November 15, 2017 – Brandon Melton, Senior Planner, provided a presentation regarding hazard mitigation planning.  He said that a FEMA-approved hazard mitigation plan is required per the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 to access certain FEMA Grant Programs such as Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) and Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA).  FEMA requires that natural hazards with potential impact to a location be considered when creating a plan.

There are about 15 natural hazards that have the potential to impact the Bi-State Region.  The most prevalent are river floods, flash floods, and severe storms.  These hazards are reviewed by each jurisdiction participating in the plan.

Mr. Melton described the responsibilities of participating communities regarding review and public input for plan materials that culminates in adoption of the resulting plan for each community.  Bi-State Staff have recently completed updates to Muscatine County’s plan in 2015 and Rock Island County’s plan in 2016.  They are currently in the process of updating Scott County’s plan.