XENIA — The Greene County Emergency Management Agency recently requested permission from the Greene County Commissioners to apply for a Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Grant.

Ethan Raby, director of the GCEMA, requested permission to apply for the grant earlier this month in order to hire a contractor to update the Greene County Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan.

According to county officials, the estimated $35,000 BRIC Grant accepts projects to improve a county’s ability to mitigate against disasters. An integral part of natural hazard mitigation is maintaining an up-to-date natural hazard mitigation plan.

The plan includes an in-depth analysis of natural hazards within a county, helping jurisdictions within the county to qualify for mitigation funds by planning projects to mitigate against natural disasters, and provides an opportunity for the public to have input into natural hazard mitigation.

“Natural Hazard Mitigation Plans are highly technical in nature and require a significant amount of time in having multiple meetings with each jurisdiction in the planning process,” Raby said. “The BRIC Grant is a cost-effective means to conduct the Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan update, provide a quality planning process to Greene County, and allow Greene County EMA to continue to provide the same level of service during this additional planning process.”

The Greene County Emergency Management Agency was awarded this grant previously and completed the 2020 Greene County Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan through a contractor who was hired with assistance from this grant. The next update for the Greene County Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan is due in 2025.

“It takes about a year for grant awards to be issued to each county,” said Raby. “And it can take one to two years to complete a Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan for a county.”

Reach Karen Rase at 937-372-4444.