NIBS Leads Way with New National Lifelines Organization

Posted By NIBS Staff

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Before Hurricanes Helene and Milton arrived and leveled parts of the south, increasing temperatures, unpredictable weather, and rising seas have made difficult the task of planning for the Atlantic Hurricane Season.

We take for granted essential services like communications, fuel, water and wastewater, power and electricity, and transportation that seamlessly support our daily lives.

These storms - and the ones that will follow - have highlighted the importance of these lifelines. Mitigating future risks will require a holistic approach to help vulnerable communities plan, prepare for, and be resilient to the storms that will come.

This year, NIBS took a big step toward protecting our lifelines with a new initiative - the Lifeline Infrastructure Hub, a public-private partnership to assist communities with resilience and recovery after disasters.

Why It's Important

Lifeline systems are diverse and complex and include distributed networks, varied organizational structures, operating models, interdependent systems, and governance constructs.

In 2021, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and National Institute of Standards & Technology issued a report, Recommended Options for Improving the Built Environment for Post-Earthquake Reoccupancy and Functional Recovery Time.

In it, FEMA and NIST found that "natural hazard events can affect communities through damage that results in injury and loss of life, interruption of lifeline services, displacement of residents and businesses, and economic and socio-cultural impacts. Almost half of the U.S. population - 150 million people - reside in portions of 42 states that are at risk of experiencing a damaging earthquake within the next 50 years."

This issue has been called out for the past several years. In 2014, NIST published a roadmap that found lifelines lacked "a single umbrella organization to set performance goals and standards and advocate for system enhancements … Thus, the roadmap recommends the creation of an umbrella organization to ensure stewardship for the necessary research, development, and implementation of earthquake and multi-hazard resilient lifelines."

The importance of critical infrastructure also was underscored this past April, when the White House issued a National Security Memorandum on Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience.

Inaugural Meeting: The Hub Advisory Panel

NIBS held the inaugural meeting of the advisory panel of the Lifeline Infrastructure Hub in May.

Following the meeting, NIBS hosted a workshop with representatives from 35 organizations, including the White House, Congress, federal agencies, lifeline companies, the engineering community, business, and academia.

The workshop featured panel discussions with industry leaders, fostering a rich environment with discussions and ideas, such as the emerging role of data-informed decision-making, risk-based design and planning, performance metrics, policy priorities, and the interdependence of lifelines at home and abroad.

Advancing Research and Development

Last month, on the 35th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake, NIBS leadership joined U.S. Rep. Kevin Mullin, CA-15, in his announcement of critical legislation to improve the nation's preparation for and recovery from earthquakes.

The Earthquake Resilience Act (H.R. 9375) would direct federal agencies to study the nation's earthquake resiliency to better understand how communities can prepare for future disasters. It also would require the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP) to develop standards for designing resilient lifeline infrastructure, which would reduce community recovery time following an event.

In his address to San Francisco media, NIBS CEO Dr. George Guszcza referenced the anniversary of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake - one of the most devastating events to strike California.

"Thirty-five years ago, first responders in the Marina district could not use the water-distribution system to extinguish fires because it had failed under large soil movements," Dr. Guszcza said. "The region's telecommunications were challenged from both network congestion and lack of electrical power. Thousands on TV witnessed the effects of bridge failures. Because of the extensive damage, the USGS referred to Loma Prieta as a 'lifelines earthquake.' This legislation protects the entire nation."

Visit NIBS' Lifeline Infrastructure Hub.