Safety and Buildings Division Gas Systems Code Advisory Council Meeting Summaries

Meeting summaries are considered drafts until approved by council members at a subsequent meeting.
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Thursday, November 30, 2010, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Conference Room 3B, Thompson Commerce Center, 201 West Washington Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin

Council Members: Bruce Barganz - Absent; Jeff Carter - Present; Tim Clay - Present; James Friedrichs - Present; John Kilsdonk - Present; Carter Krueger - Present; Bill Langlois - Present; Gene Reece - Present; and Ron Torrison - Present

Department Staff: Joe Hertel, David Homan, Duane Leetch, Norma McReynolds, Rick Merkle, Sam Rockweiler, Mike Verhagen, Terry Waldbillig and Jon Wolf

Guests: Betsy Ahner, Wisconsin Propane Gas Association, and Gary Pujlas, Wisconsin Fire Inspectors Association

Convene meeting, welcome and introductions

Rick Merkle welcomed everyone to the November 30, 2010, meeting of the Gas Systems Advisory Code Council in Conference Room 3B of the Thompson Commerce Center in Madison, WI. The Council members, Department staff and guests introduced themselves.

Review agenda and explain role of code Council

The meeting’s agenda was reviewed. The overview of comparisons between current national standards and those referenced in chapter Comm 40 was moved ahead of the overview of proposed draft changes for chapter Comm 40.

Rick explained that the Safety and Buildings Division in the Department had reconvened the Council to update chapter Comm 40 relating to safe design, construction, installation and operation of gas systems. He thanked the Council members for agreeing to serve.

Joe Hertel distributed copies of the current National Fire Prevention Association^® (NPFA) standards to Council members.

Overview of comparison between currently adopted national standards and updated versions

Department staff – Mike Verhagen, David Homan, Jon Wolf and Duane Leetch – presented an overview of the comparisons they had made of the following NPFA standards and how the standards would affect chapter Comm 40:

• 2010 edition, NFPA 52, Vehicular Gaseous Fuel Systems Code (Contains new information relating to hydrogen and liquid natural gas and compressed natural gas.)2011 edition, NFPA 58, Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code (Contains several new items relating to propane.)
• 2009 edition, NFPA 54, National Fuel Gas Code
• 2009 edition, NFPA 59A, Standard for the Production, Storage, and Handling of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
• 2008 edition, NPFA 30A, Code for Motor Fuel Dispensing Facilities and Repair Garages

Staff had reviewed the 2010 edition of NFPA 55, Compressed Gases and Cryogenic Fluids Code, and thought it to be a better fit for chapter Comm 41 relating to boilers and pressure vessels. In addition, staff had determined that the 2010 editions of NFPA 50 and 50A, Hydrogen Systems, did not fit within the scope of chapter Comm 40.

Overview of draft changes to Chapter Comm 40

Sam Rockweiler facilitated the discussion of proposed code changes. A major change in the proposed revision is that the chapter would apply only to gas systems for fueling purposes.

The Council reviewed the rulemaking proposal and made the following recommendations:

• Clarify what a fuel or gas dispensing system is by adding “for fueling purposes” to the scope section and add text to clarify the purpose of a gas dispensing system. Council members pointed to NFPA 58 for a definition of a gas dispensing system, and suggested using terminology such as “auto gas” or “vehicular gas.”
• Clarify when customers need to submit a plan for a gas dispensing system.
• Clarify who is the “propane cop.” State statutes define the fire chief as a “deputy” of the Department, which could be referenced in the rules.

Discuss next meeting and adjourn

Staff will review the Council’s recommendations, and send a revised rule proposal to members for review. Also, the Council will be notified when a date is set for the public hearing.

The meeting was adjourned.

Next meeting

No date was set for the next Council meeting. Please contact Rick Merkle at rick.merkle@wisconsin.gov for more information.

Council Members: Ed Aldridge - Present; Walt Coussens, alternate for Bruce Barganz, - Present; Tim Clay - Present; Craig Clerkin, alternate for David Duey - Present; Kingsley Forbes - Present; Art Herschberger - Present; Gary Puljas - Present; Gene Reece - Excused; Timothy Temperly - Present' John Wehmeier - Present; Bob Willder - Present

Visitors: Randy Knapp, Dave Wantland, Dave Bloom

Staff: Joe Hertel, Ronald Acker, Mike Verhagen, Duane Leetch, Rick Merkle,

1. Welcome, Introductions and Review of Agenda. Council members were welcomed; everyone introduced themselves and indicated the group that they represented. The agenda was reviewed, and no changes were made.

2. Election of Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson. It was noted that Gene Reece was the council chairperson when the council last met. There were no objections to Gene remaining as chairperson. Tim Clay was nominated, seconded and unanimously elected as vice-chairperson.

3. Review of Current Chapter Comm 40. In response to a question, it was noted that there are about 6 or 7 CNG installations in the Milwaukee area, and there have been no LNG installations approved by the Department since the last code update. Department staff led the council through a review of chapter Comm 40 in order to discuss any proposed code changes.

Comm 40.10 (4) Note on Forms. Department staff reported that the Note will be revised to include the web site where forms are available.

Comm 40.30 (2) (a) 2. NFPA Standards. Department staff noted that the adoption by reference of NFPA 1192, Recreational Vehicles, will be deleted from the code because the Department does not have authority over these vehicles. It was reported that a 2004 edition of NFPA 58 was recently approved by the NFPA and should be available in the spring of 2004. The council recommended that the Department wait with the code update in order to adopt the 2004 edition instead of the current 2001 edition. It was also reported that there may be an NFPA document describing the changes in the 2004 edition that the Department should try to obtain for the council.

Comm 40.43 Certificate of Installation. For consistency with the installation approval in Comm 40.42, it was proposed to require the installation form to be given to the local fire department for installations having an aggregate water capacity of 4000 gallons or larger. The council agreed with this proposal. The form should also be available on the web site.

Comm 40.51 Approval of Proposed Installations. For agreement with the Installation Application form, Department staff noted that this section will be revised to also require plan approval for LNG installations having an aggregate water capacity of 4000 gallons or larger. A copy of the Installation Application form was distributed. (Copies of all distributed materials are included with this report for absent members.)

4. Review of New Editions of Currently Adopted Standards. Department staff distributed and reviewed 5 comparisons of currently adopted standards versus new editions of those standards.

NFPA 59A Liquefied Natural Gas 1996 vs 2001 Comparison. Although the 2001 edition is a total rewrite, there were no major changes and no recommendations for amendments were made.

NFPA 52 Compressed Natural Gas 1998 vs 2002 Comparison. The 2002 edition has very few substantive changes, it is mostly reorganized and has chapter number changes. No recommendations for amendments were made.

NFPA 54 National Fuel Gas Code 1999 vs 2002 Comparison. The 2002 edition has been renumbered throughout. The code now covers fuel gas systems using hydrogen, and most of the changes in the code are in the definitions. No recommendations for amendments were made.

API 2510 7^th edition vs 8^th edition Comparison. The 8^th edition has several changes throughout the standard. No recommendations for amendments were made. It was suggested that a Note be added in Comm 40.44 (1) describing the application of API 2510.

NFPA 58 Liquefied Petroleum Gas 1998 vs 2001 Comparison. The 2001 edition is a total rewrite with extensive editorial modifications. Section 2.3 contains some retroactive requirements to be met by 2011. No recommendations for amendments were made.

5. Review of NFPA Standards Proposed for Adoption. Copies of the following 2 NFPA standards proposed for adoption were distributed: NFPA 50A - Gaseous Hydrogen Systems at Consumer Sites, and NFPA 50B - Liquefied Hydrogen Systems at Consumer Sites. The Department is proposing to adopt these standards into Comm 40 because of possible hydrogen systems to be installed in the state in the future. A new subchapter would be created for gaseous systems, with plan approval required for all systems. Another new subchapter would be created for liquefied systems, with plan approval required for systems using containers of 2000 gallons or larger or where the aggregate capacity will be 4000 gallons or larger. The council expressed approval of this proposal.

6. Council Member Issues. Department staff will prepare a preliminary hearing draft of all of the proposed rule changes discussed at this meeting and send it to the council along with a copy of the 2004 edition of NFPA 58 when it is available early next year. If, after review, members have no objections to the proposed rule changes or the adoption of the 2004 NFPA 58, the Department will begin the rulemaking process for the update of chapter Comm 40.

A question was presented as to the Department's position regarding adoption of ICC codes versus NFPA codes. It was responded that the Department has adopted the ICC codes for the state building code, and many of the ICC codes adopt NFPA codes. For example, the International Fuel Gas Code adopts the NFPA 54 code.

7. Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned with no future meeting scheduled.

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