Saturday, March 26, 2016

HB 4776

Susan DelBene has introduced House Bill 4776 (house-bill/4776/text). Ms. DelBene's U.S. Congressional district includes the Oso area. The purpose of the introduced bill is begin the process of a national approach to landslides. The funding section is very modest given than national scale of the problem - $8 million for landslide hazard mapping and assessment (but also suggests prioritization which could mean a shift in existing funding) and $10.4 million for grants. The grant part would may assist the Washington State Geology Division's efforts to develop a state-wide landslide program.

All good, but the later question will be What will be done as landslide hazard areas are identified?At a national level, What, if anything, should the federal government do or require of states regarding landslide loss reduction. At the State level, What if anything should the State require of local governments?

Failure to take action with regard to identified landslides has life and fiscal consequences. Those consequences impact all of us. A statement in the bill that I was glad to see was "compile, maintain, and evaluate data on The nationwide impact of landslides on health and safety, the economy, and the environment".   


No comments:

Post a Comment