Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Emergency Management topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lewiston council adopts 2025 Nez Perce County Emergency Operations Plan and authorizes mayor to sign
Summary
The council approved the 2025 Nez Perce County Emergency Operations Plan after a presentation by the county emergency manager that highlighted coordination with FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and inclusion of levee-response protocols and a National Qualification System training plan.
Nez Perce County Emergency Manager James Watercheck presented the county's revised 2025 Emergency Operations Plan, which he said he rewrote after finding discrepancies in the prior document. Watercheck described adopting FEMA's emergency support function format, incorporating the 15 hazards identified in the county hazard mitigation plan, and adding specific U.S. Army Corps of Engineers language to address routine maintenance, imminent threats and breach responses for the levee accreditation process.
Watercheck also said he incorporated a National Qualification System training plan into the document and identified operational roles for the county emergency operations center, noting coordination with Lewiston Police Chief Greg Reitmeier and other local partners. "We adopted [the Corps'] three-level system that they use," he said, describing how the county aligned the plan with Corps guidance and FEMA review.
Councilor Forsman moved, and Councilor Schroeder seconded, a motion to approve the 2025 Nez Perce County Emergency Operations Plan and to authorize the mayor to sign the plan. The motion passed on a voice vote.
The plan is to be posted and updated annually; Watercheck said his intent is to refresh the plan each year. The council vote authorizes the mayor to sign the county plan and adopts it for Lewiston's participation in county-level incident response.
