Gov. Brown proposes sharp increase in earthquake fault mapping budget

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Gov. Brown proposes sharp increase in earthquake fault mapping budget

Shown is a home destroyed in the 1971 Sylmar earthquake, in which one side of the San Fernando fault moved as much as 8 feet. About 80% of the buildings along the fault suffered moderate to severe damage, illustrating the risks of building atop faults. (Los Angeles Times)

By Rong-Gong Lin II and Rosanna Xia

January 9, 2014, 3:17 p.m.

Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing a sharp increase in the state budget to map earthquake faults in California, after months of reports about how the state’s effort has been hobbled by budget cuts over the last two decades.
Brown is seeking enough money from lawmakers to increase the number of scientists who find earthquake faults from one to four -- a staffing number not seen in 20 years.
Brown’s plan calls for $1.49 million in new funding specifically for fault mapping for the next fiscal year. It also asks for $1.3 million in annual dedicated funding, which would be paid for with increased building permit fees.
The slow pace of mapping affects public safety. State law bans new construction on top of fissures because previous quakes have shown that buildings can be severely damaged during violent shaking.
Because the state has not finished placing zones around about 2,000 miles of earthquake faults, many communities across the state have had limited information about the seismic risks of new development. Among them are the San Diego Bay area, the San Gabriel Valley, Hollywood and Los Angeles' Westside.

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