Document ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2003-0156-0091
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2005-11-20T20:02:51Z

K:
0154.03.004\
state
of
emergency
memo
1
MEMORANDUM
To:
Mary
Johnson,
EPA/
Combustion
Group
From:
Jason
Huckaby
and
Brian
Palmer,
Eastern
Research
Group,
Inc.
(
ERG)

Date:
July
26,
2005
Subject:
Summary
of
Local
and
State
Emergency
Declaration
Provisions
SUMMARY
This
memorandum
summarizes
supporting
information
used
to
address
comments
on
the
proposed
OSWI
rules
concerning
the
exclusion
for
temporary­
use
incinerators
used
in
disaster
recovery
efforts.
In
particular,
EPA
wanted
to
determine
the
types
of
procedures
that
States
have
in
place
regarding
local
and
State
emergency
declarations.
This
information
confirms
that
there
is
active
governmental
agency
involvement
during
the
emergency
or
disaster
declaration
process,

and
that
there
are
various
provisions
for
involving
different
levels
of
government,
depending
on
the
severity
of
the
emergency
or
disaster.

The
government
Web
sites
of
14
States
were
investigated
to
determine
the
provisions
for
declaring
a
State
of
Emergency
or
issuing
a
disaster
declaration
at
either
the
State
or
local
level.

The
States
searched
represent
a
large
variety
of
geographic
regions
of
the
United
States.
The
table
below
lists
the
States
searched
and
a
brief
summary
of
the
results.
The
following
section
contains
notes
on
the
available
information
for
each
of
the
States
under
study.

As
the
research
reveals,
most,
if
not
all,
States
have
homeland
security
or
emergency
management
agencies
that
are
activated
when
the
Governor
declares
a
State
of
Emergency
due
to
a
natural
disaster
or
act
of
terrorism.
Most
States
also
allow
local
governments
to
declare
local
emergencies
or
disasters,
or
allow
the
Governor
to
make
a
declaration
on
their
behalf
after
the
local
government
indicates
recovery
needs
exceed
the
resources
available
to
the
local
or
county
government.
K:
0154.03.004\
state
of
emergency
memo
2
State
Local
Declaration
Provisions:
State
Declaration
Provisions:
Alaska
(
AK)
Local
government
may
declare.
Governor
may
declare.
Arkansas
(
AR)
Local
government
may
declare.
Governor
may
declare.
California
(
CA)
Local
government
may
declare.
Three
levels
above
a
local
declaration
­
low
level
is
for
financial
assistance
for
permanent
restoration
only,
mid
level
is
the
Governor's
declaration
of
State
of
Emergency,
and
the
top
level
is
a
Presidential
declaration.
Florida
(
FL)
City
or
county
may
declare.
Three
levels
denoting
increasing
amounts
of
State
or
Federal
assistance.
Iowa
(
IA)
Local
officials
must
contact
Iowa
Homeland
Security
and
Emergency
Management
Division
to
report
if
local
resources
are
not
adequate
for
recovery.
Iowa
Homeland
Security
and
Emergency
Management
Division
evaluates
situation
upon
local
government
request,
then
advises
Governor
on
need
for
State
of
Emergency.
Louisiana
(
LA)
Local
government
may
declare.
Governor
may
declare.
Maine
(
ME)
Only
Governor
may
declare.
State
of
Emergency
declared
when
resources
needed
for
recovery
exceed
those
available
to
local
government.
New
Mexico
(
NM)
Local
government
may
declare.
State
Emergency
Operations
Center
is
activated
after
local
jurisdiction
declares
emergency
or
disaster
and
debris
management
is
determined
to
have
overwhelmed
local
capabilities.
New
York
(
NY)
Local
government
may
declare.
Governor
may
declare.
North
Carolina
(
NC)
Local
government
may
declare.
Three
levels
of
emergency
­
lowest
level
is
State
emergency,
top
two
levels
are
Federal
declarations.
Pennsylvania
(
PA)
Municipal
and
county­
level
declarations
allowed
for
obtaining
goods
and
services
without
competitive
bidding.
Governor
may
proclaim,
lasts
for
90
days.

Texas
(
TX)
Local
government
may
declare.
Governor
may
declare,
lasts
for
30
days
unless
renewed
by
Governor.
Washington
(
WA)
Local
government
may
declare.
Governor
may
declare
for
all
or
part
of
State.
K:
0154.03.004\
state
of
emergency
memo
3
State
Local
Declaration
Provisions:
State
Declaration
Provisions:
Wyoming
(
WY)
County
level
declaration
possible.
Wyoming
Department
of
Homeland
Security
developed
checklist
for
various
levels
of
disaster
declaration
(
County,
State
and
Federal
government
levels
are
possible).

ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
FROM
STATE
WEB­
SITE
SEARCHES
Alaska
In
Alaska,
disasters
can
be
declared
at
the
local
and
State
level.
State
declarations
of
disaster
are
covered
by
the
Alaska
statutes,
Sec.
26.23.020
"
The
governor
and
disaster
emergencies"
and
by
Sec.
26.23.140.
"
Local
disaster
emergencies"
(
See
http://
www.
legis.
state.
ak.
us/
folhome.
htm).

Arkansas
Arkansas
Code
12­
75­
102
contains
provisions
for
declaring
a
local
State
of
Disaster/
Emergency
and
Arkansas
Code
12­
75­
107
contains
provisions
for
a
State
declaration
by
the
Governor
(
See
http://
170.94.58.9/
NXT/
gateway.
dll?
f=
templates&
fn=
default.
htm&
vid=
blr:
code).

California
California
has
three
levels
of
emergency
declaration
above
the
local
emergency
declaration:

1.
Director's
Concurrence
with
a
local
declaration
(
some
State
financial
assistance
provided
for
permanent
restorations,
but
does
not
include
assistance
with
debris
removal);

2.
Governor's
State
of
Emergency
Declaration
(
State
assistance
provided
for
all
recovery
activities);

3.
President's
Declaration
of
a
Major
Disaster
or
Emergency
(
Federal
and
State
assistance
activated).

Specific
dollar
amounts
are
not
provided
as
criteria
guidelines.
California
gives
a
deadline
for
debris
clearance
of
6
months
from
local
disaster
declaration
date,
but
"
Extensions
K:
0154.03.004\
state
of
emergency
memo
4
allowable
with
adequate
justification"
(
See
http://
www.
ciwmb.
ca.
gov/
disaster/
disasterplan/
chp14.
htm).

Florida
Florida
has
three
levels
of
emergency
declaration
above
the
local
emergency
declaration
(
local
declaration
is
where
disaster
affects
only
one
political
subdivision
(
county
or
city)):

1.
Minor
disaster
 
likely
within
the
response
capabilities
of
local
government
and
only
minimal
need
for
State
or
Federal
assistance.

2.
Major
disaster
 
likely
exceed
local
capabilities
and
require
a
broad
range
of
State
and
Federal
assistance.

3.
Catastrophic
disaster
 
likely
require
massive
State
and
Federal
assistance,
including
immediate
military
involvement.

No
specific
criteria
are
given
in
the
statutes
(
Title
XVII,
Chapter
252)
for
each
level
of
disaster.
However,
the
catastrophic
declaration
constitutes
a
formal
request
for
mobilization
of
the
military.
Major
and
catastrophic
declarations
authorize
health
care
practitioners
from
another
State
to
assist
in
providing
health
care
in
the
disaster
area
(
See
http://
www.
leg.
state.
fl.
us/
Statutes/
index.
cfm?
App_
mode=
Display_
Index&
Title_
Request=
XVII#

TitleXVII).

Iowa
Iowa
apparently
does
not
have
different
levels
of
State
emergency
declarations.
Specific
criteria
for
State
declarations
are
not
provided
either.
Iowa's
Web
site
(
See
http://
www.
iowahomelandsecurity.
org/
asp/
disaster_
info/
assistance.
asp)
does
state
that
local
governments
must
request
State
assistance,
and
"...
the
Iowa
Homeland
Security
and
Emergency
Management
Division
evaluates
the
situation,
...
and,
if
appropriate,
prepares
the
Governor's
emergency
or
disaster
proclamation."
Additionally
the
following
is
given
regarding
the
Governor's
powers
during
a
State
of
Emergency:
"...
the
Governor
can
waive
certain
rules
and
regulations
that
hinder
the
response
and
recovery
activities
conducted
by
local
and
State
authorities.
In
the
past,
the
Governor
has
waived
regulations
pertaining
to
...
required
permits,

open
burning,
...
deadline
extensions,
etc."
K:
0154.03.004\
state
of
emergency
memo
5
Louisiana
In
Louisiana,
the
authority
for
the
Governor
or
local
officials
to
declare
a
State
of
Emergency
or
Disaster
are
found
in
the
following
sections
of
the
Louisiana
Revised
Statutes
Title
29
­
Military,
naval,
and
veteran's
affairs
(
RS
29)
(
See
http://
www.
legis.
state.
la.
us/
lss/
lss.
asp?
doc=
85670):

RS
29
§
724.
Powers
of
the
governor
RS
29
§
737.
Municipalities;
authority
to
respond
to
emergencies
Maine
In
Maine,
it
appears
that
only
the
Governor
can
declare
a
State
of
Emergency
and
it
cannot
be
done
at
the
local
or
county
level.
The
Governor
declares
a
State
of
Emergency
when
the
resources
needed
to
address
a
situation
exceed
those
available
to
the
local
or
county
government.

The
general
protocol
for
the
Governor
declaring
a
State
of
Emergency
can
be
found
in
the
State
of
Maine
Local
Officials
Disaster
Response
Checklist
found
at:

http://
www.
state.
me.
us/
mema/
forms.
htm.

New
Mexico
New
Mexico
has
an
Office
of
Emergency
Management
within
the
Department
of
Public
Safety.
This
office
has
drafted
an
interim
Emergency
Operations
Plan,
which
includes
an
Appendix
on
debris
management
(
See
http://
www.
dps.
nm.
org/
emergency/
2004_
nm_
all_
hazards_
eop.
htm).

The
actions
specified
within
the
Appendix
will
be
implemented
only
after
a
local
jurisdiction
declares
an
emergency
or
disaster,
the
State
Emergency
Operations
Center
has
been
activated,
and
debris
management
issues
have
been
determined
to
have
overwhelmed
local
capabilities.

New
York
State
In
New
York
State,
Executive
Law
§
24
specifies
how
a
local
State
of
Emergency
may
be
declared
(
See
http://
public.
leginfo.
state.
ny.
us/
menugetf.
cgi?
COMMONQUERY=
LAWS).
K:
0154.03.004\
state
of
emergency
memo
6
Executive
law
§
28
specifies
how
the
Governor
can
issue
a
State
declaration
of
a
disaster
(
see
same
web
address).

North
Carolina
The
criteria
used
by
the
Governor
to
declare
a
State
emergency
is
given
in
NC
Statute
166A.
The
Web
site
to
find
a
link
to
this
is:

http://
www.
nccrimecontrol.
org/
Index2.
cfm?
a=
000003,000010,000173
.

Review
of
this
statute
shows
that
the
following
criteria
are
used
in
declaring
State
emergencies
or
disasters:

Three
types
of
disasters:
I,
II
and
III.

(
Type
I
is
the
only
State
disaster
type
that
IS
NOT
a
Federally­
proclaimed
major
disaster.)

 
Type
I
criteria:

A.
A
local
State
of
Emergency
has
been
declared.

B.
The
preliminary
damage
assessment
meets
or
exceeds
the
Small
Business
Administration
Disaster
Loan
Program
Criteria
(
13
CFR
Part
123)
or
meets
or
exceeds
the
State
infrastructure
Criteria
in
U.
S.
166A­
6.01(
b)(
2)
a.
(
i.
e.,
damages
of
$
10,000
uninsured
losses
or
greater
and
at
least
0.5%
of
annual
operating
expenses
to
eligible
entity,
hazard
mitigation
plan
requirements
also).

C.
There
has
not
been
a
major
disaster
declaration
issued
by
the
President
pursuant
to
the
Stafford
Act.

 
Type
II
and
Type
III
disasters
may
be
declared
if
the
President
of
the
United
States
has
issued
a
major
disaster
declaration
under
the
Stafford
Act.
These
two
types
differ
in
severity,
with
Type
III
being
most
severe
and
warranting
a
special
session
of
the
General
Assembly
to
establish
programs
to
meet
the
recovery
needs
of
individuals
and
political
subdivisions.

Note
that
Type
I
declarations
expire
30
days
after
issuance,
Type
II
expire
6
months
after
issuance,
and
Type
III
expire
12
months
after
issuance.
Incremental
renewals
are
available
for
all
three
types
of
disaster
declarations.
K:
0154.03.004\
state
of
emergency
memo
7
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
has
three
levels
of
emergency
proclamations:
municipal,
county,
and
statewide
(
by
the
Governor).
These
are
specified
in
Title
35,
Health
and
Safety,
of
the
Pennsylvania
Consolidated
Statutes,
which
are
not
yet
available
on­
line.

The
municipal
and
county
proclamations
last
for
only
7
days
and
only
allow
for
the
county
or
municipal
government
to
obtain
goods
and
services
without
competitive
bidding,
and
allow
them
to
move
funds
among
accounts.

A
Governor's
proclamation
lasts
for
90
days
and
the
contents
of
the
proclamation
are
developed
by
Pennsylvania
Emergency
Management
Agency
(
PEMA)
based
on
the
recommendations
of
the
executive
departments,
including
the
Department
of
Environmental
Protection
(
See
http://
www.
pema.
state.
pa.
us/
pema/
site/
default.
asp).

Texas
In
Texas,
the
Governor's
authority
to
declare
a
State
of
Disaster
is
contained
Title
4,

Chapter
418,
Section
418.014
of
the
Texas
Statutes
(
See
http://
www.
capitol.
state.
tx.
us/
statutes/
gv.
toc.
htm).
A
State
of
Disaster
may
not
continue
for
more
than
30
days
unless
renewed
by
the
governor.

The
presiding
officer
of
the
governing
body
of
a
political
subdivision
may
declare
a
local
State
of
Disaster.
The
State
of
Disaster
may
not
last
longer
than
7
days
without
the
consent
of
the
governing
body
of
the
political
subdivision.
See
Title
4,
Chapter
418,
Section
418.108
of
the
Texas
Statutes
at
the
same
internet
address.

Washington
State
Washington
State
has
developed
a
Comprehensive
Emergency
Management
Plan
(
CEMP)
that
can
be
found
at
http://
emd.
wa.
gov/
3­
pet/
pnl/
cemp/
01­
cemp­
idx.
htm.
The
CEMP
is
established
under
the
Revised
Code
of
Washington
(
RCW)
Chapter
38.52
(
See
http://
www.
leg.
wa.
gov/
RCW/
index.
cfm#
RCW_
by_
Title)

and
the
Washington
Administrative
Code
(
WAC)
Title
118
(
See
http://
www.
leg.
wa.
gov/
wac/
index.
cfm).

The
CEMP
allows
the
Governor
to
proclaim
a
State
of
Emergency
for
a
portion
of
the
State
or
the
entire
State
and
invoke
response
and
recovery
actions.
The
Governor's
proclamation
K:
0154.03.004\
state
of
emergency
memo
8
allows
expeditious
resource
procurement
and
directs
maximum
use
of
State
assets.

Recommendations
for
a
proclamation
of
emergency
are
made
by
the
Director
of
the
Military
Department
or
from
a
State
agency
through
the
State
Emergency
Management
Division.

Local
jurisdictions
are
also
required
under
Chapter
38.52
RCW
and
Title
118
WAC
to
issue
local
emergency
proclamations
and
request
State
assistance
when
appropriate.

Wyoming
The
Wyoming
Office
of
Homeland
Security
has
developed
a
"
Declaring
Disaster
Checklist,"
which
lays
out
the
protocol
for
declaring
agricultural,
business,
wildfire,
and
"
all
other"
types
of
disasters
at
the
county,
State,
and
Federal
government
levels.
It
is
available
at
http://
wyohomelandsecurity.
state.
wy.
us/
library.
htm.

The
Wyoming
Statues
creating
the
Office
of
Homeland
Security
(
Title
19,
Chapter
13)

can
be
found
at
the
following:
http://
legisweb.
state.
wy.
us/
statutes/
statutes.
htm.