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Industry groups are hailing the Oregon Legislature’s approval of a bill that creates a new governor-appointed position dedicated to helping state agencies better prepare for 鈥淭he Big One.鈥�

The Oregon chapters of the American Institute of Architects and American Planning Association are among the industry groups that backed House Bill 2270, which passed in the state House on June 30 and in the Senate on July 1. Once Gov. Kate Brown signs the bill into law, it will create a state seismic resilience officer position in her office.

The new position will be responsible for coordinating state agency seismic safety planning and preparation for an impending high-magnitude earthquake and accompanying tsunami caused by the Cascadia subduction zone fault off the Oregon Coast. The looming disaster is predicted to cause massive damage to the state’s infrastructure and buildings.

鈥淭he whole concept of improving our resilience to great subduction earthquakes kind of requires that we have consistent, long-term attention to the process,鈥� said Ian Madin, interim state geologist with the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. 鈥淭here has to be someone that is always there pointing out these opportunities (to improve seismic safety) and be that cheerleader.鈥�

Creating a state resilience officer positon was the top recommendation of the Oregon Seismic Safety Policy Advisory Commission’s Oregon Resilience Plan, said Jay Wilson, the commission chairman and resilience coordinator for Clackamas County. The plan, released two years ago, identified ways state officials could better reduce the risk and recovery time following a subduction earthquake and tsunami.

鈥淲e were looking at the deficits we had with leadership and also accountability and authority to keep this plan moving forward,鈥� Wilson said. 鈥淭here needed to be some way to tie this report to every legislative session.鈥�

Since there hasn’t been a dedicated state position pushing for seismic safety measures, the job has often been split up among different state agencies, said Jay Raskin, AIA Oregon board member and chairman of the chapter’s resilience committee. The new state seismic resilience officer could coordinate better communication between those agencies to promote seismic retrofit projects, he said.

鈥淭his person can help bridge between agencies,鈥� Raskin said. 鈥淚t’s nice to have someone keep track. That’s part of the reason why we wanted it to be part of the governor’s office.鈥�

The bill struck a chord with Oregon architects, engineers and planners. More than 40 design professionals testified to state lawmakers in favor of creating a state seismic resilience officer position, according to Raskin.

鈥淭he AIA realizes that because we design and build buildings this whole idea of resilience is quite important to us,鈥� he said.

Establishing a state seismic resilience officer was among APA Oregon’s top priorities for this year’s legislative session, said Damian Syrnyk, chairman of the chapter’s legislative and policy affairs committee and senior planner with the city of Bend. The organization’s members are hopeful the new state position will be an advocate for anticipating those natural disasters in regional comprehensive plans and economic development efforts, he said.

Another benefit of creating a state seismic resilience officer will the position’s role in promoting the incorporation of seismic safety measures into remodel projects when it’s usually more cost effective to make those improvements, Madin said.

鈥淏ecause it’s so difficult to pay for it, we always have to look for opportunities to be as efficient as possible,鈥� he said. 鈥淓xtending that mindset 鈥� is one of that most important functions of that position.鈥�

The seismic resilience officer will champion the notion that preparing for a big earthquake or other natural disaster extends from city planning efforts to retrofitting older buildings, Wilson said.

鈥淚t should be something that’s integrated into daily decisions,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur biggest issue is we can’t wait for this (disaster) to happen before we do something.鈥�