The City of Grand Junction is threatened by many hazards with potential to cause significant community disruption. A hazard analysis study was conducted to predict overall effect of a particular disaster in Mesa County. Due to their nature, hazards may occur consecutively (such as a severe thunderstorm followed by flash flooding) or simultaneously (such as a heat wave during a drought). The City of Grand Junction may also suffer from efforts occurring elsewhere. Such events have potential to create shortages of essentials such as electricity, petroleum products, natural gas, food, or water.
Certain areas of Grand Junction are prone to particular problems requiring special attention. Examples include floodplains and areas vulnerable to hazardous materials spills/releases surrounding numerous manufacturing facilities and transportation corridors.
The current Mesa County Hazard Mitigation Plan identifies the hazards that affect the community and summarized their geographic location, probability of future occurrence, potential magnitude or severity, and planning significance specific to the City of Grand Junction.
(Revised by City 12/16; Res. 41-15, 9-16-15)
(a) 
All levels of government share the responsibility for working together in the prevention of, preparing for, responding to, and recovering from the effects of an emergency or disaster event. There are several assumptions made with regard to the expectations of emergency response and service delivery during a local emergency or disaster. These assumptions include the following:
(1) 
The National Incident Management System (NIMS)-based Incident Command System will be the principal management system to direct and control response, relief actions and recovery activities. City departments will ensure that all personnel concerned are properly trained, NIMS compliant, are familiar with existing plans and procedures, and are capable of implementing these in a timely manner.
(2) 
City government will continue to function under all disaster and emergency conditions to the extent possible and based on the situation.
(3) 
The City will modify normal operations and will redirect resources in order to save lives, relieve human suffering, sustain survivors, protect property, and assist in reestablishing essential services. Life-saving and life-protecting response activities have precedence over other emergency response activities, except when national security implications are determined to be of a higher priority.
(4) 
Assistance will be available from neighboring jurisdictions, through mutual aid agreements, intergovernmental agreements, and other formal agreements. Likewise, the City of Grand Junction will be available to assist neighboring jurisdictions, as requested, through mutual aid, automatic aid and other formal agreements.
(5) 
With the increased possibility of terrorism and employment of weapons of mass destruction, biological and technological emergencies must be approached as a potential act of terrorism.
(6) 
The Mayor may request the Governor of Colorado to declare a disaster or state of emergency when the local response to an event is beyond the combined response capabilities of the City of Grand Junction and external mutual aid agencies. Once the Governor authorizes the allocation of resource requests made to the State, local jurisdictions should plan appropriately for the arrival of State response assets approximately 72 hours after the original request.
(7) 
The City of Grand Junction will keep the Mesa County Office of Emergency Management informed of activities and provide copies of assistance documentation. The Mesa County Office of Emergency Management will, in turn, coordinate with the State of Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
(8) 
If the Governor of Colorado determines that an emergency exists where the primary responsibility for response rests with the State of Colorado, the Governor may unilaterally direct the provision of assistance and will, if practicable, consult with the local jurisdiction.
(b) 
The format of this Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) aligns itself with the National Response Framework by incorporating the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and employing a functional approach to managing emergencies.
(c) 
The functional approach to managing emergencies is utilizing Emergency Support Functions (ESFs); a grouping of the most frequently used supporting actions and agencies. ESFs are assigned to a lead City department and to other agencies in supporting roles. The ESFs are attached to this document as Appendix A, GJMC § 42.02.600 through 42.02.750.
(d) 
This EOP does not substitute government services for individual responsibility. Citizens are expected to be aware of developing events and take appropriate steps to respond in a safe manner. Since government resources and personnel may be overwhelmed, individuals and organizations should be prepared to be self-sufficient immediately following a disaster. Response organizations, as well as staff and families, may be directly affected, resulting in reduced personnel availabilities. It is expected that each individual or head of household will develop a family disaster plan (see https://www.readycolorado.com/) and maintain essential supplies to be self-sufficient for a minimum of 72 hours. Additionally, businesses are expected to develop internal disaster plans that will integrate and be compatible with local governments and this plan.
(Res. 41-15, 9-16-15)