Public Works the First Responders Who Are There Until the Emergency Is Over Eroadtrack – a Proven Snowplow AVL Since 1999

Public Works the first responders who are there until the emergency is over eRoadTrack – A Proven Snowplow AVL since 1999

Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS) Integration

Real-time Plow Progress Tracking (Mileage and %)

Real-time Material Usage Tracking and Control

Advanced AVL for Managing Multiple Fleets

Control and Reduce Material Usage Cost

Fully GIS Integrated .NET COTS Application

Scalable & Expandable System Architecture January 2011

Vol. 78, No. 1

The APWA Reporter, the official magazine of the American Public Works Association, covers all facets of public works for APWA members including industry news, legislative actions, management issues and emerging technologies. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ISSUE INSIDE APWA 2 President’s Message 8 New rating system to take sustainability to the next level 10 APWA partners with PNS for joint Snow Conference 13 Environmental Engineers: Attain recognition as a Board Certified Environmental Engineer 14 Index to 2010 articles 23 2011 Editorial Calendar 6 COLUMNS 6 Washington Insight 22 The Road to Excellence 24 International Idea Exchange 62 Ask Ann

FEATURES 30 Texas Public Works Response Team: On the front lines of disaster response 34 Illinois Public Works Mutual Aid Network: An active and successful first two years for IPWMAN 25 36 Exercising your Public Works Emergency Operations Plan: Planning and conducting a tabletop exercise 40 New Madrid Fault National Exercise 42 DPW’s as first responders: that’s nice, but what does it mean? 44 How are local governments ensuring energy assurance for their communities? 46 The need to have temporary debris storage and reduction sites 49 Communication interoperability 50 Interoperability: Why should we care? 52 Am I responsible…protecting animals from disasters? 54 Public Works: The first responders who are there until the emergency is over 30 56 Harness the power of social media in disaster response 59 New emergency management training for the public works community 60 The Public Works Field Operations Center: a key to a successful disaster response

MARKETPLACE 64 Products in the News 65 Professional Directory

CALENDARS 27 Education Calendar 68 World of Public Works Calendar 68 Index of Advertisers 46

January 2011 APWA Reporter 1 APWA must take a lead role in disaster preparedness

George R. Crombie, MPA APWA President

ne of my top five priorities 1. Benchmark the current APWA as APWA President is to cre- emergency management ini- ate the foundation for an tiatives and training outcomes

APWA Emergency Response with other comparable organi- Official Magazine of the Plan. In my remarks at our annual zations. The goal is to identify American Public Works Association Congress this past August, I stated the “best practices in the emer- PUBLISHER the following: “Since the 1980s we gency management field.” American Public Works Association 2345 Grand Blvd., Suite #700 have encountered more natural di- Kansas City, MO 64108-2625 2. Evaluate existing mutual aid saster insurance claims than ever be- (800) 848-APWA (Member Services Hotline) systems currently up and run- (816) 472-6100 (Kansas City metro area) fore. The droughts in the South and ning in the public works and FAX (816) 595-5330 West, hurricanes in Florida and Lou- e-mail: [email protected] utility sector. The goal is to Website: www.apwa.net isiana, floods in the Midwest, and identify “best practices in class.” EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR record-breaking snowstorms in the Peter B. King Mid-Atlantic states are all signs of 3. Investigate funding opportuni- EDITOR a changing climate. Man-made and ties at the federal level that can R. Kevin Clark natural disasters signal a call to ac- be dedicated to public works GRAPHIC DESIGNER tion to the public works community training, education and resourc- Julie Smith to come together to craft a National es. The goal is to ensure that ADVERTISING SALES Amanda Daniel R. Kevin Clark APWA Emergency Response Plan. public works as a first responder Chris Myers Kansas City Liaison is getting the training and sup- (800) 800-0341 (816) 595-5230 “If public works is going to be a first port at the national level that is APWA WASHINGTON OFFICE responder, then we need to put in required to prepare public works 1275 K Street NW, Suite 750 place the legislation, legal agree- officials in the time of an emer- Washington, D.C. 20005-4083 (202) 408-9541 FAX (202) 408-9542 ments, training and partnerships gency event. Disclaimer: The American Public Works Association that will allow public works officials assumes no responsibility for statements and/or to share resources across the country 4. Examine current emergency opinions advanced by either editorial or advertising and the world in the time of man- management training activities contributors to this issue. APWA reserves the right at the chapter level and the sup- to refuse to publish and to edit manuscripts made and natural disasters. to conform to the APWA Reporter standards. port being provided by APWA Publisher’s Notice: The APWA Reporter, January “This year’s APWA budget includes National. The goal is to ensure 2011, Vol. 78, No. 1 (ISSN 0092-4873; Publications twenty thousand dollars of seed that our chapters are getting Agreement No. 40040340). The APWA Reporter is published monthly by the American Public money dedicated to building a Na- consistent guidance on emer- Works Association, 2345 Grand Boulevard, Suite tional Emergency Management Re- gency training. 700, Kansas City, MO 64108-2625. Subscription sponse Plan for public works.” rate is $169 for nonmembers and $25 for chapter- 5. Prepare and submit recommen- sponsored students. Periodicals postage paid at Kansas City, MO and additional mailing offices. To meet these goals, I’m happy to re- dations to the APWA Board of POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the APWA port that I have appointed an Emer- Directors by this June as to the Reporter, 2345 Grand Boulevard, #700, Kansas City, MO 64108-2625. Canada returns to: Station A, P.O. gency Management Think Tank steps that APWA should take as Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5. comprised of APWA members to re- an organization in crafting a Reprints and Permissions: Information is available at port back to the Board of Directors National APWA Emergency Re- www.apwa.net/Publications/Reporter/guidelines.asp. in June on recommended actions to sponse Plan. The goal is to chart © 2011 by American Public Works Association position our membership in the best a pathway forward with clear Address Change? goals and objectives as to how To alert us of a change to your membership record, possible way to address man-made contact an APWA Membership Specialist at (800) and natural disasters. I have asked APWA should prepare and train 848-APWA or [email protected]. the members of this special commit- its members for man-made and The APWA Reporter is printed by Harmony Printing tee to address the following issues: natural emergency events in the & Development Co., Liberty, MO. future.

2 APWA Reporter January 2011 “In preparing for battle I have always ter 9/11, FEMA became part of the De- (ICS), multi-agency coordination sys- found that plans are useless, but planning partment of Homeland Security (DHS). tems, and public information systems. is indispensable.” – Dwight D. Eisen- hower The terrorist attacks on 9/11 became The federal emergency response um- the catalyst for the federal enactment brella was intended to provide for a What message do you think the gen- of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. seamless response by the federal gov- eral was trying to convey and how does The goal of the Act was to coordinate ernment during an emergency event. it relate to public works and managing the federal response to all natural and (Many agencies within the federal disasters? By looking at the three stages human-made disasters. DHS is a single government also provide assistance of disaster planning we can hopefully federal response structure for dealing and funding depending on the nature answer this question. with training, planning, and coordi- of the incident.) The organizational Stage: I Federal, State and Local nating response and recovery efforts structure created by the federal gov- Roles in Emergency Planning stemming from terrorist attacks, major ernment to deal with emergencies has disasters, and other designated disas- been duplicated in most states; some In 1979, President Carter by executive ters. The Secretary of Homeland Securi- communities at varying degrees have order formed the Federal Emergency ty was directed by Directive 5 (HSPD-5) followed suit. The system was designed Management Agency (FEMA). In 1988, to develop a National Incident Man- as a pathway providing for the flow of the U.S. Congress passed the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency agement System (NIMS) and a National resources, expertise, communication Assistance Act (P.L. 100-707), giving Response Plan (NRP). The goal of NIMS and coordination in the time of an FEMA the responsibility for coordinat- was to create three key organizational emergency. In non-emergency times ing government-wide relief efforts. Af- systems: Incident Command System this system is a pathway in providing

“When aligned with organizational objectives, diversity Diversity can be a powerful contributor to the organization’s Awareness competitive advantage.” – Dr. Edward E. Hubbard, Author, Corner Measuring Diversity Results

AMERICAN PUBLIC WORKS ASSOCIATION Mission Statement: The American Public Works Association serves its members by promoting professional excellence and public awareness through education, advocacy and the exchange of knowledge. BOARD OF DIRECTORS ADVISORY COUNCIL PRESIDENT DIRECTOR, REGION IV DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE, (Past APWA Presidents) George R. Crombie, MPA Tommy Brown ENGINEERING & Senior Faculty Member, Public Superintendent of Fleet TECHNOLOGY Larry T. Koehle, Chair Works Administration Services Patty Hilderbrand, P.E. Norwich University City of LaGrange, GA Program Management & Robert Albee Erwin F. Hensch John J. Roark Northfield, VT Development Manager DIRECTOR, REGION V City of Kansas City, MO PRESIDENT-ELECT David L. Lawry, P.E. Roger K. Brown Robert S. Hopson Harold E. Smith Diane Linderman, P.E. General Services Group DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE, Myron D. Calkins Ronald W. Jensen June Rosentreter Spence Director, Urban Infrastructure Director ENVIRONMENTAL and Development Services City of Elgin, IL MANAGEMENT Nick W. Diakiw Dwayne Kalynchuk Noel C. Thompson VHB, Inc. Daryl Grigsby Richmond, VA DIRECTOR, REGION VI Public Works Director Robert C. Esterbrooks Martin J. Manning Tom Trice Larry Stevens, P.E. City of Pomona, CA PAST PRESIDENT Senior Project Manager Jerry M. Fay James J. McDonough William A. Verkest Larry T. Koehle, P.Eng., MPA Howard R. Green Company DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE, President Johnston, IA FLEET & FACILITIES Bob Freudenthal Robert Miller Win Westfall L&N Koehle Consulting MANAGEMENT Services DIRECTOR, REGION VII Ken A. Nerland Larry W. Frevert Judith M. Mueller Carl D. Wills Brampton, ON Jimmy B. Foster, P.E. Director, General Services Dept. Program Manager City of Fresno, CA Herbert A. Goetsch Ronald L. Norris DIRECTOR, REGION I Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. Jean-Guy Courtemanche Dallas, TX DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE, J. Geoffrey Greenough Michael R. Pender Business Development PUBLIC WORKS Lumec, Inc. DIRECTOR, REGION VIII MGMT./LEADERSHIP Ken Haag Richard L. Ridings Boisbriand, QC Ronald J. Calkins, P.E. Cora Jackson-Fossett Director of Public Works Public Information Director II Executive Director Executive Director Emeritus DIRECTOR, REGION II (retired) Public Affairs Office Peter B. King Robert D. Bugher Ed Gottko, P.E. City of Ventura, CA City of Los Angeles, CA Town Administrator (retired) DIRECTOR, REGION IX Town of Westfield, NJ DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE, Editorial Advisory Board Doug Drever, P.Eng., FEC TRANSPORTATION DIRECTOR, REGION III Project Director Susan M. Hann, P.E., AICP, Myron D. Calkins Susan M. Hann Elizabeth Treadway City of Saskatoon, SK ICMA-CM Vice President Deputy City Manager Gordon R. Garner Stephen J. O’Neill AMEC Earth & Environmental City of Palm Bay, FL Johnson City, TN Neil S. Grigg Kyle E. Schilling

January 2011 APWA Reporter 3 for planning, grants for supplies and not something that should be delegated do I address the media, are the health equipment, and training. to others. Managers own the vulnerabil- and safety of my employees secured, ity assessment process and should be where do I station operations, how do I It is imperative that public works agen- visible at critical points in the process. integrate with other federal, state, and cies integrate and understand federal local resources, what will my insurance and state requirements. Without this Developing a vulnerability implemen- cover, and how do I communicate with knowledge, a public works agency can- tation plan requires the team to clearly the public and elected officials? Only not maximize the resources required identify the problem, what the impact those leaders and agencies that have during a disaster. Communication and will be to the community if the issue planned for an emergency situation coordination in dealing with a large bu- is not addressed, the resources required will have the ability to make quick de- reaucracy like Homeland Security can to address the problem, and an imple- cisions and maximize the resources re- be difficult during an emergency event. mentation process that focuses on required by their communities. That is why it is essential that APWA solving the identified vulnerabilities. works with FEMA to ensure training The ability to lead during an emer- documents are written in a manner that The key to reducing the organization’s gency comes with planning, training, provides public works officials with the vulnerabilities is to assess them in light and developing leadership skills. Hav- essential principles to coordinate public of relevant professional standards. One ing confidence and courage during an works requirements during a disaster. of the values of professional and ongo- emergency event comes from knowing Without this knowledge, a public works ing training is to understand and ap- what needs to be accomplished. Look at agency cannot maximize the resources preciate standards and regulations. two of the best performers during Hur- required during a disaster. Development of a vulnerability im- ricane Katrina: the Coast Guard and the plementation plan requires follow- Army. They were trained and had access Stage II: Public Works to resources and leadership. They prac- Vulnerability Planning through and measuring results. Team meetings and team progress in the ticed adaptive management with speed The public expects a public works or- process should be reported to the or- and agility. I found the same common ganization to protect them against ganization. Division managers need to threads when I visited with the New loss of services, facilities or key public have timeline schedules, track prog- York Sanitation Department after 9/11, works infrastructure. That is why pub- ress, and identify delays in a schedule. and when I listened to a recent pre- lic works departments need to embrace sentation as to how the San Francisco the importance of continuously evalu- Having a vulnerability plan in place Public Works Department managed the ating the vulnerability of their opera- goes a long way in integrating a pub- 1989 earthquake. General Eisenhower tions. Managing vulnerability is not lic works department with a city-wide, understood this when he said that plan- attending a one-day workshop or a state and federal emergency manage- ning was indispensable but useless dur- two-day emergency management desk- ment platform. The more you under- ing war. How many pages of a manual top exercise; it is a process engrained stand about the vulnerability of your do you think Captain Sullenberger read in all operations. The mantra of an or- department and the required resources before he landed his plane in the Hud- ganization should be adherence to in- to address emergency events, the better son River? The planning he did over dustry standards for safety and vulner- prepared you will be to manage an ac- the years was indispensible. It was his ability assessment. To achieve this goal, tual emergency event. A vulnerability leadership abilities that took over with a wise manager involves the entire or- plan is not something that is placed on only minutes to make crucial decisions. ganization in the process of identifying the shelf to collect dust. A key to effec- Too often we underestimate the value of areas of vulnerability assessment. The tive planning is developing a sustain- leadership and the training involved to APWA accreditation program can play able culture in your organization that becoming a great leader. a prominent role in this mission. evaluates the agency’s vulnerability on a continual basis. In summary, APWA must make its own The first priority in developing a vul- way in determining the training and re- nerability management plan is setting Stage III: Leadership sources required by public works agen- the tone that vulnerability manage- There is no substitute for leadership cies to manage man-made or natural ment is a central core responsibility for during an emergency by those who are disasters. The expertise to integrate the organization. Every important ini- directly responsible for the infrastruc- with federal, state and local emergency tiative begins with leadership. ture under their supervision. During requirements, developing a comprehensive vulnerability assessment pro- A good way to begin a vulnerability as- emergencies, decisions are made in tocol, and the skills to lead during an sessment is to ask employees to identify rapid fire, and there are no time-outs. emergency event requires a comprehen- what can go wrong with the programs Think for a moment what you may sive and coherent plan of action. APWA and facilities in which they work. It need as resources during an emergency. must become the catalyst in defining should be an open discussion, with Where do I get extra equipment, what the pathway forward in preparing for no agenda to keep things off the table. are the legal issues that I need to deal man-made and natural disasters. Managers need to be part of this initial with, where do I go for financial re- meeting and support the effort—this is sources, what experts will I need, how

4 APWA Reporter January 2011 International Public Works Congress & Exposition September 18-21, 2011 | Colorado Convention Center

It's not too early to start planning for this year's Congress. Make plans now to attend.

www.apwa.net/congress APWA members’ cyber systems are evaluated by DHS With the pilot program completed, APWA and DHS explore the next phase of cyber security efforts for public works Laura M. Berkey-Ames Government Affairs Manager American Public Works Association Washington, D.C.

s guardians of critical infrastructure, public works agencies value the security of their cyber systems, as they help run traffic management systems, water treatment facilities, emergency services/communications and other operations and services. From July to September 2010, the Department of Homeland Security’s National Cyber Security Division (NCSD) conducted Cyber Resilience Reviews (CRR) at three APWA members’ public works agencies. Emergency Management Committee members Christine Walsh, Director of Operations for Beloit, Wis.; Kurt Blomquist, P.E., Director of Pub- lic Works for Keene, N.H.; and former committee member Teresa Scott, P.E., Director of Public Works for Gaines- ville, Fla., volunteered to be test sub- Pictured from left: Shane Riggle and Keith Houston, both GIS Specialists for the City of Beloit, jects for APWA, and invited DHS NCSD Wisconsin, work with DHS NCSD personnel on evaluating the public works agency’s cyber system. personnel to conduct site visits and evaluate their cyber systems. erates the sanitary sewer and water sys- partment also had their SCADA system tems, and their Graphic Information evaluated—which operates the city’s DHS NCSD personnel evaluated Be- System, which is currently under de- water and wastewater treatment plant, loit’s Supervisory Control and Data velopment. Keene’s Public Works De- and their remote water and wastewater Acquisition (SCADA) system which op- stations. In Gainesville, NCSD personnel reviewed the city’s Traffic Manage- ment System (TMS) which is a county- Order Custom Bulk wide traffic monitoring system with a fiber optic communication network Editorial Reprints that has wireless connections for ac- cessing remote signals. Moreover, the Now that you have been featured in the TMS includes a system for emergency APWA Reporter, why not leverage this responders—one of two such systems operating in the nation. opportunity to promote your product or service with custom reprints? Each audit was conducted by two NCSD officials and took no more than Call our reprint department at (800) 259- two business days to complete. Accord- 0470 for complete details. ing to all three APWA pilot program volunteers, they felt that the CRR was a valuable exercise where they not only

6 APWA Reporter January 2011 gained a better understanding of their APWA was invited to join the DHS ESS Internet-based attacks in cooperation cyber systems’ strengths and weak- Cyber Security Work Group. Currently, with public and private sectors. For nesses, but also helped to form a col- the work group is drafting an ESS cy- more information on cyber security, vis- laborative relationship between public ber security road map that will identify it DHS’s website: http://www.dhs.gov. works and DHS—as this was DHS’s first sector-specific cyber vulnerabilities and time evaluating public works agencies. ways to mitigate against such threats. Laura Berkey-Ames is the Government Af- Moreover, NCSD provided site-specific fairs Manager and the legislative liaison insight into possible cyber threats and Established in 2003, the NCSD is the to the Emergency Management Technical methods to improve the systems’ secu- Federal Government’s lead agency for Committee. She can be reached at (202) rity. Approximately sixty days after the coordinating national defense against 218-6734 or [email protected]. CRRs occurred, each agency was presented with a confidential report that ALL SEASON Spreader and Conveyor Encapsulant assesses nine key areas of cyber security management: (1) Asset Definition; (2) Communications; (3) Technology; (4) Environmental Control; (5) Service Continuity; (6) External Dependency; (7) Situational Awareness; (8) Vulner- ability Analysis and Resolution; and (9) Incident Management and Control.

With the CRRs complete and deemed valuable to public works, APWA’s cyber audit volunteers want to open up this opportunity to the entire APWA mem- Apply once to lubricate & seal — bership. Currently, NCSD staff is work- Easy, one step application process and your spreaders are all set ing on a CRR self-evaluation tool that for winter operations. can be deployed across all 18 DHS Crit- ical Infrastructure and Key Resource Lubricates drag chains — Sectors within state, local, large urban Helps prevent against costly drag chain seizure or breakage all winter long. area governments and specific companies that have a stake in national secu- Seals components — rity. According to NCSD, while the tool Creates a protective barrier against corrosive salts and chlorides. will apply to all critical infrastructure Environmentally responsible and will not wash off. systems and facilities, it can be tailored Trusted by over 40 State Departments of Transportation. to fit a particular type of infrastructure system depending on the types of questions posed during the cyber security evaluation. Once the tool is made Salt & Chloride Neutralizer available nationwide, DHS will offer its Easy to use — Quickly removes the corrosive services to train individuals on how to white salt residue left behind after pressure use the self-evaluation tool. Moreover, washing with ordinary detergents. the tool will be designed in such a way that it will generate both quantifiable Prevents rust & corrosion damage — To radiators, wiring harnesses, oil pans and data and a report of the findings. This other mild steel components. way, personnel operating and oversee- ing critical infrastructure systems will Saves budget dollars — Keep your fleet and not have to wait 60 days for a final re- equipment out of the port from DHS NCSD. It is anticipated shop. Avoid unscheduled that the cyber security self-evaluation maintenance. tool will be made available to the public in March. PROTECTION PRESERVATION PERFORMANCE

APWA also gained recognition within the DHS Emergency Services Sector www.rhomar.com (ESS) for its involvement with the NC- SD’s Cyber Resiliency Review. Recently, [email protected]

January 2011 APWA Reporter 7

RHOMAR

Aug. 2010 4.75 x 7.5" APWA REPORTER New rating system to take sustainability to the next level

Peter B. King APWA Executive Director

For years, the nation’s the nine-member ISI Board of Direc- strives to improve an infrastructure infrastructure needs tors, “Through this partnership with project’s social and environmental have outpaced exist- ACEC and ASCE, APWA will be able to performance, while also accounting ing resources, which advance its sustainability-related goals for economic benefits and creating a has made the impor- by helping to create a real-time, real- better long-term value for the commu- tance of sustainable life understanding of what sustain- nity it serves. The system is designed development more ability means to infrastructure. And, to identify sustainability benefits for and more clear. How- the kind of objective evaluation we practitioners, owners and regulators, Peter B. King ever, in conversations will be able to provide with the ISI sys- and can be applied to a wide range with public works directors and others, tem will help to ensure performance of infrastructure projects. Its robust, the absence of a consistent framework accountability and improve civil in- objective and transparent methods for evaluating sustainable infrastruc- frastructure outcomes.” will promote community and policy ture projects across all sectors was sim- acceptance of sustainable solutions ply not available. The public works and encourage knowledge sharing, in- profession also recognized the crucial novation and collaboration in the de- role whole systems thinking plays in sign, construction and maintenance resolving challenges in today’s world. of infrastructure. Launching the APWA Center for Sus- tainability in 2008 was one step in AP- The ISI rating system went into full- WA’s effort to be on the leading edge of scale piloting last month, and will be sustainability in public works by pro- formally launched in the spring of 2011 moting innovation and collaboration. as a voluntary, web-based product. It will be scalable to accommodate project The desire of some in the public works size and complexity, as well as adaptable profession to have a standard method for specific needs and circumstances. It (some have called for a “checklist”) to will also include options for self-assess- evaluate and measure sustainability led ment and independent certification. APWA to enter into partnership with Peter Binney, P.E., a member of the ISI The system will align with many of the the American Council of Engineering Board of Directors, noted, “Industry, existing sector-specific rating tools to al- Companies (ACEC) and the American government and the public have an low for both in-depth and cross-sector Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) to increasing interest in and demand for analysis, and it will provide perfor- begin developing the first-ever cross- sustainable development, so creating a mance-based rather than prescriptive- sector sustainable rating system for a common understanding of what sus- based outcomes, using a two-pronged North American-based infrastructure. tainability really means in the context approach: pathway contribution – “Do- Approved by the APWA Board of Direc- of infrastructure is important. The goal ing the right thing,” with community tors, APWA is a founding partner in this of the ISI rating system is to provide an as the common denominator; and per- first collaboration of its kind for design- objective evaluation of sustainability formance contribution – “Doing things ers, builders and owners. The system benefits that helps to improve civil in- right,” with good engineering. being created will be managed by an infrastructure outcomes and ensure per- dependent nonprofit organization, the formance accountability.” In addition to the rating tool, ISI will Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure also be developing related certification (ISI), which was incorporated by the The ISI rating system is founded on the and continuing education programs three organizations in early December. triple bottom line concept of sustain- for individuals, such as engineers, ar- ability, which includes economic and chitects, planners, owners, contractors, According to Howard B. LaFever, social considerations, as well as envi- suppliers and financers; and organiza- BCEE, P.E. and Principal with GHD ronmental. As such, it will represent tions, such as design/consulting firms Inc, one of APWA’s three appointees to the only comprehensive system that and public works organizations.

8 APWA Reporter January 2011 The new organization’s nine-member Board of Directors includes representatives from the three founding organizations, including APWA members Vicki Vickrey Quiram, P.E., Public Works Director, Town of Westwood, Mass.; Larry Stevens, P.E., Senior Proj- ect Manager, Howard R. Green Com- pany, Johnson, Iowa; and LaFever. Beginning in 2011, a variety of ISI membership levels will also be open to individuals and organizations, including companies, nonprofits, universities and government agencies.

ISI is currently looking for a wide range of projects from different sectors to participate in the pilot testing. If you are interested in having one of your projects considered for the pilot testing, or if you are simply interested in more information on the rating system and membership in ISI, please contact Julia Anastasio at (202) 218- 6750 or [email protected].

Nominations for national APWA appointment “I do not know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know, the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.” – Albert Schweitzer

APWA is soliciting nominations for appointments to national offices for the September 2011–August 2012 year. Step forward and offer your expertise to your profession. Contact your local chapter to let them know you have an interest in serving at the national level. In- formation on appointments may be obtained on the APWA website at www.apwa.net/membersonly/ nominations or from Kaye Sullivan at National Headquarters at ksul- [email protected] or at (800) 848- APWA, ext. 5233. A brief bio must be completed online or through hard copy. Nominations must ar- rive at headquarters by close of business March 1, 2011. APWA partners with PNS for joint Snow Conference

PWA and the Pacific Northwest Snowfighters (PNS) knowledge and expertise, and maintenance systems that are Association are joining forces to present a com- critical to ensuring the public’s safety during winter weather. bined Snow Conference. With APWA’s reputation The 2011 APWA North American Snow & Pacific Northwest as the public works community’s number one re- Snowfighters Conference will be an excellent venue for snow- source for information on winter operations and PNS’s tech- fighters to gather together, learn, and share experiences. nical expertise in snow and ice, this partnership will bring snowfighters from across the United States and Canada to- This joint APWA/PNS event is shaping up to be one of the best gether for a unique educational opportunity. Combine this Snow Conferences in years, featuring four days of educational with a beautiful Northwest location in Spokane, Washing- programs and technical tours; opportunities to network and ton, and this is a conference you will not want to miss! exchange ideas with manufacturers, distributors, consultants, and other public works professionals; and a large exhibit floor with more than 120 companies participating. APWA and PNS collaborated on the selection of education sessions and speakers, and the combined APWA/PNS exhibit floor will include everything from innovative equipment and technology to ground-breaking new products and services focused on snow and ice removal and winter operations. New! Winter Maintenance Supervisor Certificate Program APWA is launching its new Winter Maintenance Supervisor Certificate Program at the 2011 APWA/PNS Snow Confer- ence. This one-day workshop has been designed for winter maintenance supervisors, operators who aspire to be supervisors, and operators wanting a greater understanding of winter maintenance issues. The workshop consists of sessions on policy and planning, snow and ice control materials, snow control, ice control, weather basics and equipment—all with a focus on sustainability and lessening the Evening falls in Spokane, Washington, site of the 2011 APWA North American Snow & Pacific Northwest Snowfighters Conference. impact of winter maintenance practices to protect the natu- (Photo Credit: Spokane Regional CVB/Alan Bisson) ral environment.

The mission of PNS is to provide specifications for the high- Education Program, Keynote Speakers, and est quality deicing products. PNS balances quality of the en- Technical Tours vironment with providing the safest possible transportation The education program will include more than 40 topnotch system and maximum mobility for the public during snow technical sessions, roundtable discussions, technical tours, and ice events, within reasonable budgetary, product per- energizing keynote speakers, and a General Session Talk show. formance and environmental constraints. Their Qualified Check out the education schedule in the special two-page Product List has become an industry standard. APWA and section in this issue (pages 20-21), and go to www.apwa.net/ PNS share members and interests, and both associations are snow for complete descriptions of all the technical sessions. eager and excited to present this joint conference. On Sunday, motivational humorist Al Walker will present When snow and ice conditions strike, the local, state and the keynote address. Al draws on his skills and background provincial public works agencies and snowfighters are at the as a successful businessperson and his humorous approach forefront. As responders in these situations, public works and to life to deliver speeches to convention audiences across the snowfighters depend on reliable equipment, technology, the world. In an entertaining and inspiring fashion, Al

10 APWA Reporter January 2011 shares the secrets to the small characteristics that make the Excellence in Snow & Ice Control Award BIG differences in anyone’s quest for excellence. APWA’s Excellence in Snow & Ice Control Award will be presented at the Opening General Session on Sunday, and APWA is currently accepting nominations. This prestigious award was established to promote excellence in the management and administration of public works snow and ice operations and to promote best practices in snow and ice removal while minimizing environmental impacts. Nomi- nations will be accepted until February 1, 2011. Agencies do not need to be members of APWA to receive this award. For more information visit www.apwa.net/awards11.

Attendance was high during the educational sessions at last year’s Snow Conference in Omaha, Nebraska.

Monday’s General Session Talk Show, a popular session at APWA’s Snow Conference each year, is entitled “Winter Maintenance Practices and Sustainability.” This interactive panel discussion will feature snow industry experts from PNS, APWA and around North America. Our speakers will share their own challenges and solutions in the battle to keep the streets safe in winter while minimizing the impact to the nat- Representatives of the City of Prior Lake, Minnesota, received the ural environment. The experts in the audience (that’s you!) Excellence in Snow and Ice Control Award from then-APWA President will have ample opportunity to ask questions and share sto- Larry Koehle at last year’s Snow Conference in Omaha, Nebraska. ries of lessons learned and innovative solutions.

The keynote speaker at the final General Session on Tues- The Northwest Experience day is a Northwest favorite, Grant Goodeve. Grant has made It’s been many years since APWA has held its annual Snow numerous TV, film and stage appearances during his more Conference “out west,” and the APWA Washington Chapter than 30-year career in show business. You may remember and Pacific Northwest Snowfighters are very excited tobe him as David, the oldest son on the popular TV series “Eight welcoming APWA and PNS guests to Spokane and the Pacific is Enough,” or from his co-starring role of Rick Pedersen on Northwest. “Northern Exposure.” Grant is also an accomplished singer and songwriter who has traveled and performed in churches This Northwest experience is sure to be an interesting con- throughout the United States and recorded two albums of trast to more recent APWA Snow Conferences. Mark DeVries, original songs. HGTV fans will know him as the host of “If Chair of APWA’s Winter Maintenance Subcommittee, said it Walls Could Talk” from 2000 to 2004. Grant is now in his well in the November 2010 issue of the Reporter: “The con- twelfth season as host of the Seattle-based outdoor/travel ference in Spokane will give us the mountain experience. show “Northwest Backroads.” The Pacific influence is showcased here with rain, ice and The technical tour program will be presented on Wednes- fog on the western slopes and huge snows on the eastern day morning, as one tour with several stops along the way. side. The challenges of keeping mountain passes open, deal- The tour will include a visit to the City of Spokane’s liquid ing with changing conditions as elevation changes, huge en- deicer storage facility, one of the Washington State Depart- vironmental concerns, studded tires and chains, and drifts ment of Transportation’s (WSDOT) salt brine manufacturing as high as trucks are all conditions faced in this area. Add facilities, and the City of Spokane’s large operations yard. to that the fact that deicing chemicals are more expensive You’ll see a variety of snow and ice equipment from WSDOT, here than any other area in the country and you have got a City of Spokane and Spokane County. Equipment operators wealth of information to share with attendees. State and lo- and managers will be on hand to discuss the equipment and cal agencies have some unique techniques to deal with these their snow and ice operations. situations and have shown great innovation in conquering

January 2011 APWA Reporter 11 these challenges. Combine this with one of the most beauti- places of Pat’s stories. Today, the McManus Comedies have ful settings in the land and it is a conference you will not been enjoyed by audiences at more than 1,200 public per- want to miss.” formances across the United States and Canada, and consis- tently open to rave reviews—like this one from the Billings Our Host City – Spokane Gazette: “…laugh-packed show reminiscent of Mark Twain Located in eastern Washington, only 18 miles from the Ida- and Bill Cosby!” and this one from the late actor Jack Lem- ho border, Spokane is the largest city between Seattle and mon: “Outstanding performance! I relished the joy of a per- Minneapolis with about 500,000 residents in the metropoli- formance that obviously knocked the audience out. People tan area. Though the city burned to the ground just a little should see this show!” more than a century ago, Spokane rebuilt itself into a thriv- ing trade center that serves four states and two Canadian Make plans now to attend this year’s APWA/PNS Snow provinces. Known for its warm and friendly atmosphere, Conference. Check out the education schedule in the spe- Spokane also surprises visitors with its sophistication and cial two-page section in this issue (pages 20-21). Visit www. beauty. apwa.net/snow for more information and to register.

Step outside your hotel room and you’ll find trendy mar- tini bars, sports bars and local pubs, boutique shops, fabu- lous restaurants, world-class wineries and museums. A quick stroll in any direction and you’ll also discover a park or green space.

A defining point of the city is beautiful Riverfront Park. A popular gathering place for local residents and visitors alike, this 100-acre park sits on the banks of the Spokane River as it runs through the heart of the city and is located adjacent to the convention center and conference hotels. Take a stroll on one of the many walking and bicycle trails and you’ll see sculptures, historic landmarks and spectacular waterfalls.

On November 15, 2010, members of the APWA Student Chapter at Linn State Technical College (Linn, Mo.) attended the Missouri Chapter’s Fall Conference at the Lodge of the Four Seasons at the Lake of the Ozarks in central Missouri. “They [the Student Chapter members] really enjoyed the sessions and meeting the industry members,” said Diane Heckemeyer, faculty advisor for the Student Chapter. “As a matter of fact, I’ve heard them talking about LiDAR and variable speed limits and some of the other topics with their classmates, and when I mentioned ‘pervious vs. impervious surfaces’ in class yesterday during a lecture, those students that attended got a big grin on their faces because they knew what I was talking about was real life!’

From left to right: Dylan House (first-year Construction and Civil A day in Riverfront Park: The tour train and the Riverfront Park Ro- Technology student from Perryville, Mo.); Michael Tucker (first- tary Fountain are two great ways to enjoy these 100 acres of green year Construction and Civil Technology student from Floris- space in the heart of downtown Spokane. (Photo Credit: Spokane sant, Mo.); Larry Stevens, APWA Director of Region VI; Dwayne Regional CVB/Ben Tobin) Schwartze (Senior Construction and Civil Technology student from Westphalia, Mo.); George Crombie, APWA President; Steve Snow Banquet Polyak (Senior Construction and Civil Technology student from In keeping with our Northwest theme, the Tuesday evening Sunrise Beach, Mo.); Marcus Struemph (Senior Construction and Civil Technology student from Westphalia, Mo.); and Diane banquet will feature Tim Behrens, presenting his one-man Heckemeyer. show “The Best of Patrick McManus.” In 1992, nationally The college will be hosting the Missouri Chapter’s Executive renowned humor writer Patrick McManus teamed up with Board meeting on the campus in January, followed by a mock actor Tim Behrens, both Pacific Northwest natives, to cre- interview session with the students. ate a series of one-man shows based on the characters and

12 APWA Reporter January 2011 Environmental Engineers: Attain recognition as a Board Certified Environmental Engineer

Joseph S. Cavarretta, CAE Executive Director American Academy of Environmental Engineers Annapolis, Maryland

ou are an engineering professional with eight years your own personal page, an electronic directory of mem- of experience and maintain a practice of continuing bers, networking opportunities, and much more. However, education. Obviously, you are on a progressive ca- the overwhelming reasons why environmental engineers reer path. Your next step is to become a Board Certi- become Board Certified are personal achievement, self-es- fied Environmental Engineer (BCEE—for licensed engineers) teem, and recognition by peers as being the best of the best. or Board Certified Environmental Engineering Member (BCEEM—for non-PEs) through the American Academy of The fee to apply is $75 and includes a one-year subscription Environmental Engineers (AAEE), sponsored by the American to Environmental Engineer. The examination fee is $150, and Public Works Association and 11 other engineering societies. annual recertification fee is $175. The time to apply for certification in 2011 is from now through March 31, 2011. For Who are Board Certified Environmental Engineers details and an application form, visit aaee.net, and look un- and Board Certified Environmental Engineering der Membership. Download an application form by clicking Members? With less than 2,600 BCEEs and BCEEMs, AAEE on the How to Apply link. For assistance and more details, represents the top four percent of engineers practicing envi- contact Ms. Sammi Olmo at [email protected], or Jcava@ ronmental engineering. They include CEOs, other officers, aaee.net; or call (410) 266-3311. and engineers at all levels of top consulting firms, utilities, and agencies; deans and professors of environmental engineering departments at colleges and universities; and environmental health and safety officers in industry.

Attaining this Badge of Excellence requires holding a degree in environmental engineering or related engineering degree acceptable to the AAEE Board of Trustees and eight years of experience of which four years include responsible charge. (A Master’s and a Ph.D. each count as 1.5 years toward the eight- year requirement.) Applicants apply in one of eight specialty areas: Air Pollution Control, Environmental Sustainability, Sustainable design-build solutions General Environmental Engineering, Hazardous Waste Man- for sand & salt storage, solid waste agement, Industrial Hygiene, Radiation Protection, Solid facilities, water treatment facilities & more! Waste Management, or Water Supply/Wastewater Manage- ment. Applicants then sit for a 100-question, multiple choice, written exam and a peer review by three Academy certified members. (Those with 16 years experience/12 years responsible charge may request a written examination waiver.) Once successfully completed, the Board of Trustees grants status as a Board Certified Environmental Engineer or Board Cer- Buildings tified Environmental Engineering Member, depending upon available up to whether or not you hold one or more state licenses. 300' wide. Low in cost per Why become Board Certified? BCEEs (formerly DEEs) and square foot. BCEEMs hold a competitive advantage. They are often Natural daytime sought after by consulting firms and federal, state and local lighting. agencies for project management, design, and consultation; Easy to relocate. workshop and seminar presentations; and for volunteer Expandable. positions at engineering societies. AAEE certification offers many other tangible benefits including a quarterly periodi- Call one of our ClearSpan Specialists at 1.866.643.1010 or cal, monthly newsletter, inclusion in the annual Who’s Who visit us at www.ClearSpan.com. Mention code CST1084. in Environmental Engineering Directory, a secure website with

January 2011 APWA Reporter 13 Index to 2010 articles

Listed in this index are all articles pub- Harnessing the power of the Millennial Diversity lished in the 12 issues of the APWA generation, Feb., p. 22 Utilizing retired professionals to help Reporter during 2010. They are catego- How to recognize stressed-out employ- solve today’s challenges, Jan., p. 8 rized by subject, with subject headings ees, March, p. 22 in alphabetical order. All of the articles Inclusion + Diversity = Empowerment can be found on the APWA Reporter Selling your ideas, April, p. 42 for All, Feb., p. 18 web page at www.apwa.net/Publica- L.A. women excel in solid resources, tions/Reporter. Decision-making tools for personnel selection, May, p. 36 March, p. 16 Annual Buyer’s Guide The concept of diversity: growing up Annual Buyer’s Guide, April, p. 80 APWA Emerging Leaders Academy III meets for a successful leadership re- and keeping pace with change, April, Alphabetical listing, April, p. 80 treat, June, p. 28 p. 32

Categorical listing, April, p. 98 Making your values stick, July, p. 38 Initiating an employee incentive program for a multi-generational culture, Ask Ann Proactive vs. reactive workload plan- May, p. 18 Jan., p. 46 ning, Aug., p. 64 Four diverse, dynamic women, June, p. 24 Feb., p. 54 When should you consider privatizing 2009-2010 APWA Diversity Commit- March, p. 60 your services?, Sept., p. 18 tee’s accomplishments, Aug., p. 12 April, p. 110 Guide to effective communication and persuasive presentations, Oct., p. 10 Young Professionals: The Future of June, p. 58 APWA, Aug., p. 16 July, p. 96 Utilizing students in the workplace, Nov., p. 20 Reaching beyond my limits, Sept., p. 10 Aug., p. 134 Diversity in action at the 2010 APWA Sept., p. 48 Congress 2010 Leadership for changing times, June, International Public Works Congress & Oct., p. 40 p. 10 Exposition in Boston, Massachusetts, Dec., p. 42 Oct., p. 26 The “New Normal”: Designing for Awards speed, scale and scope, July, p. 16 The Importance of Mentoring: Future Cities, Nov., p. 12 Excellence in Snow and Ice Control Boston in pictures, July, p. 24 Award, April, p. 34 It is safe to be me, Dec., p. 23 Four options to attend Congress, Aug., 2010 Top Ten Public Works Leaders p. 35 Emergency Management named, May, p. 30 Is your jurisdiction eligible to receive Don’t miss these at Congress!, Aug., p. 36 APWA announces the 2010 Public HMGP funds following a major disaster Works Projects of the Year, July, p. 76 One-day passes available for Congress, declaration?, Jan., p. 26 Aug., p. 36 Chapter Membership Achievement Cedar Rapids: Repositioning a city Award winners announced, Aug., p. 4 The Boston Congress: A Public Works post-disaster, Jan., p. 28 Revolution, Oct., p. 18 Awards 2010, Aug., p. 24 The changing role of public works in Moments from the 2010 Congress, emergencies, disasters and traffic inci- Back to the Basics Oct., p. 38 dent management, Jan., p. 31 Back to the basic supervision, Jan., p. 24 The May 2008 Wenchuan earthquake:

14 APWA Reporter January 2011 emergency response and recovery, Jan., Completing construction quicker and The evolution of modern playground p. 36 better in Sacramento County, April, p. 52 equipment, April, p. 64

Small community NIMS compliance, Bakersfield’s downtown canal comes to Bridging the gap between city traffic Jan., p. 40 life, April, p. 56 engineers and the blind community, April, p. 66 National Infrastructure Protection Plan Accommodating intense parks use, offers framework for public works pro- April, p. 59 City of Bristol, Connecticut: City Hall fessionals, Jan., p. 44 boiler casualty and use of ARRA energy Transition Plans: It’s the law, April, p. 62 funding for replacement, April, p. 70 Administering FEMA requirements doesn’t need to be a disaster, Aug., p. 42 Engineering and Technology Seismic Building Performance: How will your structures hold up?, June, p. 34

Characteristics of the successful twenty-first century public works director, June, p. 36

Giving public works administrators a crystal ball, June, p. 38

BIM (Building Information Modeling), June, p. 40

Staying on top of new technology for local streets and roads, June, p. 42

Peoria Public Works Department reduc- es costs with mobile GIS, June, p. 44

Mobile offices put inspectors on the road, June, p. 46

Below these crowded streets: Charles- ton’s network of underground infrastructure, June, p. 48

Solar water system helps drop energy use, June, p. 52

Municipal broadband helps improve operational efficiencies and quality of services in Rock Hill, SC, June, p. 54

LiDAR puts impervious surfaces “on the map,” Aug., p. 90

Maintaining good community rela- tions during construction, Aug., p. 100 If you manage public roadways, you have to be prepared to A better way to rebuild better infra- manage vegetation. And chances are, the Asplundh Highway structure, Aug., p. 114 Division can do it more efficiently, effectively and safely at a Agencies find the “I” in GIS to create lower cost. No other vegetation management company can offer next generation solutions, Aug., p. 122 our unique combination of experience, training, equipment and Facilities and Grounds technology. Let Asplundh manage ADA modifications fit building’s char- acter, function and pocketbook, April, the vegetation – while you manage p. 50 your operation.

January 2011 APWA Reporter 15 The art and science of building a re- President-Elect Crombie awarded Hon- Opportunities for APWA with Engi- taining wall, April, p. 78 orary Membership in American Acad- neers Without Borders-USA, June, p. 30 emy of Environmental Engineers, June, Hope for Honduras, June, p. 32 Fleet Services p. 7 2010 light truck rollout: more bang for International Federation to meet at We Are Public Works: Come join us!, the municipal buck, Aug., p. 126 Boston Congress, June, p. 33 June, p. 18 Polk County’s innovative response to Spring in Zlin, Czech Republic, July, p. 42 high fuel costs, Sept., p. 24 Back to school, June, p. 26 International Affairs Committee 2009 Candidates for the APWA Board of Di- Ames, Iowa, is changing itself from red to 2010, Aug., p. 66 and black to green, Sept., p. 26 rectors named, July, p. 8 Public works management programs APWA Roadway Safety Subcommittee Toward 100% implementation of bio- for Lavasa, India, Sept., p. 20 fuels and electric vehicles, Sept., p. 28 established, July, p. 14 International Affairs Committee ap- Communication in real time, July, p. 30 Spec’ing your work trucks for optimum proves pilot program that enhances fuel economy, Sept., p. 30 APWA Board actions set stage for ex- APWA member access to global re- TOT theory for improving technicians’ ceptional year, Aug., p. 8 sources and solutions, Oct., p. 14 productivity, Sept., p. 34 Are you involved in a community? You Call for Applicants for 2011 Jennings Life Cycle Costing, Sept., p. 36 should be!, Aug., p. 18 Randolph International Fellowship Program, Oct., p. 16 John Deere isn’t the only thing “green” Board of Directors election results, in Moline, Sept., p. 38 Sept., p. 9 APWA President George Crombie attends ICLEI VIII National/Internation- Reaching the top of the “Accreditation Leaning and greening public works al Conference, Nov., p. 22 fleets, Sept., p. 44 Mountain” in Grain Valley, Sept., p. 14 CPWA at Congress, Oct., p. 32 Leadership and Management Inside APWA The changing role of the public works 2010 Editorial Calendar, Jan., p. 9 Futures Day 2010: Boston, Massachu- director, Jan., p. 10 setts, Oct., p. 36 Index to 2009 articles, Jan., p. 18 A Call to Arms, Aug., p. 110 On-Line Mentoring: How it works, Call for nominations to APWA Board what we have learned, Dec., p. 14 The Road to Excellence, Dec., p. 10 issued, Feb., p. 6 Emerging Leaders Academy aims to Look what’s on our recommended APWA Board of Directors, April, p. 6 lay the groundwork for APWA’s future, reading list!, Dec., p. 24 Meet your APWA staff, April, p. 7 Dec., p. 16 Could a mustache save Christmas? The Embracing e-learning in public works, Distracted Driving: A year of action, Woodridge Public Works Department April, p. 30 Dec., p. 22 believed it could, Dec., p. 25 Taking charge/making an impact in APWA is going social, April, p. 38 International Idea Exchange your community as public works direc- Engineers Without Borders-USA, Jan., Florida Chapter celebrates 50 years of tor, Dec., p. 26 service to its members, April, p. 40 p. 22 Who Are We/Public Works: How to Old stuff about asphalt, Feb., p. 26 APWA not immune from downturn, positively promote the role and contri- May, p. 6 Riding the Storm: 2010 INGENIUM butions of public works to the community, Dec., p. 30 APWA Center for Sustainability: A new Conference, Feb., p. 28 vision for public works, May, p. 8 Haiti Cherie, March, p. 24 What great public works directors do differently, Dec., p. 32 The U.S. Bicycle Route System: Con- Planning for organic waste recycling in necting people, communities and the the Czech Republic, March, p. 26 Do you need a master’s degree?, Dec., nation, May, p. 22 p. 34 Water: More precious than gold, April, Three hundred million and counting, p. 46 Exploring the DNA of a successful pub- May, p. 26 lic works leader, Dec., p. 36 The January 2010 Haiti earthquake: a Top Tens: A history of professional ex- public works disaster, May, p. 38 Management 101: Building sustainable cellence, May, p. 28 employee trust, Dec., p. 40

16 APWA Reporter January 2011 National Public Works Week A plan for debris management, March, Emerald ash borer threatens your com- City of Thousand Oaks celebrates Na- p. 2 munity’s ash trees, Aug., p. 93 tional Public Works Week, Feb., p. 16 Getting everyone involved, April, p. 2 Mt. Moriah Cemetery: Third Annual The team behind the scenes opens its Lantern Lighting Ceremony, Sept., p. 12 Building relationships of trust and re- doors, March, p. 14 spect, May, p. 2 So, what’s your problem?, Oct., p. 30 50th Anniversary of National Public Be a Public Works Patriot! Join us in A field management success story, Works Week, April, p. 24 Boston!, June, p. 2 Nov., p. 16 What you can do for National Public Let’s get this economy moving, July, p. 2 2010 City of La Quinta Public Works Works Week, May, p. 14 Department Student Outreach Pro- Serving our communities and our pro- North America celebrates 50th anniver- gram, Dec., p. 21 fession: a proud tradition, Aug., p. 2 sary of National Public Works Week, July, p. 32 A broad, bold and aggressive agenda Solid Waste Management for APWA, Sept., p. 2 Solid waste management trends in National Public Works Week in Grants 2010, March, p. 30 Pass, July, p. 34 A better world for our children, Oct., p. 2 Greenhouse gas impacts of solid waste Fifth Annual DPW Day at Plymouth management, March, p. 36 Public Library, July, p. 36 Winter maintenance operations will make a difference, Nov., p. 2 Pay-As-You-Throw – Now: Increase re- Los Angeles honors outstanding public cycling and decrease greenhouse gases works employees, Aug., p. 20 APWA must seize the moment, Dec., p. 2 quickly, fairly and cost-effectively, March, p. 38 New APWA staff Public Works Historical Society Joan Awald, Jan., p. 13 FEMA: Mission and History, Jan., p. 42 APWA on pharmaceuticals: It’s time for producer responsibility, March, p. 42 Sabrina Vargas, Aug., p. 17 Recycling and recovery of waste: a worldwide issue, March, p. 41 Automated waste collection: how to Jeff Dugdale, Dec., p. 12 make sure it makes sense for your com- A Taste of Boston, April, p. 28 Josh Johnson, Dec., p. 12 munity, March, p. 44 The golden age of public works in Bos- Trends in solid waste: Florida consider- North American Snow ton, June, p. 20 Conference ing 75% recycling target, March, p. 49 Celebrating 50 Years of Snow!, Feb., p. 10 PWHS, Boston and Congress 2010: Cir- Disposal solutions for compact fluores- culation in the Living City, July, p. 26 cent lamps and batteries, March, p. 52 One man’s junk is another man’s trea- sure, March, p. 8 A brief history of the residential gar- Rectifying the mistakes of a city’s past, bage collection packer, Sept., p. 42 March, p. 56 Snow Conference Technical Tour to visit two facilities, March, p. 12 The 2010 Public Works Historical Soci- Turning environmental eyesores into ety Congress programs, Oct., p. 34 signature public parks, Aug., p. 38 Omaha in pictures, April, p. 20 A brief history of the APWA Wisconsin Don’t waste a good bug-bioreactor Snowfighters pack Omaha Qwest Cen- Chapter Snow Plow Roadeo, Nov., p. 36 landfill, Aug., p. 52 ter for the 50th anniversary of the North American Snow Conference, July, p. 27 Small Cities/Rural Communities Ventura Regional Sanitation District La Center learns to manage a wetland, launches innovative Biosolids Drying Snow and ice across the continent, Jan., p. 16 and Renewable Power Generation Fa- Nov., p. 10 cility, Aug., p. 58 Disseminating traveler information Obituaries through microblogging, Feb., p. 20 Sustainability APWA Past President, Joseph F. Casa- Sustainability 2010: Focus on Minne- zza, dies, Nov., p. 18 Rolling Meadows Public Works Citi- zens Academy, March, p. 18 apolis, May, p. 12 President’s Message Completion of new water plant is re- Making sustainable decisions easy, Public Works stands guard this flu sea- flective of strong community pride and May, p. 40 son, Jan., p. 2 local commitment, May, p. 16 Starting from scratch: how to build Diversity adds strength, Feb., p. 2 Plowing through boundaries, June, p. 22 sustainability into your programs from

January 2011 APWA Reporter 17 the ground up, May, p. 44 builds strong relationship with FEMA, Moving towards a sustainability rat- Jan., p. 6 ing system for transportation projects: Sustainability in public works: the air- how wide a net to cast?, July, p. 50 plane view, May, p. 46 An ounce of conservation, Feb., p. 8 Knoxville’s move toward “Complete Early action the key to the Saanich A year with the Solid Waste Manage- Streets,” July, p. 53 Municipal Emissions Mitigation Plan, ment Technical Committee, March, p. 6 May, p. 48 City of Des Moines GPS-based sign in- Taking a stand on Facilities & Grounds, ventory on a budget, July, p. 56 Partnership with ICLEI, May, p. 52 April, p. 18 Inside the Tucson modern streetcar The “green” revolution has reached the Keeping up with change, June, p. 9 project, July, p. 58 parking industry, May, p. 54 Transportation Committee: always on Lynnwood Olympic View Drive Road Implementing a Sustainability Plan in the move, July, p. 12 Improvement, Phases 1 & 2, July, p. 60 your community: turning talk into ac- Underneath it all…Utility and Public tion, May, p. 56 A TRB Annual Meeting experience, Right-of-Way, Aug., p. 11 July, p. 64 New Public Works: Designers address The Fleet Services Committee: Serving the federal sustainability agenda, May, Every Day Counts initiative bringing members, chapters, agencies and CP- p. 58 new sense of urgency, innovation to FPs, Sept., p. 8 highway community, July, p. 66 Green jobs creation for budgets in the Snow, Ice and the Great Northwest, red, Aug., p. 48 Cook County saves taxpayers money Nov., p. 8 by diamond grinding roadways, July, Innovative approaches for sustainable Change is coming: the Leadership and p. 68 energy management, Aug., p. 62 Management Committee, Dec., p. 8 Buddy, can you spare a dime?, July, p. 72 Reliability Re-Found: Nesting resilient and adaptive solutions into urban in- Transportation Creating a transit station that enhanc- frastructure, Aug., p. 120 A plan unveiled: the U.S. Bicycle Route es your community, Aug., p. 86 System, March, p. 7 Security’s sustainable role, Aug., p. 132 Training your staff to comply with Seattle’s Complete Streets Program, ADA requirements: making curbs com- Catalyzing sustainability in public July, p. 44 pliant, Aug., p. 102 works: the 2010 Sustainability in Pub- lic Works Conference, Oct., p. 8 The Elkhorn Slough Early Mitigation Comparisons of rubberized asphalt Partnership: Protecting sensitive habi- binders, Aug., p. 111 Technical Committee News tat with major state highway projects, Emergency Management Committee July, p. 48 Utility and Public Right-of-Way The professional utility coordination process and how it can benefit your New APWA staff projects, Aug., p. 68 Ashley Wilson recently joined the APWA staff as a Creating a Right-of-Way Management full-time Member Marketing Coordinator. Her primary Program, Aug., p. 72 duties include providing administrative support for Sustainability of our right-of-way, Aug., the Marketing Department focused on member reten- p. 74 tion and recruitment plus member customer service. Sustainable solutions for right-of-way Ashley brings customer service and marketing expe- management, Aug., p. 78 rience to APWA. Most recently she served as an Ad- missions Coordinator for a technical school in Kansas Update your seawall design, Aug., p. 80 City, Mo. Before that, she was an Account Coordinator Utility coordination through coopera- for a full-service marketing firm located in Overland tion, Aug., p. 82 Park, Kans. Along with work experience she has earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Marketing & Management from Baker University. Washington Insight National Homeland Security Consor- Ashley and her husband currently reside in Basehor, Kans., with their puggle tium reviews key emergency manage- Dillon and are expecting their first child in April. ment initiatives, Jan., p. 4 EPA issues final rule affecting construction and development sites, Feb., p. 4

18 APWA Reporter January 2011 EPA issues “Endangerment Finding” Does the Yellow Brick Road lead to wa- Winter Maintenance setting the stage for regulation of carter quality?, Feb., p. 44 Salt Brine: An anti-icing solution, Aug., bon dioxide, March, p. 4 p. 130 First flush stormwater treatment, Feb., APWA member appointed to FEMA Na- p. 46 The importance of establishing levels tional Advisory Council, April, p. 4 of service for winter operations, Nov., A stormwater utility can provide a cost- p. 26 Administration takes further steps to effective way to address coastal storm- promote livability, May, p. 4 water management issues, Feb., p. 48 Validating environmental impacts of best snow and ice practices, Nov., p. 30 APWA emergency management leaders Reclaiming wells with high arsenic lev- meet with White House national secu- els, Feb., p. 51 The International Winter Road congress comes to North America, Nov., p. rity team, June, p. 4 Rethinking rain gardens, Aug., p. 50 32 APWA recognized as first responder by A new approach to the collection of ur- There is always the window, Nov., p. 38 DHS Emergency Services Sector Coor- ban weather data, Aug., p. 56 dinating Council, June, p. 6 Pre-Storm Strategy and Post-Storm As- Reducing stormwater runoff impacts, sessment meetings, Nov., p. 41 Government Affairs Committee meets Aug., p. 96 with federal agency and elected lead- Optimized snowplow routing using the ers, June, p. 8 Precast Concrete: The stormwater man- A* artificial intelligence algorithm can agement solution, Aug., p. 104 save 12% on plowing costs, Nov., p. 42 Transportation authorization follows an uncertain path, July, p. 6 Environmental Management System: Economic and environmental sustain- A key to effective management and ability meet on our nations’ highways, DHS National Cyber Security Division sustainability for water and wastewater Nov., p. 44 to evaluate APWA members’ cyber sys- utilities, Aug., p. 106 tems, Aug., p. 6 The City of Denver: A benchmark for Categorizing extreme rainfall events by snow and ice management, Nov., p. 48 APWA attends National Homeland Se- severity, not rarity, Aug., p. 116 curity Consortium meeting, Sept., p. 6

APWA advocacy priorities focus on issues of importance to communities, Oct., p. 6

APWA, public safety stakeholders and legislators promote creation of nationwide interoperable communications network, Nov., p. 6

Administration’s infrastructure investment plan includes transportation re- authorization principles, Dec., p. 6 Water Resources Street Sweeping: Which method is best for improving stormwater quality?, Feb., p. 30

Blazing trails to provide a new potable water source for El Paso, Feb., p. 32

Water conservation through turf management, Feb., p. 36

The history and evolution of training for the water and wastewater industries, Feb., p. 38

A new calm before…during…and after the storm, Feb., p. 41

January 2011 APWA Reporter 19 The Show For Snow!

2011 APWA North American Snow & Pacific Northwest Snowfighters Conference April 10-13, 2011 Spokane Convention Center, Spokane, Washington Hosted by the APWA Washington Chapter & Pacific Northwest Snowfighters Association Register on-line at www.apwa.net/snow Snow Conference at a Glance

Sunday, April 10 Monday April 11 2:00 – 2:50 p.m. Education Sessions 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Exhibit Hours Exhibit Hours 2:50 – 3:30 p.m. Non-compete Exhibit Time 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. 8:00 – 9:30 a.m. Winter Maintenance Supervisor General Session “Talk Show” 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. Certificate Program Winter Maintenance Practices and Education Sessions Sustainability 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Education Sessions 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. Non-compete Exhibit Time 2:15 – 3:15 p.m. Coffee Break on the Exhibit Floor Education Sessions 10:30 – 11:20 a.m. 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. Education Sessions Opening General Session Keynote Speaker: Al Walker 11:20 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Non-compete Exhibit Time 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Lunch on the Exhibit Floor Exhibit Opening and Welcome Reception 12:45 – 1:45 p.m. Roundtable Discussion Groups The Show For Snow!

The combined APWA/PNS exhibit floor is shaping up to be bigger and better than ever, with more than 120 companies participating. Everything from innovative new equipment and technology to ground-breaking new products and services focused on snow & ice removal and winter operations will be on display. Come kick some tires!

Tuesday, April 12 1:45 – 2:45 p.m. Wednesday, April 13 Education Sessions 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon Exhibit Hours 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. Technical Tour Closing General Session 8:00 – 8:50 a.m. Keynote Speaker: Grant Goodeve Education Sessions 6:30 p.m. 8:50 – 10:10 a.m. Snow Banquet Non-Compete Exhibit Time Entertainment: Tim Behrens Coffee Break on the Exhibit Floor performs “The Best of Patrick McManus” 10:10 – 11:00 a.m. If you want to improve your agency’s winter maintenance program, Education Sessions the joint APWA/PNS Snow Conference is the place to be! 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Non-compete Exhibit Time Acquire insight into the latest snow equipment and technology Lunch on the Exhibit Floor Discover new ways of interpreting weather forecasts 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Explore other agencies’ best practices Education Sessions Interpret the snow and ice alphabet soup Learn how to plan for effective snow and ice removal Network with top snow and ice experts from across North America The need for organizational resiliency

John Orlando, Ph.D. Program Director Master of Science in Business Continuity Norwich University Northfield, Vermont The APWA Leadership and Management particularly troubling when those ser- ruption—such as power loss, flooding, Committee introduced a series of articles vices, like policing, are needed to re- etc. At the same time, the organiza- entitled “The Road to Excellence” which cover from the disaster. tion determines which functions are focus on ten attributes and five keys to suc- its most critical—for a hospital, this For instance: cess based on the joint effort of professional might be patient care. The hospital organizations and the EPA to create a pro- • Evidence in hundreds of pending would then determine what is needed gram that promotes effective utility man- court cases was destroyed. for patient care, such as power. This is agement. Adjusting the list for public works called a “Business Impact Analysis,” as professionals, each article will look at one • Parolee information was lost, lead- it looks at the impact of the loss of dif- attribute and key and why they are critical ing to many parolees simply disap- ferent functions to its operations. to an excellent organization. If you’d like to pearing from supervision. review the basis of the series, the introduc- The organization then prioritizes its • A large percentage of the police tory article was published in the December functions according to how their loss force fled the area with their fami- 2010 issue. Following is the first article would affect operations, and starts de- lies. which addresses Operational Resiliency. termining how it will recover those functions if an event takes them out. Katrina demonstrated that public agen- Hurricane Katrina taught us that di- An obvious example is installing bat- cies will be unable to serve the needs of sasters affect public agencies just as tery backup and generators at a hospi- their constituencies if they are unable much as private companies. Not only tal in case of loss of power. At the same to run their own operations during a did hundreds of thousands of people time, the organization might take ac- disaster. This is why agencies today are lose their homes in and around New tion to mitigate the most severe risks, looking both outward and inward in Orleans, but public agencies were also such as moving power lines. The net preparation for the next disaster. The crippled. The loss of public services is result of this work is to produce a more process of ensuring an agency’s own resilient organization. functioning during a disaster is called The ten attributes: “Continuity of Operations Planning” Think about what the term “resiliency” • Operational Resiliency (COOP). This is to distinguish it from means. We might describe a people as • Product/Service Quality the private sector version called “Busi- “resilient,” meaning that they have • Customer Satisfaction ness Continuity Planning.” a kind of inner strength that allows • Employee and Leadership them to survive hardships. Similarly, Yet the term “Business Continuity” in • Operational Optimization organizational resiliency can be lik- the private sector is being gradually re- • Financial Viability ened to creating a survival reflex in the placed by “Organizational Resiliency.” • Infrastructure Stability organization to allow it to respond to This move represents an effort in the • Community Sustainability incidents without collapse. private sector to broaden the scope of • Self Assessment business continuity planning. Whereas • Stakeholder Understanding and Public sector organizational resiliency business continuity has traditionally Support does not differ markedly from private focused on those activities that occur sector organizational resiliency. In both The five keys to success: during a business disruption that keep cases the goal is to maximize the likeli- it operating, there is a growing recogni- hood of functioning during a disaster. • Leadership tion that to be truly prepared an orga- Each focuses on serving its constituen- • Strategic Business Planning nization must take action to mitigate cy. While the private sector’s constitu- • Measurement the chances that a disruption occurs. ency is its customers, the public sector’s • Organizational Approach constituency is the population. • Continual Improvement Manage- Organizational resiliency begins by ment Framework identifying the major risks—what The only significant difference is that events could cause an operational dis- private companies are focused on pre-

22 APWA Reporter January 2011 serving profits for themselves, and the game. The same can be said of the Training and Education so act as autonomous—and basically military. Soldiers are not simply TOLD Resources self-interested—entities. By contrast, what to do during battle, they practice it • Norwich University Master of Sci- public agencies are normally embed- in conditions that are as realistic as pos- ence in Business Continuity Man- ded within a wider governmental um- sible. Similarly, practice and testing will agement Program, http://business- brella, such as a city, state or federal be key components to building organi- continuity.norwich.edu government. This means that the pub- zational resiliency, since people must lic agency’s value is often determined know what they are expected to do dur- • International Consortium for Or- by how it serves the larger mission of ing a disaster before the disaster occurs. ganizational Resilience, http:// the government. For instance, police, www.theicor.org court and parole agencies are all part of Just as risk management has gained far • Continuity Central, http://www. the governmental function of provid- more attention in the financial indus- continuitycentral.com/index.htm ing security, which is one of its highest try since the financial meltdown, organizational resiliency is gaining more priorities. Some agencies may thus be John Orlando, Program Director with Nor- attention in the public sector since Ka- given higher value than others during wich University, can be reached at (802) trina. Consider how you can get your a disaster depending on their part in 485-2729 or [email protected]. overall governmental functions. organization trained and prepared to serve the public during a disaster. This last issue is important, as it means that an agency might find that govern- 2011 Editorial Calendar mental resources are focused on other agencies during a disaster. An agency The topics for the APWA Reporter’s 12 should give itself an honest assessment issues in 2011 are presented below. of its value to the wider public good January: Emergency Management in order to understand where it might February: Water Resources stand in the pecking order of resources. March: Solid Waste Management What this really means is that public April: Facilities and Grounds; Annual Buyer’s agencies should generally assume that Guide they will be on their own to recover May: Sustainability; Top Ten Public Works their operations during a disaster. Simi- Leaders of the Year larly, developing organizational resiliency is primarily the agency’s own job. June: Engineering and Technology July: Transportation; Public Works Projects of Organizational resiliency models and the Year training are available from a variety of August: Fleet Services resources, some of which are mentioned September: Congress Show Issue; Utility and Public below. It is important to follow a sys- Right-of-Way tematic approach that identifies risks, October: Winter Maintenance mitigates those risks, develops alternative systems to be used in an emergency, November: Congress Highlights etc. But it is also important to gain the December: Leadership and Management buy-in of all corners of an agency. Plans become useless “shelfware” if people are Columns & Features: not trained and tested on those plans. President’s Message Organizational resiliency, like human Washington Insight resiliency, is a trait of the organization, Technical Committee News and so must be embedded within the fabric of the organization itself. It can- International Idea Exchange not be shunted off to a select few within The Road to Excellence an organization. Ask Ann Education Calendar Think of the agency as like a football team. A football team has a goal, to win APWA WorkZone games, and plays against teams that are Products in the News trying to prevent it from meeting that Professional Directory goal. Thus, most of the team’s time is World of Public Works Calendar spent practicing what it will do during

January 2011 APWA Reporter 23 Taking our knowledge to the world

David Dancy Director of Marketing American Public Works Association Kansas City, Missouri

s I stood atop the mountains overlooking the bay area of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, I thought to myself this is one of the most scenic views I have ever seen in my life. The ocean to the left, mountains all around, and a great view of the nation’s capitol and all of its sub- urbs right in front of us. Looking from afar it was breathtakingly beautiful. You couldn’t help but imagine what this beautiful piece of God’s green earth once was and could be. But, having spent the last nine days down below working with a small mission team, I knew I was looking at a country through rose-colored glasses—what was beautiful from a distance was the exact opposite up close.

As we drove back down the mountains, Almost everywhere you look in Port-au-Prince concrete buildings have collapsed. within minutes we immediately began to again experience the devastation left would ever get back to normal within even nine months post-quake—and behind by the 7.0 magnitude earth- 50 years. The sad part of my thinking there doesn’t seem to be a master plan. quake that occurred more than nine was that normal in Haiti is not what This was all hard to fathom, but what months earlier. Piles of rubble, walls we in the U.S. or Canada know as nor- we also learned was that in spite of from cement buildings resting at acute mal; normal in Haiti is third-world poor conditions the people of Haiti are angles, electrical wires tangled like spa- normal—very poor, very few resources amazing! They have faced unreal trag- ghetti dangling to the street below, and and very poor infrastructure. potholes the size of sinkholes are all edies and difficult circumstances and ubiquitous in Haiti. Over the 10 days we were in Haiti we yet have survived and live with hope learned that there really isn’t an or- and optimism. They have a wonder- Two years earlier I had similar experi- ganized government, and what gov- ful essence and spirit, are surprisingly ences driving through the most devas- ernment there is has many internal resilient, and are very joyous for what tated parts of New Orleans and seeing problems. We also learned that there they have. They have personal pride. the remnants of Hurricane Katrina, are many disputes over ownership They wear clean clothes. They bathe but somehow this was much differ- of land, heavy machinery is nonexis- often. The Haitian workers have a very ent. As bad as New Orleans was (and tent, money and supplies are coming strong work ethic. Children without still is), this seemed much worse—al- in but not necessarily getting into the parents and very little food and water most hopeless beyond imagination. right hands, there is so much rubble laugh and sing and play with conta- I remember thinking in New Orleans but not many places to put the rubble, gious enthusiasm and energy. that many parts of the surrounding and most people would rather sleep in When you think about the enormity of areas probably wouldn’t be rebuilt or a tent than have a concrete roof over more than 250,000 lives being lost in back to normal for another 10 years. their head again. All of this leads to such a small area, the number of struc- In Haiti, I just couldn’t imagine how it very little progress in rebuilding Haiti tures that are no longer habitable, and

24 APWA Reporter January 2011 the 29,000 infrastructure and public service professionals of APWA and wondered what I can do to bring the knowledge of our membership to a place like Haiti.

In his opening address to the APWA membership at Congress in Boston this past August, APWA President George Crombie identified five key initiatives for our organization in the coming year aimed at making APWA a leader in facing the challenges of the twenty- first century. One of the initiatives he identified was international relationships:

To become a world-class leader in the public works profession, APWA must extend its vision worldwide, and link our members to the latest innovations in technology, assisting third-world countries, and working together with our international Many Haitians live in makeshift tents like these all across Haiti. friends to create a sustainable planet. all the people who have been impacted So what I learned in Haiti was that – George Crombie, APWA President in some way by the earthquake—and the Haitian people need strong leader- more recently, by a hurricane and a ship, they need education, they need Since Congress, the APWA Internation- cholera epidemic—it’s almost unfath- infrastructure and they need support. al Affairs Committee has been work- omable how anyone can laugh or smile I thought many times while travers- ing on initiatives aimed at connect- at all. ing the streets of Port-au-Prince and ing APWA to the global public works Petionville about the access I have to community. Phase 1 of the interna- And yet they do.

People ask me all the time about my experience in Haiti. Was it amazing? Was it incredible? Was it depressing? Was it sad? Was it awful? My response is always yes, it was all of these. The people were incredible and amazing and the state of the country is depressing, awful and sad. Feeling all of these emotions at one time is often confus- ing and maddening. How could anyone live in these conditions and ever crack a smile?

But you can’t conclude that because the people have a wonderful essence and spirit they don’t need help. It’s just the opposite—they don’t have basic needs such as food, safe water and shelter, more than a half million children are displaced from their homes, and disease and life-threatening illnesses are still very rampant. And despite the core essence of the people, crime is also Many children lost parents or family members and have been displaced from their homes. widespread throughout the country.

January 2011 APWA Reporter 25 tional initiative is to begin building a But it is my hope that the international tance to the third-world countries that database of project models as well as initiative doesn’t stop at the first point so desperately need help. Whether it challenges that communities are fac- of President Crombie’s statement and be developing our own initiatives or ing. This database will ultimately be a skip over the “assisting third-world partnering with other organizations, I tool to match our members’ challeng- countries” part. Our membership has believe APWA can have an impact on es with global solutions, linking our always prided itself in being the care- those areas that need it most. membership with the latest technolo- takers of our communities. I hope that David Dancy directs the marketing of all gies across the world. This certainly in the future we as an association can APWA activities including membership, will be a giant step in APWA becoming create opportunities for our members conferences, publications, workshops and the global leader that President Crom- to become global caretakers by pro- outreach. He can be reached at (816) 595- bie envisioned in his Boston address. viding leadership, expertise, and assis- 5250 or [email protected]. Global Solutions in Public Works: APWA’s new international initiative Mary Monahan-Burgess Program Director, Water AECOM Concord, Massachusetts Chair, APWA International Affairs Committee

resident George Crombie and the International an IAC Chapter Liaison, many chapters have committed Affairs Committee (IAC) are continuing efforts to $1,000 to match the $1,000 from APWA National to sup- develop an international program accessible to the port participation in this emerging new program. public works community. The new APWA program President Crombie, members of the IAC, and APWA staff is named “Global Solutions in Public Works” and the pro- will continue to reach out to members regarding the bene- gram’s goals are to provide: fits of this new and exciting program. We welcome project • Access global solutions for members’ regional and lo- suggestions, questions, and comments from all. cal public works challenges; Identifying other global opportunities • Learn about global projects and programs that are cut- In November meetings in Washington, D.C., APWA Exec- ting edge or first of their kind; and particularly with utive Director Peter B. King and I met and spoke with rep- environmentally responsible and sustainable public resentatives from the American Society of Civil Engineers works operations. (ASCE) and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) to learn more about how APWA can • Establish mentoring relationships where APWA mem- collaborate with other organizations with global projects. bers and resources can support emerging markets and These discussions identified several opportunities that disadvantaged countries. warrant follow-up, including mentoring and volunteer Chapters will play a critical role in the execution of this opportunities in China and Afghanistan, as well as pos- program. Chapters have been asked to identify projects, sible distribution of APWA education materials outside of issues and best practices that reflect the unique challenges North America. and opportunities of their members. Chapter liaisons or The IAC is also developing an initial list of internation- a chapter-level international affairs committee will help al projects and programs that will serve as a resource to coordinate communications with the IAC. APWA members. The IAC is creating a roster of humani- During his visits with APWA chapters, President Crombie tarian organizations and Non-Governmental Organiza- has spoken about this developing program and is receiv- tions (NGO) that members can consider for volunteer or ing enthusiastic support. As of December 1, chapters re- mentoring opportunities. sponding to the call for involvement include: Chicago For more information on APWA’s international efforts, Metro, Florida, Georgia, Kansas City Metro, Louisiana, please contact Gail Clark at [email protected] or Kaye Sul- Maine, Missouri, New England, New York Metro, Québec livan at [email protected]. and Western Pennsylvania. In addition to appointing a Chapter International Affairs Committee or appointing

26 APWA Reporter January 2011 or more information about these programs or to register online, visit www.apwa.net/Education. Program information will be updated as it becomes available. Questions? Call the Professional Development Department at 1-800-848-APWA.

2011

January 4 Weather Reports: Where to Get Them and How to Use Them – Rebroadcast

EDUCATION AT YOUR DESKTOP January 11 Electric Vehicles and Their Networks – Rebroadcast

EDUCATION AT YOUR DESKTOP January 13 Utility Coordination for Municipal Capital Improvement Projects – Rebroadcast

EDUCATION AT YOUR DESKTOP January 18 Construction Inspection: a Live and Self-Paced Review Webinar Series – Live WBT

January 18 Public Fleet Professional Study Guide Part 1 – Rebroadcast WBT

January 19 Stormwater Manager Certification Study Guide Part 1 – Rebroadcast WBT

January PSMJ’s Public Works Project Management Bootcamp – Orlando, FL 20-21

January 25 Public Fleet Professional Study Guide Part 2 – Rebroadcast WBT

January 26 Stormwater Manager Certification Study Guide Part 2 – Rebroadcast WBT

January 27 Pavement Preservation – Live

EDUCATION AT YOUR DESKTOP February 1 Public Fleet Professional Study Guide Part 3 – Rebroadcast WBT

February 2 Stormwater Manager Certification Study Guide Part 3 – Rebroadcast WBT

February PSMJ’s Public Works Project Management Bootcamp – Seattle, WA 3-4

February 10 Using Life Cycle Cost Analysis in a Down Economy – Live

EDUCATION AT YOUR DESKTOP February PSMJ’s Public Works Project Management Bootcamp – Denver, CO 10-11

February 15 Gray Water Reuse and Rainwater Harvesting – Rebroadcast

EDUCATION AT YOUR DESKTOP February 24 Team Dynamics—Stepping up to the “New Normal” – Live

EDUCATION AT YOUR DESKTOP March 1 ADA: Project Civic Access—It may be headed your way... – Rebroadcast

EDUCATION AT YOUR DESKTOP March 10 How to Help or Get Help in a Disaster: Public Works EMAC Mission Ready Package – Live

EDUCATION AT YOUR DESKTOP March PSMJ’s Public Works Project Management Bootcamp – Boston, MA 10-11

March 15 Pavement Preservation – Rebroadcast

EDUCATION AT YOUR DESKTOP March PSMJ’s Public Works Project Management Bootcamp – Costa Mesa, CA 24-25

March 29 Organics Recycling: Going Beyond Yard Waste – Rebroadcast

EDUCATION AT YOUR DESKTOP

= Click, Listen, & Learn program = Web-Based Training

EDUCATION AT YOUR DESKTOP

January 2011 APWA Reporter 27 Don't Miss! Leadership in Changing Times

More than 1,500 industry professionals, from California to Maryland and Canada to Florida, are currently taking part in the Leadership in Changing Times fall session. Don’t let this All New 2011 Winter Session second chance to participate pass your agency by! Starts January 28! What participants from the current 2010 Fall Session are saying: Learn from the best in the most advanced comprehensive team “This is the first course in the 12 years that I’ve “The program is chock-full of personal, leadership training available in public works! been in a leadership role that has actually given leadership development ideas and techniques me the tools to be a better leader.” that can be applied by employees at all levels of Kip Fullarton – Supervisor/Traffic an organization… It has provided personal and City Of Fredericton, N.B. leadership development for all employees—over Humanitarian, Business Leader, and Award-Winning & above the standard technical/competency Philanthropist are some of the words used when referring training which is more common… The emphasis to Ian Hill. Whether he’s running a multi-million-dollar “The dollar value of the training is great, even on communications, big picture thinking, and if I was participating with just my management systems approach has exposed employees to business or spearheading life-changing community projects, team of seven people alone, but to then include ideas that are often not discussed…” Ian Hill has become known as a catalyst for positive all 155 people is astonishing… The training Scott Kearby – Deputy Director DPW change for communities and neighborhoods throughout has provided us with a common framework Harford County, MD North America and as a champion of the public sector for talking about leadership and leveling professionals responsible for making our communities the field between [staff] and management… livable and sustainable. it provides an opportunity for more open, “It’s beneficial having 3 tracks to tailor the honest communication across all levels of the information/discussion at the appropriate level.” organization.” Tom Gut – Public Works Director Teresa Scott, P.E. – Director of Public Works City of SeaTac, WA City of Gainesville, FL

“The program points out what leadership tools “The program has assisted me in changing the work in today’s environment… Beyond the way I do business, consciously thinking about different techniques that have been learned the techniques that have been discussed in the by each individual, it has been great to have a You can’t find a better value in the training industry. sessions… It provides for “thinking differently” common learning tool…” on any given situation or interaction.” Dylan Gamble – Manager of Roads and Streets Train your entire staff for less than $800! Tim Mack – Public Works Director City of Fredericton, N.B. Town of Frisco, CO

Register Today! www.leadershipinchangingtimes.apwa.net Texas Public Works Response Team: On the front lines of disaster response

Guy Benson Advertising Project Coordinator Infrastructure Training and Safety Institute Texas Engineering Extension Service College Station, Texas • Proven under fire in extremely austere conditions. • Reclaimed territory conquered by an implacable foe. • Assisted victims of devastating car- nage.

Sounds like an excerpt from the résumé of a battle-hardened Marine. What it is, however, is the hallmark of the Texas Public Works Response Team (PWRT).

The PWRT is a state asset that supports local jurisdictions in their response to a catastrophic incident by providing public works technical assistance to facilitate quick recovery of a community’s critical infrastructure. The operationally-ready response teams are recruited from local jurisdictions and coordinate with other state agencies Near the Galveston seawall, a front-end loader works to clear a mountain of debris left by within Texas. The teams are composed Hurricane Ike. of public works disciplines which func- However, in order to understand the this way. “While our state had people tion under the Texas Statewide Mutual PWRT’s impact and value, it is neces- and teams to address…disaster man- Aid System and are deployed by the sary to first understand what Texas agement, the initial damage assessment State Operations Center (SOC) under statewide public works emergency re- and restoration of basic infrastructure the direction of the Chief of the Texas sponse was like before the PWRT. for reentry operations presented a chal- Division of Emergency Management lenge.” (TDEM). “It wasn’t organized beyond the local level and with very limited resources,” Chief Colley knew where to turn for Basic Training explained Pilar Rodriguez, P.E., McAl- help. “In late 2007, I contacted TEEX The PWRT was forged utilizing public len Assistant City Manager/Deputy [Texas Engineering Extension Service] works resources from local govern- Emergency Management Coordinator with the concept of developing a Pub- ment and the private sector through- and Hidalgo County PWRT Leader. lic Works Response Team that would out the State of Texas in the aftermath “There was really no formal way to provide public works resource support of 2005’s devastating Gulf Coast Hurri- request any [public works] assistance to jurisdictions overwhelmed by a cata- canes Katrina and Rita. This state-con- beyond the local jurisdiction or mu- strophic event,” he commented. trolled asset provides an “all-hazards” nicipality unless you had established Earning Their Stripes response, a concept applicable in any some relationship with another agency state. Whether it’s hurricanes, floods, or jurisdiction.” When the new PWRT activated for the earthquakes, forest fires, ice storms, 2008 hurricane season, its inaugural The late Chief Jack Colley1, then Chief or tornadoes, the PWRT model works year was literally a trial by storm. The of the Texas Division of Emergency well. TDEM deployed the PWRT for four Management (TDEM), summarized it storms: Dolly, Edouard, Gustav, and

30 APWA Reporter January 2011 the devastating “graduation exercise,” Ike. After the rollercoaster ride of its “raw recruit” season, the PWRT experienced a well-earned break in 2009. Then it went back into battle in 2010, responding to flooding in the Rio Grande Valley after Hurricane Alex. Along the way, PWRT members have learned many valuable lessons.

Tony Alotto, Texas PWRT Statewide Director, said, “Our first big tweak was splitting out a unique role for assessment and realizing the importance of that role.” Alotto said they realized they needed to get an assessment team member or two into the affected area The City of Laredo, Tex., goes underwater as the Rio Grande River floods from torrential rains even earlier than they had before— after Hurricane Alex. preferably before the storm, but at a Another lesson learned revolved ment when you’re overwhelmed and worst case immediately after the event. around PWRT’s leadership role in an af- you’ve been taxed beyond your local “Within hours rather than days,” he fected area. Ivan Langford is the Little capabilities.” emphasized. “In fact, it’s being built Elm City Manager and a PWRT Leader into the overall state plan. It’s called Rodriguez’s coworker, Wendy Smith, whose team responded after Hurricane a Forward Coordinating Element or McAllen Assistant City Manager/As- Ike to Galveston, Beaumont, and Or- FCE.” sistant Emergency Manager, addressed ange County. Langford said that the how that shapes your approach when “The second big tweak was documen- leadership in every community they providing support. “On the flip side, tation,” he continued. “We learned encountered had been battling the when we go somewhere else—we strive that we couldn’t just send in an as- hurricane for a minimum of 72 hours for self-sufficiency, because we know sessor to talk with the locals and then straight and were completely exhaust- they’re taxed enough just dealing with move on. We formalized the assessed by the time the PWRT arrived. the disaster.” ment documentation…and left an as- “You get a lot of ‘deer in the headlights’ sessor in place so they can link up with Ivan Langford also homed in on an- looks and blank stares,” he explained the [public works resource] team that other valuable lesson learned—the sympathetically. “[The leaders] needed comes in later.” public works bond. He underscored the rest. They needed to take care of them- importance of the public works leader- Ken Olson, PWRT Strike Team Leader, selves.” ship in the affected community being dovetailed into Alotto’s comments. Langford continued, “The biggest able to identify with public works lead- Olson is the coordinator of all the as- thing we brought to the table was be- ership from elsewhere in the state ar- sessment and resource teams deployed ing able to get things in motion while riving to help them as part of PWRT. into an affected area. He stressed the the leadership of the community was “When you say, ‘I’m the public works importance of getting the FCE in be- a bit dazed. They could step back and director from Arlington’…you immedi- fore the event when possible. “It pro- let us step in and assess the damage ately have that bond.” vides you with an opportunity to gain and get things in motion. If you get situational awareness: familiarity of A final critically important lesson in there fast and get things moving the area, familiarity of the infrastruc- learned was the connectivity between for them, then after they’ve had some ture. Then you can sort out and priori- the Strike Teams on the ground and rest they’ll pick up the ball and move tize the resource needs in conjunction the Liaison Officer (Tony Alotto) in the with it.” with the local public works director or SOC. whoever you are working with based Having been both a receiver and pro- “If you don’t get the right resource to on their experiences of where the trou- vider of PWRT support, Pilar Rodriguez the right place at the right time, then ble spots will be. After the event, there echoed Langford’s comments. “It was we’ll have resources waiting or re- is NO time because local resources have an absolute relief to be able to know sources that get bogged down in traffic evacuated.” that resources were on the way at a mo-

January 2011 APWA Reporter 31 reputation. Howe is Director of the Tex- as Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network (TXWARN), a partnership of all the major water/wastewater associations in Texas. One of 47 WARNs nationwide, TXWARN provides mutual aid response to all-hazard events.

Howe explained, “We used the Public Works Response Team model with a lot of utilities who say, ‘Well, I can’t send a whole bunch of people.’ What we tell them is, ‘But you can send one or two.’ Then your WARN program can start as- sembling a team from those groups of one or two people.”

Howe added, “It kind of gets over that Snapped like a twig, this downed power pole bears witness to Hurricane Ike’s devastating hurdle of people saying, ‘Well, I have force. nothing to offer.’ So, the model Tony or they’ll wind up somewhere with- Pilar Rodriguez put it into perspective. [Alotto] has used we have been trying out the gas they need,” said Homer “Texas Task Force 1 [a premier Urban to replicate in other states to use in Emery. Emery is a San Antonio Water Search and Rescue team] and PWRT their WARN programs.” Systems (SAWS) environmental scien- have actually partnered together and tist involved in emergency response tackled some issues during the Rio Another critical rite of passage PWRT planning. He said it was the PWRT that Grande flooding, for example, after passed is the bottom line for any mu- made it possible for SAWS to provide Hurricane Alex. In the response arena, nicipality or county—money. From a people and equipment at the right there’s probably no greater satisfaction PWRT paradigm, that comprises two place and time for Dolly, Ike, and the than having members from Texas Task key elements: Rio Grande flooding. Force 1 come up to you and say, ‘Hey, • Business impact of a disaster on af- let’s coordinate, let’s work together and Tony Alotto expanded on that com- fected municipalities and counties. let’s make this happen.’” ment, explaining that once the teams • Reimbursement of expenses to on the ground have assessed what is Ken Olson said it this way. “Because supporting municipalities and needed, requests start flowing up the of our experiences and what we have counties. chain from the local Incident Com- been able to accomplish, we have gen- mander (IC) through the Emergency erated a lot of integrity. We are now Wendy Smith explained the business Operations Center (EOC), Multi-Agen- seeing that law enforcement, for exam- impact. “There’s the obvious impact cy Coordination Center (MACC), and ple, won’t even talk about having FCEs where your tax base may be jeopardized. the District Disaster Committee (DDC), without including public works.” I think there is no finer example of that to the SOC. “And each level up has than Galveston [after Ike] from a residen- Olson noted that the PWRT gets some more resources, a bigger tool kit,” Alot- tial and commercial property tax stand- of the same response with local au- to concluded. point, from an appraised value perspec- thorities because they realized that the tive, from a sales tax perspective.” The Veterans PWRT was there sincerely trying to After three years and many activations, help them. He punctuated that com- “When your Walmart® is flooded out, the PWRT is no longer a group of raw ment by adding from first-hand expe- what do you do?” Smith continued. recruits with local leadership and first riences that there is “…nothing more “You cease to collect the [sales tax] responders alike asking, “Who are you valuable to an emergency management money you rely on to operate your city, guys and what are you doing here?” coordinator than dealing with some- and that money is supposed to be used Now PWRT members are the seasoned one you know has integrity.” to pay the people who bring your city veterans who have earned the respect back online. It’s a vicious cycle.” If imitation is the sincerest form of flat- of both those they help and those with tery, then Mike Howe lends additional PWRT mitigates that loss of revenue whom they work. external support to PWRT’s expanding by reducing the time it takes for in-

32 APWA Reporter January 2011 frastructure to become operational their people and their equipment un- ral, and they’re looking at some type of again. Pilar Rodriguez put it this way: less they can get reimbursed their ex- response, they’re going to need all the “I can’t tell you exactly how much,” penses. For us to be able to do it again, resources they can get.” he explained, “but I can tell you it [reimbursement] was a vital part of that So, like the U.S. Marine Corps, a state was hundreds of thousands of dollars to sell to our council to be part of these PWRT needs a few good men and wom- in revenue [per day] that my jurisdic- teams. We didn’t have any issues.” en with a public works background tion was losing when the city was shut Looking for a Few Good Men and experience who can deploy at a down. PWRT took our initial recovery and Women moment’s notice, walk into the midst estimates of weeks and turned them of chaos, and create a foothold for vic- into days. So, that’s the kind of impact The Texas PWRT comprises 180 mem- tory. Is your state up to the challenge? that PWRT has.” bers formed into 50 response teams from 55 jurisdictions. The assets be- To learn more about the PWRT, contact Activating the PWRT is very costly to hind all those numbers represent thou- Tony Alotto (phone: 800-723-3811, e- the jurisdictions that provide resourc- sands of people and resources ready to mail: [email protected]) or visit es. For the PWRT concept to be success- help when disaster strikes. www.teex.org/pwrt. ful, the reimbursement process has to Keith Wright had some strong final be nailed down. Guy Benson works for TEEX as an infor- words on the significance of the PWRT mation and advertising program coordina- Keith Wright, Lufkin Assistant City concept. “If a state is not looking at tor and is the editor of Lone Star Roads. Manager and leader of a PWRT team trying to utilize the resources of their He can be reached at (979) 845-6568 or that responded during Hurricane Dol- cities and counties, they’re making a [email protected]. ly, spoke decisively about the issue. big mistake. If they have any kind of “No city is going to participate or send event, whether it’s man-made or natu- 1Jack Colley passed away May 16, 2010.

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Donaldson Co Half Pg Horiz_APWA_Jan2010.indd 1 12/11/2009 11:40:14 AM January 2011 APWA Reporter 33 Illinois Public Works Mutual Aid Network: An active and successful first two years for IPWMAN

Larry Lux President Lux Advisors, Ltd Plainfield, Illinois Member, APWA/FEMA Partnership Task Force n January 22, 2009, the Illinois Public Works Mutual regional coordinator who works with the requesting agency Aid Network (IPWMAN) was incorporated as an Illi- and the Operations Committee to assign the appropriate nois not-for-profit corporation, marking the culmi- number and types of resources to resolve the incident. Major nation of a three-year effort to create and organize disasters will likely involve statewide assets to be deployed. a statewide public works mutual aid system. Representatives from multiple disciplines and governmental units, includ- The Operations Committee has organized resources into ing the APWA Illinois and Chicago Metro Chapters, partici- “response teams” that identify specific tasks (e.g., winter pated in the formation of this organization. What is unique ice storms, debris clearance, brush chipping), labor and about IPWMAN is the fact that it is organized, managed and equipment required to address the incident. The regional operated exclusively by public works professionals. Election coordinator discusses the specific needs with the requesting to the Board of Directors and committee chairmanship is re- agency, then initiates a call for a specific number of teams to stricted to practicing public works officials currently serving respond. This standardization allows teams to be made up a public agency in the State of Illinois. Many other statewide of responders from different agencies to make up the correct mutual aid organizations (fire, law enforcement, etc.) serve number of teams, thereby allowing responding agencies the as advisors and members of IPWMAN committees; however, opportunity to respond with whatever resources they have voting is restricted to members only, allowing IPWMAN to available at the time. Thus far, this approach has worked operate as a fully independent organization. An article ap- without flaw. peared in the January 2009 issue of the APWA Reporter de- When IPWMAN was incorporated, there were a scant 16 scribing the efforts and challenges that were faced in orga- agencies that were the Founding Members, mostly in the nizing IPWMAN. Champaign and Chicago metropolitan areas.

A number of states support statewide mutual aid programs; IPWMAN recently held its Second Annual Meeting in East however, they are typically either sector-specific programs Peoria, Illinois. The meeting was a two-day event attended (water/wastewater agencies, highway departments, coun- by nearly 150 public works professionals from across the ties, etc.) or operate under the authority and direction of state. The first two years have been active and successful for a state agency. IPWMAN has enjoyed the full support of IPWMAN. Some of the most significant accomplishments the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and have been: the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) since the concept was conceived. An agreement between IEMA and • Growth in membership to nearly 100 agencies. IPWMAN provides for the reimbursable deployment of IP- • Formulation and adoption of an Operations Plan which WMAN resources as an asset of the state or in response to establishes standards for the description and composi- an Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) tion of the various types of response teams as well as request when necessary. deployment procedures. IPWMAN is a three-tiered system: neighbor-to-neighbor, re- • Invited to participate as a voting member of the Illinois gional, and statewide. What is truly unique is that any mem- Terrorism Task Force. ber organization can request assistance from another for five days without charge. The neighbor-to-neighbor level oper- • Given a seat as an equal partner in the State Emergency ates similar to the customary ad hoc mutual aid systems that Operations Center (SEOC). are used for local incidents. The regional level provides help when the incident exceeds the local and neighbor ability to • Secured a grant for $650,000 for the development of respond to incidents such as major winter storms or weath- interoperable communications, resource management er-related situations that impact a wide area. IPWMAN has software and the stand-up of a statewide 24/7 call cen- established eight regions throughout the state to respond to ter. regional incidents. The regional boundaries are co-terminus • Solid recognition and support of other disciplines and with the existing IEMA regions. Each region is assigned a state agencies.

34 APWA Reporter January 2011 Three successful deployments: one as a state asset and two will contain safety and communications equipment, others as neighbor-to-neighbor assistance. The deployment PPE, portable lighting, miscellaneous hand tools and to Carterville, Illinois, provided $120,000 worth of debris chains saws, barricades, portable generators, GPS units, removal for the cost of their annual dues ($100). signs, etc. Challenges during first two years If you are interested in or considering the development of The organization has had to overcome a number of chal- a statewide public works mutual aid program, the following lenges, especially during these difficult financial times. For- suggestions from the members of IPWMAN may be useful tunately, a core group of highly motivated and dedicated guidance to follow: members, with the assistance of peer organizations and the 1. It is absolutely essential to identify a core number of in- Illinois Emergency Management Agency, were able to ad- dividuals and agencies that are dedicated and commit- dress the most complex issues facing the organization. ted to making the system a reality. This group should Some of the major challenges encountered have been: have a variety of skills to address the various organizational, legal, financial and operational issues of the • The development of a robust and useful website that al- organization. They should also be capable of providing lows members from the far corners of the state to com- “seed money” to start the organization. IPWMAN iden- municate with each other (still in progress). tified local, county and state public works agencies, park districts, township and unit road districts, county high- • Getting a cost-effective 24/7 call center in place and op- way departments, publicly-owned water and wastewa- erational (anticipated by end of 2010). ter agencies and any other public agency that provides • Securing membership penetration into the smaller com- basic public works services. munities in the rural areas throughout the state (ongo- 2. Incorporate your organization as a not-for-profit orga- ing). nization. • Significantworkload placed on a small number of mem- 3. Establish one, single standardized agreement for all bers…mostly due to lack of involved members when members to execute. IPWMAN adopted, almost verba- membership was less than 50 agencies (accomplished). tim, the longstanding agreements already in place for • Development and implementation of a comprehensive law enforcement and fire mutual aid systems. training and exercise program (underway). 4. Reach out to existing mutual aid groups in your state to Future Goals provide advice and guidance throughout the formative With the membership reaching 100, a number of new goals period of the organization. This avoids reinventing the and initiatives have been established for the next two years. wheel and builds buy-in and support from peers.

• Provide a coordinated, effective response to emergen- 5. Work with and get to know key members of your state cies and disasters within the state of Illinois and when- emergency management agency. Their support and in- ever called upon as an EMAC asset. put are essential to achieve success, particularly in funding grants and securing state support. • Secure IRS 501(C)3 tax status as a charitable organization. 6. Develop and organize a governance and committee structure that best meets your local and state laws and • Continue membership growth with emphasis on the policies. smaller and more rural agencies. 7. Be prepared for a lot of work to get the organization up • Complete remaining organizational challenges. and established.

• Employ one full-time experienced person to manage For further information or assistance, please contact the au- the day-to-day affairs of the network and work with the thor at (815) 886-6909 or at [email protected]. You committees to advance and promote the various pro- may also find copies of many IPWMAN documents at www. grams of the organization. ipwman.org.

• The organization plans to approach APWA to consider Larry Lux is a former member of APWA’s Board of Directors, the adoption of a nationwide NIMS-compliant model serving as Director-at-Large, Public Works Management/Leader- for future expansion in other chapters. ship. He is a current member of the Leadership and Elections Task Force, the NEMA Homeland Security Consortium, and the Public • A funding request of $1 million has been submitted for Works Historical Society’s Board of Trustees. He is a former mem- 2011 to acquire safety equipment and mobile response ber of the Emergency Management Committee, Awards Review trailers for rapid deployments to incidents. The vehicles Committee and International Affairs Committee.

January 2011 APWA Reporter 35 Exercising your Public Works Emergency Operations Plan: Planning and conducting a tabletop exercise Mark H. McCain, MEP Principal Consultant Public Works Emergency Management Services, LLC St. Helena Island, South Carolina Member, FEMA Education Task Force n this post-September 11, 2001 era, public works professionals involved in emergency management have found themselves working on a greater detail-oriented planning development process. This process requires a greater validation of plans unlike many organizations have ever seen before. The process tests the important aspects of an agency’s plan and requires the real work to begin in making the development work pay off in an integrated exercise approach of involvement.

The exercise process within the field of emergency management is nationally accepted in compliance with the Department of Homeland Secu- rity, Federal Emergency Management Agency’s guidelines established in the The author leads the senior command leadership of the nation of Jordan in a tabletop exercise Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation in advance of a national-level full-scale exercise. Process (HSSEP) (https://hseep.dhs. gov/pages/1001_HSEEP7.aspx). These When we look at the involvement of Drill: Provides a foundation of a por- guidelines establish a defined structure public works in the exercises within tion of a larger-scaled exercise for the for development of the various types of our agencies and across agency lines purpose of practicing a specific skill set exercising the plans of the agency and to include other departments, the as part of a larger task. As an example, community. Key aspects of the struc- drills, tabletops, functional and full- there might be a full-scale exercise at ture of the HSEEP program include: scale exercises should be thoroughly a later date for the purpose of the sta- understood. In an effort to assist in bilization of the sanitary sewer system 1. Meeting established requirements developing a solid understanding of after the possible exposure to a hazard- and guidelines for development the principles of tabletop exercises ous materials incident. A drill could be of and maintenance of an exercise implemented to check the proficiency and their integration into the agency, and evaluation program of a sanitary sewer maintenance crew one should consider the following on- to properly gain access to a manhole 2. Methods for evaluating exercises line courses offered by FEMA at their utilizing equipment and protocols in and improving the program Independent Study Courses website: keeping with procedures in line with a Introduction to Exercises, http://train- 3. Development of an exercise pro- fire department’s incident stabilization gram with a standardized design, ing.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS120A.asp; procedure. development and evaluation Exercise Evaluation and Improvement method usable with all types of ex- Planning, http://training.fema.gov/ Tabletop Exercise (TX): A low-stress ercises, and EMIWeb/IS/IS130.asp; and Exercise exercise where participants follow a Design, http://training.fema.gov/EMI- facilitated written exercise script that 4. Providing sample exercise docu- Web/IS/is139.asp. spells out the events as they occur. ments and forms to assist in exer- The participants, whether an individ- cise implementation

36 APWA Reporter January 2011 ual or agency, respond to the scenario as it unfolds. Tabletop exercises are generally focused on the concept of reviewing policy and/or guidelines established in the written emergency management planning process. The participants should be able to identify points of improvement to the existing plans/annexes that will at a later date possibly be implemented in operational procedures.

Functional Exercise (FTX): These are exercises conducted in a structured and controlled environment that may be more stressful than a tabletop exercise. In a Functional Exercise, information is supplied to the participants, through injects, as the exercise is conducted. This requires the participants to react to the information provided through the development of a scenario which is tied to defined exercise The senior leadership of CDC in the national EOC taking part of a tabletop exercise in advance objectives. of a no-notice exercise which followed the next day.

Full-Scale Exercise (FSX): The larg- As you walk through the consider- provide a true test of an emergency est and most expensive type of exercise ations and merits of the involvement management system’s capability is conducted in the field in near-real in a tabletop exercise process, it is im- • Provides only a superficial exercise time through following a prescribed portant to clearly understand that the of plans, procedures and staff ca- scenario. In a full-scale exercise, per- success of a tabletop exercise is deter- pabilities, and sonnel, vehicles and other resources mined by the feedback from the par- are mobilized as if it is a real event, ticipants and the impact this feedback • Does not provide a practical way often with real-world dramatization has on the evaluation and revision to demonstrate system overloads to help bring the factors of stress and of policies, plans and procedures. To high drama involvement. When looking at points to achieve in achieve this goal, the leadership of the the development and implementation All four types of exercises start out the agency needs to evaluate the advantag- of a tabletop exercise, the planning same way, and the defining of quan- es and disadvantages of the processes team should take into consideration titative steps for implementation are to include: three overarching factors: important in the completion of an objective-driven exercise. First, in consid- Advantages: 1. Determine if the public works par- ering a tabletop exercise, you need to • Requires only a modest commit- ticipants can realistically address establish an exercise design team and ment in terms of time, cost and the emergency management plan’s team leader. The members of the de- resources objectives for implementation and sign team should be stakeholders from a beneficial discussion may take • Is an effective method for review- the different departments and agen- place oriented around the exercise cies that will participate in the table- ing plans, procedures and policies, objectives top that will be testing their plans/an- and nexes. The members of the design team 2. Utilize the tabletop process for the from participating agencies are known • Is a good way to acquaint key per- purpose of becoming more aware as trusted agents because of their direct sonnel with emergency respon- of the personnel issues which are involvement in the tabletop exercise’s sibilities, procedures and one an- related to the overall functions of development. Just as the name implies, other testing the department’s/agency’s they need to be trusted not to go back Disadvantages: emergency management plan or to their agencies and disclose the con- annex, and tents of the exercise. • Lacks realism and thus does not

January 2011 APWA Reporter 37 3. Strive to acquaint the participants forget to give the exercise an appropri- public works agencies to have an open through the discussion process ate name, as this can be a good team- forum to discuss actions for response of their plan’s contents as you go building task and provide a single focal to a specific scenario. through the process of identifica- point for conversation. Each tabletop exercise should be tion of additional points of im- Assistant Public Works Director David scheduled for a minimum of three, provement to the existing agency Himes, of Nashville, Tenn., has seen maximum of four hours in duration. plan the merits of a well-structured tabletop At the kickoff of the exercise, the in- Secondly, you need to set a time line exercise in his national involvement cident scenario should be presented to for the planning of the exercise as well in planning and response to public the participants, keeping in mind that as the establishment of a budget as ap- works incidents to report that, “Table- not all public works participants have propriate. The solid development of a top exercises are a critical element of been involved in such a discussion and tabletop exercise should be a part of ensuring organizational preparedness. they may be a nervous audience. One a larger-scaled planning process of a They provide public works employ- should utilize a solid and experienced multi-year exercise development pro- ees the opportunity to not only hone facilitator of the exercise to make sure gram. Moving forward with the imple- their skills and familiarization of the participants are comfortable and every mentation of such an exercise should plan but also the opportunity to inter- effort is made to prevent any embar- be planned out with an estimated four- act with other response entities and to rassment. In the selection process for a to six-month process prior to the exer- develop relationships critical to success facilitator of the exercise, the planning cise execution date. in a real incident.” Such professional team should take into consideration: judgments and expressions of support 1. The facilitator should be highly Finally, you should determine what only help to bring to the forefront that qualified in the art of providing sections of the plan are to be exercised a well-developed tabletop exercise may the needed impartial leadership to and what the overarching objectives be used as a “structured walkthrough” manage and direct the participants of the exercise will be. One should not process to permit staff and involved

APWA’s Awards Program recognizes individuals, groups and chapters for their outstanding contributions to the profession of public works. Some of the awards presented include Professional Manager of the Year Awards, Young Leader, Public Works Project of the Year, and Top Ten Public Works 1 Leader of the Year, to name just a few. 20 1 Each award is listed on the APWA website. Criteria and nomination forms for the 2011 Awards Program awArdS are now available online. Nominations are due March 1, 2011! PRogRAm Visit www.apwa.net/awards11. Nominate Your Award Winners Today!

38 APWA Reporter January 2011 to remain on a focused time line • Develop an exercise critique meth- • Section 4: Analysis of Capabilities and open discussion to permit all odology permitting the partici- • Section 5: Exercise Conclusions participants to participate in the pants to share their observations and Summary discussions and in which the facilitator re- 2. Establish an experience level in the mains natural through the genera- The public works department that ac- selection of a facilitator in demon- tion of discussion from the bottom cepts the organizational challenge of strating qualifications and skill sets up. investing in this self-evaluation pro- based upon the candidate’s past cess of addressing the needs of prepar- • Be clear in defining the concept experience in leading such table- ing for its emergency management that “this is not a test, and is a no top discussions, and responsibilities is an organization that fault exercise,” but an open discus- demonstrates caring for the employ- 3. Most importantly, select the fa- sion to help improve the public ees, customers and the protection of cilitator who possesses the skill works emergency management the critical infrastructure through the of listening to the participants, is plan. willing to let the expressions of the integration of services. The acceptance group be known, and provides a As part of bringing closure to the table- of these concepts of exercise of a plan format for the written documenta- top exercise, a Corrective Action Plan through a non-stressful principle is one tion of the discussions. (CAP) needs to have been defined to that often requires the agency’s point include time lines, assignments and of implementation and coordina- To help accomplish a successful devel- accountability for the completion and tion from specialized training involv- opment of the scenario for the table- adjustments being made to the depart- ing local, state and federal partners to top exercise, keep in mind that several checklist factors will make a major im- ment emergency management plan or achieve the solid working knowledge pact upon the program: annex. of implementing a program which re- flects the highest of standards to assure After completing a successful tabletop • Develop a realistic scenario that success. Seek guidance from the local exercise, the concept of developing an the public works audience can re- emergency management director to accurate documentation trail of the late to for the implementation of accomplish such an exercise program, discussions needs to be completed to the tabletop exercise. and utilize the expertise of the APWA reflect the discussions which took place • Have solid time lines to map out Emergency Management Committee throughout the various steps of the the guide for the exercise and stick to seek out other alternatives for a pro- exercise’s implementation. The con- to such time lines for the imple- gram’s implementation. cept of an After Action Report (AAR) mentation. A well-defined agenda, including introductions, establish- structure as recommended by the De- Mark H. McCain is the retired Director ing ground rules, introducing the partment of Homeland Security (DHS) of Public Works for the City of Colum- scenario, discussions, breaks, ad- defines a solid structure as outlined bia, South Carolina. At the conclusion equate time to have closure discus- in HSEEP for usage and implementa- of a thirty-year involvement in state and sions, and a thank you for partici- tion. This effective structure helps to local government, McCain retired and pating, is important. organize the data collected during the founded Public Works Emergency Man- tabletop exercise in a clean and orderly agement Services, LLC, an integrated • Provide a pre-exercise briefing (per- manner that is accessible to readers of consulting consortium that provides mit up to 30 minutes to accom- all communications expertise levels. training, exercises and subject matter plish) to achieve: (1) the facilitator Based upon the concept to standardize consultation for planning and response will provide the format, structure and objectives; (2) develop meth- such reports, sample AAR’s are avail- to incidents for federal and state agen- ods to help defuse any anxiety; and able in the sample exercise documents cies on domestic and international lev- (3) the briefing should allow the on the HSEEP website. A well-devel- els. As one of the only public works Mas- facilitator to establish the neces- oped AAR will maintain a standardized ter Exercise Practitioner’s (MEP) program sary relationship and trust with the format to include: instructors at the Federal Emergency participants prior to entering the Management Agency’s (FEMA), Nation- • Executive Summary exercise. al Emergency Training Center, Emmits- burg, Maryland, he assists agencies in • Care for the participants in provid- • Section 1: Exercise Overview the development and implementation of ing a solid environment in which • Section 2: Exercise Goals & Objec- they can work by providing need- the various levels of exercises. He can be tives ed materials to accomplish fruitful reached at (843) 812-4044 or svescape@ discussions and breaks as neces- • Section 3: Exercise Events Synopsis aol.com. sary.

January 2011 APWA Reporter 39 New Madrid Fault National Exercise

Teresa Scott, P.E. Director of Public Works City of Gainesville, Florida Member, APWA Congress Program Review Committee

he New Madrid Seismic Zone is an area that poten- were experienced. A 5.2 quake occurred on April 18, 2008, tially impacts 750 counties in eight states: Illinois, in the Wabash Valley seismic zone in southwestern Illinois. Indiana, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, It is widely held that there is a greater than 90% chance that Arkansas and Mississippi. There have been several an earthquake in a magnitude in excess of 6.0 will occur recorded earthquakes along the New Madrid fault zone: be- within the next 50 years. Because of the dramatic popula- tween December 1811 and February 1812 there were four tion and density growth in this region since the previous quakes ranging from 7.2 – 8 magnitude with moderate to earthquakes, the region can expect significantly greater heavy damage in the Memphis, Tenn., area with reports of impacts. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has impacts as far as Boston, Mass. According to FEMA these been preparing for the National Exercise to be conducted in were the largest earthquakes in history in the continental 2011 involving the New Madrid Seismic Zone. In a project United States. Aftershocks were reported into 1817. Again in funded by FEMA, the Mid-America Earthquake Center at the January 1843 and October 1895 earthquakes of 6.0 and 6.6 University of Illinois studied the potential impacts of vari-

40 APWA Reporter January 2011 ous earthquake scenarios. The results were published in a public works agencies located within the directly impacted Phase 1 report entitled “Impact of Earthquakes on the Cen- zone—those 750 counties. tral USA,” a copy of which can be downloaded at http://hdl. handle.net/2142/8971. The FEMA Fact Sheet states that the In an effort to assist local, state and federal agencies and New Madrid Seismic Zone would impact a much larger area the private sector to plan and prepare for the impacts of an than a similar earthquake in California because it is the larg- earthquake in this region, the National Level Exercise for est area in the world that is susceptible to soil liquefaction 2011 (NLE2011) will be an operations-based exercise with and the earth’s crust in this region transmits earthquake the scenario of a catastrophic earthquake in the New Madrid ground shaking farther than the West Coast according to Seismic Zone. The NLE2011 will exercise initial incident re- the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). sponse and recovery capabilities, to test and validate existing plans, policies and procedures of the New Madrid Cata- The report identifies the potential for in excess of 60,000 strophic Plan that is under development. The NLE2011 is casualties; 4,000 fatalities; 170,000 buildings and 900 bridg- scheduled to take place in May 2011. All public works agen- es severely damaged; 450,000 households without water or cies should be encouraged to engage in exercises—whether power; 263,000 people displaced; and total direct econom- it is a department tabletop or community-wide exercise dur- ic losses of $60 billion in Tennessee alone. In a Fact Sheet ing the upcoming year. Consideration should also be given published by FEMA, there is an estimate of $70 billion in to exercise the Continuity of Operations and Continuity of building losses. The report states that “all numbers in this Government Plans. report should be viewed as indicative of the possible impact provided for the purposes of emergency response planning To find out more information about preparing for earth- rather than as definitive figures of expected impact.” So for quakes go to http://www.fema.gov/hazard/earthquake/in- planning purposes I think that it is appropriate to conclude dex.shtm. that there will be enormous involvement of public works agencies across the nation to respond and help recover from Teresa Scott can be reached at (352) 393-8801 or scottta@ such a catastrophic event, but particularly important to the cityofgainesville.org.

January 2011 APWA Reporter 41 DPW’s as first responders: that’s nice, but what does it mean?

Eric Davis, AIA, Group Leader of Architecture, CDM, Chicago, Illinois; David K. Brauner, Director of FEMA Public Assistance, CDM, Covington, Louisiana

s reported by Laura Berkey in velopment of official procedures and Your Seat at the Table – the June 2010 issue of APWA protocols that all government agen- Preparedness Reporter, since the Fall of 2009 cies and other first responders are re- In addition to the principles of NIMS, directors of public works quired to follow. While the NIMS and mandated by Homeland Security Presi- (DPW’s) have been classified as first re- ICS provide the operational framework dential Directive 5 (HSPD-5), the more sponders under the U.S. Department of for the DPW to be included in the ar- recent and updated HSPD-8 requires Homeland Security’s (DHS) Emergency ray of planning procedures intended the public works directors to be part Services Sector Coordinating Coun- to provide a common organizational of the federal disaster response mecha- cil’s (ESSCC) Sector Specific Plan (SSP). structure, it is of ever-increasing value nisms as a central participant rather While in some senses an overdue rec- to have the public works director in- than a specialist. The SSP’s are the of- ognition of a role that DPW’s have per- tegrated into and seated as one of the ficial plans for what government agen- formed for decades, this recent official chief commanding positions of the cies are to do to prepare for, prevent, designation carries requirements and structure. This inclusion ensures that respond to and recover from emergen- prerogatives that are not uniformly un- the interests of a given community’s cies and disasters. And per HSPD-7, derstood by APWA members. critical infrastructure are recognized the sector-specific federal departments in the planning stages and brings the Central to this new role is the require- charged with preparing SSP’s are re- critical infrastructure into prominence ment that DPW’s be listened to in the quired to provide their director with an in the earliest hours following an inci- process of developing and updating annual update, and to do that correctly dent of national significance. the various required disaster response their report has to drill down to the plans from the state and federal gov- What the general public is most famil- local levels. ernments, under the Robert T. Stafford iar with is only one part of the emer- So the first thing for you to do isto Disaster Relief and Emergency Assis- gency management cycle—Response. ensure that you are in touch with the tance Act. Part of it is also the need for While certainly the most urgent and other government agencies that are DPW’s to treat education in emergency stressful, the cycle also includes Pre- required to develop the plans. Not management as a regular component paredness, Recovery and Mitigation. surprisingly, your state EMA is the ful- of their job—for themselves and for crum between county and local gov- their staffs. The genesis of this process ernments and the federal agencies that is FEMA’s National Incident Manage- have an emergency management role ment System (NIMS), which initiates (DHS, FEMA, HUD, FTA, etc.). Your the Incident Command System (ICS); interface with the EMA at each level both are highly structured tools for of government is codified in the Na- command and control, designed to tional Response Framework (NRF), an improve operational efficiencies in re- additional support mechanism in the sponse to a disaster. efficient execution of an emergency Public works directors know that they operations plan (EOP). are inevitably going to be called upon Your role—and their requirement to in- in any emergency or disaster situa- clude you—is centered in the Depart- tion, whether it’s for street operations, ment of Homeland Security’s National cleanup, utilities or facilities work. The Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) key with the new designation is your The Emergency Management Cycle (graphic and its Critical Infrastructure and Key credit: CDM) ability to have your insights and ex- Resources (CIKR) program. CIKR has perience taken into account in the de-

42 APWA Reporter January 2011 an overlapping set of Sector Coordinat- thority to do so. Where to begin? Start of the duties and authority inherent in ing Councils (SCC’s) designed to bring with your particular role in your com- your role at each stage of the EM cycle, together government and private en- munity, as there are SSP’s for multiple especially these time-tested functions, tities with roles to play in the EM of sectors that some directors may have and with the backing of the Office of the infrastructure without which our responsibility for. The two SSP’s that the President of the United States, pro- society could not function. You are hit APWA members the most are the vides you and your community with a automatically part of the Government Transportation Systems and Water re- clear and resilient response framework, Coordinating Councils; there are also source sectors. If you are in charge of adapted to your specific circumstances. coordinating councils for private own- snow removal, street operations, bus For additional information, training ers of power plants, telecoms, etc. Un- transit or other similar systems, you and other resources refer to http:// fortunately, unlike the highly proscrip- need to make sure your state EMA is in- www.fema.gov/emergency/nims. tive FEMA regulations and procedures, cluding you in the development of its much of the federal language about the Transportation Systems SSP. If your role Eric Davis, AIA, served as CDM’s AE SCC’s is in the form of recommenda- includes your water or sewer systems services director for the assessment and tions rather than requirements: (combined or separate), you have a seat recovery master plans for the public facili- at the Water sector planning table. ties infrastructure of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, The sector partnership model en- in the wake of the catastrophic floods of courages CIKR owners and op- Each sector, including the Transpor- June 2008; he can be reached at (312) erators to create or identify Sector tation and Water sectors, has a cor- 346-5000 or [email protected]. David Coordinating Councils as the prin- responding primary Sector Specific K. Brauner is CDM’s national Director cipal entity for coordinating with Agency (SSA) assigned to it, in this case of FEMA PA (Public Assistance) and has the government on a wide range the Federal Departments of Homeland provided support, technical assistance and of CIKR protection activities and Security and Environmental Protection coordination for EM responses in Louisi- issues. Agency respectively. The role of the ana, Texas, Florida and elsewhere across The SCC’s are self-organized, self- SSA varies, yet each named unit has the U.S.; he can be reached at (504) 232- run, and self-governed, with a many interesting and valuable roles in 1282 or [email protected]. spokesperson designated by the the larger planning and execution pic- sector membership. Specific mem- tures. For example, the Environmental bership will vary from sector to Protection Agency, the lead SSA for the rder ustom sector, reflecting the unique com- Water sector, is responsible for the co- O C position of each sector; however, ordination of operational readiness, Bulk Editorial membership should be represen- water infrastructure security from ma- tative of a broad base of owners, levolent activities. Moreover, the EPA is Reprints operators, associations, and other an enormous resource for federal grant entities—both large and small— funding for specific protection activi- Now that you have within a sector. ties. The same is true of the Department been featured in the APWA Reporter, The SCC’s enable owners and oper- of Homeland Security for ensuring the ators to interact on a wide range of protection of transportation-related in- why not leverage sector-specific strategies, policies, frastructure protection activities. this opportunity activities, and issues. to promote your The role of the DPW as a first respond- product or service er has far more reaching gravity to the The upside of this is that it allows you with custom to plan for your specific situation, ge- continuity of your local government reprints? ography and resources. Yet while every than merely waiting for an incident of DPW knows the contacts and the chain significance to occur and responding to Custom reprints are of command during an emergency sit- it with traditional manpower and ma- available in quantities of 100 or more and are printed on high- uation, when it comes to preparedness, terial. Today’s DPW has a far more fun- quality, gloss-coated paper stock in language like “encourages,” “self-orga- damental role in the forward-leaning black & white or full color. nized” and “should be” explains why planning role, one that contemplates all hazards, and enjoys a most promi- the CIKR SCC system is so unevenly Call our reprint department implemented across the country. nent seat at the table with the other command and control groups. Know- at (800) 259-0470 for So the key for DPW’s is to be proactive, ing and deepening your understanding complete details. and HSPD-8 gives you Presidential au-

January 2011 APWA Reporter 43 How are local governments ensuring energy assurance for their communities?

Yvonne Douglas Deputy Director Department of Public Works and Environmental City of Roswell, Georgia Co-Chair, APWA Progressive Women in Public Works Subcommittee ccording to the American Soci- of energy supplies. When reviewing re- The electricity system: ety of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) cent emergencies (both man-made and • Nuclear facilities 2009 Report Card for America’s natural), the subject of energy has been Infrastructure, America’s grade a major focus to helping to bring com- • Non-nuclear power plants for energy was a D+. As stated in the munities back online. • Nuclear fuel storage and transpor- ASCE’s concluding notes within the tation report, “Unless substantial amounts of What does energy assurance capital are invested over the next sev- (EA) mean? • Electric transmission lines eral decades in new generation, trans- The National Association of State En- • Electrical substations mission, and distribution facilities, ser- ergy Officials (NASEO) states that EA • Petroleum vice quality will degrade and costs will “guarantees a robust, secure and reli- go up. These investments will involve able energy infrastructure that is also • Crude oil storage and transport resilient—able to restore service rapidly new technologies that improve existing • Fuel oil electric system and possible advanced in the event of any disaster” (NASEO). • Refineries technologies that could revolutionize America’s energy infrastructure has the electric grid” (ASCE, 2009). been noted as a “system of systems” • Petroleum product pipelines and or an interconnected web of systems. terminals, including marine termi- This report should not surprise you. A failure or shortage in one section nals Take a couple of moments to think of this system can cause a failure or • Cyber security about your daily dependence of energy. shortage for another. Recognizing the Has your dependence increased over relationships between energy sectors is • Telecommunications systems the years? Turning on lights at home one of the first steps which will help • The natural gas system and work requires energy. Driving to for communities to be prepared. work, taking your kids to school and • Natural gas storage facilities As noted above, energy emergencies going to the grocery store all utilize pe- • Natural gas pipelines troleum fuel (energy) in your vehicle. can include severe weather and natu- If you have a gas furnace or stove, the ral events, as well as man-made-caused Public Works and EA Planning delivery of your gas from your local failures. Natural events include tor- As public works professionals, we know natural gas provider is another exam- nados, hurricanes and fires. Whereas, the importance that our services have ple of energy. What if all of these en- man-made events are deliberate physi- on the communities that we serve. In ergy resources were reduced or were no cal, cyber or unconventional attacks order for us to maintain critical ser- longer available? As Americans, many such as bombings and cyber terrorism. vices, such as water, sewer and clear of us take the immediate availability of Petroleum and public utility compa- roadways, energy is required. Our work energy for granted. The amount of en- nies are responsible in providing en- also assists public safety departments ergy demands is increasing, while the ergy supplies, while it is the responsi- to ensure that they are able to “protect energy infrastructure is struggling to bility of state and local officials to work and serve” (police) and make sure that meet our demands. Also consider what with energy providers and stakeholders “everyone goes home” (fire). happens when there is an event which from their jurisdictions, government What is the LEAP Initiative? may decrease the level and/or type of agencies, businesses and related orga- energy made available. nizations to ensure the well-being and In early 2010, Department of En- progress of their communities (NASEO ergy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu an- This article will provide information website). nounced that DOE’s Office of Elec- about what energy assurance means tricity Delivery and Energy Reliability Examples of energy infrastructure sec- and what resources local communities (OE) awarded more than $8 million to tors which are considered vulnerable can have prepared prior to a disruption 43 cities and towns across the country include:

44 APWA Reporter January 2011 to help support Local Energy Assur- surance Guidelines, which will provide ensure that all future city energy deci- ance Planning (LEAP) Initiatives. These local government officials the tools to sions are made with a consideration of monies, which are part of the Ameri- address energy assurance and security the EA Plan. can Recovery and Reinvestment Act of concerns for mission-critical govern- It is hoped that with all of the time 2009 (ARRA), “will help ensure local ment facilities. This document has and effort being spent on EA Planning, governments can recover and restore checklists for governments to complete especially at the local level, ASCE’s power quickly following any energy and use as the foundation for the cre- Report Card grade for energy will dra- supply disruptions.” Once developed, ation of a complete EA Plan. Informa- matically improve. Whether it means these EA Plans will serve more than tion about this tool may be found at reducing the daily consumption of en- 15 million residents in more than 25 LEAP website: www.energyassurance.us. ergy, preventing phantom energy loss states “by focusing on improved emer- City of Roswell’s LEAP Initiative (the amount of energy which contingency planning for the entire energy ues to pull energy even when electron- supply system, including the electricity In May 2010, the City of Roswell was ics are powered off, but are still plugged grid, refining, storage, and distribution informed by DOE that Roswell was into an electrical socket), or having a of fossil fuels and renewable energy selected as one of the 43 local govern- true understanding of a community’s sources” (DOE). ments to be rewarded ARRA funding to create an EA Plan. Roswell took great energy needs, there are so many oppor- DOE recognizes that local governments pride in being selected—especially tunities for making a higher grade for are on the front lines of virtually all since Roswell was the only local gov- America’s energy infrastructure very re- energy emergencies. Local government ernment selected from the State of alistic in a short period of time. leaders must be prepared to have an Georgia. References: “all-hazards approach” when dealing Roswell has just completed the first six with the various types of energy disrup- ASCE (American Society of Civil Engi- months of the LEAP Initiative Program tions that can occur. When you consid- neers), 2009 Report Card for America’s and should have their final EA Plan er the role that local governments have Infrastructure (website: http://www.in- completed by April 2012. The Roswell on responding to energy emergencies, it frastructurereportcard.org/fact-sheet/ EA Initiative includes the following makes perfect sense for all governments energy) to be prepared for any future energy dis- goals: Brown, Matthew, et al. Energy Security. ruptions. The LEAP Initiative focuses on 1. Job Creation three primary areas: National Conference of State Legis- An Energy Consultation Firm familiar latures, 2003 (website: http://www. 1. Energy Security with EA planning, development and oe.netl.doe.gov/docs/prepare/NCSLEn- 2. Emergency Preparedness implementation will be hired to assist ergy%20Security.pdf). Roswell in development of a compre- 3. Critical Infrastructure Protection hensive EA program. DOE (Department of Energy), LEAP Announcement (website: www.energy. Each EA Plan prepared through the College Internship Program will in- gov/news/8672.htm) LEAP Initiative will be written to spe- clude hiring a college student working cifically meet the energy needs of that on a Master’s in Public Administration NASEO (National Association of State community. Within the EA Plans, each in Disaster Management to assist with Energy Officials), NASEO Energy As- community will identify and assess the development Roswell’s EA Plan and surance Program (website: www.naseo. energy supply disruption scenarios; Program. org/energyassurance/index.html) train city staff on energy infrastruc- 2. Renewable Energy Resources Yvonne Douglas is the Program Manager ture and supply systems; and increase for the City of Roswell, GA’s LEAP their knowledge of local energy inter- As part of the EA Plan, Roswell is look- Initiative. She also serves on the APWA dependencies which will assist in their ing to identify and explore alternate Diversity Committee and co-chairs APWA’s response time. Through a cooperative and renewable energy supplies. Specific Progressive Women in Public Works agreement with the DOE, Public Tech- Program: Waste-to-Energy: Biodiesel Subcommittee. She is the past Secretary/ nology Institute (PTI; www.pti.org) 3. Development of In House Ex- Treasurer of the Georgia Chapter’s Atlanta has offered technical assistance to lo- pertise Metro Branch and is a recent graduate cal governments to help them develop of the Emerging Leaders Academy II. She or refine existing energy assurance The EA Plan will develop an established can be reached at (770) 641-3715 or plans. PTI has developed a resource EA Train-the-Trainer Program. This [email protected]. workbook, Local Government Energy As- program will designated city staff from each department to become trainers to

January 2011 APWA Reporter 45 The need to have temporary debris storage and reduction sites

Ram N. Tewari, Ph.D., P.E. Director Solid Waste Operations Division Broward County, Florida Member, APWA Awards Committee e in public works have a unique distinction of being first to respond and last to leave during emergencies and disasters. Public works plays a vital central role in disaster management. Disasters are now an integral part of public works activities and the magnitude of debris management work is overwhelming.

Recently released, the World Bank and the United Nations’ report, “Natural Hazards, UnNatural Disasters,” states that global losses from natural disasters could triple to $185 billion a year by 2100. The report made a compelling case that better proactive planning, improving infrastructure, and spend- ing on environmental buffers can min- imize adverse natural disaster impacts. To plan for disasters requires an understanding of the types of disasters, natu- Vegetative debris being processed via grinder at temporary debris management site ral and man-made. Natural disasters include tornadoes, ice storms, wild- ter debris, which is well beyond the fills for disposal of non-recyclables. fires, hurricanes/cyclones, earthquakes, traditional disaster debris management The following debris materials (metals, tsunamis, and epidemics/pandemics. (DDM)—landfilling. What is the best wood, soils, and construction and de- Man-made disasters (direct and indi- strategy to achieve this goal? Recy- molition, or C&D, debris) are suitable rect) include sabotage, terrorism, civil cling? for recycling. Much of this material can be recycled, if recycling contrac- disobedience, global warming, rising Now, recycling should be considered tors are readily available. Often the sea levels, major erosions, and other early in the debris clearance, removal, debris management services contract such abnormal situations. We all know and processing and disposal operation. specifies that service providers have to that disasters generate enormous de- This approach may present an oppor- maximize diversion and beneficial use bris which has to be managed. tunity to reduce the overall cost of the of the debris; use of appropriate pro- operation. Hurricanes and earthquakes Though there are several vital issues cessing technologies; and, most impor- may present opportunities to contract for pre- and post-disaster preparedness tantly, the public outreach/education large-scale recycling operations and planning, here we are focusing on op- strategies to ensure residents, institu- achieve an economic return. The ser- erational readiness to manage a major tions, and businesses adhere to storm vice contractors who exercise their ini- debris-generating disaster event. Tem- preparedness guidelines and follow tiative to collect, haul, segregate and porary debris storage and reduction curbside debris set-out procedures that recycle debris as it arrives at the TDSRS sites (TDSRS) are absolutely necessary maximize material quality and mini- shall help all stakeholders. Therefore, it for proper debris management. mize contamination. is advisable to secure end-markets for The Federal Emergency Management segregated recyclable and processed de- Metals: Most of the nonferrous and Agency (FEMA) desires maximum re- bris (agricultural, cogeneration plants, ferrous metals are suitable for recy- covery and beneficial use of the disas- landscaping companies, etc.) and land- cling. Metal maulers and shredders can

46 APWA Reporter January 2011 Loading of debris for processing at temporary debris management site be used to shred trailer frames, trailer optimum success. Besides speedy de- parts, appliances and other metal bris removal, TDSRS needs to be geo- items. graphically strategically distributed for efficient debris removal. Also, the TD- Wood and Vegetative Debris: SRS should be as close to major traffic Clean, woody debris can be ground, corridors as possible. chipped, shredded, and recycled. TDSRS identification, evaluation and Soil: Cleanup operations using large selection is a four-step process: pieces of equipment pick up large amounts of soil. The soil is transported First step: Conservatively estimate vol- to the temporary storage and reduction ume of debris for each type of disaster. sites, where it is combined with other Debris can be estimated by gathering organic materials that will decompose actual or similar event data from FEMA, over time. Large amounts of soil can be contractors, consultants, and affected recovered if the material is put through jurisdictions. Estimation by using US some type of screen or shaker system. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) This procedure can produce significant model, or other models developed by amounts of soil that can either be sold private parties, can be used. Once types or recycled back into the agricultural of debris and quantities have been es- community. Monitoring and testing timated the total acreage requirements the soil may be necessary to ensure that can be calculated. TDSRS acreage is di- it is not contaminated with chemicals. rectly related to the volume of disaster debris generated. C&D Debris: Construction and demo- lition debris generated in the disaster- Volume (cubic yards) per acre = 43,560 damaged structures and facilities could square feet x height of the stockpiles be recycled as well. This waste stream (say 20 feet)/27 acreage calculation = includes concrete, asphalt, gypsum, total debris volume/volume per acre wood waste, glass, red clay bricks, clay x 1.66 (estimate for roads, buffer, piles roofing tile and asphalt roofing tile. separation, monitoring towers, traffic flow, office, separate areas for other de- It is evident from the foregoing discus- bris). sion that TDSRS is the focal point for plan. Also, periodic pre-season site visits and evaluation of TDSRS by all stakeholders are mandated.

A major important facilitation and coordination role by the local APWA chapter shall help its members. APWA should take the initiative to bring all parties together to achieve a common goal: cost-efficient disaster debris management. The aim of the meetings should be to obtain feedback and to gain consensus and commitment by all stakeholders. Invitations from APWA to federal, state, local agencies, and other jurisdictions which deal with disaster debris should start the process of mutual aid.

Where is information on disaster debris management available? Below are some suggested sources:

Vegetative debris being incinerated at temporary debris management site Emergency Management: Recovery Opera- tions Field Manual, APWA, May 2010 The suggested debris storage crite- Once potential sites are identified, the ria: piles should not exceed 500 feet secondary evaluation criteria need to APWA Fact Sheet: The Essential Role of (length), 300 feet (width), 20 feet be included. The secondary evaluation Public Works in Emergency Manage- (height), and pile-to-pile separation criteria include proximity to residenc- ment distance: 30 feet. Dimensions may be es, places of worship (e.g., churches, adjusted depending upon the type and temples), site preparation needed, in- Temporary Debris Management Site mix of the debris and size (e.g., avail- gress and egress, and endangered spe- Assessment, Broward County, Florida, able acreage, length, width and the lay- cies. Based on the foregoing study, a BDR, September 2010 out) of the TDMS. roster of TDSRS sites should be devel- SWANA-WASTECON 2008: Workshop oped which could potentially serve as a Area should be at least 10 acres, prefer- by Kessler Consulting, Inc., “Maximiz- TDSRS. Thereafter, from TDSRS roster, ably l5 acres, 25+ acres optimum. Keep ing Beneficial Use of Disaster Debris” staff can categorize the sites into four in mind that the total acreage shall be categories: Primary (most promising); Countywide Disaster Debris Manage- significantly impacted by types and Secondary (may not be most promis- ment Plan, Broward County, Florida, complexity of debris, segregation pro- ing, but could be useful backup sites for May 2009 cesses, rate of debris processing/reduc- a catastrophic event); Tertiary (deemed tion operations (grinding, chipping, US EPA Disaster Debris Management less desirable than the primary or sec- air curtain incineration), haul-out op- Guide ondary sites); and fourth sites are those erations and frequency, and disposal land parcels which were evaluated and FEMA Disaster Debris Management Guide locations. least likely to be used, but may be nec- Florida DEP Guidance to Establishment, Second step: Use GIS database for high- essary in a large generating event. Operation, and Closure of Staging Areas level screening of potential properties Fourth and final step: Site visits by all for Hurricane Generated Debris (public and private) suitable for TDSRS. responsible parties (staff, contractors, Ram N. Tewari is a member of APWA’s Third step: The primary evaluation monitors, regulators, and other inter- Awards Committee, and is a former criteria include undeveloped lands, ested parties) are the most important member of the Solid Waste Management adequate site acreage (20+ acres), own- for validating and in finalizing the list Committee and the Homeland Security ership type (public, private), proxim- of TDSRS in those four categories. Ad- Task Force. He is a member of the Florida ity to schools, water bodies (surface, ditional investigation, due diligence, Chapter’s South Florida Branch. He can be groundwater), environmentally sen- necessary approvals and intergovern- reached at (954) 577-2394 or rtewari@ sitive lands (e.g., wetlands), and geo- mental coordination must occur before broward.org. graphic distribution (strategically dis- the TDSRS list is finalized and distrib- persed throughout the jurisdiction). uted as a part of a debris management

48 APWA Reporter January 2011 Communication interoperability

Donald F. Bruey Public Works Director City of South Jordan, Utah COMMUNITIES

s a retired Marine officer I am well acquainted with ity to do site trunking in the event of a failure of the main the phrase, “Fog of War.” All military operations trunking capacity. are well planned as are contingency plans for emer- Simultaneously with this development, we were designing gency operations integrating police, fire and public and building a new Public Works Department facility. We works. However, once the line of departure is crossed, most built into our training room the capability to establish a full plans start to change rapidly and adjustments must be made alternate Emergency Operations Center with computers, on the fly. “Adapt, improvise and overcome,” as we used servers and redundant radio communications systems. to say. The single most important element in either of the above-mentioned plans is the ability to communicate with Our backup system is composed of five 800 MHz Motoro- all elements. la Quantar Mixed Mode Repeaters employed in a conventional or non-trunked configuration. The repeaters are all When I came to work at the City of South Jordan, one of capable of both analog and digital modes with encryption the first issues that came up was the inability of thePub- capability. The five repeaters are located around the western lic Works Department to communicate effectively with any Salt Lake Valley. The Police and Fire repeaters are located other agency, even other internal city departments, other on top of 8,000-foot mountain peaks and secured in build- than through limited cell phone contacts. The Police Chief, ings with emergency power for wide range coverage. They Fire Chief and I set out to build a communication system also are located on the west side of the valley to stay away based on full interoperability with multiple backup systems from the Wasatch Earthquake Fault line that is located on that would be workable in the event of a major disaster with the east side of the valley. The Public Works CERT and Tac- some anticipated system overloading or outright failures. tical repeaters are on the valley floor. They are located in Having lived and worked through hurricanes, tornados, different locations to avoid a single point of failure and still floods, earthquakes and typhoons during my life, I have offer valley-wide coverage. Three of the five repeaters cur- learned that telephone systems based on land lines go down rently have emergency backup power and are functioning quickly, followed by overloading cell phone communica- in a simple conventional mode meaning no phone line or tion channels and limited public safety radio systems. We microwave link to break. We also have the ability to link needed a system with redundancy. our backup system to the UCAN system to help extend the Our first step was to design a communication plan with current footprint with the help of an ACU 2000 which is radio systems that could talk to each other. Public Works an interoperability device retained by the Valley Emergency dumped its 800 MHz radio system for one that was compat- Dispatch Center. ible with our public safety agencies. Since most of the state’s Should all of this fail, we have a Sprint/Nextel Direct Con- agencies belonged to the Utah Agency Communication Net- nect system in place and our final backup is back to the days work or UCAN, Public Works opted into the system. We pur- of the old horse soldier with runners operating between the chased 800 MHz radios that had three channels: Police, Fire field and EOC. However, I do not think we will come to that and Public Works. Each channel has 16 separate talk-groups with our current system in place. that included internal agencies, as well as county, state and other external agencies such as local hospitals and medical One last note—this system could not have been built with- air evacuation agents, all on the UCAN system. out the full cooperation and integration of the Fire and Po- lice Departments and specifically without the help of Officer UCAN is an 800 MHz Motorola Smartzone trunking system, Darin Watrous of the South Jordan Police Department. Build which is considered a mixed mode system. This system op- teams, not silos! erates on both analog and digital talk-groups or “channels” with encryption capability. The entire system is tied togeth- Donald F. Bruey can be reached at (801) 253-5203 or dbruey@ er with redundant microwave loops and also has the abil- sjc.utah.gov.

January 2011 APWA Reporter 49 Interoperability: Why should we care?

Kürt D. Blomquist, P.E. Public Works Director City of Keene, New Hampshire Member, APWA Emergency Management Committee

hat is interoperability? of the Incident Command System (ICS) on voice communication methods, but From Wikipedia, “interop- and ultimately the National Incident in today’s environment, access to and erability is the ability of di- Management System (NIMS). These use of video and data have also become verse systems and organiza- systems standardize the management critical in responding to emergencies. tions to work together (inter-operate).” of multi-agency responses including Why should a public works, water or In the emergency response environ- communication, command and con- wastewater agency care about interop- ment, interoperability was first looked trol, and resources. Interoperability erability? Public works agencies are re- at in the 1970s in southern California and compatibility of first responder sponsible for the infrastructure assets as the result of catastrophic wildfires. communication systems is mandated and the associated data, which are crit- The firefighting community recognized through NIMS which was adopted as ical to the safety, health and welfare of the need for the coordination (interop- the emergency response standard for our communities. Whether it is man- erability) of long-term planning and the local, county, state, federal, and made events such as the 9/11 attacks, the responses of different organiza- tribal agencies through Homeland Se- failure of infrastructure such as the col- tions to wildfire events. The resulting curity Presidential Directive 5. Interop- lapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapo- review gave birth to the development erability has been traditionally focused

50 APWA Reporter January 2011 lis, or natural events such as Hurricane video, and to interpret or analyze data ellite network technologies and sys- Katrina in 2005 or the 2009 flooding in (Geographical Information Systems). tems. By walking through these types the Midwest, public works agencies are During an emergency, how many of of questions and developing answers, on the front lines of response activities. these devices and systems can commu- your organization will be in better po- From 1964 to 2007, over 97% (1,467 nicate/coordinate with other groups sition to effectively communicate, ex- out of 1,500) of the Presidential-de- within an organization, with other de- change data, and respond with other clared disasters were public works ori- partments in the community (police, organizations working on the recovery ented placing public works agencies in fire), with private utilities/companies of your community. leading roles. Having interoperability (power, gas, water, wastewater) or with To encourage interoperability plan- and being able to communicate (voice other similar agencies in the area? and video), manage resources (people, ning, the U.S. Department of Home- equipment, materials) and share data To ensure interoperability, it is critical land Security, Federal Emergency within an agency along with outside that public works agencies participate Management Agency offers grant op- agencies (other public works agencies with the other first responder agencies portunities through such programs as through mutual aid, fire, police, coun- in the development and review of com- the Interoperable Emergency Com- ty and state agencies) are critical to the munication and data management sys- munications Grant Program (IECGP) successful response and recovery of the tems (types of communication devices, which in FY10 provided $48M to states, infrastructure and a community. hardware and software). Decisions territories, local and tribal govern- have to be made on how to commu- ments for planning, training and exer- Most agencies for their day-to-day op- nicate or share information during an cise to carry out initiatives to improve erations/activities have set protocols/ emergency. Your analysis and planning interoperable emergency communica- processes of how they will communi- will involve the determination of who tions in response to natural disasters, cate and share and use data internally needs to communicate, what informa- acts of terrorism, and other man-made within their organization. Many agen- tion may be needed to be communi- disasters. As a first responder, public cies have not thought about how or if cated, how the communications will works agencies can participate in these they can coordinate, communicate, or occur and the reliability of the com- programs and you should work with share data with other agencies (police, munication methodology. As a result your local and state emergency manag- fire, county or state) outside their or- of Hurricane Katrina, communication ers/directors to access these programs. ganization. Traditionally, public works infrastructure along the Gulf Coast was Interoperability, being able to commu- agencies have used radio networks and devastated with thousands of cell tow- nicate and work with other agencies, landlines to communicate. As tech- ers and miles of landlines being dam- is critical to recovering infrastructure nology has changed, cell and smart aged or lost leaving first responders and and ultimately our communities and is phones, along with mobile comput- associated agencies isolated and unable the responsibility of every public works ing devices, have become primary or to coordinate their initial efforts. In- agency. supplemental communication and teroperability plans can be as simple as Kürt D. Blomquist can be reached at (603) data-sharing devices. This equipment is the exchange of radios, establishment 352-6550 or [email protected]. used to relay information, voice and/or of a common frequency to access sat-

Don’t miss this chance …to get in the APWA Reporter’s Water Resources issue

By advertising in the APWA Reporter, news of your equipment, product or service will be sent to more than 29,000 APWA members, most of whom are key decision makers in their agencies. So, don’t miss this opportunity to advertise in the February issue, which will include articles on stormwater management, sanitary sewer systems, water treatment and distribution, wetlands, watersheds, and flood control.

The deadline to reserve your space is January 7; the materials are due by January 11. Bonus: Advertise and we’ll give you a free listing in our “Products in the News” column! Call Amanda or Chris at (800) 800-0341.

January 2011 APWA Reporter 51 Am I responsible…protecting animals from disasters?

Christine Walsh Operations Director City of Beloit, Wisconsin Member, APWA Emergency Management Committee

t’s a rainy day in Des Moines, Iowa, they ran wildly with many of them on they can relate it to animal disasters home of the World Pork Expo, as I sit fire. I even heard one responder yell, and emergencies. Public works depart- down to write this article about pro- “Stop or I’ll shoot,” as if the pigs could ments should quickly review their tecting animals and what it could understand that statement. functions and determine what capabil- mean to public works professionals ities and resources they would be able Looking back upon this horrific real- across the country. As a public works to use to respond to animal disasters/ life scene, I understand that the first professional and a farmer in the great emergencies. responders were trained to help save Dairy State of Wisconsin, I reflect back lives and protect property, but they For example, solid waste collectors can to a cold February day when personal were not given the tools and knowl- do rapid assessments because they see tragedy struck our farm while celebrat- edge to do so in an animal emergen- more on a weekly basis than most oth- ing my son and daughter’s birthdays. cy. This frustration and inability to er municipal employees. Debris man- I received a frantic call and what I help effectively could easily have been agement/mortality management, traf- heard through the sobbing was, “Help, avoided if the first responders, includ- fic control, fencing, large equipment the test station (barn) is on fire and no- ing public works, had known who was and equipment operators, engineering body is here.” There comes a time in responsible for care of the animals and services, providing safe drinking wa- life when one must deal with emergen- how everyone “plays together in the ter and storm services may be some of cies and disasters, either on a personal sandbox.” Given this knowledge ahead the capabilities that your public works or professional level, and learn what of time, a successful response and re- department has in relation to animal they’re made of and how they will recovery to ensure the needs of animals emergencies. As part of the pre-plan- spond. Ask yourself what would you and their owners can be achieved dur- ning phase, public works needs to eval- do—react with panic, stay deadly calm, ing a disaster or emergency. uate the many facilities they manage or will you experience a combination for shelter capabilities. Training for an All communities need pre-disaster of panic and adrenaline or calmness animal response is important to public planning, and public works as first re- and shutting down? works personnel since it’s not a normal sponders needs to be included in the day-to-day event. Scenarios could be From my reaction on that particular planning just as we are for other disas- developed to allow all stakeholders to day, I learned a valuable lesson about ter and emergency planning. Pre-disas- “play” together in a tabletop exercise, my makeup and it has followed me ter planning responsibilities include or just for a discussion using the fol- since. I became very somber and calm the development of an Operations lowing examples: with adrenal in full force, knowing both Plan with input from all stakeholders. professionally and intuitively what Although public works will be only a • Large animal disaster: flood, barn would need to be done. When I arrived small part of the team of stakeholders fire, evacuation for hazardous ma- at the main farm, what I saw was utter involved in planning, they will be very terials spill pandemonium—chaos among the first valuable during the emergency with • Large animal emergency: livestock responders who had come to help us. their access to equipment, materials trailer overturns on a highway Police and firefighters were yelling in and personnel. I have always believed utter frustration at the 300 pigs that it is much better to be an initial stake- • Small animal disaster: flood, tor- were running in every direction possi- holder in the planning process, instead nado, evacuation from hazardous ble, except of course the direction that of being called to help and unprepared spill the first responders wanted them to go. with an improper response. All stake- The pigs were trying to escape from the holders need to assess their normal • Small animal emergency: house fear and pain that enveloped them as day-to-day functions and assess how fire, auto wreck where the driver is

52 APWA Reporter January 2011 taken to a hospital and the pets are still in the car

Resources that could assist your agency with training include:

• Animals in Disasters. Module A: Awareness and Preparedness In- dependent Study Course, IS-10. FEMA, http://www.training.fema. gov/EMIWEb/IS/is10.asp Only of vehicle travel occurs during • Animals in Disasters. Module B: % Community Preparedness. In- night time driving hours, but more than % dependent Study Course, IS-11. FEMA, http://www.training.fema. of all traﬃc fatalities occur during that time. gov/EMIWEb/IS/is11.asp

Lastly, public works needs to review and address their limitations in regards to animal emergency responses. Work- force availability, single shifts, disin- fection and decontamination are just a few examples of barriers that many public works departments will face. Meet MUTCD When addressing agency limitations, work towards the formation of Mutual Aid Agreements and work with local contractors to generate contracts and Regulations. develop new connections. Get the facts about retroreﬂectivity regulations Tornadoes, floods, blizzards, hurri- and methods. Attend a free webinar. canes and terrorism are devastating . Wednesday, January , - :pm CST natural or man-made events that can . Wednesday, January , - :pm CST ravage our lives and forever change communities. No one is exempt from the possibility of experiencing or being personally affected by one of these incidents. As first responders, we have the responsibility to prepare ourselves and our staff to protect people, proper- Sign up for the webinar or download the ty and critical infrastructure, while not retroreﬂectivity white paper at: forgetting about the “Whole Family” www.cartegraph.com/retro which includes animals.

Christine Walsh is a member of APWA’s Emergency Management Committee and the APWA/FEMA Education Task Force. She chaired the Emergency Management Committee in 2009-10 and the Wiscon- sin Chapter’s Solid Waste Committee in 2003-04. She can be reached at (608) A New Way to Look at Government. 364-2929 or [email protected]. Public Works: The first responders who are there until the emergency is over

Robert Moorhead, P.E. Compliance Manager Washington State County Road Administration Board Olympia, Washington

isasters can happen anywhere and at any time. The Chicago Fire in 1871. The San Francisco Earthquake in 1906. The Mount St. Helens volcanic eruption in Washington State in 1980. The Red River flooding of Grand Forks in 1997. The Hurricane Katrina devastation of New Orleans in 2005.

We’ve all seen the TV news coverage of some emergency: the blue lights on the police cars; the big red fire trucks; the orange stripes on the white ambulances. And the yellow lights on the public works vehicles.

Yes, public works is there as a first responder. We are there within minutes with the traffic cones, barricades, detour signs, changeable reader boards, and heavy equipment. But The 1997 Red River Flood at Grand Forks, North Dakota (photo credit: who will still be there tomorrow, and the next day, and ev- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) ery day until the emergency is over? Public Works! • An aging bridge collapses under the weight of an over- • Three cars collide on the freeway during rush hour, crash- loaded truck. Who does the evaluation to determine if ing into the guardrail and knocking over a light standard. it’s safe to stage rescue operations? Who decides how to Is the emergency over when police issue citations? When safely remove the damaged structure? Who determines the injured are transported to the hospital? When the the cause of the failure, and designs and builds the re- tow trucks remove the wrecks? No. The emergency is not placement structure that is stronger and safer? Public over until the debris has been swept up; the guardrail has Works! been reinstalled; and the streetlight replaced. Who does Some would say that much of the day-to-day work of public the sweeping? Who has the portable generator for the works employees is routine. For the most part, we are doing power tools? Who has the extra light pole and luminaire our jobs best when the public doesn’t notice anything un- in the maintenance yard? Public Works! expected in their daily routines. Clean water flows when the • The 100-year-old water main deep under a downtown faucet is turned on. The wastewater goes down the drain. street bursts. Who turns the water off? Who repairs or The streets are paved and free of snow. The traffic signals replaces the pipe? Who backfills the excavation? Who turn green and yellow and red. The trash and recycling con- patches the pavement? Who restores water service to ev- tainers are emptied on schedule. These services, and a dozen ery customer? Public Works! others the public has come to expect during every hour of every day, are always there. • Fast-moving water in a swollen river threatens a community. Who hauls in the sand for the sand bags (and But, public works is also among the first responders on the maybe even the empty bags)? Who sets the grade so the front lines when emergencies or disasters strike, using the volunteers know how high to raise the dike? If the flood same skilled personnel, the same well-maintained equip- is severe and breaches the levee, who hauls in the riprap ment, and the same modern materials we use in our every- to try to stem the flow? Does this flood emergency end as day responsibilities. We’ve been providing these services soon as the water recedes? No! It is not over until all the since long before any of us here today was born. We’re here public services are restored. Who restarts the water treat- today. And, we’ll be here tomorrow. We are Public Works! ment plant and the pump stations and makes sure the Robert “Bob” Moorhead is a past president of the Washington water is fit to drink? Who gets the wastewater treatment State Chapter, and serves on the Public Works Historical Soci- plant back online? Who cleans the streets and makes per- ety Board of Trustees. He can be reached at (360) 753-5989 or manent repairs to the dikes? Public Works! [email protected].

54 APWA Reporter January 2011 7.07.10 PCA PAVING AD AUG 2010 APWA

HELP YOURSELF

According to state DOT cost-estimating software, concrete roads now have lower initial and life-cycle costs than asphalt. Got a road to build? It’s time to compare apples to apples. The concrete apple is ripe for the picking. For more information visit www.think-harder.org.

TM Harness the power of social media in disaster response

John Orlando, Ph.D. Program Director Master of Science in Business Continuity Norwich University Northfield, Vermont mergency responders have al- regions was particularly difficult. To fill the status of loved ones in the affected ways focused on one-way noti- the information void, blogs soon ap- areas. Soon the same bloggers who set fication systems that push out peared allowing people on the ground up the Tsunami sites, many from India, information to the public. But to post reports, including photos taken established a web database to gather in- social media is increasingly being used with cell phones, draw together information on the whereabouts of indi- to pull information from the public to formation, correct misinformation, viduals. They then enlisted the help of help guide disaster response. This is solicit aid, and inform rescue efforts. hundreds of volunteers from around the called “crowd sourcing” and it is trans- (http://tsunamihelpindia.blogspot. world who scoured news items about forming disaster response. com/2004_12_01_archive.html) victims from a variety of diffuse sources and input them into the database. Social Media in Disasters Hurricane Katrina Boxing Day Tsunami Hurricane Katrina struck not long after This developed into “PeopleFinder,” a website with two simple buttons—“I’m In December 2004, a tsunami devas- the Boxing Day Tsunami, and people Looking for Someone” and “I have In- tated areas in the east Indian Ocean. outside of the Gulf Coast regions were formation about Someone.” That web- Gathering information from remote desperately looking for information on site was used to connect people in the affected areas with those looking for information about them. The website is built on a free, open-source platform Don’t miss this chance that can be used for any disaster. It has subsequently been used for disasters such as the Haitian earthquake, for …to get in the APWA which there are currently over 55,000 Reporter’s Solid Waste entries. (http://haiticrisis.appspot.com) Management issue California Wildfires One of the challenges to fighting a Don’t miss this opportunity wildfire and evacuating people is in to advertise in the March getting accurate information about the issue which focuses on solid fire’s movement. The smoke obscures aerial photos, and because wildfires waste collection and disposal, generate their own wind, they can recycling, waste reduction move quickly and change directions and air quality. in an instant. Some fire departments solved this problem by establishing a The deadline to reserve your text message line that allowed ordinary space is February 7; the materials are due people to report the fire’s movement. by February 9. If a fire marshal posted a line of firefighters along a road, and a barrage of Bonus: Advertise and we’ll give you a free listing in text messages suddenly appeared warning that the fire had circled around the our “Products in the News” column! group, then he or she would know to move the firefighters out of harm’s way.

Call Amanda or Chris at (800) 800-0341. Subsequent studies of the public response to the fires found that many

56 APWA Reporter January 2011 people relied on social media for their Even more impressively, crisis camps other critical information for rescu- information because it was more rel- created a software program called ers. Thousands of people hand-coded evant, more timely, and more accurate OpenStreetMap which took the Google the information, which was converted than what they were getting from the map of the affected area, and using into a format to display on GPS units. regular media (Sutton, Leysia Palen & post-disaster satellite images, allowed Rescuers on the street used the infor- Irina Shklovski: 2008). Regular media volunteers to code on the map every mation and reported that it saved lives. sources focus on the major areas, such building that was damaged and how as downtowns, not neighborhoods badly, which streets were blocked, Harnessing the Power of Social outside of those areas. Their reports where hospitals had been set up, and Media may be hours old—an eternity in a flu- So how can you help your organization id situation such as a wildfire.

As people affected by the 2007 fire reported: FUll-depth reClamatIon. • “Most of the news media…are ut- terly clueless about anything in rural BeCaUse Bad roads Can Be areas. They constantly gave out bo- gus information, like locations and reCYCled Into great Investments. directions that made no sense at all.”

• “National news websites were completely worthless as they ignored everything except the comparatively minor Malibu fire which burned near some celebrity homes.” Concrete Pavement Concrete Overlay Full-Depth Reclamation Cement-Treated Base • “The only way we all have to get good information here is for those who have it to share it. We relied on others to give us updates when they had info Pulverized Material Deteriorated Asphalt Road and we do the same for others.” New Surface Course Haitian Earthquake Once again, ordinary people were looking for a way to help others in an emergency. Within a day of the Hai- Aggregate Base tian earthquake, a “Crisis Camp” was called in Washington, D.C. This camp Full-Depth Reclamation had no set agenda. People showed up with computer in hand and simply mapped out ways they could help. Subgrade Cement-Treated Base They then sat down and started aid- ing in the rescue efforts. Within a week over 40 other crisis camps appeared in cities around the world, and today the some asphalt roads are so anxious to be recycled that they deteriorate into ruts and movement has been formalized into a potholes in just a few years. Full-depth reclamation (Fdr) with cement makes better response system for all new crises. (cri- use of these short life-span road surfaces. With most of your materials on-site, Fdr siscommons.org) recycles the entire asphalt road into a cement-treated base ready for a new surface Two of the systems created are par- course. With this solution, your transportation investment is protected for generations and the environment is too. to learn more, visit www.think-harder.org/paving. ticularly impressive. Within one day an iPhone app was developed that translated Creole into English and back again. Then hundreds of volunteers hand-transcribed phrases into the system so that English-speaking rescuers could talk with the victims to learn their needs or provide directions. TM (Traduiapp.com)

January 2011 APWA Reporter 57 and community make use of this re- mation about the true extent of your Expert Roundtable on Social Me- source? Here are just a few suggestions: disaster to avoid spooking customers. dia and Risk Communication But people want to help. Make it as During Times of Crisis Tag your community: Citizens can easy as possible for the public to iden- Booz Allen Hamilton whitepaper prepare their communities for a di- tify your needs and offer assistance by Nice compilation of examples of social saster by simply tagging local evacua- posting them right on your crisis web- media used in disaster response tion routes, shelters, hospitals, etc. on site. The results may surprise you. OpenStreetMap.com. This could be a Who Was in Charge of the Massive school project, which will be a learning Numerous researchers have noted that Evacuation of Lower Manhattan? experience for the children. I plan to “when disasters have occurred, there Kendra, T. Wachtendorf and E. L. Quar- lead my son’s Boy Scout troop in such has been an informal development of antelli a coding exercise at a weekly meeting. technology and communication that www.semp.us/publications/biot_read- has self-organized during the event to er.php?BiotID=23 Prepare to use a crisis wiki: Learn provide coherent, relevant informa- Interesting discussion of public action dur- how to use the crisis.org wiki so that tion outside the traditional informa- ing a crisis you can quickly set up a site to gath- tion providers” and because of this, er information and volunteers in the Geospatial Responses to Disasters: emergency responders are “integrating event of a disaster. Let people in the The Role of Cyberspace local knowledge into disaster manage- community know that this will be the Melinda Laituri – ArcNews, Summer ment activities” (Laituri: 2010). Think place to go to identify needs and ways 2010 about how you can make use of this re- that they can help. http://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/sum- source in your own disaster plans. mer10articles/geospatial-responses.html Monitor the traffic: You may have Resources Discusses the move to incorporate commu- employees that are out of work dur- Andy Carvin TED Talk nity reporting into disaster response, and ing a disaster. These people can moni- tedxnyed.com provides ideas for future development tor the regular and social media traffic Wonderful short video on the uses of social with applications such as TwitterDeck, Social Media Software for media in disasters which can be used to search or aggre- Disaster Response gate Twitter traffic. They can monitor Facebook “more effective than Crisis Wiki Crisiswiki.org public opinion and report news items emergency services in a disaster” Open-source wiki for soliciting help in a disaster that require immediate response. They Andy Bloxham, The Telegraph, April could even respond to questions them- 30, 2008. Open Street Map selves. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ openstreetmap.org news/1914750/Facebook-more-effec- Mapping tool for tagging shelters, escape Solicit input: Add any one of a num- tive-than-emergency-services-in-a-di- routes, etc. in a community ber of free chat features to your crisis saster.html communication website to make it Ushahidi into a two-way conversation. Trans- Harnessing the Power of Social www.ushahidi.com ocean, the company that owned the Media in Disasters Free software for posting calls for help and of- Deepwater Horizon rig that exploded, http://businesscontinuity.norwich. fers of help on a street map of a disaster area added a number of links to their web- edu/webinars.php Crisis Commons site that allowed people to provide sug- Webinar outlining how social media has crisiscommons.org gestions, volunteer to help, and report been used in disaster response Volunteer organization that mobilizes to oiled wildlife. Backchannels on the Front Lines: use the power of the Internet and social Employee Networking: A social Emergent Uses of Social Media media to respond to crises network is crucial to human resilien- in the 2007 Southern California John Orlando received his Ph.D. from the cy during a crisis. Employees may be Wildfires University of Wisconsin, and has since scared or have unmet needs. A simple Jeannette Sutton, Leysia Palen & Irina published articles and presented lectures social media site that allows employees Shklovski: Proceedings of the 5th Inter- and webinars on a variety of topics in to express their thoughts, or request national ISCRAM Conference – Wash- business continuity management. In par- help with housing, clothing, babysit- ington, D.C., May 2008 ticular, he has published on business con- ting, etc. will go a long way towards http://www.jeannettesutton.com/ tinuity management for higher education helping your workforce to cope with uploads/BackchannelsISCRAM08.pdf and ethical issues in business continuity. the situation. Excellent discussion of how people relied He also helped develop online programs upon social media during the California at the University of Vermont and Norwich Ask for assistance: Common ortho- wildfires University. He can be reached at (802) doxy says that you should limit infor- 485-2729 or [email protected].

58 APWA Reporter January 2011 New emergency management training for the public works community

Gregg Scott Varner Pastor New Zion/Trinity United Methodist Church, New Zion/Alcolu, S.C. Former member, APWA Emergency Management Committee

“Public works agencies are responsible the importance of these critical aspects nity for improved plans in preparation for the protection and preservation of of emergency management. for the next event. There is discussion life, property, evidence, and the envi- in this course of the importance of the ronment. They play a vital role in di- The participant will review the func- participation of public works in the saster prevention, preparedness, miti- tions of Incident Management Teams, review of community lessons learned gation, response, and recovery.” Multiagency Coordination Systems and the preparation of an after-action and Emergency Operation Centers. All report. Benefits include the ability to These are the opening words in the are critical components of emergency revise plans, new training opportuni- new on-line emergency management management and public works has a ties, and possible needs for infrastruc- training available for the public works vital role in each. ture improvements. community. The Department of Home- land Security-FEMA and the National The development of public policy for Throughout the course there are voices Emergency Training Center, working local government is detailed along of experience discussing the various with C² Technologies, Inc. and APWA, with the importance of input from the lessons in the program, coming from have developed the first in a series of public works professional. The need for personal experience. Those profes- on-line training titled “The Role of thorough documentation is included sionals are Christine Walsh, Director Public Works in Emergency Manage- with the pitfalls for failing to do so. of Operations from the City of Be- ment.” The program is a two-hour in- Administrative practices are discussed loit, Wisconsin; Gary Eaton, Director dependent study course with a focus and how they relate to emergency of Operations and Maintenance in on the current and emerging role of management, including the need for San Diego County, California, Water the public works professional in the legal review. Mutual aid agreements, Authority; and Gregg Varner, retired management of a disaster. financial considerations and disaster Director of Public Works for the City procurement practices are incorporat- of North Charleston, South Carolina. It is the intent of the material in the ed into the detail. These public works professionals offer program to provide a fair level of de- The need for effective communications firsthand experience as it relates to the tailed information for communities material offered in this course of study. to improve the role of public works in is no less important to the public works prevention, preparedness, mitigation, professional than any other discipline. The course will be available (as IS-552) by response, and recovery activity. Partici- Participants will review the role of the December 30 at www.training.fema.gov. pants will study resource allocation as Public Information Officer, the Joint well as community priorities in public Information System, and the Joint In- In the coming year plans are underway works operations. formation Center. They will study the for development of three additional on- communication needs in the differ- line courses of study. They include Emer- There will be discussion of the disaster ent phases of the emergency manage- gency Planning for Public Works, Dam- assistance programs authorized by the ment cycle and the necessity for public age Assessment for Public Works, and Stafford Act. The relationship between works functions to develop an effective Public Works and Disaster Recovery. the National Incident Management Sys- public information program. tem and the National Response Frame- Gregg Scott Varner is retired from 30 years work is described in the course content. Time spent in this course of study will in public service and is currently serving provide information on the steps used the SC Conference of the United Method- A review of the Federal Emergency Sup- to develop an emergency management ist Church as a Local Pastor in the New port Functions is provided and where plan. Response activities, recovery pri- Zion/Alcolu communities of South Caro- the public works functions fit into the orities, and mitigation opportunities lina. He is a former member and chair of system, as well as support annexes. are all included in the detail. Informa- the APWA Emergency Management Com- There is detail for the public works pro- tion is also provided on other related mittee and serves as the subject matter ex- fessional to consider how they will use independent study courses. pert for the development of the EMI public the National Incident Management works and emergency management series. System and the Incident Command Lessons learned are important to im- His contact information is (843) 693- System. The participant will recognize prove service from public works in a 2698 and [email protected]. disaster. They will provide the opportu-

January 2011 APWA Reporter 59 The Public Works Field Operations Center: a key to a successful disaster response

Ron Ribaric Assistant Project Manager Orange County Public Works Orlando, Florida President, APWA Florida Chapter n the event of a man-made or nat- also provide information to the Emer- Once the room is selected, the next ural disaster, communications are gency Operations Center (EOC). step is to prepare the room to serve as critical. A key to the communica- an FOC. Electrical needs will need to tion chain is the Public Works and The Facility be addressed. A decision must be made Engineering ESF3 (Emergency Support The location of the Public Works Field as to the number of outlets that will be Function #3) Field Operations Center Operations Center should be decided needed for the equipment that will be (FOC). The main purpose of this fa- in advanced of an event in order to in the room. Electrical outlets will be cility is to coordinate the disaster re- prepare the room. The room should be needed for computers, radio chargers, sponse and recovery phase. The FOC large enough to provide space for the cell phone chargers, fax machine, cal- staff serves as the primary communica- staff that is required. Generally a large culators, television and cable/satellite tion line to the crews in the field. Field conference room in the Public Works box. Make certain the room lighting is crews contact the FOC when they need facility will meet the needs. The FOC adequate for the large volume of paper support or specialized equipment, and should be an internal room without work that will need to be accomplished they also receive their direction from any windows that may be damaged or during the event. The final step will be the FOC. The Public Works FOC will that could let inclement weather enter to make certain that the room has ac- the room. cess to an emergency generator to provide power in the event of an outage at the facility. Don’t miss this chance Additional equipment will be needed …to get in the APWA in the FOC and must be planned for. Two sets of four phone lines should be Reporter’s Annual Buyer’s installed in the room. One set of four Guide and Facilities & should be provided by the same phone company that manages the phone Grounds issue system for the facility. A second set of four lines should be added as a backup Don’t miss this opportunity to system. This second set of lines should advertise in the April “Buyer’s Guide” be from a different provider. There is a issue, which will give you a direct cost involved in maintaining the lines, contact with the leaders in the but the cost is small considering that industry. In addition, the April issue the main lines can be out of service for is our annual “Facilities & Grounds” a number of days. The phones should issue, and our members will be be assigned as two lines for general use; looking to the issue for information one line should be dedicated for com- on facility maintenance, grounds municating to the EOC and one line management and urban forestry. for a fax machine. The phones should The deadline to reserve your space is March 7; the materials are be removed and stored when not in use due by March 9. in the FOC. Other equipment should be obtained Bonus: Advertise and we’ll give you a free listing in our and stored in a cabinet in the FOC for “Products in the News” column! use during disaster events such as chargers for hand-held radios and addition- Call Amanda or Chris at (800) 800-0341. al hand-held radios. Make certain that

60 APWA Reporter January 2011 there are cell phone chargers for each Each of the staff for the FOC should Preparing to operate your FOC is a style of phone that your agency pro- have knowledge of their responsibili- project that cannot wait until the di- vides. Each agency will need to decide ties. The procedures for taking mes- saster event occurs. It must be thought how many of each are needed, but the sages and for providing information to out and completed well in advance. chargers should not be plugged in un- the EOC and field crews are important. Preparing the room, staging supplies, less they are needed. A television with The lead positions should also have selecting staff, and training are all criti- cable or satellite access is important the ability to prioritize incoming re- cal to operating a successful FOC. With for the FOC. The staff will need to quests knowing which are critical and this in place, Public Works ESF3 will monitor local and national news pro- which requests can wait. The staff will provide excellent response and support grams to have knowledge of what is be responsible for recording incoming to the agency and the citizens. occurring outside of the FOC. A dedi- calls, computer input, monitoring e- Ron Ribaric has been involved with ESF3 cated fax machine and copier will be mails and compiling data for the EOC emergency management with Orange needed. The copier can be at safe loca- situations reports. They also may need County Public Works for over 15 years. tion near the FOC, but make certain training on special computer software He is a certified member of the Florida that it is connected into an emergency such as ETEAM that is used in disaster Emergency Professional Managers power outlet. events. Association and a member of the A supply cabinet should also be part The staff should include two addi- International Association of Emergency of the FOC equipment, located in the tional people besides the lead, phone Managers. He can be reached at (407) FOC, with the ability to be locked and and computer staff. These individuals 836-8066 or [email protected]. with minimal staff having access. The should be knowledgeable in all aspects FOC Cabinet Supplies cabinet can store the phones, office of the FOC to spell the staff for breaks. 1 Box Pens supplies, maps, report forms, a book These additional staff can also serve as 6 Mechanical lead pencils of emergency phone numbers, fax ma- runners within the building to obtain chine and other items related to the information from other departments. Extra lead need of the FOC. Maps and map books Having staff on call for specific needs Eraser are important. Large maps of flood- is also important. Immediately after a 12 pencils prone areas, schools, debris sites and disaster it may be beneficial to have a 4 tablets 8.5 x 11 cleanup routes should be on large pa- traffic engineering expert in the FOC to 4 tablets 5 x 8 per so that they can be placed on the handle inquiries regarding traffic sig- 2 map books walls for easy use. nals and signs. GIS mapping is another 12 file folders Staffing area that may be required. You should 1 radio and charger consider having a staff member with Staffing the FOC is critical. Only the 1 box large paper clips expertise to be on call for this. Remem- staff that is currently working should 1 box small paper clips ber to have any special GIS software be in the room. The FOC is not a Stapler lounge. Unnecessary people in the installed on the computers that will be Staples room will decrease the efficiency of the in the FOC. 1 box medium binder clips operations as well as increase noise lev- Each FOC will need to determine the 1 box small binder clips els in the room. number of staff and expertise required. Emergency phone numbers Generally six to eight is an optimal Preparing the staff for working in the 1 pkg small post-it notes FOC is very important. The procedures number to operate efficiently. Make 1 pkg medium post-it notes and needs should be determined in certain to train your staff at least four Highliter advance, and then the staff should be deep. In the event of a disaster you selected and trained. The lead person may have staff that cannot make it 1 box dry erase markers should be an individual that has in- to work due to damage at home or 6- 8.5 x 11 envelopes depth knowledge of the capabilities of blocked roads. You may also need to 6- 5 x 8 envelopes the Public Works Department and has run round-the-clock shifts to operate 12 business envelopes a working knowledge of emergency op- the FOC. The day shift generally han- Tape erations. All staff assigned to the FOC dles the operation and the night shift Tape dispenser may be fewer staff as they will prepare should complete the National Incident Bag of rubber bands Management System (NIMS) accredita- for the next day, answer phones, re- 3 cell phone chargers tion courses which are offered through spond to emergencies and complete 1 Blackberry charger the Federal Emergency Management any data input that was not done dur- Agency (FEMA) online. ing the previous shift. Solar Calculator

January 2011 APWA Reporter 61 “I’ve been hearing talk ton, Director of Fleet Management, for If that’s the case, I would guess you about ‘insourcing’ servic- more information. have already considered how you can es and I’m not sure what reduce the amount of driving your staff Rob Hayes, Novi, Mich., this means. Can you clar- does while on the job. Or maybe you writes, “We’ve got several ify, please?” haven’t. Have you considered sched- miles of mostly residen- uling various inspections, even nec- Happy to do so. For quite tial concrete streets that essary inspections that involve more some time we have heard have severely spelled panel joints. than one department, at the same time about agencies “outsourcing” We’re looking to know what so one vehicle could transport all the their services such as solid other cities feel are some step-by- inspectors to perform their respective waste collection, recycling, operating step best practices that we could work at the same time? You can save water or wastewater plants and, more implement to cost-effectively seal one pound of carbon dioxide for every frequently, their fleet departments. these failed joints.” one mile of driving you eliminate. You We all know this means the provision There are several newer prod- have probably already considered pur- of that service is no longer being pro- ucts available to help with this chasing hybrid vehicles for your fleet. vided by the public works department problem. One method that Some have been very successful, others but has been contracted out to another seems to be used frequently and have not. Before you purchase, use the vendor. In many cases, it has worked with good success is asphalt injection. infoNOW Community to get an idea well. In others, the perception that One of our members actually reported of which ones have been most effec- thousands of dollars would be saved by that contractors who were performing tive for specific uses. Some of the cit- making this change was not actually overlays of asphalt on concrete streets ies that have tried the new electric cars realized. Outside vendors increase their found they could not remove the as- thinking they would be beneficial for fees for services and those increases phalt that had been injected between inspectors, etc., have found the range may not be within the city’s budget ca- the joints and actually requested that is not adequate to cover enough dis- pabilities. However, the opposite is true it be left in the joints instead of remov- tance between multiple sites in a given with “insourcing.” One strong area for ing it and overlaying directly over the time. Just a thought. this method is the management of fleet injected materials. If you’d like more services. Municipal fleet departments For every ten minutes you do NOT let information on this process, contact with the capability and capacity to your car idle, you reduce your carbon Doug House, Moline, Ill., at dhouse@ provide more service have begun con- footprint by 3.2 pounds. Have you set moline.il.us. tracting with other smaller agencies guidelines to control the once-frequent that no longer can provide the neces- “We are searching for ways idling of police vehicles that may be in sary services for a small fleet, whether to reduce our carbon foot- your fleet, along with many others? it’s keeping up with the changes in ve- print to meet guidelines How about having your fleet vehicles hicles or keeping qualified mechanics established by our provin- turn the engine off if the driver is stuck to perform the service. These contracts cial government. I know people in heavy traffic with lots of “stop and have been beneficial since both agen- have been talking about this for go” issues? Are you aware that one gal- cies are government agencies and the several years and we think we lon of gasoline for a car engine emits knowledge of government financing have covered most of the obvious 20 pounds of carbon? is well understood. The smaller agen- solutions. Are you aware of any- While conducting a Reaccreditation cy is receiving quality service and the thing different we might do?” Site Visit for the City of Chesapeake, larger agency is able to bring in some Va., Public Works Department, one of additional revenue while expanding I’m assuming you are talking their practices dealing with the proce- their services. All in all, it’s a win-win about ways the “city” can re- dure for traffic signal timing was rec- situation. One agency that is making duce their own carbon foot- ognized as a Model Practice because it work well is Polk County, Fla., and print or help their residents do the timing reports provided specific you might want to contact Bob Stan- so in the transportation-related areas.

62 APWA Reporter January 2011 information that demonstrates the they did not do so. The Court assumed of the policy must be conducted to reduction in travel delay for the pub- that the employee might have a priva- update as necessary. Be certain all lev- lic, as well as the reduction of carbon cy expectation but held that the search els of staff know the policy is in effect emissions. If you are interested in more was a reasonable one. Consequently, and it is not undermined by mid-level information about their program, con- the city had no liability for violating managers by making stray comments tact Gary Walton, Traffic Engineer, the employee’s constitutional rights. that are contrary to the policy. “It’s OK at [email protected] for to call home if you’re going to be late more details on this program. What this means is that agencies need because you’re still at work and will to develop very complete policies for miss your kid’s soccer match” does not “My city has a policy in the use of technology and be certain meet the criteria of “no personal mes- place that talks about that employees receive good training sages on city-owned equipment.” If the the ‘privacy rights’ of on the policy and how it impacts them. policy means “no personal use,” then employees when it comes The policy should “state the obvious” don’t undermine it. At the same time, to the use of electronic devic- even where incidental personal use is make sure the policy is practical. And es provided by the city to the allowed, to make it clear that there is the policy should reserve the right of employee for use while on the no reasonable expectation of privacy management to conduct broad inspec- job. The policy pretty well says, for personal use. It is always better to tions and investigations that should be ‘There are no privacy rights.’ The encourage the employee to purchase motivated by legitimate work-related city can check what messages the their own devices for their own person- purposes and narrowly focused on employee sends and employees al use to ensure their privacy is not in that purpose only. Do not allow it to can be disciplined accordingly question. The policy should be as broad become a “grievance” or “retaliation” for misuse. I can see this for com- as possible and cover all types of elec- tool. The bottom line is: develop a puters, laptops, and cell phones tronic communications that occur on policy, train staff on the policy, adhere but what about alphanumeric work equipment, including those that strictly to the policy, and monitor us- pagers? If I’m required to carry may be developed and implemented in age to determine all is being followed one on the job, and I pay appli- the future. Because the technology is appropriately. Good luck! cable income taxes to use it as a changing so rapidly, frequent reviews personal device as well, do I have any privacy rights?”

There is no simple answer but a “probably not” an- Don’t miss this chance swer is most likely what you …to get in the APWA would receive. A recent case was heard by the Supreme Court on Reporter’s Sustainability just such a policy. The city had a writ- issue ten policy for its employees stating that there were no privacy guarantees Don’t miss this opportunity with respect to e-mails sent through to advertise in the May issue, a city-owned computer system. But nothing was mentioned, specifically, which will cover topics such as about whether this applied to alpha- retrofitting existing buildings numeric pagers used to send text mes- using green design, developing sages. When the employee in question green transportation for Smart ran up excessively high usage charges, the city staff conducted an audit of the Growth, and low-impact messages and found a large volume of development. personal e-mails, many of a sexually explicit nature, sent through the city’s The deadline to reserve your space is April 6; the materials pager. He was disciplined and then filed are due by April 8. a civil rights lawsuit against the city charging that it had violated his federal Bonus: Advertise and we’ll give you a free listing in our constitutional right against unreason- “Products in the News” column! able searches under the Fourth Amend- ment. While the Supreme Court was expected to address the exact expectation of privacy of public employees Call Amanda or Chris at (800) 800-0341. in the context of modern technology,

January 2011 APWA Reporter 63 Products in the News

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January 2011 APWA Reporter 65 Spray weedS while Sweeping

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101203 APWA Reporter BC 2-125Wx2-3125H.indd 1 12/3/10 5:01 PM UPCOMING APWA EVENTS International Public Works Congress & Exposition North American Snow Conference 2011 Sept. 18-21 Denver, CO 2011 Apr. 10-13 Spokane, WA 2012 Aug. 26-29 Anaheim, CA 2012 Apr. 29-May 2 Milwaukee, WI 2013 Aug. 25-28 Chicago, IL For more information, contact Brenda Shaver at (800) 848-APWA or send 2014 Aug. 17-20 Toronto, ON e-mail to [email protected]. 2015 Aug. 30-Sept. 2 Phoenix, AZ For more information, contact Dana Priddy at (800) 848-APWA or send National Public Works Week: May 15-21, 2011 e-mail to [email protected]. Always the third full week in May. For more information, contact Jon Dilley at (800) 848-APWA or send e-mail to [email protected]. JANUARY 2011 FEBRUARY 2011 4 APWA: Click, Listen & Learn, “Weather Reports: Where to 3-5 10th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference, Charlotte, Get Them and How to Use Them,” (800) 848-APWA, www. NC, www.newpartners.org apwa.net 6-9 National Asphalt Pavement Association Annual Meeting, Orlando, 11 APWA: Click, Listen & Learn, “Electric Vehicles and Their FL, www.hotmix.org Networks,” (800) 848-APWA, www.apwa.net 10 APWA: Click, Listen & Learn, “Using Life Cycle Cost 13 APWA: Click, Listen & Learn, “Are Utility Cuts Killing Analysis in a Down Economy,” (800) 848-APWA, www. Your Pavement?” (800) 848-APWA, www.apwa.net apwa.net

17-21 World of Concrete, Las Vegas, NV, www.worldofconcrete.com 15 APWA: Click, Listen & Learn, “Gray Water Reuse and Rainwater Harvesting,” (800) 848-APWA, www.apwa.net 23-26 US Composting Council’s 19th Annual Conference & Trade Show, Santa Clara, CA, www.compostingcouncil.org 17-22 Hydraulic Institute 2011 Annual Meeting, Scottsdale, AZ, www. pumps.org 27 APWA: Click, Listen & Learn, “Pavement Preservation,” (800) 848-APWA, www.apwa.net 24 APWA: Click, Listen & Learn, “Team Dynamics—Stepping up to the ‘New Normal’,” (800) 848-APWA, www.apwa.net INDEX OF ADVERTISERS When you contact an advertiser regarding a product, please tell them you saw their ad in the APWA Reporter. Thanks! – The Editor Legend: IFC = Inside Front Cover; IBC = Inside Back Cover; BC = Back Cover

Accu-Steel, Inc., p. 67 Enterprise Information Solutions, p. IFC Proseal Inc., p. 65 www.ASICoverBuildings.com www.enterinfo.com www.prosealks.com Advanced Surface Systems, p. 65 Everblades, p. 67 Pulltarps Manufacturing, p. 66 www.SureDome.com www.everblades.com www.pulltarps.com Asplundh Highway Division, pp. 15, 66 Flink Co., p. 50 QPR, p. BC www.asplundh.com www.flinkco.com www.QPRShopWorx.com Burns & McDonnell, p. 67 Geocal, Inc., p. 65 QuakeWrap, Inc., p. 67 www.burnsmcd.com www.geocal.us www.PipeMedic.com Camosy Construction, p. 65 GVM Snow Equipment, p. 66 RHOMAR Industries, Inc., p. 7 www.camosy.com www.gvmsnow.com www.rhomar.com CartêGraph, p. 53 Henke Manufacturing Corp., p. 66 RUD-Chain, p. 19 www.cartegraph.com/retro www.henkemfg.com www.rudchain.com ClearSpan Fabric Structures, p. 13 Holt Technologies, p. 67 Stan Design Inc., p. 65 www.ClearSpan.com www.holttechnologies.com www.stanjacks.com Cold Mix Manufacturing, p. 65 IST International, p. 66 SWA Group, p. 67 www.greenpatch.com www.IntelligentSignals.com www.swagroup.com Consort Display Group, p. 65 Kleinfelder/S E A Consultants, p. 65 TAPCO, p. 65 www.consort.com www.seacon.com www.tapconet.com Crafco, Inc., p. 67 Kraft Tool Co., p. 66 Tracker Software Corp./PubWorks, p. 67 www.crafco.com www.KraftTool.com www.PubWorks.com Custom Concrete Creations, p. 47 MJ Harden Associates, Inc., p. 66 Trackless Vehicles LTD, p. 9 www.customconcretecreationsshop.com www.mjharden.com www.tracklessvehicles.com Dannenbaum Engineering Company, p. 66 www.dannenbaum.com NTech Industries, Inc., p. 66 Trimble Navigation, p. 65 www.weedseeker.com www.weedseeker.com DEL Hydraulics, p. 67 www.delcranes.com Portland Cement Association, pp. 55, 57 Vaisala Inc., p. 41 www.think-harder.org www.vaisala.com/HAR Designovations, Inc., p. 67 www.designovations.com Precision Concrete Cutting, p. 66 Wumbus Corporation, p. 40 www.SafeSidewalks.com www.wumbus.com Donaldson Company, Inc., p. 33 www.donaldson.com/emissions

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