CLASS A: DISCUSSION
Author’s Name
Subject
Date
The level of government I have chosen for this week’s discussion is the state government. In the context of state governments, an example of something I regard as an improvement to current disaster-associated policy transformations is the amendment of the Emergency Relief and Assistance Fund (ERAF) regulation that took effect in 2014. This amendment was a change in government response structure that enabled the creation of a useful sliding-scale framework in Vermont for sharing costs on the 17.5% of non-federal match requirements for public assistance grants offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency after federally-declared disasters. The new policy change means that Vermont will contribute an additional 7.5% towards these costs, and also contribute 12.5% or 17.5% of entire cost to enable communities to be well prepared to lessen damage emanating from floods. I see it as a positive policy change because it encourages collaboration between state and federal governments in augmenting community financial resilience against disasters.
An example of something I consider not an improvement is the establishment of the Community Planning Assistance for Wildfire program or (C-PAW) program in 2015. It was created to advocate collaboration with the communities to lessen risks of wildfire disasters through improved planning of land utilization in different states. Specifically, the program provides technical assistance to these communities as regards integrating wildfire risk planning into their land use plans to ensure the management of building codes development and natural resources, hence reducing risks of wildfire disasters. I do not see this program as a policy improvement but as an additional program among many other wildfire programs established in the last two decades following collaborative action between state and federal governments in the area of wildfire disaster management.
Bibliography
Headwaters Economics. “Communities Utilize Land Use Planning to Reduce Wildfire Risks and Costs.” Available at https://headwaterseconomics.org/wildfire/solutions/cpaw/ (Accessed November 29, 2019).
Richards, Ryan. “Before the Fire: Protecting Vulnerable Communities from Wildfire.” (Center for American Progress, July 25, 2019). Available athttps://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/reports/2019/07/25/472639/before-the-fire/. (Accessed November 29, 2019).
Vermont Emergency Management.” 2018 Vermont State Hazard Mitigation Plan.” (Vermont: Vermont Emergency Management, 2018).
Vermont State Government. “Emergency Relief and Assistance Fund.” (Vermont: Vermont State Government, 2019). Available at https://floodready.vermont.gov/find_funding/emergency_relief_assistance. (Accessed November 29, 2019).
