Lycoming County adopts 2026 Hazard Mitigation Plan required for federal grants

The Lycoming County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted the county’s 2026 Hazard Mitigation Plan update, a planning document county staff said is required by Section 322 of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 as a condition for certain post-disaster mitigation grant programs.

A planning representative told commissioners the update was developed by the county Department of Planning and Community Development with local officials, institutional stakeholders and public involvement consistent with the Disaster Mitigation Act’s requirements. The resolution adopted the plan as the official county mitigation document and directed the agencies and officials named in the plan’s implementation strategy to carry out assigned activities.

Board members voted to adopt the plan during the meeting after staff read the resolution language describing the county’s vulnerabilities to natural and human-caused hazards and the need for an approved mitigation plan to remain eligible for grant funds. The clerk recorded the adoption by voice vote.

What happens next: implementing agencies identified in the plan will be tasked with assigned mitigation activities, and adoption preserves the county’s eligibility for federal mitigation grant programs in the event of future disasters.