A.3. Eligibility

Two types of planning activities may be eligible for HMA:

1. New plan creation or plan updates.
2. Planning-related activities.

The creation of a new plan and the update of an existing plan are eligible activities under HMGP, HMGP Post Fire, BRIC and Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA). For FMA, however, there are additional restrictions that are outlined below.

Planning-related activities are eligible under HMGP, HMGP Post Fire and BRIC. Activity eligibility under BRIC is established annually through the publication of a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). If any information in this document conflicts with the NOFO, the information in the NOFO will take precedence.

New plan creation and plan updates are eligible under HMGP, HMGP Post Fire, BRIC and FMA. A planning subaward for a new or updated mitigation plan must result in a mitigation plan adopted by the jurisdiction(s) and approved by FEMA, consistent with the regulatory requirements in 44 CFR Part 201 and 44 CFR Part 206 and applicable mitigation planning regulations and policy.

For FMA, a plan must provide for reduction of flood losses to structures for which National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) coverage is available. Additionally, FEMA will only provide assistance if the community seeking the assistance is participating in the NFIP.

State, local, tribal and territorial governments with a current approved hazard mitigation plan are eligible to apply for assistance for planning-related activities under HMGP, HMGP Post Fire or BRIC. To expedite and strengthen the effectiveness of hazard mitigation implementation across the country, FEMA supports a variety of planning-related activities through HMGP, HMGP Post Fire and BRIC. This assistance for planning-related activities provides flexibility to further reduce risk and integrate hazard mitigation and resilience principles into other types of ongoing planning and development activities, such as making land use ordinances and building codes more disaster resilient. All planning and planning-related activities must result in a clearly defined product or products.

Under HMGP, HMGP Post Fire and BRIC, eligible mitigation planning-related activities include:

• Updating or improving sections of the current approved mitigation plan, such as:
  • Updates to the risk and vulnerability assessment based on new, targeted information. This new information may come from supporting studies, such as an economic analysis, or from incorporating data available from Risk Mapping, Assessment, and Planning (Risk MAP); FEMA; or other federal agencies.
  • Strengthening the mitigation strategy by incorporating actions to reduce vulnerabilities over the long term as well as linking proposed actions to available assistance, such as:
    • HMA.
    • Public Assistance (PA).
    • Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grants assistance.
    • Environmental Protection Agency loans and assistance.
    • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coastal Zone Management.
    • Economic Development Administration Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy.
    • State assistance.
    • Private investments, such as from utilities and other lifelines.
  • Incorporating climate adaptation, form-based design and land use development, resilience, historic properties and cultural resources information.
  • Incorporating disadvantaged, vulnerable and/or underserved populations with unique needs, such as economic, disability and/or language considerations, into the planning process, risk assessment and/or mitigation strategy.
  • Incorporating information into the mitigation plan to gain certification under the Emergency Management Accreditation Program.
  • Integrating mitigation planning with flood management planning to gain credit under the NFIP Community Rating System (CRS).
  • Developing evaluation criteria, measures and indicators to track mitigation progress to lower risk.
• Integrating information from state, tribal, or local mitigation plans (specifically risk assessment or mitigation strategies), with other planning efforts and integrating information from other plans into state, tribal, or local mitigation plans, such as:
  • Disaster recovery strategy (pre- or post-disaster), preparedness or response plans, including disaster recovery plans to protect cultural, artistic and historic resources.
  • Comprehensive plans (e.g., land use, master, sustainability, economic development).
  • Resilience strategy.
  • Climate adaptation plans.
  • Capital improvement or economic development plans.
  • Resource management/conservation plans (e.g., stormwater, open space).
  • Other long-term community planning initiatives (e.g., transportation, housing, education, recreation, landmark and heritage, redevelopment, drought and/or wildfire).
• Building capability through delivery of technical assistance and training by:
  • Introducing officials, leaders, staff, residents, cultural stewards and other stakeholders to hazard mitigation and disaster recovery planning, including train-the-trainer activities.
  • Increasing understanding of financial tools that can be used to implement mitigation measures and develop a financing strategy (e.g., tax increment financing, coordinated infrastructure financing or historic tax credits).
  • Helping communities incorporate nature-based approaches into mitigation actions.
  • Providing communities with information on viable adaptation approaches to prevent future losses to homes, businesses and infrastructure and to preserve historic and cultural resources.
• Evaluating adoption of and/or implementation of ordinances and development codes, zoning codes, form-based codes, subdivision codes, etc. that reduce risk and/or increase resilience to future hazards by:
  • Promoting flexibility and adaptation approaches to protect historic and cultural resources.
  • Evaluating current and future built environment to assess risks and vulnerabilities.
• Integrating information from mitigation plans with climate adaptation planning efforts, such as:
  • Developing climate adaptation plans to be used as a strategic and guiding framework to evaluate and implement actions to support climate adaptation.
  • Developing a managed retreat strategy.
  • Developing or updating post-disaster recovery and redevelopment plans to incorporate climate adaptation considerations.
  • Developing or updating long-range transportation or utility plans to assess asset protection, design modifications, assess relocation and realignment, or infrastructure disinvestment.
  • Developing wetland migration plans to conserve, protect or restore ecosystems in response to rising sea levels.
  • Evaluating opportunities for other property acquisition tools such as conservation land trusts, leasebacks, land swaps and life estates.
  • Evaluating adoption and/or regulatory tools such as living shorelines, setbacks and buffers, development permit conditions and zoning and overlay zones.
  • Evaluating market-based tools such as transfer of development rights.

Information dissemination activities done in conjunction with planning-related activities, including public awareness and education, are generally eligible as a percentage of a subapplication.

The following activities are not eligible as mitigation planning or planning-related activities:

• Hazard identification or mapping and related equipment that directly relate to implementing a mitigation project.
• Geographic information system software, hardware and data acquisition whose primary aim is to implement a mitigation project.

Any activities directly related to implementing a mitigation project must be included in the subapplication budget for that project. Costs related to hazard identification, hazard mapping and the geographic information system software may be eligible under the HMGP 5 Percent Initiative.

Project scoping or subapplication development activities such as Benefit-Cost Analysis, engineering feasibility studies, subapplication development, construction design, or environmental and historic preservation (EHP) data collection are not eligible as planning-related activities. These activities may be eligible as project scoping/advance assistance activities under HMGP, HMGP Post Fire, BRIC and FMA. A general list of ineligible activities is included in Part 4.

FEMA supports a variety of planning and planning-related activities through HMGP and HMGP Post Fire. In addition to hazard mitigation plans, this assistance is available for planning-related activities and provides flexibility to state, tribal and local governments to reduce risk and integrate hazard mitigation principles into planning for resilience.

The state responsibilities for planning activities are outlined in 44 CFR § 201.3(c). The provision specifies that up to 7% of a recipient’s HMGP or HMGP Post Fire assistance can be used for mitigation planning under 44 CFR § 206.434. Within this percentage, there are no limits on the dollar value of the planning-related activity or the number of planning activities that can be submitted.

BRIC and FMA may have funding restrictions for planning and planning-related activities. Refer to the award year BRIC or FMA NOFO for more information.