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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6 - Update on Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 and Multi-hazard Mitigation PlanCITYOF BOULDER WATER RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD AGENDAITEM MEETING DATE: October 15, 2007 AGENDA TITLE: Presentation and Discussion of the City of Boulder Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan PRESENTERS: Bob Harberg, Utilities Planning and Project Management Coordinator Eric Lessazd, Utilities Project Manager Jeanine Foster, Project Manager, AMEC BOARD ACTION REQUESTED: WRAB review of the FEMA required Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan. C~ty of Boulder Mult~-Ha~ard Mrtigation Pian Ocrober 2007 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The City of Boulder is working with AMEC Earth and Environmental on completing a multi-hazard mitigation plan. The purpose of hazazd mitigation is to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and property from natural hazazds. The City of Boulder is developing this multi-hazard mitigation plan to make the city and its residents less vulnerable to future nahual hazazd events. This plan is being prepazed pursuant to the requirements of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 in order for the City of Boulder to be eligible for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Pre-Disaster Mitigation and Hazazd Mitigation Grant Programs. Based on risk assessment, the hazard mitigation planning committee (HMPC) identified goals and objectives for reducing the City of Boulder's risk to natural hazards. The three goals of this multi-hazard mitigation plan aze to: • Goal 1-Increase Community Awareness of Boulder's Vulnerability to Natural Hazards • Goa12-Reduce Vulnerability of People, Property, and the Environment to Natural Hazards • Goa13-Increase Interagency Capabilities and Coordination in order to Reduce the Impacts of Natural Hazards To meet the identified goals and objectives, the plan recommends a number of mitigation actions. Information in this plan will be used to help guide and coordinate mitigation activities and decisions for local land use policy in the future. Proactive mitigation planning will help reduce the cost of disaster response and recovery to the city and its property owners by protecting critical community facilities, reducing liability exposure, and minimizing overall community impacts and disruption. Boulder has been affected by natural hazards in the past and is thus committed to reducing future disaster impacts and maintaining eligibility for federal funding. Upon formal adoption oFthe plan by the City, it will need to be regularly updated every five years. BACKGROUND: Each year in the United States, natural disasters take the lives of hundreds of people and injure thousands more. Nationwide, billions of dollars are spent annually to help communities, organizations, businesses, and individuals recover from disasters. This money only partially reflects the true cost of disasters because additional expenses to insurance companies and non- governmental organizations are not reimbursed by tax dollazs. Many natural disasters are predictable, and much of the damage caused by these events can be alleviated or even eliminated. Hazard mitigation is defined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as "any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to human life and property from a hazard event." The results of a three-year, congressionally mandated independent study to assess C~ry of Boulder Mulu-Ha~ard Mniga~~on Plan September 2007 future savings from mitigation activities provides evidence that mitigation activities are highly cost-effective. On average, each dollar spent on mitigation saves society an average of $4 in avoided future losses in addition to saving lives and preventing injuries (National Institute of Building Science Multi-Hazard Mitigation Counci12005). The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 requires that local governments have hazard mitigation plans approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be eligible for certain federal disaster assistance and hazard mitigation funding programs. Hazard mitigation planning is the process through which hazards that threaten communities are identified, likely impacts of those hazards are determined, mitigation goals are set, and appropriate strategies to lessen impacts are determined, prioritized, and implemented. The planning process is heavily dependent on the participation of representatives from local government agencies and departments, the general public, and other stakeholder groups. ACTIVITIES UPDATE AND OVERVIEW The city is following a planning process prescribed by FEMA, which began with the formation of the HMPC, comprised of key city, county, district, and stake-holder representatives. The HMPC conducted a risk assessment that identified and profiled hazards that pose a risk to the City of Boulder, assessed the city's vulnerability to these hazazds, and examined the capabilities in place to mitigate them. The City of Boulder is wlnerable to several natural hazards that are identified, profiled, and analyzed in the plan. Floods, wildfires, severe weather, and drought are among the hazards that can have a significant impact on the city. In order to complete the Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan, a number of projects that identify plans to mitigate potential hazazds needed to be generated from the HMPC members. The plan was presented to the monthly meeting of Multi-Agency Coordinating System (MACS) in order to obtain the maximum project input possible. The draft of the City of Boulder Mu1ti-Hazard Mitigation Plan is available for review. It contains the projects that were solicited during the development of the report. The Table of Contents and Executive Summary are attached to this memo. The complete document is available online on the City of Boulder website. Several more projects are anticipated to be added in the coming weeks that encompass potential flood, disease and fire disasters. NEXT STEPS Following the presentation to WRAB and solicitation of public input, the document will be reviewed internally by all HMPC members. An open house will be conducted to solicit public input and the document will be available online and at the library. The open house will take place in late 2007 to maximize the level of public feedback. Staff will return to WRAB for a recommendation concerning the adequacy of the Plan and its recommendation prior to approval by City Council and FEMA. C~Ty of Boulder Mulh-Ha~ard Mrtiga4on Plan Seprember 2007 List of Attachments A. Table of Contents & Executive Summary City of Boulder Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan B. Frequently Asked Questions C~ry of Boulder Muho-Hazard Minganon Plan September 2007 •~~~~~ EXECUTIVE SUMMARY !~~ . City nf Bpulder ~ The purpose of hazard mitigation is to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and property from natural hazards. The City of Boulder developed this multi-hazard mitigation plan to make the city and its residents less vulnerable to future natural hazard events. This plan was prepared pursuant to the requirements of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 so that the City of Boulder would be eligible for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Pre-Disaster Mitigation and Hazard Mitigation Grant Programs. The city followed a planning process prescribed by FEMA, which began with the formation of a hazard mitigation planning committee (HMPC) comprised of key city, county, district, and stakeholder representatives. The HMPC conducted a risk assessment that identitied and profiled hazards that pose a risk to the City of Boulder, assessed the city's vulnerability to these hazards, and examined the capabilities in place to mitigate them. The City of Boulder is vulnerable to several natural hazards that are identified, profiled, and analyzed in the plan. Floods, wildfires, severe weather, and drought are among the hazards that can have a significant impact on the city. Based on the risk assessment, the HMPC identified goals and objectives for reducing the City of Boulder's risk to natural hazards. The three goals of this multi-hazard mitigation plan are to: • Goal 1-Increase Community Awareness of Boulder's Vulnerability to Natural Hazards • Goa12-Reduce Vulnerability of People, Property, and the Environment to Natural Hazards • Goal 3-Increase Interagency Capabilities and Coordination in order to Reduce the Impacts of Natural Hazards To meet identitied goals and objectives, the plan recommends 14 mitibation actions, which are summarized in the table that follows. This plan has been formally adopted by the city and will be updated every tive years at a minimum. Mitigation Actions Action #5 Web-Based Public Information Outreach City of Boidder DraR Mulu-Hazard Mitigatfon Plan October3007 Action #2 Implement Replacement Planting Program to Meet Three Criteria Action #3 Increase Urban Forest Canopy to Provide Maximum Flood Reduction Benefit Action #8 South Boulder Creek Regional Detention Plan ~~~~~ _ ~~ . City of Roulder ~ Recreation Citv of l3ouldcr Dra(t Mulu-Hazard Mrtigation Plan Octobcr'_007 1.O INTRODUCTION Action #12 West Nile Virus/Mosquito Mitigation to Provide Safe Activities on Parks and Recreation Sites ,.~~ TABLE OF CONTENTS chyota«a~ 1 Introd uction ..............................................................................................................................1.1 1.1 Purpose .............................................................................................. ..........................l.x 1.2 Background and Scope ..................................................................... ..........................l.x 13 Plan Organization .............................................................................. ..........................l.x 2 Community Profile ......................................................................................... ..........................2.1 2.1 Geography and Climate .................................................................... ..........................2.1 2.2 History ............................................................................................... ..........................2.1 23 Economy ........................................................................................... ..........................2.2 2.4 Demographics ................................................................................... ..........................23 3 The Planning Process ...............................................................................................................3.1 3.1 Local Government Participation ....................................................... ..........................3.2 3.2 The 10-Step Planning Process .......................................................... .........................3.2 4 Risk Assessment .......................................................................................................................4.1 4.1 Identifying Hazards ........................................................................... ..........................4.2 4.2 Profiling Hazards .............................................................................. ..........................4.4 43 Assessing Vulnerability .................................................................... ........................4.83 4.4 Assessing Capabilities ...................................................................... ......................4.148 5 Mitigation Strategy ........................................................................................ ..........................5.1 5.1 Goals and Objectives ........................................................................ ..........................5.1 5.2 Identification and Analysis of Mitigation Actions ............................ ..........................53 53 The Mitigation Strategy .................................................................... ..........................5.6 5.4 Mitigation Action Plan ...................................................................... ..........................5.7 6 Plan Adoption ................................................................................................. ..........................6.1 7 Plan Implementation and Maintenance .................................................................................7.1 7. I Implementation ................................................................................. ..........................7.1 7.2 Maintenance ...................................................................................... ..........................7.2 Appendix A-Plan Adoption ........................................................................... .........................A.1 Appendix B-Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee .........................................................B.l Appendix C-Data Collection Guide .......................................................................................C1 Appendix D-Mitigation Categories, Alternatives, and Selection Criteria .........................D.l Appendix E-References .........................................................................................E.1 C~ry of Boulder Drnft w MWn-Hazard Mnigavon Plan October?007 ~ City ~~~ ATTACHMENT B ame FAQs for Hazard Mitigation & Emergency Management Planning: Meeting the Requirements of the Disaster Mitigation Act If you haven't yet heard of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA-2K), you should read this backgrounder! There's money at risk, and little time to hesitate! DMA-2K requires that local governments, nationwide, have a FEMA approved Hazard Mitigation Plan in place by November 1, 2004, in order to maintain their eligibility for certain Pre- and Post disaster funding utilized to protect communities from future disaster damages. FEMA is the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the federal agency responsible for helping state and local governments respond to and recover from emergency and disaster events that exceed their own capability to do so. FEMA is now a part of the Department of Homeland Security --- but still goes by their well-recognized name. If your community is subject to repeated damaging events, such as flooding, earthquakes, coastal storms, tornadoes, or wildfire, you can ill afford to ignore this mandate, simply because of the amount of money at stake. If your community has already experienced a Presidential Disaster Declazation, then you already know! The funding programs subject to the DMA-2K requirements include FEMA's Hazazd Mitigation Grant Program, the Flood Mitigation Assistance Program, and the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program. These programs can provide communities with millions of dollars, and many in Colorado have relied upon them in the past and could use them in the future. Below are some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regazding DMA-2K and brief answers. What exactly is the DMA-2K requirement? Congress adopted DMA-2K on October 31, 2000 as PL106-390. The regulations detailing the DMA-2K requirements were published in the Federal Register, Vo1.67, no38, on February 26, 2002, as an Interim Final Rule. What is the primary focus of DMA-2K? The emphasis of DMA-2K is on creating an ongoing, community-wide planning process that involves the public, and results in a Hazard Mitigation Plan that is formally adopted by the local governing board. The local government mitigation planning regulations are implemented through 44 CFR Part 201.6 What are Hazard Mitigation and Hazard Mitigation Planning? Hazard Mitigation is defined as any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to human life and properiy from hazards. Planning is the process of setting goals, developing strategies, and outlining tasks and schedules to accomplish the goals. Hazazd Mitigation Planning is the process through which the hazazds that threaten communities aze identified, the ]ikely impacts of those hazards aze determined, mitigation goals aze set, and appropriate strategies that would lessen the impacts are determined, prioritized, and implemented. ATTACHMENT B Why does DMA-2K emphasize Hazard Mitigation Planning? Each year, natural disasters in the United States kill hundreds of people, injure thousands, and leave tens of thousands homeless. Nationwide, taxpayers pay billions of dollars each year to help those impacted recover from disaster. Many of these disasters aze predictable. Many more are repetitive, often with the same results. Many of the damages caused by these events can be alleviated or even eliminated. FEMA has made reducing losses from natural disasters one of its primary goals. Hazard Mitigation planning and the subsequent implementation of the projects, measures, and policies developed through those plans, is the primary mechanism in achieving these goals. Where success in reducing disaster damages has taken place, it has been the result of mitigation projects that were implemented as a result of mitigation planning. Who has to develop a DMA-2K mitigation plan? DMA-2K requires that every local government in the United States have a FEMA-approved Hazazd Mitigation Plan in order to maintain their eligibility for certain mitigation funding programs. DMA-2K defines "local governmenY' to include any county, municipality, city, town, township, public authority, school district, special district, intrastate district, council of governments, regional or interstate government entity, or agency or instrumentality of a local government; any Indian Tribe or authorized tribal organization, or Alaska native village or organization; and any rural community, unincorporated town or village or other public entity." Does DMA-2K allow for multi jurisdictional plans? Yes. In fact, countywide plans aze common, and they are multi jurisdictional because all of the "local governments" participate in the planning process. In some cases, larger planning regions make sense, such as Planning Districts or Watershed Districts. Note, however, that there are special requirements for multi jurisdictional plans. For instance, each "local govemmenY' seeking FEMA approval of the larger multi jurisdictional plan for their community must actively participate in the planning process. What does "actively participate in the planning process" mean? This means you have to go to the planning meetings; research and provide past hazard occurrence and loss data; analyze how effective your existing programs and procedures are; develop mitigation goals, objectives and projects; review the drafts; coordinate public input; and ensure adoption of the plan by your governing board. There are other Emergency Management planning requirements on Local Governments as part of the response to 9/11. How do these Hazard Mitigation Plans relate to these other Plans, like ones for Weapons of Mass Destruction and Bioterrorism, and can one plan meet all the requirements? DMA-2K was adopted well before the need for emergency management improvements were suddenly authenticated due to the events of September 11, 2001. In theory, one plan could address all of the Emergency Management planning concerns that communities face - as the profession is committed to "All Hazazds" planning. To support this mission, FEMA has developed guidance on how to integrate man-made hazards into your DMA-2K mitigation planning. In practice, however, it has been difficult. Health Hazards are being addressed ATTACHMENT B primazily by the health and medical professions, and Terrorist Hazards are being addressed primarily by military and public safety professions. Often these professions have planning regions, schedules, networks and databases that differ from those of Emergency Management, and often, the required secrecy innate to planning fox man-made hazards conflicts with the public input requirements of DMA-2K. Afterall, we don't really want to publicly identify all the potential vulnerabilities each of our communities has! So the answer is mixed. All Hazazds planning is definitely encouraged. DMA-2K only requrres that natural hazards be addressed in the plans. What other programs relate to DMA-2K? Hazard Mitigation Planning is not only a requirement of DMA-2K, but relates to the Flood Mitigation Assistance program (FMA) and National Flood Insurance Program's (NFIP) CommuniTy Rating System (CRS). CRS reduces flood insurance premiums to reflect what a community does above and beyond the NFIP's minimum standazds for floodplain regulation. The lower a community's CRS rating, the higher the discount applied to flood insurance premiums. Participation in CRS is voluntary, but those that do could benefit by lowering their CRS rating if their DMA-2K plans meet the CRS planning requirements for flood hazards. The FMA program also has a planning requirement similar to DMA-2K and CRS. FEMA provides FMA funds to assist States and communities implement measures that reduce or eliminate the long-term risk of flood damage to buildings, manufactured homes, and other structures insurable under the NFIP. FMA can fund project grants to implement measures to reduce flood losses, such as elevation, acquisition, or relocation of NFIP-insured structures, but only NFIP communities with approved FMA plans can apply for them. If a community has a flood hazard and participates in the NFIP and CRS it often makes sense to develop a plan that meets all the requirements for CRS/FMA/DMA-2K. Those communities that par[icipate in the NFIP can benefit from Hazard Mitigation Planning by better positioning themselves for participating in the CRS. What federal grant programs relate to DMA-2K? Communities that wish to be eligible for FEMA's post-disaster Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) and annual, competitive, Pre Disaster Mitigation Grant Program (PDM) are required to have a FEMA approved DMA-2K plan. PDM grants are awarded annually following a nationally competitive grant application process. Communities may apply for grants up to $3 million federal share per project. Colorado communities such as Fort Collins and have been successful with this grant program. HMGP funding is only available following a presidential disaster declaration, and is based on a percentage of the disaster aid allocated to the impacted counties. You do not need to be one of the declared counties to apply, however. Both grants have a 75% federal, 25% local match. Where can I get more information and help on DMA-2K? Your County Emergency Manager is a good place to start. If they are unaware of the requirement, check with the Colorado Division of Emergency Management in Centennial, and then with FEMA Region VIII, in Lakewood. Together, these organizations can provide training and guidance to help you develop your plan. They might even be able to provide ]imited funding to help you get it done! ATTACHMENT B What's really in it for your Community? I. First and foremost, significant amounts of FEMA funding to implement the projects developed in your plan. 2. In addition, you are helping your community become a safer place to live and work! Building safer disaster-resistant communities helps everyone. Disaster losses are reduced, economic development is stimulated, environmental protection is enhanced, and a framework for a sustainable future is created. And finally, the sooner you start, the sooner you will minimize your exposure to losing FEMA funding as a result of any federally declared disaster within your community following November 1, 2004. 3. This planning process works! Every community can make improvements - and just getting together to talk about these issues will lead you towards creating a safer community.