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Lawmaker Calls For More Funding To Map Quake Faults

TORRANCE (CBSLA.com) — A state lawmaker from Torrance wants Sacramento to boost funding to map active earthquake faults in an effort to prevent buildings from being constructed near dangerous faults.

The push by Sen. Ted W. Lieu to the Los Angeles Times came after a report earlier this month that at least 18 buildings were constructed on or near the Hollywood and Santa Monica faults over the last decade without extensive studies being conducted.

"Allowing buildings that house large numbers of people to be built on or near fault lines is not acceptable," Lieu said in remarks reported by The Times.

According to the report, very few earthquake faults in California have been mapped over the past two decades since a series of budget cuts enacted in the early 1990s slowed the effort dramatically.

RELATED: Report: Calif. Quake Faults Mapping Has Slowed

Between 1974 and 1991, California aggressively mapped 534 earthquake faults, but since then, only 23 have been drawn, according to The Times.

Officials estimate about 300 more maps need to be drawn, including some in heavily populated areas in Southern California, to represent about 2,000 miles of faults statewide.

(©2013 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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