2010-012 RES APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING IMPLEMENTATION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLAN

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b. For major emergencies and disasters for which a Presidential declaration has been issued, federal agencies may be mobilized to provide assistance to states and local governments. The National Response Plan (NRP) describes the policies, planning assumptions, concept of operations, and responsibilities of designated federal agencies for various response and recovery functions. The Nuclear/Radiological Incident Annex of the NRP addresses the federal response to major incidents involving radioactive rnaterials. c. FEMA has the primary responsibility for coordinating federal disaster assistance. No direct federal disaster assistance is authorized prior to a Presidential emergency or disaster declaration, but FEMA has limited authority to stage initial response resources near the disaster site and activate command and control structures prior to a declaration and the Department of Defense has the authority to commit its resources to save lives prior to an emergency or disaster declaration. See Annex J, Recovery, for additional information on the assistance that may be available during disaster recovery. d. The NRP applies to Stafford and non-Stafford Act incidents and is designed to accommodate not only actual incidents, but also the threat of incidents. Therefore, NRP implementation is possible under a greater range of incidents. G. Emergency Authorities 1. Key federal, state, and local legal authorities pertaining to emergency management are listed in Section I of this plan. 2. Texas statutes and the Executive Order of the Governor Relating to Emergency Management provide local government, principally the chief elected official, with a number of powers to control emergency situations. If necessary, we shall use these powers during emergency situations. These powers include: a. Emerqencv Declaration. In the event of riot or civil disorder, the Mayor may request the Governor to issue an emergency declaration for this jurisdiction and take action to control the situation. Use of the emergency declaration is explained in Annex U, Legal. b. Disaster Declaration. When an emergency situation has caused severe damage, injury, or loss of life or it appears likely to do so, the Mayor may by executive order or proclamation declare a local state of disaster. The Mayor may subsequently issue orders or proclamations referencing that declaration to invoke certain emergency powers granted the Governor in the Texas Disaster Act on an appropriate /oca/ scale in order to cope with the disaster. These powers include: 1) Suspending procedural laws and rules to facilitate a timely response. 2) Using all available resources of government and commandeering private property, subject to compensation, to cope with the disaster. 3) Restricting the movement of people and occupancy of premises. 4) Prohibiting the sale or transportation of certain substances. 5) Implementing price controls. Ver 2.0 BP-11 05/05