Sec. 104. National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program
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Section 5 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 ( 42 U.S.C. 7704 ) is amended— in subsection (a)— by amending paragraph
(2)to read as follows: The activities of the Program shall be designed to— research and develop effective methods, tools, and technologies to reduce the risk posed by earthquakes to the built environment, especially to lessen the risk to existing structures and lifelines; improve the understanding of earthquakes and their effects on households, businesses, communities, buildings, structures, and lifelines, through interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research that involves engineering, natural sciences, and social sciences; and facilitate the adoption of earthquake risk reduction measures by households, businesses, communities, local, State, and Federal governments, national standards and model building code organizations, architects and engineers, building owners, and others with a role in planning for disasters and planning, constructing, retrofitting, and insuring buildings, structures, and lifelines through— grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, and technical assistance; development of standards, guidelines, voluntary consensus standards, and other design guidance for earthquake hazards risk reduction for buildings, structures, and lifelines; outreach and information dissemination to communities on location-specific earthquake hazards and methods to reduce the risks from those hazards; and development and maintenance of a repository of information, including technical data, on seismic risk and hazards reduction. ; and by striking paragraphs
(3)through (5); by amending subsection
(b)to read as follows: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (in this section referred to as the Institute ) shall be responsible for planning and coordinating the Program. In carrying out this paragraph, the Director of the Institute shall— ensure that the Program includes the necessary components to promote the implementation of earthquake hazards risk reduction measures by households, businesses, communities, local, State, and Federal governments, national standards and model building code organizations, architects and engineers, building owners, and others with a role in preparing for disasters, or the planning, constructing, retrofitting, and insuring of buildings, structures, and lifelines; support the development of performance-based seismic engineering tools, and work with the appropriate groups to promote the commercial application of such tools, through earthquake-related building codes, standards, and construction practices; ensure the use of social science research and findings in informing research and technology development priorities, communicating earthquake risks to the public, developing earthquake risk mitigation strategies, and preparing for earthquake disasters; coordinate all Federal post-earthquake investigations; and when warranted by research or investigative findings, issue recommendations for changes in model codes to the relevant code development organizations, and report back to Congress on whether such recommendations were adopted. In addition to the lead agency responsibilities described under paragraph (1), the Institute shall be responsible for carrying out research and development to improve building codes and standards and practices for buildings, structures, and lifelines. In carrying out this paragraph, the Director of the Institute shall— work, in conjunction with other appropriate Federal agencies, to support the development of improved seismic standards and model codes; in coordination with other appropriate Federal agencies, work closely with standards and model code development organizations, professional societies, and practicing engineers, architects, and others involved in the construction of buildings, structures, and lifelines, to promote better building practices, including by— developing technical resources for practitioners on new knowledge and standards of practice; and developing methods and tools to facilitate the incorporation of earthquake engineering principles into design and construction practices; develop tools, technologies, methods, and practitioner guidance to feasibly and cost-effectively retrofit existing buildings and structures to increase their earthquake resiliency; and work closely with national standards organizations, and other interested parties, to develop seismic safety standards and practices for new and existing lifelines. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (in this paragraph referred to as the Agency ), consistent with the Agency’s all hazards approach, shall be responsible for facilitating the development and adoption of standards, model building codes, and better seismic building practices, developing tools to assess earthquake hazards, promoting the adoption of hazard mitigation measures, and carrying out a program of direct assistance to States and localities to mitigate earthquake risks to buildings, structures, lifelines, and communities. The Director of the Agency shall— work closely with other relevant Federal agencies, standards and model building code development organizations, architects, engineers, and other professionals, to facilitate the development and adoption of standards, model codes, and design and construction practices to increase the earthquake resiliency of new and existing buildings, structures, and lifelines in the— preparation, maintenance, and wide dissemination of design guidance, model building codes and standards, and practices to increase the earthquake resiliency of new and existing buildings, structures, and lifelines; development of performance-based design guidelines and methodologies supporting model codes for buildings, structures, and lifelines; and development of methods and tools to facilitate the incorporation of earthquake engineering principles into design and construction practices; develop tools, technologies, and methods to assist local planners, and others, to model and predict the potential impact of earthquake damage in seismically hazardous areas; and support the implementation of a comprehensive earthquake education and public awareness program, including the development of materials and their wide dissemination to all appropriate audiences, and support public access to locality-specific information that may assist the public in preparing for, mitigating against, responding to, and recovering from earthquakes and related disasters. The Director of the Agency shall operate a program of grants and assistance to enable States to develop mitigation, preparedness, and response plans, compare inventories and conduct seismic safety inspections of critical structures and lifelines, update building and zoning codes and ordinances to enhance seismic safety, increase earthquake awareness and education, and encourage the development of multistate groups for such purposes. The Director shall operate such programs in coordination with the all hazards mitigation and preparedness programs authorized by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq. ), in order to ensure that such programs are as consistent as possible. In order to qualify for assistance under this subparagraph, a State must— demonstrate that the assistance will result in enhanced seismic safety in the State; provide 50 percent of the costs of the activities for which assistance is being given, except that the Director may lower or waive the cost-share requirement for these activities in exceptional cases of economic hardship; and meet such other requirements as the Director of the Agency shall prescribe. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to diminish the role and responsibility of the Federal Emergency Management Agency with regard to all hazards preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. The United States Geological Survey (in this paragraph referred to as the Survey ) shall conduct research and other activities necessary to characterize and identify earthquake hazards, assess earthquake risks, monitor seismic activity, and provide real-time earthquake information. In carrying out this paragraph, the Director of the Survey shall— conduct a systematic assessment of the seismic risks in each region of the Nation prone to earthquakes, including, where appropriate, the establishment and operation of intensive monitoring projects on hazardous faults, detailed seismic hazard and risk studies in urban and other developed areas where earthquake risk is determined to be significant, and engineering seismology studies; work with officials of State and local governments to ensure that they are knowledgeable about the specific seismic risks in their areas; develop standard procedures, in consultation with the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for issuing earthquake alerts, including aftershock advisories, and, to the extent possible, ensure that such alerts are compatible with the Integrated Public Alerts and Warning System program authorized by section 202 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5132 ); issue when justified, and notify the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency of, an earthquake prediction or other earthquake advisory, which may be evaluated by the National Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council; operate, as integral parts of the Advanced National Seismic Research and Monitoring System, a National Earthquake Information Center and a national seismic network, together providing timely and accurate information on earthquakes worldwide; support the operation of regional seismic networks in areas of higher seismic risk; develop and support seismic instrumentation of buildings and other structures to obtain data on their response to earthquakes for use in engineering studies and assessment of damage; monitor and assess Earth surface deformation as it pertains to the evaluation of earthquake hazards and impacts; work with other Program agencies to maintain awareness of, and where appropriate cooperate with, earthquake risk reduction efforts in other countries, to ensure that the Program benefits from relevant information and advances in those countries; maintain suitable seismic hazard maps in support of building codes for structures and lifelines, including additional maps needed for performance-based design approaches, and, to the extent possible, ensure that such maps are developed consistent with the multihazard advisory maps authorized by section 203(k) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5133(k) ); conduct a competitive, peer-reviewed process which awards grants and cooperative agreements to complement and extend related internal Survey research and monitoring activities; and operate, in cooperation with the National Science Foundation, a Global Seismographic Network for detection of earthquakes around the world and research into fundamental earth processes. The National Science Foundation shall be responsible for funding basic research that furthers the understanding of earthquakes, earthquake engineering, and community preparation and response to earthquakes. In carrying out this paragraph, the Director of the National Science Foundation shall— support multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research that will improve the resiliency of communities to earthquakes, including— research that improves the safety and performance of buildings, structures, and lifelines, including the use of the large-scale experimental and computational facilities of the George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Engineering Earthquake Simulation; research to support more effective earthquake mitigation and response measures, such as developing better knowledge of the specific types of vulnerabilities faced by segments of the community vulnerable to earthquakes, addressing the barriers they face in adopting mitigation and preparation measures, and developing methods to better communicate the risks of earthquakes and to promote mitigation; and research on the response of communities, households, businesses, and emergency responders to earthquakes; support research to understand earthquake processes, earthquake patterns, and earthquake frequencies; encourage prompt dissemination of significant findings, sharing of data, samples, physical collections, and other supporting materials, and development of intellectual property so research results can be used by appropriate organizations to mitigate earthquake damage; work with other Program agencies to maintain awareness of, and where appropriate cooperate with, earthquake risk reduction research efforts in other countries, to ensure that the Program benefits from relevant information and advances in those countries; and include to the maximum extent practicable diverse institutions, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Alaska Native-serving institutions, and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions. ; and in subsection (c)(1) by inserting on Natural Hazards Risk Reduction established under section 301 of the after Natural Hazards Risk Reduction Act of 2013 Interagency Coordinating Committee .
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Sec. 104
National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program
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