Public review opens for Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan

On March 17, Barb Beck with Beck Consulting, presented the draft of the Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan of Carbon County (MHMP) to the Carbon County Council of Governments (COG).

The meeting, held in Sinclair, was to familiarize the COG members with what was in the MHMP and what kinds of hazards the county faces.

The MHMP is now available for public review on the Carbon County Clerk's website and the town of Saratoga's website, or a hard copy can be reviewed in each of the 10 communities clerk office or at the county clerk's office. The comment period for the MHMP runs through April 18.

Over the past six months, Beck has been meeting with emergency responders, elected officials and John Zeiger, the Carbon County Emergency Management Coordinator, to update the existing MHMP.

The plan is organized into 19 chapters and includes hazards which the county may be susceptible.

The plan also describes the rating system applied to the hazards identified.

Hazards identified include dam failures, droughts, earthquakes, floods, hail, hazardous materials and waste, landslides, lightening, mine subsidence, snow avalanches, tornadoes, wild-land fires, wind, windblown deposits, and winter storms and blizzards.

The MHMP has 11 goals. Each of the 10 incorporated communities and the county have their own individual goals.

A total of 56 mitigation projects were identified in the MHMP and the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)identified hazards that each jurisdiction was vulnerable.

The LEPC then identified projects for the jurisdiction to address regarding the specific hazard vulnerabilities.

Beck Consulting reviewed other local plans and identified needs and projects in the plans that related to hazard mitigation and the public and elected officials were asked for project ideas.

Project costs were divided into three cost categories: low cost zero to $5,000; medium cost $5,001 to $50,000 and high cost: more than $50,000.

The MHMP will be incorporated into the town and city plans.

The town of Saratoga is initiating a land use planning effort, Beck reported in the coordination chapter. "The town has been directly impacted by flooding disasters, is pursuing mitigation projects independent of this plan, and has included projects in this plan."

Beck said the town engineer, Chuck Bartlett, who is also the floodplain coordinator has been involved in the preparation of the MHMP and will ensure the consistency with the land use plan as it is developed.

The Carbon County Management Coordinator is currently updated the Carbon County Emergency Operations Plan and will be adding a debris management annex.

Zeiger told COG that he is currently working on a Threat Hazard Identification Risk Assessment (THIRA) which includes identifying risks of handmade, technological or natural hazards.

At this time, Zeiger said he didn't know if the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was going to require one assessment or all three.

Zeiger has already been working on a scenario involving a manmade threat based on risks that were identified during the floods of 2010, 2011 and 2014 when the bridge near Fort Steele was compromised because of high waters.

Zeiger also told COG that the LEPC meeting is going to be on the third Thursday of each month rather than the third Wednesday as the latter conflicted with Sinclair Refinery's safety meeting.

The next COG meeting is May 20 in Saratoga.