44-146.16 - Definitions.
§ 44-146.16. Definitions.
As used in this chapter unless the context requires a different meaning:
"Communicable disease of public health threat" means an illness of publichealth significance, as determined by the State Health Commissioner inaccordance with regulations of the Board of Health, caused by a specific orsuspected infectious agent that may be reasonably expected or is known to bereadily transmitted directly or indirectly from one individual to another andhas been found to create a risk of death or significant injury or impairment;this definition shall not, however, be construed to include humanimmunodeficiency viruses or tuberculosis, unless used as a bioterrorismweapon. "Individual" shall include any companion animal. Further, whenever"person or persons" is used in Article 3.02 (§ 32.1-48.05 et seq.) ofChapter 2 of Title 32.1, it shall be deemed, when the context requires it, toinclude any individual;
"Disaster" means (i) any man-made disaster including any conditionfollowing an attack by any enemy or foreign nation upon the United Statesresulting in substantial damage of property or injury to persons in theUnited States and may be by use of bombs, missiles, shell fire, nuclear,radiological, chemical, or biological means or other weapons or by overtparamilitary actions; terrorism, foreign and domestic; also any industrial,nuclear, or transportation accident, explosion, conflagration, power failure,resources shortage, or other condition such as sabotage, oil spills, andother injurious environmental contaminations that threaten or cause damage toproperty, human suffering, hardship, or loss of life; and (ii) any naturaldisaster including any hurricane, tornado, storm, flood, high water,wind-driven water, tidal wave, earthquake, drought, fire, communicabledisease of public health threat, or other natural catastrophe resulting indamage, hardship, suffering, or possible loss of life;
"Discharge" means spillage, leakage, pumping, pouring, seepage, emitting,dumping, emptying, injecting, escaping, leaching, fire, explosion, or otherreleases;
"Emergency" means any occurrence, or threat thereof, whether natural orman-made, which results or may result in substantial injury or harm to thepopulation or substantial damage to or loss of property or natural resourcesand may involve governmental action beyond that authorized or contemplated byexisting law because governmental inaction for the period required to amendthe law to meet the exigency would work immediate and irrevocable harm uponthe citizens or the environment of the Commonwealth or some clearly definedportion or portions thereof;
"Emergency services" means the preparation for and the carrying out offunctions, other than functions for which military forces are primarilyresponsible, to prevent, minimize and repair injury and damage resulting fromdisasters, together with all other activities necessary or incidental to thepreparation for and carrying out of the foregoing functions. These functionsinclude, without limitation, fire-fighting services, police services, medicaland health services, rescue, engineering, warning services, communications,radiological, chemical and other special weapons defense, evacuation ofpersons from stricken areas, emergency welfare services, emergencytransportation, emergency resource management, existing or properly assignedfunctions of plant protection, temporary restoration of public utilityservices, and other functions related to civilian protection. These functionsalso include the administration of approved state and federal disasterrecovery and assistance programs;
"Hazard mitigation" means any action taken to reduce or eliminate thelong-term risk to human life and property from natural hazards;
"Hazardous substances" means all materials or substances which now orhereafter are designated, defined, or characterized as hazardous by law orregulation of the Commonwealth or regulation of the United States government;
"Interjurisdictional agency for emergency management" is any organizationestablished between contiguous political subdivisions to facilitate thecooperation and protection of the subdivisions in the work of disasterprevention, preparedness, response, and recovery;
"Local emergency" means the condition declared by the local governing bodywhen in its judgment the threat or actual occurrence of an emergency ordisaster is or threatens to be of sufficient severity and magnitude towarrant coordinated local government action to prevent or alleviate thedamage, loss, hardship or suffering threatened or caused thereby; provided,however, that a local emergency arising wholly or substantially out of aresource shortage may be declared only by the Governor, upon petition of thelocal governing body, when he deems the threat or actual occurrence of suchan emergency or disaster to be of sufficient severity and magnitude towarrant coordinated local government action to prevent or alleviate thedamage, loss, hardship or suffering threatened or caused thereby; provided,however, nothing in this chapter shall be construed as prohibiting a localgoverning body from the prudent management of its water supply to prevent ormanage a water shortage;
"Local emergency management organization" means an organization created inaccordance with the provisions of this chapter by local authority to performlocal emergency service functions;
"Major disaster" means any natural catastrophe, including any: hurricane,tornado, storm, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, tsunami,earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm or drought, orregardless of cause, any fire, flood, or explosion, in any part of the UnitedStates, which, in the determination of the President of the United States is,or thereafter determined to be, of sufficient severity and magnitude towarrant major disaster assistance under the Stafford Act (P.L. 93-288 asamended) to supplement the efforts and available resources of states, localgovernments, and disaster relief organizations in alleviating the damage,loss, hardship, or suffering caused thereby and is so declared by him;
"Political subdivision" means any city or county in the Commonwealth andfor the purposes of this chapter, the Town of Chincoteague and any town ofmore than 5,000 population that chooses to have an emergency managementprogram separate from that of the county in which such town is located;
"Resource shortage" means the absence, unavailability or reduced supply ofany raw or processed natural resource, or any commodities, goods or servicesof any kind that bear a substantial relationship to the health, safety,welfare and economic well-being of the citizens of the Commonwealth;
"State of emergency" means the condition declared by the Governor when inhis judgment, the threat or actual occurrence of an emergency or a disasterin any part of the Commonwealth is of sufficient severity and magnitude towarrant disaster assistance by the Commonwealth to supplement the efforts andavailable resources of the several localities, and relief organizations inpreventing or alleviating the damage, loss, hardship, or suffering threatenedor caused thereby and is so declared by him.
(1973, c. 260; 1974, c. 4; 1975, c. 11; 1978, c. 60; 1979, c. 193; 1981, c.116; 1984, c. 743; 1993, c. 671; 2000, c. 309; 2004, cc. 773, 1021; 2008, cc.121, 157.)