Hazardous material releases may be caused by a range of incidents including an industrial or transportation accident, or deliberate criminal act. They can also occur as a result of or in tandem with natural hazard events such as earthquakes and other geologic hazards, floods, windstorms, and winter storms. In addition to causing additional life safety threats, these compound hazard events can also greatly complicate and hinder response efforts and result in major environmental impacts. The large-scale release of hazardous materials in combination with events such as flooding or windstorms can increase the spread of contamination threat zones to large geographic areas and amplify the potential long-term impacts to human and ecological health.
Applicable Planning Tools and Strategies
Addressing Hazards in Plans and Policies
- Comprehensive Plan
- Exploratory Scenario Planning
- Hazard Mitigation Plan
- Pre-disaster Planning
- Resilience Planning
Strengthening Incentives
- Development Agreement
Protecting Sensitive Areas
- 1041 Regulations
Improving Site Development Standards
- Subdivision and Site Design Standards
- Use-specific Standards
Improving Buildings and Infrastructure
- Critical Infrastructure Protection
Enhancing Administration and Procedures
- Application Submittal Requirements
- Community Engagement
- Funding for Mitigation Strategies
- Post-disaster Building Moratorium