Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan approved

Commission Chair David Gehrtz announced approval of the Eddy-Wells County Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan on December 7, 2023 by the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services Homeland Security Division. Plan development, led by Emergency Manager Lisa Thompson, required the expertise of a broad-based team of public and private partners.

"The intent of hazard mitigation planning is to keep communities safer by understanding hazards and threats and then identifying action steps to reduce their impacts," said Thompson. "Plan approval allows our communities to pursue federal mitigation grant dollars."

"Approval recognizes the hard work of the Eddy-Wells County planning team planning teams whose members contributed their expertise to assess their communities' risk and vulnerability and then to identify viable mitigation projects," said Justin Messner, N.D. Division of Homeland Security Disaster Recovery chief. "We encourage the planning teams to take the next step and apply for grant and other funding opportunities to enact their mitigation strategies."

The State of North Dakota is one of only three states that has an agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to administer both the planning and the program portions of Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.

Through FEMA's Program Administration by States Pilot Project, states like North Dakota can administer Hazard Mitigation Grant Programs by meeting the following criteria: have a current approved mitigation plan, demonstrate a commitment to mitigation and have a successful track record of effective mitigation program management.

Since 1997, a total of $253 million in local, tribal, state and federal funding has been leveraged for mitigation projects that have reduced the impacts of flooding, severe winter weather, severe summer weather and other hazards and threats in North Dakota.

According to a study by the National Institute for Building Standards, pre-disaster mitigation saves an average of $6 for every $1 spent.