Posted on 09/09/2005 7:58:33 AM PDT by rit
August 27, 2005
The President The White House Washington, D. C.
Through: Regional Director FEMA Region VI 800 North Loop 288 Denton, Texas 76209
Dear Mr. President:
Under the provisions of Section 501 (a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5121-5206 (Stafford Act), and implemented by 44 CFR § 206.35, I request that you declare an emergency for the State of Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina for the time period beginning August 26, 2005, and continuing. The affected areas are all the southeastern parishes including the New Orleans Metropolitan area and the mid state Interstate I-49 corridor and northern parishes along the I-20 corridor that are accepting the thousands of citizens evacuating from the areas expecting to be flooded as a result of Hurricane Katrina.
In response to the situation I have taken appropriate action under State law and directed the execution of the State Emergency Plan on August 26, 2005 in accordance with Section 501 (a) of the Stafford Act. A State of Emergency has been issued for the State in order to support the evacuations of the coastal areas in accordance with our State Evacuation Plan and the remainder of the state to support the State Special Needs and Sheltering Plan.
Pursuant to 44 CFR § 206.35, I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster. I am specifically requesting emergency protective measures, direct Federal Assistance, Individual and Household Program (IHP) assistance, Special Needs Program assistance, and debris removal.
Preliminary estimates of the types and amount of emergency assistance needed under the Stafford Act, and emergency assistance from certain Federal agencies under other statutory authorities are tabulated in Enclosure A.
The following information is furnished on the nature and amount of State and local resources that have been or will be used to alleviate the conditions of this emergency:
. Department of Social Services (DSS): Opening (3) Special Need Shelters (SNS) and establishing (3) on Standby.
. Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH): Opening (3) Shelters and establishing (3) on Standby.
. Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (OHSEP): Providing generators and support staff for SNS and Public Shelters.
. Louisiana State Police (LSP): Providing support for the phased evacuation of the coastal areas.
. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (WLF): Supporting the evacuation of the affected population and preparing for Search and Rescue Missions.
. Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD): Coordinating traffic flow and management of the evacuations routes with local officials and the State of Mississippi.
The following information is furnished on efforts and resources of other Federal agencies, which have been or will be used in responding to this incident:
. FEMA ERT-A Team en-route.
I certify that for this emergency, the State and local governments will assume all applicable non-Federal share of costs required by the Stafford Act.
I request Direct Federal assistance for work and services to save lives and protect property.
(a) List any reasons State and local government cannot perform or contract for performance, (if applicable).
(b) Specify the type of assistance requested.
In accordance with 44 CFR § 206.208, the State of Louisiana agrees that it will, with respect to Direct Federal assistance:
1. Provide without cost to the United States all lands, easement, and rights-of-ways necessary to accomplish the approved work.
2. Hold and save the United States free from damages due to the requested work, and shall indemnify the Federal Government against any claims arising from such work;
3. Provide reimbursement to FEMA for the non-Federal share of the cost of such work in accordance with the provisions of the FEMA-State Agreement; and
4. Assist the performing Federal agency in all support and local jurisdictional matters.
In addition, I anticipate the need for debris removal, which poses an immediate threat to lives, public health, and safety.
Pursuant to Sections 502 and 407 of the Stafford Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5192 & 5173, the State agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the United States of America for any claims arising from the removal of debris or wreckage for this disaster. The State agrees that debris removal from public and private property will not occur until the landowner signs an unconditional authorization for the removal of debris.
I have designated Mr. Art Jones as the State Coordinating Officer for this request. He will work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in damage assessments and may provide further information or justification on my behalf.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Babineaux Blanco Governor
The article is for real. I remember reading it before the hurricane hit. It was pretty much written after the president urged her to evacuate New Orleans.
Check with Backhoe, he's been cataloging the threads.
..And that would be failing to protect the citizens of New Orleans from Democrat corruption and incompetence.
Is there an honest politician in Louisian?
This letter is a request for monetary aid. What was the original (maybe altered by now) is at
http://gov.louisiana.gov/Disaster%20Relief%20Request.pdf
No help was requested for evacuation. Not even money was requested for 'distribution of emergency supplies'.
This is a smoking gun, not a defense!
Is there an honest politician in Louisiana?
If we can prove that we can have another Dan Rather moment here, and on the anniversary too..
I wouldn't know where to begin, to tell you the truth.
I was hoping someone here smarter than I could find out more about this...I am not sure, but I thought if someone could find a cache web of the governors from the 27th of August, I would be money this letter wouldn't be there...but I don't have the technical ability/know how to do this...sorry...
All President Bush has to do is produce the real letter, right?
backhoe: Need the thread with letter dated 9/1/05 posted on LA Gov Website...which has been removed...this letter was finally a proclamation to President Bush allowing Feds more control of the situation in N.O. something like that.
after is the operative word.
I request Direct Federal assistance for work and services to save lives and protect property.
(a) List any reasons State and local government cannot perform or contract for performance, (if applicable).
(b) Specify the type of assistance requested.
That was not filled out, nor does it appear in the 8/28/05 at all. This would indicate to me that she believed on 8/28/05 that there was no need for Direct Federal assistance for work and services to save lives and protect property.
Right.
bump
I presume the 8/27/05 letter may have been necessary in order for President Bush to declare a state of emergency in Louisiana on Saturday (8/27/05).
Thousands Remain To Be Evacuated
White House Shifts Blame to Local Officials
By Manuel Roig-Franzia and Spencer Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, September 4, 2005
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090301680.html
I'm not sure (as a newbie to FR) whether I should ping or bump (an explanation would be cool) this thread, but I'm sure that it will be good news for the conservatives when the truth/facts come to light (if they are not already buried too deep by the Left).
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