Attached for your review and information are two HUD regulatory actions issued on May 2, 2014, concerning attic insulation tests (24 CFR 3280.207(c)) and requirements for supply air ducts (24 CFR 3280.715(a)(1)). Both of these standards were modified by HUD’s December 9, 2013 final rule addressing the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee’s (MHCC) second set of standards recommendations.
With regard to attic insulation tests, the HUD ruling, directed to Primary Inspection Agencies and State Administrative Agencies, indicates that HUD will accept third-party certifications of the flammability characteristics of attic floor insulation based on either the National Fire Protection Association 253-2000 testing standard addressed by the December 9, 2013 standards modification rule, or the ASTM E970 standard that currently is widely utilized. The ruling indicates that it will remain in effect “until such time that future recommendations to revise the standards can be duly considered and acted upon by the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee and the Department.”
With regard to supply air ducts, the HUD ruling “indefinitely delay[s]” implementation of the December 9, 2013 requirement in section 3280.715(a)(1) that furnace supply plenums be constructed of metal that “that extends a minimum of 3 feet from the heat exchanger.” HUD’s rationale for this delay is to “provide the industry with sufficient time to develop a workable solution to meet the requirement or until the MHCC can reassess this aspect of the rule and provide recommendations on how this matter should be resolved.”
Aside from the technical and practical significance of these actions, it is important to note that both rulings properly recognize the role and importance of the MHCC in resolving these standards issues and are designed to provide an opportunity for the MHCC consensus process to address these matters. At the same time, however, there are other similar issues raised by the December 9, 2013 final rule – addressed by MHARR in its January 2014 communication with Commissioner Carol Galante and at MHARR’s April 2014 meeting with HUD officials — that should be also be addressed by HUD in a similar manner.
