Boundary County

All Hazards Mitigation Plan 

Section 2

Background

Purpose

The Boundary County All Hazards Mitigation Plan is a tool to assist the county in ensuring that the local citizens, community businesses and institutions are more resistant to the impacts of future disasters. Acting separately and in conjunction with other communities, Boundary County has undertaken a comprehensive, detailed evaluation of the vulnerabilities of the county to all types of future natural, technological and societal hazards to make the jurisdiction more resistant to their impacts. 

The purpose of this plan is to:

·        Provide a methodical, substantive approach to mitigation planning

·        Enhance public awareness and understanding

·        Create a decision tool for management

·        Promote compliance with the State of Idaho and federal program requirements in order to be eligible for available mitigation-related funding

·        Enhance existing policies as they related to hazard mitigation

·        Assure inter-jurisdictional coordination of mitigation-related programming

·        Create a localized hazard mitigation plan for implementation

·        Develop a flexible planning process that meets the local need and recognizes limited resources

Use of Plan

The Boundary County All Hazards Mitigation Plan will be used to identify and recommend projects and programs that would eliminate, minimize, or otherwise mitigate the vulnerability of the people, property, environmental resources and economic vitality of Boundary County to the impacts of future disasters.  These identified projects and programs are “mitigation initiatives” and constitute the principal component of this plan.  The fundamental use of this plan is to guide, coordinate and facilitate the efforts of the agencies, organizations, and individuals in the Local Emergency Planning Committee as they seek funding, authorities or other resources necessary for implementation of the identified mitigation initiatives.

Plan Participants

Boundary County utilized the existing local hazard mitigation stakeholder group, Boundary County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), to oversee the planning process.  The LEPC was established by Boundary County in 2001 to coordinate local hazard mitigation efforts.  The LEPC provided:

·        expertise

·        information or perspective on hazard identification

·        conducted vulnerability assessments of the county and critical facilities

·        identified, characterized and proposed structural and non-structural mitigation initiatives 

·        coordination for mitigation initiatives with other local jurisdictions 

To promote consistency between the Boundary County All Hazards Mitigation Plan and plans from other city jurisdictions, the outcomes of each city jurisdiction’s planning process was reviewed by the LEPC as each planning step was completed.

Acknowledgements

Many people contributed to the development of this All Hazard Mitigation Plan.  The participation of everyone listed below is gratefully acknowledged.

Technical assistance, information, and review of all or portions of the draft were provided by:

Planning Activity Facilitators

Dean Satchwell, Planning and Research

Bob Bosworth, Inland Forest Management, Inc.

Dave Kramer, Boundary County Emergency Management Director

Bob Graham, Boundary County Incident Commander

Boundary Economic Development Association

Fire Chiefs

Ken English, Moyie Springs Fire

Don Anderson, Paradise Valley Fire Department

Bill Branson, Hall Mountain Fire Department

Ron Kish, Bonners Ferry City Fire Department

Heidi Vandyken, North Bench Fire Department

Tony Rohrwasser, South Boundary Fire District

John Moss, Curley Creek Fire District

Idaho Department of Lands             

Scott Bacon

Chris Lund

Inland Forest Management, Inc.

Mike Wolcott                                                              

Jodi Grevé                                                       

Karen Robinson                                                          

Bob Bosworth

Financial support for the preparation of this plan was provided to Boundary County through a grant from the Bureau of Land Management.

Public Involvement

Boundary County solicited input from the community through open LEPC meetings, advertised public meetings, radio broadcasts, county website postings, and open city council and county commissioner meetings, as described below:

LEPC Meetings   The Boundary County LEPC held several meetings throughout the planning process.  These meetings were open to the public.  LEPC members were encouraged to invite participation from interested citizens and people that had historical or technical information that could assist in the planning process.

Public Meetings   Boundary County advertised and conducted several public meetings during the planning process. The first public meet was held on August 2001 after the completion of the County’s hazard identification and risk assessment process.  The second public meeting was held on April 25, 2004 after mitigation strategies were drafted and before the final plan adoption.

Public Radio Broadcasts   Boundary County held several radio broadcasts explaining the procedure, each section of the plan, and final review of the plan. The broadcasts also listed home emergency books and other resources available to Boundary County citizens.  The broadcast was presented during the noon hour “open mic” on WKBF by disk jockey JoJo Baker.  There are no recordings of the presentation, which was conducted as the station had airtime available.  During the summer of 2005, Dean Satchwell conducted public broadcasts on three separate dates.

Boundary County Website Posting   Boundary County posted the mitigation plan as it was being constructed. This allowed the public to observe, read, and comment during the long plan development process. The public was encouraged at every opportunity to express views, both positive and negative.

Open City Council and County Commissioner Meetings   Reviews and updates of the plan were presented and discussed at city council and county commissioner meetings, which were open to the general public.

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