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Emergency Support Functions (ESFs)

State ESF Structure

The State of Louisiana Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) identifies State Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) as the structure for organizing and coordinating State resources by area of function. The ESF structure helps ensure efficient and timely delivery of needed assistance to disaster-impacted communities. Functions are categorized by the type of support or resource provided or managed within the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and its subcomponent the Incident Command System (ICS). In addition to ESFs identified within the NIMS structure, Louisiana has included Military Support as an ESF.

Federal ESF Structure

The Federal Government – through the National Response Framework – also identifies an ESF system to align Federal support by function. Federal ESFs provide the structure for coordinating Federal interagency support for a Federal response to an incident when Federal support is needed and authorized. Like the State ESFs, they are mechanisms for grouping functions most frequently used to provide Federal support to States, both for declared disasters and emergencies under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act) and for non-Stafford Act incidents

THE BELOW CHART IDENTIFIES STATE AND FEDERAL ESFs, THEIR PRIMARY AGENCIES, AND RESPONSIBILITIES

ESFs + Responsibilities	Louisiana Agency	Federal Agency
ESF-1 Transportation Responsibilities: Evacuation + re-entry Transportation	Department of Transportation and Development	U.S. Department of Transportation
ESF-2 Communications Responsibilities: Emergency communications restoration Coordination of Federal/State/Local communication resources LWIN maintenance/restoration	Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Louisiana State Police Louisiana National Guard	U.S. Homeland Security National Protection and Programs National Cybersecurity and Communications
ESF-3 Public Works + Engineering Responsibilities: Debris and wreckage removal Levee support Roadway maintenance	Department of Transportation and Development Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority	U.S. Department of Defense U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
ESF-4 Firefighting Responsibilities: Firefighting structural, forest, rural and wooded area fires Fire investigations	State Fire Marshal Department of Agriculture and Forestry	U.S. Department of Agriculture and Forest Service U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency U.S. Fire Administration
ESF-5 Emergency Management Responsibilities: EMAC Multi-Agency Coordination Tribal matters Generator support	Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness	Federal Emergency Management Agency
ESF-6 Mass Care, Emergency Assistance, Housing + Human Services Responsibilities: Sheltering operations Mass feeding Long/short term housing DSNAP VOAD	Department of Child and Family Services Louisiana Workforce Commission	U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency
ESF-7 Logistics, Management + Resource Support Responsibilities: Points of Distribution (PODS) Commodity Distribution	Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Louisiana National Guard	U.S. Department of Homeland Security U.S. General Services Administration Federal Emergency Management Agency
ESF-8 Public Health + Medical Services Responsibilities: Medical and health needs Special needs shelters Ambulances DMAT and DMORT Mosquito Abatement	Department of Health and Hospitals	U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
ESF-9 Search + Rescue Responsibilities: Search and Rescue (SAR) Water Rescue	Department of Wildlife and Fisheries State Fire Marshal (Urban)	U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency
ESF-10 Oil + Hazardous Materials Response Responsibilities: HAZMAT Air quality	Department of Environmental Quality Louisiana State Police Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office	U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
ESF-11 Agriculture + Natural Resources Responsibilities: Animal response and Relief Pet evacuation and sheltering Emergency fuel Agricultural needs	Department of Agriculture and Forestry	U.S. Department of Agriculture
ESF-12 Energy Responsibilities: Oil and Gas pipelines Utility Services Drinking water	Department of Natural Resources Louisiana Public Service Commission Department of Health and Hospitals	U.S. Department of Energy
ESF-13 Public Safety + Security Responsibilities: Security Traffic Control Public safety and law enforcement Prison evacuations	Louisiana State Police Department of Justice	U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
ESF-14 Long-term Community Recovery + Mitigation Responsibilities: Disaster Recovery Preliminary Damage Assessments (PDAs) for Public Assistance and Individual Assistance	Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness	U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency
ESF-15 External Affairs Responsibilities: Media and community relations	Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness	U.S. Department of Homeland Security
ESF-16 Military Support + Civil Authorities Responsibilities: Support all ESF activities	Louisiana National Guard	Federal ESF structure does not include ESF-16
ESF-17 Cybersecurity Responsibilities: Preparation Identification and Classification Containment Eradication Recovery and Remediation	Division of Administration Louisiana National Guard	Department of Homeland Security Federal Bureau of Investigation

The Federal Government and many State governments organize much of their disaster response resources and capabilities – as well as those of certain private sector and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) – under the ESF structure. ESFs align categories of resources and provide strategic objectives for their use.

During a response, both Federal and State ESFs are a critical mechanism to coordinate functional capabilities and resources provided by Federal agencies, certain private-sector entities, and NGOs. The ESF concept is scalable to the size and complexity of an event and local capacity to respond. For example, in addition to the NIMS ESF structure, Louisiana has also included Military Support as a Louisiana ESF, resulting in a slightly larger ESF structure to better meet State needs.