Adoption by each participating local governing body shows their commitment to carrying out the mitigation strategy. Responsible agencies can also begin to carry out their actions. The final plan is not approved until each participant, including each special district, adopts it. You must provide FEMA documentation of formal adoption by the governing body of the jurisdiction(s) requesting approval before your plan can be approved. Annex B includes an example of a local adoption resolution. Adoption is not just required; it’s critical to success. Plan adoption:
- Requires the buy-in of elected officials.
- Sets roles and responsibilities for carrying out the plan.
- Is one of the eligibility requirements for FEMA’s HMA and HHPD grant funding.
8.2.1. Multi-Jurisdictional Adoption Considerations
For a multi-jurisdictional plan, each jurisdiction seeking plan approval must adopt the plan. Typically, the jurisdiction leading the effort adopts the plan first. However, adoption can occur in any order. The governing bodies are typically the Town Board, City Council, County Commissioners and/or Board of Selectmen. Participating Special Districts must also adopt as part of the approval process. Plan adoption usually happens through a formal resolution. However, council minutes, consent agendas or other forms of adoption are acceptable if allowed by local law.
It is a good idea to get buy-in from each plan participant early in the planning process. Getting letters of commitment is one method that, if used early in the process, can support multi-jurisdictional adoption.
Table 11: Considerations for Adoption Paths
| All Adoption Resolutions Submitted with Plan | Approvable Pending Adoption |
|---|---|
| Required Revisions | |
| • There may still be revisions necessary before the plan can be adopted. Significant revisions could mean having to re-adopt the plan. | • The plan is approvable at the time of adoption. |
| Timing | |
| • Coordinating adoption among participants can be easier because the planning process is still fresh. | • Coordinating adoption among participants can take longer because the planning process may not be as recent. |
| • There is no potential lapse in timing because all adoptions are complete before submittal. | • Participants adopting after 1 year need to complete additional steps to receive approval. |
8.2.2. All Adoption Resolutions Submitted with Plan
The Guide gives two paths to adoption. The first is that plans can be submitted with adoption resolutions from all participants. In this path, participants adopt the plan once it’s been drafted in accordance with the most up-to-date FEMA planning policies, but prior to state and FEMA review. This path has fewer steps and less back-and-forth correspondence. Participants can continue the planning process’s momentum to adopt the plan and finish the process while it is top of mind. They could even use a public review period to collect adoptions prior to submitting the plan for review. Once the state and FEMA review the plan and find no required revisions, the plan is complete and the participants can begin the mitigation actions.
The potential risk of this path is that the state and FEMA could return the plan with required revisions. This means the document the participants adopted may differ from the final approved plan. To reduce this risk, use flexible language in the adoption document and let participants know about any changes to the final plan. Flexible language can allow the approved plan to vary slightly from the adopted version. Keeping participants informed of changes can help them gauge if they are comfortable with them.
For instance, participants may be okay with minor changes to the document, such as including a new hazard extent chart or more disaster declarations. They may not feel they need to re-adopt the plan if edits are small. However, if participants are responsible for many new actions, or a hazard profile is added, they may want to re-adopt the plan because it is further from the original.
To take this path, the plan has to be a complete document. Participants should not adopt the plan prior to participating in the process and reviewing the full plan. Adopting participants must have:
- Participated in the process.
- Contributed their local knowledge.
- Identified their risks and vulnerabilities.
- Identified their capabilities and ways to expand them.
- Identified mitigation actions that address those risks and vulnerabilities.
8.2.3. Approvable Pending Adoption
The second path is APA. In this path, the state and FEMA review a complete draft of the plan. Once FEMA determines all requirements have been met, the status of the plan will be changed to APA. This status indicates FEMA will approve the plan as soon as it receives the adoption documentation from the participants. FEMA notifies participants using the APA process that the plan is APA and then all participants adopt the plan.
If you choose to use the APA process, take steps to adopt the plan as soon as possible and submit the documentation to the state and FEMA for approval. Additional steps will be required of jurisdictions adopting after 1 year of FEMA’s APA notification.
The plan is not considered approved until at least one of the participating jurisdictions has sent in the adoption documentation. In a multi-jurisdictional plan, each participating jurisdiction must adopt in order to get “approved” status. Approval status is tracked by plan and jurisdiction. Jurisdictions with a plan status of “Approvable Pending Adoption” do not have an approved plan status and are not eligible for any FEMA assistance that requires a mitigation plan.
The benefit of this path is that the participants can be sure they are adopting the final plan. The downside is that there is a break in the timeline from when the final draft plan is completed and when adoption is requested. This break may lead to a loss of momentum in the local planning process. It is important to note that APA status is not the same as having an approved plan. Participants still need to adopt the plan as quickly as possible to finish the process and get the benefits of having an approved plan.
Governing bodies have different meeting schedules and procedures for adopting plans and other documents. It is important to coordinate the adoptions of all jurisdictions as soon as the plan receives APA status. If possible, coordinate the adoptions and submit documentation to the state at the same time.
Participating jurisdictions need to adopt the plan quickly after the plan is granted APA status to be eligible for certain kinds of FEMA non-emergency disaster assistance.