Public Comment Sought for Blue Earth County’s Hazard Mitigation Plan
Blue Earth County has completed an updated draft of its Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) and is again seeking public feedback. Like all Minnesota counties, Blue Earth County is vulnerable to a variety of natural hazards such as tornadoes, windstorms, severe winter storms, flooding, drought, and extreme temperatures, which can threaten the loss of life and property in the county. Planning for natural disasters minimizes the impact of events that can cause vast economic loss and personal hardship.
All county residents, as well as other interested agency or organizational stakeholders are strongly encouraged to review and offer feedback on the interactive website, PDF of the draft plan, and proposed local mitigation actions. The review and comment period is open for a period of 15 days through October 31, 2025. The public can access the plan using the following hyperlinks:
Blue Earth County HMP Website Homepage (feedback form at the bottom of page) and Blue Earth County Goals & Implementation (feedback form at the bottom of page)
The Blue Earth County HMP is a multi-jurisdictional plan that covers Blue Earth County, including all cities and townships within the county. The Blue Earth County HMP also incorporates the concerns and needs of other key stakeholders such as school districts and related agencies, organizations, or businesses participating in the planning process.
Update of the plan has been under direction of Blue Earth County Emergency Management in cooperation with U-Spatial at the University of Minnesota Duluth and representatives from county departments, city and township governments and other participating stakeholders. Together, the planning team worked to identify cost-effective and sustainable actions to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk to human life or property from natural hazards. Examples include conducting property buyouts for homes impacted by repetitive flooding or at risk to landslides, construction of safe rooms in areas where residents and visitors are vulnerable to tornadoes and severe storm events; burying powerlines that may fail due to heavy snow, ice, or wind storms; ensuring timely emergency communication to the public through warning sirens and mass notification systems; and conducting outreach to increase public awareness of severe weather and personal preparedness.
“Hazard mitigation planning helps Blue Earth County and other jurisdictions protect their residents,” said Eric Weller, Blue Earth County Emergency Management Director. “Working with local communities through the process helps identify vulnerabilities and develop strategies to reduce or eliminate the effects of a potential hazard. Increasing public awareness of natural disasters and encouraging personal preparedness helps create a community that is resilient to disaster and breaks the cycle of response and recovery. Updating the plan also ensures that Blue Earth County and its jurisdictions remain eligible to apply for future FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance grant funding for projects that reduce or eliminate the impacts of future natural hazard events.”
Community feedback is vital to the success of the plan. Blue Earth County invites public review and feedback of the draft plan prior to submitting it to the State of Minnesota and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for review. Feedback may be provided via the online comment forms or directly to Blue Earth County Emergency Management at info@blueearthcountymn.gov.
