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FHWA Order 5181.1A

Order
Subject
Emergency Reporting Procedures
Classification Code Date Office of Primary Interest
5181.1A March 5, 2010 HOTO-1

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Par.

  1. What is the purpose of this Order?
  2. To whom does this Order apply?
  3. Does this Order cancel an existing Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Order?
  4. What authorities govern this Order?
  5. What are the general responsibilities associated with this Order?
  6. What are the reporting criteria?
  7. What are the notifications, requirements, and procedures for highway incidents?
  8. What are the reporting requirements for other than highway infrastructure related incidents?
  9. What reports are required in preparing for or following an emergency or Federal response to an emergency?
  10. What are the reporting procedures when the DOT Crisis Management Center (CMC) is activated?
  11. Where can I get additional information?

 

  1. What is the purpose of this Order? This Order amends the procedures and criteria for FHWA Headquarters offices and FHWA field offices to report significant events affecting the readiness and capabilities of the National Highway System (NHS), the Strategic Highway Network (STRAHNET), and other major arterials or any incident that causes damage to an FHWA field office, equipment, facility, or death or injury to an FHWA employee or contractor.

  2. To whom does this Order apply? This Order applies to FHWA Headquarters and FHWA field offices.

  3. Does this Order cancel an existing FHWA Order? Yes. This Order cancels FHWA Order 5181.1, Emergency Notification and Reporting Procedures, dated July 13, 2001.

  4. What authorities govern this Order?

    1. Homeland Security Presidential Order 7, dated December 17, 2003.

    2. Department of Homeland Security National Response Framework, dated January 2008.

    3. Department of Transportation (DOT) Order 1100.29G, Regional Emergency Transportation Coordinators and Representatives, dated October 15, 1993.

    4. FHWA Headquarters Continuity of Operations (COOP) Plan, Volume I, dated July 24, 2006, at: http://staffnet.fhwa.dot.gov/emergency/coopplan/2009/index.htm

  5. What are the general responsibilities associated with this Order?

    1. Associate Administrators, the Chief Counsel, the Chief Financial Officer, Director of Innovative Program Delivery, Directors of Field Services, Federal Lands Highway (FLH) Division Engineers, Director of Technical Services, and Division Administrators provide prompt initial notification, and necessary follow-up information regarding highway and transportation infrastructure-related incidents or any incident that causes significant damage to an FHWA field office, equipment, facility, or death or injury to an FHWA employee or contractor within their areas of responsibility.

    2. Division Administrators and Division Engineers coordinate with appropriate Federal, State, Tribal, and Territorial officials to ensure that FHWA offices are informed of incidents as outlined in this Order.

    3. Each Headquarters and field office will develop written procedures to ensure timely receipt of information from appropriate counterparts on events that meet the reporting criteria in this Order. These procedures will include:

      1. (1) A process for receiving reports of incidents or events involving highways or highway infrastructure (and obtaining additional details, when necessary) from appropriate departments of transportation, highway agencies, public safety or emergency management agencies.

      2. (2) Up-to-date identification of points of contact (POC) at the appropriate agencies that would be available during non-work hours in order to establish a process for reporting incidents at the earliest possible time; 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

      3. (3) Reporting incidents to the FHWA Headquarters (HQ) Emergency Coordinator (EC) or alternate.

    4. Reporting will be made by e-mail and, if not possible by e-mail, by phone call. Phone numbers for the EC and other HQ emergency personnel are found on page two of the weekly HQ delegation of authority roster that is distributed every Thursday.

  6. What are the general reporting criteria? Highway and highway infrastructure related incidents meeting one or more of the following criteria will be reported.

    1. Any event that, in the opinion of the Division Administrator or Division Engineer will generate immediate national interest.

    2. Other events that create disruption to highway operations that are expected to last more than 8 hours. These events can include, but are not limited to:

      1. (1) Damage or closure of highways or highway infrastructure caused by an act of nature including, but not limited to, earthquakes, floods, tornados, hurricanes, or wild fires. Report only Interstate highway closures of more than 8 hours due to winter weather events.

      2. (2) Damage or closure of highways or highway infrastructure due to terrorist or criminal acts, accidents, or unknown causes.

      3. (3) Damage or closure of highways or highway infrastructure caused by other mode incidents, such as collapse of a rail bridge onto an adjacent highway or a dam bursting.

    3. Other incidents to be reported regardless of damages or reason for closure:

      1. (1) Crashes involving 6 or more fatalities,

      2. (2) School bus crashes resulting in injuries, death, or statewide media attention,

      3. (3) Chain reaction crashes involving 10 or more vehicles,

      4. (4) Truck or charter bus crashes resulting in injuries, death, or statewide media attention,

      5. (5) Closure due to evacuation conducted for any reason, and

      6. (6) The loss of life or serious injury of a prominent individual such as a Member of Congress, senior Executive Branch or military official, diplomatic dignitary, or other major public figure.

  7. What are the notifications, requirements, and procedures for highway incidents?

    1. All highway incident reports are to include the following information:

      1. (1) Source of the information (i.e., from whom did FHWA receive the information, date of report, and telephone number of the person who prepared the report).

      2. (2) Description of the incident (what, where, when, and how).

      3. (3) Casualties (number of persons injured or killed).

      4. (4) Description of road damage, including planned repair work and estimated completion date.

      5. (5) Description of road closures, including detours and estimated re-opening date.

      6. (6) Description of impact on transportation operations.

      7. (7) Description of what the division office (if applicable) and State organizations are doing in the response effort.

    2. Reports will be submitted in the following format:

      Example of entered data:
      Subject Line of e-mail: The subject line of the e-mail should begin with the abbreviation for your State or Territory, i.e., Subject: PA: Turnpike Accident and Lane Closure.
      Who (made the report)? PA DOT
      What happened? Collision of two 18 wheeler trucks resulting in a fire.
      When? 10 a.m. September 23, 2009.
      Where? EB lanes of the Pennsylvania Turnpike at MM 180 near Harrisburg, PA.
      Why did it happen? Apparent excessive speed and wet road surface.
      How does it impact? EB lanes are expected to be closed until 4 p.m. There is some damage to the surface and shoulder due to the fire.
      Status of detours: EB traffic is being moved onto US-322 and PB-88, adding approximately 30 minutes and 10 miles to depart and return to the turnpike.
      Injuries and fatalities: Two drivers were killed. No one injured.
      Other Information: No HAZMAT involved.

    3. In general, follow-up reports (if applicable) shall be provided only as the situation changes, or when significant new information is received. However, for certain incidents identified by the Administrator or Secretary of Transportation, daily situation reports will be requested.

    4. It is not necessary to have all of the information before submitting the initial report. Additional information shall be provided when the information becomes available.

  8. What are the reporting requirements for other than highway infrastructure related incidents?

    1. All field and HQ offices are required to report any event that results in significant damage to offices, damage to or theft of office equipment or vehicles, or death or injury to an FHWA employee or contractor.

    2. Reporting will be made by e-mail and, if not possible by e-mail, by phone call, and will include the following information:

      1. (1) Nature of the incident.

      2. (2) What was damaged or lost.

      3. (3) Impact on operations.

      4. (4) Estimated dollar amount of damage.

      5. (5) Requirements to replace.

      6. (6) Fatalities or injuries to FHWA personnel or supporting contractors.

    3. In general, follow-up reports (if applicable) shall be provided only as the situation changes, or when significant new information is received. However, for certain incidents identified by the Administrator or Secretary of Transportation, daily situation reports will be requested.

    4. It is not necessary to have all of the information before submitting the initial report. Additional information shall be provided when the information becomes available.

  9. What reports are required in preparing for or following an emergency or Federal response to an emergency?

    1. Essential Elements of Information (EEI) are best described as a series of questions that, based on history, must be answered before, during and after an incident.

    2. The following EEI are established reporting requirements for Headquarters (as applicable) and field offices prior to an imminent incident and during the response and recovery following an incident.

      1. (1) Pre-incident

        1. (a) Internal (your office)

          1. 1. Have COOP and other office emergency plans been reviewed and appropriate actions taken?

          2. 2. Is the office in the projected path?

          3. 3. Are alternate communications capabilities and procedures available?

          4. 4. Are employees aware of accountability requirements?

          5. 5. Will FHWA have a seat in the State or Transportation Emergency Operation Center?

          6. 6. How is your office supporting the National Response Framework?

        2. (b) External (your State or counterpart offices)

          1. 1. Are evacuations being considered?

          2. 2. What are the evacuation plans?

          3. 3. What is the evacuation status (voluntary, mandatory, and others)?

          4. 4. Are contra flow operations being considered (when, locations)?

          5. 5. Is interstate or regional coordination taking place?

          6. 6. What is the traffic situation (problems and causes)?

          7. 7. Have collections been suspended on toll facilities?

          8. 8. Have construction projects been suspended?

          9. 9. Are potentially hazardous materials and/or equipment being removed from construction sites?

      2. (2) During and following an expected or sudden event:

        1. (a) Post incident activities

          1. 1. Internal (your office)

            1. a. What is the status of office personnel?

            2. b. What is the status of facilities and equipment?

            3. c. How are you supporting the National Response?

            4. d. What is the estimate for returning to normal operation?

            5. e. What do you need from HQ?

          2. 2. External (your State)

            1. a. What is the status of the highway infrastructure?

              •     NHS.

              •     STRAHNET.

              •     Other major arterials.

              •     State and local infrastructure necessary to facilitate response to operations.

            2. b. What is the highway infrastructure damage assessment schedule/results?

            3. c. What actions are being taken to assist your State/counterpart?

            4. d. What is the status for re-entry planning and operations?

          3. 3. At all times, be prepared to:

            1. a. Respond to requests for information from HQ, DOT, Emergency Support Function (ESF) #1 personnel, and other inter-agency partners.

            2. b. De-conflict differing reports from your location.

            3. c. Identify the number of office personnel supporting the response and their location.

  10. What are the reporting procedures when the DOT Crisis Management Center (CMC) is activated?

    1. In the event the CMC is activated, field offices will be notified by the FHWA HQ EC (or by telephone to the field offices’ ECs) about the CMC activation and about the reporting frequency to be used during the activation period. If the CMC is activated, field offices are to provide reports (through e-mail) as requested by HQ, followed by a telephone call to the FHWA representative at the CMC.

    2. The FHWA representative at the CMC will prepare Situation Reports and keep the FHWA Administrator and HQ staff informed.

  11. Where can I get additional information? For additional information, contact the FHWA HQ EC at 202-366-6738.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and Recovery.gov logo

Signature: Jeffrey F. Paniati, Executive Director

Jeffrey F. Paniati
Executive Director

Page last modified on October 19, 2015
Federal Highway Administration | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Washington, DC 20590 | 202-366-4000