President Obama signed an Executive Order on October 13 to coordinate efforts within the federal government to prepare for and respond to space weather events, such as solar flares. Extreme space weather events “could disable large portions of the electrical power grid, resulting in cascading failures that would affect key services such as water supply, healthcare and transportation.”
The purpose of the Executive Order is to help the government improve its ability to predict and detect a space weather event, mitigate the effects of an event, and respond and recover from an event. The order outlines roles and responsibilities for several agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Interior and Commerce. As a sector-specific agency for water, EPA is directed to assess its executive and statutory authority, as well as the limits of its authority, to “direct, suspend or control critical infrastructure operations, functions and services, before, during and after a space weather event.” EPA must provide a summary of these assessments within 120 days.
The order also directs the federal agencies to collaborate with public-private and international networks to enhance observational networks and conduct research to improve prediction and mitigation of space weather events.