Compliance
with FEMA Regulations for Local Plans
The Stafford Act requires that a detailed mitigation plan must have been
created to meet the guidelines outlined in the most current FEMA
regulations in order for states and local agencies to be eligible for
disaster reimbursement funds. Listed below in italics are sections from
the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Planning and Hazard Mitigation Grant Program
- Interim Final Rule - 44 CFR Parts 201 and 206 RIN 3067-AD22. Following
each section is a description of the solution provided by The Stafford
Act Solution Package (SASP) from Visual Risk Technologies to address
that specific point.
§ 201.6 Local Mitigation Plans.
(a1) Plan requirement. For disasters declared after November 1, 2003, a
local government must have a mitigation plan approved pursuant to this
section in order to receive HMGP project grants.
MitigationPlan.com prompts mitigation planners for information about the
community, potential hazards, past events, mitigation projects and other
descriptive information relevant to meeting the requirement of Section
201. MitigationPlan.com organizes the information into a formatted plan
that may be downloaded to the local computer hard drive in Microsoft
Word format. This plan can then be modified through the public process,
properly promulgated with the most recent modifications made directly to
the website, and then re-printed.
(b) Planning process. An open public involvement process is essential
to the development of an effective plan. In order to develop a more
comprehensive approach to reducing the effects of natural disasters, the
planning process shall include:
(1) An opportunity for the public to comment on the plan during the
drafting stage and prior to plan approval;
(2) An opportunity for neighboring communities, local and regional
agencies involved in hazard mitigation activities, and agencies that
have the authority to regulate development, as well as businesses,
academia and other private and non-profit interests to be involved in
the planning process;
(3) Review and incorporation, if appropriate, of existing plans,
studies, reports, and technical information.
There are a variety of functions within MitigationPlan.com to support
the required public involvement throughout the planning process.
1. The local planner has the ability to make all or parts of the plan
available for public viewing over the web. Names, organizations, contact
information, public announcements and other relevant and required data
may be published to the website for public viewing.
2. Entry fields prompt the plan to log dates of the meetings associated
with the public process.
3. Agendas and other documents, plans, studies, etc. related to the
process or submitted by the public can be emailed to the planner and
then uploaded to the website for inclusion in the mitigation plan.
(c) Plan content. The plan shall include the following:
(1) Documentation of the planning process used to develop the plan,
including how it was prepared, who was involved in the process, and how
the public was involved.
In addition to the capabilities described above, MitigationPlan.com
contains a Promulgation Authority Section that allows for the
documentation of the public process. Names and contact information are
logged for all those involved in the mitigation planning process. The
generated mitigation plan document presented in a Word file contains a
pre-formatted section where signatures are to be placed upon final plan
approval.
(2) A risk assessment that provides the factual basis for activities
proposed in the strategy to reduce losses from identified hazards. Local
risk assessments must provide sufficient information to enable the
jurisdiction to identify and prioritize appropriate mitigation actions
to reduce losses from identified hazards. The risk assessment shall
include:
(i) A description of the type, location, and extent of all natural
hazards that can affect the jurisdiction. The plan shall include
information on previous occurrences of hazard events and on the
probability of future hazard events.
Using MitigationPlan.com's Hazard Wizard, the planner will choose from a
comprehensive list of natural, man-made and technological hazards that
can potentially impact the community. Specific information is then
collected about each individual hazard.
1. General and specific hazard description.
2. Risk History including specific information about past events and
associated costs of response and recovery.
3. For each hazard a Critical Risk Priority Index (CRPI) is assigned
(calculated). Designating various levels for Probability, Magnitude,
Warning Time and Severity, the CRPI number is generated, thus enabling
an equitable comparison of diverse hazards affecting different
locations. This index is extremely beneficial in the prioritization of
mitigation strategies.
4. GIS maps produced in VRiskMAP™ detail the location and provide a
display of the potential extent of a hazard impact as well as other
critical facilities and locations present within this area. These maps
can be attached and incorporated into the generated mitigation plan via
MitigationPlan.com.
(ii) A description of the jurisdiction’s vulnerability to the
hazards described in paragraph (c)(2)(i) of this section. This
description shall include an overall summary of each hazard and its
impact on the community. The plan should describe vulnerability in terms
of:
(A) The types and numbers of existing and future buildings,
infrastructure, and critical facilities located in the identified hazard
areas;
Using VRiskMAP™
and the accompanying databases, along with local
information provided by the planner, lists of critical facilities,
lifelines and infrastructure located inside the defined hazard areas can
be easily generated and documented. MitigationPlan.com produces
spreadsheet reports for each unique impact area and potential hazard;
these reports are included in the mitigation plan. Also, GIS maps
produced in VRiskMAP™
displaying the locations of these facilities and
infrastructure can be included in the plan.
In addition, electronic files related to the hazard or the locations
such as floor plans, photographs, contact lists, websites, etc. can be
uploaded to the MitigationPlan.com website and thus be incorporated into
the mitigation plan.
(B) An estimate of the potential dollar losses to vulnerable
structures identified in paragraph (c)(2)(i)(A) of this section and a
description of the methodology used to prepare the estimate;
Upon entering data about the critical facilities, lifelines, public
infrastructure and private industry, MitigationPlan.com prompts the
planner to provide information about the estimated value and replacement
value of these locations, and the methodology by which these dollar
amounts were determined.
(C) Providing a general description of land uses and development
trends within the community so that mitigation options can be considered
in future land use decisions.
MitigationPlan.com's section on Community Information provides entry
fields for descriptive information about the economy, local industry,
and future developments of the community. A variety of other specific
questions regarding land use plans, flood insurance, NFPI ratings and
other existing ordinances are also presented to the planner for entry.
(3) A mitigation strategy that provides the jurisdiction’s
blueprint for reducing the potential losses identified in the risk
assessment, based on existing authorities, policies, programs and
resources, and its ability to expand on and improve these existing
tools. This section shall include:
(i) A description of mitigation goals to reduce or avoid long-term
vulnerabilities to the identified hazards.
An entire section of MitigationPlan.com is dedicated to Mitigation
Project Goals. Documentation of information to include a description of
each proposed project, the strategy employed and any alternatives
considered is provided for. Budget information is also requested for
each goal identifying funding sources and fiscal timing. Location
information (if applicable, created in VRiskMAP™) can be associated with
the plan to allow for the visual display of all proposed and on-going
projects over detailed geography-based maps of the area.
(ii) A section that identifies and analyzes a comprehensive range of
specific mitigation actions and projects being considered to reduce the
effects of each hazard, with particular emphasis on new and existing
buildings and infrastructure.
(iii) An action plan describing how the actions identified in paragraph
(c)(2)(ii) of this section will be prioritized, implemented, and
administered by the local jurisdiction. Prioritization shall include a
special emphasis on the extent to which benefits are maximized according
to a cost benefit review of the proposed projects and their associated
costs.
(iv) For multi-jurisdictional plans, there must be identifiable action
items specific to the jurisdiction requesting FEMA approval or credit of
the plan.
For each hazard, every proposed, on-going and completed project is
listed in the individual plan section of MitigationPlan.com. The
resulting spreadsheet ranks these projects by CRPI and includes all the
budget information for detailed analysis. In the final section of the
plan, all mitigation projects for all potential hazards are combined
into a complete listing. Using this report, the CRPI ranking and the
financial comparison serve as the primary means for prioritizing and
implementing new projects for diverse hazards across multiple
jurisdictions.
(4) A plan maintenance process that includes:
(i) A section describing the method and schedule of monitoring,
evaluating, and updating the mitigation plan within a five-year cycle.
Due to the dynamic nature of this Internet database system, every
jurisdiction's mitigation plan can be easily and rapidly updated in
MitigationPlan.com as new information becomes available. Any changes to
the data are automatically reflected in the next printing of the plan.
Therefore, the mechanism for continual monitoring and updating is
already in place. There is also a section for the entry of text to
discuss the planned schedule for updates.
(ii) A process by which local governments incorporate the
requirements of the mitigation plan into other planning mechanisms such
as comprehensive or capital improvement plans, when appropriate.
All of the budget information about the costs for proposed projects, the
value and replacement costs of critical locations and the past costs for
response and recovery for historical events all lead to the
incorporation of this planning information into the overall government
process.
(iii) Discussion on how the community will continue public
participation in the plan maintenance process.
MitigationPlan.com allows for the public to view any information that is
deemed acceptable by the preparers of the plan. Along with contact
information for all contributors, and the schedule for updates to the
plan, the tools are available for continual input from the public during
the entire planning process.
(5) Documentation that the plan has been formally adopted by the
governing body of the jurisdiction requesting approval of the plan
(e.g., City Council, County Commissioner, Tribal Council). For
multi-jurisdictional plans, each jurisdiction requesting approval of the
plan must document that it has been formally adopted.
When all the information is collected into MitigationPlan.com and the
goals of the public process have been met, the final plan along with all
supporting documents, maps, spreadsheets and web links are easily
printed and collated for the formal adoption process. Printed in the
actual plan are places for all of the plan preparers, reviewers and
approvers to sign and date for official documentation purposes. Not only
can this plan be reviewed in printed format, but also the entire plan
continues to reside on the Internet and can be accessed by any
authorized user(s) from any web-enabled computer.
Back
to Stafford Act Overview
|
|
|
