Selective Reports on Critical Infrastructure Recovery and Restoration

Below are selective reports on large-scale natural disasters, emergencies, and terrorism related to critical infrastructure recovery and restoration issues. Brief summaries are provided for the reports, along with links to the underlying documents. 

Vulnerability of Concentrated Critical Infrastructure: Background and Policy Options : a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report that examines multi-section concentrations of CI.

Federal Hurricane Recovery Coordinator: Appointment and Oversight Issues : a CRS report for Members of Congress.  This report describes the creation of the coordinator position by President Bush on 1 November 2005 and examines policy and constitutional issues raised by the Executive Order.

Federal Assistance After Terrorists Strike: Issues and Options for Congress : a June 2002 comprehensive 12-section report produced by CRS which remains remarkably useful today.

Director of National Intelligence: Statutory Authorities : a great reference enumerating the Director of National Intelligence’s statutory authorities.

Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act: Legal Requirements for Federal and State Roles in Declarations of an Emergency or Major Disaster : provides a legal analysis of the respective roles of local, state and federal officials and what is required by law for the President to declare emergencies or disasters.  It was produced by the American Law Division of CRS and was produced after Hurricane Katrina (September 2005).

Terrorism and Security Issues Facing the Water Infrastructure Sector– the title of this CRS report to Congress requires no further description.

FEMA Reorganization Legislation in the 109th Congress : provides a July 2006 overview of major legislation pending in the Congress on revisting FEMA in the wake of the 2005 Hurricane Season, in which concerns have been raised about how this critical federal agency should function going forward.

Organization and Mission of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate: Issues and Options for the 109th Congress: lays out policy options for Members of Congress regarding post-Katrina interest in revisiting the structure the Congress created for FEMA in the Homeland Security Act.

Federal Stafford Act Disaster Assistance: Presidential Declarations, Eligible Activities and Funding : an April 2006 CRS report provides an overview of the Act’s emergency assistance and recovery relief provisions, activities that are eligible for federal funds and review of recent appropriations activities associated with Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma.

Community Block Grant Funds in Disaster Relief and Recovery : another April 2006 CRS report which examines how state action plans approved by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may provide federal funds for the restoration and reconstruction of Critical Energy Infrastructure.

An Evaluation of the Severity of the January 1998 Ice Storm in Northern New England : a US Army Corps of Engineers report to FEMA.  This report is a reminder that, in addition to hurricanes and earthquakes, ice storms can be equally destructive to electric power transmission and distribution critical infrastructure.  In fact, CIP analysis of publicly-available major outages data suggests that hurricanes and ice storms may be equally devastating in terms of electric power infrastructure.  The New England ice storm of January 1998 provides a vivid example.