A bill to authorize appropriations for carrying out the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 for fiscal years 1998 and 1999, and for other purposes.
PL 105-47 (S.910), enacted 10/01/1997

PUBLIC LAW 105-47—OCT. 1, 1997 
111 STAT. 1159 
Public Law 105-47 
105th Congress 
An Act 
To authorize appropriations for carrying out the Earthquake Hazards Reduction 
Oct. 1, 1997 
Act of 1977 for fiscal years 1998 and 1999, and for other purposes, 
[S. 910] 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
Section 12 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 
(42 U.S.C. 7706) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(7)— 
(A) by striking "and" after "1995,"; and 
(B) by inserting before the period at the end the follow-
ing: ", $20,900,000 for the fiscal year ending September 
30, 1998, and $21,500,000 for the fiscal year ending 
September 30, 1999"; 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) by striking "and" after "September 30, 1995;"; 
(B) by inserting before the period at the end the follow-
ing: "; $52,565,000 for the fiscal year ending September 
30, 1998, of which $3,800,000 shall be used for the Global 
Seismic Network operated by the Agency; and $54,052,000 
for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1999, of which 
$3,800,000 shall be used for the Global Seismic Network 
operated by the Agency"; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: "Of the amounts 
authorized to be appropriated under this subsection, at 
least— 
"(1) $8,000,000 of the amount authorized to be appropriated 
for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1998; and 
"(2) $8,250,000 of the amount authorized for the fiscal 
year ending September 30,1999, 
shall be used for carrying out a competitive, peer-reviewed program 
under which the Director, in close coordination with and as a 
complement to related activities of the United States Geological 
Survey, awards grants to, or enters into cooperative agreements 
with. State and local governments and persons or entities from 
the academic community and the private sector."; 
(3) in subsection (c)— 
(A) by striking "and" after "September 30, 1995,"; and 
(B) by inserting before the period at the end the follow-
ing: ", (3) $18,450,000 for engineering research and 
$11,920,000 for geosciences research for the fiscal year 
ending September 30, 1998, and (4) $19,000,000 for 
engineering research and $12,280,000 for geosciences 
I l l STAT. 1160 
PUBLIC LAW 105-47—OCT. 1, 1997 
research for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1999"; 
and 
(4) in the last sentence of subsection (d)— 
(A) by striking "and" after "September 30, 1995,"; and 
(B) by inserting before the period at the end the follow-
ing: ", $2,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 
30, 1998, and $2,060,000 for the fiscal year ending Septem-
ber 30, 1999". 
42 u s e 7704 
SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF REAL-TIME SEISMIC HAZARD WARNING 
note 
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT, AND OTHER ACTIVITIES. 
(a) AUTOMATIC SEISMIC WARNING SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT.— 
(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(A) DIRECTOR.—The term "Director" means the Direc-
tor of the United States Geological Survey. 
(B) HIGH-RISK ACTIVITY.—The term "high-risk activity" 
means an activity that may be adversely affected by a 
moderate to severe seismic event (as determined by the 
Director). The term includes high-speed rail transportation. 
(C) REAL-TIME SEISMIC WARNING SYSTEM.—The term 
"real-time seismic warning system" means a system that 
issues warnings in real-time from a network of seismic 
sensors to a set of analysis processors, directly to receivers 
related to high-risk activities. 
(2) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall conduct a program 
to develop a prototype real-time seismic warning system. The 
Director may enter into such agreements or contracts as may 
be necessary to carry out the program. 
(3) UPGRADE OF SEISMIC SENSORS.—In carrying out a pro-
gram under paragraph (2), in order to increase the accuracy 
and speed of seismic event analysis to provide for timely warn-
ing signals, the Director shall provide for the upgrading of 
the network of seismic sensors participating in the protot)rpe 
to increase the capability of the sensors— 
(A) to measure accurately large magnitude seismic 
events (as determined by the Director); and 
(B) to acquire additional parametric data. 
(4) DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND COMPUTATION 
INFRASTRUCTURE.—In carrying out a program under paragraph 
(2), the Director shall develop a communications and computa-
tion infrastructure that is necessary— 
(A) to process the data obtained from the upgraded 
seismic sensor network referred to in paragraph (3); and 
(B) to provide for, and carry out, such communications 
engineering and development as is necessary to facilitate— 
(i) the timely flow of data within a real-time seis-
mic hazard warning system; and 
(ii) the issuance of warnings to receivers related 
to high-risk activities. 
(5) PROCUREMENT OF COMPUTER HARDWARE AND COMPUTER 
SOFTWARE.—In carrying out a program under paragraph (2), 
the Director shall procure such computer hardware and com-
puter software as may be necessary to carry out the program. 
(6) REPORTS ON PROGRESS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall prepare 
and submit to Congress a report that contains a plan 
PUBLIC LAW 105-47—OCT. 1, 1997 
111 STAT. 1161 
for implementing a real-time seismic hazard warning sys-
tem. 
(B) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date on which the Director submits the report under 
subparagraph (A), and annually thereafter, the Director 
shall prepare and submit to Congress a report that summa-
rizes the progress of the Director in implementing the 
plan referred to in subparagraph (A). 
(7) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addition to the 
amounts made available to the Director under section 12(b) 
of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 
7706(b)), there are authorized to be appropriated to the Depart-
ment of the Interior, to be used by the Director to carry out 
paragraph (2), $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1998 and 
1999. 
(b) SEISMIC MONITORING NETWORKS ASSESSMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall provide for an assess-
ment of regional seismic monitoring networks in the United 
States. The assessment shall address— 
(A) the need to update the infrastructure used for 
collecting seismological data for research and monitoring 
of seismic events in the United States; 
(B) the need for expanding the capability to record 
strong ground motions, especially for urban area engineer-
ing purposes; 
(C) the need to measure accurately large magnitude 
seismic events (as determined by the Director); 
(D) the need to acquire additional parametric data; 
and 
(E) projected costs for meeting the needs described 
in subparagraphs (A) through (D). 
(2) RESULTS.—The Director shall transmit the results of 
the assessment conducted under this subsection to Congress 
not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act. 
(c) EARTH SCIENCE TEACHING MATERIALS.— 
(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
(A) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term "local edu-
cational agency" has the meaning given that term in section 
14101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801). 
(B) SCHOOL.—The term "school" means a nonprofit 
institutional day or residential school that provides edu-
cation for any of the grades kindergarten through grade 
12. 
(2) TEACHING MATERIALS.—In a manner consistent with 
the requirement under section 5(b)(4) of the Earthquake Haz-
ards Reduction Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7704(b)(4)) and subject 
to a merit based competitive process, the Director of the 
National Science Foundation may use funds made available 
to him or her under section 12(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 7706(c)) 
to develop, and make available to schools and local educational 
agencies for use by schools, at a minimal cost, earth science 
teaching materials that are designed to meet the needs of 
elementary and secondary school teachers and students. 
(d) IMPROVED SEISMIC HAZARD ASSESSMENT.— 
I l l STAT. 1162 
PUBLIC LAW 105-47—OCT. 1, 1997 
(1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Director shall conduct a project 
to improve the seismic hazard assessment of seismic zones. 
(2) REPORTS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, and annually during the period 
of the project, the Director shall prepare, and submit to 
Congress, a report on the findings of the project. 
(B) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the 
date of termination of the project conducted under this 
subsection, the Director shall prepare and submit to Con-
gress a report concerning the findings of the project. 
(e) STUDY OF NATIONAL EARTHQUAKE EMERGENCY TRAINING 
CAPABILITIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency shall conduct an assessment of the need 
for additional Federal disaster-response training capabilities 
that are applicable to earthquake response. 
(2) CONTENTS OF ASSESSMENT.—The assessment conducted 
under this subsection shall include— 
(A) a review of the disaster training programs offered 
by the Federal Emergency Management Agency at the 
time of the assessment; 
(B) an estimate of the number and types of emergency 
response personnel that have, during the period beginning 
on January 1, 1990 and ending on July 1, 1997, sought 
the training referred to in subparagraph (A), but have 
been unable to receive that training as a result of the 
oversubscription of the training capabilities of the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency; and 
(C) a recommendation on the need to provide additional 
Federal disaster-response training centers. 
(3) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Director shall prepare and submit 
to Congress a report that addresses the results of the assess-
ment conducted under this subsection. 
SEC. 3. COMPREHENSIVE ENGINEERING RESEARCH PLAN. 
(a) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.—Section 5(b)(4) of the 
Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7704(b)(4)) 
is amended— 
(1) by striking "and" at the end of subparagraph (D); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (E) 
and inserting "; and"; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
"(F) develop, in conjunction with the Federal Emer-
gency Management Agency, the National Institute of 
Standards 
and 
Technology, 
and 
the 
United 
States 
Geological Survey, a comprehensive plan for earthquake 
engineering research to effectively use existing testing 
facilities and laboratories (in existence at the time of the 
development of the plan), upgrade facilities and equipment 
as 
needed, 
and 
integrate 
new, 
innovative 
testing 
approaches to the research infrastructure in a systematic 
manner.". 
PUBLIC LAW 105-47—OCT. 1, 1997 
111 STAT. 1163 
(b) 
FEDERAL 
EMERGENCY 
MANAGEMENT 
AGENCY.—Section 
5(b)(1) of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 
7704(b)(1)) is amended— 
(1) by striking "and" at the end of subparagraph (D); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (E) 
and inserting "; and"; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
"(F) work with the National Science Foundation, the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the 
United States Geological Survey, to develop a comprehen-
sive plan for earthquake engineering research to effectively 
use existing testing facilities and laboratories (existing at 
the time of the development of the plan), upgrade facilities 
and equipment as needed, and integrate new, innovative 
testing approaches to the research infrastructure in a 
systematic manner.". 
(c) UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.—Section 5(b)(3) of 
the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 
7704(b)(3)) is amended— 
(1) by striking "and" at the end of subparagraph (E); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (G) 
and inserting "; and"; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
"(H) work with the National Science Foundation, the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology to develop a com-
prehensive plan for earthquake engineering research to 
effectively use existing testing facilities and laboratories 
(in existence at the time of the development of the plan), 
upgrade facilities and equipment as needed, and integrate 
new, innovative testing approaches to the research infra-
structure in a systematic manner.". 
(d) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY.— 
Section 5(b)(5) of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 
(42 U.S.C. 7704(b)(5)) is amended— 
(1) by striking "and" at the end of subparagraph (B); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (C) 
and inserting "; and"; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
"(D) work with the National Science Foundation, the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the United 
States Geological Survey to develop a comprehensive plan 
for earthquake engineering research to effectively use exist-
ing testing facilities and laboratories (in existence at the 
time of the development of the plan), upgrade facilities 
and equipment as needed, and integrate new, innovative 
testing approaches to the research infrastructure in a 
systematic manner.". 
I l l STAT. 1164 
PUBLIC LAW 105-47—OCT. 1, 1997 
SEC. 4. REPEALS. 
Sections 6 and 7 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act 
of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7705 and 7705a) are repealed. 
Approved October 1, 1997, 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 910 (H.R. 2249): 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 105-238, Pt. 1 (Comm. on Science) accompanying H.R. 
2249. 
SENATE REPORTS: No. 105-59 (Comm. on Commerce, Science, and Transpor-
tation ). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 143 (1997): 
July 31, considered and passed Senate. 
Sept. 16, considered and passed House.