By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• Identify the importance of mitigation planning
• Identify the steps required for completing a mitigation plan
• Highlight resources available for mitigation planning
• Recognize the connections between mitigation plans and projects

Mitigation Planning:

• Is the first phase in the mitigation process.
• Helps establish the mitigation strategy and outline priorities for identifying mitigation activities.
• Is required to receive project funding.
• Identifies potential projects relative to hazard risk.

Approved mitigation plans are a requirement for all of Unified HMA programs. These requirements may be found in the following CFR citations:

• CFR 206.434(b), 201.4(a), and 201.6(a)(1): Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP)
• CFR 201.4(a) and 201.6(a)(2): Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM)
• CFR 79.6(b): Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA)

Click this link to view 44 CFR (https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=b7e94d76344b817dfb1de7549bdc74f9&mc=true&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title44/44tab_02.tpl)

Mitigation planning contributes to resilient communities by:

• Building partnerships
• Establishing project priorities relative to hazard risk
• Making cost-effective decisions on actions to reduce risk
• Reducing future losses and facilitating recovery
• Supporting successful project applications
• Facilitating project funding

Mitigation planning also benefits the community by:

• Educating local officials about hazard risk and implications for development decisions.
• Making businesses aware of hazard risks and options for making them safer.
• Enabling developers to identify hazard areas to avoid and encouraging builders to use designs and materials that will reduce the potential for damage.

For planning guidance, please go to the FEMA website (http://www.fema.gov)

• State Standard Mitigation Plan
• State Enhanced Mitigation Plan
• Indian Tribal Mitigation Plan
• Indian Tribal Enhanced Mitigation Plan
• Local Mitigation Plan

State Standard Mitigation Plan

A State Standard Mitigation Plan must include coordination with adopted local mitigation plans and assurances that the State will comply with all appropriate Federal statutes and regulations. This plan establishes the process for the State government to:

• Define their hazards
• Explain how they will deal with those hazards
• Set criteria for prioritizing communities in that State to receive FEMA planning and project Federal awards

The plan must be adopted and implemented by the State. State governments must have an approved Standard Mitigation Plan in order for communities in that State to receive any Unified HMA Federal awards. The State Standard Mitigation Plan is valid for five years from FEMA approval.

State Enhanced Mitigation Plan

A State Enhanced Mitigation Plan requires increased responsibility for mitigation planning and program oversight. An enhanced plan includes all elements of a standard plan, PLUS it addresses the:

• Integration with other State or regional planning initiatives
• Ability to implement the plan
• Demonstrated effective use of existing mitigation programs
• Commitment to a comprehensive State mitigation program

An approved State Enhanced Mitigation Plan makes the State government eligible for a higher level of post-disaster Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funding—up to 20% versus 15% for States with Standard Mitigation Plans. This plan is valid for five years from FEMA approval.

Indian Tribal Mitigation Plan

Effective on October 1, 2008, 44 CFR 201.7 was implemented to better meet the needs of Indian Tribal governments. These regulations allow Indian Tribal governments to demonstrate the ability to apply for and manage Federal award funds as direct applicants to FEMA through the Indian Tribal Enhanced Mitigation Plan.

Prior to this date, Indian Tribal governments were given the option to meet the requirements of a State or of a local mitigation plan. Those plans are still valid until they expire.

The Indian Tribal Mitigation Plan establishes the process for the Indian Tribal government to define and address its hazard risks. Documentation of the planning process is required and should include:

• Risk assessment
• Mitigation strategy
• Plan maintenance

This plan must be adopted and implemented by the Indian Tribal government in order for the Tribe to be eligible for most Unified HMA Federal awards. If the Tribe desires a subrecipient status so that they will have less responsibility for oversight, then the plan is submitted to the State. For Recipient status, the plan can be directly submitted to FEMA and, if approved, comes with increased responsibility and oversight. Once approved, Indian Tribal Mitigation Plans are valid for five years.

Indian Tribal Enhanced Mitigation Plan

To qualify for Enhanced Mitigation Plan status, the Indian Tribal Enhanced Mitigation Plan must meet all of the requirements under 44 CFR 201.7 plus the requirements of the State Enhanced Mitigation Plan.

Local Mitigation Plan

Similar to an Indian Tribal Mitigation Plan, a Local Mitigation Plan documents the planning process, which includes a:

• Risk assessment
• Mitigation strategy to prioritize projects based on risk
• Plan maintenance strategy

Local multi-jurisdictional plans must be adopted by all participating jurisdictions. Tribes may choose to participate in a local multi-jurisdictional mitigation plan. However, all participating jurisdictions must fulfill all planning requirements to be eligible for certain grant programs. Local mitigation plans are valid for five years.

• Planning Process Description
• Risk Assessment
• Mitigation Strategy
• Plan Maintenance Process
• Plan Adoption Process

Planning Process Description

A description of the planning process must be included to show who participated on a planning team, how the public was invited to provide input, and other important criteria.

Risk Assessment

The risk assessment process provides the foundation for the rest of the mitigation planning process. The four basic components of the risk assessment are to: 1) Identify hazards; 2) Profile hazard events; 3) Inventory assets at risk; and 4) Estimate losses.

Mitigation Strategy

A mitigation strategy provides the blueprint for reducing the losses identified in the risk assessment. The strategy must include goals that are based on the risk assessment, and they should be consistent with goals from other State or local jurisdictions' plans and policies.

Plan Maintenance Process

Risk changes over time, and mitigation plans should change along with it. The plan maintenance process establishes a method and schedule for monitoring, evaluating, and updating the plan. This includes a review of goals, objectives, and actions that have been completed.

Plan Adoption Process

The plan adoption process is how the jurisdiction formally adopts the mitigation plan. Local mitigation plans must be adopted in order for jurisdictions included in the plan to be eligible for mitigation project funding.

Most communities have access to resources that can provide technical assistance in the mitigation planning process, including:

• Staff with planning, engineering, and scientific expertise
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
• State/Indian Tribal staff
• State Hazard Mitigation Officer (SHMO)
• Indian Tribal Hazard Mitigation Officer (THMO)
• Geologist and climatologist
• Hurricane or earthquake program managers
• Floodplain manager
• Local universities and colleges
• Regional planning associations
• Private-sector consultants
• Emergency management personnel
• Public works/utilities personnel
• Federal partners, such as U.S. Forest Service (USFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), or U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
• Public or local residents

Valuable mitigation planning resources are FEMA's Mitigation Planning How-To Guides. There are nine “How-To” guides that address the activities and issues involved in each required component of a mitigation plan.

For more information on these guides, please go to the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Planning web page (https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/risk-management/hazard-mitigation-planning)

How does mitigation planning link to the grant application process?

The first planning step is to identify the hazards that may affect the community. Some of the common hazards that occur in the United States are listed below. For more information about each, select the desired hazard.

• Tornadoes
• Floods
• Hurricanes
• Wildfires
• Earthquakes

Tornadoes

Each year, hundreds of tornadoes strike the central part of the United States and Gulf coast, although they can occur in virtually any part of the country. You can use tornado count and severe weather statistics to judge the importance of tornadoes in your mitigation planning effort.

Floods

Floods and flash floods happen in every state. Many homes and businesses are at risk from flood damage. If your community has suffered flood damage, there are probably flood studies and maps that identify areas of different levels of flood risk.

Hurricanes

Hurricanes affect the United States in most years. If you live on or near the Atlantic or Gulf coasts, your community may have a history of hurricane damage. As the last decade has shown, aside from coastal flooding, hurricanes can also cause extensive inland flooding and wind damage.

Wildfires

If your community has houses and businesses located near forested areas or rural areas with substantial vegetation, wildfire may be a threat.

Earthquakes

Earthquakes are another hazard that we face in the United States. Although the West Coast is primarily identified with the earthquake hazard, other regions also face significant seismic risk.

After identifying the hazards, the next step is to evaluate the relative risk of each hazard’s impact on the community. This is called risk assessment. Risk assessment looks at how frequent a specific hazard occurs and how large (in intensity or magnitude) it is and then examines the exposure and vulnerability of assets at risk.

One resource for risk assessment is the Hazards-US Risk and Vulnerability Determination Tool (HAZUS-MH), available on the FEMA HAZUS website: https://www.fema.gov/flood-maps/tools-resources/flood-map-products/hazus.

HAZUS-MH is a powerful risk assessment program used for analyzing potential losses from floods, hurricane winds, and earthquakes. HAZUS-MH combines current scientific and engineering knowledge with the latest geographic information systems (GIS) technology to produce estimates of hazard-related damage.

Mitigation plans must include a mitigation strategy that identifies actions to reduce specific risks that were identified in the risk assessment.

Mitigation project types must be outlined in the mitigation plan. On the next three slides, you will have to correctly match a picture of a mitigation activity to the mitigation project type

In Lesson 3 you learned to:

• Identify the importance of mitigation planning
• Identify the steps required for completing a mitigation plan
• Highlight resources available for mitigation planning
• Recognize the connections between mitigation plans and projects