SECTION 8: PLAN DEVELOPMENT, MAINTENANCE & TRAINING

A. PLAN DEVELOPMENT

Responsibility for development of this EOP, its appendices and supporting materials, resides with the Emergency Management Coordinator under the auspices of the EMC.

MSU followed the planning process outlined in FEMA’s Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 101 (CPG 101) in developing this EOP. This process included:

  • forming a collaborative planning team (the Emergency Management Committee);
  • understanding the situation (creating a hazard vulnerability assessment);
  • determining goals and objectives;
  • developing the EOP;
  • preparing, reviewing and approving the EOP; and,
  • implementing and maintaining the plan.

The planning process included representatives of many stakeholders across the university. University Services led the planning process in conjunction with the EMC. Stakeholders provided input to the EOP through open sessions and were asked to review areas of the EOP for their specific roles and responsibilities.

To coincide with federal, state, and local standards, this EOP was written to be consistent with laws, regulations, and best practices, as described in Section 9: Authorities & References. Revisions to the EOP will go through the EMC. The EOP will be reviewed as noted in Section 8.C below and whenever needed following exercises and actual emergencies.

B. PLAN DISTRIBUTION

The Emergency Management Committee shall determine the distribution (and method thereof ) for the EOP; however, the plan should be distributed to those individuals, departments, agencies and organizations tasked within the EOP. The plan should be readily available in the EOC. Distribution of the plan is the responsibility of the Emergency Management Coordinator and will be recorded in Appendix A.

  • Internal distribution should include at least university vice-presidents, deans, assistant deans, directors and department heads.
  • External distribution should include the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education; City of Bozeman and Gallatin County Disaster Emergency Services units; City Police Department; and Gallatin County Sheriff’s office.
  • The Plan should be posted on the university’s website for access by the public.

C. PLAN MAINTENANCE

The EMC will review this EOP and its appendices and supporting documents annually at the first quarterly meeting of the EMC. The Emergency Management Coordinator will seek input from appropriate units tasked in the plan prior to the EMC review meeting. All units tasked in the plan are responsible to provide updates and changes to the Emergency Management Coordinator prior to the EMC review meeting. The Emergency Management Coordinator will remain apprised of changes and updates in federal requirements. The EOP should also be reviewed by Disaster Emergency Services personnel from adjoining jurisdictions to avoid conflict with their EOP’s and to provide comments. The Emergency Management Coordinator will record all major plan revisions in Appendix B.

Minor edits, revisions or updates do not require re-authorization of the plan; however, the plan and its appendices with accumulated revisions will be re-authorized under Section 1.B., at least every five (5) years.

D. TRAINING

Upon approval and implementation of the EOP (per Section 1.C), and no less than biennially, the Emergency Management Coordinator shall schedule sessions to train members of the IRG, EOC and other pertinent university administrators on requirements of the EOP. This training should also include an overview of NIMS and ICS as adapted to align with MSU’s administrative structure and institutional resources.

All individuals assigned to fulfill EOC responsibilities (and at least one back up person per position) will receive training in ICS, the role of the EOP, functioning of the EOC, and a basic understanding of the responsibilities of other EOC sections. The emergency Management Coordinator will track this training requirement.

E. DRILLS & EXERCISES

In accordance with the MSU Emergency Management Policy, the Emergency Management Coordinator will schedule an annual table top training exercise to include the IRG, EOC, other pertinent university administrators, and representatives from external response agencies related to the specific exercise scenario. The table top exercise should increase familiarity and practical experience with the EOP, test critical response components of the EOC and confirm that personnel are adequately trained to perform their assigned duties. The exercise shall include a post-training assessment to document lessons learned for improving the university’s preparedness and response to emergencies.

MSU will also conduct additional exercises, to include drills, functional exercises, and full-scale exercises, as necessary and according to MSU’s Multi-Year Training and Exercise Plan. The Multi-Year Training and Exercise Plan also includes regularly scheduled drills, such as basic building evacuations (fire drills), emergency notification tests, and shelter-in-place drills, which are conducted as needed.

MSU will participate in exercises conducted by external partners, such as Gallatin County Emergency Management and law enforcement agencies, to include community-wide drills and exercises. MSU will also invite external partners to observe, participate in, and evaluate campus-specific exercises.

The Emergency Management Coordinator will conduct a post-training review, document identified corrective actions in an after-action report and improvement plan, and track the implementation of any changes in procedures, resources, training, etc.

Individual departments and other MSU entities tasked with responsibilities under this EOP are responsible for training pertinent personnel and maintaining appropriate preparedness to adequately respond during an emergency.