Upper Loup Natural Resources District Hazard Mitigation Plan Update

about the project

The Upper Loup Natural Resources District (ULNRD) is beginning the process to update their Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) with the assistance of JEO Consulting Group. An HMP is a community-guided document which identifies vulnerability to natural and man-made hazards and mitigation projects to reduce or eliminate such risks. Having an approved HMP is a requirement of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for jurisdictions to become eligible for several grant funding options. Having an approved and updated plan enables your community to be stronger and more resilient by:

Reducing your community’s risk and impacts from disasters;
Gaining eligibility for pre- and post-disaster mitigation grants; and
Builds partnerships and relationships with stakeholders within your community and region.

Hazard Mitigation Plans are required to be updated and approved every five years. The ULNRD last updated their HMP in 2020. Throughout this planning process, members of the community including school districts, fire departments, airports, hospitals, residents, and business owners are invited to participate by attending public meetings and providing information for the plan.

project survey

You can help craft mitigation and preparedness measures for your home, family, and community by sharing your thoughts and input through our public survey for the Upper Loup NRD HMP.

Complete the survey and be entered to win a prize! Click HERE for survey link

2024 Hazard Mitigation Plan

The current draft of the Upper Loup NRD Hazard Mitigation Plan is in its Public Review Period. Copies of the draft plan and all jurisdictional profiles are available to download and review below.

The draft is available for public comment from Monday, March 4th to Friday, March 29th, 2024. At the end of the Public Review Period, the completed plan will be submitted to the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for final approval. This is the last opportunity to review the plan and submit to JEO any requested changes or corrections, prior to its submission to NEMA and FEMA.

Please send any revisions to the JEO project team at bseachord@jeo.com or use the webform comment box below!

Upper Loup NRD – this appendix includes the profile for the Upper Loup NRD

Blaine County Appendix – this includes profiles for Blaine County, Village of Brewster, and Village of Dunning

Hyannis Appendix – this appendix includes the profile for the Village of Hyannis

Hooker County Appendix – this includes profiles for Hooker County and the Village of Mullen

Logan County Appendix – this includes profiles for Logan County, Village of Gandy, and Village of Stapleton

Thomas County Appendix – this includes profiles for Thomas County, Village of Halsey, and Village of Thedford

Schools Appendix – this includes profiles for Thedford Public Schools, Mullen Public Schools, and Sandhills Public Schools.

project meetings

The planning process will include public meetings to provide an opportunity for community members and interested stakeholders to learn about the plan and provide input. These meetings will be hosted in communities across the planning area and will be facilitated by NRD and JEO staff.

Kick-off Meeting & BBQ

Jurisdictions within the NRD are invited to serve on the Regional Planning Team for the Upper Loup NRD Hazard Mitigation Plan. Representatives from each jurisdiction were encouraged to attend the Kick-off meeting to learn about the hazard mitigation plan, converse with neighbors, and enjoy some BBQ. A project Kick-off Meeting & BBQ was held:

Hazard Mitigation Plan Kick-off Meeting & BBQ
Thursday, June 15th, 6:30pm – 8:30pm CT
Upper Loup NRD Office – Learning Center
39252 Hwy 2, Thedford, NE 69166

Meeting minutes from the Kick-off meeting are available HERE.

Key take-aways from the meeting included:

Updates to some Hazard Mitigation Goals and Objectives
- See updated Meeting Handouts HERE
Updates to some hazards for plan evaluation – total of 12 hazards to be addressed
- Combined Chemical Fixed Sites & Chemical Transportation into Hazardous Materials Release
- Changed Civil Disorder to Terrorism & Civil Disorder
- Changed Extreme Heat to Extreme Temperatures to include Cold
- Combined Hail with Severe Thunderstorms
- Combined High Winds with Tornadoes

Jurisdiction Meetings

Jurisdiction specific meetings were held to review and update the existing jurisdictional profiles to comply with new regulatory guidance. More importantly, these meetings provided an opportunity to talk about specific disaster impacts and capacity building strategies for each community.

All meetings were open to the public and anyone was encouraged to attend who may have concerns or input in the area. Each meeting discussed the specifics to the community in which it is held.