The NH HSEM monitors the Plans in NH which are soon to expire and inserts the greatest number of community Plan updates across the State as possible into current Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) grant rounds. These PDM funding rounds have more limited funding available across the country and to NH, so the Plans with the greatest likelihood of lapse are included for update in each PDM round. As a result, many of the Plan updates now are generally about 1 year behind in the CNHRPC region in recent years, but our region’s Plan cycles are currently catching up. Still, in many cases, a Plan may lapse before it obtains FEMA formal approval but it should not be too far behind.

Our Unique Advantage with NH Local Haz Mit Plans

Because of the State’s consistency of high quality and timely local Plan updates and the fact that all 234 of our communities have Haz Mit Plans, in 2016, New Hampshire was able to obtain special dispensation from FEMA Region 1 providing the authority to review and approve its own local Plans without FEMA review. The result was an immediate decrease in the amount of time needed for Plan review and revision, and our Haz Mit Plans are receiving approvals faster – which is great news for NH towns that want to apply for FEMA mitigation grants. Congratulations to NH HSEM, who received the second-in-the-nation permission to perform this work (there are still only 4 states with this authority)! View the NH HSEM Hazard Mitigation Plan page for more information about hazard mitigation planning.

Plans in Final Update Stage at CNHRPC

The following Plan updates are in the process of completion by CNHRPC staff and communities. The final stage includes obtaining Approvable Pending Adoption (APA) status from NH HSEM/FEMA, the Board of Selection adoption (Certificate of Adoption) of the updated Haz Mit Plan, then resubmission of the entire Plan for FEMA’s formal approval. Formal approval is granted by a letter from FEMA sent to the community which begins the new 5-year Plan interim cycle.

What is necessary for inclusion into an updated Hazard Mitigation Plan changes almost yearly. These most recent PDM 2017 Plans were designed to incorporate not only the most recent grant round requirements, but with the adoption of the new State Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan 2018, additional hazards and considerations were included. With Warner’s Formal Approval granted in June 2019, its new format and content has become the template for our forthcoming PDM 2017 and beyond Plans.

Grant Program Current Community Plan Updates Update Timeframe
PDM 2017 Warner Hazard Mitigation Plan 2019 2018-2019
PDM 2017 Sutton Hazard Mitigation Plan 2019 2018-2019
PDM 2017 Henniker Hazard Mitigation Plan 2019 2018-2019
PDM 2017 Salisbury Hazard Mitigation Plan 2019 2018-2019
Current Plan Update Work at CNHRPC

These two new community Plans are beginning their updates, holding the first Hazard Mitigation Committee meetings in January 2020. These Plans will be designed to meet the newest review and streamlined format standards of FEMA Region 1 and NH HSEM.

Grant Program Newest Community Plan Updates Update Timeframe
PDM 2018 Allenstown Hazard Mitigation Plan Dec 2015 (2020) 2019-2020
PDM 2019 Deering Hazard Mitigation Plan Dec 2015 (2020) 2019-2020
Anticipated Future Plan Update Work at CNHRPC

PLAN AHEAD NOW! Five years fly by very quickly when developing a new Haz Mit Plan update. The following Plans at CNHRPC are those which should be eligible for update within the future PDM 2019 or PDM 2020 funding cycles and are likely, but not guaranteed, to be included in the State’s next grant round applications. We encourage you to contact the NH HSEM Planning Section to request your community be given high consideration for incorporation into the next grant round(s).

Grant Program Future Community Plan Updates Potential Timeframe
PDM 2019 or PDM 2020 Pembroke Hazard Mitigation Plan Jan 2017 (2022) 2020-2022
PDM 2019 or PDM 2020 Hopkinton Hazard Mitigation Plan Jan 2017 (2022) 2020-2022
PDM 2019 or PDM 2020 Canterbury Hazard Mitigation Plan Feb 2017 (2022) 2020-2022
PDM 2019 or PDM 2020 Hillsborough Hazard Mitigation Plan Feb 2017 (2022) 2020-2020
PDM 2019 or PDM 2020 Loudon Hazard Mitigation Plan Mar 2017 (2022) 2020-2022
PDM 2019 or PDM 2020 Concord Hazard Mitigation Plan Jul 2017 (2022) 2021-2022
PDM 2019 or PDM 2020 Pittsfield Hazard Mitigation Plan Jul 2017 (2022) 2021-2022
PDM 2019 or PDM 2020 Dunbarton Hazard Mitigation Plan Jul 2017 (2022) 2021-2022

And right around the corner are these Haz Mit Plans that will be ready to begin their updates in about three years, although they recently earned their approvals in 2018.

Grant Program Forthcoming Community Updates Optimal Timeframe
TBD Boscawen Hazard Mitigation Plan Sep 2018 (2023) 2022-2023
TBD Webster Hazard Mitigation Plan Oct 2018 (2023) 2022-2023
TBD Epsom Hazard Mitigation Plan Nov 2018 (2023) 2022-2023
TBD Bradford Hazard Mitigation Plan Dec 2018 (2023) 2022-2023
TBD Bow Hazard Mitigation Plan Dec 2018 (2023) 2022-2023

For more information on the CNHRPC Hazard Mitigation Plan Program, contact Stephanie Alexander, Senior Planner, at salexander@cnhrpc.org or (603) 226-6020.