January 3, 2012

GOV. MALLOY RELEASES ACTION PLAN FOR CREATING A UNIFIED DISASTER RESPONSE

Announces Two Storm Panel Will Present Recommendations on January 9

(HARTFORD, CT) - Governor Dannel P. Malloy today released the action plan composed by William Hackett, State Emergency Management Director at the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP), who was asked to lay out a roadmap for determining how the State can update and improve its "Master Plan" to create a more unified response for state and local governments and utility companies during a disaster. The proposal, which the Governor ordered after receiving Witt Associates' recommendations in December, outlines a set of goals to improve coordination during a disaster and sets a deadline of August 2012 to find concrete ways to implement them.

"The unprecedented storms that hit our state last year give us an unprecedented opportunity to design a unified response plan for dealing with an emergency," said Governor Malloy. "While a plan like this will always be updated to meet the needs of an ever changing world, the actions outlined in this report give us some concrete steps that we can begin to take immediately. I want to thank Bill Hackett and the hard working folks at DESPP for pulling this together."

"We did many things right both during and after each storm," the Governor continued. "But when it comes to responding to an emergency, the goal must always be to improve."

The goal of DESPP's plan is to "improve information-sharing during an emergency between state and local officials, and our utility providers and provide clear, specific guidance on the inter-related roles and responsibilities of state and local officials, and the private sector, including utilities, in mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery, particularly in utility disruption events."

Three identifiable goals outlined in the plan are to:

DESPP is going to convene a working group that will be dedicated specifically to implementing these goals. The agency is also going to hire an outside consultant that will work with the group. The parties have until August to update the master plan.

"We learn from every storm," said State Emergency Management Director William J. Hackett. "This updated plan will combine the lessons learned from this past year's storms with existing emergency response plans to create an enhanced master plan for responding to any statewide emergency, including large scale power outages."

The Governor also announced that the Two Storm Panel will present its final recommendations on January 9.

"The magnitude of these storms required us to take both a short and long term view on improving both our utilities and state and local government's response to emergencies," said Governor Malloy. "We've already taken action on some of the recommendations in the Witt Report. I look forward to seeing the comprehensive analysis of the Two Storm Panel, and to continuing to improve our response to emergency situations."

**Attached: Action plan composed by State Emergency Management Director Hackett

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For Immediate Release: January 3, 2012

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