[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7 Volume 11]
[Revised as of January 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR1792]
[Page 1188-1189]
TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
CHAPTER XVII--RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
PART 1792_COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER FEDERAL STATUTES, REGULATIONS, AND EXECUTIVE
ORDERS--Table of Contents
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.; 42
U.S.C. 7701 et seq.; E.O. 12699 (3 CFR, 1990 Comp., p. 269).
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), 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.
[[Page 1189]]
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.
[58 FR 32437, June 10, 1993, as amended at 59 FR 66440, Dec. 27, 1994;
65 FR 76916, Dec. 8, 2000; 69 FR 23642, Apr. 30, 2004]
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
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:
marketing@asce.org. 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.
[69 FR 23642, Apr. 30, 2004, as amended at 71 FR 60658, Oct. 16, 2006]
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 building design stating that seismic
provisions pursuant to Sec. 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.
[69 FR 23642, Apr. 30, 2004]