Emergency Management / 9-1-1

2024 Lehigh Valley Hazard Mitigation Plan

Lehigh & Northampton County Municipal Officials and Authority Representatives,

We are writing to inform you that on Friday, September 6, 2024, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) notified us of the approval of the 2024 Lehigh Valley Hazard Mitigation Plan, granting it the status of “Approved Pending Adoption” (APA). This designation means that the Plan meets all of FEMA’s and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency’s (PEMA) criteria for a current Hazard Mitigation Plan.

Since land use authority resides with the municipalities, the Plan will not take effect until one of the fifty-nine (59) participating municipalities in Lehigh or Northampton counties formally adopts it. Once adopted by resolution at a municipal board meeting, the Plan will be effective for five (5) years, starting from the date of that first municipal adoption.

Municipalities and participating authorities MUST adopt the Plan within one (1) year of the APA designation—by September 5, 2025—to remain eligible for hazard mitigation funding. Failure to adopt by the deadline will result in the loss of eligibility for both the municipality and its residents or non-profits for the following programs:

Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grants

Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP)

Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA)

Building Resilient Infrastructure in Communities (BRIC)

Swift Current

Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) funds

Note: Participating Authorities will also be ineligible for these programs if the Plan is not adopted by their respective Boards.

Highlights of the 2024 Lehigh Valley Hazard Mitigation Plan:

High Hazard Potential Dam (HHPD) Section: This new section meets and exceeds FEMA requirements, making entities eligible to apply for HHPD grants. This section is expected to become a required part of future Hazard Mitigation Plans.

Authority Participation: Three (3) participating authorities—Lehigh Valley Planning Commission (LVPC), Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority (LNAA), and Lehigh County Authority (LCA)—have added annexes to the Plan. This is a first for the Lehigh Valley Plan and many counties within the Commonwealth. These annexes will strengthen the Authorities’ cases for future grant applications, and they must be formally adopted by each of their respective Boards.

We want to express our gratitude to the municipalities and authorities that have worked diligently on updating and constructing annexes for their communities. While hazard mitigation may often be overlooked, the strong participation across municipalities, authorities, and stakeholders within the Counties demonstrates its continued importance.

Key Items of Importance:

Annual Plan review meetings (mandated by FEMA) will be held each September/October.

You can find your annex, the Lehigh Valley Master Plan, and all appendices at the following sites:

https://www.lehighcounty.org/Departments/Emergency-Management-9-1-1/Hazard-Mitigation-Plan 

For Northampton County: https://ncem-pa.org/2024-mitigation-plan/

REMINDER:

Once your municipality or authority formally adopts the Hazard Mitigation Plan, please forward a signed copy of the resolution to your county Co-Chair. This information will be submitted to PEMA and FEMA to ensure your eligibility for potential grant funding.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your respective Co-Chair or Point-of-Contact using the information below.

Thank you for your continued cooperation!

HMP Lehigh County Co-Chair

Kevin McGowan

Lehigh County Office of Emergency Management

640 W. Hamilton Street, 8th Floor

Allentown, PA 18101

Cell 484-735-3628

Desk 610-782-4601

kevinmcgowan@lehighcounty.org

www.ema.lehighcounty.org

* Northampton County contact Thomas Guth Jr.: tguth@ncem-pa.org 

FEMA EMI News
EMI Learning Management System (LMS) Rollout July 10th, 2023

To ensure a smooth transition, there will be an outage period from 6/30/2023 to 7/10/2023

EMI Learning Management System (LMS) Rollout Update #1

We're excited to announce that the new LMS rollout is scheduled for 7/10/2023! To  ensure a smooth transition, there will be an outage period from 6/30/2023 to 7/10/2023.

Here's what students need to know:  
(https://training.fema.gov/news/)

The Independent Study site and exams (formerly located on Emergency Management Institute | Independent Study Program (IS) (fema.gov)) will be unavailable starting 6/30/2023.

Independent Study Transcript requests (formerly accessible via the EMI student portal at (Emergency Management Institute (EMI) | Student Portal (fema.gov)) will be unavailable starting 6/30/2023.

Once the new system is live, students must log in to access their records and Independent Study Courses. Prepare your account for the new system:

Verify and update your FEMA SID information by clicking on "Edit Profile" in FEMA Student Identification (SID) System (dhs.gov).Self-help actions and FAQs are available.

Review your Student Transcript (Independent Study only) at EMI Student Portal at Emergency Management Institute (EMI) | Student Portal (fema.gov). Ensure your SID information is up to date before this step.

Verify your transcript for accuracy and make necessary corrections before the new system goes live.

Learn more about the change and prepare your account for the transition: https://training.fema.gov/news/

A pandemic is a global outbreak that occurs when a new virus appears or “emerges” in the human population, causes serious illness and then spreads easily from person to person worldwide. 

Lehigh Valley Pre-Admission can be contacted @ 610-402-8378, press option #1. You now have the option of Cedar Crest or Muhlenberg campus for your labs. Health Works of Lehigh Valley can be reached @ 610-402-9675.

Remember you MUST identify yourself as a Lehigh County HAZARDOUS MATERIALS RESPONSE TEAM MEMBER