II 

Calendar No. 381 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1771 

[Report No. 110–182] 

To increase the safety of swimming pools and spas by requiring the use 

of proper anti-entrapment drain covers and pool and spa drainage systems, to educate the public about pool and spa safety, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 11, 2007 

Mr. PRYOR (for himself, Mr. DODD, Mr. STEVENS, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Ms. 

KLOBUCHAR, Mr. WARNER, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. COLEMAN, 

and Mr. KERRY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

SEPTEMBER 20, 2007 

Reported by Mr. INOUYE, with amendments 

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To increase the safety of swimming pools and spas by requiring the use of proper anti-entrapment drain covers and 

pool and spa drainage systems, to educate the public 

about pool and spa safety, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Virginia Graeme Baker 

3 Pool and Spa Safety Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Of injury-related deaths, drowning is the 

7 second leading cause of death in children aged 1 to 

8 14 in the United States. 

9 (2) In 2004, 761 children aged 14 and under 

10 died as a result of unintentional drowning. 

11 (3) Adult supervision at all aquatic venues is a 

12 critical safety factor in preventing children from 

13 drowning. 

14 (4) Research studies show that the installation 

15 and proper use of barriers or fencing, as well as ad16 ditional layers of protection, could substantially re17 duce the number of childhood residential swimming 

18 pool drownings and near drownings. 

19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act: 

21 (1) ASME/ANSI.—The term ‘‘ASME/ANSI’’ 

22 as applied to a safety standard means such a stand23 ard that is accredited by the American National 

24 Standards Institute and published by the American 

25 Society of Mechanical Engineers. 


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1 (2) BARRIER.—The term ‘‘barrier’’ includes a 

2 natural or constructed topographical feature that 

3 prevents unpermitted access by children to a swim4 ming pool, and, with respect to a hot tub, a lockable 

5 cover. 

6 (3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

7 means the Consumer Product Safety Commission. 

8 (4) MAIN DRAIN.—The term ‘‘main drain’’ 

9 means a submerged suction outlet typically located 

10 at the bottom of a pool or spa to conduct water to 

11 a re-circulating pump. 

12 (5) SAFETY VACUUM RELEASE SYSTEM.—The 

13 term ‘‘safety vacuum release system’’ means a vacu14 um release system capable of providing vacuum re15 lease at a suction outlet caused by a high vacuum 

16 occurrence due to a suction outlet flow blockage. 

17 (6) SWIMMING POOL; SPA.—The term ‘‘swim18 ming pool’’ or ‘‘spa’’ means any outdoor or indoor 

19 structure intended for swimming or recreational 

20 bathing, including in-ground and above-ground 

21 structures, and includes hot tubs, spas, portable 

22 spas, and non-portable wading pools. 

23 (7) UNBLOCKABLE DRAIN.—The term 

24 ‘‘unblockable drain’’ means a drain of any size and 


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1 shape that a human body cannot sufficiently block 

2 to create a suction entrapment hazard. 

3 SEC. 4. FEDERAL SWIMMING POOL AND SPA DRAIN COVER 

4 STANDARD. 

5 (a) CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY RULE.—The re6 quirements described in subsection (b) shall be treated as 

7 a consumer product safety rule issued by the Consumer 

8 Product Safety Commission under the Consumer Product 

9 Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2051 et seq.). 

10 (b) DRAIN COVER STANDARD.—Effective 1 year 

11 after the date of enactment of this Act, each swimming 

12 pool or spa drain cover manufactured, distributed, or en13 tered into commerce in the United States shall conform 

14 to the entrapment protection standards of the ASME/ 

15 ANSI A112.19.8 performance standard, or any successor 

16 standard regulating such swimming pool or drain cover. 

17 (c) PUBLIC POOLS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning 1 year after the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, each public pool and 

20 spa in the United States shall be equipped with de21 vices or systems designed to prevent entrapment by 

22 pool or spa drains that comply with the ASME/ANSI 

23 A112.19.8 performance standard, or any successor 

24 standard. 


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1 (2) PUBLIC POOL AND SPA DEFINED.—In this 

2 subsection, the term ‘‘public pool and spa’’ means a 

3 swimming pool or spa that is— 

4 (A) open to the public generally, whether for 

5 a fee or free of charge; 

6 (B) open exclusively to— 

7 (i) members of an organization and 

8 their guests; 

9 (ii) residents of a multi-unit apart10 ment building, apartment complex, residen11 tial real estate development, or other multi12 family residential area (other than a mu13 nicipality, township, or other local govern14 ment jurisdiction); or 

15 (iii) patrons of a hotel or other public 

16 accommodations facility; or 

17 (C) operated by the Federal Government (or 

18 by a concessionaire on behalf of the Federal Gov19 ernment) for the benefit of members of the Armed 

20 Forces and their dependents or employees of any 

21 department or agency and their dependents. 

22 (3) ENFORCEMENT.—Violation of paragraph (1) 

23 shall be considered to be a violation of section 

24 19(a)(1) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 


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1 U.S.C. 2068(a)(1)) and may also be enforced under 

2 section 17 of that Act (15 U.S.C. 2066). 

3 SEC. 5. STATE SWIMMING POOL SAFETY GRANT PROGRAM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap5 propriations authorized by subsection (e), the Commission 

6 shall establish a grant program to provide assistance to 

7 eligible States. 

8 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a grant under 

9 the program, a State shall— 

10 (1) demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Com11 mission that it has a State statute, or that, after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, it has enacted a stat13 ute, or amended an existing statute, and provides for 

14 the enforcement of, a law that— 

15 (A) except as provided in section 

16 6(a)(1)(A)(i), applies to all swimming pools in 

17 the State; and 

18 (B) meets the minimum State law require19 ments of section 6; and 

20 (2) submit an application to the Commission at 

21 such time, in such form, and containing such addi22 tional information as the Commission may require. 

23 (c) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The Commission shall de24 termine the amount of a grant awarded under this Act, 

25 and shall consider— 


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1 (1) the population and relative enforcement 

2 needs of each qualifying State; and 

3 (2) allocation of grant funds in a manner de4 signed to provide the maximum benefit from the 

5 program in terms of protecting children from drown6 ing or entrapment, and, in making that allocation, 

7 shall give priority to States that have not received 

8 a grant under this Act in a preceding fiscal year. 

9 (d) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—A State receiving a 

10 grant under this section shall use— 

11 (1) at least 50 percent of amounts made avail12 able to hire and train enforcement personnel for im13 plementation and enforcement of standards under 

14 the State swimming pool and spa safety law; and 

15 (2) the remainder— 

16 (A) to educate pool construction and in17 stallation companies and pool service companies 

18 about the standards; 

19 (B) to educate pool owners, pool operators, 

20 and other members of the public about the 

21 standards under the swimming pool and spa 

22 safety law and about the prevention of drown23 ing or entrapment of children using swimming 

24 pools and spas; and 


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1 (C) to defray administrative costs associ2 ated with such training and education pro3 grams. 

4 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission for 

6 each of fiscal years 2009 and 2010 $2,000,000 to carry 

7 out this section, such sums to remain available until ex8 pended. Any amounts appropriated pursuant to this sub9 section that remain unexpended and unobligated at the end 

10 of fiscal year 2010 shall be retained by the Commission and 

11 credited to the appropriations account that funds enforce12 ment of the Consumer Product Safety Act. 

13 SEC. 6. MINIMUM STATE LAW REQUIREMENTS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

15 (1) SAFETY STANDARDS.—A State meets the 

16 minimum State law requirements of this section if— 

17 (A) the State requires by statute— 

18 (i) the enclosure of all outdoor resi19 dential pools and spas by barriers to entry 

20 that will effectively prevent small children 

21 from gaining unsupervised and unfettered 

22 access to the pool or spa; 

23 (ii) that all pools and spas be 

24 equipped with devices and systems deVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:19 Sep 21, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1771.RS S1771

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1 signed to prevent entrapment by pool or 

2 spa drains; 

3 (iii) that pools and spas built more 

4 than 1 year after the date of the enact5 ment of such statute have— 

6 (I) more than 1 drain; 

7 (II) 1 or more unblockable 

8 drains; or 

9 (III) no main drain; and 

10 (iv) every swimming pool and spa that 

11 has a main drain, other than an 

12 unblockable drain, be equipped with a 

13 drain cover that meets the consumer prod14 uct safety standard established by section 

15 4; and 

16 (v) that periodic notification is pro17 vided to owners of residential swimming 

18 pools or spas about compliance with the en19 trapment protection standards of the 

20 ASME/ANSI A112.19.8 performance stand21 ard, or any successor standard; and 

22 (B) the State meets such additional State 

23 law requirements for pools and spas as the 

24 Commission may establish after public notice 

25 and a 30-day public comment period. 


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1 (2) NO LIABILITY INFERENCE ASSOCIATED WITH

2 STATE NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—The minimum 

3 State law notification requirement under paragraph 

4 (1)(A)(v) shall not be construed to imply any liability 

5 on the part of a State related to that requirement. 

6 (2) (3) USE OF MINIMUM STATE LAW REQUIRE7 MENTS.—The Commission— 

8 (A) shall use the minimum State law re9 quirements under paragraph (1) solely for the 

10 purpose of determining the eligibility of a State 

11 for a grant under section 5 of this Act; and 

12 (B) may not enforce any requirement 

13 under paragraph (1) except for the purpose of 

14 determining the eligibility of a State for a grant 

15 under section 5 of this Act. 

16 (3) (4) REQUIREMENTS TO REFLECT NATIONAL

17 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS AND COMMISSION

18 GUIDELINES.—In establishing minimum State law 

19 requirements under paragraph (1), the Commission 

20 shall— 

21 (A) consider current or revised national 

22 performance standards on pool and spa barrier 

23 protection and entrapment prevention; and 

24 (B) ensure that any such requirements are 

25 consistent with the guidelines contained in the 


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1 Commission’s publication 362, entitled ‘‘Safety 

2 Barrier Guidelines for Home Pools’’, the Com3 mission’s publication entitled ‘‘Guidelines for 

4 Entrapment Hazards: Making Pools and Spas 

5 Safer’’, and any other pool safety guidelines es6 tablished by the Commission. 

7 (b) STANDARDS.—Nothing in this section prevents 

8 the Commission from promulgating standards regulating 

9 pool and spa safety or from relying on an applicable na10 tional performance standard. 

11 (c) BASIC ACCESS-RELATED SAFETY DEVICES AND

12 EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS TO BE CONSIDERED.—In 

13 establishing minimum State law requirements for swim14 ming pools and spas under subsection (a)(1), the Commis15 sion shall consider the following requirements: 

16 (1) COVERS.—A safety pool cover. 

17 (2) GATES.—A gate with direct access to the 

18 swimming pool or spa that is equipped with a self19 closing, self-latching device. 

20 (3) DOORS.—Any door with direct access to the 

21 swimming pool or spa that is equipped with an audi22 ble alert device or alarm which sounds when the 

23 door is opened. 


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1 (4) POOL ALARM.—A device designed to provide 

2 rapid detection of an entry into the water of a swim3 ming pool or spa. 

4 (d) ENTRAPMENT, ENTANGLEMENT, AND EVISCERA5 TION PREVENTION STANDARDS TO BE REQUIRED.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—In establishing additional 

7 minimum State law requirements for swimming 

8 pools and spas under subsection (a)(1), the Commis9 sion shall require, at a minimum, 1 or more of the 

10 following (except for pools constructed without a sin11 gle main drain): 

12 (A) SAFETY VACUUM RELEASE SYSTEM.— 

13 A safety vacuum release system which ceases 

14 operation of the pump, reverses the circulation 

15 flow, or otherwise provides a vacuum release at 

16 a suction outlet when a blockage is detected, 

17 that has been tested by an independent third 

18 party and found to conform to ASME/ANSI 

19 standard A112.19.17 or ASTM standard 

20 F2387. F2387, or any successor standard. 

21 (B) SUCTION-LIMITING VENT SYSTEM.—A 

22 suction-limiting vent system with a tamper-re23 sistant atmospheric opening. 


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1 (C) GRAVITY DRAINAGE SYSTEM.—A grav2 ity drainage system that utilizes a collector 

3 tank. 

4 (D) AUTOMATIC PUMP SHUT-OFF SYS5 TEM.—An automatic pump shut-off system. 

6 (E) DRAIN DISABLEMENT.—A device or 

7 system that disables the drain. 

8 (F) OTHER SYSTEMS.—Any other system 

9 determined by the Commission to be equally ef10 fective as, or better than, the systems described 

11 in subparagraphs (A) through (E) of this para12 graph at preventing or eliminating the risk of 

13 injury or death associated with pool drainage 

14 systems. 

15 (2) APPLICABLE STANDARDS.—Any device or 

16 system described in subparagraphs (B) through (E) 

17 of paragraph (1) shall meet the requirements of any 

18 ASME/ANSI or ASTM performance standard if 

19 there is such a standard for such a device or system, 

20 or any applicable consumer product safety standard. 

21 SEC. 7. EDUCATION PROGRAM. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall establish 

23 and carry out an education program to inform the public 

24 of methods to prevent drowning and entrapment in swimVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:19 Sep 21, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1771.RS S1771

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1 ming pools and spas. In carrying out the program, the 

2 Commission shall develop— 

3 (1) educational materials designed for pool 

4 manufacturers, pool service companies, and pool 

5 supply retail outlets; 

6 (2) educational materials designed for pool own7 ers and operators; and 

8 (3) a national media campaign to promote 

9 awareness of pool and spa safety. 

10 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

11 are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission for 

12 each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012 $5,000,000 

13 to carry out the education program authorized by sub14 section (a). 

15 SEC. 8. CPSC REPORT. 

16 Not later than 1 year after the last day of each fiscal 

17 year for which grants are made under section 5, the Com18 mission shall submit to Congress a report evaluating the 

19 effectiveness implementation of the grant program author20 ized by that section. 


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Calendar No. 381 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1771 

[Report No. 110

–182] 

A BILL 

To increase the safety of swimming pools and spas 

and for other purposes. to educate the public about pool and spa safety, drain covers and pool and spa drainage systems, by requiring the use of proper anti-entrapment 

SEPTEMBER 20, 2007 

Reported with amendments 


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