[Code of Federal Regulations] [Title 44, Volume 1] [Revised as of October 1, 2005] From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access [CITE: 44CFR201.4] [Page 401-403] TITLE 44--EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND ASSISTANCE CHAPTER I--FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY PART 201_MITIGATION PLANNING--Table of Contents Sec. 201.4 Standard State Mitigation Plans. (a) Plan requirement. (1) By November 1, 2004, States must have an approved Standard State Mitigation Plan meeting the requirements of this section in order to receive assistance under the Stafford Act, although assistance authorized under disasters declared prior to November 1, 2004 will continue to be made available. Until that date, existing, FEMA approved State Mitigation Plans will be accepted. In any case, emergency assistance provided under 42 U.S.C. 5170a, 5170b, 5173, 5174, 5177, 5179, 5180, 5182, 5183, 5184, 5192 will not be affected. Mitigation planning grants provided through the Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) program, authorized under Section 203 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. 5133, will also continue to be available. The mitigation plan is the demonstration of the State's commitment to reduce risks from natural hazards and serves as a guide for State decision makers as they commit resources to reducing the effects of natural hazards. States may choose to include the requirements of the HMGP Administrative Plan in their mitigation plan, but must comply with the requirement for updates, amendments, or revisions listed under 44 CFR 206.437. (2) A Governor, or Indian tribal leader, may request an extension to the plan approval deadline by submitting a request in writing to the Director of FEMA, through the Regional Director. At a minimum, this must be signed by the Governor or the Indian tribal leader, and must include justification for the extension, identification of the reasons the plan has not been completed, identification of the amount of additional time required to complete the plan, and a strategy for finalizing the plan. The Director of FEMA will review each request and may grant a plan approval extension of up to six months. However, any extended plan approval deadline will be no later than May 1, 2005. (b) Planning process. An effective planning process is essential in developing and maintaining a good plan. The mitigation planning process should include coordination with other State agencies, appropriate Federal agencies, interested groups, and be integrated to the extent possible with other ongoing State planning efforts as well as other FEMA mitigation programs and initiatives. (c) Plan content. To be effective the plan must include the following elements: (1) Description of the planning process used to develop the plan, including how it was prepared, who was involved in the process, and how other agencies participated. (2) Risk assessments that provide the factual basis for activities proposed in the strategy portion of the mitigation plan. Statewide risk assessments must characterize and analyze natural hazards and risks to provide a statewide overview. This overview will allow the State to compare potential losses throughout the State and to determine their priorities for implementing mitigation measures under the strategy, and to prioritize jurisdictions for receiving technical and financial support in developing more detailed local risk and vulnerability assessments. The risk assessment shall include the following: (i) An overview of the type and location of all natural hazards that can affect the State, including information on previous occurrences of hazard [[Page 402]] events, as well as the probability of future hazard events, using maps where appropriate; (ii) An overview and analysis of the State's vulnerability to the hazards described in this paragraph (c)(2), based on estimates provided in local risk assessments as well as the State risk assessment. The State shall describe vulnerability in terms of the jurisdictions most threatened by the identified hazards, and most vulnerable to damage and loss associated with hazard events. State owned critical or operated facilities located in the identified hazard areas shall also be addressed; (iii) An overview and analysis of potential losses to the identified vulnerable structures, based on estimates provided in local risk assessments as well as the State risk assessment. The State shall estimate the potential dollar losses to State owned or operated buildings, infrastructure, and critical facilities located in the identified hazard areas. (3) A Mitigation Strategy that provides the State's blueprint for reducing the losses identified in the risk assessment. This section shall include: (i) A description of State goals to guide the selection of activities to mitigate and reduce potential losses. (ii) A discussion of the State's pre- and post-disaster hazard management policies, programs, and capabilities to mitigate the hazards in the area, including: an evaluation of State laws, regulations, policies, and programs related to hazard mitigation as well as to development in hazard-prone areas; a discussion of State funding capabilities for hazard mitigation projects; and a general description and analysis of the effectiveness of local mitigation policies, programs, and capabilities. (iii) An identification, evaluation, and prioritization of cost- effective, environmentally sound, and technically feasible mitigation actions and activities the State is considering and an explanation of how each activity contributes to the overall mitigation strategy. This section should be linked to local plans, where specific local actions and projects are identified. (iv) Identification of current and potential sources of Federal, State, local, or private funding to implement mitigation activities. (4) A section on the Coordination of Local Mitigation Planning that includes the following: (i) A description of the State process to support, through funding and technical assistance, the development of local mitigation plans. (ii) A description of the State process and timeframe by which the local plans will be reviewed, coordinated, and linked to the State Mitigation Plan. (iii) Criteria for prioritizing communities and local jurisdictions that would receive planning and project grants under available funding programs, which should include consideration for communities with the highest risks, repetitive loss properties, and most intense development pressures. Further, that for non-planning grants, a principal criterion for prioritizing grants shall be the extent to which benefits are maximized according to a cost benefit review of proposed projects and their associated costs. (5) A Plan Maintenance Process that includes: (i) An established method and schedule for monitoring, evaluating, and updating the plan. (ii) A system for monitoring implementation of mitigation measures and project closeouts. (iii) A system for reviewing progress on achieving goals as well as activities and projects identified in the Mitigation Strategy. (6) A Plan Adoption Process. The plan must be formally adopted by the State prior to submittal to us for final review and approval. (7) Assurances. The plan must include assurances that the State will comply with all applicable Federal statutes and regulations in effect with respect to the periods for which it receives grant funding, in compliance with 44 CFR 13.11(c). The State will amend its plan whenever necessary to reflect changes in State or Federal laws and statutes as required in 44 CFR 13.11(d). (d) Review and updates. Plan must be reviewed and revised to reflect changes in development, progress in statewide mitigation efforts, and changes in priorities and resubmitted for approval to the appropriate Regional Director [[Page 403]] every three years. The Regional review will be completed within 45 days after receipt from the State, whenever possible. We also encourage a State to review its plan in the post-disaster timeframe to reflect changing priorities, but it is not required. [67 FR 8848, Feb. 26, 2002, as amended at 67 FR 61515, Oct. 1, 2002; 69 FR 55096, Sept. 13, 2004]