An article examines the legal requirements under the Stafford Act for a U.S. state or territory to access federal emergency assistance from FEMA. A FEMA official said governments must show an incident "exceeds state, territorial, tribal or local capabilities." The Stafford Act allows a presidential emergency declaration when federal help is needed to supplement state and local efforts to save lives and protect property, health and safety, or to reduce catastrophe threats.
It defines a "major disaster" as a natural catastrophe—including hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, snowstorms or droughts—severe enough to justify federal disaster assistance. This week, in an interview with MS NOW in New York, Governor Jenniffer González said Puerto Rico must "exhaust all local resources" before requesting a national emergency declaration over the drought affecting hundreds of thousands of residents, arguing the emergency hasn’t reached that threshold.
Resident Commissioner in Washington Pablo José Hernández pushed back, calling her interpretation of the Stafford Act erroneous, citing the federal rule governing aid to New York and New Jersey after Superstorm Sandy in 2012, which states that a disaster declaration request should rest on a finding that effective response is beyond affected state and local governments’ capabilities.