BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to boilers and unfired pressure vessels; and amending RCW 70.79.010, 70.79.030, 70.79.080, 70.79.090, 70.79.130, 70.79.140, 70.79.150, 70.79.160, 70.79.280, and 70.79.310.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 70.79.010 and 1951 c 32 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

There is hereby created within this state a board of boiler rules, which shall hereafter be referred to as the board, consisting of five members who shall be appointed to the board by the governor, one for a term of one year, one for a term of two years, one for a term of three years, and two for a term of four years. At the expiration of their respective terms of office, they, or their successors identifiable with the same interests respectively as hereinafter provided, shall be appointed for terms of four years each. The governor may at any time remove any member of the board for inefficiency or neglect of duty in office. Upon the death or incapacity of any member the governor shall fill the vacancy for the remainder of the vacated term with a representative of the same interests with which his or her predecessor was identified. Of these five appointed members, one shall be representative of owners and users of boilers and unfired pressure vessels within the state, one shall be representative of the boiler or unfired pressure vessel manufacturers within the state, one shall be a representative of a boiler insurance company licensed to do business within the state, one shall be a mechanical engineer on the faculty of a recognized engineering college or a graduate mechanical engineer having equivalent experience, and one shall be representative of the boilermakers ((~~or practical steam~~)), stationary operating engineers, or pressure vessel operators. The board shall elect one of its members to serve as ((~~chairman~~)) chair and, at the call of the ((~~chairman~~)) chair, the board shall meet at least four times each year at the state capitol or other place designated by the board.

Sec. 2. RCW 70.79.030 and 1972 ex.s. c 86 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

The board shall formulate definitions((,)) and rules((~~, and regulations~~)) for the safe and proper construction, installation, repair, use, and operation of boilers and for the safe and proper construction, installation, and repair of unfired pressure vessels in this state. The definitions((,)) and rules((~~, and regulations~~)) so formulated shall be based upon, and, at all times, follow the ((~~generally~~)) nationally or internationally accepted ((~~nationwide~~)) engineering standards, formulae, and practices established and pertaining to boiler and unfired pressure vessel construction and safety, and the board may by resolution adopt ((an)) existing published codifications thereof, ((known as "The Boiler Construction Code of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers", with the amendments and interpretations thereto made and approved by the council of the society, and may likewise adopt the amendments and interpretations subsequently made and published by the same authority;)) and when so adopted the same shall be deemed incorporated into, and to constitute a part or the whole of the definitions((,)) and rules((~~, and regulations~~)) of the board. Amendments and interpretations to the code ((~~so adopted~~)) shall be ((~~adopted~~)) enforceable immediately upon being ((~~promulgated~~)) adopted, to the end that the definitions((,)) and rules((~~, and regulations~~)) shall at all times follow ((~~the generally~~)) nationally or internationally accepted ((~~nationwide~~)) engineering standards((~~: PROVIDED,~~)). However, ((~~That~~)) all rules ((~~and regulations promulgated~~)) adopted by the board((~~, including any or all of the boiler construction code of the American society of mechanical engineers with amendments and interpretations thereof,~~)) shall be adopted in compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act, chapter 34.05 RCW, as now or hereafter amended. ((All boilers and unfired pressure vessels subject to the jurisdiction of the board, which have been constructed or installed in accordance with the code of the American society of mechanical engineers shall be prima facie evidence of compliance with those provisions of this chapter and the rules of the board.))

Sec. 3. RCW 70.79.080 and 1996 c 72 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

This chapter shall not apply to the following boilers, unfired pressure vessels and domestic hot water tanks:

(1) Boilers and unfired pressure vessels under federal regulation or operated by any railroad subject to the provisions of the interstate commerce act;

(2) Unfired pressure vessels meeting the requirements of the interstate commerce commission for shipment of liquids or gases under pressure;

(3) Air tanks located on vehicles operating under the rules of other state authorities and used for carrying passengers, or freight;

(4) Air tanks installed on the right of way of railroads and used directly in the operation of trains;

(5) Unfired pressure vessels having a volume of five cubic feet or less when not located in places of public assembly;

(6) Unfired pressure vessels designed for a pressure not exceeding fifteen pounds per square inch gauge when not located in place of public assembly;

(7) Tanks used in connection with heating water for domestic and/or residential purposes;

(8) Boilers and unfired pressure vessels in cities having ordinances which are enforced and which have requirements equal to or higher than those provided for under this chapter, covering the installation, operation, maintenance and inspection of boilers and unfired pressure vessels;

(9) Tanks containing water with no air cushion and no direct source of energy that operate at ((~~ambient~~)) a temperature of one hundred thirty degrees Fahrenheit or less;

(10) Electric boilers:

(a) Having a tank volume of not more than one and one-half cubic feet;

(b) Having a maximum allowable working pressure of eighty pounds per square inch or less, with a pressure relief system to prevent excess pressure; and

(c) If constructed after June 10, 1994, constructed to American society of mechanical engineers code, or approved or otherwise certified by a nationally recognized or recognized foreign testing laboratory or construction code, including but not limited to Underwriters Laboratories, Edison Testing Laboratory, or Instituto Superiore Per La Prevenzione E La Sicurezza Del Lavoro;

(11) Electrical switchgear and control apparatus that have no external source of energy to maintain pressure and are located in restricted access areas under the control of an electric utility;

(12) Regardless of location, unfired pressure vessels and hot water heaters less than one and one-half cubic feet (11.25 gallons) in volume with a safety valve setting of one hundred fifty pounds per square inch gauge (psig) or less, or less than six inches in diameter and less than five cubic feet (37.5 gallons) in volume with a safety valve set at any pressure, or less than fifteen psig containing substances other than steam, lethal substances, or liquids with low flash points.

Sec. 4. RCW 70.79.090 and 1988 c 254 s 20 are each amended to read as follows:

The following boilers and unfired pressure vessels shall be exempt from the requirements of RCW 70.79.220 and 70.79.240 through 70.79.330:

(1) Boilers or unfired pressure vessels located on farms and used solely for agricultural purposes;

(2) Unfired pressure vessels that are part of fertilizer applicator rigs designed and used exclusively for fertilization in the conduct of agricultural operations;

(3) Steam boilers used exclusively for heating purposes carrying a pressure of not more than fifteen pounds per square inch gauge and which are located in private residences or in apartment houses of less than six families;

(4) Hot water heating boilers carrying a pressure of not more than thirty pounds per square inch and which are located in private residences or in apartment houses of less than six families;

(5) Approved pressure vessels (hot water heaters listed by a nationally recognized testing agency), with approved safety devices including a pressure relief valve, with a nominal water containing capacity of one hundred twenty gallons or less having a heat input of two hundred thousand b.t.u.'s per hour or less, used for hot water supply at pressure of one hundred sixty pounds per square inch or less, and at temperatures of two hundred ten degrees Fahrenheit or less: PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That such pressure vessels are not installed in schools, child care centers, public and private hospitals, nursing and boarding homes, churches, public buildings owned or leased and maintained by the state or any political subdivision thereof, and assembly halls;

(6) Unfired pressure vessels containing only water under pressure for domestic supply purposes, including those containing air, the compression of which serves only as a cushion or airlift pumping systems, when located in private residences or in apartment houses of less than six families;

(7) Unfired pressure vessels containing liquified petroleum gases.

Sec. 5. RCW 70.79.130 and 1951 c 32 s 13 are each amended to read as follows:

In addition to the deputy boiler inspectors authorized by RCW 70.79.120, the chief inspector shall, upon the request of any company authorized to insure against loss from explosion of boilers and unfired pressure vessels in this state, or upon the request of any company operating boilers and unfired pressure vessels in this state, issue to any inspectors of said company commissions as special inspectors, provided that each such inspector before receiving his or her commission shall satisfactorily pass the examination provided for in RCW 70.79.170, or, in lieu of such examination, shall hold a certificate of competency as an inspector of boilers and unfired pressure vessels for a state that has a standard of examination substantially equal to that of this state or a certificate as an inspector of boilers and unfired pressure vessels from the national board of boiler and pressure vessel inspectors. A commission as a special inspector for a company operating boilers and unfired pressure vessels in this state shall be issued only if, in addition to meeting the requirements stated herein, the inspector is continuously employed by the company for the purpose of making inspections of boilers and unfired pressure vessels used, or to be used, by such company.

Sec. 6. RCW 70.79.140 and 1951 c 32 s 14 are each amended to read as follows:

Special inspectors shall receive no salary from, nor shall any of their expenses be paid by the state, and the continuance of a special inspector's commission shall be conditioned upon his or her continuing in the employ of a boiler insurance company duly authorized as aforesaid or upon continuing in the employ of a company operating boilers and unfired pressure vessels in this state and upon his or her maintenance of the standards imposed by this chapter.

Sec. 7. RCW 70.79.150 and 1951 c 32 s 15 are each amended to read as follows:

Special inspectors shall inspect all boilers and unfired pressure vessels insured or ((~~all unfired pressure vessels~~)) operated by their respective companies and, when so inspected, the owners and users of such insured boilers and unfired pressure vessels shall be exempt from the payment to the state of the inspection fees as provided for in RCW 70.79.330.

Sec. 8. RCW 70.79.160 and 1951 c 32 s 16 are each amended to read as follows:

Each company employing special inspectors shall, within thirty days following each internal boiler or unfired pressure vessel inspection made by such inspectors, file a report of such inspection with the chief inspector upon appropriate forms ((~~as promulgated by the American society of mechanical engineers~~)). Reports of external inspections shall not be required except when such inspections disclose that the boiler or unfired pressure vessel is in dangerous condition.

Sec. 9. RCW 70.79.280 and 1951 c 32 s 27 are each amended to read as follows:

All boilers and all unfired pressure vessels to be installed in this state after the ((~~twelve months~~)) twelve-month period from the date upon which the rules ((~~and regulations~~)) of the board shall become effective shall be inspected during construction as required by the applicable rules ((~~and regulations~~)) of the board by an inspector authorized to inspect boilers and unfired pressure vessels in this state, or, if constructed outside of the state, by an inspector holding a certificate from the national board of boiler and pressure vessel inspectors, or a certificate of competency as an inspector of boilers and unfired pressure vessels for a state that has a standard of examination substantially equal to that of this state as provided in RCW 70.79.170.

Sec. 10. RCW 70.79.310 and 1951 c 32 s 30 are each amended to read as follows:

The chief inspector, or his or her authorized representative, may at any time suspend an inspection certificate when, in his or her opinion, the boiler or unfired pressure vessel for which it was issued((,)) cannot be operated without menace to the public safety, or when the boiler or unfired pressure vessel is found not to comply with the rules ((~~and regulations~~)) herein provided. A special inspector shall have corresponding powers with respect to inspection certificates for boilers or unfired pressure vessels insured or ((~~unfired pressure vessels~~)) operated by the company employing him or her. Such suspension of an inspection certificate shall continue in effect until such boiler or unfired pressure vessel shall have been made to conform to the rules ((~~and regulations~~)) of the board, and until said inspection certificate shall have been reinstated.