Overview

This action assists the resilience planning team in identifying and documenting existing policies and plans that could impact or intersect with resilience planning efforts. The intent of data collection in the Site-Level Planning module is to better understand the site planning context, ensure the effort builds upon existing plans, identify planning areas that may need to be more robust, and coordinate resilience efforts with other related initiatives. The resilience planning team specifically identifies and reviews data to: (1) inform the development of resilience planning priorities (Action 3); (2) provide insight to critical functions (Action 4); and (3) begin to identify gaps in site-wide preparedness for emergencies and continuity of operations for energy and water disruption scenarios (Action 5).

Relevant information to collect for this action includes policies at the organization (i.e., agency) and site level regarding resilience goals, existing site-specific plans, and broader community and utility service provider policies and plans that might impact a site. More detailed data collection will occur in the Baseline Development module focused on the energy and water systems that supply critical loads.

In-Depth

The resilience planning team should consider policies and plans at the organization level, policies and plans specific to the site and to the surrounding community (e.g., city or town, county, state) and energy and water utility service providers, to the extent that these may impact decisions made at the site level. In collecting information about the existing resilience landscape at a site, some resources and topic areas to consider include site master plans, emergency preparedness and response plans, COOP plans, and agreements with providers and the community to provide support (e.g., mutual aid agreements and service restoration plans), and cybersecurity policies as they relate to energy and water hardware, software, and systems. Additional information can be collected from site sustainability plans, previous resilience assessments, energy and water assessments, or data on previous energy and water outages or disruptions. Energy and water plans, such as supply and resupply plans regarding fuel use and generation, may contain details regarding primary and redundant systems, which will inform subsequent steps in the TRN process.

Depending on the site context and degree of integration with the surrounding community, the resilience planning team may need to compile and review existing community plans that could impact the site. Examples include community resilience, sustainability, and emergency preparedness plans. These resources may be particularly important if the site relies on external energy and water supplies controlled by surrounding jurisdictions or utilities. These plans can also provide insights into relevant hazards in the Risk Assessment module.

The Site-Level Planning Action 2 worksheet helps the resilience planning team compile relevant policies and plans for future reference. In addition to aggregating and reviewing relevant existing policies and plans, it is also important to note where information might be missing. For example, if the site does not have an active COOP plan, this can represent a gap that could impact how the site responds during and after a disruption. These gaps will be addressed in Action 5 and should be recorded in the Risk Assessment Action 5 worksheet