The Department of Labor and Workforce Development in Juneau, Alaska sent a letter to Representative Sam Kito on April 21 in response to concerns it has received about a provision in the 2017 edition of the National Electrical Code regarding ground-fault protection requirements for marinas, boatyards, and commercial and noncommercial docking facilities. The state currently has adopted the 2014 NEC, and the process of adopting the 2017 edition will begin in the spring of 2018.
According to the letter, several local organizations have expressed concern about the interpretation of Sec. 555.3, which reads "555.3 Ground-Fault Protection. The overcurrent protective devices that supply the marina, boatyards, and commercial and noncommercial docking facilities shall have ground-fault protection not exceeding 30 mA." Some industry representatives maintain that a 30 mA protection requirement at the main would “create an unacceptable number of nuisance trips due to the cumulative effect of small leakage currents across a marina, dock, or boatyard.”
For more technical details on this debate, read the original letter by clicking on the download button below.