President Trump Approves La. Gov. Edwards' Request for Federal Assistance Related to Tropical Storm Cristobal Response

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, June 8 -- Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana, issued the following news:

Gov. John Bel Edwards announced that President Donald Trump has approved his request for federal assistance related to Tropical Storm Cristobal. Gov. Edwards submitted the pre-landfall emergency declaration to the President and the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Friday.

"We are thankful to Pres. Trump and his administration for responding quickly to my request and the needs of the people of Louisiana," said Gov. Edwards. "It was important for me to request the declaration prior to Tropical Storm Cristobal making landfall in order to ensure that the federal assistance would be in place when the time comes. We are continuing to work with our federal partners on those parts of the request that have not been addressed. Our citizens have weathered many storms, and I'm certain that they will this time as well. When the time comes to recover from the impact of this storm, it is critical to have access to federal resources to help our local governments and the communities they serve."

Items approved in the declaration include:

- Direct Federal Assistance (authorizing federal agencies to support the state) is approved statewide. The support must be eligible under the Stafford Act and other federal regulations.

- Reimbursement of state and parish costs for emergency protective measures is currently limited to shelter operations for the parishes in regions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 9.

For a list of parishes in each region, click here https://gohsep.la.gov/ABOUT/STATE-REGIONS.

The Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness will continue working with FEMA to ensure that reimbursement of other emergency costs will be approved as well as costs for other regions of the state should they be needed for this event.

Here is a list of all items requested by Gov. Edwards-

Public Assistance Category B (Emergency Protective Measures)

Public Assistance Category B, to include pre-approval of non-congregate sheltering, for the following parishes:

Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, West Baton Rouge, West Feliciana, Assumption, Lafourche, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, Terrebonne, Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Martin, St, Mary, Vermilion, Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, and Jefferson Davis.

Gov. Edwards says for this emergency, the state and local governments will assume all applicable non-Federal share of costs required by the Stafford Act.

Direct Federal Assistance (DFA)

Gov. Edwards requests direct federal assistance for work and services to save lives and protect property, to include:

* United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) - sandbags, self-contained pumps, damage assessment teams, power generation, technical assistance, mapping, GIS support.

* United States Coast Guard - air transportation assets, technical assistance, search and rescue operations.

* Civil Air Patrol - air assets.

* United States Fish and Wildlife Service - wildlife management assistance within the Atchafalaya basin and technical assistance.

* United States Department of Agriculture - crop damage assessment, livestock assistance, technical assistance, water management, and inundation mapping.

This assistance is requested statewide.

Members of the public should monitor the news for weather updates and follow guidance from local officials about storm issues in the coming days. The Governor's office will also share updates about severe weather and COVID-19 through its texting system. People may opt-in by texting LAGOV to 67283 and sign up for phone calls by going to Smart911.