Tennessee Emergency Management Agency
James Bassham, Director

Tennessee Emergency Management Agency - Executive Office - Back

The Executive Office is comprised of the Director and his immediate assistants. The Director's Office is responsible for setting policy for the agency, as well as insuring the overall goals and objectives of the agency are met, initiating the development of strategy relative to the requirements of various state and federal regulations, budget, and the policies of the Governor. This office will coordinate with elected, appointed and other officials of the government and civilian community who are seeking information or resolution to issues. The Director of the agency is appointed by the Governor and serves at his discretion. The Director and Assistant Directors are appointed by the Governor upon recommendation of the Adjutant General in the Department of Military. During non-emergency periods, TEMA is under the administrative control of the Adjutant General. During emergencies the Director reports directly to the Governor and coordinates with the Adjutant General. TEMA has 90 positions, with 61 positions assigned to a headquarters and 29 positions assigned to the regions.

The Director of TEMA is the executive head of emergency management activities in the state. The Director is the Governor's Authorized Representative (GAR) by law and the State Coordinating Official (SCO). The Director declares a state of emergency on behalf of the Governor when he authorizes activation of the Tennessee Emergency Management Plan (TEMP) and the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC). During an emergency the Director is directly responsible to the Governor to report incidents, to coordinate emergency management plans and direct actions. The Director discusses with and informs the Adjutant General of the emergency and emergency management activities and reports to him during non-emergency periods. The Director serves as the State Coordinating Officer and Governor's Authorized Representative in catastrophes.

The Assistant Agency Director for Response is responsible for ensuring an efficient operational response and oversees the Operations Branch, the SEOC area, and regional offices. The AAD-R ensures that local jurisdictions are supported effectively and that communications is maintained. The AAD-R mediates problems and serves as a buffer between the daily issues affecting the field and the Director.

The Assistant Agency Director for Preparedness is responsible for ensuring update and practicality of operational plans, management of programs and grants, the mitigation of threats, prepares and supervises exercises and corrective actions and oversees the agency support functions, including food, clothing, equipment, information technology and facilities. The AAD-P mediates problems and manages the preparedness staff and its missions.

Executive Command Staff

The Executive Administration Officer is responsible for the coordination and development of agency guidance, such as SOPs, plans, operations guides and other policy documents, across the various departments of the agency, as well as making sure all briefing materials are kept updated. The EAO maintains the business plan and recommends selective strategy for the agency's strategic plan. The EAO serves the agency's needs relative to legislation in the state House and Senate are coordinated among those of the other agencies and is responsible for keeping the various members of the state and that federal legislative delegations are apprised of the status of emergency response efforts when a situation affects their respective districts. The EAO takes charge of critical projects and ensures completion of tasks in new programs. The EAO performs key duties for special programs of interest to the Director, such as Safety Officer, NIMS Coordinating Officer for the State, agency Government Liaison Officer, and as required, performs occasional duties as State Emergency Information Officer, backup Public Information Officer or Crisis Action Team Operations Officer.

The Executive Officer is responsible for the coordination and development of various projects, programmatic materials and documents across the various divisions of the agency. The XO may focus on the implementation of specially needed programs or products. The XO provides direct support for the director in various tasks to include scheduling the weekly staff meetings, quarterly off-site meetings and coordinating the associated agenda. The Executive Officer is a senior emergency management official who is available for immediate assignment in the SEOC for emergency operations and periodically serves as State On-Call Officer. The XO is also assigned as the State Credentials Project Officer.

The Finance Officer is responsible for fiscal oversight, to include agency budget, accounts, purchases, expense reimbursements and capitol projects. This officer oversees the finance section which also manages quality review of federal disaster funds and other funds. There are three persons in the finance section to support agency accountability.

The Public Information Officer provides the conduit to the public for all aspects of the agency's activities. The PIO is responsible for the development and coordination of media releases with the Governor's staff as well as other state agencies relating to Emergency Management activities, disasters or other emergency situations. The PIO is the focal point for media interviews, as well as lead office for developing agency's public awareness and education efforts. The PIO serves as the agency's point of contact for all public information requests.

The Human Resources Manager is responsible for all aspects of personnel issues for the agency to include maintaining agency manning documents and registers, employee personnel records, payroll, coordination and documentation for all personnel actions. The Human Resource Manager serves as the conduit to the Military Department's Personnel Office for all personnel matters.

The Administrative Assistant to the Director is responsible for direct administrative support for the agency director and his principal staff, office management, including handling inquiries, correspondence, executive mail, director's travel arrangements and calendar, serves as recorder and administrative support for conferences, meetings and positions in emergency operations, provides agency travel oversight and agency personnel time-keeping backup, makes professional contacts with the public and other departments, divisions and organizations, explains services and activities and hosts visitors, presents briefings and trains new staff personnel.

TEMA Departments - Branches

Directors

Operations and Communications Branch: The operations watchpoint element is the focal point for receiving warnings, making notifications, and arranging for initial response actions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There are two or more operations officers on duty at all times. When additional operations officers are assigned for monitoring, the SEOC enters an elevated emergency activation level although this status is not a declaration of emergency. Operations officers typically handle the coordination for small emergencies occurring concurrently with larger disasters and may perform duties in the Mission Coordination Center in an activation. Operations and Communications Branch includes the Director of Operations, Chief of Operations and 12 Operations Officers providing significant depth of formal training and experience for the 24-hour operation. The communications element works hand-in-glove with the operations watchpoint to ensure that telephones, radios, satellite links, e-mail and web links and other communications means are available. TEMA communications personnel ensure vital connections are maintined with local government command, control and coordination centers during emergency situations. There are six communications specialists who perform installation, operation and maintenance duties.

Planning, Exercises and Mitigation Branch: The Planning, Exercises and Mitigation Branch has 13 persons assigned to handle much of the preparedness mission, to collect and disseminate operational and logistical information, developing and maintaining plans, preparing and providing evaluation oversight for exercises. The Director of PEM also serves as the Radiological Safety Officer. The PEM Branch has two elements, Natural Hazards and Technical Hazards, which have oversight for four significant subject areas:

DISASTER INTELLIGENCE AND INFORMATION DISSEMINATION:
Collecting disaster information that is accurate and displays the common operating picture (COP) for the emergency is essential for proper decision making in response to the disaster. Processing that information into accurate summaries for dissemination is also an important task. PEM Branch does this mission for the SEOC upon activation. The PEM Branch is responsible for writing the Incident Action Plan for any major emergency, for developing and maintaining the flow of disaster information and accomplishing incident summaries to develop the COP.

PLANNING:
Information gathering is a transition to making plans, and TEMA is responsible for the development of plans for all hazards. Especially detailed plans exist for the truly daunting potentials, including radiological releases, toxic chemical spills or plumes, major dam failure and catastrophic earthquake. This branch is responsible for the planning to respond to chemical spills and releases at fixed facilities, and the branch provides support for the State Emergency Response Committee (SERC) and its satellites, the Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPC). This section also provides technical expertise and services for radiological, chemical, and environmental issues related to emergencies. The section can provide radiological hazard assessment, technical planning and specialized radiological training, and serves as liaison with for the U.S. Department of Energy and Tennessee Valley Authority. This section procures radiological detection and monitoring instruments and performs maintenance, calibration and distribution of devices for responders. This section is the repository of the many plans prepared by other sections or panels of sections from throughout the agency or state. One of the most important plans maintained by the PEM Branch is the Tennessee Emergency Management Plan (TEMP) which details how response will be accomplished by all departments, agencies and counties of the state and signed by the Governor. The PEM Branch prepares the Tennessee Emergency Management Strategic Plan which sets goals, objectives and milestones for improvements, identifies budget requirements and supports equipping the agency. The PEM Branch prepares the Continuity of Government Plan (COG) which lays out the steps for moving the seat of government, especially the Governor's Office, the Continuity of Operations Plans (COOP), a plan for each key state department or agency of the Executive Branch to continue to provide services in a different location when required, the Logistics Response Plan which spells out reception, handling and distribution of resources during an emergency, the State Mitigation Plan which plans to reduce or eliminate the effects of hazards, and the State Recovery Plan which provides a roadmap to returning to normal from a disaster. There are many other plans, SOPs and operations guides that are driven from the PEM Branch, updated and improved on a weekly, monthly or annual basis to better prepare for any eventuality. This branch also plans for exercises to test the plans that have been prepared. The PEM Branch prepares the State Mitigation Plan and administers the actions for implementing many mitigation grants, and it writes plans that include mitigation considerations. Analysis of hazards and risks is another of the many functions of the PEM Branch.

EXERCISES:
The Exercises element of this branch is responsible for the provision of preparation, integration and implementation of exercises, often including evaluation tasks and corrective actions. Collecting the after action reports, performing corrective action plans and monitoring the complete implementation of corrective actions is an integral part of the PEM Branch. The exercises element provides oversight of the required exercises established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and FEMA. NIMS standards require periodic exercises to deal with threats which are identified for the jurisdiction, so this branch manages the periodic schedule for these requirements. Coordination of contractors is another implied task for the branch since contractors may be utilized to help implement larger exercises.

MITIGATION:
Reducing the effects of damage or eliminating the future impact of threats on the community are highly worthy of emphasis. The Mitigation element is assigned to the study and handling of mitigation actions and grants which may encourage the use of appropriate guidance and funds. The Mitigation element identifies new or changing threats and reduce the damage where possible. This section plays a strong role in the transition of short-term recovery to long-term recovery in a disaster and works closely with the federal joint field office to speed the return to normal.

Training Branch: The Training Branch of four personnel is responsible for the training the emergency management professionals in TEMA, as well as hundreds of other responders throughout the state and county governments who must respond to emergencies and assist in the recovery. Their task is more daunting in that they must utilize experience of field personnel to provide the instructor cadre which requires much coordination and logistical effort. The Training Branch is an even more critical arm of the agency since an executive order places the training and certification of hazardous materials response in the care of TEMA. The credentialed instructors guided by the Training Branch have already trained thousands of persons in Tennessee over the past few years raising the preparedness of the state to an unprecedented level. Training is also responsible for training the emergency management team in the state in the National Incident Management System (NIMS), to train TEMA members in internal training standards (TEMA 101) and emergency service coordinators to legal standards (ESC 101). TEMA issues identification cards to validate training qualification for teams, especially those teams required to perform to a higher standard by 29 CFR 1910 (OSHA HAZMAT). Trainers from local jurisdiction departments or agencies often assist this branch to add to its capabilities.

Grants and Programs Branch: The Grants and Programs Branch is responsible for grants and contracts in the agency and many programs which execute contracts and grants. This branch oversees federal disaster funds for catastrophes, to include individual and public assistance. The Grants and Programs Branch manages fiscal actions for grants of the Tennessee Office of Homeland Security, US DHS Homeland Security terrorism grants and hazardous materials grants, the FEMA Emergency Management Performance Grant program, FEMA Wildfire Grants, FEMA Disaster Recovery Initiative funds, funding from the Tennessee Valley Authority, funding from the Department of Energy, funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation for hazard mitigation, funding from the Department of Justice for anti-terrorism, and Southern States Energy Board funds for energy-saving and environmental protection. This branch provides oversight of the National Flood Insurance Program grant interface and provides information regarding other insurance programs. The programs element has a significant mission in coordinating the initiation of recovery actions for public assistance and other criteria to meet disaster declaration requirements. Members of this branch may form state elements of the FEMA Joint (Disaster) Field Office (JFO) Recovery Task Force. The Grants and Programs Branch has 11 persons assigned to ensure contracts and grant assurance and program reliability.

Agency Support Branch: The Agency Support Branch provides life support for the agency and handles purchases and acquisitions. The Agency Support Branch includes the information technology elements of the agency, consisting of six persons, who provide software, hardware and systems support for internet and other computer utilization. Agency Support Branch manages the facilities and grounds, vehicle fleet, support equipment of the agency and performs corrective actions to ensure a safe workplace. Agency Support Branch often interfaces with the agency's volunteer and donations program to coordinate logistics and community support issues. These responsibilities include the establishment of relationships with various commercial, private and non-profit organizations and educating them on the state's emergency management program and the role each plays during a disaster. Agency Support Branch coordinates processes where community support is organized and ready to assist the State during disasters or other emergency situations. The Agency Support Branch consists of 10 personnel to perform logistics, IT, facilities care and security and other support activities.