SOUTH DAKOTA DROUGHT MITIGATION PLAN November 2015 Prepared by the South Dakota Drought Task Force In partnership with the South Dakota Office of Emergency Management Department of Public Safety South Dakota Drought Mitigation Plan November 2015 Prepared by the South Dakota Drought Task Force In partnership with the South Dakota Office of Emergency Management Department of Public Safety With professional planning assistance from Amec Foster Wheeler, Inc. Table of Contents 1 PREREQUISITE .................................................................................................................. 1-1 1.1 Adoption ...................................................................................................................... 1-1 2 PLANNING PROCESS ........................................................................................................ 2-1 2.1 Description of the Planning Process ........................................................................... 2-1 2.2 Coordination among Agencies .................................................................................... 2-4 2.3 Program Integration .................................................................................................... 2-8 3 VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT .................................................................................... 3-1 3.1 Identifying the Drought Hazard .................................................................................. 3-1 3.2 Drought Hazard Profile ............................................................................................... 3-2 3.3 Vulnerability by Sector Overview ............................................................................ 3-16 3.4 Water Resources........................................................................................................ 3-16 3.5 Health and Socioeconomic Sector ............................................................................ 3-52 3.6 Agricultural Sector .................................................................................................... 3-76 3.7 Wildfire Sector ........................................................................................................ 3-106 3.8 Wildlife Sector ........................................................................................................ 3-134 3.9 Tourism Sector ........................................................................................................ 3-156 4 MITIGATION STRATEGY ................................................................................................ 4-1 4.1 Hazard Mitigation Goals ............................................................................................. 4-1 4.2 State Drought Mitigation Capability Assessment ....................................................... 4-2 4.3 Mitigation Actions ...................................................................................................... 4-7 4.4 Funding Sources ........................................................................................................ 4-14 5 PLAN MAINTENANCE PROCESS ................................................................................... 5-1 5.1 Monitoring, Evaluation and Updating the Plan........................................................... 5-1 5.2 Monitoring Progress of Mitigation Activities ............................................................. 5-3 State of South Dakota i Drought Mitigation Plan November 2015 Appendices Appendix A – Planning Process Documentation Appendix B – Stakeholder and Public Participation Plan Appendix C – References Appendix D –Public Survey Results State of South Dakota ii Drought Mitigation Plan November 2015 Executive Summary The South Dakota Drought Mitigation Plan (Plan) was developed to provide a strategy for the State of South Dakota to reduce the impacts of drought-related water shortages over the short and long term. There are two major components of the plan: the mitigation strategy and vulnerability assessment. The Plan was prepared in coordination with the State’s Drought Task Force, which is comprised of various state agencies and co-chaired by the Departments of Agriculture and Department of Public Safety, Office of Emergency Management. Included is a description of the process used to prepare the Plan and a profile of the drought hazard in South Dakota, including the nature of impacts and probability of occurrence. A drought vulnerability assessment discusses the past and potential impacts to six sectors that include agriculture, health and socioeconomic, tourism, water resources, wildland fire, and wildlife. The vulnerability assessment is covered in detail in Chapter 3. The mitigation strategy outlines the goals of the Plan and specific action items intended to meet those goals. Many of these mitigation actions can occur during drought and non-drought times. A capability assessment describes the State’s pre- and post-disaster plans, policies, and procedures in place that already help manage and reduce drought impacts. The Plan describes funding sources that can be used to implement local mitigation projects and plans and a description of the process for implementation, monitoring and evaluating the Plan. State of South Dakota iii Drought Mitigation Plan November 2015 1 PREREQUISITE The Drought Mitigation Plan (hereto referred to as the Plan or Drought Plan) was developed, reviewed and approved by the South Dakota Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and Drought Task Force (DTF) by direction of the Office of the Governor. This Plan is a hazard-specific annex to the State of South Dakota Hazard Mitigation Plan and as such was prepared to be in alignment with the associated requirements of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA or DMA 2000) (Public Law 106-390) and the implementing regulations set forth by the Interim Final Rule published in the Federal Register on February 26, 2002 (44 CFR §201.6) and finalized on October 31, 2007. Hereafter, these requirements and regulations will be referred to collectively as the DMA. The State of South Dakota assures it will comply with all applicable federal statutes and regulations in effect with respect to the periods for which it receives grant funding in compliance with 44 CFR Part 13.11(c). This Plan’s update cycle will align with that of the South Dakota HMP. State of South Dakota 1-1 Drought Mitigation Plan November 2015 2 PLANNING PROCESS 2.1 Description of the Planning Process This section details the planning process conducted during 2014-2015 to develop the Drought Mitigation Plan. The State of South Dakota experienced a short-lived but severe drought in 2012 that extended into 2013. One of the outcomes of this drought was a recognition of the importance of having a long term drought mitigation planning strategy, based on a sector–driven vulnerability assessment. A structured plan development process based on multi-agency collaboration was utilized to produce this document. 2.1.1 Drought Planning Process The process established for this planning effort is based on the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 planning and update requirements and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) associated guidance for state hazard mitigation plans. The DTF followed FEMA’s recommended four-step mitigation planning process: 1. Identify and organize available resources 2. Identify hazards and assess risk 3. Develop a mitigation strategy and mitigation plan 4. Implement the Plan and monitor progress The approach also incorporated the following ten step drought planning process developed by Dr. Donald A. Wilhite with the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC): 1. Appoint a Drought Task Force 2. State the purpose and objectives of the drought preparedness plan 3. Seek stakeholder participation and resolve conflict 4. Inventory resources and identify groups at risk 5. Prepare/write the drought preparedness plan 6. Identify research needs and fill institutional gaps 7. Integrate science and policy (Legislation) 8. Publicize the drought preparedness plan and build public awareness 9. Develop education programs 10. Evaluate and revise drought preparedness plan 2.1.2 Relationship to the State Hazard Mitigation Plan This Plan is considered a drought specific annex to the State of South Dakota Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP). The South Dakota statewide mitigation planning program is designed to coordinate the efforts of many state agencies and organizations in mitigation planning and programming on an ongoing basis. It is also intended to actively promote and coordinate State of South Dakota 2-1 Drought Mitigation Plan November 2015 mitigation planning and programming by local jurisdictions. OEM is the lead agency for the State of South Dakota HMP umbrella document. The original umbrella document was updated in 2007, 2011, and 2013. As the lead agency, OEM regularly coordinates with other agencies on concurrent state planning and risk management efforts. OEM in collaboration with the DTF took the lead on the development of the Drought Plan in 2014-2015, utilizing funding obtained from a FEMA Pre Disaster Mitigation (PDM) planning grant. A consulting firm (AMEC Environment and Infrastructure, subsequently renamed Amec Foster Wheeler heretofore referenced as Amec) was utilized to assist with the development of the Plan, including conducting a detailed vulnerability assessment and facilitation of the mitigation strategy with the DTF. 2.1.3 Drought Task Force The development, implementation, and maintenance