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:

Sec. 1Adoption 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. 2Estimating 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. 3Implementation 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. 4Updating 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. 5Judicial 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.