Louisiana has exercised the emergency provision of the Administrative Procedure Act to provide greater safety for first responders and those providing maintenance on solar modules and systems.
The Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Office of the State Fire Marshal, Louisiana State Uniform Construction Code Council (LSUCCC) has exercised the emergency provision of the Administrative Procedure Act to amend, supplement and expand portions of and readopt LAC 55:VI.301 in the State Uniform Construction Code. Furthermore, the LSUCCC has found an immediate need to adopt additional amendments of the current solar provisions in the International Building Code, International Residential Code, and the National Electrical Code regarding safety for first responders.
This Emergency Rule went into effective on July 20, 2015 and shall be in effect for the maximum period allowed under the Act or until adoption of the final Rule, whichever occurs first.
The LSUCCC is promulgating this rule adoption and amendments to provide greater safety for first responders and those providing maintenance on solar modules and systems. At present, the existing code language adopted by the state does not provide an adequate level of safety to the first responders. This Emergency Rule addresses this issue by providing for access pathways, roof ventilation areas and new technology to shut the electricity down at the solar module in case of emergency.