Governor Baldacci's letter to President Bush requesting FEMA emergency declaration
July 17, 2007
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 Maine as a result of a severe summer storm which struck the northern area of Oxford County on Wednesday, July 11, 2007. The storm dropped from 6 to 8 inches of rain in approximately 45 minute timeframe, overloading capacities to handle this amount of rainfall. The most affected communities were Bethel, Gilead and Newry. The incident began late in the evening on July 11 and lasted until July 12. The incident is specific to Oxford County, Maine.
In response to the situation I have taken appropriate action under State law and directed the execution of the State Emergency Plan on July 13, 2007 in accordance with Section 501 (a) of the Stafford Act. A State of Emergency was declared for Oxford County due to the significant damage to roadways, public structures and the public water supply for several western Maine communities. Specifically, the public water supply for the Town of Bethel has incurred catastrophic, possibly irreparable, damage. The current condition of the public water supply for the Town of Bethel isn’t sufficient to provide fire protection, sanitary service and clean drinking water. Emergency assistance to this water supply is required to protect property and public health and safety.
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 debris removal, emergency protective measures, and direct Federal Assistance to enable the response and recovery from this event to continue in Oxford County.
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:
• County and Local first responders worked collaboratively to close impacted roads and assess damages to roads, bridges, and water supply.
• Response and assessment efforts continued throughout the weekend and into the start of this current week.
• County EMA officials have been on scene at Bethel since July 12th.
• Regular conference calls between County and State EMA, Maine National Guard, Army Corps of Engineers, Maine Drinking Water Program, Maine Rural Water Association, Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC), private companies, and FEMA Region One.
• State Dam Inspector on scene July 16th.
• Inspections by Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Maine Rural Water Association, and Auburn Water District to help with damage assessments to Bethel public water system.
• Town of Bethel currently trucking 80,000 gallons of water per day from neighboring water supplies to meet public water needs. The Town is incurring costs of up to $5,000 per day to provide water supplies to its citizens.
• Construction of temporary reservoir, however this structure has only been intermittently effective.
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:
• Participation of FEMA R1 and USACE officials in conference calls and strategy discussions since event last week.
• Discussion of use of Reverse Osmosis Water Purifying Unit (ROWPU) however at this time, this option has been deemed too expensive to implement.
• Preliminary survey of damages in Oxford County performed by FEMA officials currently in Maine working on prior open disasters.
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. Further, I request direct Federal assistance for work and services to save lives and protect property.
I request direct Federal assistance for work and services to save lives and protect property.
In accordance with 44 CFR § 206.208, the State of Maine agrees that it will, with respect to direct Federal assistance:
Provide without cost to the United States all lands, easement, and rights-of-ways necessary to accomplish the approved work.
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;
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
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.
It should be noted that the State of Maine is currently in the recovery phase of two major Presidentially declared disasters which occurred earlier this year. Specifically, Oxford County was declared for disaster DR-1603-ME and continues to recover from this event. The request I make today is of critical nature to provide assistance to these communities which have suffered repeated damages.
I have designated Ginnie Ricker, Deputy Director of Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) as the State Coordinating Officer for this request. She will work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in damage assessments and may provide further information or justification on my behalf.
Sincerely,
John Elias Baldacci
Governor
