A.2. Mitigation Planning Process

To obtain assistance under any HMA program, state, local, tribal and territorial governments must generally have a FEMA-approved hazard mitigation plan.^[347]

The purpose of mitigation planning is for state, local, tribal and territorial governments to identify the natural hazards that impact them and actions and activities to reduce any losses from those hazards, as well as establish a coordinated process to implement the plan, taking advantage of a wide range of resources.^[348] Identifying risks and developing broad long-term strategies for protecting people and property from future events is key in breaking the cycle of disasters and repeated damage. Regulations addressing hazard mitigation plans can be found at 44 CFR Part 201.

The mitigation planning process varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but regardless of the plan type, a state, local, tribal or territorial mitigation plan development/update process comprises the following four phases.

A state, local, tribal or territorial government may organize needed planning resources for a successful mitigation planning process, such as securing technical expertise; defining the planning area; and identifying key individuals, agencies, neighboring jurisdictions, businesses or other stakeholders to participate in the process.

Stakeholder engagement during plan development can provide important information about community needs and have significant impacts on proposed actions for HMA applications or subapplications. State, local, tribal and territorial governments are encouraged to include representatives of the whole community in planning and scoping the project to gain broad community participation and support. Building on existing community networks can also be critical for generating broad support for future, specific mitigation activities.

During this phase, it is important to define the planning area including identifying assets that may be outside of jurisdictional boundaries but should be taken into consideration in the planning process (e.g., a drinking water reservoir owned by a city but located in another jurisdiction).

The state, local, tribal or territorial government may then assess risks by identifying the characteristics and potential consequences of hazards. It is important to understand what geographic areas each hazard might impact and what people, property or other assets might be vulnerable. A risk assessment generally consists of hazard identification, hazard profiles, asset inventory and an estimation of potential human and economic losses based on the exposure and vulnerability of people, buildings and infrastructure.

The state, local, tribal or territorial government may develop a long-term mitigation strategy for avoiding or minimizing the effects of disasters. Based on public input and identified risks, communities develop mitigation goals and objectives as part of a strategy for mitigating hazard-related losses. The strategy is a community’s approach for implementing mitigation activities that are cost-effective, technically feasible and environmentally sound as well as allowing strategic investment of limited resources. The strategy is grounded in the jurisdiction’s unique set of regulatory, administrative and financial capabilities to undertake mitigation. The mitigation strategy also includes a description of how the mitigation actions will be implemented and administered. Mitigation goals and objectives should be broad and inclusive of the community’s mitigation priorities. These priorities may require updating during the five-year planning period because of changes to risk and vulnerability including effects of a disaster.

The next step in the process is the adoption and implementation of the hazard mitigation plan. The hazard mitigation plan must be approved and adopted by the jurisdiction or tribe, and then forwarded by the state or tribe to FEMA for review and approval.^[349] Under a Program Administration by States (PAS) agreement with FEMA, some states have been delegated local plan approval; however, FEMA still issues an approval letter after the state notifies the agency that they have approved the plan. If an HMA subaward was used to develop or update the plan, failure to adopt the plan may result in disallowance of the costs. Once FEMA approves the plan, it can be used to implement hazard mitigation actions and obtain hazard mitigation assistance for specific activities.

The applicant or subapplicant should use the mitigation plan to facilitate the development of mitigation action alternatives using FEMA and other assistance sources. Incorporating these considerations from the mitigation plan into the scoping process for potential mitigation activities funded by HMA increases the efficiency of program review and ensures that all HMA program requirements are met. The mitigation strategy is the starting point for subapplicants to identify current needs and potential mitigation activities as discussed in the following steps.

To ensure success, the plan must remain a relevant, living document through routine maintenance. The state, local, tribal or territorial government needs to conduct periodic evaluations to assess changing risks and priorities and make revisions as needed. For more information, refer to the FEMA “Hazard Mitigation Planning” webpage.

State, local, tribal and territorial officials should keep their plans up to date and start the process to secure funding well in advance of the plan expiration date. HMA funding can be used to update plans. When developing an HMA subapplication or application for a hazard mitigation plan update, the subapplicant or applicant should (1) reference prior approved mitigation plans and the Mitigation Plan Review Tool for areas and suggestions on improvement in the next update cycle and (2) describe the extent to which the plan maintenance process was followed to “right size” the planning grant scope. Additionally, the applicant or subapplicant should consider scheduling time with the state, local, tribal or territorial official and/or FEMA planner to discuss the appropriate scope needed for the update based on changes in development, risk and past disaster activity.

For more information on innovative and emerging partnerships in mitigation, refer to the FEMA “Guides to Expanding Mitigation” webpage.