Marin
Sonoma
Napa
Solano
Contra Costa
Alameda
Santa Clara
Santa Cruz
San Mateo
San Francisco
Oakland
San Jose
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Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program
The Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program (RCPGP) was established to enhance regional catastrophic preparedness and continuity of operations efforts, with the aim of strengthening the nation against risks associated with catastrophic events. RCPGP focuses on the highest-risk Urban Areas and surrounding regions, where its impact will have the most significant effect on the collective security and resiliency of these areas. Each site eligible for participation in RCPGP, designated as the RCPGP site, includes a collection of jurisdictions that must work collaboratively to fulfill RCPGP program requirements. In the Bay Area, jurisdictions that make up the RCPGP site include 12 counties and three core cities: Alameda County, Contra Costa County, Marin County, Monterey County, Napa County, San Benito County, San Francisco County, San Mateo County, Santa Clara County, Santa Cruz County, Solano County, Sonoma County, and the cities of San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose.
The RCPGP initiative was created by Congress to develop “all-hazard regional catastrophic event plans and preparedness” for UASI urban areas and participating governments. The main goal of this program is to assist jurisdictions in improving their security and resiliency through a process best described as “Fix, Build, and Resource” – that is, fix shortcomings in existing plans; build regional planning processes and planning communities; and link operational needs identified in plans to resource allocation, including homeland security grant programs.
The Bay Area has identified eight planning project areas that will be created under the RCPGP. These areas are as follows:
Mass Transportation/Evacuation Plan
Mass Fatality Plan
Debris Removal Plan
Mass Care/Sheltering Plan
Mass Care/Sheltering for Special Needs Populations
Donations Management Plan
Volunteer Management Plan
Information Technology Recovery Plan
Each plan will be created through the utilization of a “Steering Committee Model” and be inclusive of private contractors and local/state/federal subject matter experts. The deliverables for each project will include: an annex to the already established Regional Emergency Coordination Plan (RECP), a county plan for each of the 12 Bay Area counties that make up the RCPGP site, and a city specific plan for each of the three core cities (San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose) that reside within the RCPGP site.
Each RCPGP site is expected to practice effective project management in order to plan and execute projects successfully within the period of performance. The Bay Area will be utilizing the Super Urban Area Security Initiative (SUASI) structure to manage all facets of the RCPGP. This management structure has proven to be an effective tool in managing Homeland Security grants and is seen as a national best practice.
To ensure effective project planning and execution, the SUASI Management Team is required to create and maintain a project plan for each project funded by RCPGP. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which is responsible for this grant program, requires each site to submit an initial project plan for approval prior to receiving grant funds. This task has already been completed and the Management Team is currently awaiting FEMA approval. The initial project plan is a “best estimate” of the tasks and time required to complete the proposed projects. It must include all major milestones and tasks, and account for all project and program deliverables.
Additionally, sites will be required to submit an updated project plan each quarter for the duration of the grant program’s period of performance, which concludes on March 31, 2010. This is to assist FEMA with monitoring the progress of the site and program. The updated project plans are expected to show, as best as possible, the completion rate for each task, as well as date, task, and timeline changes as appropriate.
To learn more about the tremendous planning effort that the Bay Area is undertaking, the SUASI will be hosting an RCPGP Kick-off Meeting as follows:
DATE: January 28, 2009
TIME: 10:00 AM
LOCATION: Alameda County Sheriff’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Services
4985 Broder Blvd.
Dublin, CA 94568
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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The Bay Area SUASI Dispatch is a quarterly newsletter that provides information about the people and projects of the Bay Area Super Urban Area Security Initiative (SUASI). The Bay Area SUASI enhances regional capability through regional collaboration: to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from terrorist incidents and other catastrophic events in the 10-county region.
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 This project is supported by Award No. 4123-06, awarded by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Grants & Training (G&T). The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Homeland Security.
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