FEMA Provides Funding To Nevada And Clark County For Bio-Terrorism Exercise
Release Date: August 15, 2003
Release Number: R9-03-58
» 2003 Region IX News Releases
Oakland, CA -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will provide the state of Nevada and Clark County with more than $126,000 to fund their participation in the Determined Promise 2003 (DP '03) exercise, which is being conducted Aug. 18 -29, 2003, at various locations. The funding provides an opportunity for Nevada and Clark County emergency management officials to play an active role with federal agencies in the two-week, bio-terrorism exercise.
"Protection against terrorism requires that every level of government work together in partnership to prepare for events and deal with their consequences," said FEMA Region IX Director Jeff Griffin. "This exercise provides an excellent opportunity to test our preparedness and response and our state and county partners are an important part of that readiness effort."
Determined Promise is an annual exercise conducted by U.S. Northern Command and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense. The exercise will check the emergency preparedness plans of federal, state and county agencies and test the interagency coordination of biological incident response efforts. The exercise will enable officials and response personnel to practice different courses of action, gain situational awareness and deploy appropriate resources.
The FEMA grant will reimburse Nevada $40,920 and Clark County over $86,000 for some of their participation costs associated with the exercise, including salaries for police and medical personnel, overtime pay, travel costs and contract services.
On March 1, 2003, FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. FEMA's continuing mission within the new department is to lead the effort to prepare the nation for all hazards and effectively manage federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates proactive mitigation activities, trains first responders, and manages Citizen Corps, the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration.
Last Modified: Monday, 18-Aug-2003 08:24:52