CHANGES TO CFRs ARE IN BUREAUCRATIC LIMBO
NOW is the time to speak up! NOW is when you can help yourself and your colleagues. Use the listed contact information below to demand immediate action by the Coast Guard to implement the updated CFRS for Diving. They have all the necessary information and have had two comment periods for the public and the industry to contribute.
DECADES, years or months are all too long to wait for responsible action. It has been decades since revision of the CFRs pertaining to Diving activities. Years have passed since the NOSAC committee submitted its proposed changes to the CFRs. Months later, after a second period for comments by the industry and the public, the United States Coast Guard has not released the updated CFRs.
The Divers Association urges every interested person to contact the Coast Guard, their governmental representatives and every active company in the Diving industry. The anticipated changes won’t revolutionize anything. All of the proposals are already accepted or exceeded by the professional associations in the United States and IMCA.
Too many lives have been lost or seriously affected by the lack of implementation of more stringent safety measures. Until such measures have the force of law behind them options remain which are chosen for economic reasons or corners are cut so that contractors can remain in business while taking unnecessary chances with the lives of divers. Union and non-union contractors alike want to be as safe as possible. Client companies have varying levels of understanding as to what is safe and what is not. Too often clients see what appears to be excessive personnel and equipment to support what, from their perspective, is simple work. Simple until pressure differential, rigging failure, sea conditions or other factors create an emergency! Dynamic Positioning Systems fail, unseen flaws in rigging or materials cause crushing and trapping incidents and the seafloor or load shifts in unpredictable ways which can injure or trap a diver.
If a dive team member has not seen such emergencies that person has likely not been diving or supporting dive operations for very long. The clients need to be educated regarding the cost in dollars of incidents which can be prevented by having sufficient manning levels, equipment and training which cost less than the aftermath of “accidents” The proposed changes to the CFRs can help. There should be other, more strident changes made also. NOW we can only push for what is prepared and move to the next level. To push for enactment of the proposed changes made by the NOSAC Dive Safety Subcommittee we must contact as many influential people as possible to endorse expediting the approval by the USCG. Below, you will find the Director of Commercial Regulations & Standards and The Project Manager. for Proposed Rule-making (ANPRM) ID: USCG-1998-3785-0115. Mailing and E-mail address are below: Let them know what you think!
Mr. Jeffery G. Lantz
Director of Commercial Regulations & Standards (CG-5PS)
U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters
2703 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave SE, STOP 7126
Washington, DC 20593-7126
202-372-1351 E-Mail Jeffry G. Lantz <Jeffrey.G.Lantz@uscg.mil>
Mr. Ken Smith Project Manager
Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Coast Guard
Commandant (CG-OES-2), 2703 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE.,
STOP 7509, Washington, DC 20593-7509
Phone: 202 372-1413
E-Mail: ken.a.smith@uscg.mil
If you have suggestions for refinements or additional regulations contact the Divers Association, International Marine Contractors Association, the International Oil & Gas Producers, The Association of Diving Contractors International, your Union and every Diving Contractor.
Action breeds action. Act! Let those in charge know what you think. You will find all information from1998 tell the present poster here,
Commercial Diving Operations - Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule-making (ANPRM)
No result in more then 18 years!
Recommended Comments