The following provides information on sources for identifying resilience solutions. 

The first section addresses general sources that communities can consult and reference. The second section provides sources of resilience solutions that address specific hazards or threats.

General Sources of Resilience Solutions 

Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)

Participants of the Working Group and other community stakeholders can help to identify and evaluate resilience solutions that provide long-term solutions to the identified key issues and problem statements. 

Existing Guides and Resources 

Many publications and web-based resources are available to assist communities in the identification of resilience solutions. Additionally, the community can reference available resources from governmental agencies at the Federal, state, and regional level, as well as nonprofit philanthropic and professional organizations. Colleges/universities and research organizations are another good source of resilience solutions best practices. Some of these resources are highlighted below:

• American Planning Association (APA) Hazards Planning Center
• Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) Resilience Program
• Critical Infrastructure Sector-Specific Plans: These plans detail how the National Infrastructure Protection Plan’s risk management framework is implemented within the sector’s unique characteristics and risk landscape.
• EPA Smart Growth
• FEMA Building Science Program
• FEMA Mitigation Best Practices Portfolio
• FEMA Risk Management Series
• CISA Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Recommended Practices
• Urban Land Institute (ULI) Infrastructure Initiative

Other Planning Resources

Other resources include reviewing other community plans, such as the community’s hazard mitigation plan, capital improvements plan, hazard mitigation plans of surrounding communities and the state, etc. By connecting the community infrastructure resilience plan solutions with strategies that may have been identified in other community plans or in regional and state plans, the foundation for building support and buy-in at the time of implementation may be easier since these strategies have already been vetted through another planning process.

Sources of Threat or Hazard Specific Resilience Solutions

Natural Hazards | Solution Sources

Drought

Drought Response and Recovery Guide for Water Utilities, EPA: An Interactive, user-friendly guide provides worksheets, best practices, videos and key resources for responding to drought emergencies and building long-term resilience. The guide relays lessons learned from seven small- to medium-sized utilities nationwide that have responded to extreme drought conditions.

Flood

Flood Resilience: A Basic Guide for Water and Wastewater Utilities, EPA: With a user-friendly layout, embedded videos, and flood maps to guide you, EPA's Flood Resilience Guide is your one-stop resource to know your flooding threat and identify practical mitigation options.

Pandemic

Interim Pre-Pandemic Planning Guidance: Community Strategy for Pandemic Influence Mitigation, CDC: This document provides interim planning and guidance for state and local authorities other than mass vaccination and drug treatments that might be useful in reducing harm during a mass pandemic event. The document also provides interim guidance through the Pandemic Severity Index that will allow communities to administer an appropriate response based on the level of pandemic severity.

Technological Hazards | Solution Sources

Dam Failure

Dam Sector Web-Based Training Courses: Web based training courses for Dam Failure mitigation.

Hazardous Material Release

Emergency Response Plan for Hazardous Materials, Univ of Chicago: The document has been developed to minimize the severity of damage to human health and the environment in the event of an unexpected hazardous materials release.

Emergency Response Planning for Hazardous Materials, Texas State Dept of Insurance: This publication provides information and procedures on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) requirements for emergency response and control of incidents involving hazardous material.

Pipeline Security Guidelines, TSA: Pipeline security guidelines are applicable to natural gas and hazardous liquid transmission pipelines, natural gas distribution pipelines, and to liquefied natural gas facility operators. Additionally, they apply to pipeline systems that transport materials categorized as toxic inhalation hazards (TIH).

Transportation Emergency Preparedness Program, Dept of Energy: This Transportation Emergency Preparedness Program (TEPP) Hazardous Materials Incident Response Model Procedure contains the recommended actions for response to Transportation incidents involving radioactive materials.

Industrial Accident

Pipeline Security Guidelines, TSA: Pipeline security guidelines are applicable to natural gas and hazardous liquid transmission pipelines, natural gas distribution pipelines, and to liquefied natural gas facility operators. Additionally, they apply to pipeline systems that transport materials categorized as toxic inhalation hazards (TIH).

Patient Decontamination in a Mass Chemical Exposure Incident, National Planning Guidance for Communities, DHS: Guide to planning and post incident coordination and response of large scale chemical exposure.

Radiological Release

Federal Guidelines for Radiation Protection, EPA: Collection of reports and policy guidelines on the release of radiological material.

Radiation Emergency Response Plan, University of Las Vegas: The Radiation Emergency Response Plan contains policy, classification and procedures for the handling of emergency situations involving radiological material at the Univ of Las Vegas. It contains general information for first responders.

Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program: The REP Program coordinates the National effort to provide state, local, and tribal governments with relevant and executable planning, training, and exercise guidance and policies necessary to ensure that adequate capabilities exist to prevent, protect against, mitigate the effects of, respond to, and recover from incidents involving commercial nuclear power plants (NPPs).

Train Derailment

Emergency Preparedness, Federal Railroad Admin, Dept of Transportation: This subprogram research area is directed at the safe and efficient passenger rail car evacuations during various emergency scenarios. A goal is to determine, if time based evacuation criteria can replace existing prescriptive rules on the number and configuration of emergency exits.

Human-Caused Hazards | Solution Sources

Biological Event

Interim Pre-Pandemic Planning Guidance: Community Strategy for Pandemic Influence Mitigation, CDC: This document provides interim planning and guidance for state and local authorities other than mass vaccination and drug treatments that might be useful in reducing harm during a mass pandemic event. The document also provides interim guidance through the Pandemic Severity Index that will allow communities to administer an appropriate response based on the level of pandemic severity.

Preparation and Planning for Bioterrorism’s Emergencies: Collection of planning and guidance documents for bioterrorism events

Biological and Chemical Terrorism: Strategic Plan for Preparedness and response, CDC: This report is a summary of the recommendations made by CDC's Strategic Planning Workgroup in Preparedness and Response to Biological and Chemical Terrorism: A Strategic Plan (CDC, unpublished report, 2000), which outlines steps for strengthening public health and health-care capacity to protect the United States against these dangers.

Chemical Event

Biological and Chemical Terrorism: Strategic Plan for Preparedness and response, CDC: This report is a summary of the recommendations made by CDC's Strategic Planning Workgroup in Preparedness and Response to Biological and Chemical Terrorism: A Strategic Plan (CDC, unpublished report, 2000), which outlines steps for strengthening public health and health-care capacity to protect the United States against these dangers.

Chemical Agent

Emergency response Planning for Hazardous Materials, Texas State Dept of Insurance: This publication provides information and procedures on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) requirements for emergency response and control of incidents involving hazardous material.

Patient Decontamination in a Mass Chemical Exposure Incident, National Planning Guidance for Communities, DHS: Guide and best-practices on mass decontamination of civilian population.

Chemical Event Sabotage

Pipeline Security Guidelines, TSA: Pipeline security guidelines are applicable to natural gas and hazardous liquid transmission pipelines, natural gas distribution pipelines, and to liquefied natural gas facility operators. Additionally, they apply to pipeline systems that transport materials categorized as toxic inhalation hazards (TIH).

Cyber Incident

Cybersecurity Framework, NIST: A listing of publicly available Framework resources. Resources include, but are not limited to: approaches, methodologies, implementation guides, mappings to the Framework, case studies, educational materials, Internet resource centers (e.g., blogs, document stores), example profiles, and other Framework document templates

Radiological Incident

Radiation Emergency Response Plan, University of Las Vegas: The Radiation Emergency Response Plan contains policy, classification and procedures for the handling of emergency situations involving radiological material at the Univ of Las Vegas. It contains general information for first responders.

Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program: The REP Program coordinates the National effort to provide state, local, and tribal governments with relevant and executable planning, training, and exercise guidance and policies necessary to ensure that adequate capabilities exist to prevent, protect against, mitigate the effects of, respond to, and recover from incidents involving commercial nuclear power plants (NPPs).