National Fire Protection Association (NFPA): Request for Comments on NFPA's Codes and Standards

AGENCY:

National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is publishing this notice on behalf of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to announce the availability of and request comments on the technical reports that will be presented at NFPA's 2012 Fall Revision Cycle.

DATES:

Forty-eight reports are published in the 2012 Fall Revision Cycle Report on Proposals and will be available on December 23, 2011. Comments received by 5 p.m. EST/EDST on March 2, 2012 will be considered by the respective NFPA Committees before final action is taken on the proposals.

ADDRESSES:

The 2012 Fall Revision Cycle Report on Proposals will be available and downloadable from NFPA's Web site on December 23, 2011 at http://www.nfpa.org,, or by requesting a copy from the NFPA, Fulfillment Center, 11 Tracy Drive, Avon, Massachusetts 02322. Comments on the report should be submitted to Amy Beasley Cronin, Secretary, Standards Council, NFPA, 1 Batterymarch Park, Quincy, Massachusetts 02169-7471.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Amy Beasley Cronin, Secretary, Standards Council, NFPA, 1 Batterymarch Park, Quincy, Massachusetts 02169-7471, (617) 770-3000. David F. Alderman, NIST, (301) 975-4019.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Since 1896, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has accomplished its mission by advocating scientifically based consensus codes and standards, research, and education for safety related issues. NFPA's National Fire Codes®, which holds over 295 documents, are administered by more than 240 Technical Committees comprised of approximately 7,600 volunteers and are adopted and used throughout the world. NFPA is a nonprofit membership organization with approximately 70,000 members from over 100 nations, all working together to fulfill the Association's mission.

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; 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 Conference and Expo; and finally, the Standards Council Consideration and Issuance of documents.

Note:

Anyone wishing to make Amending Motions on the Technical Committee Reports (ROP and ROC) must signal his or her intention by submitting a Notice of Intent to Make a Motion by the Deadline of 5 p.m. EST/EDST on or before October 5, 2012. Certified motions will be posted by November 2, 2012. Documents that receive notice of proper Amending Motions (Certified Amending Motions) will be presented for action at the annual June 2013 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 http://www.nfpa.org , or contact NFPA Codes and Standards Administration.

The purpose of this notice is to request comments on the technical reports that will be published in the NFPA's 2012 Fall Revision Cycle. The publication of this notice 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.

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.

Request for Comments

Interested persons may participate in these revisions by submitting written data, views, or arguments to Amy Beasley Cronin, Secretary, Standards Council, NFPA, 1 Batterymarch Park, Quincy, Massachusetts 02169-7471. Commenters may use the forms provided for comments in the Report on Proposals. Each person submitting a comment should include his or her name and address, identify the notice and give reasons for any recommendations. Comments received by 5 p.m. EST/EDST on March 2, 2012 for the 2012 Fall Revision Cycle Report on Proposals will be considered by the NFPA before final action is taken on the proposals.

Copies of all written comments received and the disposition of those comments by the NFPA committees will be published as the 2012 Fall Revision Cycle Report on Comments by August 24, 2012. A copy of the Report on Comments will be sent automatically to each commenter.