Norton Says Presidential Emergency Declaration for the Region Is in the Works (02/10/2010)

Norton Says Presidential Emergency Declaration for the Region Is in the Works

02/10/2010

WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), who chairs the subcommittee with jurisdiction over FEMA and national emergencies, this evening spoke with highly placed FEMA officials about her call earlier today for a presidential emergency declaration for the national capital region, including the District of Columbia. Norton said that officials told her that FEMA has been in touch with officials in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, and expects them to meet the technical requirements to request a formal declaration shortly. She said that the two snowstorms the region has experienced will be treated together for purposes of the declaration.

The Congresswoman earlier called for a regional declaration to avoid finger-pointing among jurisdictions, particularly considering that federal operations that are present throughout the national capital region are at stake and help make an emergency declaration more likely. She said that the national capital region has met Stafford Act “snow-assistance and severe winter storm” requirements for an emergency declaration. The snow assistance policy requires that the jurisdiction, “experience a record or near-record snowfall.” She noted that the District and the region exceeded prior records today.

“We, in this region, have more than met the conditions for a Stafford Act national emergency declaration,” Norton said. “The federal and local governments have been shut down for a week, power has been out in much of the region, blizzard conditions halted snow removal operations today, and the Metro rail and bus systems have been all but paralyzed by the storms. Stafford Act resources will be necessary to get the region moving again.”