After mismanaging the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it would appear that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is continuing its goal of being more proactive in preparing for large and small-scale disasters.
According to FEMA’s Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, state, local, and tribal governments are required to develop and maintain hazard mitigation plan, which form the base of a community’s long-term strategy in the hopes of reducing disaster losses, and to break the cycle of damage from disasters. The bill adds incentives for funding so the state and local governments are able to fund and develop these plans.
In accordance with FEMA and the Disaster Mitigation Act, Santa Barbara County notifies cities every five years to update their hazard mitigation plans. Over the last two years, local cities have been working hard to identify the potential hazards that pose a threat to our local community.
With the help of Dewberry Consultants, an outside agency from Virginia, Santa Barbara County was able to determine its possible threats and form its portion of the mitigation plan, which identifies what actions will be taken and by whom.
On Feb. 7, the Santa Maria City Council will be asked to adopt an updated hazard mitigation plan as part of the countywide effort to remain eligible for disaster relief funds from FEMA.
According to the Santa Maria City Manager’s Office, the risks that Santa Barbara County faces include earthquakes, flooding, fires, wind, hazardous material spills, agricultural pests and diseases, and economic and infrastructure disruption.
Each city develops a plan that will become a chapter in an overall, all-inclusive plan for the county. The county’s plan alone is 300 pages. According to city spokesman Mark Van de Kamp, Santa Maria’s portion of the plan is 100 pages.
“It’s hard to keep it short, but all the material included is mandatory,” Van de Kamp said.
He explained Santa Maria was unique in its approach to developing the hazard mitigation plan because leadership decided to look at both natural and man-made threats. Some man-made threats for Santa Maria include the potential breaking of Twitchell Dam or the Santa Maria River Levy.
The city of Santa Maria worked with Dewberry Consultants, which visited the Central Coast numerous times. City officials also asked for input from the community and coordinated with the fire department. According to Van de Kamp, the fire departments will be responsible for maintaining these plans.
Van de Kamp also said Santa Maria used Geographic Information Systems to help determine possible infrastructure threats and pinpoint their exact locations. Once the plan is adopted, it will be made available to the public.
“I feel very confident in the plan. This isn’t our first rodeo, and the city has been very successful thus far in implementing mitigation actions,” Van de Kamp reassured.
At the Solvang City Council meeting on Jan. 23, staffers submitted they city’s portion of the plan to the council. Their plan identified four risks: flooding, wildfire, landslides, and possible dam failure. Solvang council members were slightly disappointed by the lack of community input on the plan draft.
The vote to adopt the plan was unanimous, but there isn’t much choice if Santa Barbara County cities want to remain compliant with federal law. City of Buellton staffers will be submitting their plan to the council as well.
While developing plans for the cities of Solvang and Santa Maria went smoothly, it seems as though Guadalupe had a lot more to consider when the Guadalupe City Council adopted its section of the Santa Barbara County hazard mitigation plan on Jan. 10.
As it currently stands, the city of Guadalupe faces seven potential hazards. According to the Santa Barbara County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan, these hazards include: flooding as a result of rainstorms, earthquakes, hazardous material spills, agricultural threats from various pests and diseases, train derailments, flooding due to dam failure, and tsunamis.
These hazards were identified with the help of Guadalupe Fire Chief Jack Owen and with further assistance from Dewberry Consultants, who helped prepare the county’s plan.
According to Owen, the process by which these threats are determined and assessed is rather unique.
“This is the first time we used it. The old method of identifying these threats was pretty subjective. However, this new formula is much more grounded and accurate,” Owen said.
The new plan is being drafted, and Owen said the updated plan will be available to the public.
Despite the thorough investigation and planning, some Guadalupe residents were left wondering where their city stood in the event of a nuclear emergency. Radioactivity release from Diablo Canyon Power Plant isn’t considered a hazard to Guadalupe, because the city is in Santa Barbara County, which isn’t in the region’s emergency planning zone.
According to Owen, federal studies have been conducted to determine which regions Diablo Canyon poses a threat to should an incident take place. Owen wants to reassure community members that Guadalupe isn’t in any immediate danger.
“I am going to be honest; I’m not worried about Diablo Canyon. I have been through their safety tours, and I am confident that we will be OK,” Owen said.
He did reveal that even though there’s no formal nuclear emergency plan included in the Guadalupe annex plan, Owen and Guadalupe Police Chief George Mitchell have collaborated and come up with an informal plan to handle a potential nuclear threat.
Owen asserts that the biggest threat Guadalupe faces from Diablo is not the radiation, but the heavy inundation of traffic from people evacuating.
Owen said in the light of a nuclear emergency, a majority of the county’s inhabitants are instructed to use Highway 101 to evacuate. Even still, Highway 1 runs right through Guadalupe, and that road would surely receive heavy traffic from Grover Beach, Oceano, and Nipomo.
“I have been talking to Santa Barbara emergency management on bringing Guadalupe into the planning process. Although we won’t be contaminated with radiation, there will be vehicles coming through that have been contaminated by radiation,” Owen said.
Communications and plans for such a mass exodus are in the works, and Owen said there’s no timeline as to when plans will be finalized.
Even though Owen would like to see plans for Guadalupe’s role in a nuclear emergency settled, bigger problems have come to light, such as the lack of a levy on the southern end of the Santa Maria River.
Guadalupe and the city of Santa Maria have endured numerous floods because of the absence of a levy, and Owen says both cities will continue to face flooding problems until the levy is addressed. Unfortunately, a lack of funding might prevent this problem from being alleviated anytime soon.
Owen did confirm that he and the city are actively pursuing every dollar available, and they will continue to push construction until it happens.
According to Santa Barbara County Engineering Manager Jon Frye, these plans are more like capital improvement projects or proposed work. How soon the goals and objectives listed in the plan are addressed will be determined by fundi-ng.
“This plan is a nonbinding road map. We have identified the threats but can’t fix them all tomorrow. Everything is driven by money and availability,” Owen said.
Contact contributor Kristina Sewell through Managing Editor Amy Asman at aasman@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Feb 2-9, 2012.
