COMDTINST 16451.1
4.
DISCUSSION.
a.
Upon occurrence of an event which may result in a Presidential declaration of a major
disaster or emergency, FEMA may direct the Coast Guard to operate under the Stafford
Act, reference (a), and its implementing instruction, the FRP, reference (b). The Act
provides for FEMA to coordinate employment of Federal agencies and resources in
support of state and local governments' disaster relief efforts.
b.
The FRP uses a functional approach to group the types of Federal assistance most likely to
be needed under twelve Emergency Support Functions (ESFs). Under the FRP,
departments/agencies are assigned primary and secondary responsibilities for supporting
an ESF. For example, ESF-10 is hazardous material response, which includes both oil
spills and hazardous material releases and their associated response. The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is designated as the primary agency for this
support function. Reference (b) provides additional general information on Coast Guard
responsibilities for supporting ESF-10. Departments/agencies assigned ESF primary
agency responsibilities are authorized to task other Federal agencies to assist with relief
efforts. For example, the EPA as the primary agency assigned for ESF-10, often tasks
Coast Guard units to assist with incidents involving hazardous materials or oil spills in the
marine environment. However, FEMA may also task the Coast Guard directly, in which
case the primary agency should be notified. It is possible for a Coast Guard unit to be
simultaneously supporting several ESFs under one or more disasters; e.g. a Marine Safety
Office launches a boat to locate propane tanks adrift in a river (ESF-10) and launches a
second boat to provide transportation (ESF-1) for disaster relief personnel.
c.
The Stafford Act provides for reimbursements of agency funds expended in support of
FEMA disaster relief efforts when support is provided under a valid Mission Assignment
(MA). The Mission Assignment is a work order issued by FEMA directing an agency to
complete a specified task; enclosure (2) is a sample MA. A Coast Guard unit may receive
tasking from several different ESF primary agencies, which have received separate MAs
from FEMA during one or more disasters.
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