On Tuesday, November the 10th, the BBRS at their regularly scheduled meeting officially adopted the IECC-2009. This action was statutorily mandated by the legislature to be adopted by the end of this calendar year. Additional MA front-end amendments are included.
The IECC-2009 is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2010 and there will be the typical 6 month overlap between the new requirements and the old requirements
The "Stretch Energy Code" (780 CMR Amendment 120AA), which was adopted by the BBRS earlier this year will "piggyback" onto the IECC-2009.
When queried, the staff did not envision any conflict between the IECC-2009 and the Stretch Energy Code. So, both will be in play in 2010, depending on which communities vote to adopt the Stretch Energy Code.
Training for the IECC-2009 and the Stretch Energy Code will be getting underway soon, but as of this time there are no scheduled dates or locations.
It is important to note that before a community can implement the Stretch Energy Code, the building officials must be trained in the code. This training is not only available to those in the public sector, but is also available to those in the private sector, such as builders, architects, etc.
For Information on the HBAMA's position on the Stretch Energy Code visit: http://hbama.com/archives/190
In other BBRS news, there is a Public Hearing scheduled for Dec. 8, 2009 (postponed from Nov. 10). The location has yet to be determined at this point, but we will keep you posted.
The proposed regulations for the Continuing Education Program for CSL holders will be on the agenda.
There is another Public Hearing scheduled for Jan. 12, 2010 which will address the 8th Edition of the basic or commercial building code that will take effect sometime in 2010.