Federally mandated pool drain cover ever installed in 2008?

The 2007 Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, passed by Congress, required all public pools to have the covers installed by Dec. 19, 2008. The federally approved covers, which are domed instead of flat, are designed to prevent swimmers from being trapped underwater by drain suction.

The federal law required that all public pools and spas, including those at homeowner associations, waterparks, hotels, schools, and universities to be equipped with them by Dec 19, 2008 or not open the pool.  Federal law  which supersedes state statutes requires pool owners and/or operators have in place the correct domed pool drain before opening the pool after Dec 19, 2008.

Many of the 300,000 public pools and spas in the U.S. were required to close on December 19, 2008 according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) if they failed to comply with the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act. 

Does anyone know if Burning Tree Master Association installed the mandatory domed pool drain cover to prevent entrapment and evisceration? It was required to be  installed by Dec 19, 2008.


Affected pools also may need to replace the  circulation systems if it is an older, direct suction models.

 
The Consumer Product Safety Commission logged 74 entrapment cases from 1999 through 2007, with nine fatalities associated with suction entrapment.The law is aimed at reducing these deaths and injuries by making pools safer.

Regulators are concentrating on wading pools,and kiddie pools, said CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson, because young children are the ones most likely to be injured or die in entrapment accidents. The act is named for former presidential adviser James Baker's 7-year-old granddaughter, who was killed in 2002 when she was trapped by a whirlpool drain. 

CPSC, the enforcing agency of the Act, may impose financial penalties and seek imprisonment for violators. The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission  works with state health departments and attorney general offices on compliance checks and enforcement. (800) 638-2772 ) Pools that aren't compliant were told to stay closed until the pool   is upgraded. State certified service companies should do the upgrades. 


It's a matter of health and safety, not just liability and it is a federal law.

 
Attorney Ken Direktor advised that liability issues could be "exacerbated" if a swimmer was injured in a noncompliant pool.

Jeff McCollum, a spokesman for State Farm Insurance said that if a drain-related accident were to happen the policy holder will probably have a more difficult time proving that they are not liable. 

Burning Tree Master Association Pool Tulsa, OK