15 U.S.C. § 8005: Minimum State law requirements

Summary

States must have a law that makes outdoor home pools and spas be surrounded by barriers that stop small children from getting in without an adult. Pools and spas built more than 1 year after the law is passed must have either more than one drain, at least one unblockable drain, or no main drain. The Commission can require other pool and spa rules after giving public notice and a 30-day comment period. The Commission will only use these minimum rules to decide if a group can get a grant under section 8004, and it cannot enforce them for other reasons. When setting minimum rules, the Commission must look at national performance standards and follow its own safety guides, including publication 362, "Safety Barrier Guidelines for Home Pools," and "Guidelines for Entrapment Hazards: Making Pools and Spas Safer." When making rules, the Commission must consider basic safety devices like safety covers, self-closing and self-latching gates, doors with alarms, and pool-entry alarms. For preventing suction entrapment, the Commission must require at least one of these for pools with a single main drain: a safety vacuum release system tested to ASME/ANSI A112.19.17 or ASTM F2387; a suction-limiting vent with a tamper-resistant opening; a gravity drain with a collector tank; an automatic pump shut-off; a drain-disablement device; or another system the Commission finds equally effective. Any such device must meet any applicable ASME/ANSI, ASTM, or consumer product safety standard. "State" also includes an Indian Tribe.

Title 15, §8005

Commerce and Trade, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In general

(1)Safety standards

A State meets the minimum State law requirements of this section if—

(A)the State requires by statute—

(i)the enclosure of all outdoor residential pools and spas by barriers to entry that will effectively prevent small children from gaining unsupervised and unfettered access to the pool or spa; and

(ii)that pools and spas built more than 1 year after the date of the enactment of such statute have—

(I)more than 1 drain;

(II)1 or more unblockable drains; or

(III)no main drain; and

(B)the State meets such additional State law requirements for pools and spas as the Commission may establish after public notice and a 30-day public comment period.

(2)Use of minimum State law requirements

The Commission—

(A)shall use the minimum State law requirements under paragraph (1) solely for the purpose of determining the eligibility of a covered entity for a grant under section 8004 of this title; and

(B)may not enforce any requirement under paragraph (1) except for the purpose of determining the eligibility of a covered entity for a grant under section 8004 of this title.

(3)Requirements to reflect national performance standards and Commission guidelines

In establishing minimum State law requirements under paragraph (1)(B), the Commission shall—

(A)consider current or revised national performance standards on pool and spa barrier protection and entrapment prevention; and

(B)ensure that any such requirements are consistent with the guidelines contained in the Commission’s publication 362, entitled “Safety Barrier Guidelines for Home Pools”, the Commission’s publication entitled “Guidelines for Entrapment Hazards: Making Pools and Spas Safer”, and any other pool safety guidelines established by the Commission.

(b)Standards

Nothing in this section prevents the Commission from promulgating standards regulating pool and spa safety or from relying on an applicable national performance standard.

(c)Basic access-related safety devices and equipment requirements to be considered

In establishing minimum State law requirements for swimming pools and spas under subsection (a)(1), the Commission shall consider the following requirements:

(1)Covers

A safety pool cover.

(2)Gates

A gate with direct access to the swimming pool or spa that is equipped with a self-closing, self-latching device.

(3)Doors

Any door with direct access to the swimming pool or spa that is equipped with an audible alert device or alarm which sounds when the door is opened.

(4)Pool alarm

A device designed to provide rapid detection of an entry into the water of a swimming pool or spa.

(d)Entrapment, entanglement, and evisceration prevention standards to be required

(1)In general

In establishing additional minimum State law requirements for swimming pools and spas under subsection (a)(1), the Commission shall require, at a minimum, 1 or more of the following (except for pools constructed without a single main drain): (A) Safety vacuum release system

(B)Suction-limiting vent system

A suction-limiting vent system with a tamper-resistant atmospheric opening.

(C)Gravity drainage system

A gravity drainage system that utilizes a collector tank.

(D)Automatic pump shut-off system

An automatic pump shut-off system.

(E)Drain disablement

A device or system that disables the drain.

(F)Other systems

Any other system determined by the Commission to be equally effective as, or better than, the systems described in subparagraphs (A) through (E) of this paragraph at preventing or eliminating the risk of injury or death associated with pool drainage systems.

(2)Applicable standards

Any device or system described in subparagraphs (B) through (E) of paragraph (1) shall meet the requirements of any ASME/ANSI or ASTM performance standard if there is such a standard for such a device or system, or any applicable consumer product safety standard.

(e)State defined

In this section, the term “State” includes an Indian Tribe.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2022—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 117–328, § 402(b)(1), substituted “the eligibility of a covered entity” for “the eligibility of a State” in subpars. (A) and (B). Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 117–328, § 402(b)(2), added subsec. (e). 2014—Subsec. (a)(1)(A). Pub. L. 113–76, § 501(2)(A), inserted “and” at end of cl. (i), redesignated cl. (iii) as (ii) and inserted “and” at end, and struck out former cl. (ii) and cls. (iv) and (v) which read as follows: “(ii) that all pools and spas be equipped with devices and systems designed to prevent entrapment by pool or spa drains; “(iv) every swimming pool and spa that has a main drain, other than an unblockable drain, be equipped with a drain cover that meets the consumer product safety standard established by section 8003 of this title; and “(v) that periodic notification is provided to owners of residential swimming pools or spas about compliance with the entrapment protection standards of the ASME/ANSI A112.19.8 performance standard, or any successor standard; and”. Subsec. (a)(2) to (4). Pub. L. 113–76, § 501(2)(B), (C), redesignated pars. (3) and (4) as (2) and (3), respectively, substituted “paragraph (1)(B)” for “paragraph (1)” in introductory provisions of par. (3), and struck out former par. (2) which read as follows: “The minimum State law notification requirement under paragraph (1)(A)(v) shall not be construed to imply any liability on the part of a State related to that requirement.”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective on the date that is 1 day after Dec. 19, 2007, see section 1601 of Pub. L. 110–140, set out as a note under section 1824 of Title 2, The Congress.

§8005 Minimum State Law Requirements