CHENANGO COUNTY – A plan that could help the county secure federal money for disaster relief in the future was adopted by the Board of Supervisors Monday.

Sherburne Supervisor Harry Conley moved to adopt the Chenango County Multi-Jurisdictional Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan.

“The plan allows the county and municipalities to become involved in several different mitigation projects in different municipalities,” said Chenango County Emergency Management Deputy Director Matt Beckwith. He explained that after the flooding of 2006, the county began working to create the plan, doing all of the work in-house.

The plan identifies several projects in each municipality in Chenango County that pertain to areas that have seen reoccurring problems due to naturally occurring incidents. By identifying the projects in the plan, the municipalities can apply to FEMA for financial assistance to fix the problem, instead of just repairing the damage. For example, Beckwith said, if there is a certain road that gets washed out every year, a municipality can apply to FEMA for assistance in taking steps to remedy the situation. FEMA works with the municipalities and can approve the projects.