Local Hazard Mitigation Planning & Disaster Preparedness Patricia Gavelda and Mark Thompson

Hazard Mitigation What is the ultimate purpose of hazard mitigation? What consequences are we trying to prevent? Source: Masterson et al, 2014; Modified from Schwab, 1998; Lindell, Prater, and Perry, 2007

What Are the Benefits of an HMP? The planning process enables a community’s comprehensive assessment of its hazards, how it would like to mitigate them, and opportunities to integrate mitigation planning with other community plans. An approved Local HMP has a five-year lifecycle and creates eligibility for FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grant programs (25% local share) for each participating jurisdiction: Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM- Annual Cycle; All natural hazards) Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA- Annual Cycle; Flood; NFIP insured structures & communities) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP- Post-Disaster; All natural hazards) Projects under these programs must be tied directly to the mitigation goals and objectives in your HMP; tying them to a specific mitigation action is better Other tangible benefits: If enrolled in the National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System (CRS), local mitigation plans can receive credit of up to 382 points “Copy and Paste” updates of Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP’s) for some jurisdictions

Hazard Mitigation Examples Reduce the future demand for, and rising costs of, disaster response and recovery. Retrofit a critical facility, enforce building codes, land use planning, remove a structure from a hazard area. MITIGATION: Elevated Home by the River MITIGATION: Defensible Space, Fuels Reduction RESPONSE: Purchase of Police Command Vehicle

Mitigation Financial Benefits Source: National Institute of Building Sciences, Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves: 2017 Interim Report

Projects in Colorado to 2018 Colorado Project Awards through FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance Program   Wildfire Mitigation/Fuels Reduction Flood Reduction/ Drainage Improvements/ Property Acquisition Landslide/ Slope Stabilization/ Property Acquisition Planning Grants Other Projects including Generators, 5% Projects, Appraisals, Preparedness, Warning Number of Obligated Projects 21 27 5 28 32 FEMA Grant Fund HMGP, PDM HMGP, PDM, FMA HMGP Project Costs $9,569,391.66 $79,803,141.61 $11,717,794.00 $1,881,787.93* $4,265,228.01 Total FEMA Funding and Local Match (2011-Present) = $106,810,235.31 (Total Projects: 113) Each project must be linked to the HMP’s Goals & Objectives PDM & FMA 17 2 ~ $2,900,000 4 ~ $11,600,000 *7 $427,108 Every dollar spent on mitigation saves three to six dollars in disaster response and recovery costs!

What the Plan is Not A regulatory document- It does not create new regulations A set-in-stone commitment of resources: FEMA and the State encourage communities to be both ambitious and practical Both FEMA and the State understand that actions are dependent on the availability of resources If actions included in the plan are unable to be completed, the community will not be punished

Planning Requirements Town County District Tribe City Multiple Jurisdictions Each jurisdiction seeking plan approval must do the following tasks during the planning process*: Participate in the planning process Assess unique risks Identify specific mitigation activities Adopt the plan * Jurisdictions cannot simply adopt the plan after the fact. The options are to participate during or do their own full plan. Summit County’s plan has annexes for each participating jurisdiction. Pitkin County’s plan weaves each participating jurisdiction throughout the document.

Opportunities for Involvement Planning Team Stakeholders Agencies involved in hazard mitigation activities Agencies with authority to regulate development Neighboring jurisdictions Businesses Academia Other private and nonprofit interests Public Residents Business owners Local workers Stakeholders and the Public must be given documented opportunities throughout the process, but their decision not to participate won’t stop the planning effort from succeeding.

Identifying Mitigation Actions Graphics from FEMA G318, Local Mitigation Planning

HMP Update Requirements Communities Changes in development and growth Update values of at-risk assets Update capabilities assessment Hazards Recent occurrences Updated assessments / priorities As needed, differentiate between county-wide and narrower hazards Identify specific exposure and vulnerability for each Participating Jurisdiction Mitigation Strategy Progress on actions in previous plan- Complete, On-going, or Incomplete (& why) Review and keep or update Mitigation Goals and Objectives Review and keep or update Priorities At least one new action for each Participating Jurisdiction

Challenges to Implementing the HMP’s Mitigation Strategy Political will Lack of resources or capacity Lack of a recent disaster or hazard event to motivate mitigation Informed risk tolerance vs. uninformed risk tolerance Conflicts with daily operations Belief it belongs to the Emergency Manager

Elected Officials’ Participation in Hazard Mitigation Formally adopt the HMP Represent the citizenry’s interests; in touch with their concerns Help define what is possible, politically and financially Active participation helps create the will to implement mitigation actions, reducing future demands and costs of disaster response and recovery Involvement helps create broad, multi-functional planning teams Integration- Often the only group that sees all community plans that impact, or are impacted by, natural hazards Can help reduce redundant efforts and realize cost savings

Questions?