Senate Concurrent Resolution 102 - Introduced SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 102 BY McCOY , ANDERSON , JOCHUM , DOTZLER , SENG , GRONSTAL , COURTNEY , TAYLOR , PETERSEN , HART , BOLKCOM , RAGAN , MATHIS , BRASE , BEALL , SCHOENJAHN , QUIRMBACH , BLACK , HORN , HATCH , DEARDEN , CHAPMAN , DIX , BEHN , BERTRAND , BOWMAN , BREITBACH , CHELGREN , DANIELSON , DVORSKY , ERNST , FEENSTRA , GARRETT , GREINER , GUTH , HOGG , JOHNSON , KAPUCIAN , ROZENBOOM , SCHNEIDER , SEGEBART , SINCLAIR , SMITH , SODDERS , WHITVER , WILHELM , ZAUN , and ZUMBACH A Concurrent Resolution urging the Federal Emergency 1 Management Agency to reverse its unilateral 2 decision to place new and unachievable conditions 3 on the eligibility of the Department of Homeland 4 Security and Emergency Management, rural 5 electric cooperatives, and municipal utilities to 6 receive storm recovery funding in the event of a 7 presidential major disaster declaration. 8 WHEREAS, since February 2007, Iowa has experienced 9 19 presidential disaster declarations resulting in 10 rural electric cooperative and municipal utility system 11 damage in nearly every instance; and 12 WHEREAS, during presidential major disaster 13 declarations occurring in 2007 and 2010, rural 14 electric cooperatives and municipal utilities incurred 15 particularly significant and widespread system 16 damage; and 17 WHEREAS, the Federal Emergency Management Agency 18 adopted policy 9580.6, Electric Utility Repair, in 19 2009, to establish criteria to determine eligibility 20 -1- LSB 5379XS (6) 85 rn/rj 1/ 4

S.C.R. 102 for repair or replacement of disaster-damaged electric 1 distribution and transmission systems under the 2 authority of rural electric cooperatives, municipal 3 utilities, public power districts, and other public 4 entities following a presidential major disaster 5 declaration; and 6 WHEREAS, since 2009 the Federal Emergency Management 7 Agency has followed and applied policy 9580.6 in 8 Iowa which resulted in the receipt of storm recovery 9 funding by rural electric cooperatives and municipal 10 utilities; and 11 WHEREAS, three Iowa distribution cooperatives, 12 Iowa Lakes Electric Cooperative, Lyon Rural Electric 13 Cooperative, and Osceola Electric Cooperative; one 14 municipal utility, Sanborn Municipal Electric Utility; 15 and one transmission cooperative, L and O Power 16 Cooperative submitted applications for storm recovery 17 funding based upon damage suffered during a late winter 18 storm which resulted in a presidential major disaster 19 declaration issued on May 6, 2013; and 20 WHEREAS, the Federal Emergency Management Agency 21 elected to ignore policy 9580.6 and denied the 22 applications to rebuild damaged transmission and 23 distribution lines in the manner funded by the agency 24 since 2007, stating that the utilities had failed to 25 perform physical testing of their lines before and 26 after the storm; and 27 WHEREAS, for the first time in the nation, the 28 Federal Emergency Management Agency has determined that 29 these utilities have not been able to substantiate 30 -2- LSB 5379XS (6) 85 rn/rj 2/ 4

S.C.R. 102 that their conductor was in good repair and was 1 properly maintained prior to the storm event because 2 unprecedented physical testing of their overhead lines 3 was not performed; and 4 WHEREAS, the Iowa Utilities Board requires 5 electric utilities to prepare and submit for approval 6 reliability plans and to perform system inspections to 7 ensure that their systems are well maintained, safe, 8 and reliable; and 9 WHEREAS, the Federal Emergency Management Agency 10 has been provided copies of the reliability plans and 11 inspection reports for the applicant cooperatives and 12 utilities, all of which substantiate that their systems 13 were well maintained prior to the storm; and 14 WHEREAS, the testing required by the Federal 15 Emergency Management Agency in ignoring policy 9580.6 16 is not required by any federal, state, or local 17 regulatory body, is not performed as a matter of 18 industry practice, and is not known to satisfy any 19 industry or engineering standard; and 20 WHEREAS, the loss of Federal Emergency Management 21 Agency storm recovery funds will have a significant 22 detrimental financial impact on Iowa’s rural electric 23 cooperatives and their member consumers and on Iowa’s 24 municipal utilities and their customers; NOW THEREFORE, 25 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, THE HOUSE OF 26 REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING, That the Federal Emergency 27 Management Agency and specifically the Federal 28 Emergency Management Agency Region VII are urged to 29 reconsider their detrimental policy decision denying 30 -3- LSB 5379XS (6) 85 rn/rj 3/ 4

S.C.R. 102 storm recovery funding for the applicant utilities and 1 to return to the application of policy 9580.6 which was 2 in place prior to this abrupt change; and 3 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this 4 resolution be sent to Mr. Craig Fugate, Federal 5 Emergency Management Agency Administrator; Ms. Beth 6 Freeman, Director, Federal Emergency Management Agency 7 Region VII, and to the members of Iowa’s congressional 8 delegation. 9 -4- LSB 5379XS (6) 85 rn/rj 4/ 4