There will be a six-month grace period for projects received by the Orange County Utilities Development Engineering Division prior to October 10, 2021. Your project can remain under the 2011 Manual as long as it is approved by April 10, 2022. “Approved” means that plans must be technically approved by all participating departments. The plans don’t have to be stamped and released by April 10, 2022, to qualify. The approval will be valid for one year. If the preconstruction meeting isn’t held within a year, the approval will expire, and the plans will need to be updated to the 2021 standards. If a preconstruction meeting is held but no active construction commences for six months, the approval will expire, and the plans will need to be updated to the 2021 standards. Exceptions to this are those projects that received extensions pursuant to relevant Senate bills or emergency declarations.