ICC and IAPMO set to produce the

2009 editions of the Plumbing Codes

By Ron George, CIPE, CPD
President, Ron George Design & Consulting Services

During the fall months there are numerous plumbing related organizations that hold their meetings. I have been traveling all over North America covering these meetings. Most recently, my travels have taken me to the International Code Council's final action code hearings in Minneapolis, then to the World Plumbing Conference in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, followed by a trip to the IAPMO Uniform Plumbing Code Hearings in Atlanta. Next up are trips to the American Society of Plumbing Engineer's (ASPE) Convention and Engineered Plumbing Exposition in Long Beach, Calif.; then to the American Society of Sanitary Engineering's (ASSE) annual meeting in Orlando.

The final round of model code organization's meetings included the International Code Council (ICC) and the International Association of Plumbing & Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) meetings. The two model code organizations are one step closer to producing their 2009 editions of the model plumbing codes. They should be ready for publication in the spring of 2009; then the jurisdictions can review the 2009 codes for adoption in their local jurisdictions.

International Code Council update

The International Code Council held their final action hearings at their annual conference in Minneapolis. During the conference, they elected their 2008 - 2009 board of directors and officers. The big code news from the ICC Hearings was a residential building code change addressing a proposal to require residential fire sprinklers in new home construction. That code change has been on the agenda for the last two code cycles and has been very closely contested. It was brought back as a challenge in Minneapolis, and it was ultimately approved for inclusion in the 2009 edition of the International Residential Code.

The following officers and board members were elected:

• Adolf Zubia was elected president. Zubia is fire chief for the city of Las Cruces, N.M., and a 21-year veteran of the fire service. He was first elected to the Code Council board in 2003 and previously served as vice president. He is past president of the New Mexico Fire Chiefs Association and recently completed a term as chairman of the International Association of Fire Chiefs Fire and Life Safety section.
• The new vice president is Ron Lynn, C.B.O., building official and director of development services for Clark County, Nevada. Lynn has worked for Clark County since 1981; he currently oversees a department of more than 500 employees. He is a nationally recognized expert on code administration and frequently lectures on topics including building codes, building performance standards, legal aspects of building department administration and more. Lynn previously served as Code Council secretary/treasurer.
• Jimmy Brothers, building director for Decatur, Ala., was elected secretary/treasurer. Brothers administers and directs Decatur's building safety program and is responsible for an $850,000 budget and 13 employees. First elected to the Code Council board in 2005, Brothers is past president of the Code Officials Association of Alabama and the North Alabama Code Officials Association. He was honored as Alabama's Code Official of the Year in 1997.
• John Darnall, C.B.O., and John LaTorra were re-elected to serve three-year terms as directors. Darnall is assistant director of development services in Tumwater, Wash., and LaTorra serves as building and inspection manager for Redwood City, Calif.
  

The following newly elected representatives will serve three-year terms:

• Cindy Davis, C.B.O., is the building official and zoning officer for Butler Township, Pa.
• Patrick Parsley, C.B.O. is building official for the city of Fairmont, Minn.
• Ravi Shah, C.B.O., Assoc. AIA. is the director of urban development for Carrollton, Texas.
  
  

The board of directors also includes:

• Gregori Anderson, C.B.O., director of building safety and regulatory services for Chatham County, Ga.
• Bill Dupler, building official for Chesterfield County, Va.
• Greg Johnson, building inspector for St. Paul, Minn.
• Steve Jones, C.B.O., construction official for Millburn Township and the Borough of Florham Park, N.J.
• Barbara Koffron, fire marshal of the Phoenix, Ariz., Fire Department
• Doug Murdock, C.B.O., director of building inspections for the city of Gainesville, Fla.
• Ron Piester, AIA, director of the New York State Department of State, Division of Code Enforcement and Administration
• Tim Ryan, codes administrator for the city of Overland Park, Kan.
• Jeff Whitney, C.B.O., chief building official for Grand County, Utah
• Steve Shapiro, C.B.O., director of codes compliance for Hampton, Va., becomes the board of directors immediate past president.

IAPMO Code update

The final round of hearings for the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC), Uniform Mechanical Code (UMC), Uniform Solar Energy Code (USEC) and the Uniform Swimming Pool, Spa and Hot Tub Code (USPC) took place at the IAPMO annual meeting, September 29 through October 2, in conjunction with the ISH North America product show, in Atlanta. The 2009 editions of the code are being assembled and, after the final appeals process, will be available at the IAPMO Standards Council meeting on November 13 and 14.The Standards Council will hear appeals to the proposed 2009 editions of the UPC and the UMC.

If you would like more information, or if you would like to receive a copy of an appeal filed with the IAPMO Standards Council and their responses or other written submissions related to an appeal, please contact Lynne Simnick at 909/472-4110 or Gaby Davis at 909/472-4203.

Other IAPMO news

The new consensus development procedures for the Uniform Solar Energy Code (USEC) and Uniform Swimming Pool Spa and Hot Tub Code (USPC) have been approved by ANSI (the American National Standards Institute).

In 2000, IAPMO applied to ANSI for accreditation for the UPC and the UMC. In January 2008, the IAPMO board of directors approved of the development of the USEC and USPC under a similar process. The IAPMO Standards Council administers the development of the UPC and the UMC; a separate oversight body will review and issue the USEC and USPC. This is important because now all of the 2009 Uniform Codes are being developed under an ANSI consensus process.

If you have any questions regarding the development of the Uniform Codes, please direct them to Lynne Simnick, Director of Code Development at 909/472-4110 or at Lynne.Simnick@iapmo.org.

World Plumbing Conference and Expo

More than 600 delegates from Canada, the United States and dozens of countries around the world met in Calgary, Alberta, September 23 - 27, 2008. Attendees had an incredible time as MCA Canada, MCA Alberta and the Canadian Institute of Plumbing & Heating (CIPH) hosted a truly world-class conference. Delegates participated in meetings, educational sessions and social events as part of the cooperative MCAC National Conference, the World Plumbing Conference and the CIPHEX West Trade Show. It was an exciting and welcoming environment, with Calgary as the ideal setting.

After two days of intense meetings for each organization, the conference kicked off with seminars on Wednesday and Thursday. Attendance doubled from last year's inaugural event, with national and international participants engaging in a morning open-forum discussion, a "lunch and learn" on wireless technologies and an afternoon session with featured speaker, Kevin Dougherty.

The full delegation came together for the first time in the Imperial Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Wednesday evening to participate in the opening ceremonies of the World Plumbing Conference, hosted by MCA Canada chairman and honorary conference chairman James Derksen and World Plumbing (WPC) chairman Robert Burgon. Delegates were warmly welcomed and witnessed the unveiling of the "Roll Of Honor" to officially open the conference. Flags from all over the world were displayed as table centerpieces. Canadian Mounties, in their red jackets and white hats, stood as an honor guard and looked out upon a field of white Stetson cowboy hats in the ballroom. The hats were included with the registration and everyone participated in Calgary's internationally recognized "White Hat Ceremony." Everyone learned that the Calgary cowboy yell is "YAHOO!" (not "Yee Haw").

Thursday started off with a true Calgary style breakfast of steak and eggs with all the fixin's! Keynote speaker, Dr. Nick Bontis, the world's leading expert on intellectual capital and its impact on performance, provided a high-energy presentation. Thursday night there was a private rodeo for conference attendees.

Friday everyone enjoyed breakfast thanks to CIPH, with keynote speaker David Bengert. After breakfast, delegates had private access to the CIPHEX West Trade Show, with most of Canada's top suppliers on hand. Then delegates were off to the D'arcy Ranch Golf Club for the John Bradshaw Memorial Golf Tournament, surrounded by the beautiful Canadian Rocky Mountains.

Saturday's breakfast was a full house, featuring guest speaker and ultra marathoner Ray Zahab who ran more than 4,660 miles in 111 days, averaging almost two marathons per day (almost 42 miles per day) … across the Sahara Desert! Running the Sahara is a soon-to-be-released movie produced by Matt Damon that documents Zahab's real life experience. Ray has now dedicated his running to safe water issues in developing countries, and he is planning his next run to the Antarctic. Anyone interested in sponsoring Ray for this event can contact him directly by phone at 613/868-2888 or by e-mail at rzahab@impossible2possible.com.

The Saturday night Chairman's Gala allowed everyone to gather one more time to say goodbye to old and new friends. WPC chairman Robert Burgon was joined by new MCA Canada chairman Bob Hoare. This dinner ceremony included a good-bye to outgoing chair James Derksen and his wife Monica, a welcome to the new board members of both WPC and MCA Canada and a look back at events over the past week.

During the World Plumbing Conference, I had a chance to meet and talk to some interesting and key plumbing industry people from around the world, and it was interesting to discuss with them some of the issues facing them in their corners of the world.
       

Ron George specializes in plumbing, piping, fire protection and hvac design. He also provides  plumbing/mechanical code and product standard consulting services and forensic investigations of mechanical system failures.