Boone County has backed a new regional plan to guide decision-making at the local level during times of crisis.
Last week, the Boone County Fiscal Court voted to adopt the 2024 Northern Kentucky Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan. Hazard mitigation aids a community’s long-term strategy to reduce disaster losses and break the cycle of disaster damage, reconstruction and repetitive damage.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency requires each jurisdiction included in the plan to adopt it. Currently, there are 60 jurisdictions that must approve the plan.
“FEMA requires each jurisdiction included in the regional hazard mitigation plan to adopt the regional plan once it is completed,” Boone County Administrator Matthew Webster said during the fiscal court meeting.
The updated plan was led by the Northern Kentucky Area Development District. Since the early 2000s, Northern Kentucky jurisdictions have submitted their hazard mitigation plan as a multi-jurisdictional region hazard mitigation plan.
In 2023, FEMA enacted new Hazard Mitigation Policy. As such, the updated Northern Kentucky Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan follows the requirements outlined in the new policy.