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[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7, Volume 11, Parts 1600 to 1899]
[Revised as of January 1, 2000]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR1792]

[Page 1045-1048]
 
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

Sec. 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),

[[Page 1046]]

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 Sec. 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.

Sec. 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]

Sec. 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

[[Page 1047]]

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 Sec. 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.

Sec. 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 Sec. 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

[[Page 1048]]

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.)
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