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UGS pushes for a refocused seismic-safety body and continued pursuit of earthquake early-warning funding
Summary
With the state’s seismic safety commission expired, UGS staff and partners are working to reframe a successor group around infrastructure resilience and day‑2 recovery. Separately, UGS is pursuing federal language and support for earthquake early-warning implementation in Utah.
Board members and staff discussed efforts to re-create a state seismic-safety advisory group after the Legislature did not renew the previous commission, and described renewed activity to secure federal support for an earthquake early-warning system.
The meeting noted that the prior Seismic Safety Commission ceased to exist on Jan. 1 after the Legislature opted not to reauthorize it. UGS staff said they have been working with partners — including Envision Utah, the Division of Emergency Management and other stakeholders — to draft new, narrower objectives focused on infrastructure hardening, economic recovery and day‑after response planning rather than the previous commission’s broader work.
UGS described meetings with federal legislative staff and state partners to obtain language that would allow the U.S. Geological Survey to provide federal support for a statewide warning system and implementation. Agency staff said they provided model language used by other states and urged continued engagement with the federal delegation to secure funding and authority to integrate USGS ShakeAlert capabilities in Utah.
Why it matters: UGS staff and supporters told the board that a refocused commission with a strategic plan and concrete annual deliverables would better match legislative priorities and accelerate actions to protect infrastructure, vulnerable buildings and critical business operations after a major earthquake.
Next steps: UGS will continue drafting a new charter and will ask the board and other partners to help promote the new focus with legislators and other decision-makers. Separately, UGS staff said they will press federal contacts for language and funding to support a Utah ShakeAlert implementation in coordination with the USGS and university partners.
At the board meeting, staff also flagged personnel changes at partner agencies that could affect momentum: the Division of Emergency Management’s chief champion resigned to take elected office, and UGS is tracking those leadership transitions as planning continues.
