Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act From Wikipedia, the - PDF document

Stafford Act 403 (a)(3)(J)- Household Pet Shelters Shelters shall be provided for disaster victims with service animals and pets. This is also in conjunction with the PETS Act Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act (PETS Act) Mandates that FEMA's preparedness plans "take into account the needs of individuals with pets and service animals prior to, during, and following a major disaster or emergency." History: 2006 President- Executive Order: Improving Assistance for Disaster Victims Directing the Secretary of Homeland Security to lead an interagency task force with the mission of improving the promptness and efficiency with which disaster victims obtain access to eligible Federal disaster assistance. 2007 Disaster Assistance Improvement Plan (DAIP) Outlines a coordinated, actionable strategy to implement a single, consolidated system that will get Federal assistance to disaster victims more quickly and efficiently. 2008 DAIP became available for disaster assistance programs administered at the Federal level. Goal: 2014 Full implementation, to include all disaster assistance programs at all levels of State, local and non-government agencies.

..... \-_, Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act (PETS) was a bi-partisan initiative in the United States House of Representatives to require states seeking Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance to accommodate pets and service animals in their plans for evacuating residents facing disasters.lll Introduced by Congressmen Tom Lantos (D-California) and Christopher Shays (R-Connecticut) on September Representatives on May 22, 2006 by a margin of349 to 29P 1 22, 2005, the bill passed the House of Technically l 3 l an amendment to the Stafford Act, it was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 6, 2006. The bill is now Public Law 109-308) 4 1 Background The bill was initiated in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina when the abandonment of many thousands of pets animal welfare to national attention.CS 1 and other animals brought the matter of The bill's primary proposer, Tom Lantos, indicated that a press picture of a child being separated from his dog was the bill's catalyst; "The dog was taken away from this little boy, and to watch his face was a singularly revealing and tragic experience. This "[ 6] On the congressional record for the bill, he explained more fully: legislation was born at that moment. "The scene from New Orleans of a 9-year-old little boy crying because he was not allowed to take his little white dog Snowball was too much to bear. Personally, I know I wouldn't have been able to leave my little white dog Masko to a fate of almost certain death. As I watched the images of the heartbreaking choices the gulf residents had to make, I was moved to find a way to prevent this from ever happening again. n[?J The Hurricane Katrina animals Stories of abandoned pets after Katrina filled the media.l&l The issue raised questions of class concern, as animal welfare activist noted in the Washington Post that some hotels who took in evacuees allowed customers to bring l 9 l their pets, but those forced to rely on public assistance had no options. One particular case that garnered widespread attention was that of "Snowball", a small white dog made famous by Associated Press reporter Mary Foster's coverage of the evacuation of the New Orleans Louisiana Superdome.llO] The authorities who assisted evacuees onto buses refused to allow pets to board. Foster reported that "Pets were not allowed on the bus, and when a police officer confiscated a little boy's dog, the child cried until he vomited. 'Snowball, snowball,' he cried."[lll The story of "Snowball" became a centerpiece in fundraising appeals by welfare organizations and various ad- hoc websites were created by people soliciting funds to help locate Snowball and reunite him with the boy. [lll On September 6, 2005 USA Today reported that Terry Conger, a veterinarian and information officer for the Incident Command Center that coordinated animal rescue efforts in Louisiana, said state veterinary officers had confirmed that Snowball is safe in a Louisiana shelter and that his owner had been located in Texas. [l3J However, it appears the veterinarian officials were mistaken. On September 10, 2005 the Lexington Herald- Leader quoted Dr. Conger as saying that original reports of Snowball's recovery were inaccurate and that "the chances of finding it [Snowball] and returning it to its owner are next to nil". [citation needed]

Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program Program Overview The Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) program provides funds to states, territories, Indian tribal governments, communities, and universities for hazard mitigation planning and the implementation of mitigation projects prior to a disaster event. Funding these plans and projects reduces overall risks to the population and structures, while also reducing reliance on funding from actual disaster declarations. PDM grants are to be awarded on a competitive basis and without reference to state allocations, quotas, or other formula-based allocation of funds. National Ranking Factors FEMA will provide additional ranking points for all eligible mitigation planning and project subapplications on the basis of predetermined, objective, quantitative factors to calculate a final National Ranking Score for each subapplication. Applicant management cost subapplications will not be scored, but will be awarded based on planning and project subapplications awarded for each Applicant. The 2011 National Ranking factors are available in the FEMA library. National Evaluation Panel Factors Panels composed of representatives from FEMA, State, Territories, local governments, Federally recognized Indian Tribal governments, and other Federal agencies will peer evaluate project and planning subapplications on the basis of qualitative factors. The 2011 National Evaluation Panel Planning Factors and the 2011 National Evaluation Panel Project Factors are available in the FEMA library. The factors remain unchanged from FY 2010. Partnership with the HUD Sustainable Housing and Communities Initiative FEMA continues to partner with HUD regarding the principles set forth in the HUD Sustainable Housing and Communities initiative and will utilize information from the PDM project and planning subapplications to guide future opportunities for program collaboration. FEMA supports the HUD program goals for strategic local approaches to sustainable development by combining hazard mitigation objectives with the community development objectives. The community development objectives support regional planning efforts that integrate housing and transportation decisions, and increase state, regional, and local capacity to incorporate livability, sustainability, and social equity values into land use plans, zoning and infrastructure investments. Therefore, FEMA will note sustainability principles that are included in the PDM planning and project subapplications. • The subapplicant has identified sustainable principles in their planning/project application. • The subapplicant has identified how the proposed activity relates to the HUD Sustainable Housing and Community initiative. • The subapplicant has described how the HUD Sustainable Housing and Community initiative relates to the proposed activity. If you would like to learn more about the HUD Sustainable Housing and Communities initiative please visit http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/program offices/sustainable housing communities.