Public invited to comment on Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan

If a flood washes away homes or a tornado damages outbuildings, every county in Wyoming is expected to have a plan in place with which to handle it.

The Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan details exactly what Campbell, Crook, Johnson, Sheridan and Weston counties are doing to minimize the impacts of the many hazards that could potentially impact this area.

The newest draft of this plan, which must be updated every five years, is now available for public comment.

It details each hazard, from drought, hazardous materials and dam failures to lightning, landslides, hail and wildfire, and the mitigation strategies that are in effect.

The plan is the result of a planning process undertaken by each of the five counties, which make up Wyoming Office of Homeland Security Region 1, with the purpose of meeting the requirements of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 and maintain continued eligibility for certain hazard mitigation or disaster loss reduction programs through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The planning process involved examining the recorded history of losses resulting from natural hazards and analyzing future risks. Hazards were assessed on several factors, such as potential magnitude probability and geographic extent, and given a rating for overall significance.

Drought, wildfire, floods and winter storms were determined to generally cause the most damage or economic loss in this region. Hazardous materials were identified as an additional high-risk hazard in Crook County specifically.

Mitigation strategies were then developed, including goals for each county in the planning area. Finally, the plan includes projects and actions for mitigation for each specific jurisdiction to reduce future losses.

In Crook County, led by Emergency Management Coordinator Ed Robinson, emergency personnel from the county and each municipality were involved in the planning, as well as state representatives such as for Keyhole State Park and private industry and stakeholders including Strata Energy and Neiman Enterprises.

According to a press release from the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security, public surveys were used during the planning process to solicit input on the hazards and ideas for mitigation projects. The counties are now soliciting public comment on the plan before it is finalized and submitted for FEMA review and approval.

The final plan will be adopted by each participating county and municipality before it becomes official. The draft plan can be accessed at hls.wyo.gov and an online form for feedback can be found at https://forms.office.com/e/Bp8DeY3JQ6

The comment period is open until December 31.