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There has been considerable interest in how the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) would address the Corps/EPA June 2015 final Definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule in its reissued set of nationwide permits (NWPs). Now published, the Corps’s final NWP rule essentially disassociates itself from the WOTUS rule pending the outcome of […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published a final rule reducing the decades-old beryllium exposure limits. The standards apply to general industry, shipyards, and construction.
On the first day of the 115th Congress, Republicans promptly introduced legislation to explicitly weaken the powers of federal agencies in promulgating regulations. For example, in the House or Representatives, the Regulatory Accountability Act (H.R. 5) brings together six separate reform bills that have already passed the House in the previous Congress. H.R. 5 is […]
On this episode of EHS on Tap, we address the Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s recent rulemaking on walking working surfaces and how the rule aims to prevent slips, trips, and falls in the workplace. BLR Legal Editor Emily Remmel speaks with attorney Adele Abrams. Adele heads a nine-attorney firm that represents employers and contractors […]
The EPA has taken final action to remove 72 entries from the list of inert ingredients approved for use in pesticide products. Inert ingredients on this list do not need further approval before inclusion in a pesticide formulation for a nonfood use.
The EPA is proposing to use its authority under Section 6(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to prohibit several uses of trichloroethylene (TCE), a volatile organic compound, to eliminate exposures to workers, consumers, and the general population, which, the Agency says, result in significant cancer and noncancer health risks. The proposal would specifically […]
One motivation behind EPA’s comprehensive revisions of its certification requirements for applicators of restricted use pesticides (RUP) is the need for the federal regulations to catch up with authorized state programs. Issued under authority of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) in 1974, the original RUP applicator certification requirements (40 CFR part 171) […]
Obama EPA’s most consequential actions to prevent accidents at facilities with hazardous chemicals have been written out in the Agency’s just released final amendments to regulations implementing Clean Air Act (CAA) section 112(r), more commonly called the Risk Management Program (RMP).
California health care employers will soon have a new regulation to comply with. On December 8, the state’s Office of Administrative Law approved new Section 3342 of the General Industry Safety Orders, Workplace Violence Prevention in Health Care. The standard takes effect on April 1, 2017.
On December 21, 2016, EPA finalized revisions to the Chemical Accident Prevention Provisions under 40 CFR 68, also known as the Risk Management Program (RMP). The revisions, which were proposed back in March 2016, are intended to improve elements of the RMP, enhance emergency preparedness, and ensure that local emergency response officials and the public […]