What is hazard mitigation planning?

Hazard mitigation planning is a process for State, local, and Indian Tribal governments to identify policies, activities, and tools to implement mitigation actions. Mitigation is any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to life and property from a hazard event. This process has four steps:

1. Organizing resources;
2. Assessing risks;
3. Developing a mitigation plan; and
4. Implementing the plan and monitoring progress.

Pinal County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan

In 2005, Pinal County, and incorporated cities and towns in Pinal County, participated in a multi-hazard mitigation planning effort that resulted in the development of a multi-jurisdictional multi-hazard mitigation plan with separate plans covering each participating jurisdiction. The Pinal County Multi-Jurisdictional Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan (2005) and all of the separate plans received official Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approval in November, 2005. The 2005 Plan was designed to meet the federal regulations set forth by the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, which requires all local, county, tribal and state governments to develop a multi-hazard mitigation plan for their respective jurisdictions in order to be eligible to receive certain hazard mitigation and public assistance funds.

The 2005 Plan is nearing the end of the 5-year planning cycle and is set to expire in November 2010. The Pinal County Office of Emergency Management (PCOEM) applied for and received assistance from the Arizona Division of Emergency Management (ADEM) to fund a multi-jurisdictional effort to review, update and consolidate the 2005 Plan, and to resubmit to FEMA prior to its expiration in November 2010.

Plan Update Process

PCOEM initiated the update process in November 2008. The plan update process includes participation from each participating jurisdiction as well as public utilities, hospitals, police, fire and sheriff’s departments, and other public and private entities. It is desirable to include input from neighboring communities, local and regional agencies involved in hazard mitigation activities and agencies having authority to regulate development including businesses, academia and other private and non-profit interests. The Hazard Mitigation Planning Team will be meeting regularly to review, revise, and/or update of the following elements:

• Previously identified hazards that may impact or have impacted the community
• Profiles of the most relevant hazard events
• Assessment of vulnerability to hazards
• Assessment of the communities’ capability to mitigate hazards
• Hazard mitigation goals and objectives for the community
• Hazard mitigation actions and/or projects
• Implementation strategy for the plan
• Plan maintenance strategy for the next 5-year cycle
• Write and officially adopt plan

STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS

To meet the goal of having an approved plan by November 2010, a meeting calendar running from November, 2008 to October 2009 has been established.

• Stakeholder Meeting #1 – November 17, 2008, 9:30am, Pinal County EOC, Florence, AZ
• Stakeholder Meeting #2 – February 23, 2009, 9:30am, Pinal County Ocotillo Room, Florence, AZ
• Stakeholder Meeting #3 – April 20, 2009, 9:00am, Pinal County EOC, Florence, AZ
• Stakeholder Meeting #4 – May 21, 2009, 2:00pm, Pinal County Ocotillo Room, Florence, AZ
• Stakeholder Meeting #5 – TBD
• Stakeholder Meeting #6 – TBD
• Stakeholder Meeting #7 – TBD

PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT

The public is welcome to attend of the stakeholder meetings and encouraged to participate and comment on the plan during its drafting stages and prior to seeking final approval from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. To submit comments online, please use the links below.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

For more information or to submit comments and questions, call the Pinal County Office of Emergency Management at 520-866-6942 or one of the contacts below:

Art Carlton, Emergency Management Pinal County 31 N Pinal Street, Bldg F PO Box 727 Florence, AZ 85132 (520) 866-6462 Fax: (520) 866-6856 Cell: (520) 251-2394

W. Scott Ogden, P.E., CFM Mitigation Planning Consultant JE Fuller 8400 S. Kyrene Road, Suite 201 Tempe, AZ 85284 (480) 222-5717 Fax: (480)839-2193 Cell: (480)299-3394