The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has recently updated two seismic-related Engineer Regulations. ER 1110-2-103 (Strong-Motion Instruments for Monitoring and Recording Earthquake Ground Motions) provides requirements for strong motion instrumentations for dams and navigation structures. ER 1110-2-1802 (Post-Earthquake Inspections and Reporting for Civil Works Structures) provides regulation concerning verification of post-earthquake project integrity and performance These two complimentary regulations are important to make informed decisions on response, timeliness of response, and prioritization of actions.
The USACE is currently in the final stages of updating ER 1110-2-1806 (Earthquake Analysis Evaluation, and Design for Civil Works Projects). This regulation establishes minimum standards for serviceability and safety of civil works project features (including dams and levees) for specific earthquake return periods for ground motion and coincident pool elevations, and provides requirements for aspects of seismic analysis, evaluation, and design. Updates in this important seismic related regulation have been adopted based on an evaluation of international and US regulations and guidance in dams and levees and other infrastructures, as well as based on a critical review of the existing ER 1110-2-1806. This paper presents a summary of the comparative evaluation of international and US policies and guidelines and presents rationale for updates to these important seismic related regulations.
