Press Release
Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
The Justice Department announced today an extension for existing swimming pools to comply with the 2010 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards for Accessible Design. Existing pools must comply with the standards by Jan. 31, 2013.
On July 26, 2010, the 20th anniversary of the ADA, President Barack Obama announced newly revised ADA regulations. The regulations reflect the fundamental principle that all Americans with disabilities should have equal access and an equal right to participate fully in our society.
Requirements for existing swimming pools were originally extended on March 15, 2010, for 60 days. The department also published a notice of proposed rulemaking with a 15-day comment period on a possible extension in order to allow additional time to address misunderstandings regarding compliance with these ADA requirements. After reviewing the comments, the department determined that a further extension was necessary to provide additional time for compliance and to respond to concerns and misunderstandings about the standards. The department will also release a technical assistance document in the near future to assist pool owners with the requirements. More information on pool requirements can be found at www.ada.gov/pools_2010.htm .
Newly constructed or altered places of public accommodation, commercial facilities and state and local government facilities are required to comply with the ADA standards. Places of public accommodation in existing facilities are required to remove accessibility barriers to the extent it is readily achievable – meaning easy to accomplish without much difficulty or expense. State and local governments using existing facilities are required to ensure their programs, services and activities, when viewed in their entirety, are accessible.
These standards were adopted as part of the revised regulations for Title II and Title III of the ADA of 1990 and will make buildings and facilities accessible to more than 54 million Americans with disabilities. The standards can be found at www.ada.gov/2010ADAstandards_index.htm .
People interested in finding out more about the ADA or the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design can call the toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (Voice) or 800-514-0383 (TTY), or access the ADA website at www.ada.gov .
12-649Civil Rights Division
@ http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2012/May/12-crt-649.html
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