(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).

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.

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.

(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 2000 edition of the NEHRP Recommended Provisions for the Development of Seismic Regulation for New Buildings.

(b) Each of the following model codes or standards provides a level of seismic safety substantially equivalent to that provided by the 2000 NEHRP Recommended Provisions and are appropriate for federally assisted new building construction:

(1) 2003 NFPA 5000 Building Construction and Safety Code. Copies of the book are available from the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association), 1 Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02269-7471. Telephone: (617) 770-3000. Fax: (617) 770-0700.

(2) 2002 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 7, Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures. Copies are available from the American Society of Civil Engineers, Publications Marketing Department, 1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Reston, VA 20191-4400. E-mail: [email protected]. Telephone: (800) 548-2723. Fax: (703) 295-6211.

(3) 2003 International Code Council (ICC) International Building Code (IBC). Copies of the book or CD-ROM are available from the International Conference of Building Officials, 4051 West Flossmoor Rd., Country Club Hill, IL 60478. Telephone: (800) 786-4452. Fax: (800) 214-7167.

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

For each applicable building, borrowers and grant recipients must provide RUS a written acknowledgment from a registered architect or engineer responsible for the building design stating that seismic provisions pursuant to § 1792.103 of this subpart will be used in the design of the building.

(a) For projects in which plans and specifications are required to be submitted to RUS, this acknowledgement shall be on the title page of the drawings included with the final plans and specifications. This acknowledgement will include the identification and date of the model code or standard that is used in the seismic design of the building project. The plans and specifications must be dated, signed, and sealed by the registered architect or engineer.

(b) For projects in which plans and specifications are not submitted, this acknowledgement shall be in the form of a statement from the architect or engineer responsible for the building design. The statement shall identify the model code or standard identified that is used in the seismic design of the building or buildings and, shall be dated and signed.