Download the full document in PDF format

Initial National Response Plan
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

INITIAL NATIONAL RESPONSE PLAN
September 30, 2003
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

A. This document implements, on an interim basis, the domestic incident management authorities, roles, and responsibilities of the Secretary of Homeland Security as defined in Homeland Security Presidential Directive-5 (HSPD-5), Management of Domestic Incidents. This document also provides interim guidance on Federal coordinating structures and processes for domestic incident management pending the development, coordination, validation, and implementation of a full National Response Plan (NRP) and National Incident Management System (NIMS), as required by HSPD-5. It is applicable to domestic incident management in the context of terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies.

B. The current family of Federal incident management and emergency response plans remains in effect during this interim period, except as specifically modified in this document.

C. To the extent that this document conflicts with existing plans or protocols, it supersedes such plans or protocols. Federal departments and agencies are expected to update existing plans or protocols, as appropriate, to bring them into conformance with this document. In addition, Federal departments and agencies are expected to modify existing plans and protocols to bring them into compliance with relevant provisions in the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and HSPD-5.

D. Nothing in this document alters, or impedes the ability to carry out, the authorities of Federal departments and agencies to perform their responsibilities under the law. All Federal departments and agencies will cooperate with the Secretary of Homeland Security in the implementation of his domestic incident management role. All activities identified in this Initial National Response Plan will be carried out consistent with applicable authorities and Presidential guidance, including HSPD-5.

A. HSPD-5 tasks the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop, submit for review to the Homeland Security Council, and administer a National Response Plan (NRP). This plan will integrate the current family of Federal domestic prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery plans into a single all-discipline, all-hazards plan. The NRP, using the NIMS, is also intended to provide the structure and mechanisms for national-level policy and operational direction for Federal support to State, local, and tribal incident management officials and for exercising direct Federal incident management authorities and responsibilities, as appropriate. When implemented, the NRP will supersede existing interagency incident management and emergency response plans, although some plans may continue to function as referenced in the NRP.

B. HSPD-5 also requires the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with other Federal departments and agencies, (1) to develop and publish an initial version of the NRP and (2) to provide the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security with a plan for development and implementation of the full NRP. This document meets the first requirement identified above. A plan for development and implementation of the full NRP will be forwarded to the Homeland Security Council for review and approval concurrently with the Initial NRP in a separate companion document.

A. HSPD-5 serves as the guiding policy document for domestic incident management. As stated in HSPD-5:

"To prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies, the U.S. Government shall establish a single, comprehensive approach to domestic incident management. In these efforts, with regard to domestic incidents, the U.S. Government treats crisis management and consequence management as a single, integrated function, rather than two separate functions. The Secretary of Homeland Security is the principal Federal official for domestic incident management."

B. The strategic intent of HSPD-5 is to unify domestic incident management under the Secretary of Homeland Security. However, the current family of operational plans governing Federal-level incident management and emergency response predates the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security and the issuance of HSPD-5. Accordingly, the purpose of this Initial NRP is to harmonize the operational processes, procedures, and protocols detailed in such documents as the Federal Response Plan, U.S. Government Interagency Domestic Terrorism Concept of Operations Plan, Federal Radiological Emergency Response Plan, Mass Migration Emergency Plan (Distant Shore), and National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan with the strategic direction provided in HSPD-5 until such plans can be integrated into the full NRP. This Initial NRP implements, on an interim basis, the domestic incident management authorities, roles, and responsibilities of the Secretary of Homeland Security as defined in HSPD-5. It also serves as a "bridging document" between the current family of Federal incident management and emergency response plans and a full NRP to be developed by the Secretary in collaboration with other Federal departments and agencies and State, tribal, local, and nongovernmental partners.

C. A guiding principle of this Initial NRP is that, aside from the specific modifications detailed below, all processes, procedures, and protocols governing Federal incident management and emergency response contained in current plans and doctrine remain in effect. During the interim operating period of this Initial NRP, existing agency and interagency plans, systems, and capabilities will provide the basic structure for Federal domestic incident management activities. The coordinating structures, processes, and systems in use between Federal, State, local, and tribal incident management officials identified in current plans, including those that enable requests for Federal assistance and incident communications with the public, remain unchanged, except as modified below. Further, nothing in this plan alters, or impedes the ability to carry out, the existing authorities of Federal departments and agencies to perform their specifically identified incident management responsibilities under the law.

IV. Modifications to Existing Federal Domestic Incident Management and Emergency Response Plans and Doctrine

This section outlines modifications to existing Federal plans and operating procedures for domestic incident management that are effective upon issuance of this Initial NRP.

A. The National Homeland Security Operations Center (HSOC) is the primary national-level hub for operational communications and information pertaining to domestic incident management.

1. Located at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) headquarters, the HSOC integrates and provides overall steady state threat monitoring and situational awareness for domestic incident management on a 24/7 basis. In this capacity, the HSOC serves as the Secretary’s primary point of coordination for the following activities:

a. maintaining domestic incident management operational situational awareness, including threat monitoring and initial incident information assessment;

b. facilitating homeland security information-sharing and operational coordination with other emergency operations centers at the Federal, State, local, and tribal levels, as well as emergency operations centers managed by nongovernmental entities;

c. disseminating or coordinating the dissemination of homeland security threat warnings, advisory bulletins, and other information pertinent to national incident management;

d. providing general situational awareness and support to and acting upon requests for information generated by the Interagency Incident Management Group discussed in section IV.B. below; and

e. facilitating domestic incident awareness, prevention, deterrence, and response and recovery activities, as well as direction to DHS components. (Note: In the case of a law enforcement response, the Attorney General retains the lead and the Secretary of Homeland Security will facilitate required actions, consistent with their respective authorities.)

2. The HSOC will coordinate its activities with the Terrorist Threat Integration Center, the Terrorist Screening Center, and other Federal government mechanisms for terrorism-related threat analysis and warning.

3. To perform these functions, the HSOC will establish and maintain real-time communications links to other Federal emergency operations centers at the national level, as well as appropriate State, regional, and nongovernmental emergency operations centers and incident management officials and relevant elements of the private sector.

4. The HSOC comprises representatives from DHS and other Federal departments and agencies as required to support steady state threat-monitoring requirements, as well as domestic incident management activities (see Annex A). The organizational structure of the HSOC is designed to integrate a full spectrum of interagency subject matter expertise and reach-back capability to meet the demands of a wide range of potential incident scenarios. Procedures governing the operational interaction of HSOC representatives, as well as interaction between the HSOC and other emergency operations centers at the Federal, State, local, and tribal levels will be developed and coordinated collaboratively with other affected entities and published in a separate document. The Secretary will develop, publish, and disseminate revisions to these operational procedures as required.

5. DHS component entity operations centers established to support day-to-day operational activities and incident management responsibilities as defined in existing plans will continue to function in accordance with those plans. DHS component operations centers will establish and maintain direct connectivity, or capability for connectivity, with the HSOC on a 24/7 basis and will keep the HSOC apprised of all operational activities conducted in support of incident management requirements.

6. Nothing in this plan impacts or impedes the ability of other Federal departments and agencies to establish their own emergency operations centers and maintain a direct flow of information to these operations centers from government or private sector representatives at the local incident site.

7. Nothing in this plan impacts or impedes the ability of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to develop and disseminate FBI intelligence bulletins and threat warnings to law enforcement.

B. An Interagency Incident Management Group (IIMG) facilitates national-level domestic incident management and coordination.

1. HSPD-5 states that:

"The Secretary of Homeland Security is the principal Federal official for domestic incident management. Pursuant to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the Secretary is responsible for coordinating Federal operations within the United States to prepare for, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies. The Secretary shall coordinate the Federal Government’s resources utilized in response to or recovery from terrorist attacks, major disasters, or other emergencies if and when any one of the following four conditions applies: (1) a Federal department or agency acting under its own authority has requested the assistance of the Secretary; (2) the resources of State and local authorities are overwhelmed and Federal assistance has been requested by the appropriate State and local authorities; (3) more than one Federal department or agency has become substantially involved in responding to the incident; or (4) the Secretary has been directed to assume responsibility for managing the domestic incident by the President."

2. To facilitate national-level domestic incident management and coordination of Federal operations and resources when any of the criteria identified above is met or in anticipation thereof, the Secretary may activate a tailorable, task-organized headquarters-level Interagency Incident Management Group (IIMG) comprising senior representatives from DHS components and other Federal departments and agencies and nongovernmental organizations, as required, that is capable of:

a. serving as the focal point for Federal headquarters-level operational coordination of a domestic incident;

b. reviewing and validating threat assessments and making recommendations to the Secretary on actions to take in response to credible threats, including changes in the National Homeland Security Advisory System alert level;

c. synthesizing information and framing issues for the Secretary or other appropriate officials;

d. recommending priorities to the Secretary for the use or allocation of Federal resources in support of domestic incident management;

e. providing general oversight of the application of Federal resources in support of domestic incident management in coordination with existing agency and interagency resource management and private sector entities;

f. providing strategic situational awareness and decision support across the full spectrum of domestic incident management domains, to include awareness, prevention, protection, response, and recovery; and

g. anticipating evolving Federal resource and operational requirements according to the specifics of the situation at hand.

3. Procedures governing the designation, activation, recall, assembly, and operational interaction of IIMG members, as well as procedures governing the interaction of the IIMG with other Federal, State, local, and tribal incident management entities, will be developed in concert with other affected entities and published by the Secretary of Homeland Security in a separate document. The organizational structure of the IIMG will be designed to integrate a full spectrum of immediately available and on-call operational subject matter expertise and reach-back capability to meet the demands of the particular incident at hand.

4. All other interagency incident management entities identified in existing Federal incident management and emergency response plans will continue to function as defined in those plans, to include the Federal Emergency Management Agency Emergency Support Team (FEMA EST), but will conduct all domestic incident management-related activities in close coordination with the HSOC and IIMG. The full NRP will revise and define the long-term roles, if any, of such entities.

5. The IIMG and the HSOC will be collocated at the DHS headquarters facility.

6. The IIMG replaces the Secretary of Homeland Security’s Crisis Assessment Team.

C. The Assistant to the President for Homeland Security is responsible for interagency policy coordination regarding domestic incidents.

1. As stated in HSPD-5, the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security is responsible for interagency policy coordination regarding domestic incident management, as directed by the President. Following an initial assessment by the Secretary of Homeland Security, interagency policy issues framed by the IIMG, particularly those of a time-sensitive or high-level nature, will be considered for resolution by the Deputies and/or Principals Committees of the Homeland Security Council. The Assistant to the President for Homeland Security will coordinate policy resolution with the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs regarding domestic incidents with international implications, including those which may have been perpetrated, in part or whole, by international terrorist organizations or other foreign powers.

2. Nothing in this plan is intended to impact or impede the ability of any Federal department or agency head to take an issue of concern directly to the President, the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, or any other member of the President’s staff.

D. A Principal Federal Official (PFO) may be appointed to represent the DHS Secretary at the incident.

1. When an incident meeting the criteria set forth in section IV.B.1. occurs, or in anticipation of an incident meeting this criteria, the Secretary may designate a Federal officer to serve as the PFO to act as his representative locally and oversee and coordinate Federal activities relevant to the incident. The roles and responsibilities of the PFO include the following:

a. representing the Secretary of Homeland Security as the senior Federal official on scene to enable the Secretary to carry out his role as the principal Federal official for domestic incident management;

b. ensuring overall coordination of Federal domestic incident management activities and resource allocation on scene, ensuring the seamless integration of Federal incident management activities in support of State, local, and tribal requirements;

c. providing strategic guidance to Federal entities and facilitating interagency conflict resolution as necessary to enable timely Federal assistance to State, local, and tribal authorities;

d. serving as a primary, although not exclusive, point for Federal interface with State, local, and tribal government officials, the media, and the private sector for incident management;

e. providing real-time incident information, through the support of the Federal incident management structure on scene, as detailed in the Federal Response Plan and other Federal incident management and emergency operations plans, to the Secretary of Homeland Security through the HSOC and the IIMG, as required; and

f. coordinating the overall Federal public communications strategy at the State, local, and tribal levels and clearing Federal interagency communications to the public regarding the incident.

2. Required Federal assets and resources will be requested and deployed consistent with the procedures identified in the Federal Response Plan, U.S. Government Domestic Counterterrorism Concept of Operations Plan, and other related plans. Using the protocols detailed therein, the PFO, as designated by the Secretary, will oversee the coordination of the deployment and application of Federal assets and resources in support of the on-scene incident commander. The PFO will do this in coordination with other Federal officials identified in existing plans, such as the Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge (SAC) on scene. The FCO, the FBI SAC, and other Federal incident management officials designated in existing plans will maintain their authorities and responsibilities as defined in the Federal Response Plan and other existing plans, statutes, and Presidential directives. Nothing in this document impacts or impedes the ability or the authorities of the FBI SAC or other designated Federal officials to carry out their duties under the law or to coordinate directly with their department or agency chain of command in the execution of these duties.

3. The PFO and supporting staff will be collocated with other Federal entities established to support incident management activities at the local level, including the Federal Joint Operations Center and the Disaster Field Office. Whenever possible, these entities will be collocated in a single facility, called the Joint Field Office (see section IV.E. below).

4. The Secretary of Homeland Security will publish a generic organizational structure and support requirements for the PFO cell in a separate document. Other Federal departments and agencies with representation on scene shall provide their full and prompt cooperation, resources, and support, as appropriate and consistent with applicable authorities, to the PFO cell in the fulfillment of the requirements identified by the Secretary.

5. The Secretary of Homeland Security will inform the Governor(s) of the affected State(s) and will announce the designation of the PFO via a message from the HSOC to other Federal, State, local and tribal emergency operations centers, as well as through an appropriate media event or press release as soon as practicable after incident notification. In certain scenarios, a PFO may be pre-designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security to facilitate domestic incident planning and coordination.

6. If the PFO cannot arrive at the incident site immediately, the Secretary may designate a Federal officer to serve as "initial PFO" in an interim capacity until the PFO is in place. The initial PFO/PFO will have all the responsibilities listed above and may or may not be an employee of the Department of Homeland Security.

7. The PFO and a small staff component may deploy with the Domestic Emergency Support Team (DEST) to enhance situational awareness and facilitate their timely arrival on scene. The PFO and supporting staff will conform to deployment timelines and other guidelines established in DEST procedures, including, but not limited to, those outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding between DHS and DOJ/FBI regarding the DEST program. Nothing in this Initial NRP alters the existing DEST concept of operations or affects the mission of the DEST to support law enforcement operations at the scene of a weapons of mass destruction (WMD) threat or event.

E. Federal entities will be integrated into a Joint Field Office (JFO) whenever possible.

1. To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Federal incident management activities, the operations of various Federal entities established at the local level should be collocated in a JFO. When feasible, the JFO should incorporate existing entities, such as the Joint Operations Center, the Disaster Field Office, and other Federal offices and teams that provide support on scene. When feasible, the JFO will be collocated with a State, county, or local emergency operations center. State, local, and tribal governments will be encouraged to be integral participants in the JFO to facilitate coordinated resource support to the incident commander(s).

2. The PFO will ensure that adequate connectivity is maintained between the JFO and the HSOC; tribal, local, county, State, and regional EOCs; nongovernmental EOCs; and relevant elements of the private sector. To the extent feasible, staffing of the JFO will include representatives of State, local, and tribal first responder communities, as well as representatives of senior State, local, and tribal government and emergency management officials.

3. Detailed procedures governing the interaction and specific membership composition of the JFO will be included as part of the full NRP. The Secretary of Homeland Security will publish interim operating procedures for the JFO.

1. As required by HSPD-5, and consistent with section I.D. of this plan, provide cooperation, resources, and support to the Secretary of Homeland Security in the implementation of this Initial NRP;

2. Designate representatives to staff the HSOC (see Annex A) and IIMG (see Annex B) at the request of the Secretary of Homeland Security;

3. As required by HSPD-5, make initial revisions to existing incident management and emergency response plans under their purview, including individual agency continuity-of-operations plans, to reflect the structural and procedural guidance contained in this Initial NRP within 60 days of its approval by the Homeland Security Council. (All other aspects of current Federal incident management and emergency response plans shall remain operative, pending publication of the full NRP.); and

4. Report to the HSOC, according to procedures established by the Secretary of Homeland Security:

a. the initiation of a Federal department or agency plan or action to prevent, respond to, or recover from an incident for which a department or agency has responsibility under law or directive under the criteria established in HSPD-5;

b. the submission of requests for assistance to or receipt of a request from another Federal department or agency in the context of domestic incident under the criteria established in HSPD-5; and

c. the receipt of requests for assistance from State, local, or tribal governments; nongovernmental organizations; or the private sector under the criteria established in HSPD-5.

1. In coordination with other affected departments and agencies, develop and publish detailed operational procedures for the HSOC, IIMG, and JFO within 60 days of the approval of the Initial NRP;

2. In coordination with other affected departments and agencies, develop and publish a detailed organizational structure, operational procedures, and support requirements for a standard DHS PFO cell within 60 days of the approval of the Initial NRP; and

3. In coordination with other affected departments and agencies, develop and submit to the Homeland Security Council a plan for development and implementation of the full NRP concurrently with the submission of the Initial NRP.

State governments and emergency management agencies are requested to report to the HSOC, according to procedures established by the Secretary of Homeland Security in coordination with State governments and emergency management agencies:

1. the activation of State emergency operations centers;

2. the announcement of emergency declarations made under State or local authority; and

3. the activation of State mutual-aid agreements or compacts in response to incidents resulting in emergency declarations or requiring Federal assistance.

Additionally, State governments and emergency management agencies are requested to coordinate with the HSOC regarding appropriate procedures for establishing connectivity for domestic incident management purposes.

All existing Federal regional structures will continue to execute incident management responsibilities as detailed in current Federal incident management and emergency response plans, in coordination with the PFO, HSOC, and IIMG.

Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Department of Defense (DOD)
Department of Energy (DOE)
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (BCBP)
Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE)
Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR)
Federal Protective Service (FPS)
Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection (IAIP)
Office of National Capital Region Coordination (ONCRC)
Office of State and Local Coordination (S&L)
Public Affairs (PA)
Science and Technology (S&T)
U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)
Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
United States Secret Service (USSS)
Department of the Interior (DOI)
Department of Justice (DOJ)
Department of Labor (DOL)
Department of State (DOS)
Department of Transportation (DOT)
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA)
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

* This list represents a generic template for steady state HSOC staffing. At the time of an incident, participation may be expanded based on the specifics of the situation.

Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Department of Commerce (DOC)
Department of Defense (DOD)
Department of Energy (DOE)
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Border and Transportation Security (BTS)
Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS)
Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (BCBP)
Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE)
Congressional Liaison
Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR)
Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection (IAIP)
International Affairs Office (IO)
Legislative Affairs (LA)
Office of General Council (OGC)
Office of National Capital Region Coordination (ONCRC)
Office of State and Local Coordination (S&L)
Public Affairs (PA)
Special Assistant to the Secretary for the Private Sector
Science and Technology (S&T)
U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)
United States Secret Service (USSS)
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Department of the Interior (DOI)
Department of Justice (DOJ)
Department of Labor (DOL)
Department of State (DOS)
Department of Transportation (DOT)
Department of Treasury
Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA)
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)**
General Services Administration (GSA)
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
United States Postal Service (USPS)
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)

* This list represents a generic template for IIMG membership. At the time of activation of the IIMG, actual IIMG membership and participation will be based on the specifics of the incident at hand, according to the following scenarios: CBRN WMD event, non-WMD terrorist event, and natural disasters. Specific IIMG task organization will be further detailed in operating procedures to be developed and published by the Secretary of Homeland Security.

** In the event the U.S. Government Interagency Domestic Terrorism Concept of Operations Plan (Terrorism CONPLAN) is triggered, the agencies party to the CONPLAN will continue to perform the functions assigned to them in that CONPLAN.

BACK TO NEWS INDEX

BACK TO MAIN INDEX

COMMENTS

Copyright © 2003 The Kentucky EMS Connection. All rights reserved. News stories may be copyrighted by another organization. Original material may be reproduced provided source is credited.