BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Senator Isadore Hall, III
Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 494 Hearing Date: 4/28/2015
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|Author: |Hill |
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|Version: |4/22/2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Felipe Lopez |
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SUBJECT: Emergency services: seismic safety and
earthquake-related programs.
DIGEST: This bill creates the California Earthquake Safety
Fund to be used for seismic safety and earthquake-related
programs, including the earthquake early warning system.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Creates, within the office of the Governor, the Office of
Emergency Services (OES) which, under the Director of
Emergency Services, coordinates disaster response, emergency
planning, emergency preparedness, disaster recovery, disaster
mitigation, and homeland security activities.
2)Requires various entities, including OES, through a
public-private partnership, to develop a comprehensive
statewide earthquake early warning system in California, as
specified.
3)Requires OES to identify funding for an earthquake early
warning system through single or multiple sources of revenues
that shall be limited to federal funds, funds from revenue
bonds, local funds, and private grants.
4)Prohibits General Fund moneys to be used for the establishment
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of an earthquake early warning system.
5)Specifies that if funding is not identified by January 1,
2016, the provisions relating to the establishment of an
earthquake early warning system should be repealed.
This bill:
1)Creates the California Earthquake Safety Fund in the State
Treasury.
2)Specifies that upon appropriation by the Legislature, the
moneys in the fund shall be used for seismic safety and
earthquake-related programs, including the statewide
earthquake early warning system.
3)Specifies that the California Earthquake Safety Fund may
accept grants, contributions, and appropriations from public
agencies, private foundations, entities, or individuals.
Background
Purpose of the bill: According to the author, while existing
law requires OES to develop a comprehensive statewide earthquake
early warning system, it does not establish a state fund capable
of accepting grants or contributions to implement the earthquake
early warning system in California.
The author argues that SB 494 would establish the California
Earthquake Safety Fund to help fund and coordinate seismic
safety and earthquake-related programs, including the statewide
earthquake early warning system.
California's Earthquake Overview: California is a hotbed for
earthquake activity. Ninety percent of the world's earthquakes
and approximately eighty percent of the world's largest
earthquakes occur along the Pacific Ring of Fire - a 25,000-mile
horseshoe shaped area in the Pacific Ocean, which extends from
the Western coast of South and North America to Eastern Asia,
Australia and New Zealand. The Pacific Ring of Fire includes
the very active San Andreas Fault zone in California.
In January 2013, the Californian Institute of Technology and the
Japan Agency for Marine Earth Science and Technology published a
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study concluding for the first time that a statewide California
earthquake involving both the Los Angeles and San Francisco
metropolitan areas may be possible.
On August 24, 2014 at roughly 3:20 a.m. local time, an
earthquake occurred in and around the city of Napa, California.
The epicenter was located south of Napa, approximately 3.7 miles
northwest of the American Canyon near the West Napa Fault. The
earthquake, measuring a 6.0 on the magnitude scale, was the
largest earthquake in the Bay Area since the 1989 Loma Prieta
earthquake. The Napa earthquake resulted in one death and
approximately 200 people injured. Shortly after, Governor Jerry
Brown declared a state of emergency due to the damage and the
possibility of damage resulting from aftershocks. It is
estimated that the earthquake caused over $400 million in
damage.
A silver lining of the earthquake was the success of earthquake
warning systems in providing warning times to nearby
communities. An experimental earthquake warning system being
developed by the UC Berkeley Seismological Laboratory issued a
warning 5 seconds before the earthquake arrived in Berkeley.
Similarly, Seismic Warning Systems, Inc. had installed on-site
warning systems at five fire stations in Vallejo in 2002. These
systems commanded the bay doors to open at these fire stations
before the Earthquake arrived.
How do Earthquake Early Warning Systems Work: While earthquakes
cannot be predicted or prevented, using advanced science and
technology has in the past-detected seismic activity and
provided advanced warning. The objective of earthquake early
warning systems is to rapidly detect the occurrence of an
earthquake, estimate the level of ground shaking to be expected,
issue a warning before significant ground shaking begins, and
estimate the location and the magnitude of the earthquake. This
is not the same as earthquake prediction, which currently is not
possible.
When an earthquake occurs, the earthquake produces different
types of shock waves, which travel at different speeds. The
fastest and weakest of these waves are called P-waves.
Technology exists that can detect the energy from P-waves to
estimate the location and the magnitude of the earthquake. This
method can provide warning before the more destructive S-wave
arrives. The S-wave is responsible for most of the strong
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shaking that usually creates the most damage during earthquakes.
The amount of warning time at a particular location depends on
the distance from the earthquake epicenter. Locations very
close to the earthquake epicenter will receive relatively little
or no warning whereas locations far removed from the earthquake
epicenter would receive more warning time but may not experience
damaging shaking.
Studies on earthquake early warning methods in California
concluded that the warning time would range from a few seconds
to a few tens of seconds, depending on the distance from the
earthquake epicenter. However, very large earthquakes emanating
from the San Andreas Fault could produce significantly more
warning time because the affected area would be much larger.
Regardless of the warning time, earthquake early warning systems
can provide adequate time to slow down and stop trains, stop
cars from entering tunnels, automatically shut down dangerous
machinery, and countless other benefits. Taking such actions
before an earthquake arrives can reduce damage and casualties
during and after an earthquake.
Earthquake early warning systems are currently in place in Japan
and Mexico and many other countries throughout the world are
currently in the process of developing such systems.
Overview of SB 135: In 2013 the California Legislature passed
and the Governor signed SB 135 (Chapter 342, Statutes of 2013),
which requires the California Governor's Office of Emergency
Services (Cal OES), in collaboration with various entities, to
develop a comprehensive statewide earthquake early warning
system in California. The bill further requires Cal OES to
identify funding for the system but specifically prohibits
general fund money to be used. SB 135 also specifies that if
funding is not identified by January 1, 2016, the provisions of
the bill will be repealed.
Cal OES is currently in the process of identifying funding for
the project. Cal OES has set up a working group composed of the
United State Geological Survey, the California Geological
Survey, California Seismic Safety Commission, UC Berkeley
Seismological Laboratory, California Institute of Technology as
well as other interest groups to establish best practices for an
earthquake early warning system in California. The working
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group meets throughout the year and is in the process of
establishing an implementation plan that will describe the
system requirements, minimum standards, management structure,
cost estimates and funding sources, and public education
guidelines.
The California Geological Survey (CGS) estimates its costs
associated with developing the system would be approximately $23
million in the first year and approximately $16 million annually
thereafter. These costs include realigning CGS' ground
stations, purchasing additional instrumentation, upgrading
existing instrumentation and communications networks, and
staffing the system 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Federal Action: In addition, the federal government is
currently working on an earthquake early warning system that
would cover all the western states, including California. In
December 2014, the United States Congress approved a $5 million
dollar allocation in order to expand funding for development of
the system. In February 2015, President Obama proposed spending
an additional $5 million in the upcoming federal budget on the
West Coast's earthquake early warning network.
Prior/Related Legislation
SB 31 (Padilla), Chapter 342, Statutes of 2013. The bill
required OES, in collaboration with various entities, to develop
a comprehensive statewide earthquake early warning system in
California.
AB 928 (Blakeslee), 2009-2010 Legislative Session. The bill
would have required the High-Speed Rail Authority to develop an
earthquake early warning system and coordinate development of
that system with various state agencies. (Held in Assembly
Governmental Organization Committee)
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.: Yes Local: No
SUPPORT:
None received
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OPPOSITION:
None received