Letter to the Hon. Mick Mulvaney - Support Robust Funding for Earthquake Early Warning System

Letter

Dear Director Mulvaney:

As you prepare the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Budget for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), we strongly urge you to include increased funding for USGS earthquake-related programs, including $16.1 million for the continued development and operation of an earthquake early warning system (EEW) for the U.S. West Coast, called ShakeAlert. With increased federal investment for EEW, the U.S. is making steady progress toward having an operational system that will help protect lives and enhance infrastructure resilience. However, full support for ShakeAlert of $16.1 million annually is needed to complete the buildout, maintain, and operate the system.

EEW technology is already fully operational in countries like Japan and Mexico. Mexico built its EEW system after the catastrophic 1985 earthquake that killed thousands of people. That EEW system is widely credited with saving lives in the most recent September earthquakes.

The USGS, in conjunction with the California Institute of Technology; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Washington; the University of Oregon; the University of Nevada, Reno; and Central Washington University is currently working to adapt the EEW technology and has developed an on-shore prototype system for test users along the West Coast. Researchers are also working closely with dozens of key stakeholders, including public utilities, the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system in San Francisco, Los Angeles Metro, the Los Angeles Unified School District, Boeing, Intel, and Microsoft to test and provide feedback on what will be an invaluable system.

With concern regarding the heightened risk of a major earthquake resulting from increased seismic activity near the San Andreas Fault, coupled with the prospect of a magnitude 9.0 earthquake along the Pacific Northwest coast, there is public demand for EEW to be fully operational. When major earthquake events occur--and we know it is "when" and not "if"--they have the potential to be the costliest and deadliest disasters the United States has ever faced. The most recent significant West Coast quake (Napa 6.0, 2014) resulted in $300 million in damages.

Even with just a few seconds of warning, steps can be taken to prevent casualties and mitigate destruction, including slowing or stopping trains and cars; turning off supplies of oil, natural gas, and chemicals; securing large manufacturing equipment; stopping elevators and opening doors; and securing sensitive computer data.

The effectiveness of EEW largely depends on modern cyber infrastructure, and the number and placement of ground motion sensors to ensure there is adequate coverage wherever an earthquake may hit--and this requires additional resources. Congress recognizes the value of this system and continues to demonstrate its commitment by providing additional resources for ShakeAlert.

To follow through on the funding made by the federal government, as well as growing commitment from states and the private sector, it is critical that this program be fully funded at $16.1 million annually so the West Coast will be prepared for the next catastrophic earthquake. This technology will save lives and reduce the economic impact of an earthquake; it simply needs to be properly funded.

Thank you for considering our request.

Sincerely,