Montgomery County Council members today will vote on a hazard mitigation plan that’s mandatory in order for the county to receive federal emergency grant funding.
According to officials, the last time the county revised its hazard plan was nearly a decade ago.
At that time, there were far less stringent requirements for counties to apply for federal dollars and they could do so without making specific plans for handling natural disasters. But the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 stiffened requirements, Jeff Welsh, a spokesman for the Maryland Emergency Management Agency, told The Examiner on Monday.
The new plan — which is several months in the making — ranks potential dangers for Montgomery’s 18 jurisdictions and then gives procedures for safeguarding against these hazards.
For instance, Montgomery’s homeland security staff said the county is considered a high-risk area for flooding and wind damage from a hurricane or tropical storm; damage from windstorms and thunderstorms; drought conditions; and hazardous materials spills.
To address these risks, the plan outlines seven mitigation projects that still must be approved by individual county departments.
According to Welsh, the mitigation plan was just approved at the state level. Besides getting County Council approval, it still must be deemed acceptable by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“We’ve heard informally that the plan is on target for that, but we’re waiting on the official letter,” he said.
At a glance
Montgomery County’s seven proposed hazardmitigation projects:
» Installing a computerized maintenance system for trees within electrical corridors that pose a risk to critical facilities
» Purchasing backup emergency generators and pre-wiring stations for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue
» Pre-wiring recreation centers so they can be used as emergency shelters
» Identifying funding proposals to protect the county’s Public Safety Communications Center from wind
» Pre-wiring the Long Branch Community Center for a backup generator
» Correcting erosion gullies in the Long Branch Stream Valley
