
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 42USC7705b]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
                CHAPTER 86--EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS REDUCTION
 
Sec. 7705b. Seismic standards


(a) Buildings

                      (1) Adoption of standards

        The President shall adopt, not later than December 1, 1994, 
    standards for assessing and enhancing the seismic safety of existing 
    buildings constructed for or leased by the Federal Government which 
    were designed and constructed without adequate seismic design and 
    construction standards. Such standards shall be developed by the 
    Interagency Committee on Seismic Safety in Construction, whose 
    chairman is the Director of the National Institute of Standards and 
    Technology or his designee, and which shall work in consultation 
    with appropriate private sector organizations.

                       (2) Report to Congress

        The President shall report to the Congress, not later than 
    December 1, 1994, on how the standards adopted under paragraph (1) 
    could be applied with respect to buildings--
            (A) for which Federal financial assistance has been obtained 
        through grants, loans, financing guarantees, or loan or mortgage 
        insurance programs; or
            (B) the structural safety of which is regulated by a Federal 
        agency.

                           (3) Regulations

        The President shall ensure the issuance, before February 1, 
    1993, by all Federal agencies of final regulations required by 
    section 4(b) of Executive Order numbered 12699, issued January 5, 
    1990.

(b) Lifelines

    The Director of the Agency, in consultation with the Director of the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology, shall submit to the 
Congress, not later than June 30, 1992, a plan, including precise 
timetables and budget estimates, for developing and adopting, in 
consultation with appropriate private sector organizations, design and 
construction standards for lifelines. The plan shall include 
recommendations of ways Federal regulatory authority could be used to 
expedite the implementation of such standards.

(Pub. L. 95-124, Sec. 8, as added Pub. L. 101-614, Sec. 8(a), Nov. 16, 
1990, 104 Stat. 3237.)

                       References in Text

    Executive Order numbered 12699, referred to in subsec. (a)(3), is 
set out as a note under section 7704 of this title.


   Report on Vulnerability of Buildings Owned and Leased by Government

    Section 8(b) of Pub. L. 101-614 directed Comptroller General, not 
later than 18 months after Nov. 16, 1990, to report to Congress on 
vulnerability of buildings owned and leased by the Federal Government 
and on efforts of Federal agencies to improve the seismic resistance of 
buildings they own or lease, and for each such agency, the Comptroller 
General to enumerate the number of buildings owned or leased by the 
agency, the seriousness of the seismic risk to such buildings, and the 
value of the buildings at risk, as well as tabulate the expenditures 
each such agency had devoted to reducing earthquake damage and estimate 
the total expenditure necessary to address the problem adequately.

Ex. Ord. No. 12941. Seismic Safety of Existing Federally Owned or Leased 
                                Buildings

    Ex. Ord. No. 12941, Dec. 1, 1994, 59 F.R. 62545, provided:
    By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and 
the laws of the United States of America, and in furtherance of the 
Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 [42 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.], as 
amended by Public Law 101-614, which requires the President to adopt 
``standards for assessing and enhancing the seismic safety of existing 
buildings constructed for or leased by the Federal Government which were 
designed and constructed without adequate seismic design and 
construction standards'' (42 U.S.C. 7705b(a)), it is hereby ordered as 
follows:
    Section 1. Adoption of Minimum Standards. The Standards of Seismic 
Safety for Existing Federally Owned or Leased Buildings (Standards), 
developed, issued, and maintained by the Interagency Committee on 
Seismic Safety in Construction (ICSSC), are hereby adopted as the 
minimum level acceptable for use by Federal departments and agencies in 
assessing the seismic safety of their owned and leased buildings and in 
mitigating unacceptable seismic risks in those buildings. The Standards 
shall be applied, at a minimum, to those buildings identified in the 
Standards as requiring evaluation and, if necessary, mitigation. 
Evaluations and mitigations that were completed prior to the date of 
this order under agency programs that were based on standards deemed 
adequate and appropriate by the individual agency need not be 
reconsidered unless otherwise stipulated by the Standards.
    For the purposes of this order, buildings are defined as any 
structure, fully or partially enclosed, located within the United States 
as defined in the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977, as amended, 
(42 U.S.C. 7703(5)), used or intended for sheltering persons or 
property, except for the exclusions specified in the Standards.
    Sec. 2. Estimating Costs of Mitigation. Each agency that owns or 
leases buildings for Federal use shall, within 4 years of the issuance 
of this order, develop an inventory of their owned and leased buildings 
and shall estimate the costs of mitigating unacceptable seismic risks in 
those buildings. The cost estimate shall be based on the exemptions and 
evaluation and mitigation requirements in the Standards. Guidance for 
the development of the inventory and cost estimates will be issued by 
the ICSSC no later than 1 year after the signing of this order. Cost 
estimates with supporting documentation shall be submitted to the 
Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) no later than 
4 years after the signing of this order.
    Sec. 3. Implementation Responsibilities. (a) The Federal Emergency 
Management Agency is responsible for (1) notifying all Federal 
departments and agencies of the existence and content of this order; (2) 
preparing for the Congress, in consultation with the ICSSC, no later 
than 6 years after the issuance of this order, a comprehensive report on 
how to achieve an adequate level of seismic safety in federally owned 
and leased buildings in an economically feasible manner; and (3) 
preparing for the Congress on a biennial basis, a report on the 
execution of this order.
    (b) The National Institute of Standards and Technology is 
responsible for providing technical assistance to the Federal 
departments and agencies in the implementation of this order.
    (c) Federal departments and agencies may request an exemption from 
this order from the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
    Sec. 4. Updating Programs. The ICSSC shall update the Standards at 
least every 5 years. It shall also update the Standards within 2 years 
of the publication of the first edition of FEMA's Guidelines for Seismic 
Rehabilitation of Buildings and Commentary.
    Sec. 5. Judicial Review. Nothing in this order is intended to create 
any right to administrative or judicial review, or any other right, 
benefit, or trust responsibility, substantive or procedural, enforceable 
at law by any party against the United States, its agencies or 
instrumentalities, its officers or employees, or any person.
                                                     William J. Clinton.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in title 23 section 502.
