IHMM Today August 20, 2024

IHMM Today is an online publication of the Institute of Hazardous Materials Management® (IHMM®).

Other than content specifically provided by IHMM, articles contained in IHMM Today are compiled from

independent sources and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of IHMM.

Inside IHMM

Creating a Collaborative Culture

There are 1,416 different conversations going on in the IHMM/HMS Collaboration platform this week.

Do you have a problem you need to solve and want the opinions of your colleagues? We created the COLLABORATION platform to enable our certificants to network, learn, and grow from one another.

This is where we collaborate with the best people in their fields, always willing to help one another lessen the stress of our jobs and where we strive as a team to make a difference of which we are proud.

You can collaborate here.

Access to COLLABORATION is through the same username/password you use to access your MYIHMM account. Are you having a problem? Contact Jimmy Nguyen at [email protected]

IHMM Proposes Changes in Government Recognition of Credentials

IHMM Signs Letter Opposing Reductions in OSH Worker’s Pay – The IHMM Government Affairs Committee has agreed to sign a coalition letter opposing reductions in pay for IH and OSH employees. Here is the coalition letter we signed.

IHMM submitted comments on OSHA Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH): Notice of Meetings concerning OSHA-2024-0002-0007, and highlighted the creation of IHMM’s Certified Pandemic Preparedness Specialist [CPPS] credential.

State of Maine Department of Environmental Protection is proposing to update Chapter 851, Standards for Generators of Hazardous Waste. In the current regulation, work is required by a professional engineer. IHMM is proposing to include an environmental professional as defined by 40 CFR §312.10.

Beltway Buzz – Ogletree Deakins

POTUS Candidates Want No Taxes on Tips. As the presidential campaign heats up, Vice President Harris and former President Trump have both voiced support for the same policy concept: exempting employee tips from taxation. Harris’s proposal would exempt tips from federal income taxes and raise the federal minimum wage, while Trump’s would exempt tips from both income and payroll taxes. Trump announced his proposal at a June 9, 2024, rally in Nevada, while Harris announced her proposal at an August 10, 2024, rally in—you guessed it—Nevada. The Silver State could play a pivotal role in the November elections—with regard to both the U.S. Senate and White House—and it is perhaps no coincidence that a large number of tipped workers reside there. Some additional thoughts on this “who wore it better” policy proposal are below:

• Just days after Trump’s June 9 announcement, Republican Senators Ted Cruz (TX), Steve Daines (MT), Rick Scott (FL), and Kevin Cramer (ND) introduced the No Tax on Tips Act. The bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to allow workers to claim a deduction at filing equal to 100 percent of the “cash tips”—cash, credit and debit card charges, and checks—they received during the taxable year. The Democratic senators from Nevada, Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto, are co-sponsors of the bill.
• Tips and workers who receive cash tips are not exactly new subjects of public policy debates. In 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) finalized a regulation that changed the circumstances in which an employer can take a “tip credit” to satisfy its minimum wage obligations.
• More tax talk can be expected. Many provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) are expiring at the end of 2025, so tax policy debates are expected to dominate the first session of the 119th Congress. The Buzz has been monitoring a bill, the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act, which would extend some of the TCJA’s provisions. Despite having received bipartisan passage in the House, that bill has stalled in the U.S. Senate.

More on Walz. Speaking of campaign promises, vice presidential candidate Tim Walz addressed the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) 2024 convention this week. Obviously, the Harris/Walz labor and employment policy agenda featured prominently in Walz’s remarks. Walz promised that Harris would sign the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act into law and would also prohibit employers from speaking to employees about the pros and cons of unionization. Walz enacted this later policy prescription into law in Minnesota, and National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo has made banning employer speech a priority—something that the three Democratic members of the Board indicated in a recent decision that they are keen to address.

Fed Court of Appeals: Robb Firing Was Legit. This week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that President Biden’s dismissal of Peter Robb, the NLRB’s general counsel, in January 2021 was lawful. The court determined that the National Labor Relations Act “contains no provision restricting the President’s removal power” of the Board’s general counsel, and that even though Congress set the general counsel’s term at four years, “[t]he Supreme Court has long held that a fixed term of office, without any additional limitation, does not impact the President’s discretionary removal power.” The Fifth and Ninth Circuits have also upheld Robb’s dismissal. Obviously, these decisions could play a factor in General Counsel Abruzzo’s continued tenure during a potential Trump administration in 2025.

Foxx Seeks Answers From Su on Independent Contractor Regulation. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), the chair of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, continues to press the DOL and Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su on the agency’s regulatory agenda. Late last week, Rep. Foxx sent Su a letter requesting “information about the administration’s efforts to eliminate the independent contractor model and classify as many workers as employees as possible in order to increase government control over workers.” The letter is a follow-up to previous questions for the record (QFRs) that Rep. Foxx submitted following Su’s May 1, 2024, appearance before the committee. Rep. Foxx concludes that “DOL’s failure to provide complete responses to oversight on this matter could lead the Committee to take compulsory action.” The letter is further evidence demonstrating that the DOL’s independent contractor regulation, which is still the subject of multiple legal challenges, could be the subject of further regulatory and/or legislative efforts in 2025.

“Time is Money” Initiative. On August 12, 2024, the Biden administration launched its “Time is Money” initiative, which is intended “to crack down on all the ways that corporations—through excessive paperwork, hold times, and general aggravation—add unnecessary headaches and hassles to people’s days and degrade their quality of life.” The initiative touts pending actions from various agencies that would allegedly make it easier to cancel subscriptions, “to let customers talk to a human by pressing a single button,” and “crack down on ineffective and time-wasting chatbots used by banks and other financial institutions in lieu of customer service.” Of course, for anyone who has prepared their own taxes, waited in line at the DMV, or opened a business, this probably comes off as a “people in glass houses” initiative.

September is National Suicide Prevention Month

September is National Suicide Prevention Month, and September 9-13 is Construction Suicide Prevention Week, an annual event promoting awareness of the unique challenges faced by construction workers, how they can contribute to mental health challenges, including suicide risk, and what can be done to reduce risk and save lives.  Available resources include videos, toolbox talks, a social media toolkit and a sample Stand-Down agenda, and participants are encouraged to register their participation. For more information, see constructionsuicideprevention.com.

In addition, on Thursday, September 5, at 2 pm ET, CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training will host a webinar on Suicide Prevention in the Construction Industry in conjunction with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention (CIASP), and the Laborers Health and Safety Fund of North America (LHSNFA). Register here.

As a reminder, OSHA’s poster, Suicide Prevention: 5 Things You Should Know, handout, Role of Employers in Preventing Suicides, and fact sheet, Workplace Mental Health, are all available in English and Spanish.

Gear Up for Respiratory Protection Week

September 3-6, 2024. Mark your calendars! Respiratory Protection Week is returning September 3–6! During this annual weeklong event, we highlight the importance of respiratory protection in the workplace. We also offer resources to help you make informed decisions when selecting and wearing a respirator. This year, NIOSH will share new products and helpful tips that support NIOSH’s strategic direction in respiratory protection for workers.

To learn more, visit Respiratory Protection Week

Government Shutdown Threat Looms in September

NPDES BASIC PERMIT WRITERS’ COURSE

Virtual Guided Learning

August 22, 2024 – September 26, 2024

Registration

The U.S. EPA is pleased to announce the opening of registration for the the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Basic Permit Writers’ Virtual Guided Learning Course starting on August 22nd with an afternoon session running for five weeks.

The objective of this course is to provide the basic regulatory framework and technical considerations that support the development of wastewater discharge permits required under the NPDES program. The course was designed for permit writers with about six months to one year of experience in the NPDES program, but experienced permit writers wanting a refresher course and other water program staff or interested parties wanting to learn more about the NPDES program also are welcome.

As a foundational course, the training does not address in detail specialized topics such as industrial and municipal stormwater, concentrated animal feeding operations, and pesticide discharges. For more information on these specialized topics, please visit EPA’s NPDES website at www.epa.gov/npdes.

The 5-week course will begin on Thursday, August 22, 2024. Participants should anticipate a time commitment of approximately 8-10 hours per week and should seek supervisor approval before signing up. The course is scheduled to conclude on September 26th, however a “rain date” of October 1st should be reserved by the participants in case of technical issues.

Each week, participants will have assigned “homework” consisting of NPDES online modules and permit exercises. These modules and exercises will then be discussed in a live virtual classroom setting on Tuesday and Thursday of each week. Participants will have the opportunity to join live office hour discussions with instructors and other participants each Tuesday as well. Participants will be expected to complete some pre-course assignments the week of August 19th prior to the course start.

Microsoft Teams will be utilized for the virtual classroom and can be accessed through the desktop application or a web browser. Course materials will be provided electronically on the Microsoft Teams classroom site for download by the participants prior to the start date.

Course Schedule and Logistics

NPDES Effective Utility Management Modernized Primer Webinar

September 23^rd, 2024

1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Register Here

September 27^th, 2024

1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Register Here

Effective Utility Management (EUM), based on the Attributes of Effectively Managed Utilities, developed by utilities for utilities, is the most widely used water utility management framework in the country. First issued in 2008, and endorsed by EPA and other water associations, a modernized version of the EUM Primer has just been released by the EPA Office of Wastewater Management and the Collaborating Organizations listed below.

In support of the roll-out for the modernized EUM Primer, the EPA Office of Wastewater Management is hosting two webinars on the updates that have been made to the EUM Primer. The webinars will not only inform you of the changes that have been made to the EUM Primer, but you will also learn the first steps for implementing EUM at your utility and will also have the opportunity to ask questions of the EUM Steering Group who participated in the modernization process.

If you would like to know more information on EUM, you can do so here.

Collaborating Organizations:

• S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies
• Association of Clean Water Administrators
• Association of State Drinking Water Administrators
• American Water Works Association
• Water Enforcement Federation
• The Water Research Foundation
• National Association of Clean Water Agencies

For any questions related to this announcement, please contact [email protected].

OSHA Emergency Response Standard Hearing

National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants From Hazardous Waste Combustors Malfunction and Electronic Reporting Amendments

OSHA Heat Standard Coming

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released a proposed rule that would protect approximately 36 million workers in indoor and outdoor work settings from extreme heat. The proposed rule would require employers to develop an injury and illness prevention plan to control heat hazards in workplaces affected by excessive heat. Among other things, the plan would require employers to evaluate heat risks and — when heat increases risks to workers — implement requirements for drinking water, rest breaks and control of indoor heat. It would also require a plan to protect new or returning workers unaccustomed to working in high heat conditions.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway is a new requirement that affected employers (there’s a list of exemptions, which are mostly office and telework employee related) must develop and deploy a written heat safety plan. Once the formal proposal is published, there will be a comment period and plenty of opportunity to provide feedback to OSHA before any rule is finalized.

Federal Register Notice

Attention Transporters of Hazardous Materials: PHMSA Proposes Registration Fee Updates

PHMSA

In an NPRM, the agency, to account for what it contends are increased transport of hazardous materials as well as what it says are the burdens such transport places on first responders, proposes updates to the registration fees under the statutorily mandated registration and fee assessment program for persons who transport, or offer for transportation, certain categories and quantities of hazardous materials.

PHMSA’s proposed rulemaking would increase the annual fee by $125 for those registrants qualifying as a small business or not-for-profit organization (an increase from $250 to $375) and those registrants not qualifying as a small business or not-for-profit organization by $425 (an increase from $2,575 to $3,000).

Other proposed amendments in the NPRM include:

• Implementing an electronic-only registration fee payment process, based on changes to the payment processes implemented by the Department of Treasury
• Revising requirements to clarify that a Certificate of Registration may be carried in either electronic or paper form, for both motor carriers and those who transport hazardous materials by vessel.

The proposed update to fees will generate the estimated $6.4 million dollars necessary to fund PHMSA’s Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) grants program at newly authorized levels in accordance with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (2021).

Comments are due no later than August 22^nd, 2024. See details and how to comment here.

Federal Register Notice

Notice of Public Meetings: International Standards on the Transport of Dangerous Goods

PHMSA’s OHMS will be hosting public forums in advance of four international meetings to allow the public to give input on current proposals being considered by the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Dangerous Goods Panel (DGP) and the United Nations Sub-Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (UNSCOE TDG). The international meetings include:

• ICAO TDG Working Group 24 (WG/24), tentatively scheduled for October, in Montreal, Canada.
• The 65th session of the UNSCOE TDG, scheduled for November 25 to December 3, 2024, in Geneva, Switzerland.

Each of these public meetings will be held approximately two weeks before the corresponding international meeting at U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Headquarters in Washington, DC (1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building), with a remote participation option available. Specific information for each meeting, including date, time, conference call-in number, and details for advance registration will be posted when available on PHMSA’s website under “Upcoming Events.”

Federal Register here.

Back-to-School Resources

As schools and students across the country prepare for the new school year, here are resources to support a safe and successful return to the classroom:

• School Staff: Back to School Resources
• Caregivers: Back to School Resources
• SchoolSafety.gov’s Back-to-School Campaign

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Federal School Safety Clearinghouse External Advisory Board

The Department of Homeland Security announced the inaugural members of the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse External Advisory Board. The NCSS is honored to be part of this dedicated group of experts working to enhance K-12 school safety and security nationwide. Learn more here.

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Creating a Culture of Support: Enhancing Staff Resilience in Emergency Situations Webinar

In this webinar on 9/12, presenters from the Colorado School of Public Health will discuss improving systems around emergency drills through tailored training, gathering staff feedback, and identifying local resources. Participants will learn to customize training for their districts, lead effective feedback sessions, and implement changes based on staff input. Registration coming soon.

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Understanding Firearm-Related Injury and School Violence

In this 5-part podcast interview series released earlier this year, experts cover crucial topics like youth suicide prevention, anonymous reporting systems, and community engagement. Listeners will gain a comprehensive understanding of how school safety strategies intersect with firearm-related injuries.

Episode 1 – Contributing Factors for Firearm-Related Injuries

Episode 2 – Firearm Safety, School Violence, and Youth Suicide

Episode 3 – Extreme Risk Protection Orders

Episode 4 – Anonymous Reporting Systems

Episode 5 – Community Engagement

Learn More Here

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8 Lessons Learned From a Real-Life Swatting Incident

Last fall we hosted a live webinar with staff from the city of Franklin, New Hampshire, and the Franklin School District. The discussion highlighted their response to a swatting incident in 2022.

With these crises becoming more common nationwide, preparation is crucial. Our latest blog post shares valuable insights from the Franklin team that may help school districts address potential security issues.  Learn more here.

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• 9/25-26 – 2024 National Summit on K-12 School Safety and Security

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Explore Our School Threat Assessment Toolkit:

Now Available in Interactive Web Format!

Calling All Beta Testers

In my time at AIHA, few projects have generated as much excitement as our Heat Stress Mobile App. The app fills an important need because its recommendations are based on the web bulb globe temperature (WBGT), a more comprehensive indicator of heat than the commonly used heat index. The app allows users to indicate the intensity of their workload, the kinds of clothing they’re wearing, and the degree of sunlight they’re experiencing, all major risk factors for heat-related illness. Based on these inputs, the app calculates the user’s adjusted WBGT index and delivers recommended measures for mitigating or preventing heat stress.

Read more here.

• ECHA gets a role supporting the Industrial Emissions Directive
• SME verification: only one administrative charge for joint application for authorisation
• Consultations on applications for authorisation
• New substance evaluation conclusion published for CoRAP substance
• Assessment of regulatory needs reports published
• Consultations on harmonised classification and labelling
• New intentions, proposals and withdrawals to harmonised classification and labelling
• Guide for enforcement of mixture classification based on bridging principles
• Check the latest updates in EUCLEF

IHMM-HMS Event Calendar