IB 
Union Calendar No. 12 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 654 
[Report No. 115–30] 
To direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
to carry out a plan for the purchase and installation of an earthquake 
early warning system for the Cascadia Subduction Zone, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 24, 2017 
Mr. DEFAZIO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
MARCH 9, 2017 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 24, 2017] 
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A BILL 
To direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Man-
agement Agency to carry out a plan for the purchase 
and installation of an earthquake early warning system 
for the Cascadia Subduction Zone, and for other pur-
poses. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; DEFINITION. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pa-
cific Northwest Earthquake Preparedness Act of 2017’’. 
(b) CASCADIA SUBDUCTION ZONE DEFINED.—In this 
Act, the term ‘‘Cascadia Subduction Zone’’ means the land-
ward-dipping fault that is approximately 684 miles long, 
separates the Juan de Fuca and North America plates, and 
stretches along a portion of the western coast of the United 
States beginning off Cape Mendocino, California, along the 
State of Oregon, the State of Washington, to Northern Van-
couver Island, British Columbia. 
SEC. 
2. 
EARTHQUAKE 
EARLY 
WARNING 
SYSTEM 
FOR 
CASCADIA SUBDUCTION ZONE. 
(a) PLAN FOR PURCHASE AND INSTALLATION.— 
(1) DEVELOPMENT AND FUNDING.—The Admin-
istrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agen-
cy shall— 
(A) develop a plan for the purchase and in-
stallation of an earthquake early warning system 
for the Cascadia Subduction Zone; and 
(B) identify the funds necessary for imple-
mentation of the plan. 
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(2) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 
90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Administrator shall submit to the appropriate com-
mittees of Congress a copy of the plan. 
(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 
shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a 
report that summarizes the actions taken to implement the 
plan. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi-
nitions apply: 
(1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.— 
The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Congress’’ 
means the Committee on Transportation and Infra-
structure of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs of the Senate. 
(2) EARTHQUAKE
EARLY
WARNING
SYSTEM.— 
The term ‘‘earthquake early warning system’’ in-
cludes— 
(A) improvements to regional and geodetic 
networks that support building a capability for 
an earthquake early warning system; and 
(B) seismometers, Global Positioning Sys-
tem receivers, and associated infrastructure. 
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SEC. 3. EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI TASK FORCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall establish an 
Earthquake and Tsunami Task Force for the purpose of de-
veloping a comprehensive strategy and recommendations on 
how the Nation should prepare and plan for, mitigate 
against, respond to, recover from, and more successfully 
adapt to a covered event in the Cascadia Subduction Zone. 
(b) TASK FORCE.— 
(1) MEMBERSHIP.—The membership of the Task 
Force shall include a cross section of subject matter 
experts representing the following: 
(A) Relevant Federal agencies. 
(B) The States of Oregon, Washington, and 
California. 
(C) Indian tribes, local governments, and 
private sector representatives that may be im-
pacted by a covered event in the Cascadia 
Subduction Zone. 
(D) Universities, academia, and research 
institutions with expertise in topics relevant to 
the work of the Task Force. 
(2) CHAIRPERSON.—The Administrator (or the 
Administrator’s designee) shall serve as the chair-
person of the Task Force. 
(3) DETAILED
EMPLOYEES.—Members of the 
Task Force may detail employees to assist the Admin-
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istrator (or the Administrator’s designee) in fulfilling 
the responsibilities of the Task Force. 
(c) COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY.— 
(1) STRATEGY.—The comprehensive strategy to 
be developed under subsection (a) shall include the fol-
lowing: 
(A) A description of how Federal agencies 
will coordinate to develop the ability to prepare 
and plan for, mitigate against, respond to, re-
cover from, and more successfully adapt to the 
impacts of a covered event in the Cascadia 
Subduction Zone. 
(B) A strategy to ensure collaboration be-
tween the Department of Transportation, the De-
partment of Energy, the Coast Guard, the Corps 
of Engineers, and other Federal agencies, as ap-
propriate, for purposes of— 
(i) completing a needs assessment of 
Federal facilities in need of hardening for a 
covered event; and 
(ii) developing a strategic plan to 
mitigate and retrofit Federal, State, tribal, 
and local critical assets for freight, energy, 
and transit purposes to withstand a covered 
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event and to help save lives during and im-
mediately after a covered event. 
(C) A strategy— 
(i) to assist State, tribal, and local 
governments in developing and imple-
menting a coordinated and comprehensive 
plan to prioritize Federal, State, tribal, 
local, and private investments and activities 
to develop the ability to prepare and plan 
for, mitigate against, respond to, recover 
from, and more successfully adapt to the 
impacts of a covered event in the Cascadia 
Subduction Zone; and 
(ii) to link any existing statewide 
mitigation plan with such a coordinated 
and comprehensive plan. 
(D) With respect to the strategy described in 
subparagraph (C), an examination of the feasi-
bility of the public sector, the private sector, and 
individuals to acquire earthquake insurance. 
(E) An identification of funding opportuni-
ties to implement the comprehensive strategy and 
any recommendations made by the Task Force, 
including— 
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