288/Maryland Manual

Travers, Jr., Superintendent, Maryland State
Police; Paul E. Welsh, Public Affairs Consultant.

The State Emergency Management and Civil
Defense Agency's principal mission derives from
the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950 (Public Law
920, 81st Congress) as amended. The act outlines
the intent of Congress to provide a civil defense
system to protect life and property from attack and
provide relief and assistance to people struck by
disasters other than those caused by enemy attack.

Known as the Maryland Civil Defense Agency
from 1950 to 1970, the Agency, in its earliest years,
was primarily concerned with statewide nuclear
attack preparedness and related missions (Chapter
563, Acts of 1949).

With the passage of the federal Disaster Relief
Acts of 1969 (Public Law 91-79), 1970 (Public
Law 91-606), and 1974 (Public Law 93-288),
increased emphasis was placed on natural disaster
preparedness under the direction of the Federal
Disaster Assistance Administration (FDAA), De-
partment of Housing and Urban Development.
Changes in State law and the Agency name reflect
this shift in focus: Maryland Civil Defense and
Emergency Planning Agency (1970-74) and Mary-
land Civil Defense and Disaster Preparedness
Agency (1975-80). The emphasis on non-nuclear
attack preparedness was further enlarged by the
creation of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) in 1979. FEMA assumed respon-
sibility for civil defense functions of the Defense
Civil Preparedness Agency (DCPA), disaster relief
functions of the FDAA, and emergency resources
management functions of the FPA. At the same
time FEMA absorbed the Federal Insurance Ad-
ministration and the National Fire Prevention and
Control Administration. By this consolidation, the
Agency's responsibilities increased to include
floodplain management, flood insurance initiatives,
community preparedness programs for weather
emergencies, earthquake hazard reduction, dam
safety, emergency broadcast system, emergency
warning, and terrorist incidents.

The 1970s also brought changes in the Agency's
nuclear attack preparedness missions. In 1972 the
Defense Civil Preparedness Agency was estab-
lished in the U.S. Department of Defense. At this
time, increased awareness of the U.S.S.R.'s impres-
sive crisis evacuation capability contributed signifi-
cantly to the development of the present Popula-
tion Protection Program (PPP). This planning is
adaptable to all natural disasters, peacetime emer-
gencies, and nuclear attack. In-place shelter pro-
tection is to be used when time does not permit
implementation of relocation.

The Three Mile Island Incident of 1979 resulted
in additional federal emphasis on radiological
emergency planning. During 1980 and 1981 the
Agency expended considerable effort in the pro-
duction of radiological emergency plans to cope
with accidents at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power
Plant and the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Sta-
tion. These plans were tested in 1981 and 1982.
The State Radiological Plan is tested annually with
a full-scale operational exercise.

Chapter 505, Acts of 1981, expanded the emer-
gency powers of the Governor and changed the
Agency's name to the State Emergency Manage-
ment and Civil Defense Agency (MEMCDA). The
law makes the Governor responsible for emergency
management in the State. Now, the Governor has
additional emergency powers to temporarily sus-
pend State statutes, direct evacuations, control
access, clear debris, and use private property when
necessary. When the Governor declares a state of
emergency, the Director of the State Emergency
Management and Civil Defense Agency is respon-
sible for coordinating the emergency activities of
the offices of the State government and those of
political subdivisions included in the declaration.
The law also established the Emergency Manage-
ment Advisory Council to advise the Governor on
all matters pertaining to State emergency manage-
ment and civil defense. The Council is appointed
by the Governor and includes representatives from
major State Departments, local government, and
volunteer organizations, such as firefighters and
rescue squads.

The Integrated Emergency Management System
(IEMS) was initially implemented at all levels of
government, statewide, in 1984. The System con-
sists of three components: Hazard Analysis, Capa-
bility Assessment, and Multi-Year Development
Planning. Its objective is to apply emergency
preparedness and response resources to all haz-
ards, and to take advantage of similarities that
exist in planning and response function for peace-
time and nuclear attack.

EMERGENCY NUMBER SYSTEMS
BOARD

Chairperson: John G. Rouse III, 1987

Lt. James T. Almony, 1985; Maj. Gary R. Grant,
1985; Harold F. Rodenhausen, 1985; Naomi
Hurley Stewart, 1986; Theodore I. Weintraub,
1986; Russell E. Wroten, 1986; William
Hathaway, 1987; Samuel R. Housley, 1988;
John B. Humphries, 1987; James B. Lyons,
1988.