41 C.F.R. Subpart 128–1.80—Seismic Safety Program
Title 41 - Public Contracts and Property Management
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7701 et seq., E.O. 12699 (3 CFR, 1990 Comp., p. 269).
Source: 58 FR 42876, Aug. 12, 1993; 59 FR 33439, June 29, 1994, unless otherwise noted.
This subpart establishes a Seismic Safety Program for the Department of Justice and sets forth the policies and procedures for obtaining compliance with Executive Order 12699 (Executive Order), “Seismic Safety of Federal and Federally Assisted or Regulated New Building Construction.” The Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (Act), 42 U.S.C. 7701, et seq., as amended, directs the Federal government to establish and maintain an effective earthquake hazards reduction program to reduce the risks to life and property from future earthquakes. Executive Order 12699 implements certain provisions of the Act by requiring Federal agencies responsible for the design and construction of new buildings to develop and implement a seismic safety program. The regulations in this subpart implement the Executive Order, and apply to buildings designed and constructed under the responsibility of the Department of Justice. These regulations do not apply to buildings used by the Department and obtained, through purchase or lease, by the General Services Administration or other Federal agencies. (a) Construction documents—Detailed plans and specifications for the construction of a building. (b) Building—Any structure, fully or partially enclosed, used or intended for sheltering persons or property. (c) New building—A building, or an addition to an existing building, for which development of construction documents was initiated after January 5, 1990. (d) Leased building—A new building constructed expressly for lease by the Department of Justice, and for which the Department contracted with the lessor or owner to develop construction documents to meet the specifications of the Department. (e) Purchased building—A new building constructed expressly for purchase by the Department, and for which the Department contracted with the owner/developer to develop construction documents meeting the specifications of the Department. (f) Assisted or regulated building—A new building designed and constructed with funding assistance from the Department through Federal grants or loans, or guarantees of financing, through loan or mortgage insurance programs. (g) Covered building—a new building owned, leased, purchased, or assisted or regulated by the Department of Justice. The Department shall comply with Executive Order 12699 for the purpose of reducing the risks to lives of occupants of new buildings owned by the Department, leased for Department uses, or purchased and constructed with assistance from the Department, and to other persons who would be affected by the failure of such buildings in earthquakes; improving the capability of essential new Department buildings to function during or after an earthquake; and protecting public investments in all covered buildings; all in a cost-effective manner. (a) The Justice Management Division shall designate an individual with technical training, engineering experience and a seismic background as the Department of Justice Seismic Safety Coordinator who shall provide overall guidance for the implementation of the Seismic Safety Program for the Department. The Department Seismic Safety Coordinator shall, at a minimum: (1) Monitor the execution and results of the efforts of the Department to upgrade the seismic safety of the Department's new construction activities; (2) Implement seismic safety program changes, as required; (3) Act as a point-of-contact for the Department in maintaining necessary records, and consolidate data pertaining to the seismic safety activities in the Department; (4) Monitor and record the cost, construction and other consequences attributable to compliance with the Executive Order; (5) Notify each Component Seismic Coordinator about what information he must maintain under the Seismic Safety Program and what reports he must prepare; (6) Prepare and forward for submission all reports, as required by law and regulation; (7) Manage the Seismic Safety Program for all components of the Department, with the exception of the components listed in paragraph (b) of this section. (b) The Component Head for the Bureau of Prisons, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the United States Marshals Service, shall designate a Component Seismic Safety Coordinator for his/her respective component. Each of these Component Seismic Safety Coordinators shall manage and implement the seismic safety policies and activities within the component. The Component Seismic Safety Coordinators shall, at a minimum: (1) Provide guidance to component employees who undertake building activity; (2) Maintain and provide data about the Seismic Safety Program, as requested by the Department Seismic Safety Coordinator; (3) Monitor and record the cost, construction and other consequences attributable to compliance with the Executive Order; and (4) Submit an annual Seismic Safety Program status report as directed by the Department Seismic Safety Coordinator. (a) To meet the building and construction requirements of this subpart, the Department, except as noted, adopts as its seismic safety standards the seismic safety levels set forth in the model building codes that the Interagency Committee on Seismic Safety in Construction (ICSSC) recognizes and recommends as appropriate for implementing the Executive Order. The ICSSC, as of the date of this rule, recognizes and recommends: (1) The 1991 International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO) Uniform Building Code (UBC); (2) The 1992 Supplement to the Building Officials and Code Administrators International (BOCA) National Building Code (NBC); and (3) The 1992 Amendments to the Southern Building Code Congress (SBCC) Standard Building Code (SBC). (b) The seismic design and construction of a covered building shall conform to the model code applicable in the locality where the building is constructed, unless: (1) The building code for the locality provides a higher level of seismic safety than provided by the appropriate model code, in which case the local code shall be utilized as the standard; or (2) The locality does not have seismic safety building requirements, in which case the ICSSC model building code appropriate for that geographic area shall be utilized as the standard. The Department Seismic Safety Coordinator and each Component Seismic Safety Coordinator shall ensure that an individual familiar with seismic design provisions of the Seismic Safety Standards (appropriate standards), or a professional, licensed engineer shall conduct the reviews required under this section, as appropriate. (a) New building projects. Construction documents initiated after August 12, 1993, and which apply to new construction projects, shall comply with the appropriate standards and shall be reviewed for compliance. Once the reviewer determines that the documents comply, the reviewer shall affix his/her signature and seal (if a licensed engineer) to the approved documents and provide a statement certifying compliance with the appropriate standards. (b) Existing building projects. For new buildings with construction documents that were initiated prior to August 12, 1993, the documents shall be reviewed to determine whether they comply with the appropriate standards. If the reviewer determines that the documents comply with the standard, the reviewer shall affix his/her signature and seal (if a licensed engineer) to the approved documents and provide a statement certifying compliance with the appropriate standards. If the reviewer determines that seismic deficiencies exist, the appropriate Component Head shall ensure completion of one of the following: (1) For a new building project for which a contract for construction has not been awarded, the construction documents shall be revised to incorporate the appropriate standards. The revised construction documents shall then be reviewed for compliance. Once the reviewer determines that the documents comply with the standard, the reviewer shall affix his/her signature and seal (if a licensed engineer) to the approved documents and provide a statement certifying compliance with the Department standards. (2) For a new building under construction, or for which construction has been completed, a corrective action plan shall be devised to bring the building into compliance with the appropriate standards. The plan shall then be reviewed for compliance. Once the reviewer determines that the plan complies with the standard, the reviewer shall affix his/her signature and seal (if a licensed engineer) to the approved documents and provide a statement certifying compliance with the Department standards. The Component Head shall ensure implementation of the approved plan. (3) For an addition to an existing building, the review shall account for, in addition to the requirements provided in paragraphs (b) (1) or (2) of this section, as appropriate, any effect the addition will have on the seismic resistance of the existing portion of the structure. If the reviewer determines that the addition will decrease the level of seismic resistance of the existing building, the appropriate Component Head shall develop a plan of corrective action to restore the seismic integrity of the existing structure. Once the plan of corrective action has been accomplished, the reviewer shall verify that the current level of seismic resistance of the existing building at least equals the seismic resistance level of the building before the addition. (c) The Department Seismic Safety Coordinator and each Component Seismic Safety Coordinator shall ensure that statements verifying compliance made under this subpart have been completed and retained by the appropriate contracting officer when the Department contracted for design or design review services, or by an individual designated by the Component Head where the Department has not contracted for either design or design review. The Department shall file reports on the execution of the Executive Order as required under the Order, and as required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Executive Order exempts from the regulations in this subpart only those categories of buildings exempted by the “National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Recommended Provisions for the Development of Seismic Regulations for New Buildings.” The Department Seismic Safety Coordinator shall maintain the latest version of this document. The Department shall review and, as necessary, revise the Seismic Safety Program once every three years from August 12, 1993. Nothing in this subpart is intended to create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by a party against the Department of Justice, its Seismic Safety Coordinators, its officers, or any employee of the Department.
Title 41: Public Contracts and Property Management
PART 128–1—INTRODUCTION
Subpart 128–1.80—Seismic Safety Program
§ 128-1.8000 Scope.
§ 128-1.8001 Background.
§ 128-1.8002 Definitions of terms.
§ 128-1.8003 Objective.
§ 128-1.8004 Seismic Safety Coordinators.
§ 128-1.8005 Seismic safety standards.
§ 128-1.8006 Seismic Safety Program requirements.
§ 128-1.8007 Reporting.
§ 128-1.8008 Exemptions.
§ 128-1.8009 Review of Seismic Safety Program.
§ 128-1.8010 Judicial review.
