Last month, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) updated its official policy on (and interpretation of) state hazard mitigation planning requirements.
The updated document, the State Mitigation Planning Policy Guide lays out three state mitigation planning guiding principles.
What are they? Read on to find out.
The State Mitigation Planning Policy Guide
But what is the State Planning Policy Guide in the first place?
An invaluable resource for state emergency planners and federal officials alike, the State Mitigation Planning Policy Guide is FEMA’s official interpretation of applicable mitigation planning statutes and regulations, e.g., 44 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 201.
This policy, for those who aren’t aware, applies both to state governments that update and implement state mitigation plans as well as FEMA officials who must review and approve those plans.
The Guide itself is meant to facilitate consistent evaluation and approval of state mitigation plans and state compliance with mitigation planning requirements when updating plans.
What’s the purpose of a state mitigation plan?
Of course, mitigation planning takes different forms. For the purposes of the Guide, state mitigation plans serve as that state’s longer-term mitigation investment strategy, meant to reduce risk within the state.
State mitigation plans, therefore, provide critical information and guidance to local jurisdictions about the state’s risks from natural hazards as well as the state’s capabilities, priorities, and action plans.
Tribal and local governments can also leverage state mitigation plans in the development of their own mitigation, land-use, comprehensive, and economic development plans.
State mitigation planning guiding principles
To promote resilience, the plan itself must go beyond the state emergency management function, bringing in other state agencies, departments, and government entities as well as non-government stakeholders that can contribute to hazard mitigation. So that the development process doesn’t become a free for all, the plan should be grounded in certain mitigation planning principles, though.
In the remainder of the article, we examine three state mitigation planning guide principles advanced by FEMA:
1. Focus on risk-informed mitigation strategies
FEMA emphasizes that the mitigation strategy is the state’s “blueprint” for reducing hazard risk. Accordingly, connecting the state's mitigation strategy to the state's overall vulnerability is critical; in that that linkage enables the state to pursue relevant, well-prioritized mitigation projects and actions.
2. Foster cooperative relationships and an integrated state planning framework
Partners across the state must contribute to the planning process for the state mitigation plan to be effectual. As a result, coordinating beyond the respective office or agency responsible for hazard mitigation and emergency management is essential, notes FEMA.
Together these partners will contribute to an integrated planning framework, including support and coordination with local and tribal governments as well as non-state organizations needed to support mitigation throughout the state. Such a framework will not only ensure that communities are aware of state data, resources, and mitigation priorities but also that the state knows about local priorities and capabilities.
3. Improve mitigation capabilities
Resilience needs change frequently; and so, a state’s mitigation capabilities can’t remain static. FEMA, in this document, pledges to continue to work with states to provide technical assistance to strengthen coordination and mitigation capabilities.
State governments, for their part, must also contribute to hazard mitigation, by integrating planning processes, policies, and programs.
Finally, hazard mitigation involves any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk to human life and property from hazards. However, hazards occur despite our best mitigation efforts.
In those instances, state response agencies must work with other parties in affected areas. How can they work together harmoniously? That’s where interagency cooperation through effective interoperability in information and emergency management comes in.
Not sure how to achieve it? Check out our dedicated Guide to Achieving Interoperability in Information and Emergency Management to find out.
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