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Louisiana Farmers and Ranchers Have Options for Assistance

BATON ROUGE, La. – Farmers and ranchers affected by the August flooding could be eligible for assistance from several agencies.

Louisiana emergency management officials and the Federal Emergency Management Agency can assist survivors who are farmers and ranchers with some immediate personal needs.

The U.S. Small Business Administration offers low-interest loans to farmers and ranchers for rebuilding or repairing their primary homes and replacing lost or damaged personal property. Call the SBA at 916-764-9918.

To begin the application process, call FEMA at 800-621-3362, TTY 800-462-7585, or for those who use 711 or Video Relay Services (VRS), call 800-621-3362. You may also apply online with any computer, smartphone or tablet at www.DisasterAssistance.gov

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency has programs that are tailored to help with recovery. Visit the department’s website at: www.fsa.usda.gov.

The Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program provides financial assistance for non-insurable crops when low yields, loss of inventory or disrupted planting occur because of natural disasters.

The Livestock Indemnity Program provides payments for livestock death losses in excess of normal mortality caused by the disaster.

The Tree Assistance Program helps nursery tree growers and orchardists.

The Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program provides relief for feed losses and/or water shortages because of disaster.

The Emergency Conservation Program provides funding to rehabilitate land severely damaged by a natural disaster.

Government officials leaned over soybean crops on the edge of a soybean crop field.

Randolph Johnson, Jr., Louisiana Assistant State Conservationist for the USDA (foreground), shows visiting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, Jay Williams, dead soybeans pods hanging from the unharvested crops of farmer Ricky Roussel in Lutcher, La. Roussel estimates 850 of his 1,000 acres of soybean crops were lost to the 2016 historic flooding in Louisiana. (Photo by J.T. Blatty/FEMA)

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Louisiana Farmers and Ranchers Have Options for Assistance

Oklahoma Farmers and Ranchers Have Options for Assistance

OKLAHOMA CITY – Farmers and ranchers affected by the May 5 to June 22 storms, tornadoes, flooding and straight-line winds could be eligible for assistance from several agencies.

The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and the Federal Emergency Management Agency can assist survivors who are farmers and ranchers with some immediate needs including grants to pay for:
• Temporary housing and minor home repairs;
• Replacement of personal property, including clothing; and
• Serious immediate needs not covered by insurance.

The U.S. Small Business Administration offers low-interest loans to farmers and ranchers to rebuild or repair their primary homes and replace lost or damaged personal property.

To begin the application process, call FEMA at 800-621-3362, TTY 800-462-7585, or for those who use 711 or Video Relay Services (VRS), call 800-621-3362. Survivors may also apply online with any computer, smartphone or tablet at www.DisasterAssistance.gov

Other programs through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency include
emergency loans that may be used to:
• Restore or replace essential property;
• Pay all or part of production costs associated with the disaster;
• Pay essential family living expenses;
• Reorganize the farming operation;
• Refinance certain debts, excluding real estate;
• Provide to loan applicants up to 100 percent of their total actual production and/or physical losses. (Production losses must exceed 30 percent.) The maximum loan is $500,000.

The Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program provides financial assistance for non-insurable crops when low yields, loss of inventory, or prevented planting occur due to natural disasters, including grass for grazing. Eligible producers must have purchased coverage for 2015.

The Livestock Indemnity Program provides payments to eligible producers for livestock death losses in excess of normal mortality due to the disaster.

The Tree Assistance Program for nursery tree growers, vineyards and orchardists.

The Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program provides emergency relief for feed losses (including lost grazing days and baled forage) and/or water shortages due to a disaster.

The Emergency Conservation Program provides funding to rehabilitate land severely damaged by a natural disaster, including fencing.

To date, the FSA has identified dozens of disaster counties and contiguous counties where farmers and ranchers are eligible for FSA emergency loans. To get more information on FSA services, go online to the U.S. Department of Agriculture website at: www.fsa.usda.gov.

To locate your nearest FSA County office, visit: http://offices.usda.gov.

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Oklahoma Farmers and Ranchers Have Options for Assistance

Volunteers Needed to Clean Up Disaster-Damaged Homes in Hays and Bastrop Counties in Texas

AUSTIN, Texas – Although many weeks have passed since the May 4 through June 19 severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and flooding hit Texas, homeowners who continue their recovery still are in need of volunteer support.

Volunteers, service groups and paid contractors have helped clean up flooded homes and cleared out debris-filled yards. But hundreds more volunteers are still urgently needed to work in Bastrop, San Marcos and Wimberley.

Whether volunteers can donate a few hours or several days of their time, the effort will help multiply effect and speed the recovery for disaster survivors. For coordination purposes, local officials ask volunteers—whether co-workers, college clubs, faith-based groups, or nonprofit organizations—to sign up at the following reception centers:

Bastrop Volunteer Reception Center
1106 College St.
Bastrop, TX 78602
(512) 521-3001
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday

San Marcos Volunteer Reception Center
126 W. Hopkins St.
San Marcos, TX
(512) 753-2320
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday

Wimberley Volunteer Reception Center
200 Stillwater Dr, Suite 2
Wimberley, TX
(512) 715-4134
8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday

Volunteers must be at least 18 years of age, 16 if accompanied by a parent. All volunteers are required to wear long pants, rubber boots, and bring a hat. Personal protective gear, such as gloves, safety goggles, and dust masks will be provided. Coordinators recommend that volunteers bring their own lunch as well as bottles of water.

Safety briefings will be held at each center before heading out to the disaster sites. Volunteers should be aware that the work will be strenuous.

Work assignments include:

Home clean-up
Minor home repairs
Debris removal
Bleaching affected items
Moving furniture

In mid-June, FEMA and AmeriCorps program teams joined forces with community volunteers in Hays and Bastrop counties. They mucked out more than 100 flooded homes, cleared over a 1,000 cubic yards of debris, and temporarily repaired 70 roofs.

The AmeriCorps program teams included:

AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps)
Arizona Conservation Corps
Hoopa Tribal Civilian Community Corps
Texas Conservation Corps
AmeriCorps St. Louis-Emergency Response Team
Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa

AmeriCorps program members come from across the country and have been deployed to disasters many times before. They bring a variety of backgrounds and skills to their community service projects. For more information about AmeriCorps, go to www.americorps.gov.

People who had storm damage in the designated area should register for FEMA assistance online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or call 800-621-3362 toll free from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily until further notice. Multilingual operators are available.

Disaster assistance for eligible survivors may include grants to help pay for rent, essential home repairs, and personal property replacement. Low-interest disaster loans from U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) also may be available to cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other resources.

Home owners in Hays and Bastrop counties who had damages and need help with unmet needs, should call 2-1-1. Anyone using a relay service should call 877-541-7905. Information and referral is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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All FEMA disaster assistance will be provided without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, sex (including sexual harassment), religion, national origin, age, disability, limited English proficiency, economic status, or retaliation. If you believe your civil rights are being violated, call 800-621-3362 or 800-462-7585(TTY/TDD).

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

The SBA is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps businesses of all sizes, private non-profit organizations, homeowners and renters fund repairs or rebuilding efforts and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other recoveries and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For more information, applicants may contact SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center by calling 800-659-2955, emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov, or visiting SBA’s website at www.sba.gov/disaster. Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals may call 800-877-8339.

FEMA’s temporary housing assistance and grants for childcare, medical, dental expenses and/or funeral expenses do not require individuals to apply for an SBA loan. However, those who receive SBA loan applications must submit them to SBA to be eligible for assistance that covers personal property, transportation, vehicle repair or replacement, and moving and storage expenses.

For more information on Texas recovery, visit the disaster web page at www.fema.gov/disaster/4223, Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/femaregion6 and the Texas Division of Emergency Management website, https://www.txdps.state.tx.us/dem.

Visit www.fema.gov/texas-disaster-mitigation for publications and reference material on rebuilding and repairing safer and stronger.

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Volunteers Needed to Clean Up Disaster-Damaged Homes in Hays and Bastrop Counties in Texas

Texas Farmers and Ranchers Have Options for Disaster Assistance

AUSTIN, Texas – When disasters such as the May 4 through June 19 storms and floods strike, farmers and ranchers have options for help.

Farmers and ranchers affected by the May 4 to June 19 storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds may be eligible for assistance from several agencies and should apply today.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) may assist survivors who are farmers and ranchers with some immediate needs including:

Grants to pay for temporary housing and minor home repairs,
Grants to replace personal property, including clothing,
Grants to pay for serious immediate needs not covered by insurance.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) may offer low-interest loans to farmers and ranchers to rebuild or repair their primary home and replace lost or damaged personal property.

To begin the application process, call FEMA at 800-621-FEMA (3362), TTY 800-462-7585, or for those who use 711 or Video Relay Services (VRS), call 800-621-3362. Survivors may also apply online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov

Other programs through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Texas Farm Service Agency (FSA) include:

Emergency loans may be used to:

Restore or replace essential property,Pay all or part of production costs associated with the disaster year,
Pay essential family living expenses,
Reorganize the farming operation, and
Refinance certain debts, excluding real estate.
Provide loan applicants up to 100 percent of their total actual production and/or physical losses. Production losses must not exceed 30 percent. The maximum loan is $500,000.
Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program provides financial assistance for non-insurable crops when low yields, loss of inventory, or prevented planting occur due to natural disasters, including grass for grazing. Eligible producers must have purchased coverage for 2015.
Livestock Indemnity Program with payments to eligible producers for livestock death losses in excess of normal mortality due to the disaster,
Tree Assistance Program for nursery tree growers, vineyards and orchardists.
Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program that provides emergency relief for feed losses (including lost grazing days and baled forage) and/or water shortages, due to a disaster.
Emergency Conservation Program that provides emergency funding to rehabilitate land severely damaged by a natural disaster, including fencing.

Texas leads the nation in the number of farms and ranches with 248,800 farms and ranches covering more than 130 million acres. The economic impact of food and fiber grown in Texas amounts to more than $100 billion per year.

To date, the FSA has identified dozens of disaster counties and contiguous counties where farmers and ranchers are eligible for FSA emergency loans. To get more information on FSA services, go online to the U.S. Department of Agriculture website at: www.fsa.usda.gov.

To locate your nearest FSA County office, visit: http://offices.usda.gov.

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Texas Farmers and Ranchers Have Options for Disaster Assistance

AmeriCorps Helping Storm Survivors in Southeast Michigan

WARREN, Mich. – AmeriCorps, a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, serves communities across America. When the call came to assist Michiganders affected by the August flooding, more than 30 AmeriCorps members were called into action. Members are in Michigan assisting homeowners with mucking out hundreds of homes damaged during the storm.

AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team members are tearing out ruined drywall and paneling, ripping up sodden carpets and linoleum, and hauling out damaged refrigerators and cabinets. They are piling up mounds of debris from basement kitchens, bedrooms and areas where residents stored photos, heirlooms and other treasures. They are removing mold when they find it, after donning protective gear.

Some 368 cubic yards of debris was removed from homes in the first week this team was on the ground. Their work is particularly difficult as the deluge in mid-August that shut down some freeways and roadways for days also caused sewer system backups throughout Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties.

“The work AmeriCorps is doing is vital,” said Michigan State Police Capt. Chris A. Kelenske, State Coordinating Officer and Deputy State Director of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. “They are helping those disaster survivors who need it most.”

Residents in need of assistance are calling 211 to request a free home cleanup.

“Priority is being given to the elderly, disabled and others whose circumstances make it difficult for them to do it themselves,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Dolph A. Diemont.

AmeriCorps members work long hours, sometimes barely stopping for lunch, although Norma Eggman, 22, said she appreciated the pizza from one thankful homeowner. Her day starts early and ends late. The work of mopping out basements and smashing ruined furniture is hard, but Eggman is proud of what she and her team are doing.

“I’m proud to serve and I’m excited to be doing this work,” Eggman said.

Eggman is an AmeriCorps member with the Arizona Conservation Corps. She and her teammates piled into a van and drove for three days to Michigan. AmeriCorps members with the Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa, Montana Conservation Corps and Texas Conservation

Corps also are in Michigan helping flood survivors. Members include residents of those five states and others from Georgia, Idaho, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, South Carolina and Wisconsin.

“The national service family is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with those in southeast Michigan,” said Kelly DeGraff, senior advisor for Disaster Services at the Corporation for National and Community Service. “AmeriCorps members are here to not only provide vital services, but hope and comfort to those in need.”

AmeriCorps members are housed at a local monastery. They will work in Michigan for about a month before returning to their jobs doing trail maintenance, stream restoration and other conservation measures. Other AmeriCorps teams rotate in so the work flow in Michigan is not interrupted.

Crew leader Alexandra Breant, 24, and her team recently mucked out a retired widow’s home. The team carried sodden items outside and then Breant sat down to talk with the woman.

“There were things she didn’t want to let go of,” said Breant of Phoenix. “I needed to be compassionate and understanding, as this was someone’s life.”

Breant echoed the sentiment of many AmeriCorps members. “It is an honor and an opportunity to be able to help Michigan residents,” she said.

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FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards. Follow FEMA online at twitter.com/femaregion5, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema. Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at twitter.com/craigatfema. The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

English: http://www.fema.gov/disaster/4195

Spanish: http://www.fema.gov/es/disaster/4195

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AmeriCorps Helping Storm Survivors in Southeast Michigan

Erosion Threat Assessment Reduction Team

Erosion Threat Assessment Reduction Team (ETART) is a multijurisdictional, interdisciplinary team formed jointly by FEMA and the State of Washington in response to the 2014 Central Washington wildfires to address the threat of flooding, mudslides, debris flows and other erosion over the approximately 415 square miles of burned lands.(For a landownership breakdown, see the following map and chart.)

In the summer of 2014, the Carlton Complex Fire burned more than 250,000 acres of land in Washington, the largest wildfire in state history. The fire burned private, federal, state and tribal lands, consumed 300 homes and destroyed critical infrastructure in its path. Then intense rainstorms over the scarred landscape caused more damage from flooding, mudslides and debris flow.

Fire suppression costs topped $68 million. But post-fire recovery costs have yet to be tallied.

Given the size and severity of the fire, President Obama issued a major disaster declaration on Aug. 11, which authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate federal disaster relief and to help state, tribal and local agencies recover from the disaster.

Once firefighters contained the Carlton fire on Aug. 25, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) deployed its Burn Area Emergency Response (BAER) team to measure soil quality, assess watershed changes, identify downstream risks and develop recommendations to treat burned federal lands.

FEMA officials and the BAER team acted fast. They knew more floods may follow without vegetation to soak up rainwater. More silt and debris in the runoff can plug culverts and raise water levels, which may further threaten downstream communities and properties.

To reduce the vulnerability of those downstream communities, FEMA created ETART. Modeled after BAER, ETART would measure soil quality, assess watershed changes, identify downstream risks and develop recommendations to treat burned state, tribal and private lands.

FEMA and the State of Washington recruited biologists, engineers, hydrologists, mapping experts, range specialists, soil scientists and support staff from more than 17 entities.

SPIRIT OF COOPERATION

ETART participants include: Cascadia Conservation District, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, FEMA, Methow Conservancy, National Weather Service (NWS), Okanogan Conservation District, Skagit Conservation District, Spokane Conservation District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of the Interior, USFS, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, Whatcom Conservation District and Yakama Nation Fisheries.

Team members scored the benefits of working together across jurisdictional boundaries and overlapping authorities right away. To start, they stitched their maps together and overlaid their findings to gain consistency and a better perspective. Field assessments used extensive soil sampling. Computer modeling showed the probability of debris flow and other hazards.

Standard fixes in their erosion control toolbox include seeding and other ground treatments, debris racks, ditch protection, temporary berms, low-water crossings and sediment retention basins. Suggested treatments were evaluated based on their practical and technical feasibility.

Regional conservation districts provided a vital and trusted link to private landowners. They:
• held public meetings and acted as the hub of communications
• posted helpful links on their websites
• collected information on damage to crops, wells, fences, livestock and irrigation systems
• secured necessary permits that grant state and federal workers access to private property to assess conditions.

Local residents shared up-to-the minute information on road conditions and knew which seed mixtures worked best for their area. Residents proved key to the success of ETART.

Note: Teams found a few positive consequences of the wildfire. For instance, debris flow delivered more wood and gravel downstream, which may create a better fish habitat once the debris and sediment settle. The resultant bedload may enhance foraging, spawning and nesting for endangered species, such as Steelhead, Bull Trout and Spring Chinook Salmon.

STRENGTH OF COLLECTIVE ACTION

Final reports from BAER and ETART have helped several state agencies formulate and prioritize their projects, and leverage their budget requests for more erosion control funds.

Landowners and managers might share equipment, gain economies of scale and develop more cost-effective solutions. In the end, collaboration and collective action may avert future flooding.

CULTURE OF RESILIENCE

While public health and safety remain the top priority, other values at risk include property, natural resources, fish and wildlife habitats, as well as cultural and heritage sites.

Estimated costs for the emergency restoration and recovery recommendations on federal lands run $1.5 million. For short-term stabilization, USFS initiated funding requests for seeding and mulching urgent areas before the first snowfall. Other suggested treatments include bigger culverts, more warning signs and the improvement of road drainage systems.

For state and private lands, emergency restoration and recovery recommendations may cost in excess of $2.8 million. Erosion controls include seeding, invasive species removal and the construction of berms and barriers. In its final report, ETART also recommended better early warning systems, more warning signs on county roads and electronic message signs to aid residents evacuating via highways.

Landowners, managers and agencies continue to search for funding to pay for implementation. For instance, BLM regulations may allow it to seed its lands, as well as adjoining properties, after a wildfire. Select state agencies may provide seedlings, technical assistance on tree salvaging, or partial reimbursement for pruning, brush removal and weed control.

Knowing a short period of moderate rainfall on burned areas can lead to flash floods, the NWS placed seven real-time portable gauges in September to monitor rainfall in and around the area, and plans to place eight more rain gauges in the coming weeks. The NWS will issue advisory Outlooks, Watches and Warnings, which will be disseminated to the public and emergency management personnel through the NWS Advanced Weather Information Processing System.

Certain projects may qualify for FEMA Public Assistance funds. Under this disaster declaration, FEMA will reimburse eligible tribes, state agencies, local governments and certain private nonprofits in Kittitas and Okanogan counties for 75 percent of the cost of eligible emergency protective measures.

Successful ETARTs replicated in the future may formalize interagency memorandums of understanding, develop more comprehensive community wildfire protection plans and promote even greater coordination of restoration and recovery activities following major wildfires.

Erosion Threat Assessment Reduction Team

FEMA’S GIS Team Uses High-Tech Tools to Help People

DENVER – When Colorado’s historic rains fell last September, help came quickly.

Resources went to areas that needed it most thanks, in part, to the innovative work of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Region VIII Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) unit in Denver.

The GIS team pushed out a steady stream of critical spreadsheets, maps and updates by coordinating with local, state and federal agencies. The team had at its disposal satellite imagery so precise it showed the sediment lines of battered neighborhoods. They used this information to determine locations where the Civil Air Patrol as well as other aircrafts should conduct flyovers to take photos to get additional awareness.

Then the six-member team combined the numerous images with information from the National Weather Service, flood modeling and sources nearest the inundation. The result was a geospatial disaster impact assessment that helped identify communities with the greatest impacts.

“During response we use GIS to estimate impacts to people, buildings, and infrastructure’’ said Jesse Rozelle, GIS coordinator for Region VIII. “We used all of the information to provide situational awareness for decision makers.’’

The team was working almost immediately as the rains began to fall, helping to identify potentially threatened areas. Following the disaster declaration issued by President Obama, the focus shifted to response and recovery, with plenty of work still ahead for the GIS unit. Five days of rain had caused flooding in areas and ways not typically expected.

“The flooding wasn’t always contained within the banks of the river or stream,’’ said Nikki Robles, a risk analyst on the GIS team. “There was a lot of debris in this event which elevated the impacts to people and their property.’’

Although hampered initially by two weeks of thick cloud cover, the GIS unit was able to create increasingly complex products with the addition of yet another tool – LIDAR, which stands for light detection and ranging. LIDAR is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure variable distances to the Earth. It generates precise, three-dimensional information about surface characteristics.

LIDAR was part of the GIS team’s arsenal when it was called on months later after a high snow pack created a significant spring flood risk to Colorado.

The unit, which was activated as FEMA’s Modeling Task Force, was able to build on its accomplishments during the September 2013 flooding and pinpoint potential problems from remaining debris and changes to the landscape.

Working with the Colorado Water Conservation Board, it developed forecasts for the state identifying newly created chokepoints in rivers and streams – areas where the potential of flooding had changed from previous seasons. This allowed communities and residents to make better decisions when faced with the threat of spring flooding.

Luckily for Colorado, the worst-case scenario did not happen. But not before the FEMA Region VIII GIS team had produced situational awareness reports for several months so those potentially in harm’s way had a more complete picture of what was coming their way.

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FEMA’S GIS Team Uses High-Tech Tools to Help People

One Year After Historic Colorado Flooding: Disaster Unified Review Team Expedites Environmental Recovery

DENVER – One year after devastating historic flooding, a team of specialized recovery partners is working together in a unified approach to environmental and historic preservation. The top objective of the team is to help expedite long-term recovery in the Centennial State – and in ways that will also benefit recovery after future disasters.

As part of their ongoing partnership in recovery with the State of Colorado, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Environmental and Historic Preservation (EHP) branch initiated a Disaster Unified Review Team (DURT). The team was developed as a think tank of local, state and federal partners working to identify measures for creating an easement for environmental and historic resource preservation regulatory requirements. The main priority of the DURT is to enhance and simplify the creation, review and maintenance of environmental and historic preservation documents.

FEMA Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator Dan Alexander established the role of the Environmental and Historic Preservation Advisor to lead the team, which is comprised of federal and state partners, including the: Colorado Department of Transportation (CDoT); Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA); Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW); Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB); Federal Highway Administration (FHWA); Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS); State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO); U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); U.S. Department of the Interior (DoI); U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA); U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS); and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

“This kind of unified approach we are taking is critical to a full, successful recovery here – and our mission will go a long way in helping to lay the groundwork for recovery after future disasters in any community,” said Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator Alexander. “When multiple agencies work hand-in-hand, sharing an engaged role in the recovery process, a whole community naturally grows, and the momentum that is built can help better sustain recovery for the long-term.”

All of the partner agencies are involved on multiple levels. Some highlight potential upcoming hurdles or challenges, while others facilitate environmental data exchange or contribute technical advisory support.

The team has already made great strides in its top priority, which is to harmonize records for National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review. In one initiative, an online GeoPlatform was established as a secure utility for sharing geospatial data among DURT partners. The tool is called the DURT Viewer. It is being used to depict project areas and classifications among various partners and agencies. This includes project locations, descriptions, impacted areas, dollar amounts and revisions. This project information is then overlaid with environmental and historic resource data, which is also being shared. Using the shared data allows for greater efficiency in identifying areas with high federal grant program investment. This aspect is critical in streamlining areas with the greatest need for NEPA documentation, or other higher level environmental focus.

The team is also focused on Programmatic Environmental Assessments (PEAs). PEAs can help expedite funding for disaster-related debris in streams, and repair of roads, bridges, trails and other elements of the infrastructure. For instance, in the town of Jamestown, Colo., review is underway to assess disaster-related repairs and expansion or relocation of damaged infrastructure. The document that has been produced by FEMA’s EHP branch will remain on file where it will be retrievable to help cover baseline NEPA documentation in the event of future disasters in the town of Jamestown. The PEA for roads, bridges and trails was written to address damage caused by the 2013 flooding, but can be applied to future events in Colorado. It is intended to help streamline the ability of local municipalities to qualify for federal funding, while at the same time promoting the development of more resilient projects.

The unified approach of the DURT team is just one of the many highlights of the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act, which President Obama signed into effect on January 29, 2013.

The DURT team will continue to meet monthly as steady progress in recovery continues in Colorado.

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One Year After Historic Colorado Flooding: Disaster Unified Review Team Expedites Environmental Recovery

Colorful Insect Threatens to Decimate Missouri’s Ash Tree Population–Debris Clean-up Practices Impact Infestation

Kansas City, Mo – Last spring, a series of storms caused extensive tree damage in many communities throughout Missouri. As clean-up continues, proper debris management will impact the fate of Missouri’s Ash trees by helping to stop the spread of a small but invasive pest making its way across the state.

A native of Asia, as of June, 2013, the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) had been found in 20 states and two Canadian Provinces. In a report published on the University of Missouri Extension website, Missouri’s EAB infestation was discovered in 2008 in a campground at Wappapello Lake in Wayne County. Since then ten counties have been placed under quarantine to prevent the accidental spread of the beetle by regulating the movement of potentially-contaminated wood products, including firewood and mulch from storm debris.

The importance of proper wood management is magnified when one considers that approximately 14 percent of trees in the State’s towns and cities are Ash, and the figure reaches as high as 30 or 40 percent in some neighborhoods and parks. The EAB is 100 percent fatal to Missouri’s native ash trees — blue, green, and white — of any size, age, or health, according to the University of Missouri Extension.

On its own, the beetle will only fly a few miles. However, it is easily and quickly transported to new areas when people inadvertently move Ash infected with EAB larvae. Wood waste from pruning, storm damage, or tree removal may seem like a readily available fuel source, yet State officials warn that moving firewood, whether ash from quarantined areas or otherwise, is the primary avenue for the spread of the EAB. Many of the places where it has been found are parks and campgrounds where people unknowingly carried EAB with them when they brought firewood on a picnic or camping trip.

Missouri Department of Conservation Forest Entomologist Rob Lawrence emphasizes the importance of not moving woody debris from the immediate vicinity when cutting trees and limbs that have been storm damaged or need trimming. “The debris can be allowed to decay or burned any time before spring when the adults emerge, but to reduce the possibility of spreading EAB or any other pest, the main thing is not to move it from the immediate vicinity,” he said.

The EAB larva is the source of destruction as it spends its life inside ash trees, feeding on the inner bark where it cannot be seen. According to Jodie Ellis of Purdue University, the eggs females deposit on the surface of ash bark, in its crevices and cracks, hatch in 1-2 weeks. The tiny larvae bore through the bark and into the phloem, the tissue layer that spreads nutrients throughout the tree, creating S-shaped tunnels or galleries. As the larvae feed and grow, the galleries get larger, disrupting the transport of nutrients and ultimately killing the tree.

The ten counties currently under EAB quarantine are Bolinger, Carter, Clay, Iron, Madison, Platte, Pulaski, Reynolds, Shannon and Wayne. According to the Missouri Department of Agriculture, the results of this summer’s EAB infestation survey may add more regions of the State to the quarantine area.

The quarantine regulates both the interstate movement of potentially contaminated wood products and movement between these counties and others within the State. In addition to firewood, the quarantine covers ash nursery stock and any part of an ash tree. Firewood from any species of hardwood, including oak, maple and hickory is quarantined as well because, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), once a log has been cut and split, it is extremely difficult to differentiate between ash wood and other hardwood species.

There are opportunities for the timber, wood, and firewood industries to continue interstate commerce through the use of processing options associated with the issuance of a USDA compliance agreement, certificate, or limited permit. Contact the USDA’s APHIS at 573-893-6833 for more information. Permitting and compliance agreements for commercial wood transport within the State of Missouri can be obtained by contacting the Missouri Department of Agriculture at 573-751-5505.

If you suspect the presence of the EAB or other invasive insect or disease, the first step to verify the identity of the pest as many little green bugs look similar. Visit www.eab.missouri.edu for identification aids or call the Missouri Department of Conservation at 1-866-716-9974. Once confirmed, an online report form is available at http://extension.missouri.edu/scripts/eab/forestpestsreport.asp.

Follow FEMA online at www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema. Find regional updates from FEMA Region VII at www.twitter.com/femaregion7. Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema. The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

View photos of and get more information about the EAB at http://extension.missouri.edu/emeraldashborer/looklike.aspx.

Original post:

Colorful Insect Threatens to Decimate Missouri’s Ash Tree Population–Debris Clean-up Practices Impact Infestation

Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation Briefings for Dauphin County

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Hurricane Sandy Public Assistance briefings are scheduled for Dauphin County, according to the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The briefings will be held at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 30 in Dauphin.

Dauphin County Conservation District

1451 Peters Mountain Road

Dauphin, PA 17018

At the briefings, officials from state and local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations from these counties will receive information about applying for federal assistance to recover from Hurricane Sandy during the period from October 26 to November 8, 2012.

FEMA manages the PA program, approves grants and provides technical assistance to the Commonwealth and applicants. The Commonwealth educates potential applicants, works with FEMA to manage the program and is responsible for implementing and monitoring the grants awarded under the program. Local officials are responsible for identifying damage, providing information necessary for FEMA to approve grants and managing each project funded under the program.

For specifics about the PA process, including a list of frequently asked questions, see http://www.fema.gov/public-assistance-frequently-asked-questions.

Federal funding is also available through the PA program on a cost-sharing basis for Hazard Mitigation measures in all counties of the Commonwealth.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards. FEMA Region III’s jurisdiction includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. Stay informed of FEMA’s activities online: videos and podcasts are available at http://www.fema.gov/medialibrary and www.youtube.com/fema. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/femaregion3.