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Costs and Benefits of EPA’s Proposed Ozone Standards Since the Clean Air Act was passed in 1970, the EPA claims harmful air pollution has been reduced “by about 70% while the U.S. economy has more than tripled,” with ground-level ozone dropping about 33% since 1980. Overall, 90% of the areas in the United States that […]
Every three years, EPA announces its key focus areas for NEIs whereby a national enforcement team is deployed to intensely scrutinizes, and penalize if necessary, entities that violate environmental regulations. Last year, EPA announced its intention to maintain the previous NEI focus areas through fiscal year 2016. That means the current focus areas will remain […]
An effective discipline policy can help your workers remain aware of, and in compliance with, workplace safety rules. However, if your workplace discipline policy is badly designed or inconsistently applied, you could put yourself in a bind with workers and regulators.
EPA’s Proposed Changes to Ground-Level Ozone Standards The EPA is required by the Clean Air Act (CAA) to review outdoor air quality standards for ozone every 5 years “by following a set of open, transparent steps and considering the advice of a panel of independent experts.” In this most recent review, more than 1,000 […]
Few people enjoy disciplining employees. It’s a distasteful task. But correctly applied discipline is in the best interest of both the employee and employer, and all employees who are responsible for discipline should know how and when to discipline an employee who has violated a safety rule.
Global Methane Initiative—A Trash to Treasure Story, Part 2 The United States is a very active partner in the GMI and in keeping with the original targeted areas of focus, has created four voluntary industry programs to address methane as an emission and as an energy source. Here is a look at the programs […]
Do you ever feel as if you’re at odds with your supervisors and workers over safety? Like you’re working at cross purposes, in an environment where safety is seen as the enemy of production? What if there were a way to bring workers onto your team and get everybody working together to enhance workplace safety? […]
Global Methane Initiative—A Trash to Treasure Story, Part 1 According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), methane “accounts for 14 percent of global GHG emissions with an estimated 7,196 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCO2E) of anthropogenic [manmade] emissions in 2010.” Although methane is emitted in smaller quantities than carbon dioxide (CO2) […]
Maybe you have to have a safety committee because state law requires you to. Maybe you thought it was a good idea when you started it, but it has never worked out like you hoped. Maybe you poured your efforts into establishing a safety committee, but workers never seemed to trust it fully. What’s keeping […]
SPCC Violations Underscore Importance of Facility Response Plans In December 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a settlement with an Alaska-based oil field services company for multiple violations of the SPCC rule, including failure to submit an FRP. Under the SPCC regulations, there are two scenarios that require preparation and submission of […]