[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7, Volume 11]
[Revised as of January 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR1792]
[Page 1138-1140]
TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
CHAPTER XVII--RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
PART 1792_COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER FEDERAL STATUTES, REGULATIONS, AND EXECUTIVE ORDERS
Subparts A-B [Reserved]
Subpart C_Seismic Safety of Federally Assisted New Building Construction
Sec.
1792.101 General.
1792.102 Definitions.
1792.103 Seismic design and construction standards for new buildings.
1792.104 Seismic acknowledgments.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 901 et seq., 1921 et seq., 6941 et seq., and 42
U.S.C. 7701 et seq.
Source: 58 FR 32437, June 10, 1993, unless otherwise noted.
Subparts A-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 1139]]
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).
[58 FR 32437, June 10, 1993, as amended at 65 FR 76916, Dec. 8, 2000]
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.
Model Code--A building code developed for the adoption of local or
state authorities or to be used as the basis of a local or state
building code.
NEHRP--National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program.
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--Rural Utilities Service, and for the purposes of this subpart,
shall include the Rural Telephone Bank. For the purposes of RTB
borrowers, as used in this subpart, RUS means RTB and Administrator
means Governor.
Seismic--Related to 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;
65 FR 76916, Dec. 8, 2000]
Sec. 1792.103 Seismic design and construction standards for new
buildings.
(a) In the design and construction of federally assisted buildings,
the borrowers and grant recipients must utilize 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.
(b) Each of the following model codes or standards has been found to
provide a level of seismic safety substantially equivalent to that
provided by the use of the 1994 NEHRP Recommended Provisions and
appropriate for federally assisted new building construction:
(1) 1997 International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO)
Uniform Building Code. Copies are available from ICBO, Austin Regional
Office, 9300 Jollyville Road, Suite 101, Austin, Texas 78759-7455.
(2) 1995 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 7, Minimum
Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures. Copies are available
from ASCE, 345 East 47th Street, New York, New York 10017-2398.
(c) The NEHRP Recommended Provisions for the Development of Seismic
Regulations for New Buildings is available from the Office of
Earthquakes
[[Page 1140]]
and Natural Hazards, Federal Emergency Management Agency, 500 C Street,
SW., Washington, DC 20472.
[65 FR 76916, Dec. 8, 2000]
Sec. 1792.104 Seismic acknowledgments.
For each applicable building, borrowers and grant recipients must
provide RUS a written acknowledgment from a registered architect or
engineer responsible for the design stating that seismic provisions
pursuant to Sec. 1792.103(b) will be used in the design of the
building. This acknowledgement will include the identification and date
of the model code or standard that is used for the seismic design of the
seismic design of the building project and the seismic factor for the
building location.
[65 FR 76916, Dec. 8, 2000]