By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws
of the United States of America, and in furtherance of the Earthquake Hazards
Reduction Act of 1977, as amended (42 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.), which requires
that Federal preparedness and mitigation activities are to include "development
and promulgation of specifications, building standards, design criteria,
and construction practices to achieve appropriate earthquake resistance
for new ...structures, and an examination of alternative provisions and
requirements for reducing earthquake hazards through Federal and federally
financed construction, loans, loan guarantees, and licenses..." (42
U.S.C. 7704 [f][3,4]), it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Requirements for Earthquake Safety of New Federal Buildings.
The purposes of these requirements are to reduce risks to the lives of occupants
of buildings owned by the Federal Government and to persons who would be
affected by the failures of Federal buildings in earthquakes, to improve
the capability of essential Federal buildings to function during or after
an earthquake, and to reduce earthquake losses of public buildings, all
in a cost-effective manner. A building means any structure, fully or partially
enclosed, used or intended for sheltering persons or property.
Each Federal agency responsible for the design and construction of each
new Federal building shall ensure that the building is designed and constructed
in accord with appropriate seismic design and construction standards. This
requirement pertains to all building projects for which development of detailed
plans and specifications is initiated subsequent to the issuance of the
order. Seismic design and construction standards shall be adopted for agency
use in accord with sections 3(a) and 4(a) of this order.
Sec. 2. Federally Leased, Assisted, or Regulated Buildings.
The purposes of these requirements are to reduce risks to the lives of occupants
of buildings leased for Federal uses or purchased or constructed with Federal
assistance, to reduce risks to the lives of persons who would be affected
by earthquake failures of federally assisted or regulated buildings, and
to protect public investments, all in a cost-effective manner. The provisions
of this order shall apply to all the new construction activities specified
in the subsections below.
(a) Space Leased for Federal Occupancy. Each Federal agency responsible
for the construction and lease of a new building for Federal use shall ensure
that the building is designed and constructed in accord with appropriate
seismic design and construction standards. This requirement pertains to
all leased building projects for which the agreement covering development
of detailed plans and specifications is effected subsequent to the issuance
of this order. Local building codes shall be used in design and construction
by those concerned with such activities in accord with section 3(a) and
3(c) of this order and augmented when necessary to achieve appropriate seismic
design and construction standards.
(b) Federal Domestic Assistance Programs. Each Federal agency assisting
in the financing, through Federal grants or loans, or guaranteeing the financing,
through loan or mortgage insurance programs, of newly constructed buildings
shall plan, and shall initiate no later than 3 years subsequent to the issuance
of this order, measures consistent with section 3(a) of this order, to assure
appropriate consideration of seismic safety.
(c) Federally Regulated Buildings. Each Federal agency with generic responsibility
for regulating the structural safety of buildings shall plan to require
use of appropriate seismic design and construction standards for new buildings
within the agency's purview. Implementation of the plan shall be initiated
no later than 3 years subsequent to the issuance of this order.
Sec. 3. Concurrent Requirements. (a) In accord with Office of Management
and Budget Circular A-1 19 of January 17, 1980, entitled "Federal Participation
in the Development and Use of Voluntary Standards," nationally recognized
private sector standards and practices shall be used for the purposes identified
in section 1 and 2 above unless the responsible agency finds that none is
available that meets its requirements. The actions ordered herein shall
consider the seismic hazards in various areas of the country to be as shown
in the most recent edition of the American National Standards Institute
Standards A58, Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures,
or subsequent maps adopted for Federal use in accord with this order. Local
building codes determined by the responsible agency or by the Interagency
Committee for Seismic Safety in Construction to provide adequately for seismic
safety, or special seismic standards and practices required by unique agency
mission needs, may be used.
(b) All orders, regulations, circulars, or other directives issued, and
all other actions taken prior to the date of this order that meet the requirements
of this order, are hereby confirmed and ratified and shall be deemed to
have been issued under this order.
(c) Federal agencies that are as of this date requiring seismic safety levels
that are higher than those imposed by this order in their assigned new building
construction programs shall continue to maintain in force such levels.
(d) Nothing in this order shall apply to assistance provided for emergency
work essential to save lives and protect property and public health and
safety, performed pursuant to Sections 402, 403, 502, and 503 of the Robert
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act)
(42 U.S.C. 5170a 5170b, 5192, and 5193), or for temporary housing assistance
programs and individual and family grants performed pursuant to Sections
408 and 411 of the Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. 5174 and 5178). However, this
order shall apply to other provisions of the Stafford Act after a presidentially
declared major disaster or emergency when assistance actions involve new
construction or total replacement of a building. Grantees and subgrantees
shall be encouraged to adopt the standards established in section 3(a) of
this order for use when the construction does not involve Federal funding
as well as when Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding applies.
Sec. 4. Agency Responsibilities. (a) The Director of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency shall be responsible for reporting to the President on
the execution of this order and providing support for the secretariat of
the Interagency Committee on Seismic Safety in Construction (ICSSC). The
ICSSC, using consensus procedures, shall be responsible to FEMA for the
recommendation for adoption of cost-effective seismic design and construction
standards and practices required by sections 1 and 2 of this order. Participation
in ICSSC shall be open to all agencies with programs affected by this order.
(b) To the extent permitted by law, each agency shall issue or amend existing
regulations or procedures to comply with this order within 3 years of its
issuance and plan for their implementation through the usual budget process.
Thereafter, each agency shall review, within a period not to exceed 3 years,
its regulations or procedures to assess the need to incorporate new or revised
standards and practices.
Sec. 5. Reporting. The Federal Emergency Management Agency shall request,
from each agency affected by this order, information on the status of its
procedures, progress in its implementation plan, and the impact of this
order on its operations. The FEMA shall include an assessment of the execution
of this order in its annual report to the Congress on the National Earthquake
Hazards Reduction Program.
Sect. 6. Judicial Review. Nothing in this order is intended to create any
right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by a party
against the United States, its agencies, its officers, or any person.