Texas Governor Greg Abbott requested a presidential disaster declaration for the state of Texas in a letter sent to US President Joe Biden on February 7.
“I am respectfully asking that you declare a major disaster for the state of Texas as a result of the severe storms and tornadoes that hit Harris, Jefferson, Liberty and Orange counties on January 24,” Abbott said in the letter .
“Pursuant to 44 CFR § 206.36, I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that an effective response is beyond the capabilities of affected state and local governments and that additional federal assistance is necessary to save lives and protect public property, health and safety,” Abbott added in the letter.
The request to declare a major disaster for Texas is in response to an analysis of damage in counties affected by tornado activity, the governor’s office noted, adding that it came after a review of disaster damage information self-reported by Texans through the Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool (iSTAT) Surveys.
If Abbott’s request for a presidential disaster declaration is accepted, residents of the designated counties would be eligible for individual assistance, including Individuals and Households (IA) programs; Attention to other needs (ONA); Crisis counseling; Disaster Unemployment Assistance; Legal assistance in case of disaster; Disaster case management; and Direct Federal Assistance, the governor’s office described.
On Jan. 26, Abbott issued a disaster declaration for affected communities in southeast Texas and on Jan. 30 updated the declaration to include additional affected counties, the governor’s office noted.
As of this writing, the briefing room section of the White House website has made no mention of Abbott’s recent disaster declaration request. On February 6, the newsroom section revealed that Biden had approved a disaster declaration for North Dakota.
“President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared a major disaster in the state of North Dakota and ordered federal assistance to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in areas affected by a severe winter storm, blizzard, and line winds from November 9 to November 11, 2022,” said a statement posted on the White House website.
Proven Texas NatGas Supply Chain
In a statement posted on its website on February 6, the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) said that for the second time this winter, the state’s natural gas supply chain was tested and performed according to needed to keep the heat on and the lights on “for millions and millions” of Texans.
“Winter Storm Mara swept through Midland, the Dallas-Fort Worth area and San Antonio, blanketing several gas-producing basins in the state,” the RRC said in the statement.
“The key elements of the gas supply – production, pipeline transport and underground storage – functioned perfectly during the Arctic blowout,” the RRC added.
In the statement, the RRC noted that daily Texas natural gas production averaged more than 25 billion cubic feet per day from January 31 to February 2. The organization noted that this exceeded the daily average seen during Winter Storm Elliott in late December and daily gas production throughout last winter.
In a statement posted on its website on Feb. 1, the Texas Oil & Gas Association (TXOGA) noted that Texas’ natural gas production, processing, transmission and storage sectors continued “durable performance due to industry efforts.”
“Natural gas supplies remain strong,” TXOGA said in a statement from the organization at the time.
“Most of the weather-related issues are due to icy road conditions. There is some production loss under normal conditions. Most of the issues in the field are due to icy road conditions,” added TXOGA in the statement.
TXOGA’s site notes that the organization is the oldest and largest oil and gas trade association in Texas “representing all facets of the industry.” The RRC is the state agency with primary regulatory jurisdiction over the oil and natural gas industry, pipeline carriers, the natural gas and hazardous liquids pipeline industry, natural gas utilities, the LP gas industry, and coal and uranium surface mining operations, the RRC site. states
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