Reply #242: Disaster declarations

[snot]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4695906
(Statute Re- Pres. appointing a Fed. officer to coord with a State officer)
Undeniable proof of who was supposed to be in charge

There is no doubt this was federal responsibility.
http://www.ohioema.org/robertt.htm

Sec. 302. (a) Immediately upon his declaration of a major disaster or emergency, the President shall appoint a Federal coordinating officer to operate in the affected area.He declared this a disaster area on the 27th.The ball was in the fed's court.

(b) In order to effectuate the purposes of this Act, the Federal coordinating officer, within the affected area, shall

(1) make an initial appraisal of the types of relief most urgently needed;
(2) establish such field offices as he deems necessary and as are authorized by the President;
(3) coordinate the administration of relief, including activities of the State and local government, the American National Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the Mennonite Disaster Service, and other relief or disaster assistance organizations, which agree to operate under his advice or direction, except that nothing contained in this Act shall limit or in any way affect the responsibilities of the American National Red Cross under the Act of January 5, 1905, as amended (33 Stat. 599); and
(4) take such other action, consistent with authority delegated to him by the President, and consistent with the provisions of this Act, as he may deem necessary to assist local citizens and public officials in promptly obtaining assistance to which they are entitled.

(c) When the President determines assistance under this Act is necessary, he shall request that the Governor of the affected State designate a State coordinating officer for the purposes of coordinating State and local disaster assistance efforts with those of the Federal Government.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4695649
Horse with no Name (1000+ posts)
Thu Sep-08-05 10:56 AM
Original message
There is NO conspiracy regarding the disaster declarations

Please can we put this to rest. The disaster declarations were done CORRECTLY and there weren’t ANY parishes left out of the loop. To keep this in perspective, you must first look at the initial letter provided by Gov. Blanco
http://gov.louisiana.gov/Disaster%20Relief%20Request.pdf
It is a PDF file so I cannot cut and paste it. If someone can do that I would be grateful.

Then the Presidents response:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050827-1.html
Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Louisiana
The President today declared an emergency exists in the State of Louisiana and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts in the parishes located in the path of Hurricane Katrina beginning on August 26, 2005, and continuing. These are the primary counties that Gov. Blanco named as parishes to receive major damage and significant damage.
The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives, protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the parishes of Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Claiborne, Catahoula, Concordia, De Soto, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Jackson, LaSalle, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Pointe Coupee, Ouachita, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Helena, St. Landry, Tensas, Union, Vernon, Webster, West Carroll, West Feliciana, and Winn. these are the counties that are listed to be secondarily affected.
Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding.
Representing FEMA, Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response, Department of Homeland Security, named William Lokey as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected area.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: FEMA [phone].

Then FEMA’s response: http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=4786
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response, today announced that Federal resources are being allocated to support emergency protective response efforts response efforts in the parishes located in the path of Hurricane Katrina.These are the parishes in the path of the hurricane.
Brown said President Bush authorized the aid under an emergency disaster declaration issued following a review of FEMA's analysis of the state's request for federal assistance. FEMA will mobilize equipment and resources necessary to protect public health and safety by assisting law enforcement with evacuations, establishing shelters, supporting emergency medical needs, meeting immediate lifesaving and life-sustaining human needs and protecting property, in addition to other emergency protective measures.
The parishes of Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Claiborne, Catahoula, Concordia, De Soto, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Jackson, LaSalle, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Pointe Coupee, Ouachita, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Helena, St. Landry, Tensas, Union, Vernon, Webster, West Carroll, West Feliciana, and Winn were designated eligible for assistance. In addition, federal funds will be available for public safety debris removal and emergency protective measures at 75 percent of approved costs.These are the secondarily affected parishes.
Brown named William Lokey of FEMA to coordinate the federal relief effort. FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.

It is clearly indicated that the FIRST set (She actually names the parishes that will be directly affected, but the FEMA and Bush’s response refer to these as parishes in the path of the hurricane). In all three documents however, the secondary counties are listed specifically. All three documents follow the same format.
This isn’t a conspiracy. There weren’t any parishes left out—they were just referred to differently. The Stafford Act demands that these parishes be listed to be eligible for aid, even though they may or may not be damaged.
http://www.ohioema.org/robertt.htm