Presidential Documents of October this year 2016

[Carmen Elsa Irarragorri Wyland]

Presidential Documents

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Executive Order 13744 of October 13, 2016

Coordinating Efforts To Prepare the Nation for Space Weath-

er Events

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the

laws of the United States of America, and to prepare the Nation for space

weather events, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1.

Policy

. Space weather events, in the form of solar flares, solar

energetic particles, and geomagnetic disturbances, occur regularly, some with

measurable effects on critical infrastructure systems and technologies, such

as the Global Positioning System (GPS), satellite operations and communica-

tion, aviation, and the electrical power grid. Extreme space weather events—

those that could significantly degrade critical infrastructure—could disable

large portions of the electrical power grid, resulting in cascading failures

that would affect key services such as water supply, healthcare, and transpor-

tation. Space weather has the potential to simultaneously affect and disrupt

health and safety across entire continents. Successfully preparing for space

weather events is an all-of-nation endeavor that requires partnerships across

governments, emergency managers, academia, the media, the insurance indus-

try, non-profits, and the private sector.

It is the policy of the United States to prepare for space weather events

to minimize the extent of economic loss and human hardship. The Federal

Government must have (1) the capability to predict and detect a space

weather event, (2) the plans and programs necessary to alert the public

and private sectors to enable mitigating actions for an impending space

weather event, (3) the protection and mitigation plans, protocols, and stand-

ards required to reduce risks to critical infrastructure prior to and during

a credible threat, and (4) the ability to respond to and recover from the

effects of space weather. Executive departments and agencies (agencies) must

coordinate their efforts to prepare for the effects of space weather events.

Sec. 2

.

Objectives

. This order defines agency roles and responsibilities and

directs agencies to take specific actions to prepare the Nation for the haz-

ardous effects of space weather. These activities are to be implemented

in conjunction with those identified in the 2015

National Space Weather

Action Plan

(Action Plan) and any subsequent updates. Implementing this

order and the Action Plan will require the Federal Government to work

across agencies and to develop, as appropriate, enhanced and innovative

partnerships with State, tribal, and local governments; academia; non-profits;

the private sector; and international partners. These efforts will enhance

national preparedness and speed the creation of a space-weather-ready Na-

tion.

Sec. 3

.

Coordination

. (a) The Director of the Office of Science and Technology

Policy (OSTP), in consultation with the Assistant to the President for Home-

land Security and Counterterrorism and the Director of the Office of Manage-

ment and Budget (OMB), shall coordinate the development and implementa-

tion of Federal Government activities to prepare the Nation for space weather

events, including the activities established in section 5 of this order and

the recommendations of the National Science and Technology Council

(NSTC), established by Executive Order 12881 of November 23, 1993 (Estab-

lishment of the National Science and Technology Council).

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(b) To ensure accountability for and coordination of research, development,

and implementation of activities identified in this order and in the Action

Plan, the NSTC shall establish a Space Weather Operations, Research, and

Mitigation Subcommittee (Subcommittee). The Subcommittee member agen-

cies shall conduct activities to advance the implementation of this order,

to achieve the goals identified in the 2015

National Space Weather Strategy

and any subsequent updates, and to coordinate and monitor the implementa-

tion of the activities specified in the Action Plan and provide subsequent

updates.

Sec. 4

.

Roles and Responsibilities

. To the extent permitted by law, the

agencies below shall adopt the following roles and responsibilities, which

are key to ensuring enhanced space weather forecasting, situational aware-

ness, space weather preparedness, and continuous Federal Government oper-

ations during and after space weather events.

(a) The Secretary of Defense shall ensure the timely provision of operational

space weather observations, analyses, forecasts, and other products to support

the mission of the Department of Defense and coalition partners, including

the provision of alerts and warnings for space weather phenomena that

may affect weapons systems, military operations, or the defense of the United

States.

(b) The Secretary of the Interior shall support the research, development,

deployment, and operation of capabilities that enhance the understanding

of variations of the Earth’s magnetic field associated with solar-terrestrial

interactions.

(c) The Secretary of Commerce shall:

(i) provide timely and accurate operational space weather forecasts, watch-

es, warnings, alerts, and real-time space weather monitoring for the govern-

ment, civilian, and commercial sectors, exclusive of the responsibilities

of the Secretary of Defense; and

(ii) ensure the continuous improvement of operational space weather serv-

ices, utilizing partnerships, as appropriate, with the research community,

including academia and the private sector, and relevant agencies to de-

velop, validate, test, and transition space weather observation platforms

and models from research to operations and from operations to research.

(d) The Secretary of Energy shall facilitate the protection and restoration

of the reliability of the electrical power grid during a presidentially declared

grid security emergency associated with a geomagnetic disturbance pursuant

to 16 U.S.C. 824o–1.

(e) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall:

(i) ensure the timely redistribution of space weather alerts and warnings

that support national preparedness, continuity of government, and con-

tinuity of operations; and

(ii) coordinate response and recovery from the effects of space weather

events on critical infrastructure and the broader community.

(f) The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administra-

tion (NASA) shall:

(i) implement and support a national research program to understand

the Sun and its interactions with Earth and the solar system to advance

space weather modeling and prediction capabilities applicable to space

weather forecasting;

(ii) develop and operate space-weather-related research missions, instru-

ment capabilities, and models; and

(iii) support the transition of space weather models and technology from

research to operations and from operations to research.

(g) The Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) shall support

fundamental research linked to societal needs for space weather information

through investments and partnerships, as appropriate.

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(h) The Secretary of State, in consultation with the heads of relevant

agencies, shall carry out diplomatic and public diplomacy efforts to strength-

en global capacity to respond to space weather events.

(i) The Secretaries of Defense, the Interior, Commerce, Transportation,

Energy, and Homeland Security, along with the Administrator of NASA

and the Director of NSF, shall work together, consistent with their ongoing

activities, to develop models, observation systems, technologies, and ap-

proaches that inform and enhance national preparedness for the effects

of space weather events, including how space weather events may affect

critical infrastructure and change the threat landscape with respect to other

hazards.

(j) The heads of all agencies that support National Essential Functions,

defined by Presidential Policy Directive 40 (PPD–40) of July 15, 2016 (Na-

tional Continuity Policy), shall ensure that space weather events are ade-

quately addressed in their all-hazards preparedness planning, including miti-

gation, response, and recovery, as directed by PPD–8 of March 30, 2011

(National Preparedness).

(k) NSTC member agencies shall coordinate through the NSTC to establish

roles and responsibilities beyond those identified in section 4 of this order

to enhance space weather preparedness, consistent with each agency’s legal

authority.

Sec. 5

.

Implementation

. (a) Within 120 days of the date of this order,

the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland

Security, shall develop a plan to test and evaluate available devices that

mitigate the effects of geomagnetic disturbances on the electrical power

grid through the development of a pilot program that deploys such devices,

in situ

, in the electrical power grid. After the development of the plan,

the Secretary shall implement the plan in collaboration with industry. In

taking action pursuant to this subsection, the Secretaries of Energy and

Homeland Security shall consult with the Chairman of the Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission.

(b) Within 120 days of the date of this order, the heads of the sector-

specific agencies that oversee the lifeline critical infrastructure functions

as defined by the National Infrastructure Protection Plan of 2013—including

communications, energy, transportation, and water and wastewater systems—

as well as the Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste Sector, shall assess

their executive and statutory authority, and limits of that authority, to direct,

suspend, or control critical infrastructure operations, functions, and services

before, during, and after a space weather event. The heads of each sector-

specific agency shall provide a summary of these assessments to the Sub-

committee.

(c) Within 90 days of receipt of the assessments ordered in section 5(b)

of this order, the Subcommittee shall provide a report on the findings

of these assessments with recommendations to the Director of OSTP, the

Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, and

the Director of OMB. The assessments may be used to inform the development

and implementation of policy establishing authorities and responsibilities

for agencies in response to a space weather event.

(d) Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretaries of Defense

and Commerce, the Administrator of NASA, and the Director of NSF, in

collaboration with other agencies as appropriate, shall identify mechanisms

for advancing space weather observations, models, and predictions, and

for sustaining and transitioning appropriate capabilities from research to

operations and operations to research, collaborating with industry and aca-

demia to the extent possible.

(e) Within 120 days of the date of this order, the Secretaries of Defense

and Commerce shall make historical data from the GPS constellation and

other U.S. Government satellites publicly available, in accordance with Exec-

utive Order 13642 of May 9, 2013 (Making Open and Machine Readable

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the New Default for Government Information), to enhance model validation

and improvements in space weather forecasting and situational awareness.

(f) Within 120 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Homeland

Security, through the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management

Agency and in coordination with relevant agencies, shall lead the develop-

ment of a coordinated Federal operating concept and associated checklist

to coordinate Federal assets and activities to respond to notification of,

and protect against, impending space weather events. Within 180 days of

the publication of the operating concept and checklist, agencies shall develop

operational plans documenting their procedures and responsibilities to pre-

pare for, protect against, and mitigate the effects of impending space weather

events, in support of the Federal operating concept and compatible with

the National Preparedness System described in PPD–8.

Sec. 6

.

Stakeholder Engagement

. The agencies identified in this order shall

seek public-private and international collaborations to enhance observation

networks, conduct research, develop prediction models and mitigation ap-

proaches, enhance community resilience and preparedness, and supply the

services necessary to protect life and property and promote economic pros-

perity, as consistent with law.

Sec. 7

.

Definitions

. As used in this order:

(a) ‘‘Prepare’’ and ‘‘preparedness’’ have the same meaning they have in

PPD–8. They refer to the actions taken to plan, organize, equip, train, and

exercise to build and sustain the capabilities necessary to prevent, protect

against, mitigate the effects of, respond to, and recover from those threats

that pose the greatest risk to the security of the Nation. This includes

the prediction and notification of space weather events.

(b) ‘‘Space weather’’ means variations in the space environment between

the Sun and Earth (and throughout the solar system) that can affect tech-

nologies in space and on Earth. The primary types of space weather events

are solar flares, solar energetic particles, and geomagnetic disturbances.

(c) ‘‘Solar flare’’ means a brief eruption of intense energy on or near

the Sun’s surface that is typically associated with sunspots.

(d) ‘‘Solar energetic particles’’ means ions and electrons ejected from the

Sun that are typically associated with solar eruptions.

(e) ‘‘Geomagnetic disturbance’’ means a temporary disturbance of Earth’s

magnetic field resulting from solar activity.

(f) ‘‘Critical infrastructure’’ has the meaning provided in section 1016(e)

of the USA Patriot Act of 2001 (42 U.S.C. 5195c(e)), namely systems and

assets, whether physical or virtual, so vital to the United States that the

incapacity or destruction of such systems and assets would have a debilitating

impact on security, national economic security, national public health or

safety, or any combination of those matters.

(g) ‘‘Sector-Specific Agency’’ means the agencies designated under PPD–

21 of February 12, 2013 (Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience),

or any successor directive, to be responsible for providing institutional knowl-

edge and specialized expertise as well as leading, facilitating, or supporting

the security and resilience programs and associated activities of its designated

critical infrastructure sector in the all-hazards environment.

Sec. 8

.

General Provisions

. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed

to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of OMB relating to budgetary, administra-

tive, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and

subject to the availability of appropriations.

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(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit,

substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party

against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers,

employees, or agents, or any other person.

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(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit,

substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party

against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers,

employees, or agents, or any other person.

 

 

Signed: Barack Obama

THE WHITE HOUSE,

October 13, 2016.