Linn County Hazard Mitigation Plan Update
Public Comment Period Now Open!
The public comment period is now open for the Linn County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan 2025–2030. The plan can be found in the Documents section or here and is open for anyone to provide written comments through January 28, 2025.
Comments for the plan can be submitted in the Surveys section or here, emailed to meagan.prestegard@ecicog.org, or sent by mail to Meagan Prestegard at ECICOG, 700 Sixteenth Street NE, Suite 301, Cedar Rapids, IA 52402. When providing comments, please provide the city you are located in, your affiliation (if applicable), and reference the plan in your email subject line or on the front of the envelope.
During the public comment period, the plan will concurrently be reviewed by the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region VII office.
The Linn County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan 2025–2030 will ensure that Linn County, cities, and school districts included in this plan will continue to be eligible to apply for Hazard Mitigation Assistance funding.
The importance of hazard mitigation planning was recognized in the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, as it helps identify how a community can minimize the negative impacts of natural, human caused, and combination hazards. This type of planning attempts to minimize death, injury, property damage, and community disruption. For Iowa and Linn County, recurring natural disasters such as windstorms, flooding, and ice storms have made local hazard mitigation planning an essential activity.
Plan Update Information
Linn County is updating its hazard mitigation plan, and we want residents, businesses, and organizations to be informed and provide input. Plan update information and opportunities for providing input will be posted here.
What is a hazard mitigation plan? This plan identifies how your community can minimize the negative impacts of hazards like tornadoes, drought, and flooding. In addition to the benefits of planning ahead, communities with a FEMA approved hazard mitigation plan qualify for Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) Grant Programs to complete projects that minimize the negative impacts of hazards.
A FEMA-approved hazard mitigation must be updated every five years, and Linn County is working with the East Central Iowa Council of Governments (ECICOG) to complete a plan update. ECICOG will work with the county, cities, and school districts in Linn County to identify hazard risks and potential projects to mitigate the negative impacts.