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Supplemental Tool: Incorporating Resilience into Critical Infrastructure Projects

Incorporating Resilience Into Critical Infrastructure Projects Purpose and Scope

The purpose of this supplement is to provide the critical infrastructure community with steps that

support development decisions and investments in infrastructure that will enhance the resilience of

critical infrastructure systems. This supplement was developed through research into existing strategies

for infrastructure resilience, including the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Strategy and the updated

NIPP 2013, Partnering for Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience. It is intended for government decision

makers at all levels who are undertaking new infrastructure projects or enhancing security and

mitigation measures on existing government-owned infrastructure. It also can be used more broadly

by all critical infrastructure owners and operators as decisions are made to invest in infrastructure

replacements or improvements.

This supplement includes examples of steps in the infrastructure planning and investment process that

can be used to prioritize projects that promote resilient infrastructure. All of the recommended steps

included in this supplement may not apply directly to each sector and type of infrastructure. In that

case, this supplement can help investors and others involved in decision making tailor the relevant steps

that will promote resilience as well as provide a model for the types of characteristics that should be

incorporated into resilient systems.

Steps for Promoting Resilient Infrastructure Investments

As defined in Presidential Policy Directive 21: Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience (PPD-21),

resilience is “the ability to prepare for and adapt to changing conditions and withstand and recover

rapidly from disruptions. Resilience includes the ability to withstand and recover from deliberate

attacks, accidents, or naturally occurring threats or incidents.” Resilient infrastructure systems are

flexible and agile and should be able to bounce back after disruptions.

Incorporating resilience is not a new concept for investors. For example, when planning new

investments, it is standard practice for investors to perform cost-benefit analyses. These analyses and

other tools enable investors to make well-informed decisions that lead to smart, profitable investments.

Critical infrastructure investors also have an incentive to be forward-looking, since the lifespan of

many types of infrastructure can be 50 to 100 years. Prior to funding a project, investors and project

managers will generally try to identify the impacts of demographic and population trends so they can

determine whether the critical infrastructure they develop will retain its usefulness.

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Building on the positive actions investors have taken toward developing and maintaining resilient

critical infrastructure, the following steps can be used as a guide to promote resilience in infrastructure

development and investment. The list is not exhaustive, but equips decision makers with some of

the best practices and implementable ideas for how to incorporate resilience into infrastructure

design. When making investment decisions and selecting infrastructure projects, decision makers are

encouraged to use these recommended steps to the fullest extent applicable and possible:

• Incorporating projected climate change impacts into the decision-making process.

• Measuring both the direct and indirect costs and benefits of developing the project to gain a holistic

picture of the impact of the project (e.g., the financial and opportunity cost of losing infrastructure

functions and services, the societal impacts of developing the project, environmental costs and benefits,

etc.).

• Examining demographic trends and using the anticipated demographics to predict the future demand

for infrastructure.

• Consulting with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on the best available data pertaining to flood risk (e.g., the FEMA Map Service Center to access current flood maps). [See additional resources for more information]

• Referring to available science and predictive tools on future trends and risks when selecting a location

(e.g., the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flooding Impacts

Viewer tool, etc.). [See additional resources for more information]

• Considering applicable standards and best practices for incorporating resilience into asset and system

design.

• Conducting vulnerability assessments that can identify where the infrastructure is vulnerable to known

and future risks.

• Utilizing available risk assessment and scenario planning tools to make risk-informed decisions (e.g.,

the Department of Homeland Security-sponsored Owners Performance Requirements tool, which

enables owners to develop several scenarios for a project to help select the optimal combination of

performance levels for energy, environmental, safety, security (including blast; ballistic; and chemical,

biological, and radiological protection), sustainability, durability, operational, and cost-effectiveness

attributes to meet their needs). [See additional resources for more information]

• Identifying key dependencies and interdependencies and ways in which this critical infrastructure asset,

system, or network could impact other components of critical infrastructure systems, whether within the

same sector or across sectors.

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• Mapping potential cascading effects from potential infrastructure disruptions.

• Working with partners to develop a picture of how this infrastructure investment will fit into the

regional landscape of critical infrastructure.

• Developing a comprehensive incident response plan that includes such components as scenario planning for the most likely risks and clearly articulated roles and responsibilities for all partners.

• Building redundancy into an infrastructure system so it can handle a localized failure.

• Budgeting for infrastructure mitigation during the development of a project to ensure the resilience of

the infrastructure to threats and hazards.

• Developing a business continuity plan to ensure rapid recovery from disasters or other disruptions.

• Planning to conduct periodic updates for the infrastructure asset that can incorporate new technologies and/or upgrades that could enhance mitigation.

• Determining whether environmental buffers (e.g., dunes or wetlands) can be incorporated into the

infrastructure design to mitigate the effects of natural disasters.

• Ensuring there are manual overrides and physical backups built into automated systems.

Conclusion

The above list represents recommended steps that decision makers can use to promote resilience in

infrastructure projects. In many cases, those responsible for design decisions are already using these

steps in localized efforts to achieve resilience because they see a purpose and a value in promoting

resilient design. To further these efforts, the Federal Government will continue to support access to

accurate information and analysis about these risks as well as an approach for how to manage the risks.

As we work together to promote the goals of secure and resilient critical infrastructure nationwide,

it is important to codify and update these best practices and implement them when possible to better

manage the risks. Those who use this supplement are encouraged to tailor this information to suit their

needs and to provide feedback on additional recommendations that can be incorporated.

Additional Resources

Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA Map Service Center,

https://msc.fema.gov/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/FemaWelcomeView?storeId=10001&catalogId=10 001&langId=-1

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flooding Impacts Viewer

tool, http://csc.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/slrviewer

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U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Science and Technology, Building and Infrastructure

Protection Series: Designing Buildings to Withstand Almost Anything, http://www.dhs.gov/building­ and-infrastructure-protection-series-designing-buildings-withstand-almost-anything

U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Science and Technology, Owners Performance

Requirements Tool, http://www.oprtool.org/

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Strategy, Aug. 2013,

http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/sandyrebuilding

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