About the Project

Hazard Mitigation

Mitigation is defined as “the action of lessening in severity or intensity”. Hazard mitigation focuses on lessening the severity and intensity of identified hazards as well as protecting life and property. A hazard mitigation plan identifies specific measures to be taken by a community to reduce their vulnerability from future hazard events and shorten the recovery time. The hazard mitigation plan is created through a planning process with input from citizens, business owners, public safety officials, and other stakeholders.

CVPDC HMP 2020 Update

The Central Virginia Planning District Hazard Mitigation Plan 2020 is a revision to the Region 2000 Hazard Mitigation Plan, completed and adopted by FEMA in 2013. The original Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) was developed for the Central Virginia Planning District Commission (CVPDC), then the Region 2000 Local Government Council, was written in 2006. While this HMP represents an update to the 2013 plan, it has been developed and designed such that it looks, feels, and reads differently than the previous version. As such, this regional hazard mitigation document has been developed as though it is the first regional plan and does not directly build upon or maintain past mitigation strategies. This is due to several factors including: availability of new hazard information and data that drives new considerations of risk, the region has matured and new capabilities are now available, this plan was developed with expanded stakeholder participation, and uses a new format to allow readers to more easily understand the content. In addition, the previous Hazard Mitigation Plan included several action items that have been completed, creating an opportunity for developing new mitigation strategies. Finally, the CVPDC HMP 2020 incorporates a corresponding interactive website that allows for real-time review of hazard data, a detailed plan and mitigation strategy oversight program, and a format for continued public engagement and participation.

In 2006 and 2012, the Center for Geospatial Information Technology (CGIT) at Virginia Tech was contracted by Virginia Region 2000 Local Government Council to carry out the original and first update of Hazard Mitigation Plan. This 2020 update was also contracted with the CGIT, with contribution by Sobis, Inc. Funding for the project was provided through a grant from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with the appropriate match made by each locality in CVPDC.

This HMP update includes an updated list of identified natural, technological, and man-made hazards that are a threat to the CVPDC area; an update to the evaluation and analysis of the risks to each jurisdiction in CVPDC; a strategy for long and short-term mitigation of identified natural hazards; and a process for ongoing review and maintenance of the HMP. With these updated items, the plan follows the requirements for local mitigation planning as required under Section 322 of the Robert T. Stafford Act (42U.S.C. 5165) and 44 CFR Part 201 as the necessary components of a local hazard mitigation plan and the new regulations for the program per 2019.

Planning

The plan was prepared in 4 main phases which are shown in the following figure. The public outreach components are shown in green.

Public input and participation in the plan development were solicited throughout the planning process. The CVPDC incorporated a mitigation plan development within its website, and meeting announcements and meeting materials were posted on the CVPDC and locality websites. Articles about the plan development, public participation, and an overview of hazard mitigation in general were featured with the CVPDC newsletter and social media postings.

Jurisdictions

Altavista, Town of	Appomattox, Town of	Campbell County
Amherst County	Bedford, Town of	Lynchburg City
Amherst, Town of	Bedford County
Appomattox County	Brookneal, Town of	Pamplin City, Town of

Participation

All jurisdictions listed in the above section of the CVPDC HMP participated in the creation of the original plan and the two updates to the plan. The project management team was made up of local officials from each jurisdiction, State agencies, universities and colleges, and non-profits.

Participation in the update included a series of project management team meetings to review and update the plan. In addition, a public survey was administered, and two public meetings held to provide the public information and the opportunity to provide input into the mitigation plan.

Each of the jurisdictions in this plan was represented elected officials and/or staff from the locality with knowledge of planning, public works, and emergency response. The membership of the project management team is in accordance with the requirements of Section 44 CFR 201.6(b)(2) for a multi- jurisdictional plan and the members are listed in the Team page.