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Mitigation Planning

Plainly stated, mitigation planning is...

A process for states and communities to identify policies, activities and tools to implement mitigation actions. As we know, mitigation is any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to life and property from a hazard event. This process has four steps:

  1. organizing resources
  2. assessing risks
  3. developing a mitigation plan
  4. implementing the plan and monitoring progress.

This page focuses on developing a document that will address what each community needs for a Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA2K) compliant plan. Since federal aid for mitigation projects is only distributed to those communities that have a FEMA-approved mitigation plan, it is a great idea for jurisdictions that don't have a plan to complete this process. Visit the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Plan Status map to see if your community has a plan.

Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000

On October 30, 2000, the President of the United States signed into law the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA2K) to amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act of 1988.

The most significant changes for state and local governments are the amendments to Sections 203 (Pre-Disaster Hazard Mitigation) and 322 (Mitigation Planning) of the Stafford Act.

Section 203 establishes a "National Pre-Disaster Mitigation Fund" in order to carry out a program that will:

  • Provide technical and financial assistance to States and local governments to assist in the implementation of pre-disaster hazard mitigation measures that are cost-effective and designed to reduce injuries, loss of life, and damage and destruction of property, including damage to critical services and facilities under the jurisdiction of the States or local governments.

Section 322 provides a new and revitalized approach to mitigation planning by specifically doing the following:

  • Establishes a new requirement for local and tribal mitigation plans;
  • Authorizes up to 7 percent of the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funds available to a state to be used for development of state, local and tribal mitigation plans; and
  • Provides for states to receive an increased percentage of HMGP funds (from 15 percent to 20 percent) if, at the time of the declaration of a major disaster, they have in effect an approved State Mitigation Plan that meets the factors in the law.

As mentioned above, federal aid for mitigation projects is only distributed to those communities that have a FEMA-approved mitigation plan. In order for States and Local governments to achieve DMA2K compliance, FEMA requires that they both show cooperation with the other in their planning processes. Local governments can show this cooperation by using the risk analysis that the State has created for each county in Illinois. This will save local governments time and personnel costs since much of the hazard identification work has already been performed by the State. In turn, FEMA requires the State to show cooperation by incorporating local governments' mitigation project information into the State plan. To gather this information, the State needs you to use the 2023 State of Illinois Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan (12.5M) to guide you through your development process.

Click here to access a quick reference guide for everything you need to know about mitigation planning in Illinois

FEMA How to Guides

Planning Tools

Manuals

Mitigation Plan Review Tool

Frequently Asked Questions

Approved Plans