A mitigation plan is a document created to identify the hazards that may affect the area and quantify the jurisdictions' vulnerability to those hazards. Once the vulnerability has been calculated, jurisdictions identify methods they can use to reduce their vulnerability to area hazards.

Upon completion of this process, a mitigation plan is submitted to the State Emergency Management Agency followed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for approval. Once a plan has received approval from FEMA, all of the governing bodies of the participating jurisdictions must review, approve of and formally adopt the mitigation plan.

An updated and approved mitigation plan is required to apply for and receive funding for mitigation projects. These projects are designed to mitigate the effect of a hazard and may include projects like safe rooms, flood buy-outs and burying power lines.

The process of updating the mitigation plan was different than drafting the original mitigation plan in 2004. First, this year's update incorporated new hazards including eight man-made hazards. This was the first update to require addressing this classification of hazards in conjunction with natural hazards. The eight new hazards are: Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives, Civil Disorder, Technology and Hazardous Waste.

Second, any jurisdiction within the county that wanted to have access to mitigation funding was required to fully participate in the planning process. The 2004 Mitigation Plan allowed any jurisdiction within Greene County to maintain eligibility as long as Greene County had an approved plan.

As a result, this update required active participation from all fire protection districts, school districts, municipalities and higher education institutions. This included attending monthly mitigation meetings and drafting their jurisdiction's contribution to four sections of the mitigation plan. These sections included:

1. Community Profile (a history of their area);
2. Vulnerability Assessment (calculating their jurisdiction's assets);
3. Capability Assessment (inventorying equipment, supplies and personnel); and
4. Mitigation Projects and Goals (identifying areas of improvement to reduce the effects of the identified hazards).

There were twenty-six active jurisdictions that participated in the update of the 2009 Mitigation Plan. The table below lists the participating jurisdictions:

Representatives from these jurisdictions attended monthly meetings, researched and compiled information from their jurisdictions for their portions of the plan and are responsible for obtaining a formal adoption resolution from their governing body.