Pennington

Emergency management official had front-row seat for quake

PATRICK CONDON, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published Thursday, February 28, 2002

OLYMPIA -- When the Nisqually Earthquake hit, John Pennington was sitting in his legislative office on the fourth floor of the Capitol as the 73-year-old building shook to its foundations.

Ten months later, Pennington left the Legislature to assume the role of regional director for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has overseen the federal government's efforts to help the state recover from the disaster.

Pennington, who was a Republican House member from the Vancouver area, said he felt "like a personal victim" of the earthquake. That's been an important perspective as he's eased into his new job the past two months, Pennington said, and especially in his efforts to smooth out disagreements between FEMA and state government.

"Everyone seems very happy right now," Pennington said, characterizing FEMA's continuing obligations mostly as "tying up loose ends."

The biggest dispute between FEMA and the state flared after the federal agency said it couldn't pay for the state to permanently fasten the pillars around the Capitol dome. That would have flouted the provisions of the federal Stafford Act, which says that FEMA can only pay to return damaged buildings to their predamaged condition, and not make improvements that would actually exceed that.

"That frustrates me as much as anyone," Pennington said. He said there is growing recognition in Congress that the Stafford Act needs to be revisited, and he will be among the federal officials pushing for that to happen.

Still, the earthquake response was FEMA's largest operation ever in Washington state, and Pennington said he thinks the recovery has gone remarkably well, considering the size of the operation and the constraints on FEMA aid.

"To me, this was a tremendous example of how the state and the federal government should be working, and working together," Pennington said. "Partnerships can work."

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