All residents of Benton County have the opportunity to provide input into the revision of Benton County’s Hazard Mitigation plan through a survey. The survey is posted at the website http://www.stevemeyerconsulting.com. Once the survey is completed it can be mailed or e-mailed to addresses listed on the survey.

Benton County has begun the process of revising its hazard mitigation plan with the assistance of a FEMA Hazard Mitigation Planning Grant. The plan was originally developed in 2011 by Consultant Steve Meyer.  FEMA requires the plans to be updated every five years.  The Benton County plan will be submitted to FEMA by February 1, 2016. Benton EMA Coordinator Scott Hansen is serving as the project lead.

A copy of the current plan can also be viewed at the website http://www.stevemeyerconsulting.com.

A multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan takes all incorporated communities and the unincorporated areas of a county into consideration and also any previous hazard mitigation planning that has occurred in the county. The purpose of a Hazard Mitigation Plan is to identify what natural and manmade disasters a community is vulnerable to and then to also identify steps that may be taken to lessen the impact of such events upon the citizens, their property and community resources.  Benton County has received a grant from FEMA to revise the plan. Having a Hazard Mitigation Plan in place is one of the necessary elements for receiving federal hazard mitigation project funds.  Benton County has contracted with Emergency Management Consultant Steve Meyer to facilitate development of the plan.

A series of open public meetings were recently held to initiate the revision process. At the meetings Consultant Meyer overviewed Benton County’s plan and the hazard mitigation planning process. More meetings will be held throughout 2015 as the revision process proceeds.