• The Department of Emergency Management (DEM), in conjunction with County departments, local jurisdictions, tribal nations, and special purpose districts, completes and submits a Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
• The HMP is updated every five years to reflect new and changing mitigation strategies and priorities in the County.
• The first HMP was completed in 2005 with updates in 2010, 2015, and 2020.
• The HMP seeks to reduce future loss of life and destruction of property; assess risk, identify impacts, and identify a list of projects and activities that can mitigate the impacts of hazards before they occur; and identify and implement short and long-term strategies to reduce loss of life and/or alleviate personal injury and property damage
• The HMP is not a regulatory document and is not required by federal or state mandate.
• The HMP allows participating jurisdictions and agencies to compete for federal mitigation funds.
• The HMP contains 38 Countywide Action items that all County departments seek to implement as project scopes, funding, and objectives allow.
• The HMP requires an annual evaluation as to the progress of the 38 Countywide Action items.
• Completing a Hazard Mitigation Plan Progress Report also allows the County to receive credit under Section 510 of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS).
• The National Flood Insurance Program's Community Rating System is a voluntary incentive program that recognizes and encourages community floodplain management activities that exceed the minimum NFIP requirements. As a result, flood insurance premium rates are discounted to reflect the reduced flood risk resulting from the community actions meeting the three goals of the CRS: Reduce flood damage to insurable property; Strengthen and support the insurance aspects of the NFIP, and Encourage a comprehensive approach to floodplain management.
• Section 510 identifies the development and production of an overall strategy of programs, projects, and measures that will reduce the adverse impact of the hazard on the community and help meet other community needs.
• Section 510 does not specify what activities a plan must recommend; rather, it recognizes plans that have been prepared according to the standard planning process. Responding to best practices and CRS guidance, the HMP meets the intent of Section 510 by: identifying existing and future flood-related hazards and their causes; ensuring that a comprehensive review of all possible activities and mitigation measures is conducted so that the most appropriate solutions will be implemented to address the hazard; ensuring that the recommended activities meet the goals and objectives of the community, are in coordination with land use and comprehensive planning, do not create conflicts with other activities, and are coordinated so that the costs of implementing individual activities are reduced; ensuring that the criteria used in community land use and development programs account for the hazards faced by existing and new development; educating residents and property owners about the hazards, loss reduction measures, and the natural and beneficial functions of floodplains; building public and political support for activities and projects that prevent new problems, reduce losses, and protect the natural and beneficial functions of floodplains; and building a constituency that wants to see the plan’s recommendations implemented.
• The Hazard Mitigation Plan maintenance process and CRS Section 510 require that the Hazard Mitigation Plan Progress Report be submitted to County Council for their review.