Hazard mitigation plan updates begin

Officials in Eddy and Wells counties are embarking on a strenuous – but very important – endeavor.

Emergency managers from both counties, as well as city and county commissioners and other officials, are working to construct their new hazard mitigation plan.

Hazard mitigation plans expire every five years, and the current plan for Eddy and Wells counties expires this August. Without a new one, neither county would be eligible for funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) should a natural disaster or other crisis require emergency funding.

So, officials from both counties are hard at work putting together the new plan in time, a process Eddy County Emergency Manager Lisa Thompson described as “overwhelming.”

“A hazard mitigation plan is a plan that takes the hazards that we have within our area and categorizes them in priority as far as what's most likely to happen,” explained Thompson.

Not surprisingly, Thompson noted that some of the highest priority hazards for our region are severe winter storms, flooding and thunderstorms, which consistently top the priority list whenever a new plan is completed every five years.

Other hazards noted in this new plan, which weren’t noted in previous plans, include cybersecurity threats and civil disturbances.

For each of these hazards, the plan must include steps the county is taking to mitigate those hazards, or in other words steps taken to permanently eliminate or reduce the long-term risk to human life and property from each hazard.

“We spent much of the day today pulling past flooding history, so that we can prove to FEMA that we have had flooding … ,” said Thompson on Monday, March 20. “Of course, when you have a river that runs right through your town it’s pretty hard to control, but things like putting in new culverts to allow better flow, those types of things, have already been done.

“We just have to prove that we’ve done everything in our power to this point to mitigate as much damage as possible from flooding,” she added.

The plan is detailed, time consuming and difficult to put together, not to mention expensive.

Eddy and Wells counties are working together on the plan to share costs. They’ve hired Nexus Planning and Consulting LLC to help with the plan, and Thompson said total costs exceed $30,000, which is being covered by a grant.

In total, three meetings have been scheduled to help get the hazard mitigation plan ready before August, the first of which occurred on Wednesday, March 15, which had about 50 people in attendance and lasted about three hours.

The next meetings are scheduled for Wednesday, March 29, and for Wednesday, April 12.

The meetings will take place at the Festival Hall on the Wells County Fairgrounds from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. each night. They are both open to the public, and community members are encouraged to attend and take part.

“We want as much input from our community as possible in this planning process,” said Thompson.

Food and beverages will be provided at both meetings, and those interested in attending are asked to RSVP by contacting Daniel Schwartz or their local emergency manager. Schwartz can be contacted via phone at (701) 989-7970 or by email at [email protected]. Thompson can be reached at (701) 302-8279 or [email protected].

Those who can’t make it to the meetings can still participate in the process by filling out a quick and easy survey, which could go a long way towards helping local officials complete the hazard mitigation plan. Citizens can fill out the survey online here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/eddyandwells

“It helps us get an idea of what people are concerned about,” said Thompson about the survey. “Plus if they’ve had a flooded basement in the past and they are willing to share some of the costs that were involved in that, then that’s more background for us to give to FEMA. The survey is just very important at this point for us to gather data.”