248 CMR, § 3.04 - Product, Design, and Testing Standards
(1)
Board Required Product-acceptance. Only products and
materials that have been listed by the Board as Product-accepted shall be used
for plumbing and gas fitting work performed in the Commonwealth and governed by
M.G.L. c. 142 and 248 CMR. The Board accepts products to ensure compliance with
M.G.L. c. 142 and 248 CMR. The Board additionally requires manufacturers to
provide information/testing to ensure their products meet applicable standards
and are safe for public use. In making such acceptances, the Board does not
relieve manufacturers of their independent obligations to only sell products
that are safe for public use.
(a)
Record. The Board shall maintain a list of
Product-accepted materials or products.
(b)
Product-acceptance.
1. For products not already listed as
Product-accepted by the Board, each manufacturer of materials and equipment
used in the construction, installation, alteration, repair, or replacement of
any plumbing or gas fitting system shall apply to the Board for
product-acceptance of each individual item or model number that is to be made
available for installation in the Commonwealth.
2. Should the Board grant product-acceptance,
the grant shall be valid for such period as designated by the Board. The
product will then be listed by the Board as Product-accepted. All permanent
Product-approvals granted in the past are null and void.
3. No product that is subject to a product
acceptance request shall be installed before the Board has voted to grant the
product-acceptance request.
4. An
applicant for a product-acceptance request shall:
a. provide a completed product acceptance
application in compliance with
248 CMR 3.00;
b. a nonrefundable application fee in the
amount set by the Commission of Administration and Finance and made payable to
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts;
c. at the Board's request, appear at the
Board meeting wherein the Product acceptance application is scheduled to be
discussed; and
d. fulfill any
testing requirements or meet any applicable standards in their entirety
required by the Board.
5. All modifications to a previously accepted
product(s) or materials, including substantive changes to installation
instructions, shall be resubmitted to the Board.
6. At the Board's discretion, in
lieu of granting an applicant's product acceptance or request,
the Board may convert such a request to a request for a Test-site under
248 CMR 3.00.
7. In lieu of requiring the
renewal of a product's acceptance, the Board may periodically require
applicants to certify that:
a. the product
and its instructions have not been altered since first accepted by the Board;
and
(c)
Board
Suspension/Rescission of Product Acceptance.
1. Board acceptance of a product may be
withdrawn whenever any of the following conditions exist:
a. Plumbing laws or regulations have changed
affecting the legal installation of the product;
b. The product has become the subject of a
recall by the manufacturer;
c. The
product has been deemed unsafe or defective by the Consumer Product Safety
Commission, a court of competent jurisdiction, or other such legal entity
operating under a state or federal law;
d. The product has been modified without
Board notice and acceptance;
e. The
installation of the product requires, but cannot meet, provisions of any
nonplumbing laws/regulations;
f.
The manufacturer has not responded to Board requests/investigations, including
any Board requests to certify the product continues to comply with 248 CMR
3.04;
g. Board acceptance of the
product was based on incomplete or incorrect information; or
h. The Board has substantial evidence that
continued use of the product would pose a threat to the public's health,
safety, or welfare.
2.
The rescission of a product's acceptance may, if necessary for public safety,
occur prior to the manufacturer being provided with an opportunity to respond
to the Board with grounds that may challenge the rescission. The provision of
this opportunity shall not be interpreted to create any hearing or other due
process rights other than those required by law.
(d) The Board may waive the need for a
product to be accepted per 248 CMR 3.04(1) when in the best interests of the
public's health, safety, or welfare.
(2)
Variances.
(a) The Board may allow an applicant to use
an alternative method, material, system or product that does not comply with
248 CMR 3.00 through
10.00 when:
1. in the Board's opinion there is an unusual
or extraordinary circumstance or an established hardship that warrants special
terms or conditions; and
2. the
applicant seeks permission from the Board for using the alternative method,
material, system, or product for one instance at one location.
(b) No plumbing or gas-fitting
work that is subject to a Variance request shall begin before the Board has
voted to grant the Variance request. The Board may make an exception to this
rule subject to the following limitations:
1.
The work was performed, prior to a variance being requested, by an individual
licensed by the Board operating pursuant to a validly issued permit;
2. Variances after the fact shall be granted
only if a hardship can be established which would have justified the variance
if sought prior to the work being performed. For purposes of 248 CMR
3.04(2)(b)2., any work or costs incurred to remove noncompliant work or costs
incurred to obtain compliant products or materials shall not be considered a
qualifying hardship.
3. The
applicant for the variance must be the licensee responsible for the work
performed. This applicant must be able to certify the following in writing and
using a form approved by the Board in order to qualify for a variance after the
fact:
a. That the work performed violates
specific provisions of M.G.L. c. 142 and/or 248 CMR as cited by the inspector
in writing which the applicant must provide to the Board;
b. The applicant must certify that he or she
understands how the provisions of M.G.L. c. 142 and/or 248 CMR have been
violated and that the licensee will ensure all his or her future work will
conform to those requirements;
c.
That the noncompliant work was unintentionally noncompliant due to a condition
that the applicant who was responsible for the work could not have reasonably
foreseen;
d. That the applicant
notified the inspector immediately when the work was discovered to be
noncompliant; work performed after this notification shall not be eligible for
a variance; and
e. That the
applicant agrees that the nonconforming work is subject to immediate removal if
the Board, in its discretion, rejects the variance.
4. The availability of such an exception
shall not relieve a licensee of their obligation to adhere to applicable
plumbing and gas fitting laws and regulations governing their work; failing to
adhere to 248 CMR 3.04(2)(b)4. may subject a licensee to disciplinary
action.
(c) The Variance
application shall:
1. be made to the Board
before filing for the related Permit application to the Inspector;
2. be submitted in writing and using the
forms provided by the Board;
3.
include a copy of the petition for a Variance that was made to the Board of
Health or to the Health Department for variance applications that involve
plumbing work that is not under the jurisdiction of state inspectors;
and
4. include a copy of the Board
of Health or Health Department's response to the petition for variance
applications that involve plumbing work that is not under the jurisdiction of
state inspectors. The Board may waive this requirement so long as it may
confirm that the petition was made in a timely manner.
(d) The applicant for a Variance request
shall:
1. provide a completed
application;
2. include a
nonrefundable fee in the amount set by the Secretary of Administration and
Finance and made payable to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts;
3. appear at the Board meeting wherein the
Variance application is scheduled to be discussed; and
4. fulfill any testing requirements and/or
meet any other applicable standards in their entirety required by the
Board.
(3)
Special-permission.
(a) When safety is of special consideration,
provisions of
248 CMR 3.00 through
10.00 may require that a
Licensee obtain Special-permission from the Board before installing or using a
given product, system, design, or method.
(b) To obtain Special-permission an applicant
shall:
1. submit a request to the Board;
and
2. at the Board's request,
appear at a Board meeting where the request is scheduled to be
discussed.
(c) The
Special-permission request shall include:
1. a
nonrefundable fee in the amount set by the Secretary of Administration and
Finance and made payable to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts;
2. a completed application;
3. a certification that the system was
designed or engineered by a qualified individual;
4. the submission of a set of construction
documents that have been stamped by a Massachusetts Registered Professional
Engineer; and
5. any other
requested documentation.
(4)
Test-site.
(a) The Board may allow an applicant to use
an alternative method, material, system or technology that does not comply with
248 CMR to determine its feasibility or safety.
(b) A Test-site is appropriate when an
applicant anticipates that the alternative method, material, system, or
technology may be used for more than one installation and at more than one
location.
(c) No work that is
subject to a Test-site request shall begin before the Board has voted to grant
the Test-site request.
(d) The
Test-site application shall be made to the Board before filing for the related
Permit application to the Inspector.
(e) The applicant for a Test-site request
shall:
1. provide a completed
application;
2. include a
nonrefundable fee in the amount set by the Secretary of Administration and
Finance and made payable to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts;
3. appear at the Board meeting wherein the
product Test-site application is scheduled to be discussed; and
4. fulfill any testing requirements or
applicable standards in their entirety required by the Board.
(f) Should testing prove
nonconformance of the product, material, system, technology, or method at
issue, the test-site grant may be subject to additional tests or
rescission.
(5)
Required Tests.
(a)
For the purpose of verifying a claim relating to an application made for
Product acceptance, Variance, Test-site, or Special-permission, the Board may
require that tests be performed and that such Board recognized tests are
performed at the expense of the applicant.
(b) Any tests required by the Board for the
purpose of verifying a claim relating to an application made under 248 CMR
3.04(5) shall be conducted in accordance with industry recognized standards
acceptable to the Board.
(6)
Board Recognized
Testing.
(a) The Board no longer
approves testing laboratories. All previous approvals shall be deemed null and
void.
(b) The Board will only
recognize testing performed by laboratories that have been certified to meet
industry-based guidelines to ensure appropriate testing.
(c) Laboratory certification shall be
performed by:
1. Neutral/third-party
accreditation bodies;
2.
Neutral/third-party conformity assessment bodies; and
3. Governmental bodies.
(d) The Board reserves the right to reject
tests from laboratories that lose their certification and/or fail to meet
standards necessary for reliable testing.
(e) The Board may recognize field testing
performed by certified third-party testing agencies.
Notes
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