Mitigation
Through mitigation, the South Dakota Office of Emergency Management develops plans, programs and services to reduce or eliminate loss if the same disaster occurs again. While we can not control the occurrence of events like tornadoes, floods or other disasters, we can directly influence the severity of impact by initiating hazard mitigation planning, principles, and practices.
Mitigation Funding
The South Dakota Office of Emergency Management receives an annual mitigation grant, Building Resilient Infrastructures and Communities (BRIC), as well as additional mitigation grants to help communities eliminate or lessen the impact upon life and property of a recurring event. To learn more about upcoming deadlines and different programs, read our HMA 101 Guide or visit our Emergency Management Grant page.
Hazardous Mitigation Plans
To be eligible for any mitigation grant, the entity applying for funds must have either adopted the county’s hazard mitigation plan or been an entity that participates in South Dakota’s hazard mitigation plan. If neither of those are true for the entity, then community sponsorship must be used to pass the funds through to the entity. To learn if a hazard mitigation plan is required for different Stafford Act programs, click here.
HMP Status for South Dakota Counties and Tribes
County Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) FAQs
No, counties are not required to complete the plan, but every county is encouraged to because it will ensure everyone is better prepared in the event of a disaster.
If a county chooses not to complete a plan, then the county will not be eligible for future hazard mitigation assistance funding for projects.
During the mitigation planning process, each jurisdiction should include individuals from agencies involved in hazard mitigation activities, agencies with the authority to regulate development, and offices responsible for enforcing local ordinances are important members of the planning team.
This is a good time to include businesses, academia, and other private and non-profit interests to build a preparedness team to collaborate ideas and resources to respond when a disaster occurs. The public should also be invited to participate in all aspects of the plan. Documentation needs to be kept as to how the public and others were invited and who attends the meetings.
The county must submit the plan to the South Dakota Office of Emergency Management (SD OEM) for review to ensure that no changes need to be made. Once SD OEM determines the plan meets all requirements, it will be sent to FEMA for approval.
If it is determined that no changes are required, the county and all entities involved in the plan should formally adopt the plan. Our office will need copies of all entities' adoption of the plan.
The county is required to update the plan every five years; however, it is required to review plans every year to keep it up-to-date.
Mitigation Approaches
Mitigation actions are most often thought of as taking the form of structural or non-structural measures, but there are four basic approaches:
- Altering the Hazard: Modifying the hazard to eliminate or reduce the frequency of its occurrence. Examples include triggering avalanches under controlled conditions and reducing a storm's energy through cloud seeding.
- Averting the Hazard: Redirecting the impact away from a vulnerable location by using structural devices or land treatment to shield people and development from harm. Examples include dikes, levees, and dams.
- Adapting to the Hazard: Modifying structures and altering design standards of construction. Identified problem areas such as high wind, earthquake, land sliding or subsidence, and heavily forested terrain all require special building standards and construction practices to reduce vulnerability to damage.
- Avoiding the Hazard: Keep people away from the hazard area or limiting development and population in a risk area. Examples include enforcement actions such as zoning regulations, building codes, and ordinances.
To see examples of past funded mitigation projects, visit our South Dakota Mitigations Project Map.
Resource Library
Mitigation Documents
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