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In a final rule, the EPA has revised its dust-lead hazard standards (DLHS) to address exposures generated by lead-based paint in residential dwellings and child-occupied facilities (COFs). The rule complies with orders issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in December 2017 and March 2018. The court had found in favor […]
In an action that ranks in importance with President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has formally repealed the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan (CPP) and replaced it with the Affordable Clean Energy rule (ACE). Both actions are contained in the same rule along with a third […]
In March 2019, the EPA used its authority under Section 6(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to issue a final rule prohibiting the manufacture (including import), processing, and distribution in commerce of methylene chloride for consumer paint and coating removal (stripping). The action carried out part of a proposal the Agency published in […]
In a final rule, the EPA has exempted air emissions from animal waste at farms from the emergency release notification requirements of Section 304 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), which is part of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB), recently issued a memo clarifying how it determines if a proposed federal rule is a major rule and the level of cooperation the OIRA expects from federal agencies to assist in that determination. The […]
Illinois workers and their families can now sue employers for long-developing occupational illnesses under a new state law. The law enables workers and their families to file civil suits against employers after the clock has run out on the state’s workers’ compensation and occupational diseases laws.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) plans to issue changes by the end of the year to its beryllium standards for general industry, construction, and shipyards. The plans announced in the agency’s Spring 2019 regulatory agenda would complete changes to an “eleventh-hour” Obama administration rulemaking.
Stating that the benefits of a National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) for perchlorate do not justify the costs of such a regulation, the EPA is nonetheless proposing an NPDWR for the chemical. Under the proposal, the Agency would set the NPDWR at a Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 56 micrograms per liter (µg/L). The […]
California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) has revised its draft indoor heat illness prevention standard to address stakeholders’ concerns. Employers would have to maintain the indoor temperature and heat index below 87 degrees Fahrenheit when workers are present under the standard.
Scott A. Mugno, President Trump’s nominee to be Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health at OSHA, has withdrawn his name from consideration for the position.