42 U.S.C. § 7702 — Congressional statement of purpose

submitted 49 years ago by Pub. L. 95-124 to r/title-42-THE-PUBLIC-HEALTH-AND-WELFARE · 326 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

Congress created this program to reduce the danger earthquakes pose to people and property, and to help communities recover faster after one hits. The law lists seven goals the program should pursue, from educating the public to developing earthquake-resistant building methods and making sure earthquake insurance stays affordable.

This section states Congress's purpose in creating this chapter of law: to reduce the risks earthquakes pose to life and property, and to make communities more resilient, by running an effective earthquake hazards reduction program. The program should aim to do seven things: (1) Educate the public, including state and local officials, about how earthquakes happen, which locations and buildings are most at risk, and how to reduce the harm an earthquake causes to people and communities. (2) Develop building and construction methods that are both technically workable and affordable, to make new and existing buildings in earthquake-risk areas more earthquake-resistant — with priority given to power plants, dams, hospitals, schools, public utilities and other essential infrastructure, public safety buildings, and other structures especially needed to help a community recover after a disaster. (3) Put in place — as broadly as practical, in every area of high or moderate earthquake risk — a system of people, technology, and procedures for identifying, evaluating, and accurately describing earthquake hazards. (4) Work with state and local officials and professional groups to develop, publish, and promote model building and planning codes, and other tools that help decision-makers factor earthquake risk into land-use and construction decisions. (5) In earthquake-risk areas, build better understanding of and capability around earthquake issues — including ways to reduce earthquake risks, plan ahead, issue warnings, organize emergency services, and plan for rebuilding and recovery after an earthquake. (6) Find ways to make greater use of existing scientific and engineering knowledge to reduce earthquake hazards. (7) Find ways to make sure affordable earthquake insurance remains available.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

It is the purpose of the Congress in this chapter to reduce the risks of life and property from future earthquakes and increase the resilience of communities in the United States through the establishment and maintenance of an effective earthquake hazards reduction program. The objectives of such program shall include—

(1)

the education of the public, including State and local officials, as to earthquake phenomena, the identification of locations and structures which are especially susceptible to earthquake damage, ways to reduce the adverse consequences of an earthquake to individuals and the communities, and related matters;

(2)

the development of technologically and economically feasible design and construction methods and procedures to make new and existing structures, in areas of seismic risk, earthquake resistant, giving priority to the development of such methods and procedures for power generating plants, dams, hospitals, schools, public utilities and other lifeline infrastructure, public safety structures, high occupancy buildings, and other structures which are especially needed to facilitate community-wide post-earthquake recovery and in times of disaster;

(3)

the implementation to the greatest extent practicable, in all areas of high or moderate seismic risk, of a system (including personnel, technology, and procedures) for identifying, evaluating, and accurately characterizing seismic hazards;

(4)

the development, publication, and promotion, in conjunction with State and local officials and professional organizations, of model building and planning codes and other means to encourage consideration of information about seismic risk in making decisions about land-use policy and construction activity;

(5)

the development, in areas of seismic risk, of improved understanding of, and capability with respect to, earthquake-related issues, including methods of mitigating the risks from earthquakes, planning to prevent such risks, disseminating warnings of earthquakes, organization emergency services, and planning for re-occupancy, recovery, reconstruction, and redevelopment after an earthquake;

(6)

the development of ways to increase the use of existing scientific and engineering knowledge to mitigate earthquake hazards; and

(7)

the development of ways to assure the availability of affordable earthquake insurance.

Source credit: (Pub. L. 95–124, § 3, Oct. 7, 1977, 91 Stat. 1099; Pub. L. 101–614, § 3, Nov. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 3231; Pub. L. 115–307, § 2(b), (c)(1)(B), Dec. 11, 2018, 132 Stat. 4408, 4409.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1977Enacted · Pub. L. 95-124 · 91 Stat. 1099
1990Amended · Pub. L. 101-614 · 104 Stat. 3231
2018Amended · Pub. L. 115-307 · 132 Stat. 4408, 4409

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 95-124 on 1977-10-07.

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