The prevalence of improperly installed hot water tanks in southern Wyoming and northern Utah has led to area businesses seeking assistance from the Green River City Council.
Lance Ball, the CEO of Aspen Mountain Plumbing, brought several photos of hot water tanks in Green River that had been improperly installed and were venting carbon monoxide gas into the homes they were installed in.
“These are showing a lack of education in the trade of plumbing in general and we’re starting to see a huge increase in this area in the last few years,” Ball said.
Ball said a way to prevent improper installation of gas water heaters and similar appliances is to have workers obtain a trade license for the trade they’re practicing. Currently, anyone wanting to do plumbing or other trade work within the city needs to obtain a contractor’s license from the city and provide proof of insurance. Ball said other cities throughout the state already require a license to show a worker has the education and ability to properly perform the work they offer.
“This is something not new in the state of Wyoming,” he said.
Jeff Bybee, the manager of region operations for Dominion Energy, said the company was seeing the same problems Ball is calling attention to more than three years ago. He said Dominion Energy wants to see a certification process in place for plumbers and HVAC technicians.
“We have worked hand-in-hand with an association called the Rocky Mountain Gas Association,” he said.
Bybee said rules in Utah’s state code require HVAC technicians and plumbers to pass the RMGA certification test to work in Utah. However, there is one piece Bybee said the industry is missing. He said RMGA hoped the industry would choose to police itself once it started hosting meetings with area contractors and provided RMGA information.
“They’ve chosen not to, which kind of makes you concerned,” Bybee said. “If you know what you’re doing, why wouldn’t you want this certification process?”
While he admits there are some contractors who have gone through the certification process, he believes making the certification a requirement for a business license would be better for everyone. Bybee said he’s willing to talk with Council members individually or help host a workshop meeting with the RMGA president.
City Administrator Reed Clevenger said city department heads looked at photos of an improperly vented hot water tank during their Tuesday morning meeting.
“We feel both in community development in terms of inspections as well as from the fire department side that we should have certification on our general contractors and contractor licensing,” he said.
However, one aspect Clevenger sees as an issue is people who think they can install it on their own.
“It’s definitely something we want to move with,” Clevenger said.
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