Interested Barton County citizens are invited to review the Final Draft of the Region E Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan until September 4, 2014. Comments on the document are welcomed and individuals should go to the Barton County website to view the proposed plan.  Participation by citizens is an important element in the development of emergency plan development.
A draft copy of the Region E Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan may be found at www.bartoncounty.org , select Emergency/Risk Management under the Departments heading, and then select Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan 2014. In addition, individuals can also take the Hazard Mitigation Survey which is to the right of the Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan 2014 heading. Comments on the document are welcomed and individuals are directed on the web site to an email link for their comments.
The purpose of a Hazard Mitigation Plan is to guide hazard mitigation to better protect the people and property of Barton County. Having an approved plan makes plan participants eligible to receive both pre and post disaster funding and projects. Without an approved plan there is a potential to lose funding. The plan is a multi-Jurisdictional Mitigation Plan for Barton County, meaning that not only the County but also local governments with taxing authority, such as cities, townships and school districts, are planning partners. In addition, Non-Government Organizations, Private Non Profits, Water Districts and Rural Electric Cooperatives may be eligible for grant funding if they are in a jurisdiction with an approved plan and their project is consistent with the plan’s goals and objectives.  
The plan was developed as a Regional Jurisdictional Mitigation Plan for Barton County, and also includes Barber, Comanche, Edwards, Kiowa, Pawnee, Pratt and Stafford Counties. Mitigation plans form the foundation for a jurisdiction’s long-term strategy to reduce disaster losses and break the cycle of disaster damage, reconstruction, and repeated damage. The planning process is as important as the plan itself. It creates a group of planning partners that work together to develop a strategy and plan that will reduce damages to lives, property, and the economy from future disasters. Hazard mitigation is a sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and their property from hazards.
The process to develop a Hazard Mitigation Plan includes: 1) Identifying hazards; 2) Assessing the impact of the hazards on people and property; 3) Identifying the location and the extent of hazard areas; 4) Identifying assets that are at risk; 5) Identify actions and projects for hazards; 6) Make a draft plan available for public review and comment; 7) Submit the plan for approval to the State of Kansas and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); and 8) All participants adopt the plan.  It is anticipated that the plan will be submitted to FEMA by the end of September.  FEMA has 45 business days to review the plan.
Individuals may contact Amy Miller, Emergency Management Director, at 620-793-1919 or by email at emermgnt@bartoncounty.org for more information concerning the Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan.