The new Codes & Standards Council was appointed by the ICC Board of Directors to review and approve new codes and standards projects, advise the Board regarding committee appointments, and review code development policies and procedures. The CSC represents stakeholders across several disciplines, as well as representatives to the new discipline-specific Membership Councils.

John Terry, a self-proclaimed "code geek" and Manager of Construction Code Enforcement, Division of Codes and Standards for the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, was appointed chair. Ken Kraus, retired fire inspector for the city of Los Angeles and the 2011 recipient of the ICC Fire Service Award, was appointed vice chair.

Although in its early stages, one major task already accomplished by the CSC is the recommendation of 382 individuals to serve on 27 committees, including 19 code committees, five interpretation committees, two standards committees and one code correlation committee. Approved by the ICC Board at the 2011 Annual Conference in Phoenix, individuals were to receive letters of notification in late November advising them of their committee assignments, said Mike Pfeiffer, ICC's staff liaison to the CSC.

Terry said he and Kraus wanted a mix of older professionals and newer ICC Members who hadn't had as much opportunity to volunteer with the Code Council. Either way, Kraus said he also was looking for people who showed passion in their areas of expertise. They also wanted a broad geographic representation to make sure they had as many bases as possible covered when examining codes and code changes.

The CSC also is preparing for the January 3, 2012, Group A code change deadline and a request by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board for emergency action related to the use of combustible gas to clean pipes during power plant construction. Terry said the CSC made a recommendation to the Board, which decided to form an ad hoc committee to help with a decision before the deadline.

Pfeiffer stressed that the CSC can only recommend changes to the Board of Directors, not make any changes on its own. Terry said the CSC is ready, willing and able to help. "I would love for the President of the Board to assign anything code related to the Council," he said.

Kraus added that he can't wait to get started and thinks the ICC Board made a great decision to form the CSC. "The Board was bogged down every time there were code challenges and appeals," he said. "Now they can offload the extra weight."