Sponsor: Emergency Management & Homeland Security
Title
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Approval of 2025 Ramsey County Minnesota Hazard Mitigation Plan
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Recommendation
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Approve the 2025 Ramsey County, Minnesota Hazard Mitigation Plan.
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Background and Rationale
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A hazard mitigation plan is a federally required document under the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA 2000). This law mandates that all states, counties, municipalities and jurisdictions maintain an approved hazard mitigation plan to be eligible for Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grants such as the Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grant, Hazard Mitigation Assistance Program (HMGP) grant, and Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant. This updated plan ensures that Ramsey County, and its municipalities and jurisdictions remain eligible for federal disaster mitigation funding while proactively addressing risks to enhance community resilience.
The 2025 Ramsey County, MN Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) is updated approximately every five years in accordance with DMA 2000 to use the most recent demographic data, identify priority hazards and mitigation strategies, and evaluate critical infrastructure risks and hazards affecting Ramsey County. It serves as a framework upon which hazard mitigation projects and strategies can be coordinated across the entire county, and the process ensures that the county considers new and emerging hazards, the impacts of growth, development, and social vulnerability on hazards in our area, and considers the impact of real-world events. Ramsey County Emergency Management and Homeland Security (EMHS) worked with a contracted mitigation planning firm and with all 18 jurisdictions within the county, including the City of Saint Paul, to update the existing mitigation plan. Working with our partners, the contractor ensured that the planning process also provided substantial opportunities for input from our residents.
This revised HMP assesses and ranks major natural, technological, and human-caused hazards based on factors such as frequency of occurrence, economic impact, and potential for deaths and injuries. Mitigation recommendations are based on input from state and local agencies, public feedback, and national best practices. While the primary focus remains on evaluating Ramsey County’s exposure to natural hazards and identifying appropriate mitigation actions, this HMP update also expands the scope to include technological and human-caused hazards and is crafted in compliance with federal mitigation planning requirements. For the first time, the city of Saint Paul elected to join in the countywide HMP effort ensuring a much more robust and accurate assessment (for the past 20 years, Saint Paul had instead submitted their own, separate, assessment and plan).
The HMP is a truly multi-jurisdictional plan that applies to all of Ramsey County, including the municipalities of Arden Hills, Falcon Heights, Gem Lake, Lauderdale, Little Canada, Maplewood, Mounds View, New Brighton, North Oaks, North Saint Paul, Roseville, Saint Anthony, Saint Paul, Shoreview, Vadnais Heights, White Bear Lake and White Bear Township. Each of these municipalities will separately adopt the HMP as their own - meaning that the entire county will now use a single assessment and planning methodology so as to better coordinate across jurisdictions.
Please note that the cities of Blaine and Spring Lake Park will instead be covered under Anoka County’s Multijurisdictional All-Hazards Mitigation Plan, as they have in the past.
Once approved by the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners, the plan will be submitted by the Minnesota Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for final approval.
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County Goals (Check those advanced by Action)
☒ Well-being ☐ Prosperity ☒ Opportunity ☐ Accountability
Racial Equity Impact
The Hazard Mitigation Plan seeks to reduce economic losses and maintain critical infrastructure and facilities therefore supporting all communities within Ramsey County.
Community Participation Level and Impact
Ramsey County EMHS assembled a local planning team, including emergency management, public safety, public works representatives, and community leaders, to guide and shape the mitigation plan. Additionally, a public survey was conducted at the outset of the plan update to assess the hazards affecting Ramsey County and identify mitigation priorities, followed by a public comment period at the conclusion of the planning process.
☒ Inform ☒ Consult ☒ Involve ☐ Collaborate ☐ Empower
Fiscal Impact
Ramsey County is vulnerable to a variety of natural and human-caused disasters that have the potential to inflict severe economic losses within the county. The 2025 Ramsey County, MN Hazard Mitigation Plan seeks to reduce or eliminate the county’s economic losses by the development of mitigation strategies, regulations, policies, and programs in order to protect critical infrastructure and property. Without this plan Ramsey County and the municipalities would be ineligible for several federal grants related to disaster recovery and mitigation.
The approval of the mitigation plan will not have a fiscal impact on the biennial budget. This board action is not an acceptance to receive or distribute additional funds.
Last Previous Action
On May 28, 2019, the Ramsey County Board adopted the 2018 Ramsey County, MN Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan (Resolution B2019-133).
Attachments
1. 2025 Ramsey County, MN Hazard Mitigation Plan
2. Appendix 1 - Additional Emergency Management Actions
3. Appendix 2 - Studies and References
4. Appendix 3 - Sample Adoption
5. Appendix 4 - Planning Process Documentation