Missouri Mitigation Program

The Great Flood in 1993 graphically demonstrated that Missouri had to more actively manage the floodplain to protect the thousands of Missourians living in the floodplain. For many Missouri citizens, living in the floodplain had become a never ending cycle of build, flood, rebuild, flood, rebuild...With the sudden availability of federal funds and the hard work of the state and local governments, the timing was perfect to move these unfortunate Missourians out of harm's way, and the Missouri Community Buyout Program was the answer. With funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other federal entities, and the state's technical assistance, local governments could identify willing sellers, appraise the property, make offers to homeowners, close and assume title to the property. The local governments then use the properties for recreational facilities (soccer fields, softball parks etc), open space or wetlands. The property is permanently taken off the tax rolls with the understanding that no future federal assistance will be available in the event of future flooding, and the property is permanently deed restricted to preclude structures being built or rebuilt on the floodprone site. Since its inception, the buyout program has enabled local governments to remove over 5,000 primary residential properties from harm's way. Stemming the Tide a series of stories about the 1993 Flood buyout is available for download. (PDF Format)

Over the last few years, mitigation in Missouri has broadened in scope to include a number of types of projects including:

• Voluntary acquisition of real property ( i.e . structures and land, where necessary) for conversion to open space in perpetuity;
• Relocation of public or private structures;
• Elevation of existing public or private structures to avoid coastal or riverine flooding;
• Construction of safe rooms ( e.g., tornado and severe wind shelters) for public (local schools, universities and communities) and private structures that meet the FEMA construction criteria in FEMA 320 “Taking Shelter from the Storm” and FEMA 361 “Design and Construction Guidance for Community Shelters”;
• Structural retrofitting and non-structural retrofitting ( e.g. , earthquake, high wind, storm shutters, hurricane clips, bracing systems) of existing public or private structures to meet or exceed applicable building codes relative to hazard mitigation;
• Protective measures for utilities ( e.g., electric and gas); water and sanitary sewer systems and/or infrastructure ( e.g., roads and bridges);
• Storm water management projects ( e.g., culverts, retention basins) to reduce or eliminate long-term risk from flood hazards; and
• Storm water management projects ( e.g., culverts, retention basins) to reduce or eliminate long-term risk from flood hazards; and
• Localized flood control projects, such as certain ring levees, bank stabilization, and floodwall systems that are designed specifically to protect critical facilities (defined as Hazardous Materials Facilities, Emergency Operation Centers, Power Facilities, Water Facilities, Sewer and Wastewater Treatment Facilities, Communications Facilities, Emergency Medical Care Facilities, Fire Protection, and Emergency Facilities) and that do not constitute a section of a larger flood control system
• Vegetation management for wildfires, natural dune restoration, or snow avalanche;
• Hydrologic and Hydraulic studies/analyses, engineering studies, and drainage studies for the purpose of project design and feasibility determination (Not for developing, revising, updating, etc. flood maps);

Mitigation grants include the following:

Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) Grants

Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) Grants

Repetitive Flood Claim (RFC) Grants

Severe Repetitive Loss Program (SRL)

(Post-Disaster) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP)

Please note that these grants are made available to local governments (including schools, colleges and universities) to benefit Missouri 's citizens. Private individuals are not eligible to apply for the grants directly. Also, local governments must have developed and adopted a SEMA and FEMA approved Hazard Mitigation Plan to ensure eligibility. For information about the 2007 grants, visit http://sema.dps.mo.gov/Mitigation.htm please, or call (573) 526-9209 or (573) 526-9115 and ask to speak with a member of our Mitigation staff.

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