InfoGram

March 21, 2002

NOTE: This InfoGram will be distributed weekly to provide members of the emergency services sector with news and information concerning the protection of their critical infrastructures. For further information please contact the U.S. Fire Administration's Critical Infrastructure Protection Information Center at (301) 447-1325 or email at usfacipc@dhs.gov.

Domestic Terrorism: Threat to Critical Infrastructures

Between 1980 and 2000, 75 percent of the nation’s 335 suspected terrorist incidents were perpetrated by domestic groups according to FBI statistics. Unfortunately, a Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) forecast calls for even more terrorism committed by home-grown extremists during this decade. According to the SPLC, a professional watchdog of right wing groups, there were over 676 hate groups operating in the United States during 2001. The SPLC warned that these criminals may increase their population by approximately 12 percent between 2000 and 2002, and may conduct more visible activities by forging links with Middle East fundamentalists.

There is some evidence to support the SPLC warning. Police arrested Joseph Konopka last week in a utility tunnel adjacent to Chicago’s subway. This Wisconsin native with no known links to Mideast terrorists was carrying a vial of cyanide and had over a pound of similar material hidden in a subway storage room. The material could have been used to create highly toxic clouds of gas at subway transfer stations. Additionally, a Sheriff’s Office investigation recently uncovered the semi-automatic weapons, ammunition, and correspondence of a Montana militia group that was planning to assassinate American judges, prosecutors, and public safety officers.

While so much attention is given to battling Al Qaeda, the protectors of the people and critical infrastructures should not "turn a blind eye" to domestic terrorists. The threat from these groups and individuals remains as potent as ever, and perhaps more so since the attacks of 9/11. Emergency first responders must endeavor to learn about the threat from American extremists and how they may attempt to capitalize on the vulnerabilities of people and their essential infrastructures. Therefore, the CIPIC again advises fire and EMS chiefs to communicate with the leaders of local law enforcement agencies to acquire frequent updates regarding known threats. Citizens of the community, many of whom are key personnel for critical infrastructures, cannot be effectively served and protected without prior knowledge of how they are threatened. At minimum, this is an appropriate agenda item for consideration and action by local emergency planning committees.

Operation TIPS: A Tool for Critical Infrastructure Protection

The CIPIC proposed in the 14 March InfoGram that local watch programs can be an instrument of critical infrastructure protection. The article offered that program participants could be briefed by department chiefs regarding what physical entities they should keep under additional observation for suspicious or unusual activity. This action can put extra "eyes" on those physical assets that are essential for the survivability and mission success of firefighters and emergency medical technicians.

Another program that has high value for the protection of critical infrastructures is "Operation TIPS." This program, which is also sponsored by the Justice Department, relies on volunteers who follow a routine as part of their every day job, such as mail carriers and delivery truck drivers.

Each "TIPS" volunteer should be given an information sticker with a toll-free phone number to affix to their vehicle window visor. "Their repetitive tasks put them in a good position to recognize and report when things are out of the ordinary or suspicious," a Justice Department spokesperson said.

Department chiefs can capitalize on the CIP advantages of "Operation TIPS" by instructing program participants regarding those infrastructures to which they should pay special attention. By observing and reporting in a dependable manner, these citizens will effectively augment whatever protective measures already exist. Their scrutiny will be especially valuable for those infrastructures that are not protected by other means. They are another free resource having the potential to make a significant difference in the business of infrastructure protection and in the safety and success of department personnel. "It’s going to be one person who sees something and reports it that may lead to the apprehension of someone or prevents something from happening," said a Justice Department official.

Most readers are aware that some community-based programs have been in existence for many years, such as the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and Neighborhood Watch. New post-11 September federal initiatives have been developed under the umbrella of the recently created Citizen Preparedness Councils. "Operation TIPS" and Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) are two examples of new programs. To fuse citizens and emergency first responders together into an efficiently planned and coordinated effort will require quality collaboration and cooperation among the leadership of local law enforcers, firefighters, and EMTs. The emergency first response sector must "have its act together" in order to effectively initiate, lead, and benefit from the Citizen Preparedness Councils and their respective programs.

Water Supply Security

This week, more than 80 leaders from the National League of Cities (NLC), the American Water Works Association (AWWA), the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies (AMSA), and large and small water departments traveled to Washington in support of House of Representatives legislation to provide $20 billion for water and sewer infrastructure projects. The AWWA specifically argued that $2 billion in emergency funding is urgently needed to assist water utilities across the United States to assess and address their vulnerability to a terrorist attack.

"The security of America’s water supply is a critical component of our overall homeland security," said the AWWA executive director. "Without it, community public health, fire protection, and sanitation could be compromised." The association’s deputy director maintained that "it’s not necessarily truckloads of chemicals we are worried about. There are pumps, pipes, and other things that utilities need to protect."

The many representatives of the water infrastructure affirmed before members of the House of Representatives that security at water utilities across the country safeguards our drinking water supply. They asserted a significant investment is necessary to ensure that the water supply remains secure for public health and safety.

Local government water quality needs are great for many reasons. For example, tremendous investments are necessary to repair, replace, and rehabilitate existing infrastructure and meet current requirements associated with combined sewer and sanitary sewer overflow programs. These realities are further compounded by the possibility that small systems may make an attractive target to a terrorist whose particular aim is to make people lose confidence in their water supply. Considering these facts, the CIPIC suggests that water supply security is another important matter for deliberation and resolution by local emergency planning committees with the active participation of fire department chiefs.

Will "El Nino" be a Threat to Critical Infrastructures?

Climate experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) report growing signs of an "El Nino" weather system currently forming in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. NOAA meteorologists recently observed a giant "El Nino" weather pattern that is gaining strength and will eventually affect climate conditions around the globe. A typical "El Nino" changes the major wind patterns over the United States resulting in wetter and stormier weather in areas of the West and Gulf Coast states. It also produces warmer winters in the Plains and Midwest, and colder, stormier winters in the East.

NOAA officials indicate that the first noticeable "El Nino" effect could even be good, toward the end of this summer and early autumn, helping to create winds that might actually reduce the number of hurricanes. Later in the fall and winter, however, "El Nino" could cause heavy rains in the south leaving major flooding, frequent damaging Northeasters along the East Coast, and devastating drought to the Northwest and Southwest. The last "El Nino" of four years ago triggered over $5 billion in damage from mudslides, surf, and flooding as well as from crop losses, etc.

It should be obvious that the next iteration of "El Nino" has the capability to degrade or destroy physical and cyber infrastructures of the fire and emergency medical services. It has before. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to recommend that senior leaders in those areas most affected by such dramatic weather changes begin thinking and planning about protective measures. The benefits of prior planning by departments in vulnerable areas need no further elaboration.