Earthquake Risk and US Highway Infrastructure

Thanks to our friends at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) a recent Congressional Research Service report entitled Earthquake Risk and U.S. Highway Infrastructure: Frequently Asked Questions was posted.  This 11-page report is an excellent overview of the current state of natural and man-made (read - "Fracking") earthquake impact on the US highway system.

Two figures in the report are very telling as to the concentration of earthquakes and implications on "Shaking expected for Tall Structures Like Bridges" (below)...

as well as a graphic showing the chance of human-induced and natural earthquakes.  (Look at the concentration around Oklahoma presumably due to Fracking.)

Key Comments in the Report

The report approaches these issues in a FAQ approach...so, here are some quick highlights:

Q:  What Are the Components of Seismic Risk?

A:  Seismic risk to a highway system is determined by three factors:

• Likelihood of seismic events of varying magnitudes, and related physical events, often referred to as the hazard;
• Vulnerability of highway structures to damage from such events; and
• Potential consequences of that vulnerability (e.g., lives lost, economic disruption, etc.)

Q: How Vulnerable Is the U.S. Highway System?

A:  "No national database exists on the seismic design and retrofit status of highway system components; thus, a perspective on vulnerability at the national level is unavailable.  However, many states with large seismic hazards have compiled data on the vulnerability of highway components within their borders..."

Q:  How Vulnerable are Highway Bridges?

A: Basically many of the most vulnerable older bridges -- particularly in the West Coast States -- have been retrofitted to improve seismic resilience; however, many older bridges (around 13,000) in the New Madrid seismic zone (AR, IL, IN, KY, MO, MS, TN) have not been retrofitted.

Q: How Costly is Retrofitting Highway Infrastructure?

A:  Because no national data exist on the status of retrofitting existing highway bridges or other infrastructure (e.g.,tunnels, highway systems), no national estimates exist.  

Conclusion

If you are involved in transportation policy or a student of infrastructure, this is a useful starting point to give you a sense of the daunting task of improving the resilience of highway structures against earthquakes.

CRS Report - Vulnerability of Concentrated Critical Infrastructure

I was recently writing an article for the Hazar Strateji Enstitüsü / Caspian Strategy Institute (HASEN) on the subject of physical security of critical electric infrastructure.  During my research I came across a very interesting -- and I believe timely -- Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report entitled Vulnerability of Concentrated Critical Infrastructure: Background and Policy Options.  The report was prepared by Paul W. Parfomak and updated on September 12, 2008. 

(Hat tip to the Federation of American Scientists for posting this document in their publically available CRS library!)

I found this report to be an exceptional analysis of the vulnerabilities posed to the US with critical infrastructure concentrated in geographic areas.  Such concentration increases the vulnerability to events like natural disasters, epidemics, certain kinds of terrorist attacks, etc.

The report defines "Geographic Concentration" of critical infrastructure as:

"...the physical location of critical assets in sufficient proximity to each other that they are vulnerable to disruption by the same, or successive, regional events."

To give the reader a sense of the degree of geographic concentration (in 2008) here is an interesting list:

• Energy (Refining) -- Approximately 43% of total US oil refining capacity is clustered along the Texas and Louisiana coasts

• Banking and Finance (Securities Market) -- Almost 39% of US securities and options are traded on the floors of the NY and American Stock Exchanges in lower Manhattan
  
• Chemicals (Chlorine) -- Over 38% of US chlorine production is located in coastal Louisiana

• Transportation (Rail) -- Over 37% of US freight railcars pass through Illinois, primarily around Chicago.  Over 27% of freight railcars pass primarily through St. Louis
  
• Transportation (Marine Cargo) -- Over 33% of US waterborne container shipments pass through the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles in Southern California (Note: a major tsunami in Southern California could close the Ports of Long Beach/Los Angeles for two months and cost $60B in economic losses)

• Defense Industrial Base (Shipyards) -- Over 31% of US naval shipbuilding and repair capacity is in and around Norfolk, Virginia
  
• Agriculture and Food (Livestock) -- Approximately 29% of US hog inventories are in Iowa; 15% in eastern North Carolina

• Public Health and Healthcare (Pharmaceuticals) -- Approximately 25% of US pharmaceuticals are manufactured in Puerto Rico/San Juan metro area

In addition to the sobering numbers above, if you look at the combined geographical area of New York City and Northern New Jersey the US port capacity is 12% and airport capacity is 8%.

MARKET INFLUENCES ON GEOGRAPHIC CONCENTRATION

To the casual observer, geographic concentration of US critical infrastructure is nothing new.  For example, Chicago and Atlanta evolved from railroad hubs; Louisiana and the Coast of Texas are major players in oil and natural gas because that is where the natural resources are, etc.  However, there are some added influences cited by the CRS report.  They include:

• Resource Location
  
• Agglomeration Economies (i.e., spatial concentration itself creates favorable economic environment that supports further or continued concentration
  
• Scale Economies (e.g., refineries, ports, etc. are growing larger and larger due to the driver of "economy of scale")
  
• Community Preferences (this is more like the concentration of infrastructure in places where the local citizens are not opposed to such facilities)
  
• Capital Efficiency (critical infrastructure is located where capital can be efficiently deployed)
  

FEDERAL POLICIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE CONCENTRATION

Finally, for those who are planners or students of infrastructure planning and management here are some selected Federal policies to discourage geographic concentration:

• Prescriptive Siting (e.g., In the early 1940s, the US Government financed a major steel plant in Utah as a precaution against shortages in the Western US in case of a Pacific Coast invasion by the Japanese or closure of the Panama Canal)
  
• Economic Incentives
  
• Environmental Regulation (e.g., Coastal Zone Management Act, Clean Air Act, etc.)
  
• Economic Regulation

Finally the report highlights policy options to reduce infrastructure vulnerability that can include:

• Eliminating Policies Encouraging Concentration
  
• Encouraging Geographic Dispersion
  
• Ensuring Infrastructure Survivability
  
• Ensuring Infrastructure Recovery Capabilities

CONCLUSIONS

Overall this is an excellent and thought-provoking report on the strengths and vulnerabilities posed by the concentration of infrastructure in the US economy.  This document is a useful discussion for students focused on urban planning, critical infrastructure planning and management, and those interested in reducing infrastructure vulnerabilities.

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CRS Insight - Electric Grid Physical Security: Recent Legislation (US)

(Another Hat Tip to our friends at the Federation of American Scientists for posting this CRS document!)

Last week a two-page summary of recent US government legislation focused on electric grid physical security was prepared by Paul W. Parfomak of the Congressional Research Service (CRS).

http://fas.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=33c6e6fc9f63792ebcbb7ef9d&id=9c0cfe0fff&e=d0dc8ca93c

The document is a quick read. Besides summarizing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)) / North American Electric Reliability corporation (NERC) efforts on the CIP-014, Physical Security Reliability Standard, the document summarizes some interesting electric grid physical security elements in the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act - P.L. 114-94 and the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015 - S. 2012.

Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act - P.L. 114-94

• Became law on December 4, 2015
  
• Contains provisions in two sections to facilitate recovery during electric grid emergencies due to physical damage and other causes.
  
• Critical Electric Infrastructure Security (§1104) -- This section provides the Secretary of Energy additional authority to order emergency measures to protect or restore the reliability of critical electric infrastructure or defense critical electric infrastructure during a grid security emergency.  The identification of such a grid emergency would be made by written notice from the President with a concurrent notification from Congress.  This section also allows a) grid owners to recover prudent costs incurred under such emergency measures through rates regulated by FERC, and b) increases protection of critical electrical infrastructure information.
  
• Strategic Transformer Reserve (§1105) -- This section requires the Secretary of Energy -- in consultation with other agencies, the military, and the utility industry -- to submit to Congress within one year a plan for a Strategic Transformer Reserve.

Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015 - S. 2012

• Includes two sections primarily directed at electric grid cybersecurity but with potential impacts on physical asset protection or recovery.
  
• Cybersecurity Threats (§2001) -- Would provide the Secretary of Energy additional authority to order emergency measures to avert or mitigate a cybersecurity threat upon receiving notice from the President that such a threat exists.  This section is also intended to increase protection of critical electrical infrastructure information.
  
• Cybersecurity Threats (§2002) -- This section would designate the Department of Energy (DOE) as the lead Sector-Specific Agency under Presidential Policy Directive 21 for energy sector cybersecurity.  This bill would require a) DOE to develop a program for modeling and assessing energy infrastructure risks in the face of natural and human-made (physical and cyber) threats, b) DOE to explore alternative structures and funding mechanisms to expand industry participation in the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC).

Thanks again to Mr. Parfomak for this CRS Insight.

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CRS Report - Data Security & Breach Notification Legislation: Selected Legal Issues

Thanks to our friends at the Federation of American Scientists, the recently issued Congressional Research Service (CRS) report entitled Data Security and Breach Notification Legislation: Selected Legal Issues has been made available.

https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44326.pdf  (21 Pages)

This is a focused report providing a review of the following:

• Proposed Legislation introduced in the 114th Congress on Data Security and Breach Notification
• Discussion about State Data Breach Laws (very brief)
• Legal Analysis of:
• Preemption of State Laws, Regulations, and Claims should Federal Law(s) be Passed in this Area
• Agency Enforcement of Data Security and Breach Notification Requirements

Some interesting takeaways from this report:

1) 47 US States, the District of Columbia, and three US territories (Guam, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands) have enacted data security laws.

2) Alabama, New Mexico, and South Dakota have not enacted breach notification laws.

3) Massachusetts has issued regulations requiring persons who own or license personal information about a Massachusetts resident to "...develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive information security program..." (201 Mass. Code Regs. 17.03(1))  Such a program must be in writing and contain administrative, technical and physical safeguards appropriate to the size and type of business, available resources, and amount of stored data.  Businesses must also conduct an annual review of security measures.

4) (Excerpt on Federal Preemption of State Data Security Laws - Page 15 )

5) (Excerpt on Agency Enforcement - Page 19)

Overall, this is an interesting read on the implications of possible Federal legislation in the domain of data breach laws primarily addressed by US state laws.

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FEMA Bits and Pieces

For those of us in the "infrastructure community" we seem to be drawn to issues involving different critical infrastructure sectors along with broader issues such as emergency preparedness, disaster response and business continuity, government financing, climate change impacts, etc.

A useful resource is FEMA's Higher Education Program Bits and Pieces newsletter published by Barbara Johnson at the FEMA National Emergency Training Center, Emmitsburg, Maryland.  

The newsletter - often produced weekly on Fridays - not only includes information on FEMA training opportunities but it also weaves in timely  "bits and pieces" of information on emergency planning, critical infrastructure protection, etc.  The report also highlights any recently issued Congressional Research Service reports that may be of interest to the emergency planning/critical infrastructure protection professional.

Instructions on how to sign up for the email subscription service are below:

Sign up via our free e-mail subscription service to receive notifications when new information is available from the Higher Education Program and FEMA.gov.

You will receive Activity Reports and other pertinent information concerning professional development. You also have the option of signing up for additional e-mail updates from FEMA and EMI. Visit the subscriber settings page to sign up for additional e-mail notices. Once there, you can also receive e-mail updates targeted to your geographic area by clicking on “subscriber preferences” and inserting your state and ZIP Code where requested.

The links above will guide you through various aspects of the Higher Education Program. If you have any questions, please contact Barbara L. Johnson at Barbara.Johnson3@fema.dhs.gov.

Please note: Some of the websites linked from the Higher Ed courses, documents, presentations are not Federal government websites and may not necessarily operate under the same laws, regulations and policies as Federal websites.

Many thanks to Barbara for this useful service!  Well done!

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