Overview:

Dane County is in the process of updating its Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan (NHMP).  The last plan update for the County was completed in 2018.  Natural Hazard Mitigation Plans are important steps that communities take to assess the threat of various natural hazards in their area and make decisions on how to best limit the loss of life and property when the disasters occur. This handbook is meant to help facilitate the process of threat identification and assessment of the potential impact of these natural hazards. In addition to alleviating damage, natural hazard mitigation plans also help communities continue mitigation efforts by qualifying them for pre and post-disaster mitigation project grants from the federal government, pending Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approval.  

This update of the Dane County NHMP is considered a multi-jurisdictional plan by FEMA.  This means that in addition to the County-level plan that is being developed, each jurisdiction will have an annex attached to the plan addressing the need for hazard mitigation and the potential steps that can be taken.  To produce a useful and updated hazard mitigation plan that meets your jurisdictions and Dane County’s needs, as well as the requirements of the Disaster Mitigation Act 2000 (DMA), essential information must be collected during the planning process. The information needed to support the planning process includes the following: 

• Background information about jurisdictions in Dane County; 
• Plans, technical studies, and data related to hazards and risks; 
• Current governing codes, ordinances, regulations, and procedures whose intent is to minimize future losses and; 
• An assessment of Dane County’s technical and organizational capabilities to perform hazard mitigation/loss prevention functions.  

It is important that the plan shows what Dane County and its communities are doing now to limit future disaster losses.

Natural Hazard Mitigation Plans are updated every five years in order to frequently assess and address the changing threat of natural hazards.  In accordance with this idea, Dane County will continue to address the threat of natural hazards in light of the region’s changing climate.  The County will examine climate trends and determine their projected impacts on the natural hazards this plan addresses.  The rate of change in the trend can help determine the priority future mitigation practices should carry. The inclusion of climate change factors in hazard analysis will ensure Dane County takes appropriate steps to protect its citizen’s personal and economic safety through mitigation efforts that consider the changing threat of natural hazards.

The planning process is heavily dependent on existing data to be supplied by each of the participating jurisdictions. The DMA plan development process does not require the development of new data, but requires existing data only.  

What is Mitigation?

Hazard mitigation is defined by 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 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 Council 2005). 

Mitigation generally means reducing long-term risk from hazards to acceptable levels through predetermined measures accompanying physical development, for example: strengthening structures to withstand high winds or snow loads; elevating, removing or limiting development in flood-prone areas; increasing tree cover to provide shade during extreme heat events; improving backup power capacity for critical facilities.

“Mitigation” is different from emergency “preparedness” or “response:”  

• Preparedness concentrates on activities which make a person, place, or organization ready to respond to a disaster with emergency equipment, food, emergency shelter, and medicine.  
• Response activities may reduce damages, such as sandbagging during a flood, but this is a short term solution and requires advance warning and capabilities in place during the event.  
• Mitigation of flood hazards through wise floodplain management is a long term solution.

Timeline

Specific meeting dates and times will be determined at least three weeks ahead of time.

July 30, 2021 – Deadline for submitting a letter of commitment to Dane County Emergency Management.

August 2021 – 

• Establish a local planning team.
• Participate in additional meetings (via ZOOM):
  1. Understanding and applying lessons on climate change.
  2. Seeing diversity and assessing equity in your community.
  3. Guidance for completing the attached worksheets.

September 2021 – Participate in meeting (ZOOM) on developing problem statements.

October 2021 – Participate in meeting (ZOOM) on developing local mitigation objectives.

November 2021 – Engage with citizens to solicit input on local objectives.

December 2021 – Submit materials (reflecting public input) to DCEM.

By February 2022 – DCEM will return local mitigation plans to local POCs for review and adoption.

By March 2022 – Adopted local mitigation plans and copies of resolutions are returned to DCEM.

June 2022 – Comprehensive Dane County Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan (DC NHMP) adopted by Dane County Board.

By August 2022 – Adopted DC NHMP submitted to Wisconsin Emergency Management (WEM) for review and forward to FEMA.

By January 2023 – FEMA approval of DC NHMP.