St. Lawrence County’s hazard mitigation plan is in the works, and the Department of Emergency Services is conducting a series of meetings next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday around the county to help develop it.

State and federal grants are available to communities for hazard mitigation projects if they have a hazard mitigation plan in place.

A meeting Monday, July 15 is at the Wanakena Ranger School, 257 Ranger School Rd. On Tuesday, July 16, the meeting is set for the Gouverneur Fire Station, 1035 U.S. Highway 11. And on Wednesday, July 17, a meeting will be held in the Community Room of the Potsdam Civic Center. All three meetings start at 6 p.m.

“Once this plan is complete, we have to submit it for review and approval to both NY State and to FEMA,” said St. Lawrence County Director of Emergency Management Joseph Gilbert. “Once approved by both agencies, then we qualify for grants, and not before.”

Gilbert said the recent flooding along the Mohawk River to our south illustrates the need to prepare for disasters by plans to mitigate potential negative effects.

Such plans would “prevent or limit the amount of damages suffered,” Gilbert said. They could do things such as replacing a culvert in a stream, or moving or taking down buildings that would be threatened if flooding should occur.

The meetings are designed to identify critical facilities, hazard-prone areas, and development trends, and to plan strategy and action under different scenarios.

The meetings are open to the public, and people’s knowledge and opinions are important, but Gilbert said it is vital for representatives of municipal governments to have their input, especially department members who are responsible for writing grants.

“If a municipality doesn’t participate in the planning process, they will not qualify for any future hazard mitigation grant funding for any project. That is why having a representative at these meetings is absolutely vital if your community will ever try to obtain grant funding for any mitigation projects ever in the future,” Gilbert said.

For more information on these meetings, please contact the county Department of Emergency Services, 379-2240.