Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan Update for 21 Rural Towns

The Northwest Hills Council of Governments (NHCOG) is requesting proposals for planning, engineering, and GIS consulting services to update a multi-jurisdictional natural hazard mitigation plan for twenty-one rural Connecticut towns, with proposals due September 29, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. EDT.

The scope is a FEMA-approvable Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan compliant with the Stafford Act and 44 CFR Part 201. The consultant must address changes in development and community priorities since the previous plan approval in July 2022, deliver updated risk and vulnerability assessments incorporating current hazard event data, revise mitigation strategies and goals, establish plan maintenance procedures, and obtain formal adoption documentation from all twenty-one member towns: Barkhamsted, Burlington, Canaan, Colebrook, Cornwall, Goshen, Hartland, Harwinton, Kent, Litchfield, Morris, New Hartford, Norfolk, North Canaan, Roxbury, Salisbury, Sharon, Torrington, Warren, Washington, and Winchester. The consultant must integrate and build upon supplementary deliverables provided by CIRCA under the Resilient Connecticut Program — including town meetings, hazard and climate vulnerability assessments, critical facilities reviews, and Zones of Shared Risk and Climate Change Vulnerability Index maps — without duplicating effort. All work products, including data, maps, GIS files, and digital documents, become property of NHCOG.

Project funding is primarily from a Federal Emergency Management Agency hazard mitigation planning grant administered by the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, with available funding expected to be significantly reduced from previous awards. The consultant must carry professional liability insurance of $2 million for errors and omissions and $1 million automobile liability insurance, with proof included in the proposal. Questions are due September 18, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. EDT. NHCOG may shortlist up to three firms for interviews before recommending a preferred consultant to the NHCOG Board. Proposals must be submitted in five paper copies to 355 Goshen Road, Litchfield, Connecticut. Contact Sarah Better at 860-491-9884 x104 or sbetter@nhcogct.gov.