Water Utility Emergency Field Guide: Tennessee - Homeland Security (HS) District 1 When you need help: You are not alone during an emergency! Help is available through local, county, state, and non- governmental organizations. Request assistance from your local resources first (police, fire, health, local Emergency Operations Center or EOC, and existing mutual aid and assistance partners - if applicable). Contact your County Emergency Management (EM) office or EOC for additional assistance (see numbers on next page) if needed AND be prepared with: a) Your utility's name, address, and contact information. b) The address where the resource is needed, and Global Positioning System or GPS coordinates if you have them. c) A description of the emergency and magnitude (what happened, how large is the affected area, how many people will be affected). d) What you need (kind and type of resource, such as a Type IV generator: a trailer-mounted, 400 KW, sound attenuated, multi-voltage panel, 3-phase generator). Resource typing, or categorizing and describing resources, is vital during an emergency. Be sure to fully describe the function and specific capabilities of the requested resources to avoid confusion. e) When you need the resource by (how urgent is it) and how long you will need it for. f) If you need a qualified operator for the requested equipment. g) Don't forget to ask for an anticipated delivery date, time, and a point of contact, if available. Your County EM or EOC will follow-up with you, but you can check back if necessary. There may not be a formal tracking number assigned to your resource request at the County level. If your County EOC is not activated, the County EM coordinator should still be able to help you. If you are unable to reach the coordinator, contact the State EOC at (615) 741-0001, or (800) 262-3300 for 24/7 assistance. The State EOC can coordinate your resource request with the County EM or EOC. Utilize mutual aid and assistance agreements such as the Tennessee Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network (www.tnwarn.org) to request resources from other utilities. Keep in Mind: If the County cannot fulfill your resource request, they will look to neighboring counties. If the neighboring counties cannot fulfill your resource request, your County will forward it to your region's Emergency Management Coordinator, and to the State EOC. All will try to locate the resource within Tennessee. If the State EOC cannot fulfill your resource request, they may use their Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) coordinator to access resources in other states. The State EOC may also contact the federal government for assistance through FEMA. This can be a lengthy process (at least 3 days), so don't wait too long to ask for help. Not all assistance will be free-of-charge. You may be responsible for some or all of the costs. The best way to make sure you get what you need is to have pre-disaster contracts and mutual aid and assistance agreements. If you wait until after the disaster to plan, it may be too late. July 2008 ------- Who To TN Department of Environment and Conservation The following toll-free number will dispatch your call to the appropriate Environmental Field Office for assistance: 888-891-8332 (Staffed during regular business hours). Your Environmental Field Office can also be reached at: Johnson City Environmental Field Office: 423-854-5400 Knoxville Environmental Field Office: 865-594-6035 HS District 1 Phone Numbers*: Carter County 801 Elk Ave. Elizabethton 423-542-1888 423-547-5564 - After hours Greene County 310 South Main St. Greeneville 423-798-1729 423-638-8663 - After hours Hancock County 265 New Jail St. Sneedville 423-851-1351 423-733-2249 - After hours Hawkins County 150 Washington St. Rogersville 423-272-8059 423-272-7121 - After hours Johnson County 211 North Church St. Mountain City 423-727-7929 423-727-7669 - After hours Sullivan County 3425 Flighway 126 Kingsport 423-323-6912 423-279-7331 - After hours HvS District 1 State EOC 24/7 800-262-3300 Washington County 333 East Maple St. Johnson City 423-434-6081 423-461-1414 - After hours Unicoi County 102 N. Main St. Erwin 423-743-1850-24/7 Phone numbers can change, so be sure to check contact information on a regular basis. Mutual aid and assistance is available on a voluntary basis from other utilities through membership in the Tennessee Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network (WARN) system. The TN WARN website is available at www.tnwarn.org. Other organizations that can help you locate resources in the event of an emergency are: Tennessee Association of Utility Districts: 615-896-9022 or 800-486-9022 Tennessee American Water Works Association: 502-550-2992 Community Resource Group: 931-296-9044 Municipal Technical Assistance System: 865-974-0411 July 2008 ------- |