Should the National Response Plan Be Changed to Divide the Transportation Responsibilities under Emergency Support Function No. 1. Lessons Learned from Hurricane Katrina Show That Transportation Support for Emergency Response Needs Revision

摘要

The Department of Homeland Security recently released the National Response Plan (NRP) in order to 'establish a comprehensive national all- hazards approach to domestic incident management across a spectrum of activities including prevention preparedness response and recovery.' Within the NRP there are 15 different categories of the most likely requests for federal assistance during disaster response called Emergency Support Functions that designate lead agencies for emergency response. ESF No. 1 designates the Department of Transportation (DOT) as the lead agency for all emergency transportation related requirements. The Department of Defense has a role in providing 'Defense Support of Civil Authorities' (DSCA) in response to requests for assistance after the local and state authorities determine that they cannot handle the situation. Lessons Learned from Hurricane Katrina identified numerous flaws in the way that local state and federal authorities coordinated and managed emergency transportation assets. This paper suggests that DOD, specifically the United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), should play a greater role in emergency transportation response. To establish a greater role for USTRANSCOM the National Response Plan ESF No. 1 should be amended to split transportation responsibilities for disaster response between DOT and USTRANSCOM.