Geoscience Policy Monthly Review
september 2017

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natural hazards

Bill to reauthorize National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program introduced in Senate

September 6, 2017

On September 6, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced a bill (S.1768) to permanently reauthorize the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP). First authorized in 1977, NEHRP has led to significant improvements in earthquake research and infrastructure preparedness. The program’s most recent authorization expired in 2009.

Since its initial authorization, NEHRP has helped communities prepare for and protect against earthquakes. The project coordinates earthquake hazard risk reduction efforts at federal, state, and local levels. Four federal agencies oversee NEHRP: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Geological Survey(USGS), and National Science Foundation (NSF). The program also works extensively with state and industry experts on program implementation.

New and updated provisions to the bill will allow for better hazard management and emergency response. The bill calls for the creation of a set of maps showing active faults and folds, liquefaction risk, landslide risk, and susceptibility to seismically induced hazards. Another new requirement of the bill is a comprehensive report of the risks that earthquakes pose nationwide and the efficacy of risk reduction programs. The bill also calls for the continued development of the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS), including the Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) system, which was flagged for elimination in the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget request.

S.1768 is cosponsored by Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA). The bill is supported by multiple professional societies, such as the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Association of American State Geologists (AASG), Geological Society of America (GSA), and Seismological Society of America (SSA).

Sources: Library of Congress, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Senate

Bill to reauthorize National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program introduced in Senate

September 6, 2017

On September 6, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced a bill (S.1768) to permanently reauthorize the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP). First authorized in 1977, NEHRP has led to significant improvements in earthquake research and infrastructure preparedness. The program’s most recent authorization expired in 2009.

Since its initial authorization, NEHRP has helped communities prepare for and protect against earthquakes. The program coordinates earthquake hazard risk reduction efforts at federal, state, and local levels. Four federal agencies oversee NEHRP: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Geological Survey(USGS), and National Science Foundation (NSF). The program also works extensively with state and industry experts on program implementation.

New and updated provisions to the bill will allow for better hazard management and emergency response. The bill calls for the creation of a set of maps showing active faults and folds, liquefaction risk, landslide risk, and susceptibility to seismically induced hazards. Another requirement of the bill is a comprehensive report of the risks that earthquakes pose nationwide and the efficacy of risk reduction programs. The bill also calls for the continued development of the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS), including the Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) system, which was flagged for elimination in the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget request.

S.1768 is cosponsored by Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA). The legislation is supported by multiple professional societies, such as the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Association of American State Geologists (AASG), Geological Society of America (GSA), and Seismological Society of America (SSA).

Sources: Library of Congress, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Senate

Committees discuss forest management and wildfire mitigation

September 27, 2017

The U.S. Forest Service estimates that up to 60 million acres of our national forests are at a high to very high risk of catastrophic wildfire. In 2017 alone, wildfires have burned more than 8 million acres of land in the United States and suppression costs have exceeded $2.3 billion, making it the most expensive year on record. On September 27, both the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held hearings to address this pressing issue and explore methods of restoring the health and resiliency of national forests as well as mitigate the threat of catastrophic wildfires. 

The House hearing focused on the need for improved forest management practices and potential solutions to reduce the federal government’s fire suppression costs, such as commercial thinning, harvesting selected trees to reduce the density of forests, improving intergovernmental coordination, and leveraging partnership opportunities. In the Senate hearing, specialists in forest management testified about the destructive effects that wildfires have on the environment and economy and offered strategies to reduce the likelihood and damage of wildfires. The suggestions ranged from expanding Good Neighbor Authority in the Agricultural Act of 2014, to using categorical exclusions in designated Insect and Disease Areas. Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT), John Thune (R-SD), Jon Tester (D-MT), and Steve Daines, (R-MT) also advocated for three wildfire-related bills that they previously introduced: the Sage-Grouse and Mule Deer Habitat Conservation and Restoration Act 2017 (S.1417), the Forest Management Improvement Act of 2017 (S.1731), and the Litigation Relief for Forest Management Projects Act (S.605).

Earlier this year, the House passed the Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017 (H.R.2936), introduced by Representative Bruce Westerman (R-AR-4) to improve forest management activities. In the Senate, the National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2017 (S.1571), sponsored by Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), includes a wildfire funding solution that allows for the declaration of a major natural disaster for wildfire on federal lands. The bill proposes treating wildfires like natural disasters and tapping a disaster relief fund to cover suppression. It was referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on July 17, but no further action has been taken.

Sources: Library of Congress, U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources, U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works