The National Incident Management System
(NIMS) was created by the Department of Homeland Security
pursuant to Homeland
Security Presidential Directive 5 (HSPD-5). The
final version of NIMS was released on March 1, 2004
, however, a number of sections of the NIMS will continue
to be refined. HSPD-5 requires that beginning in federal
fiscal year 2005 (FFY05), all federal departments and
agencies make the adoption of NIMS a prerequisite for
State and local governments to receive federal preparedness
assistance (defined by Secretary Ridge as grants or
contracts that contribute to building preparedness and
response capabilities). The federal NIMS Integration
Center has identified over fifty
grant programs that are considered preparedness
assistance. Secretary Ridge issued guidance to the Governors
in September 2004 detailing actions that must be completed
in FFY 05 to be NIMS compliant.
The NIMS is intended to provide a consistent,
flexible, and adjustable national framework to enable
Federal, State, local, and tribal governments and private
sector and nongovernmental organizations to work together
effectively and efficiently to prepare for, prevent,
respond to, and recover from domestic incidents, regardless
of cause, size, or complexity, including acts of catastrophic
terrorism. Based upon this goal, the NIMS consists of
the following components:
The Department of Homeland Security,
through Secretary Ridge letter, has only established
baseline compliance requirements for the Command and
Management component of NIMS. The State continues to
monitor and review the Department of Homeland Security/NIMS
Integration Center guidance to determine when other
components of NIMS will be completed and implementation
requirements established.
The steps required to achieve compliance
with those portions of NIMS implementation outlined
in Secretary Ridge letter and supporting guidance from
the NIMS Integration Center are:
- Incorporating NIMS into existing training programs
and exercises
- Ensuring that Federal preparedness funding supports
NIMS implementation at the State and local levels
- Incorporating NIMS into Emergency Operations Plans
(EOP)
- Promotion of intrastate mutual aid agreements
- Coordinating and providing technical assistance
to local entities regarding NIMS
- Institutionalizing the
use of the Incident Command System (ICS)
