IHMM Today January 17, 2023

IHMM to Release the CPPS and CSSM in February

IHMM is pleased to announce that it intends on releasing to the public its Certified Pandemic Preparedness Specialist [CPPS®] and Certified School Safety Manager [CSSM®] credentials in February.

The Certified Pandemic Preparedness Specialist [CPPS®] arose from more than 200 suggestions from IHMM certificants recommending what microcredentials IHMM should consider creating. The credential was created by the IHMM Microcredential Task Force > https://ihmm.org/microcredential-task-force/  first chaired by Dan Blankfeld, CSHM, CSMP, and now Chaired by Bart Miller, CHMM. Members of the task force will be meeting with the Maryland Congressional delegation soon, and then with the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy.

The Certified School Safety Manager [CSSM®] came over to IHMM from its acquisition of ISHM in 2019, though at that time the credential had no blueprint or examinations. Thanks to the work of the IHMM CSSM-CSSS Committee chaired by Mike Howe > https://ihmm.org/csss-cssm-committee/ we have a new blueprint and examination.

Both these groups have completed building their respective examinations and the exam questions will be loaded into IHMM’s Kryterion program so that CPPS and CSSM exams will be available at more than 1,100 testing centers worldwide. When the examinations have been loaded and tested, the new websites for each credential will go public.

EPA Endorses New Standard for Phase I Environmental Site Assessments

After unexpected controversy earlier in the year, on December 15, 2022 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Final Rule unambiguously recognizing the ASTM International Standard E1527-21 for Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs), with an effective date of February 13, 2023.^[1] EPA’s express endorsement of the standard as meeting the requirements of the All Appropriate Inquiry (AAI) Rule^[2] is essential to ensuring that the Phase I ESA fulfills its fundamental purpose: protection for prospective purchasers (and lessees) of property from liability for pre-existing contamination by petroleum products or hazardous substances regulated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response and Cleanup Liability Act (CERCLA).

ASTM E1527-21 distills statutory, regulatory and evolving common law requirements for AAI into clear, practical steps for investigating and assessing the environmental risks associated with a property prior to a new party acquiring an interest in it. A Phase I ESA carried out in compliance with ASTM standards provides a degree of assurance for buyers, financiers and insurers of real property that liability for contamination—both known and unknown—will be limited. In essence, these parties are protected from any liability for historic contamination under CERCLA, remaining potentially liable only for new contamination or acts that worsen the preexisting contamination. This is important, as being tapped as a “potentially responsible party” as an owner or operator under CERCLA can result in huge costs.

Read the rule here > https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/12/15/2022-27044/standards-and-practices-for-all-appropriate-inquiries

IHMM on Hazmat Transportation Issues

On January 13, 2022 IHMM issued an update and overview of several hazmat transportation issues and regulatory actions involving; lithium batteries, FMCSA hazardous materials safety permits, California ELD permits for intrastate carriers, ADR 2023, and 2 PHMSA regulatory actions.

You may read the materials here > https://ihmm.org/ihmm-and-transportation-issues/

EPA Proposes to Strengthen Air Quality Standards to Protect the Public from Harmful Effects of Soot

US Department of Labor reminds certain employers to submit required 2022 injury and illness data by March 2, 2023

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is reminding employers that the agency is collecting calendar year 2022 Form 300A data. Employers must submit the form electronically by March 2, 2023.

Establishments under Federal OSHA jurisdiction can use the ITA Coverage Application to determine if they are required to electronically report their injury and illness information to OSHA. Establishments under State Plan jurisdiction should contact their State Plan.

Employers must connect their Injury Tracking Account to a Login.gov account to submit their 2022 workplace injury and illness data. Watch the video to learn how.

EPA Faces Increased Scrutiny Of DOE Nuclear Cleanup Decisions

EPA is facing heightened scrutiny from environmentalists over key cleanup decisions for major Energy Department (DOE) nuclear sites, including calls for the agency to release records of its reconsideration of a controversial Trump-era decision in Tennessee and requirements for the agency to justify a separate permitting decision for a site in New Mexico.

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), a whistleblower group, for example, has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking records pertaining to its review of a controversial Superfund cleanup decision from the Trump EPA at DOE’s Oak Ridge nuclear site, which the group could use in part to assess the legality of the Biden EPA’s decision.

And EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board recently remanded a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit the agency issued to the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico, finding the agency had not allowed for adequate public comment — though the board sidestepped, for now, a broader challenge raised by environmental petitioners on whether the agency issued the permit to sidestep stricter waste management requirements.

At issue in the Oak Ridge case is the Record of Decision (ROD) EPA Administrator Michael Regan signed in September 2022, upholding Trump-era Administrator Andrew Wheeler’s 2020 determination governing cleanup requirements for wastewater discharges containing radionuclides from a proposed new landfill.

–Inside EPA

Certainty On WOTUS Remains Elusive As Supreme Court Ruling Awaits

The Supreme Court’s closely watched ruling later this year in Sackett v. EPA could fail to provide long-sought certainty over the scope of the Clean Water Act (CWA), especially if the court’s decision is narrowly focused on when adjacent wetlands are subject to the law and does not address other jurisdictional issues, such as small streams.

EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers recently finalized a new definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) that covers a wide swath of “navigable” and other waters, including both wetlands and streams.

The new rule adopts the dual tests that the Supreme Court previously spelled out in Rapanos v. EPA, including both the narrow test based on “continuous surface connection” between “relatively permanent” waters,” as well as the broader “significant nexus” standard.

But the new rule will almost certainly face court challenges. While the high court’s ruling in Sackett could help determine the eventual outcome of those suits, it could do little to reduce the debate over what are WOTUS.

EPA also plans to propose a second WOTUS rule in November, after the Supreme Court rules, and finalize it in July 2024, according to the Fall 2022 Unified Agenda, which was released Jan. 4. But it is unclear to what degree yet another rulemaking can do to provide clarity.

PHMSA offers Hazmat transportation training workshops and webinars

PHMSA offers Hazmat transportation training workshops and webinars throughout the year. These free training opportunities are for anyone who offers or transports hazardous materials in commerce, or has a desire to learn more about DOT’s Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR).

PHMSA conducts webinars specialized to meet the needs of industry or the public safety community. Transportation webinars provide a basic overview of the regulatory requirements – what they are, how they apply, and how to comply with them – for shipping and transporting Hazardous Materials.

To register for any of the webinars below, please use the following link:
https://opsweb.phmsa.dot.gov/hm_seminars/default_webinar.asp

Read more >> https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/seminars/webinars

What to Expect in Chemicals Policy and Regulation and on Capitol Hill in 2023

January 31, 2023
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EST

REGISTER NOW

This webinar offers our best-informed judgment as to the trends and key developments chemical industry stakeholders can expect in 2023. At a political level, the Republicans’ narrow control of the U.S. House of Representatives will almost certainly invite a greater degree of oversight of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) actions, particularly with respect to implementation of the 2016 amendments of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Concepts core to the Act, including “reasonably foreseen,” “to the extent necessary,” “systematic review,” and “best available science,” continue to evolve and not always in predictable, coherent, and consistent ways. Similar policy shifts are seen in the agricultural and biocidal area, with perhaps less dramatic effect. How the 2024 general election will influence EPA’s policy choices is unclear. In that the election cycle has already begun, we caution all to buckle up and prepare for what we expect will be an eventful, fascinating year.

EPA Readies Landmark TSCA Rules Governing Asbestos, Methylene Chloride

EPA is entering a landmark year for TSCA regulation as it prepares to finalize a proposed ban on uses of chrysotile asbestos, the first rule based on a risk evaluation under the reformed law, and readies a proposal for the solvent methylene chloride that could set a long-term precedent on how the agency will approach risk management for other existing chemicals.

Although EPA has crafted a handful of rules for existing chemicals since Congress overhauled the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in 2016, the asbestos and methylene chloride rules are its first to apply the law’s framework for evaluations that identify “unreasonable risks” from such chemicals’ use, followed by regulations to manage those risks — making them bellwethers for how that program will function, possibly for decades to come.

Moreover, the final asbestos rule is all but certain to face legal challenges, teeing up precedent-setting court decisions on the limits of EPA’s power to regulate existing chemicals based on its findings in risk evaluations.

The agency’s most recent rulemaking agenda sets the final asbestos rule for October, over a year after comments closed on its April 2022 proposal that would phase out the last ongoing uses of chrysotile fibers. Chemical facilities such as those that use asbestos to make sheet gaskets and chlorine would have a two-year deadline to drop the material, while a shorter 180-day deadline would apply to its use in products like aftermarket automotive brake parts.

But a wide array of industry groups has attacked that approach as both unjustifiably strict, as they insist asbestos can be used “safely” in chlor-alkali production, and said a ban could be ruinous for domestic production of chlorine.

–Inside EPA

EPA Readies Suite Of New PFAS Rules In 2023 Amid Heated Advocacy

EPA is gearing up to issue a suite of new final and proposed rules, including under its Superfund, water, waste and toxics programs, in 2023 — measures that are already driving heated advocacy as environmentalists and industry groups battle over the reach and stringency of the upcoming regulations.

Many, if not all, of the pending per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) regulations will be quickly challenged once finalized while the proposals will spark strong debates.

Legal challenges to EPA’s PFAS rules under Superfund and the drinking water law are “an absolute,” John Gardella, an attorney with CMBG3 Law, said during a Nov. 30 Perrin Conferences webinar titled, “One Year Since EPA’s PFAS Roadmap, Updates and Preparation for 2023.”

He said those challenges are “going to happen. There is going to be legal pushback on those designations, those standards, and it will just be a matter of what the courts do with them — that will have the dramatic impact on where we are all going with the PFAS litigation in the future,”

But even before rules reach court, EPA is facing heated debate over its pending plans.

A case in point is the upcoming Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reporting rule for PFAS imports, manufacture and processing.

EPA missed its congressional Jan. 1 deadline and now says it will issue the final rule in March 2023, according to the Unified Agenda.

–Inside EPA

Take the Partner Survey

Thank you for being a Safe + Sound partner! We appreciate your support throughout the year. The Safe + Sound Partner Survey is live. We welcome feedback about your experience and suggestions for the future. The survey will close Tuesday, February 7th.

Earn a Challenge Coin

Workers are an important resource for identifying workplace hazards and implementing changes. Safety reporting systems allow ideas and suggestions for improving safety to be captured.

Take the Speak Up for Safety Challenge! Review your safety reports with a team to find common themes and opportunities to improve your overall workplace safety and health performance.

Complete the challenge and earn your virtual challenge coin! Then, share the results in your workplace and on social media to show how you encourage workers to #SpeakUpForSafety to be #SafeAndSoundAtWork.

Your Partner Punch List

We would appreciate if you could support Safe + Sound by doing the following:

• Complete the Safe + Sound Partner Survey by February 7th
• Promote the Speak Up for Safety Challenge to your stakeholders

A Collaborative Culture

There are 827 different conversations going on in the IHMM/HMS Collaboration platform this week.

A collaborative culture is important for every business but is especially important for our hazardous materials, dangerous goods, environment, health, and safety communities of practice. Do you have a problem you need to solve and want the opinions of your colleagues? This is where we come together to help each other.

IHMM credentialed professionals are at the top 1% of their professions and their reach is global. We are at the forefront of environmental protection, health, and safety and this is where collaborating with the best people in their fields, always willing to help one another, lessens the stress of our jobs, and where we strive as a team to make a difference of which we are proud.

We opened COLLABORATION to enable thousands of certificants and supporters to collaborate together. You can collaborate here.

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

Columbia Southern University

The Hazardous Materials Society [HMS] is a partner of Columbia Southern University. Columbia Southern University is an online university based in Orange Beach, Alabama, that strives to change and improve lives through higher education by enabling students to maximize their professional and personal potential.

A subsidiary of Columbia Southern Education Group, CSU offers online degree programs at the associate, bachelor, master, doctorate or certificate levels in a multitude of areas such as occupational safety and health, fire administration, criminal justice, business administration, human resource management, health care administration and more. CSU also features undergraduate and graduate certificate programs to provide focused training in specialized areas for adult learners.

Click on the CSU graphic at left and learn more about the professional development and degree program opportunities at CSU.

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