Category: EHS Administration

Funding Announced for 18 State Water Systems

The EPA announced the first 18 states to receive Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding for water infrastructure improvements. The BIL allocates more than $50 billion to the EPA for repairing the nation’s essential water infrastructure, which helps communities access clean, safe, and reliable drinking water; increase resilience; collect and treat wastewater to protect public health; […]

Oregon OSHA Issues $144,000 in Fall Protection Fines

On September 22, the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Oregon OSHA) announced fines totaling more than $144,000 issued to 2 contractors for violations, including repeat offenses, of state fall protection rules at worksites in Salem and Woodburn. The violations put multiple workers at risk of serious injury or death from falls to lower levels, […]

NIOSH Alerts Employers to CDC Monkeypox Guidance

On October 3, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) called employers’ and workers’ attention to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) toolkit for monkeypox vaccination in the institute’s October eNews. Monkeypox is caused by infection with the monkeypox virus, which is part of the same family of viruses as the […]

Petition to Eliminate SSM ‘Loopholes’

On September 13, 2022, a group of environmental and community advocacy organizations petitioned the EPA to close “loopholes” in the regulations implementing the Clean Air Act (CAA) that “allow facilities like oil refineries, chemical plants, and incinerators to disregard emission standards, stop reporting their pollution, and avoid fines or other consequences for excess pollution they […]

EPA Watchdog Investigates Water Crisis in Jackson, Miss.

The EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a press statement on September 13, 2022, announcing it will begin an investigation into the Jackson, Mississippi, severe water crisis. The city’s water system has been plagued with issues for years, having been the subject of many EPA enforcement actions, including emergency orders and notices of noncompliance. […]

FMCSA Seeks Input on Logging Device Regulations

On September 16, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued a request for comments on its electronic logging device (ELD) regulations for commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) (87 Federal Register (FR) 56921). In an advance notice of proposed rulemaking, the agency revealed it is considering changes in the applicability for pre-2000 engines, addressing ELD malfunctions, […]

OMB Says EPA Proposed Rule to Designate PFAS As Hazardous Will Be Costly

The EPA’s proposed rulemaking to designate two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), including their salts and structural isomers—as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) hit a snag after its Office of Management and Budget (OMB) review. The review identified the proposal as “economically […]

OSHA Postpones Process Safety Stakeholder Meeting

On September 20, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced the postponement of a stakeholder meeting on possible changes to the agency’s process safety management (PSM) standard (87 Federal Register (FR) 57520). The meeting, which was originally scheduled for September 28, will be held October 12. Written comments must be submitted by November 14. […]

EPA Proposes Risk Management Program Regulations Revisions

On August 31, 2022, the EPA published proposed amendments to its Clean Air Act (CAA) Risk Management Program in the Federal Register. The proposed revisions include changes to the accident prevention program requirements, enhancements to the emergency preparedness requirements, increased public availability of chemical hazard information, and changes/points of clarification to certain regulatory definitions. These […]