[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 232 (Monday, December 5, 1994)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 62545-62546]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-30035]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: December 5, 1994]


_______________________________________________________________________

Part VIII





The President





_______________________________________________________________________



Executive Order 12941--
Seismic Safety of Existing Federally Owned or 
Leased Buildings


                        Presidential Documents 


Federal Register
Vol. 59, No. 232
Monday, December 5, 1994

____________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President
                Executive Order 12941 of December 1, 1994

 
Seismic Safety of Existing Federally Owned or 
                Leased Buildings

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, and in furtherance of the Earthquake Hazards 
                Reduction Act of 1977, as amended by Public Law 101-
                614, which requires the President to adopt ``standards 
                for assessing and enhancing the seismic safety of 
                existing buildings constructed for or leased by the 
                Federal Government which were designed and constructed 
                without adequate seismic design and construction 
                standards'' (42 U.S.C. 7705b(a)), it is hereby ordered 
                as follows:

                Section 1. Adoption of Minimum Standards. The Standards 
                of Seismic Safety for Existing Federally Owned or 
                Leased Buildings (Standards), developed, issued, and 
                maintained by the Interagency Committee on Seismic 
                Safety in Construction (ICSSC), are hereby adopted as 
                the minimum level acceptable for use by Federal 
                departments and agencies in assessing the seismic 
                safety of their owned and leased buildings and in 
                mitigating unacceptable seismic risks in those 
                buildings. The Standards shall be applied, at a 
                minimum, to those buildings identified in the Standards 
                as requiring evaluation and, if necessary, mitigation. 
                Evaluations and mitigations that were completed prior 
                to the date of this order under agency programs that 
                were based on standards deemed adequate and appropriate 
                by the individual agency need not be reconsidered 
                unless otherwise stipulated by the Standards.

                    For the purposes of this order, buildings are 
                defined as any structure, fully or partially enclosed, 
                located within the United States as defined in the 
                Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977, as amended, 
                (42 U.S.C. 7703(5)), used or intended for sheltering 
                persons or property, except for the exclusions 
                specified in the Standards.

                Sec. 2. Estimating Costs of Mitigation. Each agency 
                that owns or leases buildings for Federal use shall, 
                within 4 years of the issuance of this order, develop 
                an inventory of their owned and leased buildings and 
                shall estimate the costs of mitigating unacceptable 
                seismic risks in those buildings. The cost estimate 
                shall be based on the exemptions and evaluation and 
                mitigation requirements in the Standards. Guidance for 
                the development of the inventory and cost estimates 
                will be issued by the ICSSC no later than 1 year after 
                the signing of this order. Cost estimates with 
                supporting documentation shall be submitted to the 
                Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
                (FEMA) no later than 4 years after the signing of this 
                order.

                Sec. 3. Implementation Responsibilities. (a) The 
                Federal Emergency Management Agency is responsible for 
                (1) notifying all Federal departments and agencies of 
                the existence and content of this order; (2) preparing 
                for the Congress, in consultation with the ICSSC, no 
                later than 6 years after the issuance of this order, a 
                comprehensive report on how to achieve an adequate 
                level of seismic safety in federally owned and leased 
                buildings in an economically feasible manner; and (3) 
                preparing for the Congress on a biennial basis, a 
                report on the execution of this order.

                    (b) The National Institute of Standards and 
                Technology is responsible for providing technical 
                assistance to the Federal departments and agencies in 
                the implementation of this order.
                    (c) Federal departments and agencies may request an 
                exemption from this order from the Director of the 
                Office of Management and Budget.

                Sec. 4. Updating Programs. The ICSSC shall update the 
                Standards at least every 5 years. It shall also update 
                the Standards within 2 years of the publication of the 
                first edition of FEMA's Guidelines for Seismic 
                Rehabilitation of Buildings and Commentary.

                Sec. 5. Judicial Review. Nothing in this order is 
                intended to create any right to administrative or 
                judicial review, or any other right, benefit, or trust 
                responsibility, substantive or procedural, enforceable 
                at law by any party against the United States, its 
                agencies or instrumentalities, its officers or 
                employees, or any person.

                    (Presidential Sig.)>


                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    December 1, 1994.

[FR Doc. 94-30035
Filed 12-2-94; 9:26 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P