Category: Regulatory Developments

Smokestack

MACT program’s OIAI Ended by EPA Air Chief

Under new Assistant Administrator William Wehrum, EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) has issued a memo withdrawing a 21-year-old policy on the classification of sources under Clean Air Act Section 112 (control of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs); also called the maximum achievable control technology (MACT) program).

Prevent violence

General Industry Violence Standard to Be Proposed in California

Moving out ahead of federal OSHA, California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) is developing a general industry workplace violence prevention standard. In 2017, California became the first state to require all healthcare facilities to implement protective measures for workers who may be exposed to violence.

Silica

Objections to OSHA Silica Rule Dismissed by D.C. Circuit

On December 22, 2017, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (panel) issued an opinion that denied challenges to all but one provision of OSHA’s March 2016 amendments to its 1971 standards for occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica.

Supreme Court on WOTUS: Challenges Must Begin in District Courts

In an unusual development, the U.S. Supreme Court, which is almost always divided over interpretations of U.S. environmental law, ruled unanimously that challenges to the EPA/Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) 2015 Clean Water Rule (CWR) must be heard first in U.S. district courts, not federal appeals courts.

EPA Ordered to Propose Lead Paint/Dust Standards

In a majority decision, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit agreed with environmental groups who had complained that the EPA had failed to act upon their 2009 petition to revise federal lead-based paint and dust-lead hazard standards. According to the majority, after granting the plaintiffs’ petition, the Agency […]

California Employer Rights Under Prop 64: Are Workplaces Going to Pot?

On November 8, 2016, voters in three states—including California—approved ballot measures to legalize recreational marijuana use. Most provisions of the new rule, Proposition 64, became effective immediately—but the provision allowing commercial sale of marijuana was delayed: it goes into effect on January 1, 2018. On that date, the commercial sale of marijuana and marijuana-containing products […]

New Requirements for Wool Fiberglass Sector

In a final rule, the EPA has revised several Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements and established new requirements for five existing facilities engaged in wool fiberglass manufacturing. The rule is the product of the technology review the Agency conducted as part of its residual risk and technology review (RTR). The new requirements affect emissions of […]

Amendments Planned for Agricultural WPS

The EPA has issued several documents in anticipation of amending provisions of the Obama administration’s agricultural Worker Protection Standard ((WPS), November 2, 2015, FR) and Certification of Pesticide Applicators Rule (January 4, 2017, FR). Three requirements of the WPS—minimum age, designated representative, and application exclusion zones—are targeted for possible amendment. The minimum age requirement in […]