Drafter
Clerk 04/18/2017
Title
A MOTION requesting that the executive develop and transmit a report that reviews and assesses gaps in existing emergency action plans associated with dams in King County and evacuation and sheltering plans in the watersheds to serve populations that would be affected by potential dam failures and provides a prioritized list of recommended steps to update or, where missing, create emergency action plans and evacuation and sheltering plans.
Body
WHEREAS, threat of collapse of the Oroville Dam spillway resulted in evacuation orders for more than one hundred eighty thousand people, and
WHEREAS, over one hundred dams exist in King County's river basins in proximity to the county's residents, and
WHEREAS, many types of emergency events could damage the dams in King County, including earthquakes, flooding and structural failure;
WHEREAS, while a remote possibility, failure of a dam in King County could, in some instances, have catastrophic effects on human life, property and the environment, and
WHEREAS, protecting residents and property from injury and damage by natural disasters is a fundamental role of government, and
WHEREAS, preevacuation planning can greatly reduce harmful impacts from dam failure, and
WHEREAS, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission requires preparation of an emergency action plan for all dams whose failure would endanger human life or cause substantial property damage; and
WHEREAS, King County in collaboration with the United States Army Corps of Engineers and other affected jurisdictions conducted preevacuation planning and developed evacuation routes for use in the event of failure of the Howard Hanson dam on the Green river, and
WHEREAS, similar planning may be warranted in the county's other major river basins, including the Cedar River basin, Snoqualmie River basin and White River basin, and
WHEREAS, the mission of King County's office of emergency management is to provide regional leadership to...

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