I

U.S. Departm nt of Homeland Security

Arlington, Virginia 22202

March 29,2006

Melanie Sloan, Executive Director

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
11 Dupont Circle, N.W.
2ndFloor
Washington, D.C. 20036

Re: DHS/OS/PO 05-776lSloan request

Dear Ms. Sloan:

I
This letter is the first partial response to your September 7, 2005, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request
to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). You requested any and all records relatingI to the DHS's
response to Hurricane Katrina, for the specified time frames of January 1, 200 1, to the present for Items 1
through 6, and August 26,2005, to the present for Items 7 through 19. Please note that DHV was created
January 24,2003; therefore, no DHS records exist prior to that date. Records created prior to the establishment
of DHS by any of the component DHS agencies would be maintained by those componentsand FOIA requests
for those documents should be sent directly to the FOIA Officer for that DHS component. The list of DHS
FOIA contacts can be accessed via www.DHS.gov. Specifically, you requested documents that reveal:

1. What portion of the $3.1 billion appropriated to DHS in fiscal year 2005 for emergency preparedness to
"support the Nation's ability to prepare for, mitigate against, respond to and recover fidm natural and
manmade disasters" was spent to prepare for potential hurricanes on the Gulf Coast ofthe U.S. and on
potential flooding in New Orleans;
2. the amount of money diverted from emergency preparedness for and response to naturau disasters to
emergency preparedness for and response to acts of terrorism and the rationale behind any such diversions;
3. studies, assessments, presentations, or scenarios of the potential devastation a powerful hurricane could
wreck on the Gulf Coast, including, but not limited to the eight-day tabletop exercise c
2004, and intended to prepare DHS for a catastrophic hurricane in New Orleans;
4. plans created regarding the Federal Government's response to such scenarios;
5. the potential breaching of the levees that would lead to Lake Pontchartrain flooding
response to such breaches;
6. communications from anyone employed by or associated with the Army Corps of Engineers regarding the
problems with and weakness of the levees surrounding New Orleans, the potential breaihing of the levees
and the consequences of such breaches, as well as proposed repairs or other constmctioh to the levees;
7. requests for emergency assistance from local government officials in Mississippi and ~buisianain response
to Hurricane Katrina, including but not limited to Secretary Chertoff s communications(with such officials;
8. requests from local government officials in Mississippi and Louisiana for assistance in breparing for
Hurricane Katrina, including, but not limited to communications requesting assistance in evacuating
residents of Mississippi and Louisiana from the areas in the hurricane's path;
9. communications between the White House and DHS regarding the preparations for and response to the
damage caused by Hurricane Katrina;
k
10. communications between DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff and FEMA Director Micha 1Brown regarding
the preparation for and the response to the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina;
11. communications regarding the conditions in the New Orleans Convention Center;
12. communications regarding the need for transportation to evacuate victims of the from the city of
New Orleans as well as communications regarding the need for food and water stranded in New
Orleans;
13. communications from Congressman Charles W. Boustany, Jr. (R-LA) requesting assistance and any
response to Cong. Boustany;
14. communications regarding offers by corporations and foreign governments to
Hurricane Katrina and DHS's response to such offers;
15. communications between DHS and cabinet officials, either before or after the
potential and actual devastation wrought by the hurricane and the Federal
devastation;
16. communications regarding the plan to evacuate victims of the hurricane
the misrouting of the plane carrying the evacuees to Charleston,
17. communications regarding the deployment of the National Guard to
and relief efforts;
18. communications regarding the inclusion of Operation Blessing, a
and Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson, on DHS7slist of
donate money to assist hurricane relief efforts; and
19. communications regarding the limitations placed on journalists and photographers, including, but not
limited to, efforts to prevent photographers from taking pictures of the corpses of hurdane victims in
Louisiana and Mississippi.

Our November 29,2005 letter summarized our processing of your request to-date. As detaikd in our September
14,2005 acknowledgement letter, our response to your request only pertains to DHS ~eadduarters'documents.
It is our understanding that you have already directed a similar request to the Federal ~ m e r $ e n cManagement
~
Agency (FEMA). FEMA will respond for the Department as it relates to Item 10. In addition, we referred your
request to the FOIA Officer for the United States Coast Guard (USCG), Donald Taylor, for processing and
direct response to you. You may contact USCG via telephone at (202) 267-6929 or in writing at 2100 Second
Street, SW, Washington, DC 20593.

Our September 14,2005 letter also explained that if you desire a search of other DHS offices or components,
you should send an additional request to the component(s) of interest, or request that our office broaden the
scope of our search by providing sufficient details to target the specific documents of inter4st. A listing of DHS
disclosure contacts may be found at www.DHS.gov. In processing the remaining portion of your request, this
office sought a search of the files within the Office of State and Local Coordination and th) Office of Domestic
Preparedness, with the understanding that any responsive documents located by those officbs would be
reviewed and released through this office. However, due to an administrative reorganizatioh, those offices now
fall under the Office of the Under Secretary for Preparedness, which is authorized to respond directly to FOIA
requests for records under its cognizance. Therefore, as advised on November 29,2005, out office referred
portions (Items 1 through 4, and Items 7 & 8) of your request to the FOIA Officer for the Undersecretary for
Preparedness, Sandy Ford Page, for processing and direct response to you. You may contadt Ms. Page via email
at Sandy.FordPage@dhs.gov or at (202) 282-9077.

A search was directed to all DHS employees that might have records deemed responsive
Katrina-related records. That search produced approximately 1,472 pages responsive to
those 1,472 pages, we have enclosed 13 pages as detailed below.

As it relates to Item 9 of your request, our search produced approximately 1,418

referring all 1,418 pages to the Undersecretary for Preparedness for processing
Should you wish to do so, you may contact Sandy Ford Page at the above e-mail address

As it relates to Item 14 of your request, our search produced 23 responsive pages. We are rkferring 19 of those
pages to the Undersecretary for Preparedness for processing and direct response to you. ~nblosedare the
remaining 4 pages with excisions made pursuant to Exemptions 2, 5 and 6 of the FOIA.

As it relates to Item 15 of your request, our search produced 4 responsive pages. That 4-page document is
enclosed in its entirety.

As it relates to Item 17 of your request, our search produced 27 responsive pages. We are 4 of those
pages to the Undersecretary for Preparedness (contact information is above), and 7 pages
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for processing and direct response to you. YOL ay contact the
FOIA Officer for Emergency Preparedness and Response (EP&R)/FEMA, Jeff Ovall, via ephone at (202)
646-305 1 or in writing at 500 C Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20472. In addition, we ha\ inclosed 5 pages
with excisions made pursuant to Exemptions 2 , 5 and 6 of the FOIA, while 3 pages are be :withheld in their
entirety pursuant to Exemption 5. Furthermore, a 1-page September 3,2005 letter from G :rnor Blanco to
President Bush regarding the need for a Federal Coordinating Officer is available online. , >uldyou wish to
obtain a copy of that letter, you may do so at www.gov.state.la.us. Likewise, a 4-page Au ~t30,2005 DHS
Press Release, and a 3-page August 3 1,2005 DHS Press Release, both entitled "United S1 :s Government
Response to the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina" are available online. Should you wish tc ~taincopies of
those press releases, you may do so at www.DHS.gov.

Enclosed are 13 pages with certain information withheld pursuant to Exemptions 2, 5 and )f the FOIA,
5 U.S.C. $5 552 (b)(2), (b)(5) and (b)(6). Exemption 2 (low) exempts from disclosure recl s that are related to
internal matters of a relatively trivial nature, such as internal administrative tracking. Exel tion 5 protects the
integrity of the deliberative or policy-making processes within the agency by exempting f n mandatory
disclosure opinion, conclusions, and recommendations included within inter-agency or in1 agency memoranda
or letters. Exemption 6 exempts from disclosure records the release of which would cause :learly unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy.

You have a right to appeal withholding determinations within 60 days of the date of this 11 :r. Should you wish
to do so, you must send your appeal to the General Counsel, Department of Homeland Sel ity, Washington,
DC 20528, following'the procedures outlined in Subpart a, Section 5.9, of the DHS regula ns. Your envelope
and letter should be marked "FOIA Appeal." Copies of the FOIA and regulations are avai le at
www.DHS.gov.

Our office continues to process your request. Please refer to DHS/OS/PO 05-776lSloan r uest in any future
correspondence. We appreciate your patience as we proceed on your request.

Deputy Director, Departmental I :losure & FOIA

Enclosures: 13 pages
Item 14
Prom: Arcos, Cresencio [IO=DHS ORGIOU=FIRST ADMIMSTR,4TIVE
GROL.rPICN=RECIPIENTSICN=CRESENCIOARCOS]
Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2005 3 43 PM
To: Jackson, Plichael (DepSec), Wood, John (COS)
Cc: Stephan, Bob; Isles, Adam; Fujimura, Paul; Gong, Ted; Marmaud, Karen, Web Scott; 'Lens,
Casey', blayer, Man, 'Camatti, Ashley', 'Thompson, Carol', ' ( bb - 1
Subject: Singapore ArliFt in Katrjna Disaster Relief Ops

I just received a call from the Singapore Embassy in Washington from Samuel Tan,'Acting I W. He said that
Ambassador Chen wants Secretary Chertoff to know that Singapore has deployed to Ft Pol guisiana three
Chinook helicopters which were in training with the Texas Air National Guard. They will be 6 of the Texas Air
National Guard contingency being deployed to help out in the Katrina disaster relief operatic . The heli-crew will
consist of 38 Singaporean airmen and 12 Texas Air Guard airmen. The deployment is initia for two weeks. I
profusely thanked Mr. Tan on behalf of DHS and the Administration and expressed the Am€ an people's
gratitude. Cris
From : Arcos, Cresencio [IO=DHS ORGIOU=F CRST ADMl3llSTRATlVE
GROUPICN=RECIPENTSICN=CRESENCIOARCOS]
Seut: Tt~ursday,September 01, 3005 10 25 Abl
To: Jacltson, Michael (DepSec), Wood, John (COS)
Cc: 1sles, Adam, Marmaud, Karen. May er, Matt, 'Cannatti, Ashley ', Weber, Scott, 'Thl ~pson,Carol';
b6 >
Subject: Tsrael's offer of Assistance

Israeli Ambassador Daniel Ayalon called this morning to express his condolences on the Katrir disaster. He also
offered Israel's assistance in search and rescue operations. I suggested that his embassy stafl ~ n t a c FEMA t
International Affairs O f i c e and discuss the feasibility of such aid. H e asked that I pass on this r ssage to
Secretary Chertoff and DepSec Jackson. Cris
 Jason:

Thanks for the message. I had an excellent conversation with Jim Loy this ling
and have tasked two folks from DHS to investigate. Appreciate very much t ip,
and I appreciate very much all the terrific help that your boss has been with crisis.
Understand clearly the importance of the communications issues.

----Original Message-----
From: Matthew, Jason (Landrieu) ( k%
Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2005 8:29 PM
To: mjackson
Subject: FW: communications interop

Dear Mr. Secretary, below is the e-mail traffic I referenced earlier.

Admiral Loy is( kb )and interested in speaking with you. HIS home
number is C ~b )

Many Thanks,

Jason

Jason D. Matthews
Deputy Chief of Staff
Senator Mary L. Landrieu
(202) 224-5824
(202) 224-9735 fax
http://landrieu.senate.gov

--Original Message-----
From: Sabiston, Norma Jane (Landrieu)
Sent: Wednesday, August 31,2005 8:21 PM
To: Matthews, Jason (Landrieu)
Subject: FW: communications interop

-Original Message----
From: Declan Ganley < bb 1
. Sent: Tuesday, August 30, 2005 7:41 PM
To: Sabiston, Norma Jane (Landrieu)
Subject: RE: communications interop
Declan.
 September 4,2005

MEMORANDUM FOR DISTRIBUTION

FROM:

SUBJECT:
Michael Chertoff

Role of the Interagency Incident Management Group (I MG) in1

the Hunicane Katrina Response

J1
Last Tuesday, pursuant to the National Response Plan, I declared Hurricane atrina an
Incident of National Significance. Immediately thereafter, the Interagency Incident
Management Group (ITMG) was activated to help manage this terrible tragedy that h s
affected thousands of lives and devastated more than 90,000 square miles of our Gulf Coast
I
region. For the past week, the IIMG has been fiilly operational. In addition to facilitating
I
coordination, the IIMG has identified critical priority issues, as well as near and long-term
strategic planning issues, in response to Hurricane Kah-ina. Given the IIMGYskey rdle for
coordinating our response and recovery efforts, I wanted to make you aware of its cababilities
and importance.

The IIMG is both critical and central to our response and recovery effort. I d mission
is to provide smtegic situational awareness, synthesize key intelligence and operatidnai
information, frame operational courses of action and policy recommendations, anticipate
evolving requirements, and provide decision support to me and other senior officials,
including members of the President's White House Task Force on Hurricane Katrin
a
Response. In short, the IIMG is the interagency "brain trust" that facilitates strategic and
creative solutioos to our incident management issues, and it provides our most effee~vetool
for coordinating with our State, local, and private sector and other nongovernmental' partners.
I
As you will see from the attachment provided, the IIMG is comprised of seqior I
representatives from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) components, other Federal
departments and agencies, and, as required, nongovernmental organizations. These1
representatives have the authority to represent their parent organizations in performing the
mission of the I M G , they possess broad functional area expertise, and they have thb ability to
provide time-sensitive reach back to their parent organizations.

Since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, the IIMG has deen
activated I5 times for both real-world threats and incidents and large-scale horneldd security
exercises. Its utility has proven invaluable. I am confident that the IlMG will prov/de the
strategic thinking necessary to ensure an efficient and effective incident response for
Hurricane Katrina. I request that you provide your full support in-the execution of the:,e
important responsibilities.

Attachment: IIMG Core Group List. .

Distribution:

Secretary of Agriculture
Secretary of Commerce
Secretary of Defense
Secretary of Education
Secretary of Energy
Secretary of Health and Human Services
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Secretary of Interior '
Attomey General
Secretary of Labor
Secretary of State
Secretary of Transportation . .
Secretary of Treasury
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency
 . .
IIMG CORE GROUP

Amencan Red Cross (ARC)

Central lntelllgence Agency (CIA)
Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Department of Commerce (DOC) \

Department of Defense (DOD)

Department of Education (Education)
Department of Energy (DOE)
Department of Health and Human Senices (HHS)
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Border and Transportation Security Directorate (BTS)
Transportation and Security Adrmnistration (TSA)
Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
Irnmigratlon and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
Dornest~cNuclear Detection Office (DNDO)
Emergency Preparedness and Response Directonte (EP&R)
Homeland Secunty Operations center (HSOC)
Lnformation Analysis (L4)
Informa~ionAnalysis Requirements (1.4-R)
Infrastructure Protection (IP)
Management Directorate
Office of the General Counsel (OGC)
Office of International Affairs Office (OIA)
Office of Legislative Affairs (OLA)
Office of National Capital Region Coordination (ONCRC)
Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness (OSLGCP)
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (PA)
Office of the Special Assistant for the Private Sector
Science and Technology Directorate (S&T)
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS)
United States Coast ~ ; a r d(USCG)
United States Secret Service (USSS)
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Department of the Interior (D01)
Department of Justice (DOJ)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ( A T )
Drug Enforcement Ahnistration (DEA)
United States Marshals Service (USMS)
Department of Labor (DOL)
Department of State (DOS)
Department of TransportatLon (DOT)
Department of the Treasury
Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA)
 Envlronrnrntal Protection Agency (EPA)
Frdzral Comrnur~cationsCommission (FCC)
General Services A d d s t r a t i o n (GSA)
1 National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC)
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
Small Business Adrmnistration (SBA)
United Slates Postal S m i c e (USPS)
Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)
Prom: M c D o n a l d , E d w a r d ( bb . J 1
Sent: Monday, September 05, 2005 2 23 PM
To: mjackson, Weber, Scott
Subject: Update o n B e n e f i t D e b i t Cards

10,000 debits card on the way to TX. 10,000 more tomorrow. 600,000 on order

According to the PFO Cell (Brian Penoyer)

We do not have the hard copy/specitic orders for this TF -just what was passed verbally
b

Task Force Pelican

BG Gary Jones (LA National Guard)
100% State NG effort (with support from other state guard elements)
All C2 with the Governor of LA

Responsible for 11 impacted parishes

Jefferson
St. Bernard
St. Charles
St. John
Terrebone
--
Washington
\
Orleans
Plaquemines
St. Tammany
Tangipahola
Lafouche

This TF will utilize 38,000 'out of state" NG forces to augment the 16,000 LA NG forces for a
forces
The TF will be at full operational capacity in the next 72 hours
There is an engineering br~gadeand an aviation brigade in support of this TF

There is a sub TF called Task Force Santa Fe

MG James Mason (KN NG)

This TF Santa Fe will do the following:

Assess with advance elements the s~tuationon the ground in all of the 11 parishes (this bega
They have been meeting with the parish leadership
Based on the assessment they will be sending 300 - 1000 forces to each parish

They have 4 missions (in priority)

1) SecurityIPu blic OrderILE
2) Life sustaining ops (food, shelter, water, ice etc)
3) S&R
4) Evacuation (will utilize trucks, boats and air)

For the S&R element: the will conduct HOUSE CLEARING of every structure.
They are equipped with dogs.
The are forbidden to do the following
1) remove human remains
2) access submergedlinaccessible areaslbldgs

The State Coroner has set up teams and will dispatch them to remove the human remains

Edward McDonald
 P r o m :I-Iosmer, Troy , (, bb J
Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2005 2.41 PM
To: Broderick, Matthew (CNC); mjackson
Cc: Brown, Michael <DHS>; Cannatti, Ashley, Sanders, Marshall
Subject: FW. Follow-Up

Sir,

F o r w ~ r d e dfor your information. Mr. O'Keefe is the Chancellor at LSU.

Very respectfully,
Troy

LCDR Troy A. H o s m e r , USCG

Military Aide to t h e Deputy S e c r e t a r y
D e p a r t m e n t o f H o m e l a n d Securitv

From: Sean O'Keefe 5bb >

Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2005 2:14 PM
To: Hosmer, Troy
Subject: Re: Follow-Up

CDR Hosmer - h a v e i n s t r u c t e d o u r D i r o f P u b l i c S a f e t y t o c o n t a c t C o l ltehorn.

t h e s t a t e p o l i c e have been o v e r r u n . A l l r e q u e s t s t o them have been a nowledged,
... ..
.._... ,;... .
.ll: I b u t t h e y a r e beyond c a p a c i t y . We n e e d a c o n t i n g e n t o f Guardsmen i f a all
.....
p o s i s i b l e - o r a n y .law e n f o r c e m e n t p e r s o n n e l w i l l i n g t o d e p l o y t o h e 1
: . . ,,...
... ,.. us m a i n t a i n
t h e t e n u o u s o r d e r we a r e c u r r e n t l y h a n g i n g on t o .
We h a v e , t h e . l e a d , b u t a r e m o s t a n x i o u s f o r more s u p p o r t .

The B a t o n Rouge community i s a l a r g e r m a t t e r - l o o t l n g , r o b b e r y a t gu point and

b r e a k - l n s a r e mounting. I s p o k e t o Mike Brown y e s t e r d a y m o r n l n g at - ming f r o m
t h a t d l s c u s s l o n , t h e r e g l o n a l o p s coordinator, B l 1 1 Lokey, was r e q u e s d t o work
t h r o u g h t h e t a c t l c a l o p s l s s u e s w l t h t h e Mayor. Thus f a r , no c o n t a c t o t h e Mayor
t o my k n o w l e d g e .

P l e a s e p a s s t o Secy Jackson t h a t I ' d a p p r e c i a t e a c a l l a t h i s e a r l i e s opportunity.

Best regards, Sean O'Keefe

..........................
S e n t f r o m my B l a c k B e r r y W i r e l e s s Handheld

- - - - - O r i g i n a l Message -----
F r o m : "Hosmer; T r o y " ( b6 3 0
S e n t : 0 9 / 0 1 / 2 0 0 5 1 2 : 5 6 PM,
To: S e a n O'Keefe
Subject: Follow-Up'
 I
Chancellor O'keefe,

I just wanted to follow up with you regarding our conversation earlier this~afternoon. We conc ed a
teleconference with several emergency operations entities, including Col Whitehorn of the Lo ana State Police.
We passed along your situational concerns and requests and were told that Col Whitehorn WI e contacting your
. .
Chief of SecurityICampus Police to discuss these issues and respond as necessary and able

Will continue to asdertain the primary FEMA representative within the Baton Rouge area and late when
available.

Hope this helps. Thank you for all your efforts!!

Very respectfully,
Troy

LCDR Troy A. Hosmer, USCG

Military Aide t o the D e p u t y S e c r e t a r y
D e p a r t m e n t of H o m e l a n d S e c u r i t v
From: PlcDonald, Edward ( b6
Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2005 5.35 Pbl
To: Cannatti, Ashley, nljackson
Subject: FW Katrina Statist~csh4atlix

FYI

Edward McDonald
. . . -
From: Brown, Lewis . '

Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2005 5:33 PM

To: McDonald, Edward; Hitchcock, Alan.

PA
S u b j e c t : Katrina Statistics Matrix
Importance: High

Attached is the Katrina Stats Matrix for the afternoon of 6 September 2005, as requested.
VR,
Lewis R. Brown
IMD

-
 Katrina Statistics Matrix .
As of 01600 p.m. 6 Sep 05
I
1 Reported Persons Rescued by DHS . I DHS: 32,821 1' 1 ..

1 Ageucies 1

1 Reported Persons Rescued by Other Other: 13,000

Ao,encies
Reported Persons Sheltered, by State Alabama: . 5,071
(Evacuees & Self-Evacuees) Arizona: 568
Arkansas: 15,537
Colorado 1.65
Florida: 1,589
Georgia: 1,484
Louisiana: 67,805
Wlississippi: 13,757
Missouri: 13
North Carolina 95
Oklahoma: 2,352
Tennessee: 612
Texas: 124,498
Utah: .. , 475 - .

West Virginia: 3 0 0

1 Total: 234,321 1
I Reported New Orleans Evacuees -
66,000 I
U.S. Coast ~ u a r d ~ o r c e s 2,606
Natioual Guard Forces 41,500
Active Dutv Militarv Forces 17.417 1
( F E N A Responders 7,438 I 1
Federal Law Enforcement 1,868
Total Federal Helo Assets 414
Total Federal Fixed Wing Assets . 116
Total Federal Ships 51