Jefferson County drafting disaster-mitigation plan

Jefferson County officials are getting ready for a natural disaster — not that they expect something to strike soon.

"We need to identify mitigation projects so that we can fix something before it becomes a problem," said Joseph D. Plummer, director of county fire and emergency management.

A committee consisting of Mr. Plummer and personnel from the county administrator's office and highway and planning departments will wrap up four months of work to draft a "hazard mitigation plan" for the state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. County data must be submitted by Nov. 20 to a consultant, URS of Wayne, N.J., which then will create the plan before passing it on to the state.

The effort complies with the federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, which requires all states and local governments to come up with plans to identify and rectify potential problems that could occur when a natural disaster strikes. Under the law, local municipalities will be eligible for money through a federally approved plan.

Snow was an obvious item for the list, Mr. Plummer said. Among other hazards examined are flooding, lightning strikes, earthquakes and extremes in ice, temperatures and wind. A land-use trend sheet outlines residential and commercial development.

Regions that fail to file a plan waive eligibility for mitigation funds, he said. The law provides that individual municipalities must file a plan, or they may participate in a "multi-jurisdictional" plan, which is what Jefferson County is putting together.

All towns and villages were invited to tie in to the county plan, Mr. Plummer said, but not all have responded. He said participants include the towns of Adams, Alexandria, Brownville, Champion, Clayton, Henderson, Hounsfield, LeRay, Lorraine, Orleans, Pamelia, Philadelphia, Theresa, and the villages of Antwerp, Clayton, Deferiet, Dexter, Glen Park, Philadelphia, Sackets Harbor and Theresa. The city of Watertown is also taking part.

The plan will cover more than 600 pages, and is funded by a $75,000 grant from FEMA, with $25,000 invested by the county, Mr. Plummer said.