The International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) on May 5-7 in Denver convened its annual Technical Committee Meetings to process public comments toward the development of the 2009 Uniform Plumbing Code® (UPC), 2009 Uniform Mechanical Code® (UMC), 2009 Uniform Solar Energy Code® and 2009 Uniform Swimming Pool, Spa and Hot Tub Code®. The meeting to act on all comments represents one of the final stages of the three-year ANSI-accredited Uniform Code development cycle.
During the meetings, four separate task groups of individuals with select expertise were formed to provide focused guidance on specific areas of the code: the Access Task Group, the Fat, Oil and Grease (FOG) Task Group, the Gray Water and Reclaimed Water Task Group and the Horizontal Wet Venting for Bathroom (Groups) Task Group.
Discussions also highlighted a number of issues regarding sustainable environments, including green building, energy conservation and water reuse, according to Lynne Simnick, IAPMO director of Code Development.
Out of 121 public comments regarding the UPC, 41 were approved as submitted and 13 approved as amended by the Technical Committee, representing 45 percent approval. Of 36 public comments regarding the UMC, 25 were accepted as submitted and two more were accepted as amended by the Technical Committee, 75 percent approval.
There were 15 public comments regarding the Uniform Solar Energy Code, with 13 gaining approval as submitted and one more approved as amended, 93 percent approval. Of 58 public comments regarding the Uniform Swimming Pool, Spa and Hot Tub Code, 49 were approved as submitted and five others were accepted as amended, 93 percent approval. Each of these latter two codes is participating in the ANSI process for the first time.
“The voluntary consensus system (ANSI process) operates on the principle that all who will be affected by the outcome should be freely afforded a voice in creating IAPMO’s standards for the 2009 Uniform Codes,” Simnick said. “Bearing this in mind, these meetings were extremely successful as each public comment at the hearings was discussed and acted upon.”
The Technical Committee Reports, consisting of the Report on Comments and the preceding Report on Proposals, will be presented at the Association Technical Meeting Convention, Sept. 28-Oct. 3, at the IAPMO Annual Education and Business Conference in Atlanta. The 2009 Uniform Codes will be published next spring.
Sponsor of the Uniform Codes, IAPMO – The International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials – works in concert with government and industry for safe, sanitary plumbing and mechanical systems. Learn more about IAPMO at www.iapmo.org.
Last modified: May 9, 2008