It seems somehow appropriate that just as the new LawOfficer.com is rolled out, so is the new National Response Framework, (NRF), effective March 22, 2008. The NRF replaces the National Response Plan (NRP) that had previously replaced the Federal Response Plan (FRP).
The NRP builds upon the National Incident Management System (NIMS) to improve on a single, all-hazards, multi-discipline framework for the federal response to domestic incident management. Right here is one of the biggest changes between the NRP and the new NRF–that it is a framework and not a plan. The NRF is a guide on how all levels of government can respond more effectively to any type of emergency.
The idea is to link all levels of government, private sector and non-government organizations (NGOs), to create a unified response to major emergencies. The NRF supports the concept that all disasters start and end locally and that the federal government is there to support the state and local government and not to take over. The NRF is directed to two primary groups, executive government officials and emergency management practitioners, which would include law enforcement command personnel.
The creation of the new NRF has taken over a year and half to complete. Originally a workgroup was created in the fall of 2006 to review and update the NRP with a target due date of June 1, 2007, the start of the Atlantic hurricane season. This project involved over 700 participants with representatives from all levels of government, as well as NGOs and the academic community. From this group, almost 50% of the comments and suggestions that they submitted we used in the final NRF, so it truly is a document that was created with the end-users in mind.
The more work that was put into the review showed how much more work was needed, and rather that rush an incomplete document for the due date, the project continued on. It underwent several major revisions as there were major issues raised about the scope and direction of the review and rewrite process.
Once the NRF was completed, it explained how agencies would respond and coordinate with each other to a presidential declaration arising from a major disaster, natural or manmade, that overwhelms the resources of local and state government. This is the framework that provides the means for coordinating the flow of federal assistance to the affected jurisdictions. This allows all federal resources to be delivered in an orderly, unified manner. These federal resources will continue to be supplied under the Stafford Act for Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance, as well as the Homeland Security Act.
There are five major key concepts in the NRF. These concepts support the theory that local government has the primary responsibility for the health and safety of its citizens. The five keys are:
- Readiness to act
- Unity of effort through unified command
- Scalable, flexible and adaptable operational capabilities
- Tiered response
- Engaged partnerships
The NRF works on the concept that disasters/major emergencies are best handled at the lowest levels of government possible. Only after local mutual aid resources are exhausted and it has exceeded the capabilities of the state government is the federal government called in to assist. The federal government could also be called in to assist for a National Special Security Event, such as the upcoming political conventions or next January's presidential inauguration.
New Terminologies
Removed from the NRF is the term "Incident of National Significance" (INS). This was removed as it was not clear at times what an INS was. Rather than distract from what was trying to become a more usable document, it was decided that by removing it added more value than keeping it.
Some of the other changes to the NRF are that the "Joint Field Office (JFO) and Staff" have been replaced with the "Unified Coordination Group (UCG) and Staff." The term "Senior Federal Official" (SFO) has been changed to just "Senior Official" to better represent all partners involved in an incident. "Incident Management Assist Teams" (IMATs) has replaced "Emergency Response Teams" (ERTs) along with the "Federal Emergency Support Teams" (FIRST); again, the concept is to make the NRF straightforward and less confusing. The new NRF, to quote Einstein, is "everything should be as simple as possible, but not simpler."
The NRF also changed some of the Emergency Support Functions (ESFs). The ESFs provide the structure for coordinating the federal interagency support for a federal response to an incident. They are mechanisms for grouping functions most frequently used to provide federal support to states and federal-to-federal support, both for declared disasters and emergencies under the Stafford Act and for non-Stafford Act incidents.
Those ESFs that changed are:
- ESF #6: Mass Care, Emergency Assistance, Housing and Human Service. Now includes emergency assistance, and FEMA replaces the American Red Cross as the primary agency. This was done to put a federal agency in charge.
- ESF #7: Logistic Management and Resource Support. Incorporates the Logistic Management Support Annex that was eliminated.
- ESF #9: Search and Rescue. Expanded from urban to also include, water, inland, and aeronautical.
- ESF #10: Oil and Hazardous Materials Response. Now includes the Oil and Hazards Materials Annex that was eliminated.
- ESF #11: Agriculture and Natural Resources. Now includes Safety and well-being of household pets.
- ESF #13: Public Safety and Security. General law enforcement is now included.
Many changes have been made to the new NRF and more will be made in the future. The NRF calls for an annual review and the comments from the emergency management community to see how well it is working. Will you have any comments next year?