VHA DIRECTIVE 2005-019
May 19, 2005
6. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Seismic Inventory Project. Executive
Order 12941 mandated the seismic safety of Federally-owned buildings. It required agencies to
develop seismic inventory of their buildings and estimate the costs of mitigating unacceptable
seismic risk in those buildings. FEMA was responsible for assembling the data from all
agencies, and submitted a comprehensive report to Congress in December 2000.
7. International Building Code (IBC). Earlier National Model Codes, i.e., the National
Building Code (BOCA), the Standard Building Code (SBC), and the Uniform Building Code
(UBC) were merged into single IBC in the year 2000.
8. Exempt Buildings. Exempt buildings as defined by RP4, Standards of Seismic Safety of
Existing Federally Owned or Leased Buildings, are:
a. Buildings classified for agriculture use, or intended for incidental human occupancy.
b. Detached one or two-story family dwellings in a low seismic zone.
c. One-story steel, light frame, or wood constructed buildings with an area less than 3,000
square feet.
d. Fully rehabilitated buildings.
e. Buildings constructed and designed after the adoption of Executive Order 12699.
9. Non-exempt Buildings. All buildings not specifically meeting the definition of exempt
buildings are designated as non-exempt. This does not necessarily mean that they are
seismically unsafe; it simply means that they need to be evaluated for seismic risk.
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