Basic Plan

The format and organization of the Mat-Su EOP aligns with the National Incident Management System (NIMS) models for community emergency operations plans. It consists of four parts:

Part 1 contains the Basic Plan. The Basic Plan addresses many of the core requirements for a NIMS-compliant emergency operations plan, and focuses on administrative procedures and policies for emergency management in the Borough.

Part 2 contains hazard-specific response checklists for identified hazards facing the Mat-Su Borough. For each hazard, the checklists are broken into response phase: warning, response, and recovery. Within each checklist, action items are assigned to an IMT position and outside agencies and organizations that should be notified are identified.

Part 3 contains Functional Annexes. These annexes each address a distinct component of emergency response operations, and describe the concept of operations and assigned duties and responsibilities required to carry out each function.

Part 4 contains the Resource Manual. This manual describes the emergency response resources and capabilities of Borough agencies and of other local, state, and federal agencies, as well as some private sector contractors.

Part 5 contains Appendices, including acronyms, a glossary, and a telephone directory.

Mutual Aid and Interjurisdictional Agreements

Other Emergency Operations Plans and Policies

Situations and Assumptions

This emergency operations plan was developed based on the following general assumptions:

• A major emergency or natural disaster could happen at any time. The time of year, day of the week, time of day, and weather conditions are key variables that can have an impact on the seriousness of the incident and on the MSB's ability to respond immediately.
• While it is likely that outside assistance would be available from State and/or Federal agencies in most major disaster situations affecting the MSB, it may be hours or even days before these agencies become fully mobilized.
• The MSB must be prepared to carry out disaster response and short-term recovery operations on an independent basis.
• Local government officials recognize their responsibilities for the safety and well being of the public. Each is familiar with this plan and with their role in managing a local emergency, and will execute their assigned responsibilities.

Mat-Su Borough Overview

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough, encompassing nearly 25,000 square miles, is comprised of three incorporated cities (Houston, Palmer and Wasilla), two Alaska Native entities (Village of Chickaloon and Knik Tribal Council) more than 20 unincorporated communities, and areas outside those boundaries, all with varying degrees of emergency response and disaster preparedness planning already in place. (See Borough Locator Map.)

The Mat-Su Borough includes portions of the Alaska Range to the northwest, portions of the Chugach Mountains to the southeast, and essentially the entire Talkeetna and Clearwater Ranges in its interior. The Municipality of Anchorage, Upper Cook Inlet, and Knik Arm delineate the Borough's southern border. (See Borough Overview Map.)

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough is a second class Borough incorporated in 1964 within the state of Alaska. The Borough has an elected Mayor and Assembly. The Borough Manager acts as chief administrator. The Borough's area-wide powers include: assessment and collection of taxes, education, planning and zoning, parks and recreation, ports, harbors, and wharves, ambulance service, search & rescue, transportation systems, air pollution control, day care facilities, historic preservation, and transient accommodations taxation. The Borough's non-area-wide powers include: fire suppression, regulation of fireworks, motor vehicles and operators, snow vehicles, solid waste, libraries, septic tank waste disposal, economic development, limited health and social service, animal control, water pollution control and local improvement districts for natural gas, electricity, and roads. The Alaska State Troopers maintain off-road powers. Fire service is provided by specific service areas in the Mat-Su Borough. There are eight service areas: Sutton, Butte, Greater Palmer, Wasilla-Lakes, Meadow Lakes, Big Lake, Willow, and Talkeetna. The cities of Palmer and Houston have separate city operated and funded services. (See Fire Service Areas Map.)

The 2006 Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development (DCCED) certified population estimate for the Mat-Su Borough identifies 77,174 residents living in 24,682 square miles. The US Census Bureau's 2008 population estimate for the Mat-Su Borough is over 80,000 and growing. Most of the population is concentrated in the Borough's "core area", the approximately 100 square miles located between and around the cities of Palmer and Wasilla. The Mat-Su Borough is the fastest-growing area in the State of Alaska.

The Borough is traversed by two major federal highways, the Glenn Highway and the Parks Highway. The Glenn Highway traverses the eastern portion of the Borough and connects to the Richardson Highway at Glennallen. The Parks Highway traverses the Borough in a north/south direction parallel to the Susitna River. These two federal highways connect the Borough to the two major population centers of Alaska, Anchorage and Fairbanks, and are the major freight corridors linking the interior of Alaska with the coast. All out-of-state highway traffic travels through the Borough via one of the two interstate highways.

The Knik Arm Ferry Project is proposed to link Port MacKenzie with the Municipality of Anchorage, twenty miles across Knik Arm. The ferry will provide transportation for hundreds of commuters and simplify access to the developing Port.

The Alaska Railroad traverses the Borough in a north/south direction and, for most of its length, parallels the Parks Highway. It is a single track line, with daily passenger service in summer reducing to weekly in winter. Flag stop service is available for areas north of Talkeetna, an area dotted with homesteads and vacation cabins not accessible by road. Development of a commuter rail system providing regular service to Anchorage has long been studied but not implemented due to high costs. Once the population reaches a critical point, commuter rail service may become financially feasible.

Palmer, Wasilla, Talkeetna, Willow and Big Lake each has a Municipal Airport, however there are no scheduled flights. Private aircraft owners and small flight seeing operations utilize both airports as well as the many small unpaved airstrips scattered throughout the Borough. The State Division of Forestry bases its wildland firefighting air operations out of the Palmer Municipal Airport. The Borough contains more private airstrips per capita than any community of similar size in the United States.

Community Profiles of the Cities, Communities, and Villages in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough are available through the Alaska Department of Commerce and Economic Development's Community Information Summaries, online at www.commerce.state.ak.us/dca. The Community Profiles provide information about the local economy, demographics, political leaders, and infrastructure.

Contact the Borough GIS Department for incident-specific mapping support.

Hazards

During 2008, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough will finalize and adopt an All-Hazard Mitigation Plan to fulfill the FEMA requirement under The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the Act), Section 322, Mitigation Planning enacted by Section 104 of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA) (P.L. 106-390). The DMA 2000, Section 322 (a-d), as implemented through 44 CFR Part 201.6 requires that local governments, as a condition of receiving federal disaster mitigation funds, have a mitigation plan that describes the process for identifying hazards, risks, and vulnerabilities; identifying and prioritizing mitigation actions, encouraging development of local mitigation and providing technical support for those efforts. The Matanuska-Susitna Borough All-Hazard Mitigation Plan identifies hazards; establishes community goals and objectives, and develops mitigation strategies and activities that are appropriate for the Borough.

In addition to the hazards identified above as being present in the Mat-Su Borough, this EOP also addresses five other types of emergencies: Energy Shortage, Oil/Hazardous Materials Release, Terrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction, Pandemic Flu, and Transportation Incidents. Since Mat-Su Borough All-Hazards Mitigation Plan focuses on natural disasters, these types of incidents are not included in the Hazard Mitigation Plan at this time.

Hazard-Specific Response Checklists

Based on the hazard analysis in the mitigation plan and the input from participants in the 2008 update to the Mat-Su Borough EOP, the following hazards are included in Part 2 of this EOP:

• Avalanche
• Earthquake
• Energy Shortage
• Erosion (Riverine)
• Fire (Wildland)
• Flood
• Landslide
• Oil or Hazardous Materials Release
• Pandemic Flu
• Severe Weather
• Terrorism or Weapons of Mass Destruction
• Transportation Incidents
• Volcano

Disaster Types

The occurrence of any one or more of the disaster events previously listed could impact the Mat-Su Borough severely and include any or all of the following possibilities:

• Loss of electric power
• Failure of water distribution systems
• Severance of road / highway network
• Evacuation of people from the Borough
• Necessity for borough-led mass care (shelter) and feeding operations
• Need for debris clearance and removal
• Multiple injuries and fatalities
• Drastic increase in media attention
• Damage to the communications and telephone networks
• Severe economic impact
• Increased number of vermin and vectors
• Need for official public information and rumor control
• Need for State and/or Federal assistance
• Reentry of essential personnel and equipment
• Reentry of the public
• Damage to vital records
• Need for damage assessment
• Need for auxiliary power
• Need for coordination of donated goods
• Contamination of private wells
• Need for law enforcement support
• Need for emergency medical and rescue support
• Need for fire protection support
• Need for additional hospital / medical support
• Overtaxing local resources
• Depth of staffing problems
• Loss of facilities vital to maintaining essential services
• Environmental impact to wildlife, natural resources and agriculture
• Management of reconstruction
• Coordination of staged resources
• Damage to historical sites
• Isolation of populations
• Presidential Disaster Declaration

Concept of Operations

Emergency Operations Priorities

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough observes the following response priorities:

• Protection of human life
• Protection of public health
• Protection of public and private property and the environment
• The Borough encourages all citizens to be self-sufficient for a range of 7 to 21 days, depending upon the circumstances, should a disaster emergency occur.

Role of the Borough in Local Emergencies

This Emergency Operations Plan is concerned with all types of emergency situations that may develop. It also accounts for activities before, during and after emergency operations.

• Emergency preparedness and response is first and foremost a local government function. Incorporated cities and villages within the Matanuska-Susitna Borough are encouraged to develop their own Emergency Operations Plans. The Borough can provide support to its communities, but those communities should not rely on the Borough to manage all local response functions.
• This plan is based on the concept that group and individual functions will parallel normal daily activities during emergency or disaster events.
• It is important to maintain organizational continuity and to assign familiar tasks to personnel. However, large-scale disasters may necessitate drawing upon peoples' basic capacities and use them in areas of greatest need.
• Day-to-day functions that do not contribute directly to the emergency operation may be suspended for the duration of an emergency.
• Local community emergency responders usually know the best ways to assign disaster emergency relief resources within their communities. The Borough will work with local emergency responders to meet the immediate emergency needs of people impacted by a disaster, including rescue, medical care, food, shelter, and clothing.
• The Borough will utilize all available resources and capabilities to assist in meeting the rehabilitation needs of people impacted by an emergency.
• State response organizations will coordinate their activities with the local and Borough governments so that State aid is rendered in the most helpful manner.
• Federal assistance is coordinated through the State's Emergency Coordination Center to support local efforts, not circumvent or substitute for them.
• The Mat-Su Borough Emergency Operations Plan may be activated when one or more of the following situations occur:
• There exists an imminent threat to the public safety / health on a large scale;
• Extensive multiagency or multiple jurisdiction response and coordination are necessary to resolve or recover from the major emergency or disaster event;
• Local resources are inadequate or depleted and significant mutual aid, state and/or federal resources must be utilized to resolve the major emergency or disaster event;
• The disaster affects multiple political jurisdictions within the Borough, cities, towns and/or villages which are relying on the same resources to resolve the major emergency or disaster event; and/or
• Local emergency ordinances are implemented to control the major emergency or disaster event.

General Policies

• Maintenance of essential services and facilities and/or their early restoration is a primary goal of this plan. The Borough will work with local authorities, private entities, and aid organizations to quickly restore facilities, whether publicly or privately owned, that are essential to the health, safety, and welfare of people (such as medical, sanitation, water, electricity, and emergency road repair).
• An emergency or disaster may require prompt and effective response and recovery operations by the Borough, cities, villages, state agencies, federal agencies, disaster relief agencies, volunteer organizations, and the private sector.
• Governmental entities within the Borough will be responsible for "self help" - utilizing all available local resources prior to requesting assistance from either the State of Alaska or the Federal Government.
• All Borough agencies will put their respective emergency response plans into limited or full implementation as appropriate when an emergency or disaster situation exists.
• Incident management teams will prepare Incident Situation and Status Reports based upon severity of the situation. The reports will be forwarded to the Mat-Su Borough-Department of Emergency Services or Emergency Operations Center if activated.
• Access to emergency services will not be denied on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age or disability. Local activities pursuant to the Borough/State Agreement for major disaster recovery will be carried out in accordance with Title 44, CFR, Section 205.16 (Nondiscrimination). Federal disaster assistance (which is coordinated through the State) is conditional on full compliance with this rule.
• Emergency or disaster response often requires quick decisions under adverse conditions. Government entities complying with this plan shall not be liable for injury, death, or loss of property except in cases of willful misconduct or gross negligence.
• The Matanuska-Susitna Borough has adopted and uses the National Incident Management System (NIMS) as its system of preparing for, and responding to, disaster incidents. NIMS uses the Incident Command System (ICS) for responding to, and managing disasters.

Emergency Management

Management of an emergency incident impacting the Mat-Su Borough would be carried out as described in this Emergency Operations Plan. The Emergency Operations Center (EOC), located at Station 6-1 in Wasilla, serves as a central location for the coordination and support of any type of major emergency or disaster response. The EOC provides a central point for members of the Borough Incident Management Team to guide and support on-scene responders and the on-scene IMT. While the EOC functions primarily to provide a central location for the Borough IMT to provide incident support to the on-scene IMT, there may be occasions where the two functions are co-located in the Borough EOC. If the EOC is damaged or unavailable for use, an alternate facility will be designated.

Functional Annexes

The functional annexes in Part 3 of this plan describe how the Mat-Su Borough will manage the following emergency operations functions in the event that this EOP is activated:

• Annex A: Alert and Evacuation
• Annex B: Plan Activation and Disaster Declaration
• Annex C: Incident Management Team
• Annex D: Emergency Operations Center
• Annex E: Communications and Public Information
• Annex F: Resource Management
• Annex G: Sheltering and Congregate Care
• Annex H: Public Health and Multicasualty Incidents
• Annex I: Oil and Hazardous Materials Spills
• Annex J: Terrorism and WMD Incidents
• Annex K: Disaster Recovery

Phases of Disaster Emergency Management

Disaster emergency management planning can be divided into four phases: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Although each phase has tasks assigned to it, the process is dynamic and interconnected. This plan addresses all four phases of disaster emergency management, with a focus on response and recovery.

Mitigation

• Mitigation includes those actions taken to eliminate a hazard, or to reduce the potential for damage should a disaster emergency occur.
• The Mat-Su Borough has an All-Hazard Mitigation Plan that identifies hazards and requires community involvement to reduce disaster devastation.
• This plan should interface with every Borough planning activity to ensure its effectiveness and assure continuity.
• Mitigation actions include land use planning, building codes, special identifications and routing requirements for hazardous materials movement, highway design, and flood-proofing measures.
• It lists potential projects to reduce or eliminate future human life losses and property or environmental damage. It also lists short- and long-term mitigation goals.

Preparedness

• Preparedness includes actions taken to plan, equip, and train citizens and government personnel to respond to local emergencies.
• Preparation may include developing Emergency Operations Plans and exercises to test them, training in evacuation procedures, and purchase of equipment and supplies needed to respond to the disaster emergency.
• Preparedness should include a Continuity of Operations Plan or a Business Continuity Plan to ensure valuable data is retained and allow quicker business commencement after an emergency or disaster event.

Response

• Response includes actions taken to save lives and protect property during a disaster emergency.
• Response may include search and rescue, fire suppression, evacuation, emergency feeding and sheltering. It may also include behind-the-scenes activities such as activating disaster plans, and opening and staffing an Emergency Operations Center.

Recovery

• Recovery includes those processes required to return the jurisdiction to normal following an emergency.
• Recovery could include road and public facility reconstruction, securing financial aid for disaster victims, offering community counseling and psychological support services, and reviewing and analyzing response activities.

Basic responsibility for disaster emergency planning and response lies first with individuals and heads of households. Borough employees with assigned emergency response duties should take care of their families first. Each household within the Borough is encouraged to develop a family disaster plan and to maintain the essential supplies to be self-sufficient for five to seven days.

Visit the following Borough, State, and Federal websites for family and personal emergency preparedness brochures and information.

www.matsulepc.org

www.ak-prepared.com

www.fema.gov

Levels of Emergency Response

When a disaster emergency requires a coordinated response, the following tiered response flow occurs. The response begins with the first responders on-scene, and depending on the incident specifics, may eventually expand to include local, Borough, state, and federal government and/or private sector responders, managers, and resources.

First Responders

Routine incidents are usually managed by the on-scene first responders (i.e. Fire, Police, EMS), who are dispatched to deal with the emergency.

A local emergency responder, usually the person-in-charge from the responding organization, acts as Incident Commander and leads the response effort at the scene. The Incident Commander (IC) follows standard operating procedures and requests additional assistance as appropriate. The EOP is NOT activated.

Local

If the incident can be effectively managed by the initial Incident Commander and on-scene personnel, no further local or outside involvement may be required.

For a more serious incident, it may be necessary to activate the local emergency response systems. The Borough's incorporated cities have an EOP or emergency plan in place. Smaller communities and unincorporated areas may not function under a discrete plan.

Borough

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Department of Emergency Services has plans and procedures in place to manage region-wide emergencies, or incidents affecting local or tribal jurisdictions within the region or Borough.

The Borough government is the primary liaison between affected communities (local or tribal governments) and the state under the concept of operations outlined in the State of Alaska Emergency Response Plan for all hazards, and the Federal/State Preparedness Plan for Response to Oil Spills and Hazardous Substance Releases (Unified Plan). Therefore, the local IMT must work through the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Department of Emergency Services when seeking support from the state or federal governments.

State

The Mat-Su Borough's Director of Emergency Services may request assistance from the State of Alaska when a disaster response exceeds local capabilities. Such a request is coordinated with and routed through the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management's (DHS&EM) State Emergency Coordination Center (SECC)

The State of Alaska Emergency Response Plan (ERP) provides guidance and direction for response to all types of emergencies, with the exception of oil spills and hazardous chemical releases, which fall under the Unified Plan. The following define lead agency responsibilities:

• DHS&EM is the lead state agency for emergency response, with the exception of an oil or hazardous substance release;
• The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) is the lead state agency for oil spill or hazardous substance releases;
• The Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry (DNR/DOF) is the lead agency for wildland fires;
• The Department of Public Safety (DPS) is the lead state agency for search and rescue activities.

A State Coordinating Officer (SCO) is appointed by the Director of DHS&EM under the State ERP. During incidents where a state-level response is mounted, usually in response to a statewide disaster declaration, a State Emergency Coordination Center (SECC) will be established to coordinate the response. The core mission of the SECC is to respond to requests for support from local EOCs or IMTs, in accordance with the decisions, objectives, and priorities established by the MAC Group. In addition, the SECC conducts situational assessment and provides reports to a wide variety of agencies and organizations.

The Governor's Disaster Policy Cabinet (DPC), which consists of selected commissioners from Alaska's executive departments, may recommend the need for a state or federal disaster declaration. The DPC will indirectly consider the input of the MAC Group in making such recommendations.

During oil spill and hazardous substance responses, the organizational structure will differ slightly. Instead of an SCO from DHS&EM, ADEC will assign a State On-Scene Coordinator (SOSC) to represent the State in the Unified Command, along with On-Scene Coordinators (OSC) representing the responsible party (RP), the federal government (Federal On-Scene Coordinator or FOSC), and in some cases the local government (Local On-Scene Coordinator or LOSC).

Multi-agency Coordination (MAC) Group

Multi-agency Coordination (MAC) Groups are essential in situations where Federal, State, local, and private sector agencies/organizations have significant statutory responsibilities and/or vested interests. The MAC Group is made up of top management personnel from responsible agencies, organizations, and jurisdictions supporting or impacted by the event. MAC Group representatives are fully authorized to represent, and act on behalf of, their parent organizations. The MAC Group accomplishes high-level interagency coordination and establishes policy decisions, objectives, and priorities that drive the SECC. Also, local MAC Group members provide direction to their local ICs based on the outcomes of MAC Group meetings. The MAC Group is replaced during an oil spill response by a Regional Stakeholder Committee (RSC), which operates in a similar manner to the MAC.

Federal

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), under the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is typically the lead federal agency in disaster emergencies. For oil spills and hazardous substance releases, the National Contingency Plan (NCP) is the guiding policy document, and the EPA is the lead agency for inland spills while the US Coast Guard is the lead agency for spills to navigable waterways. A Joint Federal Office (JFO) will be established to coordinate the federal agency response with state and local authorities. The State is responsible for non-spill emergency coordination between local governments and federal agencies. However, ADEC is responsible for oil and hazardous substance spills when federal agencies and resources are added to the local response.

The director of FEMA will recommend to the President whether to declare an Emergency or Major Disaster after completing a preliminary damage assessment. The President will declare an Emergency or Major Disaster and appoint the Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO), who serves as the President's representative to the disaster emergency and leads the federal response and recovery efforts from the JFO.

Assistance may be available under the statutory authorities of individual federal agencies in a non-Presidential disaster declaration qualifying event. The Borough Director of Emergency Services may request assistance from the appropriate agencies through the SECC.

Private Sector

The person-in-charge of the affected private sector facility will implement the facility's Emergency Response Plan. S/he activates its Emergency Operations Center, declares a facility emergency, and communicates with the local community to request assistance.

The Borough's IMT and EOC may be activated to support the response at a private facility. A Unified Command will be formed, consisting of facility, local, Borough, State, and federal agency representatives depending upon incident type and jurisdiction requirements,

Local agencies may maintain Incident Command to protect public health and safety for certain types of incidents such as fires and hazardous materials releases. Likewise, the local and/or the Borough IMT and EOC may be selectively activated to support response operations if the private facility or organization responsible for the incident does not have the planning or personnel in place to support a response.

It is important to notify the local hospitals or clinics when an emergency event or incident occurs that might cause human casualties. Medical facilities are important private sector resources during any emergency response.

Preparedness Levels

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough uses preparedness levels similar to those in place at the State Emergency Coordination Center (SECC) to describe situations where the EOP and IMT may be activated. (Note: the Mat-Su Borough has inverted the numbering system used by the state in order to align with the NIMS incident complexity types.)

Criteria used to establish preparedness levels may include:

• Actual or forecasted weather events that may cause significant impacts to human life, property, or the environment within the Borough.
• Occurring or forecasted geologic events that can cause impacts to people, property and transportation systems. (Normally these will be volcanic eruptions or increases in seismicity which are precursors to volcanic eruptions. Earthquakes could change preparedness levels; however that will normally occur after the event.)
• Wildland fire activity within the Borough that impacts fire suppression capabilities.
• Availability of emergency response and recovery resources either borough or statewide, both people and equipment.
• Significant events occurring within municipalities or unincorporated areas that may impact their local response capabilities (Could be power system failures, water and sewer system problems, large fires, etc.)
• State of Alaska Homeland Security Threat Levels.

Preparedness Level 5

• Routine operations.
• Occurring and forecasted events include little, if any, threat.
• Events are effectively managed by Borough agencies under routine operating procedures without the need for additional support.

Preparedness Level 4

• Heightened awareness of potential for incident.
• Occurring or forecasted events include a potential or present threat. (Examples: weather or river watch/warning, multiple fire ignitions, extended search and rescue, or a law enforcement action.)
• Events exceed the routine, but responsible agencies are able to manage with additional support from commonly used sources.
• Director of Emergency Services and staff will actively monitor the situation.

Preparedness Level 3

• An emergency incident has occurred or may be imminent.
• Select IMT positions may be activated, EOC may be established, and local disaster may be declared.
• Incident complexity type will determine level of IMT staffing.

Preparedness Level 2

• Type 2 incident has occurred and will be managed as described below.

Preparedness Level 1

• Type 1 incident has occurred and will be managed as described below.

Incident Complexity Types

Once a situation reaches Preparedness Level 3, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough will classify the complexity of an incident based on the incident complexity system in the National Incident Management System (NIMS). Incidents are classified into five types, in order to make decisions about resource requirements and IMT staffing.

NIMS refers to the following five levels of incident complexity, with Type 5 being the least and Type 1 being the most complex:

Type 5 Incident

• Incident Commander is typically the only IMT position activated.
• Incident can be managed with resources initially dispatched to the scene.
• The incident is contained within the first operational period, and often within a few hours of resources arriving.
• No written Incident Action Plan (IAP) is required.
• Examples include a vehicle fire, injured person, or police stop.

Type 4 Incident

• Some Command and General Staff positions may be activated as needed.
• Several resources are required to manage the incident, sometimes as a Strike Team or Task Force.
• The incident is usually limited to one or two operational period in the emergency phase.
• No IAP is required but operational briefings and resource orders should be documented.

Type 3 Incident

• Staffing and resources needs exceed initial response capabilities. ICS positions will be activated based on the incident type.
• Some or all of the Command and General Staff positions will be activated, as well as Division/Group Supervisors and Unit Leader level positions, to suit the incident needs.
• A Type 3 Incident Management Team (IMT) manages the incident until containment/control is achieved, or until the incident is expanded into a Type 2 or Type 1 team.
• A written IAP may be required for each operational period.

Type 2 Incident

• Incident exceeds local response capabilities and is expected to last through multiple operational periods.
• Incident may require resources and personnel from outside the Borough, including regional, state, or national resources, to effectively manage the staffing and resource needs.
• Most or all of the Command and General Staff positions are filled.
• Many of the functional units are needed and staffed.
• A written IAP is required for each operational period.
• The agency administrator (Borough Manager) is responsible for the incident complexity analysis, agency administrator briefings, and the written delegation of authority.

Type 1 Incident

• Incident is most complex and requires national resources to safely and effectively manage and operate.
• All Command and General Staff positions are activated.
• Branches may be established.
• The agency administrator (Borough Manager) will have briefings and will ensure that the complexity analysis and delegation of authority are completed.
• There is a high impact on the Borough, and additional staff may be required for office administrative and support functions.

Assignment of Responsibilities

The Borough uses an all-hazard emergency management system that encompasses all types of disaster emergencies and enables each government level to integrate public agency with private sector resource providers under NIMS/ICS (National Incident Management System/Incident Command System). This system optimizes and integrates all government levels with the private sector's existing emergency facilities, emergency equipment, and skilled personnel. This is encouraged and necessary for successful plan implementation.

Borough Mayor and Assembly

The role of the Borough Mayor and Borough Assembly during an emergency is to provide legislative guidance and direction, appropriate funds necessary for the disaster emergency response and recovery, and to serve as a direct liaison with the public and other government jurisdiction's elected officials. The Mayor may hold a seat on the MAC.

Borough Manager

The Borough Manager is the agency administrator for the Mat-Su Borough and has the ultimate authority and responsibility for the direction and control of Borough resources during an emergency. The Manager has emergency declaration authority. However, on a day-to-day basis, the position of Incident Commander and other authority is delegated as appropriate to the Departments of Emergency Services; which has the power to establish control of an emergency through the Incident Command System. The Borough Manager may assume the duties of Incident Commander if, in his judgment, emergency operations will be enhanced by this action. Operational control of the emergency scene should remain with the lead department or agency.

Department of Emergency Services

The Department of Emergency Services is the designated emergency management agency for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. The Department of Emergency Services will be responsible for developing Borough disaster response and recovery plans, and for coordinating disaster management between the Borough, the State of Alaska, and other response and recovery entities and organizations.

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough will, in concert with agencies, private industry and others, develop and adopt plans for a coordinated response to disaster emergencies (as defined in AS 26.23.230) which may occur within the Borough. These plans will be activated in the event of the declaration of a "local disaster emergency" under the terms of AS 26.23.140. All emergency operations plans will provide for emergency management under an ICS format, and will provide for oversight of inter-jurisdictional policy decisions by a Multiple Agency Coordination (MAC) structure which provides for representation from each affected jurisdiction.

Director of Emergency Services

The Director of Emergency Services, under the general direction and supervision of the Borough Manager or their designee, has the primary day-to-day responsibility for disaster management programs and activities as they relate to the mitigation of, preparedness for, response to, and recovery from disaster emergencies. The Director of Emergency Services provides a direct liaison between the Borough Manager's Office, service area boards, the Borough Local Emergency Planning Committee, and the Borough 911 Advisory Board; and ensures and directs an open line of communications to the Borough Assembly and administration. The Director of Emergency Services also fulfills the role of the Community Emergency Coordinator in accordance with SARA Title III and AS 26.23.

The Deputy Director of Emergency Services is the designated alternate to the Director of Emergency Services and next in the line of succession.

Emergency Manager

The Emergency Manager is responsible for the management of the Mat-Su emergency management system, including disaster preparedness, response planning, incident recovery, and hazard mitigation planning of identified hazards. In Type 3, 2 or 1 emergencies, the Emergency Manager acts as the Emergency Operations Center Manager during the emergency response phase, and serves as the Incident Recovery Coordinator during the recovery phase. The Emergency Manager reports to the Director of Emergency Services.

Local Emergency Planning Committee

The Borough Assembly in 1990 approved Ordinance 90-012 for the formation of a Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC). The State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) designated the Borough as a Local Emergency Planning District (LEPD). The borough mayor approves the appointment of members to the LEPC. The Local Emergency Planning Committee elected officers, established bylaws and formed subcommittees.

The LEPC is currently composed of 25 positions representing elected officials, responders, private citizens, public health, environmental organizations, media, utilities, regulatory agencies, small business, emergency management, transportation, local and state government, and industry. The mission of the Local Emergency Planning Committee is:

1. to serve as the coordinating agency for emergency planning,
2. conduct an annual hazards assessment,
3. coordinate requests for information under the federal and state community right-to-know regulations,
4. coordinate activities with other boards to facilitate the safety of the Borough,
5. review and make recommendations to the borough assembly on hazardous materials transportation routes and locations,
6. annually review and update the Borough disaster plan,
7. assist local, Borough, state, and federal agencies with disaster exercises,
8. coordinate with local governments with their disaster planning, and
9. coordinate with local industry and utilities with their disaster planning.

Continuity of Government

A major incident could result in the death or injury of key government officials, destruction of established seats of government, and damage to public records that are essential to continued government operations. The Borough must continue to function as a government entity so that it may provide effective leadership continuity, emergency operations direction, and recovery operations management throughout an emergency. A borough hired contractor began development of the borough Continuity of Operations plan and will complete it in 2010.

Lines of Succession

If the Borough Manager is unable to act due to absence or incapacity, the next person designated in the Borough line of succession will assume his/her emergency management and disaster declaration powers. If any other Borough department head or employee is unable to act in their assigned position, the departmental line of succession will also be followed per resolution #00-075:

1. Assistant Manager
2. Finance Director
3. Community Development Director
4. Planning Director
5. Public Works Director
6. Emergency Services (public safety) Director

Essential Functions, Vital Records, and Worksites

Essential functions are those that deliver life and safety services to residents of the Borough and maintain the economic well-being of the community. All Borough agencies and departments have identified and will annually update their essential functions, the personnel required to perform those functions, and the lines of succession for managerial or specialized staff.

All Borough agencies and departments should develop plans and procedures to guarantee the vital public records preservation during and after emergencies. Vital public records are those that are required for delivery of essential services within the Borough.

All Borough agencies and departments should also develop plans and procedures to deliver essential services when the primary worksite is unavailable. Strategies may involve temporarily relocating to an alternate work site, requiring employees to work from home, and temporarily eliminating non-essential functions.

Part 3, Annex K, contains important information about the disaster recovery process, including priorities for the restoration of vital functions and the assessment and repair of vital facilities and infrastructure.

Administration and Logistics

Disaster Declaration

The Borough Manager, or designee, will authorize a disaster declaration. Upon request from a community or decision that local or Borough resources are not sufficient to meet the emergency; the manager can determine and declare that a Disaster exists. The Borough Director of Emergency Services is the designated alternate with the authority to declare a local disaster, in the absence of the Borough Manager. After the Borough Manager or designee has declared a Disaster, the Manager will:

• Ensure that the Declaration is given prompt and general publicity.
• Ensure that a copy of the Declaration is promptly filed with the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Clerk and the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to be forwarded to the Governor.
• Act in concert with the Alaska Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management/State Emergency Coordination Center in addressing resources to meet the disaster.
• Obtain the consent of the Borough Assembly if the Declaration of Disaster is to be continued, or renewed, for an extended period of time.
• Ensure that any order or proclamation continuing or terminating a Disaster is also filed with the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the Borough Clerk.
• A declaration of disaster emergency by the Borough Manager or designees is required to access State and federal disaster assistance, and may expedite procurement of Borough resources and funding as well.

It is always better to be overly cautious and call for assistance early during an event. It will always be possible to scale down the response, however response time may not occur quickly enough to benefit the affected areas if you wait too long to make notifications and/or assistance requests.

Records and Reports

Each jurisdiction within the Matanuska-Susitna Borough must maintain their own expenditures and obligations records before and during a declared disaster or emergency. These may include narratives and operational journals, ICS forms, and other forms of written documentation.

Plan Management and Updates

Plan Development

This plan was originally developed by the Matanuska-Susitna Borough using the State of Alaska model Emergency Operations Plan published by the former Division of Emergency Services in 1994. It has been periodically updated and revised, and the 2008 version represents a major reorganization of previous versions of the Mat-Su Borough Emergency Operations Plan in order to meet all applicable state and federal authorities for emergency response planning (See Part 1, Authorities). It was updated in 2008 through a consensus-based work group process led by the Mat-Su Borough Department of Emergency Services and including representatives of Mat-Su Borough agencies, local cities, state and federal agencies with emergency response roles, and local agencies and organizations. Participants in the 2008 work group are listed in the Introduction to this EOP.

The overall approach to developing this plan focused on capturing relevant information and procedures, and integrating the Borough's emergency operations planning with other agencies and entities with an emergency response role.

Plan Review Cycle

This Emergency Operations Plan will be reviewed and amended, if necessary:

• As appropriate following each emergency exercise or drill, during which the plan is used, to reflect lessons learned from any activity during which the plan was used.
• As appropriate to reflect any changes in Borough resources, departments, form of government, agency structure or other such event that would impact local emergency services.
• At least once every year.

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Emergency Manager is responsible for coordinating this review with the assistance of the local jurisdictions, the Local Emergency Planning Committee, and other subject matter personnel as necessary. Any plan updates or revisions will be distributed electronically to all plan holders, as listed in the Introduction to this EOP. Individual plan holders will be responsible for printing updated copies of this EOP for each revision cycle. The most up-to-date version of the EOP will also be available to view or download from the Mat-Su Borough website.

Drills and Exercises

Drills, training, and exercises are vital to determine the effectiveness of this EOP. Plan testing will help to ensure the maximum readiness of community members and regional responding organizations involved in emergency response.

This plan includes a log of exercises and training. Exercises may include orientation seminars, tabletop drills, and field exercises. Orientation seminars can be meetings that overview the contents of the plan for community members. Tabletop drills can be useful for checking the understanding of notification procedures and response actions. Field exercises are useful for teaching personnel how to use certain types of response equipment, such as containment boom or skimmers for oil spill response.

Borough departments, various agencies and organizations, and the Local Emergency Planning Committee will work with the Borough's Department of Emergency Services to develop and coordinate ongoing disaster training and educational program delivery to develop and implement annual exercises of this Emergency Response Plan.

Participants and observers should evaluate training and exercises and identify any elements of the EOP that need to be revised or updated. Following the critique of the test/exercise, the evaluating group should initiate any necessary changes to the basic plan, to city department SOPs, or implementation procedures. This is an appropriate time to review and update other information contained in the EOP; e.g., personnel assignments, emergency telephone lists, and resources.

This Plan is designed to be used as a training outline to cover much of the above requirements. A recommended training and exercise schedule is included to facilitate planning and funding requests.