[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 48 (Monday, December 5, 1994)]
[Pages 2445-2446]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Executive Order 12941--Seismic Safety of Existing Federally Owned or 
Leased Buildings

December 1, 1994

    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.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
December 1, 1994.

[[Page 2446]]

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 9:26 a.m., December 2, 
1994]

Note: This Executive order was published in the Federal Register on 
December 5.