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SACRAMENTO – Separate
budget proposals by the Senate
Republican Caucus and Assembly
Republican Caucus would, if adopted, put
public safety at risk by eliminating
critical earthquake readiness programs,
the Department of Conservation,
Governor’s Office of Emergency Services
and Seismic Safety Commission agree.
“We work closely with
the Department of Conservation and
Seismic Safety Commission on earthquake
preparedness and response, and the cuts
that are being proposed are
shortsighted,” OES Director Dallas Jones
said.
“It’s easy to
trivialize the importance of preparation
because there hasn’t been a devastating
earthquake in California since 1994. But
a major earthquake could happen at any
time, and if these programs are
discontinued, we’ll be sorry.”
The Senate Republican
proposal eliminates the Seismic Safety
Commission. The Commission’s role is to
advise state government in preparing to
survive and recover from earthquakes.
The Commission ensures that government
and lawmakers remain committed and
accountable to the public on earthquake
policies by coordinating risk reduction
efforts within the state’s Earthquake
Loss Reduction Plan.
“The Commission is
the only state government entity
entirely dedicated to this effort,”
Seismic Safety Commission Executive
Director Richard McCarthy said. “The
Commission works closely with the
Governor’s Office of Emergency Services
and the Department of Conservation to
enhance their seismic risk reduction
efforts.”
The proposal also
eliminates General Fund monies to
support DOC’s California Geological
Survey, which produces maps and data
that keeps Californians safe during
earthquakes by improving building codes
and construction practices. The specific
programs that would be impacted:
The Strong Motion
Instrumentation Program obtains
vital data for the engineering and
scientific communities through a
statewide network of instruments called
accelerographs. These instruments are
placed in structures such as high-rise
buildings, dams, bridges, hospitals and
industrial facilities, as well as in
open land. They measure the vertical and
horizontal response of structures and
the ground in an earthquake. SMIP data
has been used to help improve building
codes, assist local governments in their
general plan process, and aid emergency
response personnel in the event of a
disaster. The California Geological
Survey maintains and monitors about
1,000 accelerographs statewide and
ultimately hopes to have about 1,500
instruments in place.
The Seismic Hazard
Mapping Program defines zones that
are prone to the earthquake-related
problems of liquefaction (the failure of
water-saturated soil) and landslides.
Local governments use these maps to
regulate development, requiring builders
to take steps to minimize potential
hazards. The relatively low-cost
mitigation steps this zoning prompts can
help prevent the type of damage seen in
San Francisco’s Marina District in the
aftermath of the 1989 Loma Prieta
earthquake.
Zoning is complete or
nearly complete in Orange, Ventura and
San Francisco counties. Mapping is
ongoing in Los Angeles, Alameda and
Santa Clara counties, and planned for
other parts of the Bay Area.
The Regional
Geologic Mapping Program provides
much of the baseline data used by other
California Geological Survey programs,
works with government entities to ensure
that schools are safely sited, and
produces hazard and loss evaluations –
objective studies that ensure earthquake
insurance rates are appropriate. The
program also produces Alquist-Priolo
fault zone maps, which ensure that
structures are not built on top of
surface faults, and maps of expected
ground shaking which are used to
determine the design strength of
hospitals, schools and commercial
structures.
The Senate
Republicans’ proposal would end two
additional California Geological Survey
programs:
The Mineral
Resources Program classifies mineral
resources, which helps local governments
ensure adequate sand and gravel supplies
for future development.
The Timber Harvest
Program, which helps protect slopes
and streams from landslides and erosion.
The Assembly
Republicans, meanwhile, propose
suspending the Strong Motion
Instrumentation Program and Seismic
Hazards Mapping Program for one year,
which effectively would spell the end of
their work.
“The Governor’s
proposed budget continues funding for
these important programs as well as for
the Seismic Safety Commission,”
Department of Conservation Director
Darryl Young noted. “In a state as
seismically active as California, we
must always be ready for the next big
earthquake. The most recent major quakes
in California have killed dozens of
people, which is tragic. But earthquakes
of the same size kill hundreds or
thousands in places around the world
that aren’t as well prepared. If we want
to avoid that type of disaster, we must
continue and even look to expand the
work of the California Geological Survey
and the Seismic Safety Commission.”
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