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Subcommittee hears bipartisan case to reauthorize USGS landslide, earthquake and volcano programs
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Summary
Members of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources considered bipartisan bills to reauthorize USGS programs that monitor and warn for landslides, earthquakes and volcanoes.
Members of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources considered three bipartisan bills to reauthorize United States Geological Survey hazard programs that monitor earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides.
Representative Suzan DelBene introduced a reauthorization for the National Landslide Hazards Reduction Program and the 3D Elevation Program (H.R. 2250). Representative David Valadao spoke for H.R. 3168, the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program reauthorization. Representative Nick Begich discussed H.R. 3176, the National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System reauthorization; Begich said the volcano bill "is not just timely, it's also essential," noting Alaska's many active volcanoes and recent unrest at Mount Spur.
Mike West, state seismologist for Alaska and director of the Alaska Earthquake Center, testified that the reauthorizations support long-term monitoring and the tools that have demonstrably reduced fatalities and economic losses. West described the national seismic-hazard map and its role in informing building codes and infrastructure design and said expanding ShakeAlert and volcano monitoring coverage "gives us a fighting chance" in high-risk places like Alaska.
Representative DelBene recounted the 2014 Oso, Washington, landslide that killed 43 people, destroyed scores of homes and prompted Congress to establish a national landslide hazards program. She said the programs expired last September and that reauthorization is necessary to maintain mapping, instrumentation and coordination between federal, state and university partners.
Witnesses and members also connected hazard programs to other committee topics: several members warned that staffing and budget cuts across federal agencies could undercut monitoring and response capabilities. Doug Hilton, a retired NOAA emergency-response official, testified that reductions in agency staffing and budgets have weakened spill response and other operational capacities, increasing risks if concurrent policies expand offshore development.
The subcommittee did not vote on the measures. Members said they would accept additional written testimony and that the record would remain open for questions.
