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Emergency Preparedness and Response

Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (OEMHS)
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History
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APHIS’ Strategic Plan
In March 2003, APHIS updated its Strategic Plan to include “strengthening of emergency preparedness and response” as an Agency strategic mission priority. This mission priority was further updated in March 2005 to include homeland security consideration, “strengthening of emergency and homeland security preparedness and response.”

The APHIS Strategic Plan notes that the Agency’s emergency and homeland security preparedness and response objective has two primary strategies:

1) Nationally-Coordinated Pest and Disease Surveillance and Detection Systems:

APHIS will further involve Federal, State, academic, and industry resources in strengthening its comprehensive, coordinated and integrated surveillance and detection system. We will broaden our diagnostic capability by supporting the National Animal Health Laboratory Network and the National Plant Diagnostic Network. We will improve our ability to track livestock movement through a national system of livestock identification and tagging.

2) Animal and Plant Health Emergency Response Systems:

APHIS will ensure that resources are strengthened, combined (Federal, State, Local, and Industry) and coordinated to respond to emergencies effectively and efficiently. We will complete the transition to the National Incident Management and Incident Command Systems.

APHIS Management Team (AMT) Decisionmaking
On June 16, 2003, the AMT, the Agency’s executive decisionmaking body presided over by the APHIS Administrator and comprised of the Agency’s Deputy Administrators and Support Program Directors, called for the establishment of an Emergency Management Leadership Council (EMLC) to provide leadership and guidance to the Agency’s efforts to strengthen its emergency and homeland security preparedness and response activities. This decision was made in direct response to the related strategic mission priority in the APHIS Strategic Plan.

At the same time, the AMT also called for the creation of a job position to manage the AEOC and the establishment of a small staff to support the activities of the EMLC and AEOC.

EMLC Decisionmaking
On October 29, 2003, the EMLC further refined the AMT’s decision to create the position of AEOC manager and establish a small staff to support the EMLC and AEOC. The EMLC called for the creation of the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) to provide administrative support and coordination to the EMLC and its activities, develop Agency-wide policies and procedures, coordinate emergency management communications, and manage the AEOC and the Agency’s two regional emergency operations centers (EOCs) in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Ft. Collins, Colorado. The EMLC supported the AMT’s March 2005 decision to update the OEM’s mission priority to include homeland security consideration by renaming the staff the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (OEMHS). This marked the establishment of what is now OEMHS.

On November 25, 2003, the EMLC further tasked OEMHS with supporting and coordinating Agency efforts to address the following priorities:

  • Implement ICS training throughout APHIS;
  • Strengthen administrative support for emergency response;
  • Strengthen Agency leadership of emergency management;
  • Build an emergency response network; and
  • Identify the emergency response roles and responsibilities of Agency employees.

 

Last Modified: June 4, 2007