[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 196 (Wednesday, October 11, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59744-59746]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-16818]


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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.

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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; Calling for Comments on the 
Committee's disposition of the proposals and these Comments are 
published in the Report on Comments; 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.

[[Page 59745]]

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: Casey C. Grant, Secretary, Standards Council, NFPA, 1 
Batterymarch Park, Quincy, Massachusetts 02269-7471.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Casey C. Grant, 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 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 ROP's 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 complied 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 Technical Report Sessions that take 
place at the NFPA Annual Meeting.
    The Technical Report Session 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 a Technical Report Session, 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 Technical 
Report Session.
    For more information on dates/locations of NFPA Technical Committee 
meetings and NFPA Annual Technical Report Sessions, 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 are 
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 a Technical Report Session.
    Interested persons may submit proposals, supported by written data, 
views, or arguments to Casey C. Grant, Secretary, Standards Council, 
NFPA, 1 Batterymarch Park, Quincy, Massachusetts 02269-7471. 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 before 
or by 5 p.m. local time 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
       Document--Edition              Document title       closing date
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NFPA 45--2004..................  Standard on Fire             11/22/2006
                                  Protection for
                                  Laboratories Using
                                  Chemicals.
NFPA 51B--2003.................  Standard for Fire            11/22/2006
                                  Prevention During
                                  Welding, Cutting, and
                                  Other Hot Work.
NFPA 52--2006..................  Vehicular Fuel Systems       11/22/2006
                                  Code.
NFPA 54--2006..................  National Fuel Gas Code.      11/22/2006
NFPA 55--2005..................  Standard for the              5/25/2007
                                  Storage, Use, and
                                  Handling of Compressed
                                  Gases and Cryogenic
                                  Fluids in Portable and
                                  Stationary Containers,
                                  Cylinders, and Tanks.
NFPA 59A--2006.................  Standard for the             11/22/2006
                                  Production, Storage,
                                  and Handling of
                                  Liquefied Natural Gas
                                  (LNG).
NFPA 90A--2002.................  Standard for the             11/22/2006
                                  Installation of Air-
                                  Conditioning and
                                  Ventilating Systems.

[[Page 59746]]

 
NFPA 90B--2006.................  Standard for the             11/22/2006
                                  Installation of Warm
                                  Air Heating and Air-
                                  Conditioning Systems.
NFPA 92A--2006.................  Standard for Smoke-          11/22/2006
                                  Control Systems
                                  Utilizing Barriers and
                                  Pressure Differences.
NFPA 92B--2005.................  Standard for Smoke           11/22/2006
                                  Management Systems in
                                  Malls, Atria, and
                                  Large Spaces.
NFPA 170--2006.................  Standard for Fire            11/22/2006
                                  Safety and Emergency
                                  Symbols.
NFPA 241--2004.................  Standard for                 11/22/2006
                                  Safeguarding
                                  Construction,
                                  Alteration, and
                                  Demolition Operations.
NFPA 256--2003.................  Standard Methods of          11/22/2006
                                  Fire Tests of Roof
                                  Coverings.
NFPA 260--2003.................  Standard Methods of          11/22/2006
                                  Tests and
                                  Classification System
                                  for Cigarette Ignition
                                  Resistance of
                                  Components of
                                  Upholstered Furniture.
NFPA 261--2003.................  Standard Method of Test      11/22/2006
                                  for Determining
                                  Resistance of Mock-Up
                                  Upholstered Furniture
                                  Material Assemblies to
                                  Ignition by Smoldering
                                  Cigarettes.
NFPA 274--2003.................  Standard Test Method to      11/22/2006
                                  Evaluate Fire
                                  Performance
                                  Characteristics of
                                  Pipe Insulation.
NFPA 275--P *..................  Standard Method of           11/22/2006
                                  Tests for the
                                  Evaluation of Thermal
                                  Barriers Used Over
                                  Foam Plastic.
NFPA 290--2003.................  Standard for Fire            11/22/2006
                                  Testing of Passive
                                  Protection Materials
                                  for Use on LP-Gas
                                  Containers.
NFPA 306--2003.................  Standard for the             11/22/2006
                                  Control of Gas Hazards
                                  on Vessels.
NFPA 318--2006.................  Standard for the             11/22/2006
                                  Protection of
                                  Semiconductor
                                  Fabrication Facilities.
NFPA 450--2004.................  Guide for Emergency          11/22/2006
                                  Medical Services and
                                  Systems.
NFPA 484--2006.................  Standard for                 11/22/2006
                                  Combustible Metals.
NFPA 505--2006.................  Fire Safety Standard         11/22/2006
                                  for Powered Industrial
                                  Trucks Including Type
                                  Designations, Areas of
                                  Use, Conversions,
                                  Maintenance, and
                                  Operations.
NFPA 555--2004.................  Guide on Methods for         11/22/2006
                                  Evaluating Potential
                                  for Room Flashover.
NFPA 610--2003.................  Guide for Emergency and      11/22/2006
                                  Safety Operations at
                                  Motorsports Venues.
NFPA 705--2003.................  Recommended Practice         11/22/2006
                                  for a Field Flame Test
                                  for Textiles and Films.
NFPA 1002--2003................  Standard for Fire            11/22/2006
                                  Apparatus Driver/
                                  Operator Professional
                                  Qualifications.
NFPA 1021--2003................  Standard for Fire            11/22/2006
                                  Officer Professional
                                  Qualifications.
NFPA 1026--P *.................  Standard for Incident        11/22/2006
                                  Management Personnel
                                  Professional
                                  Qualifications.
NFPA 1031--2003................  Standard for                 11/22/2006
                                  Professional
                                  Qualifications for
                                  Fire Inspector and
                                  Plan Examiner.
NFPA 1033--2003................  Standard for                 11/22/2006
                                  Professional
                                  Qualifications for
                                  Fire Investigator.
NFPA 1143--2003................  Standard for Wildland        11/22/2006
                                  Fire Management.
NFPA 1620--2003................  Recommended Practice         11/22/2006
                                  for Pre-Incident
                                  Planning.
NFPA 1670--2004................  Standard on Operations        5/25/2007
                                  and Training for
                                  Technical Search and
                                  Rescue Incidents.
NFPA 1963--2003................  Standard for Fire Hose        5/25/2007
                                  Connections.
NFPA 1965--2003................  Standard for Fire Hose        5/25/2007
                                  Appliances.
NFPA 2010--2006................  Standard for Fixed           11/22/2006
                                  Aerosol Fire
                                  Extinguishing Systems.
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* P Proposed NEW 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 02269--7471.


    Dated: October 3, 2006.
James E. Hill,
Acting Deputy Director.
 [FR Doc. E6-16818 Filed 10-10-06; 8:45 am]
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