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ICC Final Action Hearings - A Success Story!
by Karen Miller, National Hydrogen Association
Two years of hard work has resulted in an overwhelming success for hydrogen energy systems. All proposals by the ICC Ad Hoc Committee on Hydrogen Gas (AHC-H2G) to the model codes were approved during the ICC Final Action Hearings in Fort Worth, Texas last week.
For those of you keeping score, I will walk through each one, linking you to the code change proposal, public comments received, and committee actions.
International Fire Code (IFC)
F176-02 – Final Action: Approved as modified by Public Comments #2 and #3. Public Comment #2 was a minor clarification. Public Comment #3 was the expansion by the AHC-H2G to include two exceptions that are currently in the code for natural gas refueling stations. This modification allows hydrogen generation, compression, storage, and dispensing equipment to be located indoors in accordance with the codes.
F177-02 – Final Action: Approved as modified by Public Comment.
International Mechanical Code (IMC)
M7-02 – Final Action: Approved as modified by Public Comment. In Pittsburgh, the IMC recommended Approve as (previously) modified for Item 1 and Disapprove for Item 2. The AHC-H2G submitted the public comment that addressed the concerns for Item 2 and clarified Item 1, so both parts were approved with the new modifications.
International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC)
FG2-02 – Final Action: Approved as modified by Public Comment #2 (AHC-H2G additions and clarifications). This one was disapproved by the IFCG Committee in Pittsburgh. There was assembly action recommending approval. The AHC-H2G clarified the definition for gaseous hydrogen system.
FG15-02 – Final Action: Disapproved. The AHC-H2G incorporated the requirements of this proposal into FG41-02, so there was no need to support this one.
FG41-02 – Final Action: Item 1: Approved as modified by Public Comment #3 (AHC-H2G clarification and expansion). The AHC-H2G worked hard to address all technical concerns raised between the public hearing in Pittsburgh in April and the final action hearing.
Item 2: Approved as modified by Public Comment #2. This made the code easier to follow.
Item 3: Approved as submitted.
FG48-02 – Withdrawn by the AHC-H2G. With the approval of the proposals as modified by the AHC-H2G for FG2-02 and FG41-02, this change was no longer necessary.
The IFCG proposals had all been disapproved by the IFGC Committee in Pittsburgh. In each case, the assembly took action, voting in favor of the proposals. A special thanks is due the staff and members of the AHC-H2G for their diligent efforts in working with the hydrogen industry to incorporate the technical requirements, and working with proponents and opponents alike to address all technical concerns in the public comments.
This first set of proposals opens the door to siting hydrogen energy systems throughout the United States. The approved code changes will be published in 2003. At that point, each of the approximately 44,000 code jurisdictions will have the opportunity to adopt the new version of the I-Codes. Having these crucial first references to hydrogen enables project developers to work more easily with code officials to approve these new energy systems.
The National Hydrogen Association remains committed to working with code officials to facilitate understanding of hydrogen’s unique properties. For more information on resources for hydrogen safety information, see the proceedings of the NHA Hydrogen Safety, Codes and Standards Workshop, held on September 30, 2002 in Fort Worth.
Hydrogen Safety Codes and Standards Workshop Proceedings
In addition to the changes proposed by the AHC-H2G, there were two proposals on stationary fuel cell power plants. Both were offered by Kelvin Hecht, representing the U.S. Fuel Cell Council. They were M77-02 and FG40-02. In each case, for stationary fuel cell power plants having an output not exceeding 1,000 kW, a requirement to install in accordance with NFPA 853 is added.
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