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Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Ind. Gov't. - More on "Indiana has yet to identify its critical infrastructure"

On May 14, 2006, the ILB reported on several Fort Wayne Journal Gazette stories on our State's failure to compile a list of its "critical infrastructure." A quote from one of the stories:

A year and a half later, in February 2003, the federal government released its national strategy for protecting critical infrastructure and key assets, detailing what needed to be done.

“Like the federal government, states should identify and secure the critical infrastructures and key assets under their control,” the strategy says.

And just in case officials were unsure of what constitutes a critical infrastructure or key assets, the national strategy explains there are 13 types of critical infrastructure – from agriculture to transportation – and three types of key assets, from monuments and icons to industry and technology to commercial centers and anywhere crowds gather, such as sports stadiums. It then devotes a chapter to each type.

But three years after the national strategy was released, Indiana still cannot say what its critical infrastructure and key assets are.

Well, apparently we have done a heck of a job of catchup in the past two months!

Today I woke up to an NPR story on how Indiana had many more critical assets in need of protection than New York State. Then when I checked my emails I found a reader had directed me to this NY Times story, with a chart that shows Indiana has more critical assets than any other state in the country, according to the National Critical Assets Database!

Here are some quotes from the Times story:

The source of the problems, the audit said, appears to be insufficient definitions or standards for inclusion provided to the states, which submit lists of locations for the database. * * *

The inspector general questions whether many of the sites listed in whole categories — like the 1,305 casinos, 163 water parks, 159 cruise ships, 244 jails, 3,773 malls, 718 mortuaries and 571 nursing homes — should even be included in the tally.

But the report also notes that the list “may have too few assets in essential areas.” It apparently does not include many major business and finance operations or critical national telecommunications hubs.

The department does not release the list of 77,069 sites, but the report said that as of January it included 17,327 commercial properties like office buildings, malls and shopping centers, 12,019 government facilities, 8,402 public health buildings, 7,889 power plants and 2,963 sites with chemical or hazardous materials.

George W. Foresman, the department’s under secretary for preparedness, said the audit misunderstood the purpose of the database, as it was an inventory or catalog of national assets, not a prioritized list of the most critical sites.The database is just one of many sources consulted in deciding antiterrorism grants.

The inspector general recommends that the department review the list and determine which of the “extremely insignificant” assets that have been included should remain and provide better guidance to states on what to submit in the future.

Mr. Agen, the Homeland Security Department spokesman, said that he agreed that his agency should provide better directions for the states and that it would do so in the future.

One business owner who learned from a reporter that a company named Amish Country Popcorn was on the list was at first puzzled. The businessman, Brian Lehman, said he owned the only operation in the country with that name.

“I am out in the middle of nowhere,” said Mr. Lehman, whose business in Berne, Ind., has five employees and grows and distributes popcorn. “We are nothing but a bunch of Amish buggies and tractors out here. No one would care.”

But on second thought, he came up with an explanation: “Maybe because popcorn explodes?”

Posted by Marcia Oddi on July 12, 2006 06:34 AM
Posted to Indiana Government