Comment on county’s hazards plan update

Published 1:10 pm Wednesday, June 16, 2010

EVERETT — Snohomish County invites residents to review and comment on the recently updated Snohomish County Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan (NHMP) beginning June 18.

The federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 established the requirement for local communities to have a current hazards mitigation plan in order to receive certain types of nonemergency disaster assistance, including funding for mitigation projects. The NHMP assesses risks and mitigation for nine natural hazards present in the county: avalanche, dam failure, earthquake, flood, landslides, severe weather, tsunami, volcano eruptions and wildfires.

Snohomish County and 42 participating planning partners, including local cities, fire districts and utilities, adopted the first NHMP in April 2005.

With the current plan set to expire in 2010, work on an update began in 2009. One of the most significant aspects of the update is its lists of proposed mitigation actions that could be used by each jurisdiction to reduce damage to property and impacts to people. As federal mitigation dollars become available, projects listed on an approved mitigation plan may be submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for funding consideration.

Residents will have 14 days to review and comment on the draft update and project lists, beginning June 18 and ending at 5 p.m. July 2. There will be three ways to provide public input.

First, the draft plan will available at www.snoco.org and then searching “hazard mitigation plan.” Comments can be made online.

Second, two open houses, which will include a short presentation, will be held to collect comments. These public meetings are scheduled for 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. June 29 in the Snohomish County Public Meeting Room, First Floor Drewel Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett; and 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. July 1 at the Monroe Fire Station, 163 Village Court, Monroe.

Finally, hardcopies of the draft update will be available for review at the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management (3509 109th St. SW, Everett) and Snohomish County Public Works’ Surface Water Management Division (3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett).

Following the public comment period, the draft update will be sent to FEMA for approval, and once approved it will serve as a template for risk reduction efforts throughout the county and participating cities and districts for the next five years.

Comments and questions can be directed to program manager Jason Biermann, Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management, at jason.biermann@snoco.org.

For more information on the meetings, or to request accommodations for persons with disabilities, call Mary Hurner in Surface Water Management at 425-388-6401.