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t998. Colorado Flood Hazard Mitigation Plan (409; . .Colorado Disaster Emergency Act of 1992" (Part 21 of Article 32, Hie 24, Colorado Revised statute, 1988 as amended)_ . Governor's Office . .Colorado Disaster Emer- gency Act of 1992" (Part 21 of Article 32, Title 24, Colorado Revised statute, 1988 as amended states the govemor, as the executive head of state, has the inherent responsibility, constitutional and statu- tory authority, to commit state and locai resources (personnel, equipment, and finances) for the pur- pose of ... meeting the dangers to the state and its people presented by disasters... This responsi- bility is exercised through the director, Office of Emergency Management (OEM), Department of Local Affairs (DOLA)_ The Govemor's Disaster Emergency Council serves as an advisory council to the govemor and the director, Office of Emer- gency Management on all matters pertaining to Declarations of state Disaster Emergencies, and on the response and recovery activities of state gov- emment 1.3.3 Local Government Local governments play an essential role in imple- menting effective mitigation, both before and atter disaster events_ In a post-disaster environment, locally affected areas are also expected to participate in mitigation evaluation_ Local govemment participation with federal and state agencies in the Colorado Hazard Mitigation Team process is crucial. Recommendations on alleviating or eliminating a repetitive problem often focus on local assessment as to the cause of damage and depend on a local applicant for implementation_ Both OEM and the Colorado water Conservation Board (CWCB) have suggested communities prepare a flood hazard mitigation plan for their jurisdiction This is a logical extension of the mitigation planning pro- cess initialed on a national scale by the federal gov- ernment_ A carefully dratted plan can be an extremely valuable resource to formulate annual work programs, budgets and policy positions_ 1.4 Goals and Objectives The Colorado Flood Hazard Plan is the comerstone for establishing and guiding a statewide effort to reduce or eliminate the impact on life, property, and the environ- ment from the flood hazard_ The costs of responding to and recovering from repetitive flooding increases with each event However, it is possible to break the cycle of recurring damage by evaluating the root cause and choosing a logical and realistic course of action from among potential altemative solutions to eliminate or reduce either the cause or its impact_ The implementation of mitigation measures is chal- lenging due to additional costs and assuring cost effectiveness of the measures_ Mitigation measures can be difficult to initiate because of social/economic and/or political oppositions_ Perceptions of benefit vs_ threat diminish greatly as an event fades from thought However, mitigation successes can be accomplished by preparing accurate assessment Information regard- ing hazards and when mitigation is supported by strong leadership and a commitment for positive change_ Govemment officials at all levels must understand that without proactive mitigation action by all applicable government agencies the costs associated with a natural disaster will increase_ If no mitigation is done, the accumulated costs of future disasters will far exceed the cost of mitigation efforts applied now_ 1.5 Definitions The following definitions are offered as a guide toward better understanding the similarities and subtle differ- ences between the major concepts discussed in this plan, all developed to reduce flood damages (additional definitions and acronyms are listed in Ap- pendix D)_ Hazard Mitigation - A plan to alleviate by softening and making less severe the effects of a major disaster or emergency and of future disasters in the affected areas, including reduction or avoidance_ Hazard miti- gation can reduce the severity of the effects of flood emergency on people and property by reducing the cause or occurrence of the hazard; reducing exposure to the hazard; or reducing the effects through pre- paredness, response and recovery measures_ Hazard mitigation is a management strategy in which current actions and expenditures to- reduce the occurrence or severity of potential flood disasters are balanced with potential losses from future floods_ Floodplain Management - A comprehensive ap- proach to reduce the damaging effects of floods, preserve and enhance natural values and provide for optimal use of land'and water resources within the floodplain_ lis goal is to strike a balance between the values obtainable from the use of floodplains and the potential losses to individuals and society arising from such use_ Various floodplain management strategies are organized in Chapter 5_ Dam Safety - A program to inventory, classify and inspect dams to identify hazardous conditions and ensure proper maintenance through corrective orders for the purpose of protecting human life and property_ A dam (including the waters impounded by such dam) constitutes a threat to human life or property if it might be endangered by overtopping, seepage, settlement, erosion, sediment, cracking, earth movement, earth- quakes, failure of bulkheads, flash boards, gates on conduits, or other conditions_ File: FH/IIP.chapter-1.pu/l 1/26/98 10:05 PM Chapter 1 . 2