Federal Register Notice: National Infrastructure Protection Plan Update Open for Comment

Comments Requested for National Infrastructure Protection Plan Update

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) invites interested persons to contribute suggestions and comments for the rewrite of the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) by submitting written data, views, or ideas. Comments that will provide the most assistance to DHS in updating the NIPP will explain the reason for any recommended changes to the NIPP and include data, information, or authority that supports such recommended change. Linking changes to specific sections of the NIPP would also be helpful. There will be an opportunity to review a revised document reflecting the various changes sometime this summer.

On February 12, 2013, President Obama signed Presidential Policy Directive 21 (PPD-21), Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience, which builds on the extensive work done to date to protect and enhance the resilience of the Nation's critical infrastructure. This directive aims to clarify roles and responsibilities across the Federal Government and establish a more effective partnership with owners and operators and state, local, tribal, and territorial entities to enhance the security and resilience of critical infrastructure.

President Obama also signed Executive Order (EO) 13636 on February 12, 2013, entitled Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity. By issuing the EO and PPD together, the Administration is taking an integrated approach to strengthening the security and resilience of critical infrastructure against all hazards, through an updated and overarching national framework that acknowledges the increased role of cybersecurity in securing physical assets.

PPD-21 sets forth several actions that the Secretary of Homeland Security shall take to implement the directive. One of these is to develop a successor to the NIPP to address the implementation of PPD-21; the requirements of Title II of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as amended; and alignment with the National Preparedness Goal and System required by Presidential Policy Directive 8 (PPD-8).

The 2009 NIPP set forth a comprehensive risk management framework and defined roles and responsibilities for DHS; the Sector-Specific Agencies (SSAs); other Federal departments and agencies; state, local, tribal, and territorial governments; critical infrastructure owners and operators; and other stakeholders in industry, academia, and non-governmental organizations. The NIPP provides a coordinated approach for establishing national priorities, goals, and requirements so that resources can be applied in the most effective manner. The NIPP risk management framework responds to an evolving risk landscape; as such, there will always be changes to the NIPP—from relatively minor to more significant—to ensure it remains relevant to the critical infrastructure mission over time.

Initial List of Issues To Be Updated in the NIPP

PPD-21 specifies the following elements that shall be included in the successor to the NIPP:

• Identification of a risk management framework to be used to strengthen the security and resilience of critical infrastructure;
• Protocols to synchronize communication and actions within the Federal Government; and
• A metrics process to be used to measure the Nation's ability to manage and reduce risks to critical infrastructure

For more information and to submit comments, visit https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/06/06/2013-13427/review-and-revision-of-the-national-infrastructure-protection-plan#h-9