The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has completed the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP), a comprehensive risk management framework that defines critical infrastructure protection roles and responsibilities for all levels of government, private industry, nongovernmental agencies, and tribal partners.
“The NIPP formalizes and strengthens existing critical infrastructure partnerships and creates the baseline for how the public and private sectors will work together to build a safer, more secure and resilient America, ” said George Foresman, a DHS under secretary. The plan identified 17 critical infrastructure and key resource sectors that require protective actions for a terrorist attack or other hazards: energy; chemical; agriculture and food; public health and healthcare; banking and finance; drinking waters and water treatment systems; information technology; telecommunications; postal and shipping; transportation systems including mass transit, aviation, maritime, ground or surface, and rail and pipeline systems; commercial facilities; government facilities; emergency services; dams; nuclear reactors, materials and waste; the defense industrial base; and national monuments and icons.
Upon the announcement of the plan, the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association (NPRA) endorsed the program and noted that the energy sector and the chemical sector are in the process of drafting sector-specific plans to complement the NIPP and to detail the roles of government and industry in maintaining homeland security. NPRA said it is an active participant in both the Oil & Natural Gas Sector Coordinating Council and the Chemical Sector Coordinating Council, the two groups specifically charged with drafting the Sector Specific Plans.
DHS said it received roughly 10,000 comments during two rounds of NIPP public review. In addition, the department closely collaborated with nearly 300 federal, state, local, tribal, and private sector agencies and organizations to review and revise the NIPP as the document’s policies and coordination procedures evolved. To see the plan, click here for the DHS Web site.