The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act) legally requires state, local, tribal, and territorial governments to develop and adopt FEMA-approved hazard mitigation plans as a condition for receiving certain types of non-emergency disaster assistance. The regulations, under Title 44, Chapter 1, Part 201 (44 CFR Part 201) of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) contain requirements and procedures to implement the hazard mitigation planning provisions of the Stafford Act.
The Stafford Act authorizes the following grant programs for those eligible applicants with an approved and adopted hazard mitigation plan:
Since the Stafford Act, additional laws have been passed that help to shape hazard mitigation policy as it stands today. These revisions are included in the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act (SRIA) of 2013, the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, and the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act of 2016.
Policy
The following mitigation planning guidance documents constitute FEMA’s official policy on and interpretation of the hazard mitigation planning requirements.
- State Mitigation Plan Review Guide (March 2015)
- Local Mitigation Plan Review Guide (October 2011)
- Guía de Revisión del Plan Local de Mitigación (Octubre 2011)
- Tribal Mitigation Plan Review Guide (December 2017)
Additional Mitigation Planning Policies
- State Mitigation Plan Review Guide Policy (FP 302-094-2, March 6, 2015)
- Policy for use of Local Mitigation Planning Handbook (FP 302-094-1, March 29, 2013)
- Restrictions on Grant Obligations to State, Tribal and Local Governments without a FEMA-Approved Mitigation Plan (FP 306-112-1, August 19, 2013)
- MT-PL #1: Disaster Declaration Procedures After May 1, 2005 for States Without an Approved State Mitigation Plan
To view prior hazard mitigation planning policy documents that have been superseded, visit the Hazard Mitigation Planning Policy Archive.