FEMA advises Gov. DeWine Ohio is not eligible for assistance at this time

FEMA isn’t the right tool for this job.

From another article:

> "Although FEMA is synonymous with disaster support, they’re most typically involved with disasters where there is tremendous home or property damage," Gov. DeWine continued.

> This would include situations like tornadoes, flooding or hurricanes, Gov. DeWine explained.

> "That is why we do not expect that FEMA will come to East Palestine."

""The state needed help testing the water and air — EPA is providing it. They called for an investigation into the derailment — the Department of Transportation is on it. The Governor today asked for help to conduct additional public health testing and assessments — we’re deploying teams from HHS and the CDC to get that done," the Biden administration official told Fox News Digital.

"Each federal agency has its own unique role here, and we’ve mobilized an interagency team to get the people of East Palestine the support they need," the official said."

> Why hasn’t FEMA responded with something like; Ohio needs to do x y and z before we can assist?

They almost certainly have (or, to the extent that FEMA is the wrong federal agency for assistance – EPA, HHS/CDC, and NTSB are heavily involved in the response already – pointed them to the correct agency), but this story is based on DeWine’s social media post, which is equally certainly a limited and biased perspective on the state-federal communication involved.

>Why hasn't FEMA responded with something like; Ohio needs to do x y and z before we can assist?

I assume that just like any other politicized bureaucratic process there's a bunch of ambiguity built in that lets them make subjective judgement however they want.

It sounds like FEMA normally steps in when there had been mauve property damage, which isn't the case here. They may need help, just not the kind they provide.

There's a whole multibillion dollar company responsible.

You have not met the federally mandated quota for volume of suffering. Please call back when you do.

There’s massive federal involvement in East Palestine (of which FEMA is a part, but not the biggest part). But a lot of the things FEMA would fund in, say, a natural disaster are things Norfolk Southern is responsible for here (and which EPA – federal, but not FEMA) has already secured a commitment from them to pay for.

Yes exactly.

Aiding a country that wants to join the American sphere of influence against a genocidal, authoritarian regime is well worth the money. Especially when they're making America's enemies bleed.

> its sus that Ohio would ask for or need federal assistance for what amounts to a very localized emergency solely affecting a single town in a single state.

This is dismissive. I don't believe it's a proper categorization, at the core.

Ecological disaster that results from a train that crossed state lines, directly affecting citizens, casually appears to be a federal matter. The state is not expected to have spending and resources to cope with this type of disaster. Scale is just one quality of concern. Intensity is another. Responsibility is another. etc.

https://www.fema.gov/pdf/about/fy08_fema_sp_bookmarked.pdf

> Mission: Reduce the loss of life and property and protect the Nation from all hazards, including natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters, by leading and supporting the Nation in a risk-based, comprehensive emergency management system of preparedness, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation

Yep all that run off into the water or chemicals in the air will just stay in the little white republican town. /s

I'm not familiar with policy surrounding this. Is disaster-relief funding fungible in the manner that you're suggesting it be used?