Homeland Security and Critical Infrastructure

NSPE Position
NSPE believes that our infrastructure system is vital to our national interests and economic prosperity. Critical decisions must be made by all concerned to guarantee the long-term safety and reliability of America's roads, airports, bridges, dams, water and sewage systems, waterways, schools, and energy and communication utilities. A broad range of measures is necessary to ensure that America's infrastructure system will be able to meet tomorrow's needs.

Background
The September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, brought home the vulnerability of critical infrastructure in the U.S. to terrorist acts.

Since 9/11, federal, state, and local governments have been struggling to strengthen homeland security, while improving coordination of infrastructure protection among various levels of government and the private sector.

The Infrastructure Security Partnership (TISP) was formed in September 2001 in direct response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The partnership brought together key public- and private-sector professionals whose expertise and experience have a direct impact on the security of America's built environment. NSPE joined TISP early in its inception to provide the voice of professional engineers.

TISP's purpose is to facilitate national dialogue and cooperation on domestic infrastructure security among the agencies, organizations, and professionals who design, build, and protect the nation's critical infrastructure. One of the chief goals of TISP is to bring together experts from all industry sectors to help map out a comprehensive, multi-hazard force protection approach for the built environment.

Also formed in 2001 was NSPE's Critical Infrastructure and Homeland Security Task Force. The mission of the task force is to support and promote the cause of critical infrastructure protection and national security through a coordinated network of multidisciplinary engineering resources, while assuring the sound and ethical practice of professional engineering.

NSPE Reference
NSPE Position Statement #1724 – Infrastructure