As part of its efforts to regularly update the NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions for New Buildings and Other Structures, the Building Seismic Safety Council (BSSC) is charged by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to identify and recommend issues to be addressed and research needed to advance the state of the art of earthquake-resistant design and to serve as the basis for future refinement of the Provisions.

The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) Recommended Seismic Provisions for New Buildings and Other Structures is a series of publications developed by the BSSC and published by FEMA. The first edition was published in 1985, with later editions in 1988, 1991, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2009 and 2015.

On November 28, 2016, a Project 17 Workshop on Seismic Hazard Mapping was organized and presented by the Project 17 Committee of BSSC. The workshop was sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)'s National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) in coordination with the US Geological Survey (USGS). The purpose of the workshop was to critic on some options to solve critical issues related to seismic design value maps, and seek input on important issues related to development of the next generation of seismic design value maps from structural engineers, building officials, and members of the earthquake community. These proceedings include the Project 17 Workshop participants list by discussion group, a recording of the discussion groups’ straw votes, workshop announcement, technical background paper, and presentations.

This report, prepared at the outset of the 2020 NEHRP Provisions development cycle, presents some important background on the NEHRP Provisions development process and summarizes the results of the first ballot in the 2020 development cycle to adopt ASCE/SEI 7–16 as the primary reference document for the Provisions. As a practice initiated with the 2009 edition of the Provisions, after adopting ASCE/SEI 7, the BSSC makes substantive recommendations for modification and improvement to the standard based on recent research and improvements in knowledge. In the 2015 NEHRP Provisions the BSSC developed significant modifications to ASCE/SEI 7–10, which were then adopted in ASCE/SEI 7–16. For the 2020 Provisions the BSSC has adopted ASCE/SEI 7–16 as the reference with the intent to make changes that will be reflected in ASCE/SEI 7–22. This report also summarizes some of the important changes made by the 2015 NEHRP Provisions that were adopted by ASCE/SEI 7–16 and a few changes that were further modified in the ASCE/SEI 7–16.

This web-based interface tool is to allow users to preview seismic design map and related parameter values proposed for the 2020 NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions for New Buildings and Other Structures. The ground motion values for both Conterminous U.S. (CONUS) and Outside Conterminous U.S. (OCONUS) locations, including Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa, are extracted directly from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) web services. If issues are encountered, or if there are recommendations for improvement, please contact Jiqiu (JQ) Yuan, Executive Director of BSSC.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Building Seismic Safety Council (BSSC) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) act cooperatively to develop the seismic design value maps. The current maps have undergone an evolutionary process over the past 30 years, with major innovations introduced approximately once every 10 years through efforts known as Project 97, Project 07, and Project 17.

The 2020 NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions for New Buildings and Other Structures (NEHRP Provisions) marks the 10th edition of this landmark publication since the creation of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) in 1979. Similar to earlier editions, the 2020 NEHRP Provisions introduces major recommended changes and advancements to the national standards and model building codes. The 2020 NEHRP Provisions is expected to be adopted by the professional design standard ASCE/SEI 7-22 Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures.