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Part 2: Section C
Section C: Plan Maintenance, Monitoring Implementation Progress, and Achieving Plan Actions and Goals
Section Purpose Monitoring, Evaluating and Updating the Plan Ongoing Review and Achieving Plan Goals and Actions Post-Disaster Review FEMA Review – Three-Year Cycle Monitoring Mitigation Measures and Project Closeouts Summary: Assessment of Completed Mitigation Actions Section Purpose The purpose of this section is to describe the procedures for monitoring, evaluating and updating the plan. In addition, the section describes the system for monitoring implementation of mitigation measures and project closeouts, and a system for reviewing progress on achieving goals as well as effectiveness of activities and projects in Part II, Section B: Mitigation Strategies. Back to Index Monitoring, Evaluating and Updating the Plan The State Interagency Hazard Mitigation Team [State IHMT] oversees the regular review and update of the state Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan (NHMP). State IHMT members are responsible for monitoring and evaluating the progress of the mitigation strategies in the plan. Oregon Emergency Management is responsible for contacting State IHMT members and organizing the plan review process. As a standing body, the State IHMT meets on a regular basis and can choose to discuss matters related to the state NHMP as the opportunity and need arises. The state NHMP maintenance process is organized under the State IHMT and includes the following components: 1. The State IHMT continually monitors, reviews and evaluates the effectiveness of mitigation actions and projects identified in the state NHMP and reports, annually, on their findings.
2. After each Presidential major disaster declaration in Oregon, the State IHMT reviews relevant sections of the state NHMP based on the nature and impact of the disaster; this involves review and update of the hazard-specific chapter(s) with respect to that disaster. Damages reported from the Preliminary Damage Assessment process, NFIP flood-loss claims, private insurance claims, media reports and other reported losses also provide valuable datasets to identify mitigation opportunities and validate mitigation successes. 3. The ongoing reviews and updates noted in #1 and #2 above are synthesized with other plan updates and mitigation project implementation no less than every three years and submitted to FEMA for their review and consideration. Ongoing Review and Achieving Plan Goals and Actions The State IHMT reviews the mitigation strategy and actions to determine their relevance to changing situations in the state, as well as changes in federal policy, and to ensure they are addressing current and expected conditions. As mitigation actions are implemented, they are measured against the state plan goals and reported as success stories in the state NHMP. Representatives to the State IHMT report on their agency-specific accomplishments at regular meetings of the team. The State IHMT also reviews the risk assessment portion of the plan (Part II, Section A) to determine if this information should be updated or modified. The designated parties responsible for the various implementation actions report on the status of their activities, including which implementation processes worked well, difficulties encountered, how coordination efforts worked, and which strategies should be revised. Although it is not possible to review all the implementation actions, annually, their review is accomplished incrementally and in total every three years. A recent mitigation success story that promotes the critical importance earthquake safety highlights the goals of this plan. Scientists, policy makers, and citizens of Oregon have joined forces the past three legislative sessions to develop long-term programs designed to increase seismic safety for schools and emergency facilities. Two key components in establishing these programs are State Senator Peter Courtney, who championed legislation requiring all public schools and emergency facilities to have life safety standards and the citizens of Oregon, who voted to change the Oregon Constitution Articles, which now allow state general obligation (GO) bonds to pay for earthquake rehabilitation of schools and emergency facilities. Scientific advances in understanding that a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake is imminent in geologic time have prompted the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) and the Oregon Seismic Safety Policy Advisory Commission (OSSPAC) to develop sound public policies to forward the goal of mitigation of statewide risks. Funding from FEMA (both NEHRP and Pre- Disaster Mitigation program) was used to facilitate a dialog among a very wide diversity of stakeholders, which occurred in late 2004 at the Capitol in Salem, Oregon. Three concepts were developed, which Peter Courtney formulated into 2005 legislation that focus on: 1) Performing a statewide needs assessment for all schools and emergency facilities, 2) Formation of a temporary committee to establish a new state grant program to distribute earthquake rehabilitation grants using state bond funds, and 3) Issue of state bond funds through the newly established grant program to state and local communities for the rehabilitation of fire stations, police stations and hospitals and high occupancy school buildings. These three concepts were passed into new laws in 2005. The passing of these bills is a giant step forward in the pre-disaster planning/policy-making phase for Oregon’s public schools and emergency facilities and beginning of the evaluation and actual mitigation phase. As time and resources permit, the State IHMT also considers important mitigation actions identified in local government mitigation plans for synthesis into the ongoing revision and updating of the state NHMP. Local jurisdiction action items are an important component of this plan, and a proposed statewide database of local actions will help correlate like mitigation needs as well as single-out specific opportunities to reduce natural hazard risks. Oregon Emergency Management is responsible for incorporating the changes and updates to the plan before submitting the document to State IHMT members, coordinating any comments they may have, promulgating the update, and forwarding the updated plan to FEMA for their review and consideration. This state enhanced natural hazards mitigation plan has been under development for nearly a year and has included not only specific elements to address the enhance plan criteria but updates to hazard specific chapters and their corresponding action items. This important update to the standard state natural hazards mitigation plan has been coordinated through the membership and subcommittees of the State IHMT. Back to Index Post-Disaster Review After each Presidential major disaster declaration in Oregon, the State IHMT reviews relevant sections of the state NHMP based on the nature, extent and impact of the disaster. Since the State IHMT also serves to support the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Review Board, the State IHMT oftentimes proposes recommendations for measures and projects to reduce disaster losses from future hazard occurrences. The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA2K) removed the requirement to activate the federally convened Hazard Mitigation Survey Team following disaster declarations to identify issues to be addressed in the state’s mitigation plan. DMA2K also eliminated the Interagency Hazard Mitigation Team that was activated following disaster declarations for the flood hazard. Even though these requirements no longer exist in federal law, FEMA Region Ten and the state agree they serve an important function and mechanism to identify possible hazard mitigation issues and actions, and to update state and local natural hazards mitigation plans. FEMA Region Ten and the state will continue to convene these federal/state/local teams following significant disaster declarations to identify mitigation opportunities and to provide valuable input to update the state Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan. Back to Index FEMA Review – Three-Year Cycle Oregon Emergency Management, through the auspices of the State IHMT, submits no less often than once every three years the state NHMP to FEMA for their review and consideration. The FEMA-required state update will occur in such fashion that FEMA representatives will be invited to participate in the process and have the opportunity to perform a pre-adoption review prior to submitting the official plan update for FEMA’s final review. Back to Index Monitoring Mitigation Measures and Project Closeouts The process used to monitor the implementation of mitigation measures and project closeouts includes tracking action items identified in both the state NHMP and local government NHMPs. The State IHMT is responsible for monitoring implementation of projects identified in the state NHMP and is further advised, annually, of progress made in implementing measures at the local government level for which OEM is the grantee for FEMA funding. The State Hazard Mitigation Officer is responsible for reporting this information to the State IHMT for projects funded by the Hazard Mitigation Grant, Pre-Disaster Mitigation and Flood Mitigation Assistance programs Oregon Emergency Management (OEM), as the grantee for FEMA mitigation project funding, is responsible for the day-to-day monitoring of mitigation project implementation and project closeouts. This is a required activity for projects funded by the Hazard Mitigation Grant, Pre-Disaster Mitigation and Flood Mitigation Assistance programs. The administrative plan for the HMGP describes this process in detail. All three grant programs require the subgrantee submit quarterly reports to the State Hazard Mitigation Officer that document progress in implementing mitigation projects and confirming their completion. OEM, in turn, consolidates the subgrantee reports, with additional comments as necessary, and forwards them to FEMA Region Ten. OEM is responsible for developing project grant closeout reports for submission to FEMA and for routine updates to the State IHMT. Progress is documented in the action item matrices of Part IV, Appendix 11 of this plan. Outside of the traditional FEMA mitigation grant programs, state and local governments identify and oftentimes implement mitigation measures using local capabilities and resources. This includes the development and adoption of local ordinances and regulations that include a hazard mitigation component, mitigation codes and standards as part of ongoing transportation and public works programs, hazard-related components to local comprehensive land use plans, and so forth. While it may not be possible to track and report on every mitigation accomplishment in state and local mitigation plans, communities will see the positive cumulative impacts of these efforts in reduced disaster losses. The state encourages the seamless integration of mitigation activities into the day-to-day operations of state and local government programs. Back to Index Summary: Assessment of Completed Mitigation Actions The overall goal of mitigation planning is the implementation of mitigation measures that avoid or reduce future disaster losses. By carefully documenting project implementation and post-disaster project successes it is possible to measure the effectiveness of mitigation.
Together, project close-out documentation and reporting on the post-disaster significance of mitigation actions allows the state to fully assess the overall effectiveness of past implemented measures for inclusion as success stories in the state and local natural hazards mitigation plans. Objectively, the goal is to document losses avoided for each mitigation action to fully quantify the benefits of the mitigation. This documentation process facilitates the wide distribution and availability of this information to local, state and federal partners. For example, mitigation measure successes are tracked against state and local mitigation action items in a database under development. Download a PDF copy of the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Administrative Plan Back to Index |
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