Roles and 

Coordination

APHIS Foreign Animal 

Disease Framework

FAD PReP Manual 1-0

September 2016

1
Roles and Coordination Overview

• Preparedness and response planning for foreign animal disease 

(FAD) incidents is crucial to protect animal health, public health, 

animal agriculture, the food supply, the environment, and the 

economy. 

• The FAD Framework on Roles and Coordination (FAD PReP

Manual 1-0) describes authorities, funding, relationships among 

Federal departments, incident management, and communication 

strategies during an FAD incident or outbreak.

2
Foreign and Emerging Animal Diseases

• An FAD is defined as a terrestrial animal disease or pest, or an 

aquatic animal disease or pest, not known to exist in the United 

States or its territories.

• An emerging animal disease is defined as any terrestrial animal, 

aquatic animal, or zoonotic disease not yet known or 

characterized, or any known or characterized terrestrial animal or 

aquatic animal disease in the United States or its territories that 

changes or mutates in pathogenicity, communicability, or 

zoonotic potential to become a threat to terrestrial animals, 

aquatic animals, or humans.

– In September 2016, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 

(APHIS) released a new document, the Emerging Animal Disease 

Preparedness and Response Plan, that is now undergoing comment 

for further review. 3
FAD Response Priorities

• Providing processes for emergency planning that respect local knowledge.

• Integrating State-Federal-Tribal-industry planning processes.

• Ensuring that there are clearly defined, obtainable, unified goals for response.

• Having a unified State-Federal Incident Command that can act with speed and 

certainty.

• Employing science- and risk-based management approaches to an FAD 

response.

• Ensuring that all guidelines, strategies, and procedures are communicated 

effectively to responders and stakeholders.

• Identifying resources and trained personnel required for an effective incident 

response.

• Trying to resolve competing interests prior to an outbreak and addressing 

them quickly during an outbreak.

• Achieving rapid FAD detection and tracing.

4
NRF, NIMS, and FAD PReP Integration

• Successful emergency preparedness and response requires 

integration between the following:

– National Preparedness System, 

– National Response Framework (NRF), 

– National Incident Management System (NIMS), and 

– Foreign Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Plan (FAD PReP) 

• including the National Animal Health Emergency Management System 

(NAHEMS).

• FAD PReP documents use concepts, structures, and processes 

defined in the NRF and NIMS as a foundation to provide

– disease-specific information and 

– further direction on response requirements for FAD outbreaks.

5
National Response Framework

• The NRF is a guide to how the Nation conducts all-hazards 

response through a whole community approach. 

– It is a critical component of the National Preparedness System and 

one of five National Planning Frameworks.

6

• The NRF 

‒ describes core capabilities for response, 

‒ defines specific authorities, and

‒ establishes an approach for responding to 

domestic incidents that range from serious 

but local events to large scale terrorist 

attacks or catastrophic natural disasters. 

• Builds on NIMS, the foundation of the 

National Preparedness System. 
National Incident Management System

• NIMS supports the NRF and is the foundation of the National Preparedness 

System.

• It provides a systematic, nationwide, proactive approach guiding 

departments and agencies at all levels of government, the private sector, 

and non-governmental organizations. 

• The goal of NIMS is to help these organizations work seamlessly to prepare 

for, prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of 

incidents, “...regardless of cause, size, location, or complexity—in order to 

reduce the loss of life, liberty, property, and harm to the environment.”

• NIMS consists of these 5 key components:

1) Preparedness,

2) Communications and information management,

3) Resource management,

4) Command and management, and 

5) Ongoing management and maintenance.

7
FAD Preparedness and Response Plan

• FAD PReP documents, which include NAHEMS, offer:

– competent veterinary guidance on cleaning and disinfection, 

disposal, mass depopulation, and other critical activities;

– information on disease control and eradication strategies and 

principles;

– guidance on health, safety, and personal protective equipment 

(PPE);

– biosecurity information and site-specific management strategies; 

and

– training and educational resources.

8

• These documents provide the 

foundation for coordinated 

national, regional, State, Tribal, 

and local activities in an 

emergency situation. 
USDA APHIS Authorities for an FAD Incident

• APHIS (through the Secretary of Agriculture) receives its 

permanent and general regulatory authority to act in preventing, 

detecting, controlling, and eradicating any FAD or emerging 

disease through the Animal Health Protection Act (AHPA), 7 

United States Code (U.S.C.) 8301 et seq. 

• Regulations related to FAD response are found in the Code of 

Federal Regulations (CFR), which detail how Executive agencies 

interpret U.S.C. 

• Relevant sections include 7 CFR Parts 1, 2, 15, and 371; 9 CFR 

Parts 53, 71, and 161. 

9
USDA APHIS Authorities for an FAD Incident

• Prohibit or restrict imports, exports, and/or 

interstate commerce;

• Implement remedial measures (i.e., 

destruction or removal activities, 

movement restrictions);

• Disinfect articles, conveyances, individuals 

and personal articles involved in the 

importation or exportation of animals;

• Declare an extraordinary emergency;

• Compensate the owner of animals, articles, 

facilities, or conveyances destroyed in the 

process of FAD eradication;

• Inspect, without warrant, persons or 

conveyances moving regulated animals or 

articles into the United States, in interstate 

commerce, or in intrastate commerce;

• Obtain warrants, for the purpose of 

entering, inspecting and seizing (if 

necessary) premises in the United States;

• Establish a veterinary accreditation 

program as well as standards of conduct for 

accredited veterinarians;

• Cooperate with both domestic and 

international government and nongovernment actors;

• Pay overtime for employees performing 

import/export services;

• Levy civil and criminal penalties against 

violators of the AHPA;

• Conduct investigations and administer 

subpoenas necessary for the 

administration of the AHPA; and

• Transfer funds from other USDA agencies 

and corporations for the arrest, control, 

eradication, and prevention of an FAD.

The AHPA authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to perform the following in 

pursuit of FAD preparedness and response:

10
Funding

• Additional funding may be made available for FAD emergency 

response.

– The Secretary of Agriculture may declare an agricultural emergency 

or an extraordinary emergency when additional Federal assistance is 

needed to protect U.S. agriculture.

• Three typical sources of funds for FAD response:

– Contingency fund (generally for requests <$1 million)

– Commodity Credit Corporation (generally for requests >$1 million)

– Supplemental appropriations from Congress 

(large response efforts)

11
Federal Department Roles and Responsibilities

• Effective response, coordination, and communication in an incident requires a whole 

community approach; this includes emergency management practitioners, community 

leaders, and government officials from local to Federal must collaboratively determine 

how to respond to any incident.1

• USDA may request Federal-to-Federal support (FFS) during and FAD incident.

– FFS: Federal department or agency requests Federal resource support under the NRF 

that is not addressed by the Stafford Act or another policy mechanism.

• While USDA maintains the lead for overall incident, the Secretary of Homeland Security 

and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may assume the lead for coordination 

of Federal resources if:

– the Secretary of Agriculture requests assistance from DHS;

– the President directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to assume responsibility for 

managing the incident2; and/or

– more than one Federal department or agency has become substantially involved in the 

incident response.

12

1 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). (2016). NRF. http://www.fema.gov/national-response-framework. 2 U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO). 2003. Homeland Security Presidential Directive-5—Management of Domestic 

Incidents. Retrieved from GFO website http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PPP-2003-book1/pdf/PPP-2003-book1-doc-pg229.pdf.
Emergency Support Functions

• Within the NRF, emergency support functions (ESFs) provide the structure 

for coordinating Federal interagency support in an incident response. 

• There are 14 different ESFs, none of which belong to just one organization 

or agency. 

• ESF designates agencies/departments as either: 

– Coordinator: an entity with management oversight for that particular ESF

– Primary agency: a Federal agency with significant authorities, roles, resources, or 

capabilities for a particular function

– Support agency: an agency with specific capabilities or resources that support the 

primary agency or agencies

• The USDA is the primary and coordinating agency for ESF #11 (Agriculture 

and Natural Resources) along with the Department of the Interior which 

also serves a primary agency.

– Many other Federal government agencies and departments support ESF #11.

13
USDA Roles and Responsibilities

As the Lead Federal Agency (LFA) for incident management during 

an FAD incident affecting domestic livestock or poultry, the USDA:

• Coordinates with State Animal Health Officials (SAHOs) and Incident 

Management Teams to manage incident response and public outreach, 

along with acting to control and eradicate the disease.

– Control and eradication may include quarantine 

and movement control, epidemiological 

investigation, appraisal and compensation, 

depopulation of affected animals, cleaning and 

disinfection (virus elimination), disease 

surveillance, diagnostics, and, potentially, 

emergency vaccination. 

14
USDA Roles and Responsibilities (continued)

• Acts as primary interface between Federal, State, Tribal, and 

local partners.

• Acts as the primary Federal liaison to the animal industry.

• Provides on-scene support and response capability in 

collaboration with State, Tribal, and industry partners.

• Maintains surveillance for animal health anomalies that may 

indicate the presence of a foreign or emerging animal disease.

• With SAHOs, assigns FAD Diagnosticians to investigate possible 

cases of FADs or emerging animal diseases.

• Operates the National Veterinary Services Laboratories. 

• After a diagnosis of disease, notify appropriate Federal and 

State officials. 

15
USDA Roles and Responsibilities (continued)

• Assesses, with Health and Human Services (HHS), whether 

animals and animal product processors, distributors, and 

importers in the affected area can provide safe food and feed.

• Works to identify and mitigate transmission risks in FAD 

outbreaks with zoonotic potential; coordinates with HHS on 

zoonotic disease issues.

• Works to prevent the introduction and transmission of disease 

from domestic animals to wildlife.

• Administers a National Wildlife Disease Surveillance and 

Emergency Response System.

• Evaluates and modifies, if necessary, regulations regarding 

inspection and quarantine of animals and animal products at 

ports of entry. 16
USDA Roles and Responsibilities (continued)

• Maintains the Smuggling Interdiction and Trade Compliance 

database.

• Requires quarantine and diagnostic testing of imported 

animals. 

• Gathers intelligence for emerging issues, including electronic 

scanning of open-source information and text mining. 

• Conducts pathway analyses and risk assessment 

methodologies, focusing on predicting the likelihood of 

movement of known diseases to new locations.

17
Other Federal Department Roles and Responsibilities

Federal 

Department/ 

Agency

Roles and Responsibilities for FAD Preparedness

DHS ♦ Inspects people and cargo, enforces quarantine, and implements regulatory changes at ports of entry.

♦ Acquires, integrates, and reports interagency biosurveillance information.

♦ Monitors the Nation’s critical infrastructure and key resources.

♦ Providing logistics support and coordination with other agencies where needed.

♦ Can activate NRF structures that are necessary for FFS.

♦ May establish a National Joint Information Center to review public messages.

HHS ♦ Serves as the LFA for coordinating and integrating Federal efforts to provide public health and 

medical assistance.

♦ Ensures, through the Food and Drug Administration, the safety of the food supply (except for meat, 

poultry, and processed egg products regulated by USDA).

♦ Develops policy on pandemic preparedness and deploys staff in emergencies. 

♦ Recommends guidance on using antiviral prophylaxis and PPE for personnel involved in the outbreak.

♦ Guides State, Tribal, and local agencies on diagnosis and management of potential human infections.

♦ Performs epidemiological investigations of human cases and case clusters. 

♦ Operates quarantine stations for international travelers at designated ports of entry. 

♦ Performs outreach to healthcare stakeholders at all levels and communicates government actions 

and food safety information to the public.

♦ Expands U.S. border disease surveillance, including Canada and Mexico. 18
Federal 

Department/ 

Agency

Roles and Responsibilities for FAD Preparedness

Department of 

the Interior

♦ Manages and protects certain wildlife and protects public health on Federal lands. 

♦ Maintains National Wildlife Health Center and investigates wildlife diseases. 

♦ Responds to zoonotic outbreaks in managed wild animals in coordination with Federal and 

State natural resources and animal health and public health agencies. 

♦ Permits the inspection of and manages wildlife and wildlife products in trade into and out of 

the United States. 

Environmental 

Protection 

Agency

♦ Exercises jurisdiction over drinking water and water treatment infrastructure. 

♦ Determines if local water is safe and assists in finding alternate water supply for critical care 

facilities. Assesses wastewater and solid waste facilities. 

♦ Provides technical assistance, expertise, and support for decontamination and disposal issues.

♦ Provides investigation and intelligence support. 

♦ Provides assistance and information on public health/medical aspects of hazardous materials. 

♦ Approves suitable disinfectant pesticides and evaluates new requests regarding registration of 

disinfectants and questions regarding their approved uses. 

♦ Promulgates regulations that implement environmental laws.

♦ Establishes minimum National standard for solid waste disposal that protect human health 

and the environment. 19

Other Federal Department Roles and Responsibilities
Federal 

Department/Agency Roles and Responsibilities for FAD Preparedness

Department of 

Labor/Occupational 

Safety and Health 

Administration

♦ Is the coordinating agency for the NRF Worker Safety and Health Support Annex 

and coordinates the safety and health of workers.

♦ Responds to requests for work safety and health support assistance.

♦ Investigates employee fatalities, catastrophes, and complaints.

♦ Provides pertinent occupational hazard information and guidance.

Department of 

Justice

♦ Coordinates Federal investigation of criminal activities, if bio-terrorism or agroterrorism are suspected, through the Joint Terrorism Task Force. 

♦ May help enforce local regulation upon exhaustion of support and resources from 

local, State, and Tribal law enforcement departments and agencies.

Department of 

Defense (DoD)

♦ Supports USDA for animal disease preparedness, response, and recovery efforts. 

♦ Provides available resources upon request from the Army Veterinary Services as 

outlined in the DoD-USDA Memorandum of Agreement Concerning Response to 

Animal Diseases, February 2016.

Department of 

State

♦ Facilitates a coordinated response between other countries when animal and/or 

plant disease outbreaks represent a transboundary threat.

20

Other Federal Department Roles and Responsibilities
Incident Management Overview

• The Incident Command System (ICS) enables effective and 

efficient domestic incident management as a critical element of 

NIMS.

– Integrates facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures, and 

communication within a common organizational structure. 

• The approach to incident management will be scalable and 

adaptable to the size and complexity of the incident itself. 

• Regardless of the size/scope/number of incidents, support and 

coordination is provided from off-site resources. 

– May include Multiagency Coordination Groups (MAC), Incident 

Coordination Group (ICG), and the staffing of the Emergency 

Operations Centers (EOCs).

21
Multiagency Coordination Groups

• MAC is a process that allows all levels of government and all 

disciplines to work together more efficiently and effectively. 

– In an animal emergency, an APHIS MAC Group will form if incident 

response needs more support, coordination, and assistance with 

policy level decisions.

• Responsibilities of the APHIS MAC Group vary depending on the 

disease emergency, but the general functions of the group are:

– Incident prioritization, resource allocation, and acquisition.

– Identification and resolution of conflicting issues. 

• A USDA MAC Group may also be necessary for higher level 

coordination and support in large incidents.

• For further information on APHIS-wide Emergency Management, 

please see the APHIS Emergency Mobilization Guide.

22
Multiagency Coordination System3

23

3 Figure adapted from: FEMA, 2008. NIMS. Retrieved from http://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nims/NIMS_core.pdf.
APHIS Incident Management Structures: 

Off-scene and On-Scene

Note: VS = Veterinary Services. 24
APHIS Incident Coordination Group 

25

• In any incident, an ICG is immediately established to oversee the functions and 

response activities associated with the incident. The ICG is a flexible and 

scalable structure. Key responsibilities may include the following: 

– Communicates closely with field personnel,

– Coordinates with the APHIS MAC Group, and 

– Provides guidance/information to the USDA MAC Group, if established. 

• Additionally, key responsibilities performed by the APHIS ICG may include the 

following:

– Assisting in response policy development,

– Providing health and safety guidelines,

– Supporting the National Incident Management Team (NIMT) and Unified Incident 

Command,

– Developing protocols for response activities,

– Coordinating routine communication,

– Coordinating resources,

– Supporting contracting activities,

– Providing national-level reports and maps,

– Assessing response progress and strategies, 

– Etc. 
Example APHIS Incident Coordination Group—

Organizational Structure (for an FAD incident) 

26

Planning Support

Weekly and Summary 

Report Cell

EMRS2 Unit Contracting Support 

Group

Supply Group

Logistics Section

GIS Mapping Cell

Economics, Assessment, 

Modeling, Indemnity Unit

3D Support Group

Diagnostic Group

NAHLN Unit

NAHERC/Temp 

Personnel Group

Deployment Group

(ROSS)

Budget Group

Trade Unit

Commodity Policy Unit

Wildlife Unit

Vaccine Unit

Epidemiology Unit

Surveillance Design 

Unit

Epidemiological Group Policy Group

IMT Situation 

Report Cell

Indemnity Operations 

Group

QA/QC Cell

Biologics Group

Lab Operations Section Finance/Admin Section

Zoo Unit

Finance/Admin 

Support

Logistics Support

Biosecurity Unit

Future Planning 

Unit

National Situation 

Unit

Information Management 

Group

After-Action 

Report 

Interagency Coordination-Liaisons

Health and Safety

One Health

ICG Support Unit

DA Executive Team Communication

Legislative and Public Affairs

VS External Communication

State/Tribal Liaisons

National Incident Coordinator

Deputy Incident Coordinator

Planning Section

Note: IMT = Incident Management Team; DA = Deputy Administrator; NAHLN = National Animal 

Health Laboratory Network; NAHERC = National Animal Health Emergency Response Corps; ROSS = 

Resource Ordering and Status System.
APHIS Organization for a Single Incident

• The SAHO, or designee, and Assistant Director or designee, 

initially serve as co-Incident Commanders.

– May be supported by VS District Strike Teams, VS District Personnel, 

or other local personnel that are prepared to support the initial 

response.

– May be relieved by an NIMT if the State requests an NIMT.

• The Incident Command Post (ICP) is a physical location that 

administers the on-scene Unified Incident Command. 

• An EOC is an off-scene physical location.

– Supports the on-scene response by providing external coordination, 

communication pathways, and may secure additional resources. 

• The APHIS MAC Group and APHIS ICG operated from an off-scene 

location and provide coordination, resources, guidance, and 

support to the Unified Incident Command. 27
APHIS Organization for Multiple Incidents

• More than one Incident Command (IC) can be established when there 

are multiple incidents occurring at the same time. 

• An Area Command (AC) can be established to oversee 

– management of multiple incidents handled individually by separate ICs, or

– a very large or rapidly evolving incident. 

• An ICG can also play the role of an AC in an FAD incident depending on 

the size of the incident, location of deployed IMTs, and number of 

States involved.

• MAC Groups will coordinate additional resources and make decisions on 

prioritizing incidents and the use of critical resources.

• If an emergency becomes too large for an APHIS MAC Group to handle 

efficiently, a USDA MAC Group will be established.

28
APHIS Incident Management Assuming Multiple 

Incidents and a Unified Area Command

29
APHIS National Incident Management Teams

30

• If requested by the State, an APHIS VS NIMT will be deployed, 

headed by the Incident Commander, to lead a Unified StateFederal Incident Command which incorporates State and 

Federal personnel into a single organizational structure. 

• Sometimes only key NIMT personnel are deployed if a full 

NIMT is not required—a “Short Team.”

• The exact makeup of the long and short teams will depend on 

the type of disease and magnitude of spread: changes may be 

made in an outbreak.

• There are 5 standing VS NIMT Teams: Red, Green, Gold, Blue 

and Indigo.
Communication Strategy

• Internal communication between government authorities is 

critical to informed and timely decisions. 

– APHIS uses the Emergency Management Response System 2.0 

(EMRS2) as a system of record for all animal health incidents to 

manage information. 

• External communication keeps the public, media, and 

international community informed in order to calm anxiety, instill 

confidence, and ensure compliance with emergency directives. 

– APHIS Legislative and Public Affairs (LPA) will be the primary liaison 

with social and news media. 

31
Target Audiences

• The following list highlights key audiences that APHIS aims to 

inform in an emergency. This list in not all-inclusive, rather the 

goal is to identify critical audiences such as

– governments,

– industry Stakeholders,

– APHIS employees,

– general affected public,

– trading partners,

– financial boards and the U.S. Commodity Trading Commission,

– interagency partners,

– media, and

– Congress.

32
Communication During a Response: 

Initial Response

• During the first 24 to 72 hours of an emergency, LPA takes 

numerous steps or actions, many of which occur simultaneously. 

– Emergency details can be market-sensitive: LPA will discuss timing 

with appropriate animal health officials. 

– USDA and APHIS strive to notify all their partners at the earliest 

possible opportunity. 

• Depending on the significance of the animal disease emergency, 

public notification can occur via different means, including press 

conference, media briefing, etc. 

• LPA develops and clears additional supporting materials (fact 

sheets, question and answer documents, etc.), and also launches 

appropriate website updates.

33
Communication During a Response: 

Ongoing Support

• LPA takes a strategic approach to communication, ensuring Public 

Information Officer (PIO) support is provided in the field as well 

as remotely.

– Each VS NIMT has a PIO assigned to the team.

– On-scene, the PIO serves as the conduit for information to internal 

and external stakeholders, including the media or other 

organizations seeking information about the incident. 

• LPA supports the National ICG in responding to media calls made 

to headquarters and facilitating information sharing. 

• LPA also coordinates with the Office of Congressional Relations to 

provided updates. 

• LPA maintains communication activities with various audiences 

until the ICS response comes to a close. 34
Communication During a Response: Post Incident

• LPA will ensure that consistent messaging continues even after 

emergency operations shut down.

– May include maintaining an outreach campaign and providing 

information on how operations are returning to normal. 

• During the progress toward complete eradication and restoration 

of full trading, a number of milestones may be communicated to 

domestic and international audiences:

– completion of disinfection of formerly Infected Premises;

– lifting of a quarantine(s) and Control Area(s);

– number of premises approved to restock;

– restoration of exports from areas of the United States designated as 

being pest- or disease-free; and

– closing of the incident.

35
More Information

• For details, see the APHIS FAD PReP Manual 1-0 and APHIS 

FAD PReP Manual 2-0: www.aphis.usda.gov/fadprep

• APHIS FAD PReP Manual 1-0 Ready Reference Guide (RRG)

• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s website: 

https://www.fema.gov/

36