Wyoming Earthquake Hazard Mitigation Legislation
(WY‐1) The Wyoming Homeland Security Act, Wyoming Statute § 19‐13‐101 et seq. Each political subdivision through the homeland security program will cause to be prepared a local homeland security plan which will include actions essential to the recovery and restoration of the economy by supply and re‐supply of resources to meet urgent survival and military needs and to provide for the ongoing management of resources available to meet continuing survival and recovery needs. Local jurisdictions may include development restrictions and mitigation planning in their local homeland security plans, but the state does not specifically require this. Federal grants and requirements lead to the development of local hazard mitigation plans.
(WY‐2) Wyoming Statutes § 35‐9‐101 et seq Fire Protection: The State of Wyoming has adopted the International Building Code. Not all jurisdictions in Wyoming have adopted building codes, much less the most current code. Buildings in those jurisdictions may not have the same disaster resistance as buildings in jurisdictions with adopted building codes.
Note: In summary, no Wyoming statutes restrict development in hazard prone areas. Any such restrictions, including floodplain development and development in areas prone to wildfire, would be generated at the local level.
The state does not directly fund any pre‐disaster mitigation programs for natural hazards. It relies primarily on federal funding to assist local jurisdictions in carrying out mitigation activities. Local jurisdictions must provide their own match for federal grants, which is usually 25%.
Being a Home Rule state, planning and zoning are generally the responsibility of local governments.
The State of Wyoming has no overall authority for planning and zoning with the exception of state lands. These factors place limitations on the state’s ability to initiate, implement, or administer mitigation programs, particularly those that would address development in hazard prone areas
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Information taken from the Washington State Seismic Mitigation Policy Gap Analysis: A Cross-State Comparison, by Scott B. Miles, Ph. D. and Brian D. Gouran, L.G.