WILLIAM ASHBY DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS BUILDING

Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 1:33 p.m. by Chairman William P. Curcio. The Pledge of Allegiance was then recited, led .by Thomas Leahy, who also called for a moment of silence, which all present observed, in memory of former board member Joseph M. Cummings, who died recently.

Board members present: William P. Curcio (Chairman), William E. Rieger, Jr. (Vice Chairman), Larry A. Horowitz, Gerard C. Stocker, William Neill, Thomas A. Leahy

Board members absent: Paul T. Dansbach, Dianne McCarthy, Gene Dougherty

Department staff present: Deputy Director Cynthia A. Wilk, Acting Bureau Chief Michael Baier, Michael L. Ticktin, John Tomasone, Carrie Battista

Members of the public present: Mike Merrill of Suburban Propane

Agenda: Approved without objection.

Public comments: None

Approval of minutes: Approved without objection.

Committee Reports:

LPG Incident and Analysis: Mr. Horowitz announced the appointment of two subcommittees, one of which would be responsible for public service announcements, to appear in newspapers in May, concerning grill safety, and the other of which would be responsible for public service announcements, to appear in newspapers in October, concerning safe use of temporary heating equipment. The first subcommittee is to consist of Messers Horowitz, Rieger and Neill and Ms. McCarthy and the second is to consist of Messers Merrill, Rieger, Curcio and Leahy. Ms. Wilk noted that sufficient lead time would be needed to prepare the announcements and get them into different publications..

There were no reports from the Licensing and Training, Awards, Regulation Redundancy Review and Public Education committees.

Old Business:

a. Consumer Bill of Rights: Mr. Curcio said that there had been several meetings with Senator Lesniak’s staff concerning the issue of licensing of persons who work with propane systems, and that he is awaiting comments from Lesniak’s office. Only one paragraph in the bill is still at issue, namely language saying that DCA shall certify persons performing propane services. There will be no provision limiting liability.

b.Homeowner’s Insurance Company Standards: Mr. Curcio said that he has not received any information from any marketer concerning problems in obtaining insurance..

c. Increase in assessment fee: Board members received a copy of the fee increase proposal that appeared in the February 20, 2007 issue of the New Jersey Register. Public comments are due by April 21, 2007.

d. Board vacancies and attendance: Mr. Curcio reported that he and Mr. Merrill met with the office of the Governor’s Counsel last fall, but that there has been no progress on getting appointments made to the board. New appointments are needed for three seats. All members are now serving in a holdover capacity

e. Committee review of NFPA-58: Mr. Merrill reported that the floor vote on 2007 would be out in April. Mr. Stocker said that there would be no action by the committee until next year.

f. HVAC licensing bill: Mr. Curcio stated that the industry is working with DCA to get LPG licensees excluded from Assemblyman Prieto’s HVAC licensing bill, and that he and Mr. Merrill will be reviewing language prepared by Mr. Ticktin. Once language has been agreed upon, Director Connolly will contact Assemblyman Prieto.

g. Temporary heat installations: Mr. Curcio said that local code officials have jurisdiction over temporary heat installations. Mr. Baier said that DCA has responsibility for installations over 250 gallons and will also verify local approvals for now, after receipt of notification. Mr. Horowitz questioned whether all local officials had copies of the LPG rules, to which Mr. Baier replied that copies would be provided to them. Ms. Wilk said that the LPG rules would be included in the online New Jersey Permit Resource Library. Mr. Stocker questioned the usefulness of sending copies to municipalities. Mr. Baier said that there would be an article about LPG rules in the newsletter that is sent to all construction officials. Mr. Stocker asked that any such articles be provided to board members as well, and Mr. Baier said that this would be done. Mr. Horowitz asked that DCA organize a class on NFPA-58. Ms. Wilk said that such a Uniform Construction Code class could be offered.

h. Propane emergencies training: Mr. Curcio said that Mr. Rieger was looking into courses that could be offered.

There was no discussion of LP-gas incidents or of the 2007 edition of NFPA-58

New Business:

 Tank removal: Mr. Curcio discussed the problem that a licensee had encountered when a customer wished to change propane suppliers and the old supplier would not cooperate by removing his tank in a reasonable period of time. He said that he wanted to avoid a situation, such as occurred in Vermont, where the State had to get involved in order to protect consumers who were caught in a dispute between suppliers. He would like to see the industry devise a solution to this problem that would avoid any need for State intervention. Mr. Neill said that he supports resolution of this issue by the industry itself. Mr. Stocker would like to see DCA penalize recalcitrant licensees. Mr. Curcio said that he does not think DCA would have jurisdiction in such a case. Mr. Baier said that we could issue to a notice to remove the tank. Ms. Wilk added that we could authorize the new supplier to remove it and that licensees should be advised to notify DCA in the event of noncooperation, since DCA would surely have power to intervene if there were a safety issue, such as lack of heat to a building. Mr. Leahy recommended that, in the future, any licensee who has a problem that he would like the board to address be advised to come before the board to present the problem, rather than having Mr. Curcio or another board member present it for him. Mr. Curcio said that he thinks it appropriate for him to bring any licensee’s problem before the board.

Information:

Status of Rulemaking Activity:

a. Fee for non-odorized facilities - This proposal was adopted and appeared in the January 2, 2007 issue of the New Jersey Register.

b. Semi-annual payment of assessment installments: This proposal was adopted and appeared in the February 5, 2007 issue of the New Jersey Register.

c. Increase in annual assessment: Comments are due by April 21, 2007.

d. Notice of LP-gas installation: Comments are due by April 6, 2007.

Mr. Ticktin asked that the board indicate its approval of DCA’s adopting the two pending rule proposals prior to the next meeting, provided that no adverse comments that would require board discussion are received. A motion to this effect, proposed by Mr. Stocker and seconded by Mr. Horowitz, was unanimously approved.

List of licensees: Mr. Baier reported that a list of LPG licensees was on the DCA website. He also reported that there was a pending application for licensing of an out-of State company that has not been licensed up to now. Mr. Stocker asked it that applicant was being fined. Mr. Baier said that penalties are only issued for noncompliance with an order, and that violators are thus given a chance to comply before being fined. Mr. Stocker said that violators should be fined when caught. Mr. Baier said that the purpose of penalties is to obtain compliance, and that the applicant is now complying. Mr. Stocker commended DCA for being very fair, but said that it may be too fair.

Board Comments: None.

 Next meeting: The next meeting is scheduled for May 15, 2007

Schedule for remainder of 2007: A meeting date of October 16, 2007 was approved and a meeting date of December 4, 2007 was tentatively approved.

Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 2:35 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Michael L. Ticktin, Board Secretary

WILLIAM ASHBY DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS BUILDING

Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 1:36 p.m. by Chairman William P. Curcio. The Pledge of Allegiance was then recited, led by Thomas Leahy.

Board members present: William P. Curcio (Chairman), Larry A. Horowitz, Gerard C. Stocker, Thomas A. Leahy, Dianne McCarthy, Gene Dougherty

Board members absent: Paul T. Dansbach, William E. Rieger, Jr. (Vice Chairman), William Neill,

Department staff present: Deputy Director Cynthia A. Wilk, Acting Bureau Chief Michael Baier, Michael L. Ticktin, Amy Fenwick Frank, Carrie Battista

Members of the public present: none

Agenda: Approved without objection, with addition of a discussion of changing tanks.

Public comments: None

Approval of minutes: Approved without objection.

Committee Reports:

 Awards: Ms. McCarthy reported that the committee would be looking into reducing the number of categories of awards and would speak with the inspection staff to determine if there were any practices being followed by LPG marketers that might merit recognition.

There were no reports from the Licensing and Training, LPG Incident and Analysis, Regulation Redundancy Review or Public Education committees.

 Old Business:

a. Consumer Bill of Rights: Mr. Curcio said that Senator Lesniak had given provisional approval to wording that would resolve the issues with this bill. Mr. Curcio will provide a new draft of the bill.

b.Board vacancies and attendance: Mr. Baier said that there has been no action on the part of the governor’s office with regard to appointment of board members.

c. Committee review for NFPA-58: Mr. Stocker said that the committee should deal with NFPA-59 too. Mr. Curcio thereupon added this to the committee’s assignment.

d. HVAC legislation/licensing: DCA has provided language that would exempt propane licensees from any new licensing requirement. It has been sent to Assemblyman Prieto. Ms. Wilk and Mr. Curcio will check on its status.

e. Temporary heat installations: Mr. Baier said that a newsletter article on the subject was being sent to all local construction code enforcing agencies. Mr. Curcio asked if board members might be added to the Communicator mailing list. Ms. Wilk said that they would be added.

f. Grilling safety campaign: Ms. Wilk said that DCA issued a news release on this subject and posted information on its website.

g. LP-gas incidents: Mr. Baier will provide copies of news articles to the board. There was an accident in Michigan and a fatal accident in Wisconsin. Mr. Curcio noted that there were no accidents reported in New Jersey.

h.Propane emergencies—training: Mr. Horowitz reported that a propane training program was being conducted at the Dempster Training Center in Lawrenceville.

i. Container removal—commercial accounts: Mr. Stocker said that there had been a dispute over container removal involving Suburban and Amerigas. Mr. Curcio said that DCA cannot get involved in contract disputes, and should only become involved if there is a safety issue.

New Business:

Permits for changing tanks: Mr. Curcio stated that some local inspectors were requiring permits for changing tanks, but others were not. He asked if a permit was indeed required. Mr. Stocker said that he did not see why permits would be required. Mr. Baier said that they were not required that the Uniform Construction Code is silent on the issue and that classification is needed. Ms. Wilk said that a penalty that had been issued in a case involving the changing of tanks had been rescinded. Ms. Frank said that this is an issue that should be addressed in a rule and that DCA would see what might make sense. She also questioned what the inspector would look at if there were no new piping. Mr. Leahy said that a permit should not be required for replacement of an existing installation. Mr. Curcio said that a permit should not be needed to extend lines when tanks have to be moved because of installation of an air conditioning condenser. Mr. Leahy said that permits should not be required for change-outs when the tank is in the same place, but that the board should define parameters as to when a permit is needed because of relocation. He also said that there was the issue of the size of the tank, and that permits should not be required in the event of as ASME to ASME, or DOT to DOT, change. Ms. Wilk said that we should make it clear in the rules that no permit is required just for a change of tanks. Ms. Frank asked what the options were, and said that there was a need to list legitimate concerns and then determine how to address them. If the work were deemed to be “minor work,” there would be no need for inspection in advance. She further stated that it might also be adequate to rely on the licensing and auditing process for marketers to ensure safe installation. Mr. Curcio appointed a committee consisting of himself and Messers Leahy, Horowitz and Dougherty to deal with this matter. The committee will meet during the summer.

Information:

Status of Rulemaking Activity:

a. Increase in annual assessment: Adoption notice appeared in 6/4/07 New Jersey Register. .

b. Notice of LP-gas installation: Adoption notice appeared in 6/4/07 New Jersey Register.

Board Comments: Mr. Dougherty recommended making a posthumous award to former board member Joseph Cummings for his contribution to safety. Mr. Stocker asked about reimbursement for travel expenses. Mr. Baier said that Ms. Battista would send out vouchers.

 Next meeting: The next meeting is scheduled for October 16, 2007

Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 3:00.

Respectfully submitted,

Michael L. Ticktin, Board Secretary

MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER 16, 2007 MEETING OF THE LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS EDUCATION AND SAFETY BOARD

WILLIAM ASHBY DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS BUILDING

Board members present: William P. Curcio (Chairman), William E. Rieger, Jr. (Vice Chairman), William Neill, Larry A. Horowitz, Gerard C. Stocker, Thomas A. Leahy, Gene Dougherty

Board members absent: Paul T. Dansbach, Dianne McCarthy

Department staff present: Director Cynthia A. Wilk, Acting Bureau Chief Michael Baier, Michael L. Ticktin, Amy Fenwick Frank, John Tomasone, Carrie Battista

Members of the public present: Mike Merrill

Agenda: Approved without objection.

Public comments: None

Approval of minutes: Approved without objection.

Committee Reports:

Awards: Mr. Baier reported that a plaque honoring the late Joseph Cummings for his service as a member of the board would be presented to his widow and family, whom the Department is attempting to contact.

There were no reports from the Licensing and Training, LPG Incident and Analysis, Regulation Redundancy Review or Public Education committees.

 Old Business:

a. Consumer Bill of Rights: Mr. Curcio said that the committee expects to have draft rules available for review by the board at the December meeting. The draft will be based on the proposal that had been submitted to Assemblyman Van Drew, along with other materials, including a similar document from New York. The target date for publishing the proposal will be late spring or early summer of next year.

b.Board vacancies and attendance: Mr. Dansbach had indicated that he no longer wished to remain on the board. Mrs. Frank will try to obtain a written resignation when she sees him at the Fire Codes Council meeting. That fire service vacancy will then have to be filled, as will the long-time vacancy for an environmentalist. The recommendation of Mike Merrill to fill the seat on the board formerly held by Mr. Cummings has been submitted to the Governor’s office.

c. Committee review for NFPA-58: Mr. Stocker reported that the new edition has been published and that he will be meeting with Mr. Baier to go over it. Mr. Curcio appointed an NFPA-58 committee consisting of Messers Stocker, Rieger, Merrill, Leahy and Dougherty.

d. HVAC legislation/licensing: In anticipating of the enactment of the legislaton, Mr. Baier intends to prepare draft rules requiring licensing of everyone doing work on propane systems, which would include C-TEP training.

e. Propane emergencies—training: A propane training program was conducted at the Dempster Training Center in Lawrenceville on 6/4/07. Mrs. Frank will seek to obtain information from the Division of Fire Safety as to the list of attendees and what was taught. Mr. Curcio said that Morris County is planning a similar program and that he would like to have industry representatives present so that they will know what the firefighters are being taught and will thus be better able to work with them in any emergency.

f. Permits for work associated with recertifying tanks: Mr. Curcio said that the industry is awaiting a ruling from DCA regarding minor work permits. Mr. Baier said that no permit is required when there is no change in either the size or location of the tank, but that a permit is required if the size and/or the location is changed. He said that a bulletin would be issued on the subject and that something would be given to marketers that they could show to construction officials, so that uniform practices will be followed by all local enforcing agencies.

New Business:

 a. Temporary heat education: Mr. Baier said that there was a need to provide training for building contractors as to the use of LPG-fueled temporary heating devices. Mr. Curcio said that the problem is how to get this information out to them. He suggested enlisting the aid of the associations representing commercial and residential builders. Mr. Baier suggested that DCA provide materials that marketers could distribute to their builder customers. Mr. Curcio said that he would look at material from PERC. Ms. Wilk said that OSHA must have something, to which Mr. Curcio replied that they do and that would find out more about an OSHA program on construction site safety.

b. Increase in assessment: Mr. Baier presented a draft rule proposal for the next annual increase of one-tenth of a cent per gallon in the LPG assessment. This is the annual increase allowed by statute until the fee reaches one-half cent per gallon. He distributed to the board a chart showing program revenues and expenses which clearly indicated the need for the additional revenue that such an increase would provide in order to help defray program expenses. Mr. Curcio appointed an assessment committee consisting of Messers Leahy, Horowitz and Neill and asked that they review the proposal and submit their report to the board at the next meeting. Mr. Neill commended the Bureau for having obtained a high level of compliance, as indicated by the sharp reduction in penalties from FY 2006 to FY 2007. Mr. Curcio said that this indicates that the industry has learned quickly what is expected of it, and may also indicate that those who were most prone to violate the rules have left the industry in New Jersey.

Information:

Status of Rulemaking Activity:

a. Increase in annual assessment: Adoption notice appeared in 6/4/07 New Jersey Register. .

b. Notice of LP-gas installation: Adoption notice appeared in 6/4/07 New Jersey Register.

c.Accident reports: The Bureau distributed articles about propane accidents in Connecticut, West Virginia, Texas, California and Kansas. In his memo, he suggested that the fire in Texas may be of interest to us, since it involved storage of acetylene and propane in proximity, and there are facilities in New Jersey that store those chemicals. If the Federal Chemical Safety Board recommends buffer distances for such storage, a change to our rules to implement any such recommendation would be advisable.

Board Comments: none

Next meeting: The next meeting is scheduled for December 12, 2007. Meeting dates for 2008 will be decided upon at that meeting.

Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 2:37.

Respectfully submitted,

Michael L. Ticktin, Board Secretary