South Dakota State Emergency Management Director Tina Titze Appointed to FEMA Advisory Council

Tina Titze, director of South Dakota’s Office of Emergency Management. OEM Photo

September 11, 2017

PIERRE, S.D. – Tina Titze, director of South Dakota’s Office of Emergency Management, has been appointed to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Advisory Council (NAC).

The council is an advisory committee established by federal law to ensure that there is effective and ongoing coordination of federal emergency management activities. The NAC provides advice to the FEMA Administrator through recommendations on all aspects of emergency management.

“I am honored to have been appointed to the council by FEMA administrator Brock Long,” says Titze. “It is a chance to work with other emergency management professionals on the various issues that impact all of our states as well as our nation. I appreciate the opportunity to be involved in the discussions and decision-making process.”

The NAC consists of up to 35 members, consisting of officials, emergency managers, and emergency responders from state, local, and tribal governments, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector. Titze was one of more than 170 applicants for the 13 open positions on the council.

“Having Tina selected gives South Dakota a voice on FEMA’s most important council,” says Trevor Jones, secretary of the South Dakota Department of Public Safety, which includes the Office of Emergency Management. “This means that we can make sure the concerns of South Dakota county emergency managers, tribes and other emergency associations get heard by those at the federal level.”

Titze’s term is for three years. Titze has been with state government for 20 years and was named emergency management director in January, 2015.

Gov. Daugaard Requests FEMA Preliminary Damage Assessment for Christmas Day Storm

January 9, 2017

PIERRE, S.D. – Gov. Dennis Daugaard has requested FEMA join state and local officials in a review of damage done to public property in 24 counties and on four tribal reservations during the recent Christmas Day storm.

The process is called a Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA).  The state Office of Emergency Management made the request to FEMA Monday.

Blizzard conditions, high winds and freezing rain were all part of the Dec. 25, 2016 storm that impacted most of South Dakota for several days. The storm resulted in electrical power outages, stranded motorists and closed roads.

“We believe most of the public property damage was done to electrical power poles and lines,” says Gov. Daugaard. “But this assessment will give us a better idea of what other damage may also have been done.”

Counties in the assessment are: Butte, Clark, Codington, Corson, Day, Deuel, Dewey, Edmunds, Fall River, Faulk, Grant, Haakon, Hamlin, Harding, Jackson, Jones, Marshall, McPherson, Meade, Perkins, Roberts, Stanley, Sully and Ziebach. Tribes involved are: Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Oglala Sioux Tribe, Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate and Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

Officials will verify the damage information provided by the counties. The South Dakota Office of Emergency Management is coordinating the effort.

Eligible applicants include state, county and local governments including township and road districts; private non-profit organizations such as fire departments, rural electric cooperatives, libraries and community centers; and tribal governments within the counties being assessed.

Gov. Daugaard says the information gathered during the PDA process will help determine whether federal assistance should be requested and will form the basis for any disaster declaration.

The Office of Emergency Management is part of the Department of Public Safety.

Senate Bill S.2971 National Urban Search and Rescue Response System Act of 2016, Presented to President.

Summary: S.2971 – 114th Congress (2015 – 2016)
Presented to the President 12/14/2016
National Urban Search and Rescue Response System Act of 2016

Sec. 2) This bill amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to: (1) continue to administer the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System; (2) provide for a national network of standardized search and rescue resources to assist states and local governments in responding to hazards; (3) designate urban search and rescue teams to participate in the system, determine participation criteria, and enter into an agreement with the state or local government agency sponsoring each team with respect to such participation; and (4) maintain management and technical teams necessary to administer the system.

FEMA may appoint a system member for a period of federal service to provide for the participation of such member in exercises, pre-incident staging, major disaster and emergency response activities, and training events sponsored or sanctioned by FEMA.

FEMA shall enter into: (1) an annual preparedness cooperative agreement under which amounts shall be made available to a sponsoring agency for training and exercises, acquisition and maintenance of equipment, and medical monitoring required for responder safety and health; and (2) a response cooperative agreement under which FEMA shall reimburse a sponsoring agency for costs incurred in responding to a major disaster or emergency.

FEMA shall submit a report on the development of a plan to finance, maintain, and replace system equipment.

The bill authorizes appropriations for FY2017-FY2019 to carry out the system.