Summary Minutes

Nevada Earthquake Safety Council

21 May 1999


The Nevada Earthquake Safety Council (NESC) met from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on 21 May 1999 on the UNR campus in Reno.

Ron Lynn chaired the meeting.

Individuals attending the meeting are members of the Council:

Ron Lynn*, Clark County Building Department
John Anderson*, UNR Seismological Laboratory
Wayne Carlson*, Nevada Public Agency Insurance Pool
William Cox*, Austin High School
Bob Cullins*, Las Vegas Fire Department
Margie Gunn*, Lincoln County Office of Emergency Management
Larry Johnson*, Black Eagle Consulting Inc.
Mike Klein*, Converse Consultants
Bill Lowry*, Public Utilities Commission
Michael Lunch*, Builders Association of Northern Nevada
David Weide, representing Barbara Luke*, UNLV Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Jon Price*, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Jim Reagan*, Sierra Pacific Power Company
Burt Slemmons*, University of Nevada, Reno (retired, Las Vegas consultant)
Charles P. Watson*, Advanced Geological Exploration and Seismo-Watch

Rasool Anooshehpoor, UNR Seismological Laboratory
Craig dePolo, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Diane dePolo, UNR Seismological Laboratory
Norm Dianda, Associated General Contractors of Northern Nevada
Donna Lynn dePolo, consultant
Terri Garside, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Jim Goodfellow, Division of Emergency Management
Judy Henderson, American Red Cross
Greg Moss, Moss Group
Jim O'Donnell, Department of Energy (retired)
Rebecca Ossa, Nevada State Historic Preservation Office
John Perry, Iris
Doug Smith, Nevada Public Agency Insurance Pool

* indicates member of the Board of Directors.

A quorum of directors (the necessary 11) was present.

Board Members unable to attend included:

Bernie Anderson*, Nevada State Assemblyman
John Anderson*, UNR Seismological Laboratory
Mike Blakely*, Structural Engineers Association of Nevada
Norm Denny*, Douglas County
Steven Horsford*, R & R Advertising, Nevada Resort Association
Mark James*, Nevada State Senator

The minutes from the meeting on 19 February 1999 were approved.

Announcements

Dates and Locations of Future Meetings

The next meeting of the Nevada Earthquake Safety will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, August 27, 1999, in Room 101 of the Flora Dungan Humanities building on the UNLV campus in Las Vegas. The final meetings for the remainder of the year will be on Friday, November 19, 1999, in Reno.

Western States Seismic Policy Council

Jon Price reported that the Western States Seismic Policy Council will be holding its annual meeting in Santa Fe, New Mexico, beginning with a field trip to nearby potentially active faults on Monday, September 6, 1999 (Labor Day). The main meeting will be held Tuesday through Thursday morning, September 9 (9/9/99). The tentative agenda for the meeting features sessions on economic impacts of natural disasters, successful mitigation efforts of local communities, annualized earthquake loss estimates for the United States, and post-disaster scientific and technical clearinghouses; keynote addresses from key political figures; meetings of WSSPC committees; and presentations of awards for and discussions of the top earthquake projects and programs in the West.

WSSPC now has four topical committees: Basin and Range; Tsunami; Engineering, Building Codes, and Construction; and Economic Impacts. Individuals interested in these committees, regardless of employer, are welcome to participate in committee activities.

Along with several other organizations, including FEMA, the Cascadia Region Earthquake Workgroup, and hopefully the USGS and the two other regional earthquake and emergency consortia (the Central United States Earthquake Consortium and the New England Emergency Consortium), WSSPC plans to host a National Earthquake Hazards Conference in Seattle, Washington, in September 2000. Tentative dates are September 18-22, 2000. The purpose of the 2000 conference is to bring together a broad cross section of individuals and organizations from throughout the country to focus on public and private policies targeted on mitigating society's risks from earthquake hazards.

Please contact the WSSPC office (415-974-6435 or WSSPC@WSSPC.ORG) for details on the annual meeting in Santa Fe, the National Earthquake Conference in 2000, or on how to get involved in WSSPC committee activities.

Steve Ganz, WSSPC's executive director, is leaving. A position announcement for a new executive director is being posted and distributed today. Copies are available on WSSPC's Web site (http://www.wsspc.org/home.html).

Other Announcements

Ron Lynn recently met with the Utah Seismic Commission, building officials, and engineers. There are 400 legislative state boards and commissions in Utah. He believes that there are some opportunities for joint projects with other seismic safety commissions, councils, and boards.

Ron Lynn also spoke recently with Bernie Anderson, who will be happy to introduce legislation on behalf of the NESC.

Greg Moss announced that in September 2002, the Association of Engineering Geologists and the American Institute of Professional Geologists will be holding a joint annual meeting. Individuals interested in presenting papers or otherwise participating can contact Greg.

Michael Lynch introduced himself as the government affairs official for Builders Association of Northern Nevada.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Awareness and Education Committee


Diane dePolo provided a written report (see attachments). This year's Earthquake Awareness and Preparedness Week was quite successful. Thirteen of 17 county school districts participated, and 150 students entered the poster contest. Some of the winning posters were used in the 1999 earthquake calendar.

The third full week in February will be the next Earthquake Awareness and Preparedness Week, February 20-26. The theme for next year will focus on mitigation. Themes suggested have been "Secure Your Future," "Shake But Don't Break," and "Shake, Rattle, Don't Roll."

Jim Reagan moved and Bob Collins seconded, that the NESC select the theme of "Secure Your Future - Shake, Don't Break." The motion passed unanimously.

It costs about $15,000 to produce the calendar. Individuals interested in sponsoring the calendar should contact Diane.

Ron Lynn suggested that a one-page sheet be prepared for prospective sponsors, showing what they get for their contributions. The Committee is working on this. Ron also suggested that savings bonds also be a possible award; he volunteered to make a $100 contribution for two $100 savings bonds.

Jim Buika noted that right after an earthquake FEMA has extra funds for outreach. He also noted that in California, Susan Fruh with the American Red Cross, is working with Jill Andrews of the Southern California Earthquake Center, to produce a Red Cross document on earthquakes.

Diane also read a short report from Seismo Watch regarding their activities. Charlie Watson reported on Seismo Watch broadcasts of the Sierra Nevada Community Access Television (SNCAT), Carson Access Television (CAT), and related activities.

Craig dePolo requested that time be made on the next NESC agenda to discuss progress on a newspaper supplement on of "Living with Earthquakes in Nevada."

ACTION ITEM: Allow Craig and Diane dePolo a half-hour time slot at the August NESC meeting for a discussion of "Living with Earthquakes in Nevada."

Response and Recovery Committee

Bob Cullins reported that a successful Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) exercise was recently held in Sun City - Summerlin in Las Vegas Valley. Bob showed a film clip about the exercise. Training was provided by the Las Vegas Fire Department, which will provide similar training to groups of 10 or more community volunteers. Interested individuals should call the Las Vegas Fire Department at 702-383-2888.

Bob reported that the Las Vegas Fire Department distributed 1,500 copies of an earthquake preparedness flier.

Bob asked for additional volunteers for the Response and Recovery Committee.

There was a major article in the Las Vegas Review Journal (Sunday, April 11, 1999), starting on the front page on Sunday. Keith Rogers interviewed Ron Lynn, Burt Slemmons, Craig dePolo, and Bob Cullins for this article.

ACTION ITEM: Ron Lynn will write a letter of thanks to Keith Rogers for his coverage of earthquake issues in the Las Vegas area in the Sunday, April 11, issue of the Las Vegas Review Journal.

Engineering and Architecture Committee

No report was available from the committee.

Geoscience Committee

Burt Slemmons reported that Mike Klein and Jim Werle have made progress on the liquefaction guidelines. Gary Norris, chair of the Liquefaction Subcommittee, and Barbara Luke have reviewed the document. At a Geoscience Committee meeting on 20 May 1999, the Committee recommended that the draft guidelines be widely distributed for review and comments. The Council should see a copy by the NESC meeting in August.

The Committee received seven proposals for funding. Two proposals were not rated (one on a tsunami at Lake Tahoe, which is being proposed for USGS-NEHRP support and for which a large area of impact is in California; another is in a white paper from the UNR Seismological Laboratory for upgrading a seismic network near Las Vegas). Other proposals rated were:
1. (highest priority): Upgrade UNLV's seismographic station ($6,485 in FEMA funds)
2. (next highest): Quantification of soil nonlinearity in UBC 1997 and SHAKE analysis ($4,000).
3. Composite earthquake felt area maps: ($8,495).
4. Pre-1900 major historical earthquakes in western Nevada: ($28,519).
5. On-line fault database - phase I: major quaternary-active and suspected Quaternary-active faults in Nevada: ($21,657).

Tom Sawyer reported that he is funded from the USGS to produce a map similar to but complementary with the one proposed in Item 5. The USGS work will be published in about a year. He suggested that Craig dePolo integrate his data into the USGS database.

Jim O'Donnell mentioned that the UNR Seismological Laboratory is helping with Item 1.

Jim Buika noted that 100% funding through FEMA's National Technical Assistance Program will become available again in federal fiscal year 2000. Item 3 might fit well with this. In this program, FEMA sends a consultant to do the work.

John Anderson discussed what it would take to upgrade the seismic network around Las Vegas to the same level of coverage that we have in northern Nevada (about $750,000 plus annual maintenance of about $183,000 per year). The state-funded operating budget for the Seismological Laboratory is under $20,000. Attempts to increase state funding for this purpose, including a position for a seismologist in Las Vegas, have been unsuccessful. Later in the afternoon, John will speak on the U.S. Congressional bill that would help fund upgrading seismic networks throughout the country.

Risk Mitigation Committee

Craig dePolo reported that the committee is seeking new members. Interested individuals should contact Craig. The committee hopes to focus on identifying successful mitigation projects that are ongoing in Nevada and on preparing literature on mitigation.

Jim Reagan discussed a possible proposal for funding to use the American Red Cross building in Reno as a focal point for risk mitigation. Leslie Schaeffer (Sierra Nevada Chapter, American Red Cross director) offered their building as a site for hazard mitigation.

Jim Buika suggested that this project would be favorably viewed by FEMA as a Project Impact add-on. The scope of the work would have to be limited to about 160 hours of work by an outside contractor (URS/Woodward-Clyde/Dames and Moore). Jim Goodfellow offered to provide quick-response support from DEM on any such request.

Nominating Committee

Jon Price (on behalf of the Nominating Committee, which consists of John Anderson, Jim Goodfellow, and Jon) reported that the two positions on the NESC that were vacant at the last meeting have been filled. Michael Lynch with the Builders Association of Northern and Greg Flanigan with Farmers Insurance have agreed to serve on the NESC. Jim Goodfellow mentioned that the Division of Emergency Management approves the new appointments.

Ad Hoc Bylaws Committee

Burt Slemmons and Wayne Carlson suggested possible changes to the bylaws to provide further flexibility in the membership of the board.

Jim Goodfellow said that the All Hazard Mitigation Advisory Committee will be formalized in the Nevada Revised Statues through regulations of the DEM. There is no official status to the NESC other than the authorization by DEM and recognition by FEMA. There was verbal recognition of the NESC from former Governor Miller. Ron Lynn suggested several approaches to recognition for NESC. One is simply the current method, through DEM; another is through the Legislature; another is through the Governor.

ACTION ITEM: Jim Reagan will send Jon Price an electronic copy of the current bylaws, which will be sent out with the minutes. Members of the Board should bring copies with them to the next meeting.

ACTION ITEM: Burt Slemmons, chair of the Ad-Hoc Bylaws Committee, should reconsider bylaws changes after hearing the discussion.

Ron Lynn suggested that a new ad-hoc committee be formed to look at formal recognition (through regulations, as with the All Hazard Mitigation Advisory Committee, legislation, or executive order). Wayne Carlson will chair the committee (with Margie Gunn, Charlie Watson, Larry Johnson, and Jon Price as other members).

ACTION ITEM: Margie Gunn, chair of the Ad-Hoc Committee on Recognition of the Nevada Earthquake Safety Council, should report to the Council on recommendations from this committee. Possible approaches to recognition include the status quo (with recognition as an advisory body to DEM), legislative action, or executive order by the Governor.

Discussion of Funding Needs from the Committees

The NESC members discussed the following proposed projects for funding from year-end FEMA funds that may be made available to DEM. Each person voted for his or her first, second, and third priorities, from which some obvious top choices emerged. Listed below are the projects. In parentheses are the votes. Also listed are the overall priorities (with numbers ranging from 1 through 10.) All projects were considered worthy. The NESC Executive Committee will set priorities for those projects that did not receive any of the top three votes from individuals. These priorities will be transmitted to DEM and FEMA.

Education and Awareness Committee
a. Printing "Living with earthquakes in Nevada": $14,904, voted overall priority #2 (2,2,3,3,2,2,1,2,2,3,3,2,3,3).
b. Hands-on shake table with blocks to demonstrate shaking of structure: $1,366, voted overall priority #7 (1,1).
c. T-shirts: $1,925, voted overall priority #10A (tied, 3).
d. On-going education and awareness committee activities (mailings, posters, etc.): $2,621, no votes.
e. Earthquake safety calendar: $25,585, voted overall priority #8A (tied, 1).
f. Seismo-Watch 1: Report on SNCAT: $7,267, voted overall priority #9 (2).
g. Seismo-Watch 2: Monitoring the report on SNCAT: $1,105, no votes.
h. Seismo-Watch 3: Special earthquake report on SNCAT: $1,677, no votes.
i. Seismo-Watch 4: Expanded Seismo-Watch report in the Reno Gazette-Journal: $2,366, no votes.
j. Seismo-Watch 5: Earthquake reports for rural newspapers: $1,690, no votes.

Risk Mitigation Committee
1. Structural analysis and non-structural mitigation of the Red Cross building: $5,000 (unmatched), voted overall priority #3 (1,3,1,1,3,3,3,2).

Response and Recovery Committee
1. ATC-20 training for rural counties: $1,500, voted overall priority #5 (2,3,2,1).

Geoscience Committee
1. Upgrade UNLV's seismographic station: $6,485, voted overall priority #1 (3,2,2,1,1,2,1,1,1,1,1,3,1,2,3,3,2).
2. Quantification of soil nonlinearity in UBC 1997 and SHAKE analysis: $4,000, voted overall priority #4 (1,3,2,3,1,1,1)
3. Composite earthquake felt area maps: $8,495, voted overall priority #6 (1,3,2).
4. Pre-1900 major historical earthquakes in western Nevada: $24,547, voted overall priority #8B (tied, 1).
5. On-line fault database - phase I: major quaternary-active and suspected Quaternary-active faults in Nevada: $18,640, voted overall priority #10B (tied, 3).

ACTION ITEM: The Executive Committee will vote on additional priorities and send DEM and FEMA a list of priorities for year-end funding for fiscal year 1999.

Jon Price noted that the costs for these proposals generally do not include the UNR indirect charges, which increase each item by 24.2% if the projects are to be managed through UNR.

The Council discussed having a proposal format for next year's proposals. Items to include would be project title, organization and person responsible, description of work plan, justification, funding needed, source of matching funds.

FEMA UPDATE

Jim Buika, FEMA Region IX, San Francisco, thanked Ron Lynn and all the committee chairs for their fine work. The NESC is certainly worth the taxpayers' dollars. He appreciates the NESC minutes, Seismo-Watch, the earthquake calendar, and NESC's involvement in Project Impact.

Jim Buika's role in FEMA has expanded; they lost Joanne Hoffard from the earthquake and other hazard mitigation program. Despite increased responsibilities, he will remain the point of contact from FEMA. He also is responsible for further implementation of the HAZUS software. FEMA is beginning to plan activities for a tenth anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake on October 17, 1999.

The National Earthquake Technical Assistance Program helps with 100% funding, and the program brings consultants, paid by FEMA, to help with specific needs. Fiscal year 1999 funding has been spent, but there will be new money in fiscal year 2000. Jim Buika is lobbying with Craig Wingo, the new FEMA earthquake program manager (a career FEMA engineer), to increase the funding for this program. California has used some of these funds to help with their strategic plan and to create an incentives document on how to craft local and state legislation.

The California Division of Mines and Geology (CDMG) has just released recommended procedures for analyzing and mitigating liquefaction and recommended procedures for analyzing and mitigating for landslides.

CDMG got an additional $10,000,000 (beyond $9,000,000) from the Northridge earthquake FEMA hazard mitigation funds.

There is an effort to develop a Trinet-North project. Jim Buika encourages NESC to have such a program on the books.

Charlie Watson moved (and the motion was seconded) that each NESC committee make a prioritized list of hazard mitigation needs for Nevada and report at the next NESC meeting. The motion passed unanimously.

ACTION ITEM: Each NESC committee chair should make a prioritized list of hazard mitigation needs for Nevada and report at the next NESC meeting. Keep in mind that millions of dollars of FEMA funds may be available after the next major disaster. These funds will most likely require a 25% match of non-federal dollars for 75% FEMA funding.

Jim Buika noted that there is no guarantee for year-end funds, but projects in the spirit of Project Impact will help. Hawaii never uses their full allotment. Please send the information to Jim Buika both directly to him and through DEM.

ACTION ITEM: Jim asked for a progress report on projects funded from last year's year-end funds. Jon Price (with the help of others) should follow up on this.

FEMA is changing the way it will be giving funds to Nevada. They are melding the earthquake hazard and other hazard mitigation funds. FEMA wants to see some strategic planning and they want more accountability in terms of quarterly reports.

Sally Ziolkowski is the new FEMA Region IX mitigation director.

FEMA is always looking for highlights, particularly mitigation success stories.

The FEMA strategic plan will be posted on their Web site (fema.gov). There will be a national meeting on September 1 & 2 and a hazard mitigation meeting on June 28-July 1.

Jim Buika described a HAZUS project in the San Francisco area. The program is being updated (see the Web site at hazus.org). There will be a major exercise in Santa Clara County, where San Jose and Silicon Valley is located (October 13, 1999).

The Hawaii State earthquake advisory board is promoting upgrading from seismic zone 3 to 4. Brian Yanagi is heading this effort.

The NESC unanimously approved the following motion: The Nevada Earthquake Safety Council commends Jim Buika, FEMA Region IX, for extensive assistance and long-term guidance since the Council's founding in 1992. The Council requests that DEM forward this commendation to the new FEMA Region IX mitigation director.

ACTION ITEM: Jim Goodfellow should follow up on this motion.

Special Presentation on Seismic Isolation Systems


Amarnath Kasalanati and Lorenzo Trimble, with the company Dynamic Isolation Systems, gave a slide show on the use of base-isolation systems for dealing with shaking from earthquakes. Current building codes for earthquakes focus on saving lives, not on minimizing business interruptions. New performance based codes allow for different levels of concern, from immediate occupancy to life safety. Seismic isolation systems are some of the best approaches for immediate occupancy of buildings after earthquakes. In such a system, most of the motion is taking up in by the isolation bearings. Dynamic Isolation Systems has a Web site (www.dis-inc.com). Interested individuals are welcome to visit their Sparks plant, where they build and test the isolators. Isolation systems typically add about two percent to the cost of a building, but with performance-based codes that are coming up, costs are likely to decrease. Nevada Department of Transportation has used isolation systems on the farthest west Truckee River bridge on Interstate 80 in Nevada.

Charlie Watson suggested that the Engineering and Architecture Committee consider the types of buildings for which seismic isolation systems would be reasonable mitigation.

Ron Lynn asked the State Historic Preservation Office to make a presentation to the NESC on buildings that are vulnerable to earthquake damage.

ACTION ITEM: Terri Garside should contact the State Historic Preservation Office to ask if they will be willing to make a presentation to the NESC on buildings that are vulnerable to earthquake damage.

Seismicity in the Las Vegas Region

Jim O'Donnell, retired seismologist with the Department of Energy, discussed a plan to evaluate seismicity in the Las Vegas region. His presentation included figures from the NESC conference proceedings on Seismic Hazards in the Las Vegas region and a 1998 U.S. Geological Survey open-file report (Number 98-576) on interpretation of geophysical data in the region. The USGS study suggested that the Black Hills fault may curve toward and come close to the Eldorado Energy Power Plant, a new plant that will produce 500 megawatts of power using natural gas from a 24-inch pipeline.

He also discussed a February 1988 earthquake (magnitude 3.9) southwest of Boulder City, perhaps on the Black Hills fault or another buried fault. John Anderson questioned some of the observations made by golfers, who observed surface waves, because seismic instruments have not been able to record waves of the nature reported by these observers. Charlie Watson recalled observing surface waves from an earthquake in 1986.

Burt Slemmons mentioned recent reports on the Black Hills fault (one by Larry Anderson and one by Jim Werle). Larry Anderson's work was in Bureau of Reclamation Report 93-4.

Jim O'Donnell described the DOE seismic safety program in Nevada. The program was started in 1961 and was run by John A. Blume and Associates from 1963 to 1993. The system was running well in 1992, during the Landers, California earthquake and the Little Skull Mountain, Nevada event the day after. Many of the nuclear blasts on the Nevada Test Site in 1976 had earthquake-comparable magnitudes of about 5.6 and caused minor damage in Las Vegas Valley. Many of the high-rise buildings in Las Vegas had strong motion sensors on the roofs. The data from these instruments have not been analyzed to any great extent.

Jim O'Donnell suggested that the following be done to improve understanding of the seismicity of the area:
1. Review the DOE-Nevada Blume reports and data; the data will be lost if they are not used by others.
2. Re-establish a strong motion network.
3. Upgrade the UNLV seismographic station. This instrument will not detect local earthquakes easily. Sandia National Laboratory has two seismic stations locally, and the UNR Seismological Laboratory has instruments in the area.
4. Develop deployable seismic field systems.
5. Develop a paleoseismic program for the area, using geologic and geophysical techniques to identify faults that moved in the last several thousands of years. This is perhaps the most important element in determining the hazard in the area.

Associated General Contractors of Northern Nevada

Norm Dianda described the Associated General Contractors (AGC) and the Contractors Auxiliary to the Washoe County Sheriff 's office. This is a group of volunteers that work with local governments after a disaster and during an emergency. The group got started as a result of the lack of coordination (with local government officials, law enforcement, and contractors) that occurred during the flood of New Year's Day 1997. Washoe County Sheriff Dick Kirkland worked with the contractors to develop the Contractors Auxiliary. The contractors are deputized by the Sheriff. The Emergency Service Committee meets regularly with the Washoe County Sheriff, Highway Patrols of California and Nevada, DEM, and others. The Contractors Auxiliary has responded to emergencies at the Washoe County jail (power outage), the Sierra Chemical explosion, and the MAACO Body Shop explosion. Many other AGC chapters throughout the country have asked for information and may be following the AGC-Northern Nevada chapter's lead.

The Contractors Auxiliary also helped build the rubble pile that has been used for emergency search-and-rescue exercises. The Contractors Auxiliary has received awards for the success of its program. Over 50 companies are now involved in the program. They get 35 to 40 people at their monthly meetings (including local, state, and federal agencies).

Jim Goodfellow noted that Norm Dianda is also the chair of the All Hazards Mitigation Advisory Committee.

ACTION ITEM: Ron Lynn will write a letter of thanks to Norm Dianda.

Update from the Division of Emergency Management

Jim Goodfellow spoke on behalf of Frank Siracusa. Frank will try to implement any recommendations that the NESC recommends.

Ron Lynn repeated requests from last meeting regarding identification cards and placards.

ACTION ITEMS: Jim Goodfellow will follow up on these requests.

Greg Moss suggested that a form that the All Hazards Mitigation Advisory Committee uses for grant applications would be a good starting point for next year's NESC applications for year-end funding.

Greg Moss agreed to attend the FEMA All Hazards National Mitigation Workshop in Berryville, Virginia, on behalf of the NESC.

National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program

John Anderson discussed the status of reauthorization of the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP). HR 1184 passed. The companion Senate bill is under consideration in the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. John urged support of full appropriations for this program by individuals and agencies with interests in earthquake hazard mitigation. The new authorization calls for $170.8 million in equipment alone plus $15 million extra for two years for implementation for an Advanced National Seismic System, and new money for earthquake engineering. It would also create a scientific advisory committee within the USGS. It would also require FEMA to report on how the program will help various populations.

The USGS has prepared a report on the need for an Advanced National Seismic System. The present network is in poor shape. Few seismic stations are state-of-the-art stations. Some major benefits include real-time warnings of earthquakes at some distance, rapid reporting of levels of ground shaking (that can be helpful to emergency management and other officials), and enhanced research. The budget includes $31 million for state-of-the-art instruments. This would allow for establishment of a better network in the Las Vegas area. The budget also includes establishment of 200 urban strong motion instruments in the Reno area and 100 in the Las Vegas area (more in Reno as a result of the higher seismic risk). Overall, Nevada would benefit greatly from full appropriation for NEHRP.

Jim Buika expects no problems in the Senate with the hearing on the authorization bill.

New Business

Jim Goodfellow announced a Governor's Y2K summit June 2 & 3, 1999.

John Perry asked about the real-time helicorder in the Seismological Laboratory, which is currently not functioning. John Anderson responded that they estimate it to be a two-week job to fix the instrument.

Charlie Watson's new company, Jurassic Expeditions, will be leading "fault tours" in California.

Jim Buika mentioned that the Southern California Earthquake Center will be holding a June 17, 1999 meeting on guidelines for analyzing and mitigating liquefaction hazards at the University of Southern California.

REVIEW OF ACTION ITEMS:

ACTION ITEM: Allow Craig and Diane dePolo a half-hour time slot at the August NESC meeting for a discussion of "Living with Earthquakes in Nevada."

ACTION ITEM: Ron Lynn will write a letter of thanks to Keith Rogers for his coverage of earthquake issues in the Las Vegas area in the Sunday, April 11, issue of the Las Vegas Review Journal.

ACTION ITEM: Jim Reagan will send Jon Price an electronic copy of the current bylaws, which will be sent out with the minutes. Members of the Board should bring copies with them to the next meeting.

ACTION ITEM: Burt Slemmons, chair of the Ad-Hoc Bylaws Committee, should reconsider bylaws changes after hearing the discussion.

ACTION ITEM: Margie Gunn, chair of the Ad-Hoc Committee on Recognition of the Nevada Earthquake Safety Council, should report to the Council on recommendations from this committee. Possible approaches to recognition include the status quo (with recognition as an advisory body to DEM), legislative action, or executive order by the Governor.

ACTION ITEM: The Executive Committee will vote on additional priorities and send DEM and FEMA a list of priorities for year-end funding for fiscal year 1999.

ACTION ITEM: Each NESC committee chair should make a prioritized list of hazard mitigation needs for Nevada and report at the next NESC meeting. Keep in mind that millions of dollars of FEMA funds may be available after the next major disaster. These funds will most likely require a 25% match of non-federal dollars for 75% FEMA funding.

ACTION ITEM: The Executive Committee will vote on additional priorities and send DEM and FEMA a list of priorities for year-end funding for fiscal year 1999.

ACTION ITEM: Jim asked for a progress report on projects funded from last year's year-end funds. Jon Price (with the help of others) will submit this.

ACTION ITEM: Jim Goodfellow should follow up on the following motion, which was unanimously approved by the NESC: The Nevada Earthquake Safety Council commends Jim Buika, FEMA Region IX, for extensive assistance and long-term guidance since the Council's founding in 1992. The Council requests that DEM forward this commendation to the new FEMA Region IX mitigation director.

ACTION ITEM: Terri Garside should contact the State Historic Preservation Office to ask if they will be willing to make a presentation to the NESC on buildings that are vulnerable to earthquake damage.

ACTION ITEM: Ron Lynn will write a letter of thanks to Norm Dianda for his presentation at the NESC regarding the Associated General Contractors (AGC) and the Contractors Auxiliary to the Washoe County Sheriff 's office.

ACTION ITEM (repeated from 19 February 1999): Chairman Lynn asked Jim Goodfellow to get the Division of Emergency Management (DEM) to provide identification cards to individuals who have taken ATC 20 courses, which will assist in gaining access to disaster areas after an earthquake.

ACTION ITEM (repeated from 19 February 1999): Chairman Lynn also asked that DEM work on preparing (1) a supply of placards (red, yellow, and green) for placing on buildings after an earthquake and (2) a supply of rapid initial evaluation forms to use with the placards. These should be copied and be ready to use at disasters anywhere in the state.

ATTACHMENTS:
Education and Awareness Committee Report, 21 May 1999 and Bylaws

respectfully submitted by Jon Price, 26 May 1999


NEVADA EARTHQUAKE SAFETY COUNCIL
Members of the Board of Directors, as of 21 May 1999

Business and Industry Steven Horsford R & R Advertising, Nevada Resort Association
Business and Industry Michael Lynch Builders Association of Northern Nevada
Insurance Industry Greg Flanigan Farmers Insurance
State Government Bill Lowry Public Utilities Commission
Local Government Wayne Carlson Nevada Public Agency Insurance Pool
Local Government Margie Gunn (NV Assoc. of Counties) Lincoln County Office of Emergency Mgmt
Geosciences Burt Slemmons Las Vegas consultant, UNR (retired)
Geosciences Jonathan G. Price Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Engineering Mike Blakely Structural Engineers Association of NV
Engineering Mike Klein Converse Consultants
Education William Cox Austin High School
Community Organizations Bob Cullins Las Vegas Fire Department
Community Organizations Jim Reagan Sierra Pacific Power Company
University John Anderson UNR Seismological Laboratory
University Barbara Luke UNLV Dept. of Civil & Environmental Eng.
Building Official Ronald L. Lynn Clark County Building Department
Building Official Norm Denny Douglas County
State Senate Mark James Nevada State Senator
State Assembly Bernie Anderson Nevada State Assemblyman
Member at Large Larry Johnson Black Eagle Consulting Inc.
Member at Large Charles P. Watson Advanced Geological Exploration

Members of the Executive Committee, effective January 1, 1999

Chair Ronald L. Lynn
First Vice Chair-South Burt Slemmons
First Vice Chair-North Mike Blakely
Second Vice Chair-South Bob Cullins
Second Vice Chair-North Larry Johnson
Secretary Jonathan G. Price
Past Chair John Anderson
Division of Emergency Management Representative James F. Goodfellow