[Federal Register: December 1, 2009 (Volume 229, Number 74)]
[Notices]
[Page 62750-62752]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01de09-44]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Institute of Standards and Technology
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA): Proposes To Revise
Codes and Standards
AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) proposes to
revise some of its safety codes and standards and requests proposals
from the public to amend existing or begin the process of developing
new NFPA safety codes and standards. The purpose of this request is to
increase public participation in the system used by NFPA to develop its
codes and standards. The publication of this notice of request for
proposals by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
on behalf of NFPA is being undertaken as a public service; NIST does
not necessarily endorse, approve, or recommend any of the standards
referenced in the notice.
The NFPA process provides ample opportunity for public
participation in the development of its codes and standards. All NFPA
codes and standards are revised and updated every three to five years
in Revision Cycles that begin twice each year and that takes
approximately two years to complete. Each Revision Cycle proceeds
according to a published schedule that includes final dates for all
major events in the process. The process contains five basic steps that
are followed both for developing new documents as well as revising
existing documents. These steps are: Calling for Proposals; Publishing
the Proposals in the Report on Proposals (ROP); Calling for Comments on
the Committee's disposition of the proposals and these Comments are
published in the Report on Comments (ROC); having a Technical Report
Session at the NFPA Annual Meeting; and finally, the Standards Council
Consideration and Issuance of documents.
Note: Under new rules effective Fall 2005, anyone wishing to
make Amending Motions on the Technical Committee Reports (ROP and
ROC) must signal their intention by submitting a Notice of Intent to
Make a Motion by the Deadline stated in the ROC. Certified motions
will then be posted on the NFPA Web site. Documents that receive
notice of proper Amending Motions (Certified Amending Motions) will
be presented for action at the annual June Association Technical
Meeting. Documents that receive no motions will be forwarded
directly to the Standards Council for action on issuance.
For more information on these new rules and for up-to-date
information on schedules and deadlines for processing NFPA Documents,
check the NFPA Web site at www.nfpa.org or contact NFPA Codes and
Standards Administration.
DATES: Interested persons may submit proposals on or before the dates
listed with the standards.
ADDRESSES: Amy Beasley Cronin, Secretary, Standards Council, NFPA, 1
Batterymarch Park, Quincy, Massachusetts 02169-7471.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Beasley Cronin, Secretary,
Standards Council, at above address, (617) 770-3000.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) develops building,
fire, and electrical safety codes and standards. Federal agencies
frequently use these codes and standards as the basis for developing
Federal regulations concerning safety. Often, the Office of the Federal
Register approves the incorporation by reference of these standards
under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR Part 51.
When a Technical Committee begins the development of a new or
revised NFPA code or standard, it enters one of two Revision Cycles
available each year. The Revision Cycle begins with the Call for
Proposals, that is, a public notice asking for any interested persons
to submit specific written proposals for developing or revising the
Document. The Call for Proposals is published in a variety of
publications. Interested parties have approximately twenty weeks to
respond to the Call for Proposals.
Following the Call for Proposals period, the Technical Committee
holds a meeting to consider and accept, reject
[[Page 62751]]
or revise, in whole or in part, all the submitted Proposals. The
committee may also develop its own Proposals. A document known as the
Report on Proposals, or ROP, is prepared containing all the Public
Proposals, the Technical Committees' action and each Proposal, as well
as all Committee-generated Proposals. The ROP is then submitted for the
approval of the Technical Committee by a formal written ballot. If the
ROP does not receive approval by a two-thirds vote calculated in
accordance with NFPA rules, the Report is returned to the committee for
further consideration and is not published. If the necessary approval
is received, the ROP is published in a compilation of Reports on
Proposals issued by NFPA twice yearly for public review and comment,
and the process continues to the next step.
The Reports on Proposals are sent automatically free of charge to
all who submitted proposals and each respective committee member, as
well as anyone else who requests a copy. All ROPs are also available
for free downloading at www.nfpa.org.
Once the ROP becomes available, there is a 60-day comment period
during which anyone may submit a Public Comment on the proposed changes
in the ROP. The committee then reconvenes at the end of the comment
period and acts on all Comments.
As before, a two-thirds approval vote by written ballot of the
eligible members of the committee is required for approval of actions
on the Comments. All of this information is compiled into a second
Report, called the Report on Comments (ROC), which, like the ROP, is
published and made available for public review for a seven-week period.
The process of public input and review does not end with the
publication of the ROP and ROC. Following the completion of the
Proposal and Comment periods, there is yet a further opportunity for
debate and discussion through the Association Technical Meeting that
take place at the NFPA Annual Meeting.
The Association Technical Meeting provides an opportunity for the
final Technical Committee Report (i.e., the ROP and ROC) on each
proposed new or revised code or standard to be presented to the NFPA
membership for the debate and consideration of motions to amend the
Report. Before making an allowable motion at an Association Technical
Meeting, the intended maker of the motion must file, in advance of the
session, and within the published deadline, a Notice of Intent to Make
a Motion. A Motions Committee appointed by the Standards Council then
reviews all notices and certifies all amending motions that are proper.
Only these Certified Amending Motions, together with certain allowable
Follow-Up Motions (that is, motions that have become necessary as a
result of previous successful amending motions) will be allowed at the
Association Technical Meeting.
For more information on dates/locations of NFPA Technical Committee
meetings and NFPA Annual Association Technical Meeting, check the NFPA
Web site at: http://www.nfpa.org/
itemDetail.asp?categoryID=822&itemID=22818
The specific rules for the types of motions that can be made or who
can make them are set forth in NFPA's Regulation Governing Committee
Projects which should always be consulted by those wishing to bring an
issue before the membership at an Association Technical Meeting.
Interested persons may submit proposals, supported by written data,
views, or arguments to Amy Beasley Cronin, Secretary, Standards
Council, NFPA, 1 Batterymarch Park, Quincy, Massachusetts 02169-7471.
Proposals should be submitted on forms available from the NFPA Codes
and Standards Administration Office or on NFPA's Web site at
www.nfpa.org.
Each person must include his or her name and address, identify the
document and give reasons for the proposal. Proposals received on or
before 5 p.m. EDT/EST on the closing date indicated would be acted on
by the Committee. The NFPA will consider any proposal that it receives
on or before the date listed with the codes or standard.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proposal closing
Document--Edition Document title date
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NFPA 1--2009...................... Fire Code............................................... 11/24/2009
NFPA 15--2007..................... Standard for Water Spray Fixed Systems for Fire 11/24/2009
Protection.
NFPA 17--2009..................... Standard for Dry Chemical Extinguishing Systems......... 5/23/2011
NFPA 17A--2009.................... Standard for Wet Chemical Extinguishing Systems......... 5/23/2011
NFPA 30--2008..................... Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code.................. 11/24/2009
NFPA 30A--2008.................... Code for Motor Fuel Dispensing Facilities and Repair 11/24/2009
Garages.
NFPA 54--2009..................... National Fuel Gas Code.................................. 11/24/2009
NFPA 59--2008..................... Utility LP-Gas Plant Code............................... 11/24/2009
NFPA 59A--2009.................... Standard for the Production, Storage, and Handling of 11/24/2009
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
NFPA 70E--2009.................... Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace[reg].... 1/5/2010
NFPA 75--2009..................... Standard for the Protection of Information Technology 5/28/2010
Equipment.
NFPA 76--2009..................... Standard for the Fire Protection of Telecommunications 5/28/2010
Facilities.
NFPA 77--2007..................... Recommended Practice on Static Electricity.............. 11/24/2009
NFPA 80A--2007.................... Recommended Practice for Protection of Buildings from 11/24/2009
Exterior Fire Exposures.
NFPA 90A--2009.................... Standard for the Installation of Air-Conditioning and 11/24/2009
Ventilating Systems.
NFPA 90B--2009.................... Standard for the Installation of Warm Air Heating and 11/24/2009
Air-Conditioning Systems.
NFPA 92A--2009.................... Standard for Smoke-Control Systems Utilizing Barriers 11/24/2009
and Pressure Differences.
NFPA 92B--2009.................... Standard for Smoke Management Systems in Malls, Atria, 11/24/2009
and Large Spaces.
NFPA 92 P*........................ Standard for Smoke Management Systems................... 11/24/2009
NFPA 232--2007.................... Standard for the Protection of Records.................. 11/24/2009
NFPA 252--2008.................... Standard Methods of Fire Tests of Door Assemblies....... 5/28/2010
NFPA 257--2007.................... Standard on Fire Test for Window and Glass Block 5/28/2010
Assemblies.
NFPA 268--2007.................... Standard Test Method for Determining Ignitibility of 5/28/2010
Exterior Wall Assemblies Using a Radiant Heat Energy
Source.
NFPA 269--2007.................... Standard Test Method for Developing Toxic Potency Data 5/28/2010
for Use in Fire Hazard Modeling.
NFPA 275--2009.................... Standard Method of Fire Tests for the Evaluation of 5/28/2010
Thermal Barriers Used Over Foam Plastic Insulation.
NFPA 287--2007.................... Standard Test Methods for Measurement of Flammability of 5/28/2010
Materials in Cleanrooms Using a Fire Propagation
Apparatus (FPA).
[[Page 62752]]
NFPA 288--2007.................... Standard Methods of Fire Tests of Floor Fire Door 5/28/2010
Assemblies Installed Horizontally in Fire Resistance-
Rated Floor Systems.
NFPA 318--2009.................... Standard for the Protection of Semiconductor Fabrication 11/24/2009
Facilities.
NFPA 385--2007.................... Standard for Tank Vehicles for Flammable and Combustible 5/28/2010
Liquids.
NFPA 407--2007.................... Standard for Aircraft Fuel Servicing.................... 11/24/2009
NFPA 414--2007.................... Standard for Aircraft Rescue and Fire-Fighting Vehicles. 11/24/2009
NFPA 484--2009.................... Standard for Combustible Metals......................... 11/24/2009
NFPA 496--2008.................... Standard for Purged and Pressurized Enclosures for 5/23/2011
Electrical Equipment.
NFPA 497--2008.................... Recommended Practice for the Classification of Flammable 5/28/2010
Liquids, Gases, or Vapors and of Hazardous (Classified)
Locations for Electrical Installations in Chemical
Process Areas.
NFPA 499--2008.................... Recommended Practice for the Classification of 5/28/2010
Combustible Dusts and of Hazardous (Classified)
Locations for Electrical Installations in Chemical
Process Areas.
NFPA 655--2007.................... Standard for Prevention of Sulfur Fires and Explosions.. 11/24/2009
NFPA 664--2007.................... Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Explosions in 11/24/2009
Wood Processing and Woodworking Facilities.
NFPA 704--2007.................... Standard System for the Identification of the Hazards of 11/24/2009
Materials for Emergency Response.
NFPA 720--2009.................... Standard for the Installation of Carbon Monoxide (CO) 11/24/2009
Detection and Warning Equipment.
NFPA 790 P*....................... Standard for Competency of Third Party Field Evaluation 11/24/2009
Bodies.
NFPA 791 P*....................... Recommended Practice and Procedures for Unlabeled 11/24/2009
Electrical Equipment Evaluation.
NFPA 820--2008.................... Standard for Fire Protection in Wastewater Treatment and 11/24/2009
Collection Facilities.
NFPA 1081--2007................... Standard for Industrial Fire Brigade Member Professional 11/24/2009
Qualifications.
NFPA 1125--2007................... Code for the Manufacture of Model Rocket and High Power 11/24/2009
Rocket Motors.
NFPA 1141--2008................... Standard for Fire Protection Infrastructure for Land 11/24/2009
Development in Suburban and Rural Areas.
NFPA 1142--2007................... Standard on Water Supplies for Suburban and Rural Fire 11/24/2009
Fighting.
NFPA 1404--2006................... Standard for Fire Service Respiratory Protection 5/23/2011
Training.
NFPA 1500--2007................... Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety and 11/24/2009
Health Program.
NFPA 1582--2007................... Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program 11/24/2009
for Fire Departments.
NFPA 1971--2007................... Standard on Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire 12/4/2009
Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting.
NFPA 1981--2007................... Standard on Open-Circuit Self-Contained Breathing 12/4/2009
Apparatus (SCBA) for Emergency Services.
NFPA 1991--2005................... Standard on Vapor-Protective Ensembles for Hazardous 1/15/2010
Materials Emergencies.
NFPA 1992--2005................... Standard on Liquid Splash-Protective Ensembles and 1/15/2010
Clothing for Hazardous Materials Emergencies.
NFPA 1994--2007................... Standard on Protective Ensembles for First Responders to 1/15/2010
CBRN Terrorism Incidents.
NFPA 2112--2007................... Standard on Flame-Resistant Garments for Protection of 11/24/2009
Industrial Personnel Against Flash Fire.
NFPA 2113--2007................... Standard on Selection, Care, Use, and Maintenance of 11/24/2009
Flame-Resistant Garments for Protection of Industrial
Personnel Against Flash Fire.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Proposed NEW document drafts are available from NFPA's Web site--www.nfpa.org or may be obtained from NFPA's
Codes and Standards Administration, 1 Batterymarch Park, Quincy, Massachusetts 02169-7471.
Dated: November 24, 2009.
Patrick Gallagher,
Director.
[FR Doc. E9-28708 Filed 11-30-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P