Relating to statewide resilience planning, including the development, implementation, and periodic updating of an Iowa state resilience plan

This bill relates to statewide resilience planning, including the development, implementation, and periodic updating of an Iowa state resilience plan. The bill defines “critical assets” to include transportation assets and evacuation routes; critical infrastructure; critical community and emergency facilities; and natural, cultural, and historical resources. The bill defines “regionally significant assets” as critical assets that support communities across multiple geopolitical jurisdictions. The bill requires the department of natural resources (department) to develop and adopt an Iowa state resilience plan in coordination with certain state agencies and any other stakeholders deemed relevant by the director of the department by December 31, 2027. The bill establishes the goals of the Iowa state resilience plan, including protecting against loss of life and property through hazard mitigation and long-term disaster recovery; incorporating future hazard, demographic, and development conditions into state programs addressing infrastructure at risk; identifying priority projects to increase resilience statewide; establishing strategies to allocate state and federal funding in support of the plan’s projects and goals; and serving as guidance for state and local resilience policy. The bill specifies the Iowa state resilience plan must include a statewide risk assessment; an inventory of critical assets; a methodology for prioritizing resilience projects; a prioritized list of ongoing, planned, and proposed resilience projects funded or administered by the state; recommendations to decrease risk and adverse impacts associated with flooding, anticipated changes in water supply and quality, and identified natural hazards; and metrics for tracking progress, reporting to policymakers, and updating the plan. The bill requires the department, upon completion of the Iowa state resilience plan, to deliver the plan to the governor and the general assembly. The bill requires the department to submit a report to the governor and the general assembly by December 31, 2029, and every two years thereafter. The report must include a summary of progress made on the plan’s recommendations and projects during the previous two calendar years, updated recommendations based on information gathered by the department, and strategies to increase statewide resilience, including identification of potential funding sources. The bill requires the department, in coordination with certain state agencies and other relevant stakeholders, to update the Iowa state resilience plan every five years or sooner as determined by the director of the department.