Multi-Jurisdiction Hazard Mitigation Plan

2025 Hazard Mitigation Plan Approved by FEMA

Delta County in partnership with local municipalities, Fire Protection Districts and Delta County School District 50J have completed the process to update the Delta County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan which according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) must be updated every five (5) years.

Delta County received funding for the update through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program administered by FEMA and the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Utilizing these grant funds under a 90% federal cost share and 10% local cost share to the County, Delta County Emergency Management hired WSP, USA Environment & Infrastructure Inc. out of Denver, Colorado to guide the update process and prepare the updated Hazard Mitigation Plan.

Approved Plan

The Plan was approved by FEMA in April 2025. Emergency Management is working through the 300+ page plan to make it ADA Compliant to post to the website. If you would like to receive a copy of the plan before the ADA compliance is complete you may request one by emailing Emergency Management - oem@deltacountyco.gov

2025 Hazard Mitigation Plan - ArcGIS StoryMap

What is Hazard Mitigation?

Each year in the United States, disasters take the lives of hundreds of people and injure thousands more. Nationwide, taxpayers pay billions of dollars annually to help communities, organizations, businesses, and individuals recover from disasters. Many natural disasters are predictable, and much of the damage caused by these events can be alleviated or even eliminated.

Hazard mitigation is defined by FEMA as “any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to human life and property from a hazard event.” The results of a three-year, congressionally mandated independent study to assess future savings from mitigation activities provides evidence that mitigation activities are highly cost-effective. On average, each dollar spent on mitigation saves society an average of $6.00 in avoided future losses in addition to saving lives and preventing injuries (National Institute of Building Science Multi-hazard Mitigation Council 2005).

The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 requires that local governments have hazard mitigation plans approved by FEMA to be eligible for hazard mitigation funding programs. Hazard mitigation planning is the process through which hazards that threaten communities are identified, likely impacts of those hazards are determined, mitigation goals are set, and appropriate strategies to lessen impacts are determined, prioritized, and implemented. The planning process is heavily dependent on the participation of representatives from local government agencies and departments, the general public, and other stakeholder groups.

Natural and Man-Made Hazards identified in Delta County

The Delta County Hazard Mitigation plan specifically addresses the following natural and man made hazards:

Avalanche
Dam Failure
Drought
Flood
Landslide, Mudflow/Debris Flow, Rock Fall
Severe Summer Weather
Severe Winter Weather
Wildfire
Infrastructure Failure
Cyber Attack

Resources

The following resources provide more information about hazard mitigation and hazard mitigation planning: