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NEWPORT – The county’s hazard mitigation plan is currently open for public comment through Monday, Dec. 9. In February 2024, a coalition from Pend Oreille County, which included county representatives, the Kalispel Tribe of Indians, the city of Newport, towns of Cusick, Ione, Metaline and Metaline Falls, Pend Oreille County’s Conservation District, Public Utility District, Port District, and Health District, all of its school districts, and its fire service providers throughout the county embarked on a planning process to prepare for impacts of disasters.
Responding to federal mandates in the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (Public Law 106390), the coalition was formed to pool resources and create a uniform hazard mitigation strategy that can be consistently applied to the defined planning area. This planning coalition has now completed that effort.
The planning process was led by Pend Oreille County Office of Emergency Management with support from Bridgeview Consulting, LLC, the primary technical consultant. The project was funded in part by a planning grant from FEMA.
During this process, citizens were asked to contribute by sharing local knowledge of the county’s vulnerability to hazards based on past occurrences, as well as identify initiatives which could help reduce the level of impact of those hazards. Public involvement was solicited via a multi-media campaign that included press releases, public council/board presentations and meetings, web-based information, questionnaires, and presentation at the Pend Oreille County Fair.
The process culminated with the development of the Draft 2024 Pend Oreille County Multi-Jurisdiction Hazard Mitigation Plan, which is now available for public review and comment at the informational website established for this planning effort at www.pendoreille.gov/ emergency-management/ page/multi-jurisdiction- hazard-mitigation- plan-update.
A hard copy of the plan is available for review at the Pend Oreille County Library in Newport.
The public is highly encouraged to provide input on the draft plan to JoAnn Boggs, Pend Oreille County Emergency Manager at Joann Boggs, JBoggs@pendoreille. org or via phone at 509- 447-3731, or the consultant providing assistance during development of this plan, Bev O’Dea at Bevodea@ Bridgeviewconsulting. org or 253-301-1330.
