Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Disaster Relief Act of 1979 (P.L. 1-023)

and The Honorable Lorenzo I. Guerrero President, The Senate F i r s t Northern Marianas Commonwealth Legislature Saipan, CM 96950 Dear Speaker Rasa and President Guerrero: I am pleased to inform you that I have approved this dat following Act passed by the First Northern Marianas Commonwealth Legislature, Fourth Regular Session, 1979 as follow: House Bill No. 1-27, H.D.2, S . D . l , entitled: Act to establish the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands' programs, policies and procedures for relief from the effects of disaster, and to establish a Disaster Control Office, and f o r other purposes", as Law No. 1-40. the Certified copy of the above Act bearing my signature is forwarded herewith for your file. Adai, ' , .. 0 c7 0 ~ 0 /) 0 0 c::) 0 etomtnonwealtfJ of tbc Jlortbern ,flllariana 3Jslanb~ ©f fict of tbe Qi)obcrnor $11ip1111, Jlf11ri11n11 ltfondt 96950 OCT.091979 The Honorable Oscar C. Rasa Cablt abbrtH: e>ob. JlJID A9dl p Speaker (}'if House of Representatives GOV. COMM. HD. l-- 113 (Bouse of Rep.) . ... - ·•. "An Public Hafa AN O f by Oscar C . Rasa (By Request) Date: February 27, 1978 House ion Ref e r r e d t o : Committee on Appropr ia t ions ; on J u d i c i a r y and Governmental Operat ions Standing Committee Report Nos. 1-124; 1- 214 F i r s t Reading: November 7 , 1.978 Reading : 6 , 1978 F i n a l J u l y 26, 1979 to: J u d i c i a r y , Law l!OU;-:1-: J;il.l. NO, 1-://, 11.Jl,,'. 1 :;.ll, I l'UBLTC 1,t.\v NO. 1--,i0 FOUl,TII HEClll.Al{ SESS"JON, 1979 ACT To establish the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands' programs, pol.icies and r=occdures for relief from the effects of disaster, and to est.1blish a Dis,rntcr Control Office, and for other purposes. fen~d Representative Act Second December Reading: Senate Action Rr~[ erred Conunittce <•n Standing Cooouittec Report No. 1-200 March .5, 1979 March 6, 1979 Conunittee Government & / ('\ I \ .. /. /} ; ; {I(, .. •( ... ,\. ··--··--··- ·- ···-··· .. ,,,. .... ··•···-·-·•··- ,.-.. ----··--· 1'an1~l·lln.1n, ,::.I.erk I Phone: CERTIFICATION NO. 1-27, H.D.2, S.D.l I hereby certify that the foregoing. bill passed the House of Representatives and the Senate by a majority vote of the members, a quorum being present, First Northern Marianas Commonwealth Legislature, Fourth Regular Session, 1979. :/l,~1Je o/ Pll~f 1.e,l1!nlali~r.1i NORTHERN MARIANAS COI\1MONWEAIJJ'H LEGlSLATURE P.O. llox 129 Saipan, Mariana Islands 96950 H.B. 6195/ 6284/6618 ~/l~ House of Representatives Ai? ACT To e s t a b l i s h t h e Mnriana I s l a n d s ' , p o l i c i e s p rocedures f o r from e f f e c t s of d i s a s t e r , and t o e s t a b l i s h a D i s a s t e r Cont ro l O f f i c e , and f o r o t h e r purposes. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 1 2 1 3 1 4 15 1 6 1 7 18 I? 2 BE IT ENACTED B Y MARIANAS COMMONWEALTH LEGISLATURE : Sec t ion 1. Shor t T i t l e . This Act be known and c i t e d a s t h e Commonwealth of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s Disaster Re l i e f A c t of 1979. , Sec t ion 2. F indings and I n t e n t . (a) The L e g i s l a t u r e of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s f i n d s and d e c l a r e s t h a t : I (1) P u b l i c Law 93-288, enac ted by t h e 93rd Congress of t h e United S t a t e s , provides f o r a ss i s t ance t o t h e Commonwealth of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s i n t h e event an emergency o r a major d i s a s t e r should s t r i k e t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s as determined by t h e , Pres iden t of t h e United S t a t e s ; ! (2) Emervency and d i s a s t e r may i n c l u d e t h e l o s s of l i f e , human s u f f e r i n g , l o s s of income, and p rope r ty damage r e s u l t i n g from typhoons, tornadoes , s torms, f l o o d s , h i g h waters, wind-driven waters, t i d a l waves, ear thquakes , droughts , f i r e s , and o t h e r c a t a s t r o p h e s ; (3) Due, however, t o t h e l i m i t e d land area of t h e s e i s l a n d s , d i s a s t e r s f r e q u e n t l y occur which be of i n s u f f i c i e n t t o be ing des by P r e s i d e n t as an "emergency" o r a "major d i s a s t e r ' ' a s de f ined w i t h i n t h e p rov i s ions of Pub l i c Law and may, t h e r e f o r e , be of s e v e r i t y t o warrant d i r e c t a s s i s t a n c e from t h e Fede ra l to t h e Commonwealth of Northern I s l ands : and FIRST REC:ULAR SESSION, 1978 the Commonwealth o( and relief THE NORTHERN ;:.: i! 9 small Northern the may magnitude warrant Lgnated the 20 1 93-288, the insufficient Government Nar1.ana progrmns may I 2 3 4 5 6 7 r e h a b i l i t a t i o n of devas t a t ed areas. 8 ( b ) It is t h e r e f o r e , t h e i n t e n t of t h e L e g i s l a t u r e of t h e 9 ( 4 ) s u c h d d normal of government t h e persons and f a m i l i e s s e v e r i t y , spec ia l measures are r e q u i r e d by Commonwealth of t h e Northern I s l a n d s t o assist the people of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s t o exped i t e t h e r ende r ing of a i d , and emergency w e l f a r e s e r v i c e s , and r e c o n s t r u c t i o n and Northern Mariana I s l a n d s by t h i s Act t o : 10 (1) E s t a b l i s h and provide f o r an o r d e r l y and con t inu ing , 11 1 2 13 1 4 15 16 (2 ) C l a r i f y and s t r eng then t h e r o l e s of t h e Governor 1 7 and recovery from d i s a s t e r s ; 19 ( 3 ) Provide a d i s a s t e r management system embodying a l l 20 a s p e c t s of p r e- d i sa s t e r preparedness and pos t- d i sa s t e r responses ; 2 1 (4) Supplement and augment a s s i s t a n c e which may be 22 23 24 2 5 93-288; and program of a s s i s t a n c e by t h e Commonwealth of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s t o a l lev ia te t h e s u f f e r i n g and damage which may r e s u l t from d i s a s t e r s o u t l i n e d above, which may n o t be of s u f f i c i e n t s e v e r i t y o r scope t o warrant a s s i s t a n c e by t h e United S t a t e s Government under t h e p rov i s ions of Pub l i c Law 93-288; and t h e mayors i n t h e prevent ion o f , p r e p a r a t i o n f o r , and response t o , provided by t h e Federa l Government t o t h e Commonwealth of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s i n t h e event of an emergency o r major d i s a s t e r d e c l a r a t i o n by t h e P re s iden t pursuant t o t h e p rov i s ions of Law Page 2 of 19 J Because lsasten; isrupt the functions the and communities, and adversely affect individual with great the Marlana assistan.::e the 18 Public f (5) provide of 2 3 a c t i v i t i e s t o d i s a s t e r , response , recovery by agenc ies o f f i c e r s of of t h e Northern 4 5 7 8 9 1 0 11 1 2 13 1 4 1 5 1 6 17 1 8 1 9 20 2 1 22 2 3 24 25 Marinna and S t a t e s and f o r e i g n i n which t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s and i t s p o l i t i c a l subd iv i s ions p a r t i c i p a t e . Sec t ion 3. Limi t a t i ons . Nothing i n t h i s A c t s h a l l be cons t rued t o : ( a ) I n t e r f e r e w i th d i ssemina t ion of news o r comments on pub l i c a f f a i r s ; bu t any communications f a c i l i t y o r o r g a n i z a t i o n ( i nc lud ing but n o t l i m i t e d t o r a d i o and t e l e v i s i o n s t a t i o n s , w i r e s e r v i c e s , and newspapers) may be r equ i r ed t o t r ansmi t p r i n t p u b l i c s e r v i c e messages f u r n i s h i n g informat ion o r i n s t r u c t i o n s i n connec t ion wi th a d i s a s t e r emergency; Af fec t t h e j u r i s d i c t i o n o r r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s of t h e Commonwealth of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s , o r t h e Department of Publ ic Sa fe ty , and f i r e f i g h t i n g f o r c e s , and u n i t s of t h e armed f o r c e s of t h e United S t a t e s , o r of any personnel t h e r e o f , when on a c t i v e du ty ; I n t e r f e r e w i t h t h e course o r conduct of a l a b o r d i s p u t e , except t h a t a c t i o n s o the rwi se au tho r i zed by t h i s A c t may L e taken when necessary t o f o r e s t a l l o r imminent o r e x i s t i n g d i s a s t e r s t h a t pose a danger t o p u b l i c h e a l t h o r s a f e t y ; o r (d) modify, o r ab r idge t h e a u t h o r i t y of t h e Governor t o respond t o emergencies o r t o e x e r c i s e any o t h e r powers ves t ed i n him by t h e laws of t h e Commonwealth of t h e Northern o f , or i n w i th , any p rov i s ions of t h i s Act. , independent Page 3 of 1 9 i I ! i ! I I I t , 1 6 Authori2e an<l for coordi.nc1tion relatJng prevention, preparedness and similar Unlted the Commonwealth intergovernmental activiti.es Commonwealth of the may or (b) (c) mitigate Limit, conjunction and .-I ,---- --.-" - -I A s used t h i s Act, t h e con tex t 2 f o l l o w i n g s h a l l apply : means occur rence o r imminent of a 4 widespread o r s eve re damage, o r l o s s of o r p roper ty r e s u l t i n g from any n a t u r a l o r man-made cause , i nc lud ing , but n o t 6 8 9 10 11 l i m i t e d t o , typhoons , , f l o o d s , high waters, wind-driven I waters, t i d a l waves, ea r thquakes , f i r e s , o i l s p i l l s , o r o t h e r wates contaminat ion r e q u i r i n g emergency a c t i o n t o a v e r t danger o r damage, i 1 I v o l can i c a c t i v i t y , epidemic, a i r contaminat ion, b l i g h t , d rought , i n f e s t a t i o n , o r explos ion , occu r r ing i n any p a r t of t h e Commonwealth of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s which, i n t h e de t e rmina t ion of t h e 1 2 Governor i s of s u f f i c i e n t s e v e r i t y and magnitude t o warran t a s s i s t a n c e 13 by t h e Commonwealth of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s t o supplement t h e 1 4 e f f o r t s and a v a i l a b l e r e sou rces of t h e p o l i t i c a l subd iv i s ions t he reo f 15 and r e l i e f o rgan iza t ions i n a l l e v i a t i n g t h e damage, l o s s , hardsh ip o r 1 6 s u f f e r i n g caused thereby. 1 7 "Emergency" means any typhoon, tornado, s torm, f l o o d , 19 2 0 high water, wind-driven t i d a l wave, tsunami, ear thquake, v o l c a n i c e rup t ion , l a n d s l i d e , drought , f i r e , explos ion , o r o t h e r c a t a s t r o p h e i n any p a r t of t h e Commonwealth of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s which T r e q u i r e s Federa l emergency a s s i s t a n c e t o supplement t h e Commonwealth of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s and l o c a l e f f o r t s t o save l i v e s and p r o t e c t p roper ty , pub l i c h e a l t h and s a f e t y o r t o avert o r l e s s e n t h e t h r e a t of a d i s a s t e r . 4 of 1.9 i! 1; !! " \I ;I I; n p ., ' i; i• 'l Ii !j H 11 L " lj ll I' :! p I! 1! ll i\ li I! H l1 l' ,l ii ll I' ii !1 \! 1! ,., ii ! H ., " i; ;i 1 3 5 7 18 21 22 23 24 25 SecUon 4. Dc-finltion::;;. otherwise requires, the (a) "Disastc~r" in definitions injury, tornadoes storms, (b) ~1ater, Page unless threat life 1 2 10 11 1 2 1 3 , 1 4 , 1 6 1 7 18 1 9 2 0 21 22 23 24 25 (c) means any typhoon, tornado, storm, f l o o d s , high wind-driven water, t i d a l , ear thquake , v o l c a n i c e rup t ion , l a n d s l i d e , , f i r e o r o t h e r c a t a s t r o p h e i n any p a r t of t h e Commonwealth of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s which, i n t h e de terminat ion of rhe P r e s i d e n t of t h e United States , cause damage of s u f f i c i e n t s e v e r i t y and magnitude t o warrant major d i s a s t e r assistance under Pub l i c Law 93-288, above and beyond emergency services by t h e Fede ra l Government t o supplement t h e e f f o r t s and a v a i l a b l e r e s o u r c e s of t h e Commonwealth of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s and i t s p o l i t i c a l subd iv i s ions . (d) "Local Disaster Emergency" means occurrence o r imminent t h r e a t of a widespread o r severe damage, i n j u r y , o r l o s s of l i f e o r p rope r ty r e s u l t i n g from any n a t u r a l o r man-made cause, i n c l u d i n g , b u t n o t l i m i t e d t o , typhoons, tornadoes, s torms, f l o o d s , h ighwaters , wind-driven wa te r s , t i d a l waves, ear thquakes , f i r e s , o i l s p i l l s , water contamination r e q u i r i n g emergency a c t i o n t o avert danger o r damage, vo lcan ic a c t i v i t y , epidemic, a i r contaminat ion, b l i g h t , drought , i n f e s t a t i o n , o r explos ion , occur r ing i n one p a r t i c u l a r p o l i t i c a l subd iv i s ion . (e ) " P o l i t i c a l Subdivision" means any d i s t r i c t , town, v i l l a g e , community o r o t h e r u n i t of l o c a l government recognized as such by l a w s o r customs of Commonwealth of t h e Northern Mariana I s l ands . Sec t ion 5 . The Governor and Disaster Emergencies. The Governor is r e s p o n s i b l e f o r meeting t h e dangers t o I I i I ! i i ! i ! I ! i Page of 1 9 1 "Major Disaster" water, wave 3 mudslide, drought 4 5 6 7 8 15 municipality, the (a) of t h e I s l a n d s and t h e people af fcc ted by d i s a s t e r s . (b) t h i s Act, may execu t ive o r d e r s and and may r e s c i n d them. Executive o r d e r s s h a l l have the f o r c e and e f f e c t of l a w when i n w i t h the procedures set f o r t h i n t h i s Act. The Governor s h a l l i s s u e r e g u l a t i o n s as provided by l a w , f o r t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n and enforcement of t h i s A c t , and such r e g u l a t i o n s s h a l l have t h e f o r c e and e f f e c t of l a w i f they are n o t i n c o n f l i c t wi th t h e expressed p r o v i s i o n s of t h i s Act o r o t h e r laws of t h e of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s . ( c ) A d i s a s t e r emergency s h a l l be dec la red by e x e c u t i v e o r d e r of t h e Governor i f he f i n d s a d i s a s t e r has occurred o r t h a t occur rence o r t h e t h r e a t the reof i s imminent. The s t a te of d i s a s t e r emergency w i l l remain i n e f f e c t u n t i l t h e Governor f i n d s t h a t t h e t h r e a t o r danger has passed o r t h a t t h e d i s a s t e r has been d e a l t w i t h t o t h e e x t e n t t h a t emergency cond i t ions no longer e x i s t and t e rmina tes t h e s t a te of d i s a s t e r emergency by execu t ive o r d e r , b u t no s t a t e of d i s a s t e r emergency may cont inue f o r longer than t h i r t y (30) days u n l e s s renewed by t h e Governor. The Governor s h a l l i s s u e an e x e c u t i v e o r d e r which may te rmina te s t a t e of d i s a s t e r a t any t i m e . An execu t ive o r d e r i s s u e d under t h i s subsec t ion s h a l l b e f i l e d promptly w i t h t h e of t h e Northerr. Mariana I s l a n d s D i s a s t e r Control O f f i c e and t h e Attorney Genera l ' s o f f i c e , and s h a l l immediately b e d isseminated t o t h e general- p u b l i c . (d) An execu t ive o r d e r d e c l a r i n g a s t a t e of d i s a s t e r emergency s h a l l t o a c t i v a t e the d i s a s t e r response and recovery Page 6 of 19 l the Commonwealth Northern Mari.:rna \l 2 !'. ;; i( ,, 3 i\ Under the Governor issue ; H 4 regulations amend or " ti ;i 5 ii promulgated accordance ii 6 p ti 1; 7 ii ;; ,. i! \i :I 8 ,. j' ,! 9 ( . . , ' ,, H 10 q Commonwealth " j\ I! 11 ll 12 !! i I I I 13 I 14 I i 15 I 16 ! •! 1, 17 I ! 18 I 19 a ! ii ,, ii 20 emergency i1 lj 21 p Commonwealth !: ii Ii 22 :, ,, •! h 23 I ,, I· !! !i 24 n ii !i !i 25 ~i serve !' ti ,! !j li :1 'I " 1 of o f I s l a n d s , 2 and a p p l i c a b l e t o the 3 subd iv i s ions o r area i n ques t i on , and t h e a u t h o r i t y f o r 4 use of forces p lan o r p l ans apply , and 5 f o r use o r of any s u p p l i e s , equipment and materials and 6 f a c i l i t i e s assembled, s t ockp i l ed o r a r ranged , t o be made a v a i l a b l e 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 4 15 16 1 7 pursuant t o t h i s Act o r any o t h e r p rov i s ion of l a w r e l a t i n g t o d i s a s t e r ( e ) During t h e cont inuance of any s ta te of d i s a s t e r emergency, t h e Governor s h a l l b e i n charge of a l l f o r c e s and pe r sonne l , and he s h a l l d e l e g a t e o r a s s i g n command a u t h o r i t y by p r i o r arrangement embodied i n a p p r o p r i a t e r e g u l a t i o n s , b u t no th ing h e r e i n restricts h i s a u t h o r i t y t o do so by execu t ive o r d e r s i s sued a t t h e t i m e of t h e d i s a s t e r emergency. Governor by l a w , he may, du r ing a s ta te of d i s a s t e r emergency: I n a d d i t i o n t o any o t h e r powers confer red upon t h e Suspend t h e p rov i s ions of any r e g u l a t o r y s t a t u t e p r e s c r i b i n g t h e procedures f o r conduct of t h e Commonwealth of t h e 1 9 Northern Mariana I s l a n d s ' bus ines s , o r t h e o r d e r s , r u l e s , o r r e g u l a t i o n s 20 of any Commonwealth of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s a c t i v i t y o r agency, 2 1 i f s t r i c t compliance w i t h t h e p rov i s ion of any such s t a t u t e , o r d e r , 2 2 r u l e o r r e g u l a t i o n would i n any way prevent , h inde r , o r de l ay necessary 23 24 (2) U t i l i z e a l l a v a i l a b l e r e sou rces t h e Commonwealth a c t i o n i n coping t h e emergency; 25 of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s as reasonably necessary t o cope w i t h t h e Page 7 of 1 9 ·-·- ---------· 18 aspects the Commonw1,•al th the Nortluirn Mariana intcrjurisdictional disaster emergency plans politi.cal deployment and any distribution emergencies. (f) (1) with to which the locnl the of 1 of of Mnriana Islands; 2 ( 3 ) Trans fe r d i r e c t i o n , pe r sonne l , o r f u n c t i o n s of 3 t h e Commonwealth of Northern Mnriana I s l a n d s ' and 4 o r u n i t s the reof f o r t h e purpose of o r f a c i l i t a t i n g 5 emergency s e r v i c e s ; 6 ( 4 ) Subject t o any a p p l i c a b l e requirements f o r 7 compensation under S e c t i o n 10 of t h i s Act, u t i l i z e any p r i v a t e p r o p e r t y 8 i f he f i n d s t h i s necessa ry t o cope w i t h t h e d i s a s t e r emergency; PROVIDED, 9 however, t h a t any p roper ty t h a t is n o t des t royed o r t o t a l l y damaged 10 11 1 2 13 14 15 16 1 7 18 1 9 20 2 1 22 23 2 4 25 s h a l l b e re tu rned t o t h e owner immediately fo l lowing t h e t e rmina t ion of d i s a s t e r emergency; ( 5 ) D i r e c t and t h e evacuat ion of a l l o r p a r t of t h e popu la t ion from any s t r i c k e n o r th rea tened area w i t h i n t h e Commonwealth of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s i f he deems t h i s a c t i o n i s necessa ry f o r t h e p r e s e r v a t i o n of l i f e o r p u b l i c h e a l t h o r s a f e t y ; PROVIDED, however, t h a t any person s o evacuated s h a l l be pe rmi t t ed t o r e t u r n t o t h e p l a c e from which he o r s h e w a s evacuared fol lowing t h e t e rmina t ion of t h e d i s a s t e r emergency; ( 6 ) P r e s c r i b e r o u t e s , modes of t r a n s p o r t a t i o n , and d e s t i n a t i o n i n connect ion wi th evacuat ion; ( 7 ) Control i n g r e s s and engress t o and from a d i s a s t e r area, t h e movement of persons w i t h i n t h e area, and t h e occupancy of premises t h e r e i n ; (8) Suspend o r l i m i t t h e d i s p e n s i n g o r t r a n s p o r t a t i o n of a l c o h o l i c beverages , firearms, explosives, and 8 of 19 djsaster emergency the Commonwealth the the agencies such the compel Page the Northern sale, departments performing immediately > . 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 11 1 2 1 3 1 4 1 5 1 6 1 7 1 9 20 . 23 i b l ; ( 9 ) fo r t h e rise of . Sec t ion 6. of' Northern I-. D i s a s t e r Control O f f i c e . ( a ) i s h r r cby Disaster Cont ro l O f f i c e , which f o r a d m i n i s t r a t i v e purposes o n l y , s h a l l be w i t h i n t h e Department P u b l i c Safe ty . O f f i c e r t o be appoin ted by t h e Governor wi th t h e adv ice and consent of t h e Senate. The O f f i c e r sha l l b e under t h e g e n e r a l s u p e r v i s i o n of t h e Governor and s h a l l coord ina te h i s a c t i v i t i e s w i t h t h e D i r e c t o r o f Pub l i c Sa fe ty . p r o f e s s i o n a l , t e c h n i c a l , s e c r e t a r i a l , and c l e r i ca l employees as may be necessary f o r t h e per fornance of h i s f u n c t i o n s , pursuant t o budgetary appropr i a t ions . The O f f i c e s h a l l be supervised a Disaster The O f f i c e r s h a l l have a p lanning o f f i c e r , and o t h e r (b) The Disaster Cont ro l O f f i c e r shall p r e p a r e end t h e Commonwealth of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s ' d i s a s t e r and keep i t c u r r e n t , which p l a n inc lude : (1) Prevent ion and minimiza t ion of i n j u r y and damage caused by d i s a s t e r ; (2 ) Prompt and e f f e c t i v e response t o d i s a s t e r ; ( 3 ) r e l i e f ; ( 4 ) I d e n t i f i c a t i o n of a r e a s p a r t i c u l a r l y i Page 9 of 1 9 combus1. es .'.lnd Make provisions temporary emergency housing. The Cornmonwen]th availability and the Ma.rian.a Is l.L .d.s. established the 8 1.0 18 21 22 of 24 to disaster; 25 by Cnntrol maintain plan rr.ay Emergency vulnerable (5) f o r codes , and 2 3 5 t h e i r 6 (6 ) t o l o c a l i n des ign ing l o c a l o t h e r land-use f o r s ecu r ing o r o r s t r u c t u r e s , and o t h e r p r e v e n t a t i v e and preparedness measures t o e l i m i n a t e reduce d i s a s t e r s o r , I 7 emergency a c t i o n p lans ; i (7) Author iza t ion procedures f o r t h e e r e c t i o n o r o t h e r c o n s t r u c t i o n of temporary works designed t o p r o t e c t a g a i n s t o r m i t i g a t e danger, damage, o r l o s s from f lood , c o n f l a g r a t i o n , o r o t h e r 9 10 11 d i s a s tcrs ; t i (8) P r e p a r a t i o n t o t h e a p p r o p r i a t e 13 14 Commonwealth of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s o f f i c i a l s of c a t a l o g s of Federa l , governmental, and p r i v a t e a s s i s t a n c e programs; 1 7 d i s a s t e r a c t i v i t i e s ; I (9) Organizat ion of manpower and c h a i n of command; 1 6 (10) Coordinat ion of Federa l , governmental and l o c a l I 3.8 (11) of t h e Commonwealth of t h e Northern I 20 S t a t e s Government; and 2 1 ( 1 2 ) Other necessary and a p p r o p r i a t e matters r e l a t i n g 19 Mariana I s l a n d s ' d i s a s t e r w i t h t h e d i s a s t e r p lans f o r t h e United 3 I 22 t o d i s a s t e r r e l i e f and a s s i s t a n c e and t o t h e maintenance and upkeep of 23 t h e d i s a s t e r preparedness s t a t e emergency p lan . 24 25 ( c ) The Disaster Control Of f ice s h a l l take an i n t e g r a l p a r t i n t h e development and r e v i s i o n of l o c a l d i sas te r p lans prepared under ! 10 o f ,. " ,. 11 1! 11 I. ll 'I !1 n g .. n ll H I! !' :! I! j'. " ,, r i! 1: a I' ti ~ i ,, ii ;; q i) ,; ;; d 1i 1: 'i p ·, > 1 4 E 1? 15 Recommen<latlons zoning, building controls, safety measures mobile homes other nonpermanent semipermanent designed or impacts; Assistance officials and and distribution Co.:,rdination plan Page 19 2 3 4 5 6 ' 7 8 9 1 0 11 1 2 1 3 14 15 1 6 , 17 1 9 2 0 2 1 22 2 3 24 25 Sec t ion 7 o f A c t , To end i t s h a l l employ o r o the rwise s e r v i c e s of p r o f e s s i o n a l personnel capab le of e x p e r t a s s i s t a n c e t o p o l i t i c a l s u b d i v i s i o n s , t h e i r d i s a s t e r agenc ies , and i n t e r j u r i s d i c t i o n a l p lanning and s a s t c r agenc ies . These personnel s h a l l wi th t h e Governor and l o c a l agenc ies on a r e g u l a r l y scheduled b a s i s and s h a l l make f i e l d examinations of t h e areas, circumstances and c o n d i t i o n s t o which p a r t i c u l a r l o c a l and i n t e r j u r i s d i c t i o n a l d i s a s t e r p l a n s a r e in tended t o app ly , and may suggest r e v i s i o n s . (d) I n p repar ing and r e v i s i n g t h e Commonwealth of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s ' d i s a s t e r p lan , t h e Eisaster Control O f f i c e s h a l l seek t h e adv ice and a s s i s t a n c e of l o c a l government, b u s i n e s s , l a b o r , i n d u s t r y , a g r i c u l t u r e , c iv ic and v o l u n t e e r o r g a n i z a t i o n s , and community l e a d e r s . I n a d v i s i n g l o c a l agenc ies , t h e Disaster Control O f f i c e s h a l l encourage them a l s o t o seek adv ice from t h e s e sources . ( e ) The Commonwealth of t h e Northern I s l a n d s ' d i s a s t e r p lan , o r any p a r t t h e r e o f , may be incorpora ted i n r e g u l a t i o n s of t h e Governor o r o r d e r s which have t h e f o r c e and e f f e c t of l a w . The Disaster Control O f f i c e s h a l l : (1) Determine requirements f o r t h e Commonwealth of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s and the p o l i t i c a l s u b d i v i s i o n s the reof f o r food, and o t h e r necessit ies i n t h e event of an emergency; ( 2 ) Coordinate wi th a p p r o p r i a t e government agenc ies t o procure , and p re- pos i t ion s u p p l i e s , medicines, materials, and equipment; Page 11 of ·-·---··· l thl.s this secure and technical providi.ng dj consult Mariana ,, 18 execative (f) clothing 19 ( 3 ) t e and f o r ( 4 ) (5) ( 6 ) P e r l y local. d i s a s t e r ; f o r suppor t E s t a b l i s h and o r assist p o l i t i c a l subd iv i s ions and their t o and ope ra t e , t r a i n i n g programs and programs of p u b l i c in format ion ; (7) Make of i n d u s t r i e s , r e sou rces , and f a c i l i t i e s w i th in t h e Commonwealth of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s , both p u b l i c and p r i v a t e , as are necessary t o c a r r y o u t t h e purposes of t h i s (8) P lan and make arrangements f o r t h e a v a i l a b i l i t y and use of any p r i v a t e f a c i l i t i e s , s e r v i c e s and p rope r ty , and i f i n f a c t used, p rovide f o r payment f o r such u s e under t e r m s and c o n d i t i o n s agreed upon o r under t h e p rov i s ions of Sec t ion 10 of t h i s A c t i n t h e absence of such agreement; (9) E s t a b l i s h a r e g i s t e r of persons w i t h types of t r a i n i n g and s k i l l s important i n emergency p r e v e n t i o r , p reparedness , response and recovery; (10) E s t a b l i s h a r e g i s t e r of mobile and c o n s t r u c t i o n equipment and temporary housing a v a i l a b l e f o r use i n a d i s a s t e r emergency; (11) A s s i s t t h e Governor i n t h e p r e p a r a t i o n of execu t ive o rde r s and r e g u l a t i o n s a s necessary o r a p p r o p r i a t e i n coping w i t h d i s a s t e r s ; of 19 n 1 l'romulga general standards r(\q u:i reme.nts ,. ;, 2 .. ";i local disaster plans; .. !1 H 3 " lodical revjew plans '.i H It 4 Provide mobile •.1nlts; lj 5 !. ti ' operate, i !, 6 H disaster agen~les establish " f[ ii 7 H 'I I, H 8 lj I 5 surveys i i lC ii ;1 lJ ,. " Act. l! u !! jl 1~ 1~ 1~ H u H 1S 2( 21 2:1 lj 2~ !1 ,. 2~ 'I i! 2~ ;, :1 {l l' d ll ii 11 H I; Page 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1 2 13 1 4 1 5 1 6 1 7 18 1 9 20 2 1 22 2 3 24 25 the United S t a t e s Government and p u b l i c o r p r i v a t e agency o r e n t i t y i n ach iev ing any purpose t h i s A c t i n programs f o r d i s a s t e r p r e p a r a t i o n , response and recovery; and ( 1 3 ) Do o t h e r t h i n g s necessa ry , o r a p p r o p r i a t e f o r t h e implementation of t h i s A c t . Sec t ion 7. Local Disaster Agencies and Serv ices . (a) Each p o l i t i c a l s u b d i v i s i o n w i t h i n t h e Commonwealth of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s s h a l l , f o r purposes of t h i s Act, be w i t h i n the of and served by t h e Commonwealth of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s Disaster Control Of f ice . (b) The Governor s h a l l de termine which p o l i t i c a l s u b d i v i s i o n s w i t h i n t h e of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s need d i s a s t e r agencies of t h e i r own and r e q u i r e t h a t they b e e s t a b l i s h e d and PROVIDED, however, t h a t t h e Governor s h a l l make a v a i l a b l e o r seek sources of any funds he f e e l s t o b e necessa ry f o r such a g e n c i e s t o be e s t a b l i s h e d and H e s h a l l make h i s de te rmina t ion on t h e s of each p o l i t i c a l s u b d i v i s i o n ' s d i s a s t e r v u l n e r a b i l i t y and c a p a b i l i t y of response r e l a t e d t o popu la t ion , s i z e and c o n c e n t r a t i o n . The Disaster Ccn t ro l O f f i c e s h a l l p u b l i s h and keep c u r r e n t a l i s t of p o l i t i c a l s u b d i v i s i o n s r e q u i r e d t o have d i s a s t e r agenc ies under t h i s subsec t ion . Any of t h i s Act o r o t h e r l a w t o t h e c o n t r a r y notwi ths tanding, t h e Governor may r e q u i r e a p o l i t i c a l s u b d i v i s i o n t o e s t a b l i s h and mainta in d i s a s t e r agency j o i n t l y one o r more Page 13 of 19 (12) Cooperate with any of i.mplemen ting prevention, incidental jurisdiction Commonwealth 111-'lintained. (c) provisions a with 1 9 20 21 22 23 24 25 1 2 3 p o l i t i c a l subd iv i s ions , i f he f i n d s t h a t t h e e s t ab l i shmen t and maintenance of a n agency o r p a r t i c i p a t i o n is made necessary by circumstances o r cond i t i ons t h a t make unusua l ly t o d i s a s t e r Preparedness , response o r recovery s e r v i c e s under o t h e r of t h i s Act; PROVIDED, however, t h a t t h e Governor s h a l l make a v a i l a b l e o r s eek sou rces of any funds he f e e l s t o be necessary f o r such agenc i e s t o be e s t a b l i s h e d and maintained. (d) Each p o l i t i c a l s u b d i v i s i o n which does n o t have a d i s a s t e r agency and has n o t made arrangements t o s e c u r e o r p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e s e r v i c e s of an agency s h a l l have a l i a i s o n o f f i c e r de s igna t ed t o f a c i l i t a t e t h e coopera t ion and p r o t e c t i o n of t h a t s u b d i v i s i o n i n t h e work of d i s a s t e r p revent ion , p reparedness , response and recovery. (e) The mayors of each p o l i t i c a l s u b d i v i s i o n i n t h e Commonwealth of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s s h a l l n o t i f y t h e Disaster Control Of f i ce of t h e manner i n which t h e p o l i t i c a l s u b d i v i s i o n is provid ing o r s ecu r ing d i s a s t e r p lanning and emergency services, i d e n t i f y t h e persons who head t h e agency which t h e s e r v i c e ob ta ined , and f u r n i s h a d d i t i o n a l in format ion r e l z t i n g t h e r e t o as t h e Disaster Cont ro l Of f i ce r e q u i r e s . The mayors o r o t h e r p r i n c i p a l execu t ive o f f i c e r s h a l l p repare and keep c u r r e n t a d i s a s t e r emergency p l an f o r i ts area. mayors o r o t h e r p r i n c i p a l execu t ive o f f i c e r s h a l l p repare and d i s t r i b u t e t o a p p r o p r i a t e o f f i c i a l s i n w r i t t e n form a c l e a r and complete s ta tement of t h e emergency r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s of a l l local. agenc ies and o f f i c i a l s of t h e d i s a s t e r cha in of command of Page 1 4 of 1 9 contiguous provide !, l 1 1 1 Ii 1 l I' ,; 1 1 18 (f) prevention, provisions (g) The all and therein it difficult from 2 3 5 6 Mayors' IN STATE OF EMERGENCY. A l oca l dec l a r ed only by t h e Governor o r by the p r i n c i p a l execu t ive o f f i c e r of a p o l i t i c a l subd iv i s ion islands. It s h a l l n o t be cont inued f o r a per iod i n excess of seven ( 7 ) days. Any o r d e r o r proclamation d e c l a r i n g , con t inu ing , o r a l o c a l d i s a s t e r emergency s h a l l be given prompt and gene ra l p u b l i c i t y and s h a l l b e f i l e d w i th t h e Disaster Cont ro l O f f i c e and t h e O f f i c e of t h e Attorney General . (b ) The e f f e c t of a d e c l a r a t i o n of a l o c a l d i sas te r emergency i s t o act ivate t h e response and recovery a s p e c t s of any and a l l a p p l i c a b l e l o c a l d i s a s t e r emergency p l a n s and t o a u t h o r i z e t h e f u r n i s h i n g of a i d and a s s i s t a n c e thereunder . ( c ) I n t h e event t h a t t h e Governor d e c l a r e s a s ta te of emergency pursuant t o Ar t ic le Sec t ion 10 of t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n , t h e s e v e r a l mayors s h a l l act as t h e p r i n c i p a l l o c a l o f f i c i a l s f o r coo rd ina t ing wi th Disaster Control f o r t h e m o b i l i z a t i o n of resources and meeting emergency c o n d i t i o n s i n t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e c o n s t i t u e n c i e s . (d) The Resident Department Heads of Rota and s h a l l make a v a i l a b l e t o r e s p e c t i v e mayors a l l t h e necessary personnel , equipment, and suppor t necessary t o c a r r y o u t t h e purpose of t h i s Act. of 19 I 1 7 a 9 L 10 L 11 1! 13 ,, ,, i: 14 H ii 15 'I 16 ; !i 17 1: i' 18 i· ti :; ,, r 19 Ii Ii 20 !i f! 21 ( ;1 n 22 ' 1' ii 23 ,: t 24 .25 each political subdivision. Sect-Jon 8. Locnl Disaster E~~'rgencies, a 1 1d D u t i e s. (a) disaster emergency may be withiu the Northern Hariar,a terminating III, activitie-:, Tinian the government Page 15 1 5 6 8 9 10 11 i 1 3 3.4 1 5 1 6 I ' 1 7 18 19 20 21 22 I 23 24 25 Sec t ion 9. - (a) I n a d d i t i o n t o d i s a s t e r as included i n t h e Commonwealth of t h e Mariana ' is lands d i s a s t e r p l a n , t h e Governor s h a l l cons ide r , on a con t inu ing b a s i s , s t e p s t h a t could be taken t o o r reduce harmful consequences of d i s a s t e r . A t h i s d i r e c t i o n , pursuant t o any o t h e r a u t h o r i t y and they have, t h e Commonwealth of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s ' agenc ies , inc lud ing b u t no t l i m i t e d t o those charged w i t h r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s i n connect ion wi th f l o o d p l a i n management, stream encroachment and f low r e g u l a t i o n s , weather modi f i ca t ion , f i r e p reven t ion and c o n t r o l , a i r q u a l i t y , p u b l i c works, l and use and land- use planning, and c o n s t r u c t i o n s t a n d a r d s , s h a l l make s t u d i e s of d i s a s t e r p reven t ion r e l a t e d matters. The Governor, from t i m e to t i m e , s h a l l make recommendations t o t h e L e g i s l a t u r e of t h e Northern I s l a n d s , l o c a l government and o t h e r a p p r o p r i a t e p u b l i c and p r i v a t e e n t i t i e s as may f a c i l i t a t e measures f o r p reven t ion o r r e d u c t i o n of t h e harmful consequences of d i s a s t e r s . (b) The Marianas P u b l i c Land of t h e of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s i n con junc t ion t h e Disaster Control Of f ice , s h a l l keep l and uses and c o n s t r u c t i o n of s t r u c t u r e s and o t h e r f a c i l i t i e s under con t inu ing s tudy and i d e n t i f y areas which are p a r t i c u l a r l y s u s c e p t i b l e t o severe l a n d s h i f t i n g , subsidence, f l o o d o r o t h e r c a t a s t r o p h i c occurrences . The s t u d i e s under t h i s s u b s e c t i o n s h a l l c o n c e n t r a t e on means of reducing o r avoiding t h e danger caused by t h e s e occurrences o r the consequences t h e r e o f . Page 1 6 o i 1 9 2 3 4 7 12 Disaster l'rcventlon. pre-✓ent and Northein the Mariana prevention measures competence Corporation Comrnc,nwealth with 1 (c) t h e D i s a s t e r Control b e l i e v e , on t h e b a s i s of 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 11 12 1 3 1 4 1 5 1 6 1 7 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 the s t u d i e s o r o t h e r is to a d i s a s t e r of c a t a s t r o p h i c p ropor t ions wi thout adequate warning , t h a t e x i s t i n g b u i l d i n g s t a n d a r d s and c o n t r o l s i n t h a t a r e a are inadequate and could add s u b s t a n t i a l l y t o t h e magnitude of t h e d i s a s t e r , and t h a t changes i n zoning r e g u l a t i o n s , o t h e r land-use r e g u l a t i o n s o r b u i l d i n g requirements are e s s e n t i a l i n o r d e r t o f u r t h e r t h e purposes of t h i s Sec t ion , i t s h a l l s p e c i f y t h e e s s e n t i a l changes t h e Governor. I f t h e Governor's review of recommendation t h a t t h e changes are e s s e n t i a l , he s h a l l s o recommend t o t h e a g e n c i e s wi th j u r i s d i c t i o n over t h e area and s u b j e c t matter. i n s u f f i c i e n t a c t i o n pursuant t o t h i s recommendation i s taken w i t h i n t h e I f no a c t i o n o r t i m e s p e c i f i e d by t h e Governor, he s h a l l so inform t h e L e g i s l a t u r e t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s and r e q u e s t l e g i s l a t i v e a c t i o n a p p r o p r i a t e t o m i t i g a t e t h e impact of d i s a s t e r . Sec t ion 10. Compensation, ( a ) Each person w i t h t h e Commonwealth of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s s h a l l conduct himself and keep and manage h i s a f f a i r s and p roper ty i n ways t h a t w i l l reasonably assist and w i l l n o t unreasonably d e t r a c t from t h e a b i l i t y of t h e Government and t h e p u b l i c s u c c e s s f u l l y t o m e e t d i s a s t e r emergencies. (b) No p e r s o n a l s e r v i c e s v o l u n t a r i l y rendered f o r emergency d i s a s t e r a s s i s t a n c e , r e l i e f preparedness o r response may be compensated by t h e Commonwealth of t h e Northern Mariana I s l a n d s o r any o r agency t h e r e o f , except t o s t a t u t e o r l o c a l l a w o r o rd inance . Page 1.7 of 19 If Off I.ct> competent evidence, that an area susceptible land-use to the finds of 18 subdivision pursuant http://subdivisi.cn -- I - 1 ( c ) for be on ly i f t h e 2 was o r i t i coping w i t h a d i s a s t e r 3 i t s u s e o r was by Governor o r a member 4 t h e d i s a s t e r emergency f o r c e s of of t h e 5 Marinna I s l a n d s . 6 Any c la iming compensation f o r t h e u se , damage, 7 l o s s o r d e s t r u c t i o n of p roper ty under t h i s A c t s h a l l f i l e a c la im 8 t h e r e f o r w i t h i n (1) year a f t e r t h e claim f i r s t a r o s e w i t h 9 O f f i c e of t h e Attorney General who s h a l l r e g u l a t i o n s i 1 0 governing procedures f o r such compensation. 11 1 2 13 O f f i c e of t h e Attorney General , t h e amount of compensation s h a l l b e 1 4 15 u n i n t e r e s t e d a s s e s s o r s t o be s e l e c t e d i n t h e fo l lowing manner: One by , 1 6 I 17 two. 18 Sec t ion 11. Communications. The Disaster O f f i c e s h a l l 1 9 a s c e r t a i n what means e x i s t f o r r a p i d and e f f i c i e n t communications i n 20 t imes of d i sas te r emergencies. The O f f i c e shall cons ide r t h e 2 1 d e s i r a b i l i t y of supplementing t h e s e communications r e s o u r c e s o r 22 i n t e g r a t i n g i n t o comprehensive Commonwealth of t h e Northern 23 Mariana I s l a n d s o r Commonwealth of t h e Northern Mariana I s l ands- Federa l 24 systems o r networks. I n s tudy ing t h e c h a r a c t e r (e ) Unless amount of compensation on account of p r o p e r t y damaged, l o s t o r des t royed is agreed upon t h e c la imant and t h e , c a l c u l a t e d according t o f a i r market v a l u e as determined by t h r e e t h e c la imant , one by t h e At torney General and t h e t h i r d t h e f i r s t i i 25 f e a s i b i l i t y of any system o r i ts s e v e r a l p a r t s , t h e Of f i ce s h a l l I Page 1.8 of 19 Com1wnsat ton property shaJL prop ct·ty commandcerc>d othe1·wise used emergency and destruction ordered the of the Commonwealth Northern (d) person one the promulgate the between by Control of them telecommunications and 1 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 4 , 15 1 6 I , 18 19 , 20 2 1 22 23 24 25 b i t y of thereof g e n e r a l of Northern I s l a n d s purposes. O f f i c e shall. make recommendations t o t h e Governor as a p p r o p r i a t e . Sec t ion 1 2 . Weather Modif ica t ion. The. Disaster Control O f f i c e s h a l l cont inuously a p p r a i s e weather c o n d i t i o n s which p r e s e n t danger o r p r e c i p i t a t i o n o r o t h e r c l i m a t i c a c t i v i t y severe t o c o n s t i t u t e a d i s a s t e r . I f t h e O f f i c e determines t h a t p r e c i p i t a t i o n may r e s u l t from modi f i ca t ion o p e r a t i o n s , e i t h e r by i t s e l f o r i n con junc t ion w i t h o t h e r p r e c i p i t a t i o n o r cl imatic c o n d i t i o n s o r ac t iv i t i e s , would create o r t o t h e s e v e r i t y of a d i s a s t e r , i t sha l l d i r e c t t h e o f f i c e r o r agency empowered t o i s s u e pe rmi t s f o r weather m o d i f i c a t i o n , ! I o p e r a t i o n s t o suspend t h e i s s u a n c e of t h e permits . pe rmi t s may be i s s u e d u n t i l t h e O f f i c e informs t h e o f f i c e s o r agency t h a t danger has passed. Thereupon, no Sec t ion 13. E f f e c t i v e Date. This A c t s h a l l t a k e e f f e c t upon i ts approval by t h e Governor, o r upon i t s becoming l a w wi thou t such approva l . t h e Northern Marianas Page. of 1 9 Ii evaluate the possi li 2 Commonwealth the 3 The 4 5 6 7 17 weather contribute for multipurpose use Marinna governmental enough whi.ch Ctct-~'i,/ f > 1979 --------'=-----= Francisco JJ": Ada Acting .Governor ~~ on"1ealth of ---· 19