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On Thursday, April 28, 2022, California Attorney General (AG) Rob Bonta announced his office is launching an investigation to hold the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries accountable for their alleged role in creating and continuing a global plastic pollution crisis. “For decades, these industries have aggressively promoted the development of oil-based plastic products and campaigned […]
On April 28, the EPA announced three actions to increase public protection against per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in our nation’s waters. The actions “advance progress under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Plan to Combat PFAS Pollution by improving methods to detect PFAS in water, reducing PFAS discharges into our nation’s waters, and protecting fish and aquatic […]
On May 4, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) proposed establishing requirements for maintaining and using speed-limiting devices on commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) (87 Federal Register (FR) 26317). A speed-limiting regulation would rely on the use of electronic engine control units (ECUs) capable of governing maximum CMV speeds. ECUs have been routinely installed in […]
The American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) has published a new voluntary consensus standard for measuring health and safety performance. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/ASSP Z16.1-2022, Safety and Health Metrics and Performance Measures, updates a standard (ANSI Z16.1) first released in the 1960s as “Method of Recording and Measuring Work Injury Experience.” The updated […]
On April 14, 2022, the EPA released its 29th annual report, “Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks.” The report presents an overview of national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 1990 to 2020. The GHG inventory covers seven key GHGs: Carbon dioxide (CO2) Methane Nitrous oxide Hydrofluorocarbons Perfluorocarbons Sulfur hexafluoride Nitrogen trifluoride It also […]
On April 21, 2022, EPA Administrator Michael Regan signed a final action denying four petitions filed between 2017 and 2019, which challenged the Agency’s 2009 finding that “elevated concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere may reasonably be anticipated to endanger the public health and welfare of current and future U.S. generations.” The petitions […]
On April 20, 2022, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published a final rule in the Federal Register restoring the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) provisions requiring detailed environmental reviews of infrastructure projects to include climate change-related impacts. The rule, which goes into effect May 20, 2022, will impact projects like pipelines, oil […]
The EPA has struggled, and mostly failed, for many years to meet its obligations under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to protect endangered species from pesticides. “EPA has an opportunity and an obligation to improve how it meets its duties under the [ESA] when it registers pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act […]
On April 22, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced a newly issued Local Emphasis Program (LEP) for food processing facilities in Wisconsin. The OSHA outreach, inspection, and enforcement program is aimed at addressing machine and amputation hazards in food manufacturing facilities. From 2014 to 2020, OSHA investigated multiple fatalities, dozens of amputations, fractures, […]
On April 26, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it issued a hazard alert letter to Amazon after six contractors were fatally injured and another severely injured when a December 10, 2021, tornado struck the company’s Edwardsville, Illinois, warehouse. OSHA is requiring Amazon to review its severe weather emergency procedures. After interviewing Amazon […]