CHENANGO COUNTY – With the increase of natural disasters in the area in recent years, Chenango County officials have taken measures that would assure eligibility for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the event of a widespread natural disaster.
A resolution to update the county’s current hazard mitigation plan was adopted by Chenango’s Board of Supervisors at a monthly meeting held Monday. The plan - a collaborative work between elected officials and the county’s department of planning and development - includes strategies to mitigate area flooding among other things, and outlines the county’s intent to use FEMA assistance should a natural occurrence be declared a disaster by federal standards.
In accordance with FEMA regulations, a municipality’s existing hazard mitigation plan must be updated every five years to qualify for federal assistance, explained Chenango County Planning Director Donna Jones. It does, however, come with a $70,000 price tag for update and review - a detail that was debated among area officials at a June meeting of the Chenango County Finance Committee.
The actuality that updating the plan comes at a heavy burden for county taxpayers was contested by committee member and Pharsalia Supervisor Dennis Brown, who argued against federal requirements that the county pay just to be eligible for federal assistance. Brown also questioned the effectiveness of a hazard mitigation plan, asking “What good does this do? How are taxpayers better prepared for flooding than they were before?”
“We need to have this plan in place. If we did not, we simply wouldn’t receive any federal aid,” Jones told committee members, mentioning an Aug. 25 deadline to show that the county is progressing in an updated hazard mitigation plan. “This is something that has to be in place before we even qualify for any FEMA assistance.”
Jones also said that - since the county footed the $125,000 bill for the original development of the hazard mitigation plan in 2008 - the county has received over $12 million in FEMA funding, namely for flood recovery after Tropical Storms Irene and Lee devastated the region in September of 2011.
“Unfortunately, we have had such an increase in flooding events in the last few years that we really haven’t had a chance to mitigate,” said Lawrence Wilcox, chairman of the county Board of Supervisors. “Instead, we have been busy cleaning up messes.”
Wilcox also said the county can take steps to help reduce flooding in some regions, such as installing larger culverts in flood prone regions. Such efforts will be included in the updated hazard mitigation plan, he added.
Although the project to update Chenango County’s hazard mitigation plan did go to bid earlier this year, only one proposal was received by the planning department from New Jersey based Tetra Tech, Inc., a provider of consultation, engineering and technical services, and architect of the original plan in 2008. According to Monday’s resolution, a contract is authorized with Tetra Tech to update the plan, pending approval from the county attorney.