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Rural Utilities Service, USDA § 1792.101

provided to RUS under the applicable

contract through an Escrow Account

established pursuant to an Escrow

Agreement, the Consultant shall not

provide services to RUS under the applicable contract unless there are sufficient funds in the Escrow Account to

pay for such services, the Consultant

shall seek compensation for services

provided under the applicable contract

from, and only from, funds made available through the Escrow Account, and

the Consultant must submit all Invoices to the government for approval.

(h) A form of Escrow Agreement satisfactory to the Borrower, Consultant

and the designated Third-party Commercial Institution;

(i) A schedule setting forth when and

in what amounts the Borrower shall

fund the Escrow Account;

(j) Acknowledgment by the Consultant of the Indemnification Agreement

provided by the Borrower to the government; and

(k) The Funding Agreement shall not

be effective unless and until approved

in writing by RUS.

§ 1789.167 Terms and conditions of escrow agreement.

Escrow Agreements between and

among the Borrower, Consultant and

Third-party Commercial Institution

shall be in form and substance satisfactory to RUS and provide for, among

other matters, the following:

(a) Specific reference by number to

the applicable contract for services;

(b) Specific reference by number to

the applicable Task Order;

(c) Specific reference by number to

the Escrow Account into which funds

are to be deposited;

(d) Invoices to specifically identify

the applicable contract and Task

Order(s);

(e) Funds to be held in the Escrow

Account by the escrow agent until paid

to the Consultant pursuant to the government’s authorization;

(f) The Escrow Account to be closed

and all remaining funds remitted to

the Borrower after payment of the

Final Invoice, unless otherwise directed by the government;

(g) The government, the Consultant

and the Borrower to have the right to

be informed, in a timely manner and in

such form as they may reasonably request, as to the status of and activity

in the Escrow Account; and

(h) The Escrow Agreement shall not

be effective unless and until approved

in writing by RUS.

§§ 1789.168—1789.175 [Reserved]

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),

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§ 1792.102 7 CFR Ch. XVII (1–1–00 Edition)

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

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Rural Utilities Service, USDA § 1792.104

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

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Pt. 1794 7 CFR Ch. XVII (1–1–00 Edition)

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.)

PART 1794—ENVIRONMENTAL

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Subpart A—General

Sec.

1794.1 Purpose.

1794.2 Authority.

1794.3 Actions requiring environmental review.

1794.4 Metric units.

1794.5 Responsible officials.

1794.6 Definitions.

1794.7 Guidance.

1794.8–1794.9 [Reserved]

Subpart B—Implementation of the National

Environmental Policy Act

1794.10 Applicant responsibilities.

1794.11 Apply NEPA early in the planning

process.

1794.12 Consideration of alternatives.

1794.13 Public involvement.

1794.14 Interagency involvement and coordination.

1794.15 Limitations on actions during the

NEPA process.

1794.16 Tiering.

1794.17 Mitigation.

1794.18–1794.19 [Reserved]

Subpart C—Classification of Proposals

1794.20 Control.

1794.21 Categorically excluded proposals

without an ER.

1794.22 Categorically excluded proposals requiring an ER.

1794.23 Proposals normally requiring an EA.

1794.24 Proposals normally requiring an EA

with scoping.

1794.25 Proposals normally requiring an

EIS.

1794.26–1794.29 [Reserved]

Subpart D—Procedure for Categorical

Exclusions

1794.30 General.

1794.31 Classification.

1794.32 Environmental report.

1794.33 Agency action.

1794.34–1794.39 [Reserved]

Subpart E—Procedure for Environmental

Assessments

1794.40 General.

1794.41 Document requirements.

1794.42 Notice of availability.

1794.43 Agency finding.

1794.44 Timing of agency action.

1794.45–1794.49 [Reserved]

Subpart F—Procedure for Environmental

Assessments With Scoping

1794.50 Normal sequence.

1794.51 Preparation for scoping.

1794.52 Scoping meetings.

1794.53 Environmental analysis.

1794.54 Agency determination.

1794.55–1794.59 [Reserved]

Subpart G—Procedure for Environmental

Impact Statements

1794.60 Normal sequence.

1794.61 Environmental impact statement.

1794.62 Supplemental EIS.

1794.63 Record of decision.

1794.64 Timing of agency action.

1794.65–1794.69 [Reserved]

Subpart H—Adoption of Environmental

Documents

1794.70 General.

1794.71 Adoption of an EA.

1794.72 Adoption of an EIS.

1794.73 Timing of agency action.

1794.74 Incorporation of environmental materials.

1794.75–1794.79 [Reserved]

AUTHORITY: 7 U.S.C. 6941 et seq., 42 U.S.C.

4321 et seq.; 40 CFR Parts 1500–1508.

SOURCE: 63 FR 68655, Dec. 11, 1998, unless

otherwise noted.

Subpart A—General

§ 1794.1 Purpose.

(a) This part contains the policies

and procedures of the Rural Utilities

Service (RUS) for implementing the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as

amended (42 U.S.C. 4321–4346); the

Council on Environmental Quality

(CEQ) Regulations for Implementing

the Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40

CFR parts 1500 through 1508) and certain related Federal environmental