**PART 1792 \-- COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER FEDERAL STATUTES, REGULATIONS, AND
EXECUTIVE ORDERS**

**Subparts A and B \-- \[Reserved\]**

**Subpart C \-- Seismic Safety of Federally Assisted New Building
Construction**

Sec.

1792.101 General.

1792.102 Definitions.

1792.103 Design and construction standards for seismic safety.

1792.104 Seismic safety certifications.

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 901 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.; Pub. L. 103 -
354, 108 Stat. 3178 (7 U.S.C. 6941 et seq.); E.O. 12699 (3 CFR, 1990
Comp., p. 269).

Source: 58 FR 32437, June 10, 1993, unless otherwise noted.

**Subparts A and B \-- \[Reserved\]**

**Subpart C \-- Seismic Safety of Federally Assisted New Building
Construction**

**§1792.101 General.**

\(a\) The Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7701 et
seq.) was enacted to reduce risks to life and property through the
establishment and maintenance of an effective earthquake hazards
reduction program (the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program or
NEHRP). The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is designated as
the agency with the primary responsibilities to plan and coordinate the
NEHRP. This program includes the development and implementation of
feasible design and construction methods to make structures earthquake
resistant. Executive Order 12699 of January 5, 1990, Seismic Safety of
Federal and Federally Assisted or Regulated New Building Construction (3
CFR, 1990 Comp., p. 269), requires that measures to assure seismic
safety be imposed on federally assisted new building construction.

\(b\) This subpart identifies acceptable seismic standards which must be
employed in new building construction funded by loans, grants, or
guarantees made by the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) or the Rural
Telephone Bank (RTB) or through lien accommodations or subordinations
approved by RUS or RTB. This subpart implements and explains the
provisions of the loan contract utilized by the RUS for both electric
and telephone borrowers and by the RTB for its telephone borrowers
requiring construction certifications affirming compliance with the
standards set out in §1792.103 of this subpart.

\(c\) This subpart applies to both RUS and RTB borrowers. For the
purposes of RTB borrowers, as used in this subpart, RUS means RTB and
Administrator means Governor.

\(d\) This subpart applies to the recipients of RUS grants.

\(e\) This subpart applies to the federally assisted buildings for which
designs are prepared on or after the effective date hereof.

**§1792.102 Definitions.**

As used in this subpart, the following terms have the following meaning:

Administrator \-- Administrator of RUS or the Governor of the Rural
Telephone Bank or his or her designee.

Borrower \-- An entity which borrows or seeks to borrow money from, or
arranges financing with the assistance of RUS through guarantees, lien
accommodations or lien subordinations.

Building \-- Any structure, fully or partially enclosed, used or
intended for sheltering persons or property.

Federally assisted \-- The provision of financing assistance by RUS
through loans, loan guarantees, grants, and lien accommodations and
subordinations.

Grant recipient \-- Any entity which receives a grant from RUS.

Lien accommodation \-- The consensual sharing of the government\'s
(RUS\'s) lien on property or the release of government\'s lien on
property.

Lien subordination \-- Agreement that the government\'s (RUS) lien on
property will rank below the lien of another entity.

NEHRP \-- National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program.

REA means the Rural Electrification Administration formerly an agency of
the United States Department of Agriculture and predecessor agency to
RUS with respect to administering certain electric and telephone loan
programs.

Registered \-- A person licensed by the State(s) or Authority(ies) to
perform architectural or engineering services in the State(s) where
construction occurs.

RUS means the Rural Utilities Service, an agency of the United States
Department of Agriculture established pursuant to Section 232 of the
Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of Agriculture
Reorganization Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103 - 354, 108 Stat. 3178),
successor to REA with respect to administering certain electric and
telephone programs. See 7 CFR 1700.1.

Seismic \-- To do with or caused by earthquakes.

Seismic factor \-- The factor used in design based on the seismic zone
(Z = .4, .3, .2, etc.) or based on acceleration (Av or Aa, whichever
controls) for the location of the building, and given on the seismic
maps in the model codes.

State \-- Each of the 50 States of the United States, the District of
Columbia, and territories and possessions of the United States which are
authorized to receive loans, loan guarantees, or grants from RUS.

\[58 FR 32437, June 10, 1993, as amended at 59 FR 66440, Dec. 27, 1994\]

**§1792.103 Design and construction standards for seismic safety.**

\(a\) Borrowers and grant recipients of grants must utilize in the
design and construction of federally assisted buildings, the seismic
provisions of the most recent edition of those standards and practices
that are substantially equivalent to or exceed the seismic safety level
in the most recent or immediately preceding edition of the NEHRP
Recommended Provisions for the Development of Seismic Regulation for New
Buildings. The NEHRP Recommended Provisions are updated triennially.

\(b\) Each of the following model codes has been found to provide a
level of seismic safety substantially equivalent to that provided by the
use of the 1988 NEHRP Recommended Provisions and appropriate for
federally assisted new building construction:

\(1\) 1991 International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO) Uniform
Building Code;

\(2\) 1992 Supplement to the Building Officials and Code Administration,
International, Inc. (BOCA) National Building Code; and

\(3\) 1992 Amendments to the Southern Building Code Congress (SBCC)
Standard Building Code.

\(c\) The model codes identified in §1792.103(b) can be obtained from
the following organizations:

\(1\) ICBO Uniform Building Code. International Conference of Building
Officials, Austin Regional Office, 9300 Jollyville Road, suite 101,
Austin, Texas 78759 - 7455.

\(2\) BOCA National Building Code. Building Officials and Code
Administrators International, Inc., 4051 West Flossmoor Road, Country
Club Hills, Illinois 60478 - 5795.

\(3\) SBCC Standard Building Code. Southern Building Code Congress
International, Inc., 900 Montclair Road, Birmingham, Alabama 35213 -
1206.

\(d\) The NEHRP Recommended Provisions for the Development of Seismic
Regulations for New Building is available from the Office of Earthquakes
and Natural Hazards, Federal Emergency Management Agency, 500 C Street,
SW., Washington, DC 20472.

**§1792.104 Seismic safety certifications.**

Borrowers and grant recipients must with respect to federally assisted
buildings:

\(a\) Provide to RUS a written acknowledgement from a registered
architect or engineer responsible for the design of such building
project stating that the seismic provisions of one of the model codes
listed in §1792.103(b) of this subpart will be used in the design and
construction of the building project. This written acknowledgement must
include a description of the building project, estimated costs,
approximate square footage, the seismic factor for the building
location, and the identification and date of the Model Code to be used
in the seismic design of the building. The written acknowledgement must
be received by RUS prior to the preparation of preliminary plans and
specifications for the building.

\(b\) Include on the final plans and specifications, which are otherwise
required to be submitted to RUS, the identification and date of the
model code that was used for the seismic design of the building project
and the seismic factor for the building location. The plans and
specifications must be dated, signed, and sealed by the registered
architect or engineer.

\(c\) Provide to RUS, upon completion of construction, the written
certification of the architect or engineer responsible for the design of
the project that the building project was designed to meet and that the
completed construction meets the seismic requirements set forth in the
model code identified in the written acknowledgement required in
paragraph (a) of this section. This certification must include the
following information:

\(1\) Project designation and project owner\'s name;

\(2\) Name of architectural/engineering firm;

\(3\) Name and registration no. (for the State in which the building
project is located) of the certifying architect or engineer;

\(4\) Purpose and location of the facility;

\(5\) Seismic factor for the building location;

\(6\) The code identity and the date of the model code used for the
design and construction of the building project(s);

\(7\) Total square footage of the building project;

\(8\) Total cost of the building project; and

\(9\) Estimated cost of the structural systems affected by the
requirements of this subpart.

\(d\) The written acknowledgement required by paragraph (a) of this
section, the plans and specifications referred to in paragraph (b) of
this section, and the written certification required by paragraph (c) of
this section are to be submitted to the appropriate Director of the
Regional Electric Division, Power Supply Division, Regional Telephone
Division, or Rural Development Assistance Staff. When plans and
specifications are not otherwise required to be submitted to the RUS
Washington\'s offices, the data required to be included on the plans and
specifications by paragraph (b) of this section must be submitted in
letter form to the appropriate Director prior to the release of the
plans and specifications for construction purposes.

(The information and recordkeeping requirements of this section have
been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the
control number 0572-0099.) \_