Document Pickenscountyga_doc_85dbb72e26

Local Emergency Operations Plan Pickens County, Georgia 2025 ---PAGE BREAK--- ii I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 This Page Intentionally Left Blank This Page Intentionally Left Blank This Page Intentionally Left Blank ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK--- vi I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 Record of Changes Change # Date Part Affected Date Posted Who Posted 1 02/1/2025 ALL 2/1/2025 Westbrook ---PAGE BREAK--- vii I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 Record of Distribution Plan # Office/Department Representative Signature 1 Board of Commissioners Kris Stancil 2 City of Jasper Kirk Raffield 3 City of Nelson Sylvia Green 4 Town of Talking Rock James Bryant Pickens County Sheriff Donnie Craig 5 Public Safety Director Sloan Elrod 6 Fire Chief Pickens County Tim Prather 7 Fire Chief Hinton 8 Fire Chief Big Canoe Ricky Jordon 9 Fire Chief Bent Tree Donnie Arp 10 Fire Chief Bethany- Salem Kristy Easterwood 11 Pickens County 911 Center Kristy Easterwood 12 Pickens County Sheriff Donnie Craig 13 Pickens County EMA Robby Westbrook 14 Pickens County Admin Bill Wood 15 Jasper Fire Chief John Sherrer ---PAGE BREAK--- viii I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 16 Jasper Police Chief Matt Dawkins 17 Pickens County School District Travis Thomas Jennifer Wilson 18 Pickens County Public Works Kirk Anderson 19 DFAC 20 Health Department Kristin Slater 21 Pickens County Admin Bill Wood 22 Pickens County Marshal’s Office Jody Weaver ---PAGE BREAK--- ix I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 Table of Contents Promulgation Statement iii Approval and Implementation Record of Changes Record of Distribution vii Table of Contents Purpose, Scope, Situation, and Assumptions 1 1.1 Purpose 1 1.2 Scope 2 1.3 Situation Overview 4 Characteristics 4 Hazard Profile 8 Planning Assumptions 14 Concept of Operations 17 2.1 General 17 2.2 Goals and Objectives 17 Goals 17 Objectives 17 National Incident Management System and the Incident Command System 18 2.3 Emergency Operations Center Operating Conditions and Activation 18 EOC Operating Levels 18 Activation of the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) 19 Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Operations 19 EOC Deactivation 23 Coordinating Local, State and Federal Operations 23 EMA Staff Field Response 24 County/Local Logistical Staging Area (LSAs) 25 Phases of Emergency Management and Corresponding Actions 25 Public Information 26 Alert and Notification 27 Organization and Assignment of Responsibilities 29 ---PAGE BREAK--- x I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 3.1 General 29 3.2 Command Policy Group / MAC 29 3.3 Continuity of Operations / Government 29 3.4 Assignment of Responsibilities (General) 30 Individuals & Households 30 Local Government 30 State Government 30 Federal Government 31 Non-Governmental & Volunteer Organizations 31 Private Sector 31 3.5 Assignment of Responsibilities (Specific) 31 Elected Officials 31 Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) 32 Direction, Control, and Coordination 44 4.1 Authority to Initiate Actions 45 Multi-Agency Coordination Group (MAC) 45 Activation of the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) 45 General Guidance of Emergency Operations 46 Information Collection and Dissemination 46 5.1 WEBEOC 46 5.2 Essential Elements of Information 46 47 6.1 Joint Information System 47 6.2 Public Alerting and 48 6.3 EOC Communications Systems 48 Administration, Finance, and Logistics 48 7.1 Administration 48 7.2 Finance 48 7.3 Logistics 49 7.4 Local Agreements and Understandings 49 Plan Development and Maintenance 50 ---PAGE BREAK--- xi I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 8.1 Development 50 8.2 Review and Maintenance 50 8.3 Distribution and Notice of Change 50 Authorities and References 51 9.1 Legal Authority 51 Federal 51 State 51 Local 51 9.2 52 Federal 52 State 52 Local 52 Pickens County Emergency Management Plans Library 53 List of Abbreviations 54 ---PAGE BREAK--- Purpose, Scope, Situation, and Assumptions 1.1 Purpose The Pickens County, Georgia Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) is based on the hazards as listed in the Pickens County, Georgia Hazard Mitigation Plan 2024-2029. These hazards were identified through the Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment process and includes all natural, human-caused, and technological hazards that can be reasonably presumed to occur within the geographical boundaries of Pickens County, Georgia. The EOP clarifies the actions taken for an effective response and describes the integration of the processes and procedures detailed in the National Response Framework (NRF), National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF), as well as serving as a guide for all municipal Emergency Operations Plans. The Pickens County, Georgia EOP supports the five major mission areas set forth in the National Preparedness Goals: Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery. It supports the mission of protecting life and property against manmade and natural disasters by directing the county’s efforts and restoring essential utilities and services at all levels of government through effective planning, preparation, response, and mitigation. The EOP incorporates best practices and procedures from various incident management disciplines - homeland security, emergency management, law enforcement, firefighting, hazardous materials response, public works, public health, emergency medical services, and responder and recovery worker health and safety - and integrates them into a unified coordinating structure. The EOP provides the framework for interaction with other county and municipal governments, the private sector, and NGOs in the context of incident prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery activities. It describes capabilities and resources and establishes responsibilities, operational processes, and protocols to help protect from natural and manmade hazards, save lives, protect public health, safety, property, and the environment, and reduce adverse consequences and disruptions. Finally, the EOP serves as the foundation for the development of detailed supplemental plans and procedures to effectively and efficiently implement incident management activities and assistance in the context of specific types of incidents. The EOP defines the actions and roles necessary to ensure a coordinated response and provides a general concept of potential emergency assignments before, during, and following emergency situations to departments and agencies within Pickens County, Georgia. It also provides for the systematic integration of emergency resources when activated for emergency situations and does not replace non-emergency operations ---PAGE BREAK--- 2 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 plans or procedures. 1.2 Scope Disasters or emergencies are high-impact events that require a coordinated and effective response by an appropriate combination of county, municipal, private-sector, and nongovernmental entities to save lives, minimize damage, and provide the basis for long-term community recovery and mitigation activities. The EOP addresses the hazards and threats extracted from the Pickens County, Georgia Hazard, Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA) and the Pickens County, Georgia Hazard Mitigation Strategy. The EOP introduces the fundamentals of mitigation and long-term recovery but is not the primary document for these activities. It also references activities occurring in all phases of the emergency management cycle. However, the primary focus of this document remains an operational plan which describes the basic strategies, assumptions, operational goals and objectives in coordinating and mobilizing resources to support emergency management response and recovery activities. The EOP applies to all participating departments and agencies of the jurisdictions contained within the geographical boundary of Pickens County, Georgia and distinguishes between incidents that require County coordination, termed disasters or emergencies, and the majority of incidents that are handled by responsible jurisdictions or agencies through other established authorities and existing plans. Key Concepts Key concepts that are reflected throughout the EOP are: 1. Systematic and coordinated incident management, including protocols for: a. Coordinated Actions. b. Alert and Notification. c. Mobilization of County resources to augment existing municipal capabilities. d. Operating under differing threats or threat levels; and e. Integration of crisis and consequence management functions. 2. Proactive notification and deployment of resources in anticipation of or in response to catastrophic events in coordination and collaboration with municipal governments and ---PAGE BREAK--- 3 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 private entities when possible. 3. Organizing interagency efforts to minimize damage, restore impacted areas to pre- incident conditions if feasible, and/or implement programs to mitigate vulnerability to future events. 4. Coordinating worker safety and health, private-sector involvement, and other activities that are common to the majority of incidents (see Incident Annexes). 5. Organizing Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) to facilitate the delivery of critical resources, assets, and assistance. Departments and agencies are assigned coordinator/lead or support ESFs based on authorities, resources, and capabilities. 6. Providing mechanisms for vertical and horizontal coordination, communications, and information sharing in response to threats or incidents. These mechanisms facilitate coordination among municipal entities and the County Government, as well as between the public and private sectors. 7. Facilitating support to County departments and agencies acting under the requesting department or agency’s own authorities. 8. Developing detailed supplemental operations, tactical, and hazard-specific contingency plans and procedures. 9. Providing the basis for coordination of interdepartmental and municipal planning, training, exercising, assessment, coordination, and information exchange. This EOP consists of five components, which outlines the Pickens County, Georgia Emergency Management Program. These components include: • Base Plan • Emergency Support Function Annexes • Support Annexes (may include Continuity of Government/Operations, Warning, Population Protection, Financial Management, Mutual Aid/Multijurisdictional Coordination, Private Sector Coordination, Volunteer and Donations Management, Worker Safety and Health, Prevention and Protection, and Communications.) • Incident/Threat Specific Annexes (Weather related, Earthquake, Tornado, Flood/Dam Failure, HAZMAT, Epidemic, Terrorism, Active Shooter, etc.) • Companion Documents (Hazard Identification and Risk Assessments, Hazard Mitigation Plans), Plan Appendices & Standard Operating Guides ---PAGE BREAK--- 4 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 Each of these components are made up of various plans, guides and documents that collectively describe how Pickens County, Georgia County plans for, responds to and recovers from natural and human caused disasters. The five components are published separately but reviewed collectively to ensure seamless integration. The EOP is intended to capture and reflect the cooperative spirit of all senior elected and appointed leaders and their organizations to partner in a comprehensive emergency management program to protect the lives and property of all Pickens County, Georgia residents and visitors. 1.3 Situation Overview Pickens County is located in north central Georgia in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and contains 232.1 square miles. According to the 2020 decennial census, the population of Pickens County is 33,216. There are a total of 14,896 housing units and the median household income is $72,558.00 (2022 American Community Survey 5- Year Estimates). 22.1% of Pickens County residents are 65 years or over and the poverty rate is 13.5%. Hwy 515 (Appalachian Hwy) connects the metropolitan Atlanta area to the north Georgia mountains and is the gateway to major tourist destinations in Georgia and Western North Carolina. The Appalachian Hwy runs north and south through Pickens County with an average daily traffic count in Pickens County of 32,330. Pickens County contains the City of Jasper, City of Nelson and the Town of Talking Rock. Pickens County, including the cities of Jasper, Nelson and Talking Rock, is vulnerable to a wide range of hazards including Natural, Technological, and Human Caused. Hazards addressed in this plan were determined by the Hazard Mitigation Planning Team based on available data and consideration of hazard frequency and potential severity of damage. Where available, hazard frequency based on past occurrence data is used to suggest future probability. Further information regarding the hazards, risks and vulnerabilities can be referenced in the Pickens County Hazard Mitigation Plan 2024-2029. Characteristics 1.3.1.1 Locations City of Jasper City of Jasper, Georgia, which is also the county seat has a population of 4,064 (2020 Census). The City of Jasper covers 9 square miles. The City of Jasper is governed by a Mayor/City Council form of government. The mayor and all city councilmembers are elected at large by the citizens of Jasper. Jasper provides a wide range of services to the citizens of Jasper: Law Enforcement, Fire Department, Public Works, Parks and Recreation, Planning & Zoning, Water, and Wastewater. ---PAGE BREAK--- 5 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 The City of Jasper was incorporated in 1857 and was named for Revolutionary War soldier Sergeant William Jasper. The City of Jasper is nicknamed “The First Mountain City.” Jasper offers a small-town atmosphere full of quaint shops, wineries, breweries, and annual festivals including the Georgia Marble Festival. City of Nelson The City of Nelson is governed by a Mayor/City Council form of government. The City Council consists of representatives who are elected at large and serve four-year terms. The City of Nelson provides the following services to its citizens: Administrative and Sanitation. The City of Nelson is located in southern Pickens County near its border with Cherokee County. Nelson’s 2020 population estimate was 1,145. The City of Nelson encompasses 1.54 square miles (United States Census). The City of Nelson receives both fire and law enforcement protection from Pickens County and Cherokee County. The City of Nelson was incorporated in 1891, and its history is inseparable from the rich vein of marble which runs beneath the city. Nelson is named for early settler John Nelson who was a landowner, farmer, and gunsmith. Structural marble from the Nelson plant has been used for the New York Stock Exchange Annex, The Swan Building in New York, the Chicago Water Tower, the Federal Reserve Bank, the National Aeronautical and Aerospace Museum, and the Lincoln Memorial. Town of Talking Rock The Town of Talking Rock is governed by a Mayor/City Council form of government. The Town of Talking is located in northern Pickens County and has a population of 91 residents (US Census). The Town of Talking Rock covers 1.49 square miles. Pickens County provides fire and law enforcement services to the Town of Talking Rock. The Town of Talking Rock was one of the earliest settlements in Pickens County and was founded along the side of a creek bearing the same name. Today the Town of Talking Rock is a quiet, quaint town filled with antique shops and a craft beer brewery. 1.3.1.2 Demographic Table 1.3.1.2 Pickens County Population 2020 Census 2022 Estimated Population 33,216 34,826 White 95.6% 95.6% African American 1.5% 1.5% Hispanic/Latino 3.7% 3.7% Asian 0.7% 0.7% ---PAGE BREAK--- 6 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 American Indian 0.5% 0.5% Two or More Races 1.6% 1.6% Median Age 46.2 - Median Household Income $71,637 $71,637 Persons in Poverty 12.6% 10.3% Homeowners 80.2% 80.2% 1.3.1.3 Designated Areas of Interest The north Georgia mountains are a popular destination for tourists from all across Georgia and adjacent states. Mount Oglethorpe, located in Pickens County, Georgia is the southernmost peak in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Mount Oglethorpe has an elevation of 3,288 feet (1,002 making it the highest point in Pickens County. Mount Oglethorpe served as the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail from when the trail was completed in 1937 until 1958. The summit of Mount Oglethorpe is open to the public and in 2014 Eagle’s Nest Park opened providing hiking trails and observations decks. Pickens County has multiple gated communities with the two largest being Big Canoe and Bent Tree. Big Canoe is an 8,000-acre private mountain community with resort- style amenities and 27-hole championship golf courses. Big Canoe has a full and part- time population of more than 3,000. Bent Tree is a private mountain community covering over 3,000-acres with a 110-acre lake as its centerpiece. Bent Tree offers an 18-hole golf course along with other resort-style amenities. There are over 1,000 homes in Bent-Tree. 1.3.1.4 Special Events 1. Georgia Marble Festival 2. Jeep Fest 1.3.1.5 Economic Base and Infrastructure Pickens county is a mostly rural community with mining, manufacturing and agriculture as its economic drivers. Pickens County’s cost of living is 1.6% below the national average. The unemployment rate in Pickens County is 3.0%, which is below the State average of 3.2% and the National average of 3.5%. Pickens County has a median household income of $71,637, which is above the national average of $69,021. The list of the ten largest private employers is from the Georgia Department of Labor (2021) and is listed in alphabetical order – not in order of company size or impact on the community. ---PAGE BREAK--- 7 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 The ten largest private employers in Pickens County are: Company Product/Service Big Canoe Amenities LLC Gated Community Bojangles Fast Food Imerys Mining Ingles Markets, Inc. Retail: Grocery Lexington Precision Corp Manufacturing: Rubber Piedmont Mountainside Hospital, Inc. Healthcare Royston, LLC Manufacturing: Sheet Metal The Home Depot Retail: Construction/Improvement The Kroger Company Retail: Grocery Walmart Retail: General Utilities Pickens County’s utility needs are met by a variety of public and private entities. Electrical power in Pickens County is provided by the Amicalola EMC, and Georgia Power. Water in Pickens County is provided by Pickens County and the City of Jasper. The gated communities of Bent Tree and Big Canoe produce their own water. There are several propane suppliers in Pickens County. Transportation Pickens County’s transportation system consists primarily of state highways and county- maintained roads. Interstate 575, as well as State highways 5, 53, 108, 136, 372, and 515 are major transportation routes that carry the majority of passenger and commercial traffic in and out of Pickens County. Congestion in these transportation corridors creates traffic problems, primarily because of the significant population growth in Pickens County over the last 25 years. Freight rail services owned and operated by Georgia Northeastern Railroad traverse Pickens County. Pickens County is serviced by the Pickens County Airport, which has a single 5,000 x 100-foot runway. ---PAGE BREAK--- 8 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 Hazard Profile The Pickens County Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee conducted a comprehensive Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA) for Pickens County and all municipalities. This assessment developed the hazard basis for this plan. The assessment includes the following components for each hazard: 1. Hazard Identification 2. Hazard Description 3. Profile of Hazards 4. Assets Exposed to the Hazard 5. Estimated Potential Losses: 6. Land Use and Development Trends: 7. Multi-Jurisdictional Concerns: 1.3.2.1 Potential Hazards Pickens County, Georgia is subjected to the effects of many disasters, varying widely in type and magnitude from local communities to statewide in scope. Table 1: Hazard Identification and Grouping Natural Hazards Severe Weather • Thunderstorms • High Winds • Lightning • Hail • Tornado Severe Winter Weather • Snow • Extreme Cold • Ice • Blizzard • Freezing Rain/Ice Storm • Sleet Tropical Cyclone • High Winds • Heavy Rainfall • Tornado • Flash Flooding Infectious Disease • Infectious Diseases • Food Borne Diseases • Agricultural Disease Outbreak • Novel Disease Outbreak Drought Wildfire • Extreme Heat • Wildfires • Smoke • Water Shortage Inland Flooding • Flash Flooding • Urban Flooding Geologic Hazard • Sinkholes • Earthquake • Landslides ---PAGE BREAK--- 9 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 Human Caused Hazards Cybersecurity Attack • Hacking/Phishing • Infrastructure Disruptions • Ransomware/Malware Attacks • Network Intrusion/Disruption Transportation Active Shooter • Explosives/Improvised Explosive Devices • Vehicle Ramming • Sniper Attack • Hostage Taking Radiological Release • Radiological Release Technical • Radiological Release Hostile Hazardous Material Release • Transportation-Related • Storage-Related, Spills, and Leaks Technological Hazards Dam Failure • Flooding • Erosion • Property Damage • Environmental Damage • Transportation Disruption • Infrastructure Disruption Infrastructure Failure • Communications • Transportation • Energy • Public Works Table 2: Hazard Identification Process Hazard of Concern How and Why hazard was Identified Severe Weather • Thunderstorms • High Winds • Lightning • Hail • Tornado Thunderstorms and associated hazards; High Winds, Lightning, Hail, and Tornadoes pose one of the greatest threats of property damage, injuries, and loss of life in Pickens County. According to the NOAA Storm Events Database between 1950 and 2024 there have been 12 tornado events, 92 severe wind events, and 58 severe hail reports. These events have caused deaths and injuries. Inland Flooding • Rivers • Flash • Urban According to the NOAA Storms Events Database there have been 21 Flash Flood events in Pickens County between 1950 and 2024. ---PAGE BREAK--- 10 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 Tropical Cyclone • Storm surge • High Winds • Heavy Rain • Tornado According to the NOAA Strom Events Database there have been 20 Tropical Cyclone incidents within Pickens County between 1950-2024. Severe Winter Weather • Snow • Ice • Freezing Rain According to the NOAA Storm Events Database there have been 77 severe winter weather events in Pickens County between 1950-2024. Drought Wildfire • Extreme Heat • Wildfires There have been two recent examples of “exceptional” drought events affecting Pickens County. These events occurred in 2016 and 2008. Both events reached the D4 (Exceptional Drought) designation, according to data from the United States Drought Monitor. Pickens County had 103 wildfires from 2012 to 2023 that consumed a total of 371.9 acres. This equates to an average of 8.58 wildfires per year and these fires consume an average of 30.99 acres per year. Pickens County has a 2.4% daily chance of a wildfire. Geologic Hazards • Sinkholes • Earthquake Pickens County is one of the 37 Georgia counties with the highest earthquake risk, according to Georgia Emergency Management Agency. In reviewing data from the last 50 years, no earthquake has originated from within Pickens County. The closest earthquake to Pickens County was a 2.0 that occurred in Gordon County near the Pickens County line in 1994. Overall, 196 earthquakes have originated within 75 kilometers of Jasper, GA in the last 50 years. The strongest earthquake to occur within the 75-kilometer radius was 4.2 that occurred 11 km east-northeast of Lafayette, GA in 1984. Pickens County averages 3.92 earthquakes every year occurring within 75 kilometers of Jasper, GA. ---PAGE BREAK--- 11 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 Infectious Diseases: • Infectious Diseases • Food Borne Diseases • Agricultural Disease Outbreaks • Novel Disease Outbreaks Emergent Infectious diseases are of significant concern to the Pickens County HMPC, particularly those that would have an impact on the human population or animal population of Pickens County. Pickens County would likely see significant economic impacts from an outbreak involving animal populations, such as Avian Flu, due to the large economic base agriculture provides (over $120 million in annual sales). The lack of current vaccines and preparatory activities for these diseases has created a situation where the potential impact to Pickens County of a pandemic or epidemic could be catastrophic. Cybersecurity Attack • Hacking/Phishing • Infrastructure Disruptions • Ransomware/ Malware Attacks • Network Intrusion/ Disruption • Transportation Most of Pickens County’s critical infrastructure is linked to some technology-based platform, which is a key vector of attack in a cybersecurity incident. Additional targets include the E-911 Center, Emergency Operations Center, Government Operations. Active Shooter • Explosives/Improvised Explosive Devices • Vehicle Ramming • Sniper Attack • Hostage Taking Terrorist attacks can occur anywhere, and Pickens County is no exception. Large gatherings such as festivals, Church services, government meetings, and schools are targets of opportunity for attackers. Hazardous Material Release • Injury • Loss of life • Property damage • Environmental damage Hazardous materials incidents pose a significant threat to the citizens, infrastructure, and critical facilities of Pickens County. Unknown quantities of hazardous materials are transported daily through Pickens County and all municipalities. These materials are often transported via highways. Water contamination because of a hazardous materials spill is of significant concern to Pickens County HMPC. Fixed facilities also pose a threat as many different types of hazardous materials are used in manufacturing in Pickens County. ---PAGE BREAK--- 12 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 Dam Failure • Flooding • Erosion • Property Damage • Environmental Damage • Transportation Disruption • Infrastructure Disruption There are 18 category I and 27 category II dams located within Pickens County. Category I dams are those that would pose a possible threat to human life if a failure were to occur. All category I dams must be inspected annually according to Georgia’s Safe Dams Act. The threat of dam failure in Pickens County could potentially lead to flooding. This flooding would have many of the same hazards as a flood event, but with the onset of such an event being much quicker than in a typical flood event. One of the category I dams in Pickens County is owned by Pickens County. Eight are owned by the Limestone SWCD. Any of the 18 Category I dams located in Pickens County could have direct, devastating impacts on the local population. Infrastructure Failure • Communications • Transportation • Energy • Water Wastewater In case of any failure of a utility infrastructure, general difficulties would be exacerbated for both emergency responders and for the public. The Pickens County HMPC has determined that utility failures pose a high risk to their jurisdictions due to the unpredictable nature of the incident. All areas of Pickens County could potentially be impacted by an infrastructure failure. However, the more remote areas of Pickens County are particularly susceptible to the impacts of a critical infrastructure failure. 1.3.2.2 Vulnerability Assessment Vulnerability includes all populations and assets (environmental, economic, and critical facilities) that may be at risk from natural, human-caused, and technological hazards. Vulnerability analysis measures the level of assets, populations, or resources within a given region, city, or town. The vulnerability is a function of the built environment, local economy, demographics, and environmental uses of a given region. The damage and/or destruction of any of Pickens County’s eight critical lifeline sectors (See Table 1.2.2.2) represents enormous economic, social, and general functional costs to a community, while also impeding emergency response and recovery activities. ---PAGE BREAK--- 13 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 Table 1.2.2.2 Community Lifelines Pickens County, Georgia Safety and Security Law Enforcement/Security, Fire Service, Search and Rescue, Government Service, Community Safety Food, Hydration, Shelter Food, Hydration, Shelter, Agriculture Health and Medical Medical Care, Public Health, Patient Movement, Medical Supply Chain, Fatality Management Energy Power Grid, Fuel Communications Infrastructure, Responder Communications, Alerts Warnings and Messages, Finance, 911 and Dispatch Transportation Highway/Roadway/Motor Vehicle, Mass Transit, Railway, Aviation, Maritime Hazardous Materials Facilities, HAZMAT, Pollutants, Contaminants Water Systems Potable Water Infrastructure, Wastewater Management A nonfunctional road can have major implications for a community: general loss of productivity; disruption of physical access preventing residents from getting to work or other daily activities; prevention of emergency vehicles from reaching destinations; associated health and safety implications; and potential access difficulties causing the disruption of important lifeline supplies, such as food and other deliveries to the community. Damaged or destroyed utility lines and facilities, including electricity, computer and satellite links, gas, sewer, and water services can cripple a region after a disaster. Power lines are often badly damaged or destroyed, resulting in the loss of power for days, weeks, or even months. This is particularly critical considering modern societies’ dependence on electricity. In addition to basic modern household appliances being affected, public water supplies, and water treatment and sewage facilities can also be impacted. Electric pumps cannot pump drinking water into an area without power, and even if they could, the water delivery system could be breached in several areas. The loss of level elevated water tanks also results in a lack of safe drinking water. Even disaster victims who do get water may have to boil it to eliminate waterborne pathogens introduced to the supply in breached areas. Although not a complete representation of all the possible types of facilities, this dataset is a good representation of critical facilities in Pickens County, Georgia. ---PAGE BREAK--- 14 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 Table 1.2.2.2.1: Types of Facilities Jurisdiction Owned Holdings: 40 Interstate roads within Jurisdiction (in miles) 0 State Maintained Roads (in miles) 74.14 County Maintained Roads (in miles) 396.73 Bridges 52 Law Enforcement Agencies: 3 Fire Stations: 15 Hospitals: 1 Dispatch Centers 1 First Responder’s Communication Towers 5 TV Digital Station Transmitters 0 AM Transmission Towers 1 FM Transmission Towers 1 Cellular Towers 22 City Halls: 2 Housing Units 14,896 Mobile Homes 300 Airports: 1 Dams: 47 Fishing and Boating Access/Marinas: 4 Power Transmission Lines (in miles) 900 Power Distribution Lines (in miles) 2000 Power Substations 7 Water/Wastewater Stations 10 Natural Gas Lines (in miles) 150 Planning Assumptions 1. A disaster may occur within Pickens County, Georgia with little or no warning and may escalate more rapidly than Pickens County resources can handle. 2. Incidents are typically managed at the lowest possible organizational and jurisdictional level. Initial actions to mitigate the effects of emergency situations or potential disaster conditions will be conducted as soon as possible by the local government. 3. During a State of Emergency, the EMA Director, as the individual responsible for carrying out Pickens County’s emergency management programs, has command and control authority over all operational areas necessary to help Pickens, County respond ---PAGE BREAK--- 15 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 to, recover from, and mitigate against natural and manmade emergencies. 4. It is assumed that any of the disaster contingencies could individually, or in combination, cause a grave emergency situation within Pickens County. It is also assumed that these contingencies will vary in scope and intensity, from an area in which devastation is isolated and limited to one that is wide-ranging and extremely devastating. For this reason, planning efforts are made as generally as possible so that great latitude is available in their application, considering they could occur in several locations simultaneously. 5. Agencies/departments/offices assigned responsibilities in the EOP develop and maintain necessary plans, standard operating procedures, mutual aid agreements and model contracts to successfully accomplish the mission. 6. Agencies are prepared to fulfill assigned responsibilities from the EOP, supporting plans and joint operational or area plans. 7. Mutual Aid to the affected jurisdiction by response organizations from another jurisdictions is expected to supplement the efforts of the affected jurisdiction in an efficient, effective, and coordinated response when the County officials determine their own resources to be insufficient. 8. Federal and State disaster assistance, when provided, will supplement, not substitute, relief provided by local jurisdictions. 9. It is the responsibility of elected officials and designated responders under this plan to save lives, protect property, relieve human suffering, sustain survivors, repair essential facilities, restore services, and protect the environment. 10. Effective prediction and warning systems have been established that make it possible to anticipate certain disaster situations that may occur throughout the jurisdiction or the general area beyond the jurisdiction’s boundaries. 11. When an emergency exceeds Pickens County’s resource and response capabilities, the local government will request assistance from neighboring jurisdictions and may elevate requests for assistance to Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA/HS) if needed. 12. When a jurisdiction receives a request to assist another jurisdiction, reasonable actions will be taken to provide the assistance as requested. This includes all agencies, departments and offices in support of this EOP as well as any neighboring jurisdiction. 13. Incidents, including large-scale emergencies or events, require full coordination of ---PAGE BREAK--- 16 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 operations and resources, and may: a. Require significant information sharing across multiple jurisdictions and between the public and private sectors. b. Involve single or multiple jurisdictions and/or geographic areas. c. Have significant local and/or statewide impact and may require significant inter- governmental coordination. d. Involve multiple, highly varied hazards or threats on a local, regional, statewide or national scale. e. Result in mass casualties, displaced people, property loss, environmental damage and disruption of the economy and normal life support systems, essential public services and basic infrastructure. f. Require resources to assist individuals with access and functional needs. g. Impact critical infrastructures across multiple sectors. h. Exceed the capabilities of local agencies, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and Private Sector Partners (PSPs) (to include private sector infrastructure owners and operators). i. Attract a sizeable influx of public, private, and voluntary resources, including independent and spontaneous volunteers. j. Require short-notice asset coordination and response; and k. Require prolonged incident management operations and support activities for long-term community recovery and mitigation. 14. Factors influencing the need for state involvement in response and recovery may include, but are not limited to: a. Severity and magnitude of the incident. b. Local needs exceeding available resources. c. Incident type or location. d. Protection of public health, welfare or the environment. e. Economic ability of the jurisdiction and/or affected localities to recover from the incident. ---PAGE BREAK--- 17 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 Concept of Operations 2.1 General Communications is maintained between the Pickens County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and Georgia Emergency Management/Homeland Security (GEMA/HS) Area Field Coordinators. GEMA/HS personnel may respond to the Pickens County EOC to facilitate ongoing information exchange. The Chairman of the Pickens County Board of Commissioners may declare local states of emergency and request State assistance. All requests for State assistance should be entered into WebEOC and coordinated with the assigned GEMA/HS Area Field Coordinator by the Pickens County EMA Director. The Pickens County EOC will serve as clearinghouses for response and recovery operations and for deployment of resources within the county. This plan is based on three organizational levels of emergency management: local, state, and federal. Each level works together to provide a delivery system to meet the needs of the public. Emergency operations are initiated at the lowest level able to respond to emergencies and disasters. Supporting agencies and volunteer organizations are incorporated in this plan for a whole community approach. 2.2 Goals and Objectives Goals 1. Promote all phases of emergency management and provide the community with a coordinated effort in the mitigation of, preparation for, response to, and recovery from injury, damage and suffering resulting from a localized or widespread disaster. 2. Facilitate effective use of all available resources during a disaster. 3. Maintain the quality of life for our citizens before, during and after a disaster. Objectives 1. Save human lives, treat the injured, meet the needs of disaster victims, warn the public to avoid further casualties, evacuate all who are potentially endangered, coordinate with other agencies to shelter and care for those evacuated. ---PAGE BREAK--- 18 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 2. Protect property, take action to prevent damage of property, provide security for property, especially in evacuated areas, prevent contamination of the environment. 3. Restore the Community: Re-establish essential utilities, transportation routes, public infrastructure and facilities as well as encouraging economic activity. National Incident Management System and the Incident Command System 1. Pickens County, Georgia has adopted the National Incident Management System (NIMS) as the standard incident management structure. The Incident Command System (ICS) is the standard for on-scene emergency management throughout Pickens County. All organizations are encouraged to implement ICS training, use ICS during exercises and use ICS during everyday incidents. 2. All Pickens County emergency response agencies utilize the ICS to direct emergency response activities. The ICS provides an important framework from which all agencies can work together in the most efficient and effective manner. The EOC link to the incident scene is accomplished through an effective EOC/ICS interface. 3. If the incident affects multiple agencies and jurisdictions, a transition may occur from a single Incident Commander to a Unified Command structure. The remaining response functions (planning, operations, logistics, and finance) will also be “unified” by the responders from various organizations. 2.3 Emergency Operations Center Operating Conditions and Activation EOC Operating Levels LEVEL CATEGORY DESCRIPTION 1 FULL All or most EOC/ESF positions activated. Unified Area Command established. Multiple operational periods likely with around-the-clock staffing required. Major impacts to 2 or more community lifelines likely. 2 PARTIAL EOC/ESF positions required to support the response to a threat or actual event are activated. 1 or more community lifelines are threatened or impacted. Unified Area Command positions staffed as needed. 3 MONITORING A potential threat to the public, community lifeline or local government continuity is identified. Emergency Management staff and possibly an EOC/ESF position or 2 are staffed to monitor and maintain a common operating picture for all stakeholders. Planning Status may be elevated. 4 NORMAL OPERATIONS No unusual threats have been identified. Normal emergency management operations and communications are underway. Table 2.3.1: EOC Activation Levels ---PAGE BREAK--- 19 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 Activation of the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) 1. The Pickens County EMA Director will make a recommendation to the Chairman of the Pickens County Board of Commissioners regarding the activation/implementation of the EOP. In the event the chairman is not available, the EMA Director has the authority to order the activation. If the EMA Director is not available, then the EMA Deputy Director has the authority to order the activation. 2. When the EOP is implemented, all county, and supporting municipality resources are available to respond to and facilitate recovery from the disaster. In the event of an emergency, personnel may be tasked to accomplish a mission outside of their normal area of responsibility. 3. Activation of the plan is also associated with the EOC Operating Level. At EOC Activation Level 2 or 3 when there is a possibility of an emergency or disaster, the EOP may be partially or fully activated, as required. At EOC Activation Level 1 Full, EOP activation is required. 4. The EMA will establish and maintain records via WEBEOC and reporting capabilities in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations. Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Operations 2.3.3.1 General Anytime a disaster or emergency situation threatens or goes beyond the capability of a single jurisdiction, or requires multiple agencies or departments, the EOC may be activated. If the disaster is countywide, EOC activation is mandatory. The EOC is an essential tool for successful response and recovery operations. With decision and policy makers located together, personnel and resources can be used efficiently. Coordination of activities will ensure that all tasks are accomplished, minimizing duplications of efforts. The EMA Director or Deputy Director, in consultation with the Commission Chair, will determine if the EOC needs to be activated and to what level. 2.3.3.2 Location The Pickens County EOC is located at 1266 East Church Street Jasper, GA 30143. If an alternate EOC is needed it will be designated by the EMA Director or Deputy Director at the time of the event. ---PAGE BREAK--- 20 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 2.3.3.3 Activation When the decision is made to activate the EOC, the EMA Director or designee will notify the appropriate staff members to report to the EOC. The EOC is the central point for emergency operations. The EMA staff will take action to notify and mobilize the appropriate ESFs and organizations on the EOC Activation List. Notification can take place through several different methods depending on the situation and availability of communication systems. Once the EOC is fully operational, all personnel and resources will be coordinated in support of the following general response activities: 1. Warning and emergency public information 2. Saving lives and property 3. Supplying basic human needs 4. Maintaining or restoring essential services 5. Protecting vital resources and the environment 6. Transportation, logistics and other emergency services 7. Manage the evacuation process. 8. Damage assessment operations. 9. Initial decontamination 2.3.3.4 EOC Organization Structure The Pickens County EOC utilizes the Incident Support Model to organize the EOC and receives its authority from the Pickens County Commission chairman who operates as part of the Multiagency Agency Coordination Group (MAC). 1. MAC Group is composed of the following: a. Commissioners b. Municipal Mayors c. City/Town Managers 2. EOC Management is composed of the following: ---PAGE BREAK--- 21 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 a. County EMA Director or Designee b. ESF – 15 Public Information (PIO) c. ESF-2 Communications 3. Situational Awareness Section is composed of the following: a. ESF – 5- Emergency Management b. ESF – 16 Damage Assessment c. Community Lifelines 4. Planning Support Section is composed of the following: a. Documentation Unit 5. Resource Support Section is composed of the following: a. Operations Branch • ESF-3 Public Works • ESF-4 Firefighting • ESF-6 Mass Care • ESF-8 Public Health • ESF-9 Search & Rescue • ESF-10 Hazardous Materials • ESF-11 Agriculture • ESF-12 Energy • ESF-13 Law Enforcement • ESF-17 Animal Services b. Logistic Support Branch • ESF-1 Transportation • ESF-7 Logistics c. Finance Branch ---PAGE BREAK--- 22 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 6.Center Support Section is composed of the following: • IT Support Unit • Facility Support Unit 2.3.3.5 Situation Reports (SITREP) Every day that the EOC is activated, a Situation Report (SITREP) will be produced for each operational period. The EOC Director will set the operational period, which usually will be 12 hours. The initial SITREP will be completed within the first four hours after initial activation. The EOC Director will set the for EOC activities including scheduling additional SITREPS, presentations, meetings and briefings. This SITREP does not replace the requirement to enter a Resource Request for all State level assistance. Each ESF will provide information for inclusion in SITREP. The SITREP will include, but not limited to the following: 1. Type of disaster 2. Date and time of disaster. 3. Status of mobilization of county/municipal resources 4. Initial damage 5. Immediate support required from state government. 6. Casualties/Fatalities – Number dead, injured and missing. 7. Status of Community Lifelines 8. Public facility damage 9. Status of local government 10. POD status 11. Shelter status 12. School status 13. Other damage Upon review and approval by the EOC Director, the SITREP will be sent to the State Operations Center (SOC) by entering it into WebEOC under Statewide Significant Events and SOC Significant Events, and titled Pickens County, Georgia SITREP. ---PAGE BREAK--- 23 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 2.3.3.6 Briefing Schedules 1. Once the EOC has been activated, the EOC Director will conduct an Activation Briefing. This will detail the situation and give the operational period objectives. 2. Once the EOC becomes operational, the EOC Director will conduct regularly scheduled situational briefings. Briefing times will be determined at the beginning of activation and will be based on type and speed of incident. All ESFs may be expected to give a brief description of their priority issues as related to the EOC objectives and any unresolved concerns they have. 3. Additional briefings may be required depending on the circumstances. This may include briefings for VIPs, media, special visitors or newly arrived state or federal representatives. EOC Deactivation Once the emergency or disaster necessitating the EOC activation is over, the EMA Director or Deputy Director, after consultation with the Commission Chair, will determine the means of deactivation of the EOC. Some incidents will allow full and immediate closing of the EOC, while others will require a slower transition. Coordinating Local, State and Federal Operations 1. Local responders are the first to arrive and the last to leave an emergency situation. All emergencies and/or disasters are managed at the local level. If local capabilities are exceeded, and a local emergency has been declared, state government agencies can augment assistance to meet the emergency needs of victims. 2. When municipal government determines that municipal resources are not adequate, additional resources may be requested through the EMA Director or the County EOC if activated. 3. State government will supplement local efforts upon request or in accordance with the Emergency Support Function (ESF) Annexes described herein. 4. The Governor or designee may execute the Georgia Emergency Operation Plan (GEOP) to support local situations when local resources are not adequate to sustain an effective response operation or when a significant state presence is required for immediate assistance. 5. State level assistance activities normally will consist of coordination and support. 6. Federal assistance will supplement state and local efforts and shall be provided ---PAGE BREAK--- 24 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 under governing secretarial or statutory authorities. 7. To the extent that public law provides, any federal assistance made available to relieve the effects of an emergency or disaster in Pickens County will be coordinated by the State Coordinating Officer (SCO) or designated authorized representative. 8. If the President authorizes federal assistance, the President will appoint a Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO). The FCO is authorized to use the full authority of the Stafford Act to reimburse response and recovery claims. EMA Staff Field Response 1. Pickens County EMA staff is on-call 24/7 with one person designated as the primary contact. The on-call primary EMA representative is available to respond and assist with field operations as requested through Public Safety Communications when the EOC is not activated. 2. Small-scale incidents or emergencies may be mitigated on scene, without opening the EOC. 3. As the incident complexity increases, resources must increase, requiring the Incident Command (IC) to expand the incident management organization with additional levels of supervision. The requesting agency should utilize its own departmental staff to fill the ICS command and general staff positions needed to successfully manage the incident. 4. Once an incident has escalated and all typical mission specific resources are exhausted or at the discretion of the IC, the on-call primary EM representative can be dispatched to serve in a logistical or planning role and request additional outside resources in support of the operation. 5. All EMA staff are cross trained to fill ICS Command and General staff positions. However, due to their function, the Incident Commander and Operations Section Chief should be staffed by the lead agency. 6. If all local resources have been utilized and the on-scene command is overwhelmed due to long operational periods and /or shortage of staff, the on-call primary EM representative will contact the remaining EM staff for additional support. When required or requested, a Mobile Command Post may be utilized for on-scene direction, coordination, and control. ---PAGE BREAK--- 25 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 County/Local Logistical Staging Area (LSAs) For emergencies requiring major mobilization of supplies, materials, equipment, and personnel prior to, during, and after the emergency, a Logistical Staging Area may be established. The LSA will receive, classify, and account for emergency relief and sustainment supplies. This area will be determined based on areas of damage and needs. Phases of Emergency Management and Corresponding Actions 2.3.8.1 Preparedness Preparedness encompasses the full range of deliberate, critical tasks and activities necessary to build, sustain, and improve the operational capability to enhance readiness and minimize impacts of disasters. General preparedness activities include but are not limited to the following: 1. Update all emergency management plans to include risk and vulnerability assessments. 2. Disaster exercises/drills (Full-scale, functional and tabletop) 3. Emergency communications tests 4. Training and workshops for EOC staff and emergency responders 5. Public awareness campaigns and educational presentations 2.3.8.2 Response Response includes activities to address the immediate and short-term actions to preserve life, property, environment, and the social and economic structure of the community. The active use of resources to address the immediate and short-term effects of an emergency or disaster constitutes the response phase and is the focus of department/agency emergency and disaster standing operating guidelines, mutual aid agreements and the ESF Annexes of this plan. 2.3.8.3 Recovery Recovery involves actions, and the implementation of programs, needed to help individuals and communities return to pre-disaster conditions. Short-term recovery actions are taken to assess the situation and return critical infrastructure systems to minimum operating status. Long-term recovery requires a whole community effort and involves the total restoration of the county’s infrastructure and economic base. ---PAGE BREAK--- 26 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 2.3.8.4 Mitigation Mitigation includes those activities designed to reduce or eliminate risks to persons or property or to lessen the actual or potential effects or consequences of an incident. Mitigation measures may be implemented prior to, during, or after an incident. Mitigation involves on-going actions to reduce exposure to, probability of, or potential loss from hazards. Measures may include zoning and building codes, floodplain buyouts, and analysis of hazard-related data to determine where it is safe to build or locate temporary facilities. Mitigation may include efforts to educate governments, businesses, and the public on measures they can take to reduce loss or injury. Public Information 1. Public Information Officer (PIO) a. In the event of an emergency or disaster, the Pickens County PIO will closely monitor the situation, receive information from the EMA Director or Deputy Director and disseminate timely written and verbal information to the public. The PIO will utilize all available media sources, to include radio, television, newspaper, social media and other internet sources, and any other sources that are feasible. b. The PIO’s primary purpose is to provide information to the general public regarding the disaster and how it impacts the community. This information includes warning citizens of impending danger, the status of active disaster, pertinent information regarding evacuation, re-entry and recovery efforts. c. The PIO for Pickens County is a member of the EOC Management staff and will be present at all executive level meetings during emergency or disaster operations. d. Public Information operations will include the County PIO and will be supplemented with additional administrative staff. This additional staff will include PIO’s from other departments, agencies, jurisdictions, and businesses as required. e. For information detailed information can be found in the ESF – 15 Public Information Annex. 2. Coordination During an emergency or disaster, the Pickens County PIO will be the official spokesperson for the County. Coordination with all appropriate departments and ---PAGE BREAK--- 27 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 municipalities will ensure proper emergency public information is being disseminated. 3. Media Procedures The PIO will be responsible for escorting media members into the EOC and for arranging interviews with EOC Staff. The media will not be allowed in the EOC during briefing without prior approval from the EMA Director or Deputy Director. Alert and Notification 2.3.10.1 Emergency Management Staff 1. Emergency Management Staff maintain several methods for communicating with ESF leads, department and agency heads, volunteer organizations, elected officials, and others with responsibilities found within the EOP for alert and notification. The primary communication method is county EMAIL and cell phone text messages. Back- up methods include home phone and Code Red. 2. The EMA Director, or their designee, will coordinate with all appropriate department/agencies and organizations to ensure timely notification at the onset of an incident no matter the cause. 2.3.10.2 State Warning Point 1. The primary method of notification for the State Warning Point is telephone at 1-800- TRY-GEMA (1-[PHONE REDACTED]). 2. When notifying or alerting the State Warning Point, all reports will be done in accordance with the GEMA/HA Field Reporting Standard Operating Guide. 2.3.10.3 Warning The ability to warn the public of impending danger or orders of evacuation is a priority in any emergency operation. There are many methods to communicate emergency messages to the general public, the business community and transient population. Official warnings can come from the local, state and federal government. The Pickens County E-911 Center serves as the County’s Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for all incidents and is located at 1266 East Church Street Jasper, Georgia, 30143. 2.3.10.4 Evacuation 1. Evacuation is the controlled movement and relocation of persons and property necessitated by the threat of a natural, technological, or human-caused disaster. The evacuation of large numbers of people from vulnerable areas will stress the limited ---PAGE BREAK--- 28 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 capabilities of the county’s road network. Therefore, a major evacuation must be initiated as soon as feasible. Direction, control, and coordination with all appropriate departments/agencies will be conducted through the County EOC. The EMA Director, or designee, will coordinate the evacuation routing to shelters, and the provision of transportation, shelter, and congregate care. The EMA Director, or designee, will provide detailed evacuation information to the public, through the Public Information Officer, to facilitate the evacuation. 2.3.10.5 Request for Assistance 1. If local capabilities are exceeded, and a local emergency has been declared, a Resource Request for state and/or federal assistance shall be presented to the SOC through WebEOC by the EMA Director, or through the GEMA/HS Area Field Coordinator if WebEOC is unavailable. 2. When municipal governments determine that municipal resources are not adequate, additional resources may be requested through the Pickens County EMA Director or the Pickens County EOC, if activated. 3. All needs must go through the process of being filled with local resources, resources for which contracts are in place, or donated resources before a request is made to the state. Once all local resources have been exhausted, the SOC Operations Desk will make the appropriate request to the State for resources. 4. There are many methods of resource requests that can be utilized. The primary method is the State WebEOC. All required information is included in the Resource Request board. If the system fails or is unavailable, the following methods are acceptable: a. GEMA/HS Area Field Coordinator liaison. b. Phone 1-800-TRY-GEMA (1-[PHONE REDACTED]) c. E-mail GEMA/HS ---PAGE BREAK--- 29 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 Organization and Assignment of Responsibilities 3.1 General County and City agencies, departments, and response organizations may have various roles and responsibilities throughout a major emergency or disaster’s duration. Therefore, it is particularly important that the local command structure be established to support response and recovery efforts and maintain a significant amount of flexibility to expand and contract as the situation changes. Typical duties and roles may also vary depending on the incident’s size and severity of impacts, as well as the availability of local resources. Thus, it is imperative to develop and maintain depth of qualified staff within the command structure and response community. The response organization of any local government is the responsibility of the jurisdiction’s Chief Elected Official (CEO). In Pickens County this consists of the Chairman of the Pickens County Board of Commissioners, Mayor, City of Jasper, Mayor, City of Nelson, and Mayor, Town of Talking Rock. It also includes all agencies, departments, and resources of local government and applicable volunteer and private resources. The CEO may use the jurisdiction's resources and employees as necessary and alter functions of departments and personnel as necessary in response to an emergency event. The CEO maintains direction and control of all activities within that jurisdiction. Upon activation of a Local State of Emergency, the Pickens County Emergency Operations Plan becomes active as do prudent emergency protective ordinances. The Pickens County Emergency Management Director will coordinate actions between local governments and agencies as necessary. In situations where local resources to contend with an emergency do not exist or have been depleted, the Pickens County Emergency Management Director will request state assistance. 3.2 Command Policy Group / MAC During disaster situations, the Pickens County Emergency Management Director may request the assembly of jurisdiction CEOs to discuss incident information. This unified assembly is known as the Multi-Agency Coordination Group MAC. The MAC will coordinate with the Pickens County Emergency Management Director on all emergency event information, direction and coordination. The Pickens County Emergency Management Director has the responsibility to lead the response effort through guidance and direction of the MAC (see section 4.1.1 for more details). 3.3 Continuity of Operations / Government Succession of County elected officials is outlined in the Continuity of Government (COG) Plan. Each jurisdiction is encouraged to have an authorized COG plan that clearly states the orders of succession, limitations to authority and activation policy. ---PAGE BREAK--- 30 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 In the event of an incident within Pickens County, it may be necessary for county departments to activate their Continuity of Operations Plans (COOP). During COOP activations, agencies and departments should focus on limiting the interruption of services outlined in their mission essential functions. 3.4 Assignment of Responsibilities (General) This section describes responsibilities or capabilities in general terms of entities beyond direct jurisdictional control that are known to support, or are capable of supporting, disaster response or recovery within Pickens County. The EOP assigns general responsibilities for emergency functions during emergencies. With the exception of households, each organization listed below will send a representative to the EOC upon activation of the EOP. Individuals & Households Taking proper protective actions is necessary during emergencies. It is the responsibility of individuals and households to: Be aware of the different types of warning systems and how you may be notified of an emergency situation. Prepare to evacuate or shelter in place. Develop a family reunification plan. Local Government Local governments, whether cities, towns or the county are central organizations in emergency management since local government has the primary responsibility for public safety, including emergency response following an emergency or disaster. The local government maintains control of all assets used in the response and recovery efforts, regardless of the source of those assets. Local governments must plan and prepare for this role with the support of the State and Federal governments. State Government The primary role of GEMA/HS is to support local emergency management activities through local EMA directors. GEMA/HS provides routine assistance to local EMAs regarding grants, hazard mitigation projects, Citizen Corps Programs, Emergency Management Performance Grant funding, planning, training, exercise and technical guidance. Additionally, GEMA/HS assists local jurisdictions by coordinating with federal officials on behalf of local jurisdictional needs. The Pickens County Emergency Management Director is the link between local governments and GEMA/HS. ---PAGE BREAK--- 31 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 Federal Government When a disaster strikes and is so severe that the local governments and the State governments together cannot provide the needed resources, then the Federal government becomes the source for those resources. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the Federal agency that coordinates the activation and implementation of the Federal Response Plan, so the States work with FEMA to access Federal programs and support. Non-Governmental & Volunteer Organizations Volunteer agencies, such as the American Red Cross, local church congregations, and assistive organizations, such as the Salvation Army, are available to give assistance with sheltering, feeding, and other issues, as necessary. Private Sector Private sector organizations within the jurisdiction may assist with a wide variety of tasks based on their capabilities. 3.5 Assignment of Responsibilities (Specific) Elected Officials Chief Elected Officials Chairman Pickens County Board of Commissioners City of Jasper Mayor City of Nelson Mayor Town of Talking Rock Mayor Responsibilities: 1. Participate as a member of the MAC Group. 2. Disaster declarations 3. Evacuation orders 4. Re-entry decisions 5. Other protective action decisions as necessary 6. Providing legal advice as required 7. Performing other necessary legal functions 8. Serving as a liaison with other legal and judicial agencies and sections of the government ---PAGE BREAK--- 32 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) The EOP applies a functional approach that groups the capabilities of municipal and county departments and some volunteer and non-government organizations into ESFs to provide the planning, support, resources, program implementation, and emergency services that are most likely to be needed during disaster or emergency incidents. The county response to actual or potential disasters or emergencies is typically provided through the full or partial activation of the ESF structure as necessary. ESFs serve as a coordination mechanism to provide assistance to municipal governments or to county departments and agencies conducting missions. Each ESF is comprised of primary and support agencies. The EOP identifies primary agencies on the basis of authorities, resources, and capabilities. Support agencies are assigned based on resources and capabilities in a given functional area. The resources provided by the ESFs reflect categories identified in NIMS. ESFs are expected to support one another in carrying out their respective roles and responsibilities. Additional discussion on roles and responsibilities of ESF primary agencies, and support agencies can be found in the introduction to the ESF Annexes. Not all disaster or emergency incidents result in the activation of all ESFs. It is possible that an incident can be adequately addressed by agencies through activation of certain EOP elements without the activation of ESFs. Similarly, operational security considerations may dictate that activation of EOP elements be kept to a minimum, particularly in the context of certain terrorism prevention activities. The primary department/departments for each ESF maintain(s) working relations with its associated private-sector counterparts through partnership committees or other means ESF 2, Communications - telecommunications industry; ESF 10, Hazardous Materials - oil and hazardous materials industries; etc.). ---PAGE BREAK--- 33 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 *Indicate Coordinating & Lead Agency Combined ESF 1 Transportation *Pickens County School District – Coordinating Agency Support Agencies: MATS Responsibilities: 1. Support and assist municipal, county, private sector, and voluntary organizations requiring transportation. Additional details can be found in ESF-1 Transportation Annex. ESF 2 Communications *Pickens County E-911 Center – Coordinating Agency Support Agencies: Amateur Radio Pickens County Marshal’s Office AT&T 911 Resolution Center Pickens County Sheriff Pickens County Fire Jasper Fire ETC TDS Frontier Communications Pickens County IT Designee (Eclipse Networks) Responsibilities: 1.Provide communication plans and systems for disaster response 2. Communications with telecommunication providers and operators 3. Coordination of restoration and repair of telecommunication systems 4. Protection, restoration and sustainment of cyber systems and resources 5. Damage assessment of critical communication systems in disasters Additional details can be found in ESF-2 Communications Annex. ---PAGE BREAK--- 34 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 ESF 3 Public Works *Pickens County Public Works – Coordinating Agency Support Agencies: City of Jasper Public Works Pickens County Water Department Bent Tree Public Works Big Canoe Public Works City of Nelson Public Works Pickens County Building Inspections City of Jasper Building Inspections Responsibilities: 1. Water Sector Critical Infrastructure Assessment, Protection, and Technical. 2. Boil water advisories. 3. Infrastructure restoration and coordination. 4. Damage assessment to critical infrastructure system. 5. Water sample collection assistance. 6. Maintaining designated major streets and avenues, highways, and other designated routes of travel 7. Assisting with heavy rescue 8. Decontamination 9. Engineering services as required 10. Transportation 11. Debris removal 12. Inspection of shelter sites for safe occupancy 13. Inspection of damaged buildings, public and private, for safe occupancy 14. Enforcement of building codes 15. Maintenance of vehicles and other essential equipment of the various departments and agencies 16. Maintenance of a reserve supply of fuel 17. Provisions for the immediate repair of emergency service vehicles and equipment, both in the field and in the shop, as the situation permits. Additional details can be found in ESF-3 Public Works Annex. ---PAGE BREAK--- 35 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 ESF 4 Firefighting *Pickens Conty Fire Rescue – Coordinating Agency Support Agencies: Bent Tree Fire Department Bethany Salem Fire Department Big Canoe Fire Department City of Jasper Fire Georgia Forestry Commission Hinton Fire Department Yellow Creek Fire Department Pickens County Emergency Management Responsibilities: 1. Command and coordination of firefighting activities. 2. Search and rescue. 3. Decontamination. 4. Damage assessment Additional Information *Pickens County Fire-Rescue is the lead agency responsible for all aspects of fire protection within the unincorporated areas of Pickens County, the City of Nelson inside Pickens County and the Town of Talking Rock. Pickens County Fire-Rescue is responsible for providing emergency medical services to all areas of Pickens County including unincorporated areas, the City of Jasper, City of Nelson inside Pickens County, and the Town of Talking Rock. The Pickens County Fire-Rescue provides support services to the City of Jasper Fire Department following established mutual and automatic aid agreements. *The City of Jasper Fire-Rescue is the lead agency responsible for all aspects of fire protection and emergency medical first response within the City of Jasper. The City of Jasper Fire-Rescue provides support services to Pickens County Fire – Rescue following established automatic and mutual aid agreements. Additional details can be found in ESF-4 Firefighting Annex. ---PAGE BREAK--- 36 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 ESF 5 Emergency Management *Pickens County Emergency Management Agency – Coordinating Agency Support Agencies: Pickens County Board of Commissioners Pickens County Public Safety Pickens County Administration Responsibilities: 1. Coordination of emergency management program and EOP. 2. Staff and manage the county EOC. 3. Comprehensive all-hazard emergency preparedness planning. 4. Manage all-hazard emergency preparedness training and education. 5. Coordination of incident management and response efforts. 6. Disseminate emergency public information. 7. Preparation and management of Incident Action Plan. 8. Maintain situational awareness. 9. Coordinate assistance from other jurisdictions. 10. Coordinate resource requests through State Operation Center (SOC). 11. Financial management coordination in disasters. 12. Collection, compilation and dissemination of damage assessment reports. Additional details can be found in ESF-5 Emergency Management Annex. ESF 6 Mass Care *Department of Family and Children’s Services – Coordinating Agency Support Agencies: Pickens County Emergency Management American Red Cross Pickens County Sheriff Pickens County Sheriff’s Auxiliary Pickens County Faith Based organizations Salvation Army Responsibilities: 1. Status reporting of mass care, shelter, human services activities to SOC. 2. Providing the use of facilities for emergency public education. ---PAGE BREAK--- 37 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 3. Providing facilities for emergency housing of evacuees and relief forces. 4. Providing facilities for emergency first aid stations, 5. Providing personnel for shelter managers and staff. 6. Providing recreation plans for shelter occupants’ use during shelter-stay period. 7. Coordinating transportation. 8. Supporting shelter managers. 9. Emergency welfare services. 10. Emergency lodging. 11. Emergency feeding. 12. Emergency clothing. 13. Emergency registration and inquiry. 14. Coordinating services for the area homeless population. 15. Coordinating religious services. 16. Coordinating private welfare groups. 17. Identifying non-English-speaking persons and provisions for translation. 18. Identifying special needs population. 19. Maintaining an up-to-date list and supporting memorandums of agreement (MOAs) with shelter facilities and their points of contact. Additional details can be found in ESF-6 Mass Care Annex. ESF 7 Resource & Logistics Support *Pickens County Emergency Management Agency – Coordinating Agency Support Agencies: Pickens County Board of Commissioners Pickens County Sheriff Pickens County Marshal’s Office Pickens County Fire-Rescue City of Jasper Fire-Rescue Pickens County Public Works Pickens County Finance Department Responsibilities: 1. Maintaining a list of suppliers, vendors, and items of critical emergency need. 2. Supports volunteer services, County agencies, and municipal governments tracking, providing, and/or requiring resource support. 3. Logistics planning, management and coordination (Mutual Aid). 4. Coordination of incident facilities, equipment and supplies in disasters. 5. Coordination of contract services in disasters (food, water, commodities, and transportation). 6. Status reporting of logistics and resource activities to the SOC. ---PAGE BREAK--- 38 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 Additional details can be found in ESF-7 Resource Support ESF 8 Public Health *Pickens County Health Department – Coordinating Agency Support Agencies: Pickens County Fire-Rescue City of Jasper Fire Rescue Pickens County Emergency Management District 1-2 Public Health Piedmont Mountainside Pickens County Coroner Pickens County Funeral Homes Responsibilities: 1. Emergency medical treatment and triage. 2. Emergency medical care information and coordination. 3. Emergency hospital treatment information and coordination. 4. Traditional hospital medical services. 5. Limited on-site decontamination. 6. Identification of local health facilities, including hospitals, clinics, dialysis centers, and nursing or rehabilitation centers. 7. Medical support to shelters. 8. Health advisories. 9. Inoculations for the prevention of disease. 10. Identification of special needs populations, including the elderly and very young, and populations requiring specific life-saving services dialysis or assistance with breathing). 11. Assisting with special needs evacuation. 12. Hospital evacuation. 13. Emergency medical transportation. 14. Emergency interment coordination. 15. Sanitation and pest control as required. 16. Remains Identification & Mortuary Services 17. Behavior Health Services Additional details can be found in ESF-8 Resource Support Annex ---PAGE BREAK--- 39 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 ESF 9 Search & Rescue *Pickens County Fire-Rescue – Coordinating Agency Support Agencies: Pickens County Sheriff Bent Tree Fire Rescue Bethany Salem Fire Department Big Canoe Fire Department Hinton Fire Department City of Jasper Fire-Rescue City of Jasper Police Yellow Creek Fire Department Pickens County Emergency Management Agency Pickens County Marshal’s Office Additional Information: Pickens County Fire-Rescue Pickens County Fire-Rescue is the lead agency responsible for Search & Rescue within unincorporated areas of Pickens County, the City of Nelson inside Pickens County and the Town of Talking Rock. Pickens County Fire-Rescue provides Search & Rescue support services to the City of Jasper Fire Department following established mutual and automatic aid agreements. City of Jasper The City of Jasper Fire-Rescue is the lead agency responsible for Search & Rescue within the City of Jasper. The City of Jasper Fire-Rescue provides Search & Rescue support services to Pickens County Fire – Rescue following established automatic and mutual aid agreements. Responsibilities: 1. Coordination of search activities in disasters. 2. Coordination of rescue activities in disasters. 3. Coordination of search and rescue resources. Additional details can be found in ESF-9 Search & Rescue Annex ---PAGE BREAK--- 40 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 ESF 10 Hazardous Materials *Pickens County Fire-Rescue – Coordinating Agency Support Agencies: Bent Tree Fire Rescue Bethany Salem Fire Department Big Canoe Fire Department Hinton Fire Department City of Jasper Fire-Rescue Yellow Creek Fire Department Pickens County Emergency Management Agency Additional Information: Pickens County Fire-Rescue is the lead agency responsible for Hazardous Materials Response within unincorporated areas of Pickens County, the City of Nelson inside Pickens County and the Town of Talking Rock. Pickens County Fire- Rescue provides Hazardous Materials support services to the City of Jasper Fire Department following established mutual and automatic aid agreements. City of Jasper Fire-Rescue The City of Jasper Fire-Rescue is the lead agency responsible for Hazardous Materials Response within the City of Jasper. The City of Jasper Fire-Rescue provides Hazardous Materials support services to Pickens County Fire – Rescue following established automatic and mutual aid agreements. Responsibilities: 1. Coordination of hazardous material response activities. 2. Coordination of environmental protection and long term clean up. Additional details can be found in ESF-10 Hazardous Materials Annex ---PAGE BREAK--- 41 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 ESF 11 Agriculture *Pickens County Cooperative Extension Service – Coordinating Agency *Pickens County Emergency Management Agency – Coordinating Agency Support Agencies: Pickens County Environmental Health Pickens County Public Safety Pickens County Health Department Responsibilities: 1. Animal & plant disease response 2. Assurance of food & water safety and food security. 3. Protection of natural and cultural resources and historic properties. 4. Coordinate with ESF-6 & ESF 8 concerning shelter feeding safety. 5. acts to meet the Agriculture/Food and Water essential elements of information needs of operations to include the provision and protection of the commercial food supply and response to diseases affecting animals and/or plants during an emergency or disaster event. 6. Establish procedures for the notification of appropriate state and federal agencies in the event of suspicious activity contributing to the contamination of food supplies. 7. Ensure procedures for communication, surveillance and response to a suspected act of agro-terrorism. 8. Establish procedures for the management and evacuation of animals from at-risk areas and provide technical assistance to prevent animal injury and disease dissemination. Additional details can be found in ESF-11 Agriculture ---PAGE BREAK--- 42 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 ESF 12 Energy *Pickens County Emergency Management Agency – Coordinating Agency Support Agencies: Pickens County E-911 Pickens County Public Works AGL Propane Amicalola EMC Georgia Power Atlanta Gas Light Responsibilities: 1. Assessment, repair and restoration of damaged energy systems and components. 2. Coordinate private sector energy industry and fuel industry restoration efforts. 3. Prepare energy forecast and assessments for disasters. 4. Coordination for fuel resupply of emergency vehicles & generators. Additional details can be found in ESF-12 Energy Annex ESF 13 Law Enforcement *Pickens County Sheriff’s Office – Coordinating Agency Support Agencies: Pickens County Marshal’s Office City of Jasper Police Responsibilities: 1. Maintaining law and order. 2. Traffic and crowd control. 3. Protecting vital installations. 4. Controlling and limiting access to the scene of the disaster. 5. Assist with movement restrictions, evacuation, and re-entry coordination. 6. Support transportation strike teams. 7. Supplementing communications. 8. Assisting with all evacuation efforts. 9. Assisting with search and rescue. 10. Security planning and technical resource assistance. ---PAGE BREAK--- 43 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 Additional details can be found in ESF-13 Law Enforcement Annex ESF 14 Cross-Sector Business and Infrastructure Coordination *Pickens County Emergency Management Agency – Coordinating Agency Support Agencies: Pickens County Chamber of Commerce Responsibilities: 1. Interface with businesses, industries, and critical infrastructure sectors not aligned to other ESFs. 2. Enables information sharing between the public and private sectors. 3. Integrate potential industry solutions into response operations and align public sector support with private sector business continuity. Additional details can be found in ESF-14 Annex ESF 15 External Affairs *Pickens County Emergency Management Agency – Coordinating Agency Support Agencies: Pickens County Administration Pickens County Sheriff’s Office Pickens County Fire-Rescue City of Jasper Responsibilities: 1. Public information and protective action guidance dissemination. 2. Media and community relations. 3. Coordination of Joint Information Centers. Additional details can be found in ESF-15 Annex ESF 16 Damage Assessment *Pickens County Emergency Management Agency – Coordinating Agency Support Agencies: Pickens County Planning & Development Pickens County Parks & Rec Pickens County Water Department Pickens County Public Works Pickens County Tax Assessor City of Jasper Responsibilities: ---PAGE BREAK--- 44 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 1.Infrastructure assessment 2.Private Property Assessment Additional details can be found in ESF-16 Annex ESF 17 Animal Services *Pickens County Public Safety – Coordinating Agency Support Agencies: Pickens County Animal Shelter Pickens County Marshal’s Office Responsibilities: 1.Develop plans to assist with the evacuation of pets and for the identification, staffing and support of pet-friendly shelters, animal shelters, and pet and/or animal confinement/quarantine areas during an emergency or disaster event. Additional details can be found in ESF-17 Annex Direction, Control, and Coordination Emergency response within Pickens County is coordinated utilizing NIMS/ICS, which provides a flexible, adaptable and expandable response organization to address all- hazards of varying magnitude and complexity. The Pickens County EOC is activated to support field operations and ensure continuity of government when an incident threatens government services, requires additional resources beyond the capacity of the responding agency, or when resources exceed that which is available from within the jurisdiction as a whole. Communications between the field Incident Command Post (ICP) and the EOC are established when the EOC is activated in support of field operations. During multiple-incident situations within the county, an area command may be established at the EOC to provide coordination, authority and resource support to multiple on-scene ICPs. Unified Command is an application of ICS and may be established at the field response level when more than one agency or jurisdictions have responsibilities. Agencies work together through the designated members of the Unified Command to establish a single ICP Under Unified Command per incident. Each incident under unified command shall develop a common set of objectives and strategies which provide the basis for a single Incident Action Plan. ---PAGE BREAK--- 45 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 4.1 Authority to Initiate Actions The Chairman of the Pickens County Board of Commissioners is responsible for declaring a local state of emergency, based on recommendations from the Pickens County Emergency Management Director. Declaration of emergency automatically implements the Emergency Operations Plan Multi-Agency Coordination Group (MAC) The MAC Group is part of the off-site incident management structure of NIMS and when activated it is located in the Pickens County Emergency Operations Center. The Pickens County MAC group is typically made up of the Pickens County Sheriff, Pickens County Board of Commissioners Chair, City of Jasper Mayor, City of Jasper City Manager, Pickens County Public Safety Director, Town of Talking Rock Mayor, City of Nelson Mayor, and the Pickens County Emergency Management Director. The MAC Group acts as a policy level body, makes cooperative multi-agency decisions, enables decision making among elected and appointed officials. The MAC group delegates authority and aids in resource prioritization decisions. The MAC Group does not perform incident command functions, nor does it replace the primary functions of the EOC or other operations, coordination, or dispatch organizations. Activation of the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) As noted earlier, the EOP is automatically activated when a local state of emergency is declared by the Pickens County Board of Commissioners Chair. However, other circumstances can dictate EOP Activation. The authority to activate the EOP is not limited to any one County leadership position but may vary depending on an incident and authority over the incident. Therefore, the decision to implement the EOP may be made by any of the indicated positions, or their authorized designee: 1. Chairman, Pickens County Board of Commissioners. 2. Vice-Chair, Pickens County Board of Commissioners. 3. Pickens County Sheriff 4. Director, Pickens County Emergency Management Director. 5. Director, Pickens County Public Safety Department. Implementation of the EOP is scalable and is dependent upon variable disaster conditions, phase of operations and resource coordination needs. The level of activation of County resource through ESFs and the staffing levels of the EOC are also flexible. Additional EOP implementation circumstances include: When the Governor has declared a State of Emergency affecting Pickens ---PAGE BREAK--- 46 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 County or a local jurisdiction. A Presidential declaration of a National Emergency. General Guidance of Emergency Operations 1. Direction and control of disaster situations and other emergency operations will be coordinated from the Pickens County EOC. 2. State and Federal officials will coordinate their operations through the Pickens County MAC Group or Pickens County EMA Director or their designee. Information Collection and Dissemination Disaster information managed by the Pickens County EOC is coordinated through Emergency Support Function representatives located in the EOC. These representatives collect information from and disseminate information to counterparts in the field. These representatives also disseminate information within the EOC that can be used to develop courses of action and manage emergency operations. Detailed procedures that identify the type of information needed, where it is expected to come from, who uses the information, how the information is shared, the format for providing the information, and specific times the information is needed are maintained in Pickens County Emergency Management Agency SOG 5-1 EOC. 5.1 WEBEOC Pickens County Emergency Management Agency uses WebEOC as its primary tool for internal communications and situational awareness during EOC activations. WebEOC is an online information management and communication tool that allows authorized users to view and update current incident information and request assistance. ESF’s posts all reports to WebEOC, as well as maintain critical status boards. All resource requests should be submitted in WebEOC to allow for thorough equipment tracking. Resources requests are submitted to the EOC and then assigned to the appropriate ESF or sent to GEMA/HS if the request cannot be fulfilled locally. 5.2 Essential Elements of Information Persons staffing the EOC should utilize position specific job aids to encourage a proactive response effort. Essential Elements of Information (EEI’s) are listed in each job aid to assist with developing a common operating picture and identify possible future ---PAGE BREAK--- 47 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 issues. EEI information can also be used to populate information in the Significant Events WebEOC Board to develop a common operating picture. Communications Per NIMS, public information is coordinated and integrated across jurisdictions and functional agencies; among Federal, State and local agencies; and with private sector entities and nongovernmental organizations. In order to effectively ensure timely and accurate public information and alert and warning messages are disseminated systems, structures, plans, policies, and equipment must be developed and identified to accomplish these tasks. 6.1 Joint Information System The Joint Information System (JIS) provides the mechanism to organize, integrate, and coordinate information to ensure timely, accurate, accessible, and consistent messaging across multiple jurisdictions and/or disciplines with nongovernmental organizations and the private sector. It includes the plans, protocols, procedures, and structures used to provide public information. The JIS structure is used for ensuring that: • Public Information Officer (PIO) functions are coordinated and integrated. • A structure and system for developing and delivering coordinated interagency messages are provided. • Public information plans and strategies on behalf of the incident management leadership can be developed, recommended, and executed. • Leadership is effectively advised on public affairs issues that could affect a response effort, rumors and inaccurate information that could undermine public confidence are controlled and managed. Local PIOs and established Joint Information Centers (JICs) are critical supporting elements of the JIS. A robust and competent JIS is integral to an effective and comprehensive incident management capability. The local Pickens County JIS is fully described in the ESF-15 Public Affairs Annex. The Joint Information Center is: • A central location that facilitates operation of the Joint Information System. • A location where personnel with public information responsibilities perform critical emergency information functions, crisis communications, and public affairs functions. ---PAGE BREAK--- 48 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 6.2 Public Alerting and Notifications ESF-2 and ESF-15 are responsible for the dissemination of information to the public. ESF-2 provides emergency warning messaging to the public via the CODE RED messaging system and activation of outdoor warning sirens. Emergency Messaging is provided to public safety agencies through the public safety radio system. ESF-15, PIOs disseminate information, instructions and critical information to affected audiences including governments, media, and the public to provide messages that are accessible to all sectors of the community. This information must be complete, accurate, and timely. 6.3 EOC Communications Systems The Pickens County EOC is equipped with multiple redundant communication methods allowing the sharing of situational awareness, resource status, raw intelligence and data, and alert and warning. The communication capabilities are routinely reviewed and updated as technology advances. Current communication resources in the EOC include, but are not limited to: • WEBEOC • Land-Line Phones • Satellite Internet • Radio Systems • Broadband Internet • NOAA Weather Radio • Emergency Alert System • Fax Machines Administration, Finance, and Logistics 7.1 Administration A large-scale emergency or disaster will place great demands on Pickens County and its municipal jurisdictions resources. Distribution of required resources may be made difficult by such emergencies. Coordination with appropriate departments will be conducted to ensure that operational readiness is maintained at all times. Administrative procedures will be conducted in accordance with existing county and city ordinances and policies. 7.2 Finance Expenditures of county or city funds for emergency operations will be conducted in accordance with county and city ordinance or policy. Existing emergency ordinances may be activated through a local state of emergency to speed the purchase of materials ---PAGE BREAK--- 49 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 or services. Each individual department/agency shall document the costs incurred during response and recovery operations overtime, equipment used/expended, contracts initiated) in accordance with their own internal SOP’s. In addition, state and federal monies may become available to assist in the disaster effort. Accounting for the expenditures of the federal, state, and county monies will be subject to audits, both internally and externally. The Pickens County Finance Director and the Finance officers of each City will be responsible for collecting the data from all departments and compiling it for a total cost. 7.3 Logistics 1. Individual government agencies and augmentation forces will utilize and track supplies, operational aids, and transportation under control of their organizations. Additional supplies, transportation, and manpower required will be requested through the County EOC. 2. Resource management responsibilities include, but not limited to, financial records, reporting, and resource tracking is included in ESF 7- Resource Support Annex. 3. Augmentation of the response staff will be done in compliance with published Pickens County and City ordinances. 4. When local resources are exhausted and additional resources are required, requests will follow an established process for ordering, tracking, mobilizing, and demobilizing (WebEOC if available). Resource requests originate from municipalities, sent to the EOC, then to GEMA/HS if the resource cannot be acquired via the county EOC. 7.4 Local Agreements and Understandings 1. Airport Use Agreement Pickens County & Georgia Forestry Commission 2. Fire Automatic Aid Agreement All Pickens County/City Fire Departments 3. Fire Automatic Aid Agreement Pickens County-Gordon County 4. Fire Automatic Aid Agreement Pickens County – Dawson County 5. Fire Response Agreement Pickens County – Town of Talking Rock 6. Fire Response Agreement Pickens County – City of Nelson 7. Statewide Mutual Aid Agreement Pickens County EMA – GEMA/HS ---PAGE BREAK--- 50 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 Plan Development and Maintenance Pickens County Emergency Management Agency is the executive agent for Pickens County EOP development, management, and maintenance. The EOP will be updated periodically as required to incorporate new directives and changes based on lessons learned from exercises and actual events. This section establishes procedures for interim changes and full updates of the EOP. The EOP is developed with input from municipalities, local, state and non-governmental agencies. 8.1 Development 1. The Pickens County Emergency Management Agency Director is responsible for the development of the EOP. 2. City governments shall provide comments and recommendations for the EOP. 3. ESF representatives from each agency with coordinating, lead or support responsibilities shall provide comments and recommendations for the EOP. 8.2 Review and Maintenance The EOP will be reviewed annually, after EOP activation and during training, exercise and after-action activities. Any department or agency with assigned responsibilities under the EOP may propose a change to the plan. Pickens County Emergency Management Agency is responsible for coordinating all proposed modifications to the EOP with primary and support agencies and other stakeholders, as required. Pickens County Emergency Management Agency will coordinate review and approval for proposed modifications as required. 8.3 Distribution and Notice of Change The Pickens County EMA Director will maintain, distribute, and update the EOP. The primary method of distribution of the EOP Base Plan, ESF Annexes, Incident Annexes, and SOGs will be electronic. Directors of supporting agencies have the responsibility of maintaining internal plans, SOPs, and resource data to ensure prompt and effective response to and recovery from emergencies and disasters. ---PAGE BREAK--- 51 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 Authorities and References 9.1 Legal Authority Federal 1. The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance, Public Law 93- 288 as amended. 2. 42 USC, Chapter 139 Volunteer Protection 3. The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-390) 4. The Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013 (P.L. 113-2) (SRIA) 5. The Post Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (P.L.109-295) 6. Presidential Decision Directive - 63, United States Policy on Protecting America’s Critical Infrastructure 7. Homeland Security Presidential Directive – 5 – National Incident Management System (NIMS), December 2008. 8. Homeland Security Presidential Directive – 8 – National Preparedness 9. Presidential Policy Directive/PPD-8: National Preparedness State 1. O.C.G.A. § 38-3 Emergency Management 2. O.C.G.A. § 51-1-29.2 Liability of Persons/Entities Acting During Catastrophic Acts of Nature Local 1. Pickens County, Georgia Code of Ordinances Chapter 22 Civil Emergencies. ---PAGE BREAK--- 52 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 9.2 References Federal 1. Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101: Developing and Maintaining State, Territorial, Tribal, and Local Government Emergency Plans, March 2009. 2. Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP), February 2007. 3. National Incident Management System (NIMS), December 2008. 4. National Response Framework, Federal Emergency Management Agency, January 2008. State 1. Georgia Emergency Operations Plan (GEOP), 2024 2. State of Georgia Continuity of Government Plan, 2017 3. Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency Plans Standardization and Maintenance, May 2018. Local 1. Pickens County Code of Ordinances Chapter 22 Civil Emergencies. ---PAGE BREAK--- 53 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 Pickens County Emergency Management Plans Library (*Notes annexes or SOGs still under development as of 1/25/2025) Emergency Support Function Annexes & SOGS *ESF-1 Transportation Annex *ESF-2 Communications Annex • SOG 2-1 Severe Weather Watch/ Warning • SOG 2-2 Outdoor Warning Sirens • SOG 2-3 Amateur Radio *ESF-3 Public Works Annex • SOG 3-1 Debris Management ESF 4 Firefighting Annex ESF 5 Planning Emergency Management Annex *ESF 6 Mass Care Annex • SOG 6-1 VOAD • SOG 6-2 Shelters • SOG 6-3 Donated Goods • SOG 6-4 Volunteer Management ESF 7 Resource Support Annex • SOG 7-1 Resource Support Facilities *ESF 8 Public Health Annex ESF 9 Search & Rescue Annex ESF 10 Hazardous Materials Annex *ESF 11 Agriculture Annex *ESF 12 Energy Annex * ESF 13 Law Enforcement Annex *ESF 14 Cross Sector and Business Annex *ESF 15 Public Affairs Annex • SOG 15-1 Joint Information System *ESF 16 Damage Assessment Annex • SOG 16-1 Damage Assessment Guide *ESF 17 Animal Services Incident Support Annexes *IA-1 Tornado *IA-2 Winter Weather *IA-3 Flash Flood *IA-4 Dam Break *IA-5 Severe Thunderstorm *IA-6 Mass Fatality *IA-7 Family Assistance Center *IA-8 Tropical Storm ---PAGE BREAK--- 54 I P a g e Emergency Operations Plan 2025 List of Abbreviations CFR Code of Federal Regulations CPG Comprehensive Preparedness Guide DHS Department of Homeland Security EAS Emergency Alert System EEI Essential Elements of Information EMAC Emergency Management Assistance Compact EMS Emergency Medical Service EOC Emergency Operations Center EOP Emergency Operations Plan ESF Emergency Support Function FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency IAP Incident Action Plan ICP Incident Command Post ICS Incident Command System IPAWS Integrated Public Alert and Warning System ISM Incident Support Model JIC Joint Information Center JIS Joint Information Center MAC Group Multi-Agency Coordination Group NIMS National Incident Management System PIO Public Information Officer SITREP Situation Report SOG Standard Operating Guide