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CISA Includes Dredging Personnel in List of Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce during COVID-19 Response

Today, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released its “Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce: Ensuring Community & National Resilience in COVID-19 Response.”

This list of “essential critical infrastructure workforce” gives guidance to state and local jurisdictions and the private sector in considering how to manage and continue access and reentry for essential workers during periods when access restrictions areĀ in effect by public health authorities and other executive branch authorities related to quarantine, social-distancing, isolation, and/or shelter-in-place.

Dredging personnel made the list per the sections below:

Transportation and Logistics

  • Maritime transportation workers, including dredgers, port workers, mariners, ship crewmembers, ship pilots and tug boat operators, equipment operators (to include maintenance and repair, and maritime-specific medical providers), ship supply, chandler, and repair companies.

Public Works

  • Workers who support the operation, inspection, and maintenance of essential public works facilities and operations, including bridges, water and sewer main breaks, fleet maintenance personnel, construction of critical or strategic infrastructure, traffic signal maintenance, emergency location services for buried utilities, maintenance of digital systems infrastructure supporting public works operations, and other emergent issues.

Natural Gas, Natural Gas Liquids (NGL), Propane, and Other Liquid Fuels

  • Workers who support onshore and offshore drilling operations, platform and drilling construction and maintenance; transportation (including helicopter operations); maritime transportation, supply, and dredging operations; maritime navigation; natural gas and natural gas liquid production, processing, extraction, storage and transportation; well intervention, monitoring, automation and control; waste disposal, and maintenance, construction, and operations.

Petroleum Industry

  • Workers for onshore and offshore petroleum drilling operations; platform and drilling construction and maintenance; transportation (including helicopter operations), maritime transportation, supply, and dredging operations; maritime navigation; well stimulation, intervention, monitoring, automation and control, extraction, production; processing; waste disposal, and maintenance, construction, and operations.

 

For the complete list, view the guidanceĀ here.