FINAL Town of Oneonta All-Hazards Mitigation Plan Approved January 31, 2008 Prepared by: Town of Oneonta Hazard Mitigation Committee And The Otsego County Planning Department 197 Main St. Cooperstown, NY 13326 This hazards mitigation plan encompasses the Town of Oneonta, New York. This plan was Developed through coordination with the Otsego County Planning Department and was funded, in part, by a Pre-Disaster Mitigation program grant from the New York State Emergency Management Office and Federal Emergency Management Agency. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Section 1 – Executive Summary 1-1 Background 1-1 Planning Process 1-1 Risk Assessment 1-1 Mitigation Strategy 1-2 Action Plan 1-3 Plan Maintenance 1-6 Section 2 - Background 2-1 Section 3 - Planning Process 3-1 Section 4 - Risk Assessment introduction 4-1 Town Historic data 4-2 HAZNY results 4-4 Hazard Definitions 4-5 Moderately High Hazards 4-8 Moderately Low Hazards 4-13 Low Hazards 4-22 Critical Building Value, Replacement and Content Cost 4-24 Critical Facilities Inventory 4-25 Damages assessment 4-27 Page Section 5 - Mitigation Goals and Actions introduction 5-1 Actions Specific to New and Existing Buildings 5-2 Prioritized method of goals and actions 5-6 Goals and Action Plan 5-9 Section 6 - Plan Maintenance 6-1 thru 6-8 Appendix A - List of Acronyms A Appendix B All-Hazard Mitigation Plan Adoption B-1 – Appointment of Members to Planning Committee B-1 B-2 – Plan Adoption B-2 B-3 – Resolution of amended plan 2006 B-3 Appendix C – Notices C C-1 – Public Notice C-1 C-2 – List of notified agencies C-2 C-3 – Letters to other agencies C-3 Appendix D – Critical Facilities and Vulnerable Sites D Appendix E – Maintenance E E-1 – Sample cover letter for annual maintenance report E-1 E-2 – Sample of Annual Maintenance Report E-2 Appendix F – Maps F F-1 Roads and Parcels F-1 F-2 Water & Forest Resource F-2 F-3 School Districts F-3 F-4 Fire District F-4 F-5 Transportation/Crashes F-5 F-6 Critical Facilities F-6 F-7 2006 Flood F-7 F-8 Potential Hazardous Areas F-8 Section 1 – Executive Summary The Town of Oneonta Hazards Mitigation Plan includes resources and information to assist public and private sectors to reduce the losses from future hazard events. This plan is not a manual of what to do if a disaster occurs. Instead, it concentrates on actions that can be implemented prior to disaster events in order to reduce the damage to property and potential loss of life. The plan includes an assessment of the Town’s risk and vulnerability, a strategy for minimizing those risks (goals and objectives), and an action plan that will be implemented to achieve the objectives. This plan is intended to fulfill the planning requirements for state and federal assistance programs. It will enable the Town to apply for future hazards mitigation grants that will assist with implementation of the proposed projects identified in this plan. BACKGROUND Section 2 of this plan provides background material about the Town of Oneonta and previous efforts to mitigate hazards. The Town has been proactive in mitigating hazards through regular maintenance activities throughout the Town. PLANNING PROCESS The Town of Oneonta began participation in the multi-jurisdictional all-hazards mitigation plan by passing a resolution of participation which the County received on September 16, 2004. A series of meetings were held to gather information and recommendations for this hazards mitigation plan. Staff support was provided by the Otsego County Planning Department. In addition to the information and recommendations assembled at the planning meetings, numerous agencies, organizations, and members of the public were contacted for additional input. RISK ASSESSMENT The recommendations in the Town of Oneonta Hazards Mitigation Plan are based on an assessment of the community’s vulnerability to each of the 16 hazards identified in the 2004 HAZNY. The following priority rankings were prepared based on the scope (area of impact and potential for cascade effect), frequency, impact, onset (warning time), and duration of each hazard considered (using the HAZNY interactive spreadsheet program). The Group analyzed hazards potentially affecting Oneonta. HAZNY rated each hazard based on the Group's assessment and assigned a numerical value. Town of Oneonta – All Hazard Mitigation Plan Section 1-1 These values are categorized as follows: 321 to 400 HIGH HAZARD 241 to 320 MODERATELY HIGH HAZARD 161 to 240 MODERATELY LOW HAZARD 44 to 160 LOW HAZARD The Group rated the 16 hazards as follows: Hazard Rating FLOOD 263 HAZMAT (IN TRANSIT) 263 WINTER STORM (SEVERE) 244 HAZMAT (FIXED SITE) 243 SEVERE STORM 240 ICE STORM 232 WATER SUPPLY CONTAMINATION 228 FLASH FLOOD 225 UTILITY FAILURE 216 TRANS ACCIDENT 202 DAM FAILURE 195 LANDSLIDE 189 DROUGHT 178 ICE JAM 148 OIL SPILL 148 RADIOLOGICAL (IN TRANSIT) 123 Mitigation Strategy The overall purpose of the Town of Oneonta Hazards Mitigation Action Plan is to protect life and property from natural and human-caused hazards. The proposed mitigation strategy is represented by the following long range goals, which encompass the highest ranked hazards for Oneonta. The Town of Oneonta Hazards Mitigation Action Plan identifies specific objectives for achieving each goal. Multi-Hazards Mitigation Goals • Continue ongoing efforts and increase public awareness about hazards • Provide emergency services in a timely and effective manner • Maintain the viability of all critical facilities and operations • Maintain support (political and private sector) for hazards mitigation and emergency response Severe Weather Goals (Winter Storm( Severe), Severe Storm, Ice Storm) • Minimize damage from trees to utilities, structures, and other utilities Town of Oneonta – All Hazard Mitigation Plan Section 1-2 • Build and maintain structures to withstand high winds and heavy snow • Reopen transportation routes as quickly as possible following a severe weather event Flood/Flash Flood Goals • Raise public awareness about flood hazards, flood safety, and flood damage protection measures. • Minimize stream bank erosion and improve water quality • Decrease flooding/ice jam impact on roads with repetitive events • Minimize the potential for obstruction of flow by maintaining streams, drainage ways, and drainage structures • Mitigate flood risks for existing development Dam Failure Goals • Provide public awareness by providing information on the potential for dam failure • Routinely check and maintain dams for safety • Respond quickly and effectively in the advent of a dam failure • Prevent new development from occurring in dam failure inundation areas Hazardous Material in Transit Goals • Provide public awareness, including information on how to respond to hazardous material incident • Respond quickly and effectively in the advent of a hazardous material incident • Minimize the risks associated with the transport and use of hazardous materials through the design and location of new development Action Plan The Town of Oneonta Hazards Mitigation Plan recommends implementation of the following actions over the next several years. Multi-Hazards Mitigation Actions Public Awareness • Improve educational programs about hazards and family planning, emergency supplies, evacuation procedures, transportation safety and hazards mitigation. • Encourage local officials’ participation in hazards related training offered at County, State, and Federal levels. • Provide municipal officials with periodic training and responsibilities during hazards events. Emergency Services • Improve/maintain communication among highway departments to enable coordinated maintenance of emergency routes. Town of Oneonta – All Hazard Mitigation Plan Section 1-3 • Improve dissemination of emergency warnings and weather information to residents, businesses, and institutions. Critical Facilities • Periodically review and update the list of critical facilities serving the community. • Develop and implement strategies to mitigate risks to critical facilities. Support • Invite elected municipal officials to meetings of the Town of Oneonta Hazard Mitigation Committee to guide implementation of this plan and revision of the plan. • Maintain and expand public/private sector coordination through organizations that are actively involved in hazards reduction activities • Encourage public/private sector organizations (tourist facilities) to prioritize and implement hazards mitigation actions. Severe Weather Actions Minimize Damage from Trees • Maintain trees along municipal right-of-ways. • Support/encourage utility companies to maintain trees near telephone and power lines • Locate/create educational information about maintenance of trees adjacent to structures • Explore providing brush pickup services and/or designated drop off locations to encourage tree maintenance and to discourage improper disposal of yard debris in drainage ways. • Recommend, encourage, or require underground utilities in new developments through land use regulations. Encourage utility companies to use underground construction methods if feasible. Buildings Are Able to Withstand High Winds and Snow • Provide annual training for code enforcement officers in order to effectively enforce the structural standards in the International Building Code. • Identify vulnerabilities for owners of older buildings that may not conform to the structural standards in the International Building Code Transportation Routes are Reopened Quickly • Improve highway department’s monitoring of weather conditions and forecasts to enable