Mitigation Planning How-To Guide #5
Using Benefit-Cost Review in Mitigation Planning
The purpose of a mitigation plan is to reduce the community’s vulnerability to hazards. After assessing its risks, a community may consider many mitigation options. However, due to monetary as well as other limitations, it is often impossible to implement all mitigation actions. Hence, the Planning Team needs to select the most cost-effective actions for implementation first, not only to use resources efficiently, but to make a realistic start toward mitigating risks. FEMA's Mitigation Planning regulation supports the principle of cost-effectiveness by requiring hazard mitigation plans to have an action plan that includes a prioritization process that demonstrates a special emphasis on maximization of benefits over costs. The purpose of this guide is to help local jurisdictions understand how to apply the concepts of Benefit-Cost Review to the prioritization of mitigation actions, and thereby meet the requirement of the Rule.
NOTE: The Benefit-Cost Review for mitigation planning differs from the benefit-cost analysis (BCA) used for projects in grant applications. Please refer to the mitigation grant program guidance for specific instructions on how to complete BCA requirements for grant applications.
Download a copy of the Mitigation Planning How-To Guide #5: Using Benefit-Cost Review in Mitigation Planning from the FEMA Library. This document is only available online.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 26-Aug-2008 10:58:44 EDT