HOUSE COMMITTEE ON

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & OCEAN POLICY

 

February 20, 2008                                                                                                        FEMA Office

10:00 A.M.                                                                                                      4600 25th Avenue NE

                                                                                                                         Salem, Oregon 97301

                                                                                                                                            No Tapes 

 

MEMBERS PRESENT:         Rep. Deborah Boone, Chair

Rep. Jean Cowan, Vice-Chair

Rep. Donna Nelson, Vice-Chair

Rep. Mike Schaufler

 

MEMBER EXCUSED:          Rep. Wayne Krieger

 

STAFF PRESENT:                 Sue Marshall, Committee Administrator

 

ISSUES HEARD:                   Field Trip

 

 

This tape log is in compliance with Senate and House Rules.  For complete contents, please refer to the cassette tapes.

 

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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SUBJECT MATTER

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On February 20th, 2008 the House Committee on Emergency Preparedness & Ocean Policy toured the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Joint Field Operation. The Joint Field Operation is a temporary shared state and federal facility set up to respond to the December 2007 flood disaster that hit the northwest quadrant of the state. The facility will operate until May 2008. The facility is located in a large vacant building and can accommodate over 180 personnel.

State and federal emergency response staffs located at the site coordinate services to individuals and communities. These services include individual assistance; public assistance for local governments, tribes and some nongovernmental organizations; hazard mitigation and logistics.

One notable accomplishment of FEMA was the recalculation of the Vernonia floodplain that was adopted by the city and will be used as a regulated standard for planning building elevations located within the 500 year flood plain.

Over $16 million has been provided in disaster relief, primarily for individual housing and small business assistance. Approximately $3 millions is the state share. There will be a request made to the Emergency Board in June 2008, for the appropriation of funds to reimburse state agencies for these expenditures.

In 1988, the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. 5121-5206, was enacted to support state and local governments and their citizens when a natural disaster occurs. This law establishes a process for requesting and obtaining a Presidential disaster declaration, defines the type and scope of assistance available from the federal government, and sets the conditions for obtaining that assistance. FEMA is tasked with this coordination.

 

EXHIBIT SUMMARY

 

  1. FEMA Joint Field Operation, FEMA Disaster Relief Guide, FEMA, 21 pp