Title IX of Public Law 110-53: Updated Resource Links and Presentations

I have updated the Resources page within the Preparedness, LLC website to include links to the text of Public Law 110-53,"Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007," the text of Title IX of the law, DHS/FEMA resources, and a link to ANAB. ANAB is the organization that will develop program guidelines for the "certifying bodies" that will actually evaluate and accredit the private sector preparedness programs.

In addition, you can view PDF copies of presentations to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and the NorthEast Disaster Recovery Information X-Change, which provide background on Title IX of PL 110-53 and NFPA 1600, which is one of the standards that may be used as criteria for evaluation of private sector preparedness programs.

Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation & Certification Program

Title IX of Public Law 110-53 (“Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007”) requires the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop a voluntary private sector preparedness accreditation and certification program. DHS was charged with tasks to establish the program including:

• Designate one or more organizations to act as an accrediting body
• Designate one or more standards for assessing private sector preparedness
• Provide information and promote the business case for voluntary compliance with preparedness standards

Since the law was passed in August 2007, DHS has designated FEMA Administrator Paulison to administer the program and chair the Private Sector Preparedness Council. The council includes leadership from the Science & Technology Directorate, Office of Infrastructure Protection, and the Private Sector Office.

DHS has signed an agreement with the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB) to develop and oversee the certification process, manage the accreditation, and accredit qualified third parties to carry out the certification in accordance with the accepted procedures of the program.

ANAB has organized its “Committee of Experts” to advise ANAB on the qualifications of the “Certifying Bodies” that will accredit qualified third parties. Don Schmidt, CEO of Preparedness, LLC and Chair of the NFPA 1600 Technical Committee, is a member of the ANAB Committee of Experts along with representatives from other standards developers and private sector industry representatives.

DHS has not yet formally designated any standards for assessing private sector preparedness under this law, although DHS’ Science & Technology Directorate has adopted NFPA 1600. At the October ANSI Homeland Security Standards Panel plenary meeting in Washington, officials stated they are not picking a “winner” and that all reasonable standards will be included. DHS, however, has privately informed ANAB to begin work using NFPA 1600.

DHS has also published an initial draft of their “target criteria,” which will be used to select standards for assessing private sector preparedness. The “target criteria” for selecting standards includes:

• A scope and/or policy statement.
• Identification and conformity with applicable legal, statutory, regulatory and other requirements.
• Objectives and strategies.
• Hazard and threat identification, risk assessment, vulnerability analysis, and impact analysis.
• Incident management, strategy, tactics, operational plans and procedures.
• Communications and warning.
• Training.
• Resources management and/or logistics.
• Assessments, audits and/or evaluation of programs.
• Program revision and process improvement including corrective actions.

These “target criteria” align almost exactly to the elements within NFPA 1600. Accordingly, we will discuss each of these criteria within upcoming newsletters.

Although this program is voluntary, businesses are watching closely. Whether they choose to seek certification or not, business leaders are evaluating their preparedness program. In the end, that’s what it’s all about—protecting employees, property, business operations, the environment, and the business entity itself.

Canadian Standards Association unveils new emergency management and business continuity standard

Toronto, October 8, 2008, Canadian Standards Association - "More than 40 per cent of Canadians say the company where they work does not have an emergency plan in place according to a recent study[1]. Canadian Standards Association (CSA), a leading developer of standards and codes, today officially announced a new emergency management and business continuity programs standard, CSA Z1600, which is designed for private and public organizations of all sizes to use if disaster strikes. This new standard is based on the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1600 Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs standard."

As chair of the NFPA 1600 technical committee, I am excited and pleased to see the release of CSA's Z1600 standard. I know that members of the CSA technical committee have worked very hard to produce this standard for Canada. Congratulations to all of them on their accomplishment.

Z1600 is an adaptation of NFPA 1600, which in its 4th edition, is the most widely used emergency management and business continuity standard in the United States. NFPA 1600 is also used in many countries around the globe. The CSA technical committee's work is impressive, and the NFPA 1600 technical committee has taken a liking to the ordering of Z1600. In fact, at the NFPA 1600 "Report on Proposals" meeting in August, the NFPA 1600 technical committee voted to reorder the elements within NFPA 1600 similar to the new ordering of Z1600. The CSA committee builds on the work of the NFPA technical committee, and the NFPA technical committee returns the favor. This is truly a relationship that is productive for both the United States and Canada and a model of how standards organizations can work together to produce quality standards for both private and public sectors.

I will be providing some updates on NFPA 1600 in the coming months as NFPA publishes the official "Report on Proposals" draft of the 2010 edition of NFPA 1600. The ROP draft will incorporate many changes to 2007 edition. I will also provide a link, so that readers can download the ROP draft and provide their comments for the technical committee's action. If you want more information on NFPA 1600 and the handbook written by technical committee members including yours truly, please check out this link.

1 Leger Marketing conducted an online survey among 1,088 working Canadians aged 18+ on their opinions of major disasters in their community. The margin of error for a sample of this size is +/- 3.0%, 19 times out of 20.