V. DESIGN REVIEW AND APPROVALS

Regulatory agencies have adopted design and/or construction standards and may require pre-construction plan review and approval. Design consultants should request copies of all acts, laws and adopted standards from individual agencies. Consultants shall be responsible for coordinating a project directly with all regulatory agencies as needed, allowing adequate time for plan review, approval, stamp, date, and signature before being authorized to bid.

A nonexclusive list of regulatory agencies below may have design authority over a capital improvement project. Other agencies not listed may, under special circumstances, exercise design authority. It is the design consultant’s responsibility to insure that all appropriate and required regulatory agencies are provided opportunity to review plans and specifications before a project is bid. Reviewing agencies may include:

A. Department of Health
    1. Division of Plumbing and Natural Gas (plumbing systems domestic water, septic design, swimming pools, etc.)
    2. Division of Radiation Control and Emergency Management (X-ray, nuclear medicine, installation or safety evaluations)
    3. Division of Sanitation Services (kitchens, restaurants, etc.)
    4. Division of Engineering (waste water systems, water systems and districts, cemeteries, swimming pools, etc.)
    5. Division of Health Facility Services (hospitals, health units, etc.)
  1. State Fire Marshal (fire code review, life safety, etc.)
  2. Department of Labor (elevator safety, including inclined stairway chairlifts and vertical wheelchair lifts, boiler inspection, industrial hygiene, OSHA reviews, etc.)
  3. Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (Resources Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 when Federal funding exceeds $10,000, Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan for disturbed sites in excess of 5 acres, and other required environmental reviews)
  4. Licensing Agency for the Blind (blind concession stands for State Owned Buildings)
  5. Highway and Transportation Department (highway access, right-of-way design etc.). Contact local district headquarters’ engineer
  6. Department of Human Services, Office of Long Term Care (long term care facilities/nursing homes)
  7. Arkansas LP Gas Board (review/inspect rural installation of LP storage tanks and gas meters)