County Moving Forward With Updated Emergency PlanCounty Moving Forward With Updated Emergency Plan

4/24/14 - The county government is in the process of updating the plan that outlines how to respond to a wide variety of disasters should they strike the local area. The Public Safety and Infrastructure & Development Committee approved the updated emergency operations plan this week. The plan outlines exactly how county emergency services would respond to a full gamut of emergencies, from natural disasters like tornadoes, flooding, and severe storms to man made disasters like hazardous material spills and terrorism. It has been years since the plan was last updated, and the changes this time around were mostly minor things done to appease new requirements at the state and federal level. Emergency Management Program Manager Mike Kinaschuk tells WHMI the plan is not just an important tool for helping protect Livingston County residents, but it is actually required by law for every county to have one in place. The plan must be approved at the county and state levels by the time a disaster takes place if Livingston wants to get any kind of assistance from the state or federal government in implementing it and coping with the emergency. Kinaschuk expects the full county commission to give final approval to the updated plan at its next regular meeting on Monday. (TD)