News Releases
Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - July 7, 2004
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136
Alt Contact:  Mike Howard, Federal Emergency Management Agency, 425-487-4610; Mark Clemens, Emergency Management Division, 253-512-7006; Todd Myers, Department of Natural Resources, 360-902-1023

Gov. Gary Locke Announces Approval of State’s Enhanced Hazard Mitigation Plan

Gov. Gary Locke today announced the approval of the state’s enhanced hazard mitigation plan at a news conference in Olympia. Washington is the first state in the nation to have its plan approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“I am proud that our enhanced plan is the first in the nation approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” Locke said. “This will help communities throughout the state plan for and respond to disasters. By doing so, we can help spare individuals and families from the heartbreak of losing their homes, as well as injury and even death.”

Joining Locke was John Pennington, regional director of FEMA, Gen. Timothy Lowenberg, director of the state’s Military Department, and Mark Kahley, Resource Protection Division manager for the state Department of Natural Resources.

“The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 requires state and tribal governments to plan for potential hazards, with the specific intent of defining actions that will save lives and protect property,” Pennington said. “The state of Washington was able to complete this task before the November 1, 2004, deadline and at an enhanced level.”

The state’s enhanced hazard mitigation plan will result in four main benefits to the state. They include:

· Increased Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funds following a disaster. States with enhanced hazard mitigation plans can receive funds of up to 20 percent of federal Stafford Act expenditures on a disaster. States with a standard plan are only eligible for 7.5 percent funding.
· Continued eligibility for permanent repair and restoration work for disaster-caused damage to public facilities such as schools, municipal water systems and fire stations.
· Continued eligibility for fire management assistance grants to help the Department of Natural Resources and local agencies. These grants pay for the costs of fighting wildfires that threaten lives, property, critical facilities, and watersheds, and are beyond the response capabilities of state and local governments.
· Continued eligibility for Flood Mitigation Assistance and Pre-Disaster Mitigation programs. Since 1988, the Flood Mitigation Assistance Program has provided nearly $1.5 million in federal and match funds to help the state and local communities reduce flood damage.

“Having an enhanced plan demonstrates the state’s commitment to a comprehensive hazard mitigation program beyond what can be accomplished through the federal mitigation programs,” Locke said. Our plan will help communities throughout the state plan for and respond to disaster, whenever they may occur.”

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Washington State’s Enhanced Hazard Mitigation Plan
Reducing Injury and Damage from Natural Hazards

Some of the state’s recent mitigation initiatives:

Ř Avoidance of natural hazards as part of Growth Management land-use planning and critical areas protection (specifically frequently flooded areas and geologically hazardous areas), floodplain management, and shoreline protection.
Ř Developing a pilot warning system based on NOAA Weather Radio for coastal communities threatened by tsunami. The system has expanded into an all-hazard system being embraced by communities throughout the state.
Ř Producing an earthquake and tsunami education video for children, told through the eyes of coastal Indian tribes; a Hoh Indian Nation elder was the storyteller.
Ř Helping high-risk communities understand their wild fire threat and providing resources to help them remove hazard trees and create defensible spaces around homes and neighborhoods.
Ř Developing new soils and liquefaction maps to help communities develop comprehensive land-use plans and critical areas regulations, and to apply new, more rigorous building codes that took effect July 1, 2004.

Recent mitigation success stories:

Ř A $2.3 million Hazard Mitigation Grant Program project removed 34 homes from the Skagit River floodplain at Mount Vernon and turned the area into a community park. The October 2003 flood covered the park with more than four feet of water; no damage occurred.
Ř A $750,000 seismic retrofit project for Seattle Fire Station #2, which also contains the City of Seattle Emergency Operations Center, protected the facility from significant damage during the Nisqually earthquake.
Ř A non-structural retrofit project of a child-care center in Lakewood, Pierce County funded by an Oregon non-profit organization and Project Impact prevented damage and injury to children and staff during the Nisqually earthquake.
Ř A $1.38 million Hazard Mitigation Grant Program-funded seismic retrofit project prevented damage to the Mercer Island water reservoirs and pump station during the Nisqually earthquake.
Ř A project funded by the National Flood Insurance Program and Small Business Administration that elevated and seismically retrofitted manufactured homes in a park along the Puyallup River in King County prevented damage to the homes during the Nisqually earthquake.



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