Comprehensive Emergency Plan (CEP)

The overall Pottawattamie County Comprehensive Emergency Plan (CEP) is constructed using an all-hazards approach and applicable to all jurisdictions within Pottawattamie County under the authority of the Emergency Management Commission. The CEP components comply with federal emergency planning requirements outlined by FEMA. 

The CEP is a (3) part plan consisting of the Response Plan, Recovery Plan, and Mitigation Plan. These plans are required by Iowa Code and components of the CEP are updated on an annual basis. Each of these components have parts, appendices, attachments, and referenced materials that all create a comprehensive planning framework to guide jurisdictions during major or catastrophic events. 

Part A consists of a Basic Plan, Emergency Support Functions, and referenced guidelines and "hazard specific" plans. 

• Basic Plan: provides the overall strategy of how multi-agency and multi-jurisdictional responses will be coordinated and managed. It outlines primary and support agencies and identifies the responsibility for major parts of response operations and management. 

• Emergency Support Functions (ESFs): the ESFs identify critical support functions applicable to nearly any emergency or disaster response regardless of the incident type. They identify how the support will be coordinated and implemented to achieve response objectives and strategies. 

• Hazard Specific Plans: these documents are typically referenced within the ESFs and are constructed when addressing needs that are unique or specific to a certain type of event due to it's high consequence threshold, being very specific or technical in nature, or would be of very rare occurrence and requires more detailed instructions and guidelines for implementation. 

• Guidelines and Procedures: these documents may be attached to the physical plan or maintained as a separate document and referenced within the Basic Plan, ESFs, or Hazard Specific Plans. 

The Pottawattamie County Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan analyzes the demographics of the county, as a whole, and each political subdivision within the county. It also identifies, details, and ranks the hazards and risk for the population and infrastructure within the county. Through this identification and analysis, government leaders can identify and implement strategies to reduce or eliminate potential risks and impacts of emergencies and disaster. This plan is required to meet the legal requirements of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (Public Law 106–390—OCT. 30, 2000) in order for jurisdictions to be eligible for federal mitigation grant funding. 

The Recovery Plan is designed to provide a strategic framework for jurisdictional governments, private sector partners, and non-governmental/non-profit organizations to coordinate efforts in the aftermath of disasters and significant emergencies. 

• Note: the Recovery Plan was under revision and in draft review during the onset of the 2019 flood disaster to the new national design of recovery planning. Lessons learned in the initial phases of recovery have demonstrated the need to enhance the plan further to more specifically meet the needs of coordinated recovery strategies and the identification of responsibilities in recovery operations. The plan is scheduled to undergo a complete revision in 2020.