[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 204 (Tuesday, October 23, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60004-60006]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-20841]


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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 take 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 website. 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.


[[Page 60005]]


    For more information on these new rules and for up-to-date 
information on schedules and deadlines for processing NFPA Documents, 
check the NFPA Website at http://www.nfpa.org or contact the NFPA Codes 
and Standards Administration.

DATES: Interested persons may submit proposals on or before the dates 
listed with the standards.

ADDRESSES: Milosh Puchovsky, Secretary, Standards Council, NFPA, 1 
Batterymarch Park, Quincy, Massachusetts 02269-7471.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Milosh Puchovsky, Secretary, Standards 
Council, at the 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 ROPs are also available 
for free downloading at http://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 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 and 
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 Milosh Puchovsky, 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 http://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 will 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 10-2007................  Standard for Portable Fire       5/30/2008
                               Extinguishers.
NFPA 101-2007...............  Guide on Alternative            11/26/2007
                               Approaches to Life Safety.
NFPA 105-2007...............  Standard for the                11/26/2007
                               Installation of Smoke
                               Door Assemblies and Other
                               Opening Protectives.
NFPA 110-2005...............  Standard for Emergency and      11/26/2007
                               Standby Power Systems.
NFPA 111-2005...............  Standard on Stored              11/26/2007
                               Electrical Energy
                               Emergency and Standby
                               Power Systems.
NFPA 1124-2006..............  Code for the Manufacture,       11/26/2007
                               Transportation, Storage,
                               and Retail Sale of
                               Fireworks and Pyrotechnic
                               Articles.
NFPA 1201-2004..............  Standard for Providing            4/1/2008
                               Emergency Services to the
                               Public.
NFPA 1221-2007..............  Standard for the                11/26/2007
                               Installation,
                               Maintenance, and Use of
                               Emergency Services
                               Communications Systems.
NFPA 1250-2004..............  Recommended Practice in           4/1/2008
                               Emergency Service
                               Organization Risk
                               Management.
NFPA 130-2007...............  Standard for Fixed              11/26/2007
                               Guideway Transit and
                               Passenger Rail Systems.
NFPA 1620-2003..............  Recommended Practice for         5/30/2008
                               Pre-Incident Planning.

[[Page 60006]]

 
NFPA 1710-2004..............  Standard for the                11/26/2007
                               Organization and
                               Deployment of Fire
                               Suppression Operations,
                               Emergency Medical
                               Operations, and Special
                               Operations to the Public
                               by Career Fire
                               Departments.
NFPA 1720-2004..............  Standard for the                11/26/2007
                               Organization and
                               Deployment of Fire
                               Suppression Operations,
                               Emergency Medical
                               Operations and Special
                               Operations to the Public
                               by Volunteer Fire
                               Departments.
NFPA 1801-P\*\..............  Standard on Thermal              1/25/2008
                               Imagers for the Fire
                               Service.
NFPA 1936-2005..............  Standard on Powered Rescue        4/1/2008
                               Tools.
NFPA 1977-2005..............  Standard on Protective            2/8/2008
                               Clothing and Equipment
                               for Wildland Fire
                               Fighting.
NFPA 1991-2005..............  Standard on Vapor-              11/30/2007
                               Protective Ensembles for
                               Hazardous Materials
                               Emergencies.
NFPA 1992-2005..............  Standard on Liquid Splash-      11/30/2007
                               Protective Ensembles and
                               Clothing for Hazardous
                               Materials Emergencies.
NFPA 2-P*...................  Hydrogen Technologies Code       5/30/2008
NFPA 20-2007................  Standard for the                11/26/2007
                               Installation of
                               Stationary Pumps for Fire
                               Protection.
NFPA 214-2005...............  Standard on Water-Cooling        5/30/2008
                               Towers.
NFPA 25-2008................  Standard for the                 5/30/2008
                               Inspection, Testing, and
                               Maintenance of Water-
                               Based Fire Protection
                               Systems.
NFPA 255-2006...............  Standard Method of Test of      11/26/2007
                               Surface Burning
                               Characteristics of
                               Building Materials.
NFPA 302-2004...............  Fire Protection Standard        11/26/2007
                               for Pleasure and
                               Commercial Motor Craft.
NFPA 495-2006...............  Explosive Materials Code..       5/30/2008
NFPA 498-2006...............  Standard for Safe Havens         5/30/2008
                               and Interchange Lots for
                               Vehicles Transporting
                               Explosives.
NFPA 556-P*.................  Guide for Identification        11/26/2007
                               and Development of
                               Mitigation Strategies for
                               Fire Hazard to Occupants
                               of Passenger Road
                               Vehicles.
NFPA 70-2006................  Recommended Practice for         5/30/2008
                               Electrical Equipment
                               Maintenance.
NFPA 72-2007................  National Fire Alarm              11/2/2007
                               Code[reg].
NFPA 750-2006...............  Standard on Water Mist           5/30/2008
                               Fire Protection Systems.
NFPA 80-2007................  Standard for Fire Doors         11/26/2007
                               and Other Opening
                               Protectives.
NFPA 804-2006...............  Standard for Fire                5/30/2008
                               Protection for Advanced
                               Light Water Reactor
                               Electric Generating
                               Plants.
NFPA 805-2006...............  Performance-Based Standard       5/30/2008
                               for Fire Protection for
                               Light Water Reactor
                               Electric Generating
                               Plants.
NFPA 806-P*.................  Performance Based Standard       5/30/2008
                               for Fire Protection for
                               Advanced Nuclear Reactor
                               Electric Generating
                               Plants.
NFPA 850-2005...............  Recommended Practice for         5/30/2008
                               Fire Protection for
                               Electric Generating
                               Plants and High Voltage
                               Direct Current Converter
                               Stations.
NFPA 851-2005...............  Recommended Practice for         5/30/2008
                               Fire Protection for
                               Hydroelectric Generating
                               Plants.
NFPA 99-2005................  Standard for Health Care        11/26/2007
                               Facilities.
NFPA 99-2005................  Standard for Hypobaric          11/26/2007
                               Facilities.
NFPA 99-2005................  Standard on Gas and Vacuum     11/26/2007
                               Systems.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*P Proposed NEW drafts are available from NFPA's Web site--http://www.nfpa.org or may be obtained from NFPA's Codes and Standards
  Administration, 1 Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02269-7471.


    Dated: October 17, 2007.
Richard F. Kayser,
Acting Deputy Director.
[FR Doc. E7-20841 Filed 10-22-07; 8:45 am]
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