Advance Planning for Hazards and Disasters

The 2016 Washington County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan is currently being updated. FEMA requires plans to be updated every 5 years in order for communities to continue to be eligible for hazard mitigation grants. The current plan, which includes Bartlesville, is from 2016. The update process is being coordinated by the Washington County Emergency Management Agency, and updates are posted on their website.

History of Hazard Mitigation Planning in Bartlesville

In 2001, the City of Bartlesville received a FEMA grant to develop a Flood Mitigation Plan for the community.  A committee was formed to oversee the planning process, and in 2002, the Flood Mitigation Plan was adopted.  Although its main focus was flood hazards, the Plan briefly addressed other natural hazards that affect Bartlesville.  In 2003, the City received a FEMA grant to expand the plan, covering these other hazards in greater depth.

Work continued on the Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan, and in June 2004, it was finalized and adopted by the City Council.  FEMA approved the plan in November 2005, and in that same year, by passage of Ordinance 3163, the Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee (HMPC) became an official committee of the City. The committee continued to meet and work toward implementing the 96 mitigation projects identified in the Plan to address the following hazards:

FLOODS EXPANSIVE SOILS
TORNADOES URBAN FIRES
HIGH WINDS WILDFIRES
LIGHTNING EARTHQUAKES
HAILSTORMS HAZARDOUS MATERIALS EVENTS
WINTER STORMS DAM FAILURES
EXTREME HEAT TRANSPORTATION HAZARDS
DROUGHT TERRORISM

 

In 2009, as per FEMA requirements, the HMPC began working on the five-year update of the Plan.  The plan was completed in 2011 and approved by the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission, City Council, and FEMA.

In 2014, it was already time to start thinking about the next update of the plan. (FEMA requires an update every 5 years.) This time the State of Oklahoma was encouraging county-wide plans rather than individual city plans. Washington County was in the midst of their update, and Bartlesville and other communities (Copan, Dewey, Ochelata, Ramona and Vera) and public school districts (Bartlesville, Copan, Dewey and Caney Valley) decided to join with them. Starting in January 2015, monthly meetings were held to discuss potential hazards and disasters and make recommendations for lessening their dangerous and damaging effects. The planning process was funded through a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In 2016 the Washington County Hazard Mitigation Plan was adopted.

 

Contact

For more information, contact Nancy Warring at 918-338-4243 or newarring@cityofbartlesville.org.

 

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