Background & 2010 Update
Snohomish County’s Department of Emergency Management is currently leading the effort to update the original Snohomish County Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan (NHMP).
This plan was first adopted in April 2005 by Snohomish County and its 42 participating planning partners. It was required by the Disaster Mitigation Act (DMA) of 2000, which was enacted to encourage and promote pro-active, pre-disaster planning in communities as a condition of receiving federal disaster aid.
The NHMP assesses risk within the county for nine natural disasters (avalanche, dam failure, earthquake, flood, landslides, severe weather, tsunami, volcano eruptions, and wildland fires) and proposes mitigation strategies for these disasters within the individual jurisdictions and throughout the county as a whole.
Original Partnership
The plan was developed and adopted by a partnership of the County and 12 Snohomish County cities and 30 special districts. The development of the plan was guided by a Steering Committee of eleven representatives from business, agencies, government, diking districts, organizations and citizens. The planning process incorporated public involvement by bringing the draft risk assessments and draft plans out into the community for scrutiny.
Annual Progress Reports
The NHMP addressed a five year period. In the interim, through a series of annual progress reports, the plan was to be regularly evaluated as changes took place in the communities and in technology, and progress was made in the action items each participating jurisdiction established.
- Snohomish County Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan
Progress Report May 2005-July 2006 (pdf)
- Snohomish County Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan
May 2006-July 2007 (pdf)
- Snohomish County Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan
Progress Report July 2007-August 2008 (pdf)
Note: A Progress Report for 2009-2010 is not required due to the 2010 update.
2009-2010 Update Planning Process
The NHMP is due to expire in April 2010.Through the reconvened Steering Committee, the County Department of Emergency Management, with assistance from the Department of Public Works and the jurisdictional planning partners are now working together on updating the plan.
Tetra Tech, Inc. is the consulting firm helping with the Update, which is funded by a federal grant.
NHMP Steering Committee
The NHMP Steering Committee meets at the county on the third Thursday of each month to guide the update of the plan. These meetings are open to the public and interested citizens are welcome to attend.
Unless otherwise noted on an agenda, the meetings are held in Conference Room 6A04, on the 6th Floor of the Drewel Building on the County Campus.
Brad Feilberg, of the City of Monroe, serves as Chair, and Merlin Halverson, of Snohomish County Fire District No. 5 in Sultan, is Vice Chair.
New Partnership
A total of 35 planning partners are participating in the update of the new plan.
Key Documents
Public Involvement
The 2005 NHMP was developed with significant input from the public. In the process of updating the plan, it is important to continue to provide opportunities for public feedback during the drafting stage and prior to plan approval.
Planning Partner Workshops
In March, workshops were held to provide guidance to the planning partners for completing their respective annexes (chapters) of the plan. The consultant provided separate presentations for the jurisdictions and special districts as follows:
Presentation 1 - Cities (pdf)
Presentation 2 - Districts (pdf)
After the workshop exercise, each jurisdiction completed their chapter; addressing the risks their service areas faced with a list of proposed mitigation actions (projects) to offset them. These lists are a key product of the Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan, and are present in Volume 2 of the Plan.
The Importance of the
Proposed Mitigation Actions
After the updated Plan has been approved by FEMA and adopted by the planning partners, funding for these “shovel ready” projects will be sought as FEMA and the State Emergency Management Department make funds available through various grants.
Draft Plan The Draft NHMP will be presented to the community for review and comment at meetings on June 29 and July 1, 2010. See sidebar for more details. |
Draft Plan
Now Available
The Draft 2010 Snohomish County Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan is undergoing public review.
The 14 day comment period began June 18 and ends at 5:00 p.m. on July 2. Questions and comments on the Draft Plan can be directed to Jason Biermann, Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management at
425-388-5068.
Please follow the links below to view the Plan and SEPA documentation.
Next Steps:
- Public comments due 7/2
- Washington State Emergency Management reviews plan
- FEMA Region X reviews plan
- After pre-adoption approval is received from FEMA, partners can begin plan adoption.
- All planning partners must adopt the plan for eligibility under the Disaster Mitigation Act.
Contacts
For more information on
the NHMP Update, please contact:
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John Pennington, Project Manager, Dept. of Emergency Management Director, 425-388-5060
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Jason Biermann, Emergency Program Manager, Dept. of Emergency Management, 425-388-5068
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Mary Hurner, Senior Planner, Floodplain Management, Public Works, Surface Water Management, 425-388-6401
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