Letter to Ken Calvert, Chairman of the Interior Subcommittee, and Betty McCollum, Ranking Member of the Interior Subcommittee - Funding for Earthquake Early Warning System

Letter

Dear Chairman Calvert and Ranking Member McCollum:

As you craft the Fiscal Year 2016 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill, we respectfully request that you provide the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earthquake Hazards program with $70.552 million, of which $16.1 million is to be provided to transition the earthquake early warning demonstration project into an operational capability on the West Coast. This is a $12.6 million increase over the FY2016 requested level in the President's budget.

The USGS, in collaboration with Caltech, UC Berkeley, the University of Washington, and the University of Oregon has developed an Earthquake Early Warning system that detects waves radiating from the epicenter of a quake and would provide people in California, Oregon and Washington with seconds to even a minute or more of warning. With advanced notice, people can take cover, automated systems can be triggered to slow down trains and manage the power grid, doctors can pause surgeries, and more. The technology has been tested and proven to work effectively.

An Earthquake Early Warning system along the West Coast would cost $16.1 million per year to construct, operate and maintain. FEMA has estimated that earthquakes cost the United States, averaged over the long term, more than $5 billion a year. This common-sense investment will save lives, protect businesses, and could make a real difference in more rapid recovery for local communities, the federal government and the economy as a whole.

While we cannot predict when and where the next major earthquake will hit, we must do all we can to prepare ourselves so that we can mitigate the injuries, destruction, and chaos as much as possible. We are grateful for your support last year and we appreciate your consideration of our request this year.