GOHSEP Elected_Officials_Manual_2015

Major DECLARATION
A major declaration is issued post-disaster when, in the
determination of the President, damages are of sufficient
severity and magnitude to warrant major disaster
assistance to supplement the efforts and available
resources of States, local governments, certain private
nonprofit organizations (PNPs) and individuals.
Major declarations open the door to the availability of
disaster-related Stafford Act funding and technical
assistance as well as Federal assistance under other
authorities. A Stafford Act disaster declaration may also
trigger Federal funding from other sources, such as U.S.
Small Business Administration (SBA), U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD).
Assistance programs may include:
• Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) Public Assistance (PA)
• FEMA Individual Assistance (IA)
• FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program
(HMGP)
• Direct Federal Assistance (DFA)
• Community loans
DFA comes through Mission Assignments from other
Federal agencies.
The President can issue a major declaration and
authorize assistance under the Stafford Act for either
PA, Hazard Mitigation (HM) and/or IA. Other Federal
agencies can issue an administrative or agency
declaration under their own authority. For example, the
SBA Administrator can declare an SBA-only declaration,
which activates the SBA disaster loan program. See the
section on U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)/
Disaster Loans later in this Manual.
5.1 Declaration Process Page 2 of 6
Expedited DECLARATION
An expedited declaration is a type of major declaration.
It is issued when damages are so great or so apparent that
a Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) is not required.
For more on PDAs, see the following section.
Process to Request a
Presidential Declaration
As a prerequisite to requesting a Presidential
declaration, the Governor must first issue an
emergency declaration regarding the incident for which
the request for the Presidential declaration is made.
After a State emergency declaration is made, the
Governor makes the request for the Presidential
disaster declaration by sending a letter to the
President through the FEMA Regional Administrator
(RA). The letter must state that:
• The Governor certifies the event has
overwhelmed State and local resources.
• Federal assistance is required.
• The Governor has issued a state of
emergency.
• The Governor has directed the execution of
the State of Louisiana Emergency Operations
Plan (EOP).
There is other information required in the request to the
President. The importance of this information cannot
be overstated. Its quality, quantity and presentation
determine the success or failure of the Governor’s request
to the President. Most of this information is provided
by Parish emergency management officials to the
Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency
Preparedness (GOHSEP) and includes:
Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA)
A PDA is a joint assessment by FEMA, the State and
the Applicant. It is used to determine the magnitude
and impact of an event’s damage and is the basis for a
Presidential declaration decision.