Protection Agency 

FCC 	 Federal Communications Commission 

GSA 	 General Services Administration 

NASA 	 National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

NRC 	 Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

OPM 	 Office of Personnel Management 

SBA 	 Small Business Administration 

SSA 	 Social Security Administration 

TVA 	 Tennessee Valley Authority 

USAID 	 U.S. Agency for International Development 

USPS 	 U.S. Postal Service 

ACHP 	 Advisory Council on Historic Preservation 

ARC 	 American Red Cross 

CNCS	 Corporation for National and Community Service 

DRA 	 Delta Regional Authority 

HENTF 	 Heritage Emergency National Task Force 

NARA 	 National Archives and Records Administration 

NVOAD 	 National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster 

Assessment of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
 
 

Emergency Support Function Roles and Responsibilities
 
 

Page 66
 
 
 

Appendix D 

Major Contributors to this Report 

Norman Brown, Lead Director 

Donald Bumgardner, Director 

Kaye McTighe, Director 

Adrian Dupree, Project Manager 

Soraya Vega, Project Manager 

Nigel Gardner, Supervisory Program Analyst 

Eric Young, Supervisory Auditor 

Christine Alvarez, Program Analyst 

Stuart Josephs, Auditor 

Doug Campbell, Program Analyst 

S. Ryan Hartong, Program Analyst 

Eric Hostelley, Program Analyst 

John Meenan, Program Analyst 

Alexandra Vega, Program Analyst 

Assessment of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
 
 

Emergency Support Function Roles and Responsibilities
 
 

Page 67
 
 
 

Appendix E 

Report Distribution 

Department of Homeland Security 

Secretary 

Deputy Secretary 

Chief of Staff 

Deputy Chief of Staff 

General Counsel 

Executive Secretariat 

Director, GAO/OIG Liaison Office 

Assistant Secretary for Office of Policy 

Assistant Secretary for Office of Public Affairs 

Assistant Secretary for Office of Legislative Affairs 

Federal Emergency Management Agency 

Administrator 

Assistant Administrator 

FEMA GAO/OIG Liaison (10-149-EMO) 

Office of Management and Budget 

Chief, Homeland Security Branch 

DHS OIG Budget Examiner 

Congress 

Congressional Oversight and Appropriations Committees, as 

appropriate 

Assessment of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
 
 

Emergency Support Function Roles and Responsibilities
 
 

Page 68
 
 
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