118 STAT. 1672 PUBLIC LAW 108–360—OCT. 25, 2004 ‘‘(2) DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY.— ‘‘(A) PROGRAM RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response (the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency)— ‘‘(i) shall work closely with national standards and model building code organizations, in conjunction with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to promote the implementation of research results; ‘‘(ii) shall promote better building practices within the building design and construction industry including architects, engineers, contractors, builders, and inspectors; ‘‘(iii) shall operate a program of grants and assistance to enable States to develop mitigation, preparedness, and response plans, prepare 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 edu cation, and encourage the development of multi State groups for such purposes; ‘‘(iv) shall support the implementation of a comprehen sive earthquake education and public awareness program, including development of materials and their wide dissemi nation 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; ‘‘(v) shall assist the National Institute of Standards and Technology, other Federal agencies, and private sector groups, in the preparation, maintenance, and wide dissemi nation of seismic resistant design guidance and related information on building codes, standards, and practices for new and existing buildings, structures, and lifelines, and aid in the development of performance based design guidelines and methodologies supporting model codes for buildings, structures, and lifelines that are cost effective and affordable; ‘‘(vi) shall develop, coordinate, and execute the National Response Plan when required following an earthquake, and support the development of specific State and local plans for each high risk area to ensure the availability of adequate emergency medical resources, search and rescue personnel and equipment, and emergency broadcast capability; ‘‘(vii) shall develop approaches to combine measures for earthquake hazards reduction with measures for reduc tion of other natural and technological hazards including performance based design approaches; ‘‘(viii) shall provide preparedness, response, and mitiga tion recommendations to communities after an earthquake prediction has been made under paragraph (3)(D); and ‘‘(ix) may enter into cooperative agreements or con tracts with States and local jurisdictions and other Federal agencies to establish demonstration projects on earthquake hazard mitigation, to link earthquake research and mitiga tion efforts with emergency management programs, or to prepare educational materials for national distribution.’’;
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