Agenda

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PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMITTEE

Meeting Date:	04/13/2015
Subject: Opportunities to Improve Coordination of Response to Disasters and Other Public Emergencies
Submitted For:	David O. Livingston, Sheriff-Coroner
Department:	Office of the Sheriff
Referral No.:	N/A
Referral Name:	Opportunities to Improve Coordination of Response to Disasters and Other Public Emergencies
Presenter:	Bani Kollo, 925-646-4461	Contact:	Bani Kollo, 925-646-4461

Information

Referral History:

Approximately three weeks following the November 2007 Cosco Busan oil spill, the Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) presented to the Board of Supervisors its assessment of the emergency response efforts, including what worked well and didn’t work well, and what lessons were learned through those experiences. At the conclusion of the Board discussion, Supervisor Gioia introduced five recommendations that were approved by the Board.

On February 5, 2008 the Board of Supervisors referred this matter to the PPC for continuing development and oversight. PPC received a status report from the Office of the Sheriff and Health Services Department in February 2009 and requested the Hazardous Materials Program Manager to report back to the PPC on the development of mutual aid agreements from local oil refineries. Following a second briefing to the PPC by the Office of the Sheriff, the PPC reported out to the Board of Supervisors on May 6, 2009 with recommendations for follow-up by the Sheriff and Human Resources departments. The Health Services Department made a report to the PPC on April 19, 2010 regarding the resources and connections available to respond to hazardous materials emergencies and, again, on October 18, 2010 regarding who determines which local official participates in incident command if an event is in Contra Costa County. On December 5, 2011, Health Services reported to our Committee regarding training and deployment of community volunteers.

In January 2008, the Board of Supervisors referred to the PPC the matter of improving public response to emergency instructions and protocols through broader and better education, which had previously been on referral to the IOC. The Board suggested that the PPC work with the Office of the Sheriff, the Health Services Department, and the CAER (Community Awareness & Emergency Response) Program to determine what educational efforts are being made and what additional efforts may be undertaken to improve public response and safety during an emergency. In April 2011, the PPC met with CAER (Community Awareness Emergency Response) Executive Director Tony Semenza and staff from the Office of the Sheriff and Health Services to discuss what has been done to better inform the public and what more can be done to improve public response to emergency warnings. CAER provided a thorough report on its countywide community fairs, and programs targeted at the education system and non-English speaking populations. The PPC asked CAER to provide a written outreach strategy that describes how new homeowners are educated about emergency awareness.

Referral Update:

Since the Cosco Busan oil spill, response coordination has improved significantly in Contra Costa. The Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services is fully supportive and in coordination with the Contra Costa Health Services Hazardous Materials program on ensuring local participation in the Unified Command structure of an oil spill response. Since the Cosco Busan incident much work has gone into ensuring local government, through the Local Government On-Scene Coordinator, will be part of the Unified Command of any spill response. OES has actively trained and exercised this position since 2010. This local coordination with unified command will enhance the ability of bringing local resources into a future event much more effectively.

Contra Costa OES is also supportive of the Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) being the lead agency responsible for managing affiliated and spontaneous volunteers who wish to assist in oil spill cleanup. OSPR has created a set of policies and coordinated MOU’s with several dozen wildlife rescue organizations through-out the State that train and prepare to respond to oil spill incidents.

Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s):

ACCEPT a report on the status on the coordination of response to disasters and other public emergencies between the County, other public agencies and community groups.

Fiscal Impact (if any):

No fiscal impact.

Attachments
No file(s) attached.