Category: Regulatory Developments

New CA Law Requires Workplace Violence Prevention Plans

A new law recently enacted in California requires employers to implement a workplace violence prevention plan and could prove influential if other states follow suit. On Sept. 30, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 553 into law, requiring nearly all businesses to have their plans in place by July 1, 2024. Exempted from the law are […]

What We Learned From…the 2023 NSC Safety Congress

Last week, safety professionals congregated in New Orleans for the 2023 NSC Safety Congress & Expo. EHS Daily Advisor was on the scene, attending sessions and visiting booths in the expo hall. Here are some of our takeaways from the event: Jay Kumar, EHSDA Editor-in-Chief Grace Hatfield, EHSDA Editor

The Latest in the HFC Crusade

On October 6, 2023, the EPA announced two regulations in the continued crusade to phase down the use of super-polluting hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The first new action is a final rule to accelerate the ongoing transition to more efficient and climate-safe technologies in new refrigeration, heating, and cooling systems and other products by restricting the use […]

OSHA Officials Discuss Rulemaking Efforts, Focus on Heat Illness

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is busy on several rulemaking fronts, but it’s devoting considerable resources to heat illness prevention, according to OSHA officials speaking at the NSC Safety Congress and Expo in New Orleans this week. Andrew Levinson, director, OSHA Directorate of Standards and Guidance, said OSHA’s regulatory agenda includes an update […]

Proposed Regulatory Changes May Double Methane Reporting

An analysis conducted by Enverus Intelligence Research (EIR), a subsidiary of the energy-focused software-as-a-service firm Enverus, predicts that proposed changes to Subpart W of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reporting Program “would more than double 2021 reported methane and increase overall carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions by 41%,” an EIR news release states. Purpose of the revisions The […]

Chevron Defense Battle Lines Drawn in Upcoming SCOTUS Case

Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, an upcoming case that will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) this fall, is being closely watched because its decision is expected to determine whether the Chevron defense will reach its 40th birthday in 2024 or whether the precedent will fade away. The Chevron defense sets a legal […]

More Stringent Limits on Major NESHAP Sources Reclassifying to Area Sources

On September 22, 2023, the EPA proposed to strengthen a 2020 Clean Air Act (CAA) rule by ensuring industrial facilities that emit large amounts of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) can’t increase emissions when reclassifying from a “major source” of emissions to an “area source.” The proposed amendments to the “Reclassification of Major Sources as Area […]

Groups Sue EPA Over CAFO Regulations

Several environmental and citizen watch groups have filed suit against the EPA in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit to force the Agency to strengthen regulations for concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) to provide better water quality protection. The lawsuit was filed after the EPA denied a 2017 petition that requested a […]

Final Asbestos Rule Requires Reporting on All Types of Asbestos

The new final rule requiring reporting on all six fiber types of asbestos went into effect August 24, 2023. Issued under Section 8(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the rule requires asbestos manufacturers (including importers) and processors to report certain use and exposure information from the past four years, including information on asbestos-containing […]

VIDA Regulations to Be Finalized to Protect WOTUS From Vessel Discharges

On September 8, 2023, the EPA published a proposed consent decree to finalize nationwide standards that will protect U.S. waterways from harmful vessel discharges. Under the agreement, the agency must release final regulations on ballast water discharges by September 24, 2024. The proposed consent decree is to settle Center for Biological Diversity et al. v. […]