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NFPA Update
Karen Hall, National Hydrogen Association


NFPA hydrogen activities are in full swing, with significant activities underway for NFPA 52, NFPA 55, and NFPA 2.

The joint NFPA 2 and NFPA 55 task group on separation distances met last week at NREL in Golden CO. The work is coming together. Consensus was achieved in the task group. A proposal for this work is expected for NFPA 55 by end of February for an Apr 16 &17 Report on Comments (ROC) meeting. Quantitative risk assessment was used to develop risk informed separation distances. The adopted changes will be extracted back to NFPA 2.

An update is provided below for each of these codes:

  • NFPA 52 - Vehicular Fuel Systems Code
    Responsible Committee: Vehicular Alternative Fuel Systems     (VAF-AAA)
    The Report on Proposals (ROP) has been published. 48 proposals from the NFPA 52 ROP are of interest to the Hydrogen Industry Panel on Codes (HIPOC).

    The comment closing date for public comments is 2/29/08. The comments will be distributed as soon as possible after 2/29/08. The Report on Proposal ballot is available on the committee web page and the NFPA public page (www.nfpa.org).

    The VAF Report on Comment (ROC) will be held from May 6-8, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

    Comment Closing Date: 2/29/2008
    Report on Comments Mailing Date: 8/22/2008
    Notice of Intent to Make a Motion Closing Date: 10/17/2008
    Posting of Certified NITMAM: 11/14/2008
    Revised Edition Date: 2009


  • NFPA 55 - Standard for the Storage, Use, and Handling of Compressed Gases and Cryogenic Fluids in Portable and Stationary Containers, Cylinders, and Tanks
    Responsible Committee: Industrial and Medical Gases     (IMG-AAA)
    The Report on Proposals (ROP) has been published. 23 proposals from NFPA 55 ROP are of interest to HIPOC.

    Comment Closing Date: 2/29/2008
    Report on Comments Mailing Date: 8/22/2008
    Notice of Intent to Make a Motion Closing Date: 10/17/2008
    Posting of Certified NITMAM: 11/14/2008
    Revised Edition Date: 2009


  • NFPA 2 - Hydrogen Technologies Code (Proposed)
    Responsible Committee: Hydrogen Technology     (HYD-AAA)
    NFPA 2 is to be an excerpt document to bring together the requirements for hydrogen technologies into a single document. NFPA 2 is now expected to be on the 2010 Annual cycle. Many proposals were submitted to the reference codes, and these will need to be adopted by the Technical Committees involved and then extracted back into NFPA 2.

    The next NFPA 2 full technical committee meeting will be held June 26 and 27 at NREL. The purpose is to achieve consensus on the work products of the task groups and to assemble new task groups for final document preparation.

Review of the Code Development Process
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. This is the stage both NFPA 52 and NFPA 55 are currently in. The committee then reconvenes at the end of the comment period and acts on all Comments. 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.

Following the completion of the Proposal and Comment periods, there is a further opportunity for debate and discussion 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. The specific rules for the types of motions that can be made and who can make them are set forth in NFPA’s rules which should always be consulted by those wishing to bring an issue before the membership at a Technical Report Session.

The following presents some of the main features of how a Report is handled, taken from the NFPA website:

  • What Amending Motions are Allowed
    The Technical Committee Reports contain many Proposals and Comments that the Technical Committee has rejected or revised in whole or in part. Actions of the Technical Committee published in the ROP may also eventually be rejected or revised by the Technical Committee during the development of its ROC. The motions allowed by NFPA rules provide the opportunity to propose amendments to the text of a proposed code or standard based on these published Proposals, Comments and Committee actions. Thus, the list of allowable motions include motions to accept Proposals and Comments in whole or in part as submitted or as modified by a Technical Committee action. Motions are also available to reject an accepted Comment in whole or part. In addition, Motions can be made to return an entire Technical Committee Report or a portion of the Report to the Technical Committee for further study.
  • Who Can Make Amending Motions
    Those authorized to make these motions is also regulated by NFPA rules. In many cases, the maker of the motion is limited by NFPA rules to the original submitter of the Proposal or Comment or his or her duly authorized representative. In other cases, such as a Motion to Reject an accepted Comment, or to Return a Technical Committee Report or a portion of a Technical Committee Report for Further Study, anyone can make these motions. For a complete explanation, NFPA rules should be consulted.
  • The Filing of a Notice of Intent to Make a Motion
    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. The Motions Committee can also, in consultation with the makers of the motions, clarify the intent of the motions and, in certain circumstances, combine motions that are dependent on each other together so that they can be made in one single motion. A Motions Committee report is then made available in advance of the meeting listing all certified motions. 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.
  • Consent Documents
    Often there are codes and standards up for consideration by the membership that will be non-controversial and no proper Notices of Intent to Make a Motion will be filed. These “Consent Documents” will bypass the Technical Report Session and head straight to the Standards Council for issuance. The remaining Documents are then forwarded to the Technical Report Session for consideration of the NFPA membership.
  • Action on Motions at the Technical Report Session
    In order to actually make a Certified Amending Motion at the Technical Report Session, the maker of the motion must sign in at least an hour before the session begins. In this way a final list of motions can be set in advance of the session. At the session, each proposed Document up for consideration is presented by a motion to adopt the Technical Committee Report on the Document. Following each such motion, the presiding officer in charge of the session opens the floor to motions on the Document from the final list of Certified Amending Motions followed by any permissible Follow-Up Motions. Debate and voting on each motion proceeds in accordance with NFPA rules. NFPA membership is not required in order to make or speak to a motion, but voting is limited to NFPA members who have joined at least 180 days prior to the session and have registered for the meeting. At the close of debate on each motion, voting takes place, and the motion requires a majority vote to carry. In order to amend a Technical Committee Report, successful amending motions must be confirmed by the responsible Technical Committee, which conducts a written ballot on all successful amending motions following the meeting and prior to the Document being forwarded to the Standards Council for issuance.