What Pool Owners Need to Know About the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act
February 17, 2009
Leslie Candes- Orlando
Owners or Operators of Apartment Buildings, Condos, Hotels and Other Facilities Are Affected
On December 19, 2007, President George Bush signed into law the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (the “Act”), which is named after the daughter of Nancy Baker and the granddaughter of former Secretary of State James Baker. Graeme Baker died in a tragic incident in June 2002 after the suction from a spa drain trapped her under the water.
According to government statistics, there is an annual average of 283 drowning deaths (2003-2005) and 2,700 emergency room-treated submersion injuries (2005-2007) involving children younger than 5 years old in pools and spas. In addition, from 1997-2007, there were 74 reported incidents associated with suction entrapment, including nine deaths and 63 injuries. The Act is aimed at reducing these deaths and injuries by making pools safer, securing the environment around them, and educating consumers and the pool industry on pool safety.
The Act specifies that on or after December 19, 2008, swimming pool and spa drain covers available for purchase in the United States must meet specific performance requirements. Additionally, public swimming pools, wading pools, spas and hot tubs must meet requirements for installation of compliant drain covers.
A Broad Range of Properties Are Affected
“Public swimming pools” are defined broadly and include pools that are owned or operated by owners of apartment buildings and complexes, condominium associations, homeowners’ associations, community development districts, multi-family residential areas, hotels, public swimming pool facilities, and pools operated by the federal government for the benefit of members of the armed forces and employees of any federal department or agency and their dependents. Finally, in certain instances, public swimming pools, wading pools, spas and hot tubs must have additional devices or systems designed to prevent suction entrapment. The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) staff recommends that, to eliminate and not just mitigate the drain entrapment hazard in pools and spas, all pool or spa owners should disable old drains or build new pools without any drains and use gutters, overflows and/or skimmers to provide water to the pump.
Compliance Is a Consumer Product Safety Rule
In a press release dated December 15, 2008, the CPSC stated that public pools and spas that operate year-round are expected to be in compliance by December 19, 2008. However, CPSC staff has taken the position that seasonal public pools and spas that are currently closed must be in compliance with the Act on the day that they reopen in 2009.
The Act is codified in 15 U.S.C. § 8001 (2007) and Pub. L. No. 110-140 § 1401, 121 Stat. 1794 (2007). The Act is to be treated as a consumer product safety rule issued by the CPSC. Essentially, the Act contains three federally enforced mandates, effective December 19, 2008:
- All drain covers (public and residential) manufactured, distributed, or sold in the United States must conform to the standards set forth in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)/American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A112.19.8 - 2007 Suction Fittings for Use in Swimming Pools, Wading Pools, Spas, and Hot Tubs (the “Standard”).
- All public swimming pools, wading pools, spas and hot tubs, both new and existing, must be equipped with drain covers conforming to the Standard.
- All public swimming pools, wading pools, spa and hot tub pumps with a single main drain must be equipped with an ASME A112-19.8-2007 compliant cover system and one or more of the following additional devices or systems: a safety vacuum release system, suction limiting vent system, gravity drainage system, automatic pump shutoff system, or drain disablement. Pools or spas with unblockable drains are exempt from this requirement. All pool or spa owners or operators must ensure that dual or multiple main drains be located at least three feet apart.
In a memorandum dated October 8, 2008, the CPSC encouraged all manufacturers of drain covers to indicate that a product conforms to the Standard and is compliant with the drain cover provision of the Act, by placing the mark “VGB 2008” on the compliant drain cover. Manufacturers are currently referencing their compliance by the following markings: “VGB 2008,” “ASME/ANSI A112.19.8 2007” or the swimmer logo (see Figure 1).
Figure 1.
The CPSC also requires that drain covers be certified as part of a reasonable testing program. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 mandates general conformity certification of drain covers beginning November 12, 2008, so that drain covers must be certified based on a test of each product or upon a reasonable testing program, as compliant with the Act.
Additional information about the Act, compliance with the Act, and a list of companies certified to manufacture drain covers and safety vacuum release systems is available at http://www.cpsc.gov/whatsnew.html#pool.
For more information, contact:
Leslie Candes
407.244.5125
leslie.candes@hklaw.com
toll free: 1.888.688.8500
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