IHMM Today January 9, 2024

INSIDE IHMM

Slippery Rock University Joins the IHMM Student CHMM Program

IHMM Government Affairs in 2023

Here are the highlights of what we worked on in 2023, and with a new committee forming will build on for 2024.

• Professional Certification Coalition, 2023 Accomplishments and 2024 Priorities
• More Federal Recognition for the CSHM, CSMP, CHMM, and CHMP – IHMM Comments to OSHA Voluntary Protection Program [VPP]

• Hazardous Materials: Harmonization With International Standards – IHMM Comments Filed 7/31/2023

• PHMSA Seeks Comment on Initiatives to Modernize the HMR

• PHMSA – Hazardous Materials: Harmonization With International Standards – IHMM Comments Submitted – Docket No. PHMSA-2021-0092 (HM-215Q)

• NY Department of Labor rulemaking concerning the recognition of the CSHM and CSMP. IHMM’s comments concerning initiating this rulemaking are here
• Work with Eric Vega in Puerto Rico concerning credential recognition
• Review of the Governor of Nevada’s Executive Order concerning licensing boards and potential for recognition of the CHMM. IHMM’s comments on the Governor’s Executive Order are here
• Scheduling meetings with the Maryland Congressional delegation concerning the Certified Pandemic Preparedness Specialist [CPPS] credential
• PHMSA Recycled Plastics Policy – https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/04/14/2023-07869/hazardous-materials-request-for-feedback-on-recycled-plastics-policy
• Ohio EPA Hazardous Waste Rules – https://epa.ohio.gov/about/media-center/events/public-hearing-HazWasteRules
• OSHA, finding the personnel who make the decisions concerning credentials recognized as prerequisites for OSHA training programs
• Maine DEP, 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.

The IHMM Government Affairs Committee is found here, where you may also join our group.

IHMM and EPA Collaborate on the Continuing Challenge Hazmat Workshop

The Continuing Challenge is the oldest hazmat training workshop by responders by responders and we are entering our 35^th year.  The 2024 event is from September 3-5, 2024 in Sacramento, California.

We are currently looking for instructors for the 2024 workshop in all things hazmat including:

Planning/SARA Title III;

Mental Health for First Responders;

Drug Labs, Incident Command System and Response Management;

WMD/Explosives;

General Hazmat Response;

HAZWOPER;

Chemistry;

Oil Spills;

Hazmat Firefighting, Risk-Exposure Assessment;

Legal Issues for First Responders;

Media and Community Relations;

Radiation Response and Cleanup;

Air Monitoring and Sampling; Sampling; and

Lithium Ion Battery and Other Alternative Fuels Response.

Our students are hazmat team members from local, state, tribal, Federal and International fire and health departments as well as private industry.

Everyone can get more information at Hazmat.org.

Each seminar typically ranges from 2 hours to 8 hours in length. If you are interested in presenting at the Continuing Challenge then let us know by sending an email to [email protected] with a title, name of the program above, and a short description of the material you would like to deliver. Deadline for submissions so we can get them to EPA is February 1, 2024.

IHMM To Create an AHMM Examination Preparatory Course

In late October IHMM issued an RFP soliciting proposals to work with IHMM on the creation of an Associate Hazardous Materials Manager™ [AHMM™] examination preparatory course.

IHMM is pleased to announce that it has selected Columbia Southern University and VUBIZ, both organizations already work with IHMM on delivering other credential prep courses, to work with IHMM on the AHMM project.

A Collaborative Culture

There are 1,198 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]

IHMM Proposes Changes in Government Recognition of Credentials

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.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has a number of courses in occupational safety and health within which OSHA credits “A degree in occupational safety and health, a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) or a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) designation.” IHMM will propose including the CHMM, CSHM, and CSMP.

Beltway Buzz, Ogletree Deakins

Congress Returns. This week Congress is beginning to return to the nation’s Capitol, facing a January 19th deadline for passing funding legislation to keep the government open. The Senate Leader Schumer and House Speaker Johnson announced on the 7th a deal around the $1.66 trillion figure. The glee lasted the length of an egg timer as wings on both sides decried who approved what. We shall see what the week brings.

New Union Election Process Becomes Effective Next Week. Employers are reminded that the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) latest changes to its union election regulations become effective on December 26, 2023. The NLRB general counsel released a memorandum on December 8, 2023, that “provides guidance to Agency personnel, parties, practitioners, and other stakeholders about representation case processing once the 2023 Election Rule goes into effect.”

PWFA Final Reg on the Way? Pursuant to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA)—passed nearly one year ago—the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) must publish final implementing regulations by December 29, 2023. As proposed, the regulations define key terms—such as what it means to be a “qualified” employee—and provide examples of reasonable accommodations that employers might provide to workers covered by the statute.

DOL Seeks Input on Potential Schedule A Changes. The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employment and Training Administration issued a request for information (RFI), on December 22, 2023, seeking feedback on potential modernizations to Schedule A of the permanent labor certification process. Schedule A, which hasn’t been updated since 2004, lists occupations for which the “DOL has predetermined there are not sufficient U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available pursuant to regulation.” Employers interested in hiring to fill a position listed as a Schedule A occupation are not required to conduct a labor market test and can file an application for permanent employment certification directly with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Issued pursuant to President Biden’s executive order on “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence,” the RFI specifically seeks feedback on whether any science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations should be added to Schedule A and which jobs should be considered part of a STEM occupation. Comments are due by February 20, 2024.

H-1B Domestic Renewal Pilot Program Moves Forward. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs has completed its review of the U.S. Department of State’s pilot program that will reportedly allow 20,000 H-1B visa holders to renew their visas while remaining in the United States. In a notice of pilot program published in the Federal Register on December 21, 2022, the State Department said that “[t]he program will accept applications from January 29 to April 1, 2024.” Whitney Brownlow, Marissa E. Cwik, and Ashley Urquijo have the details.

Administration Finalizes PLA Requirements for Federal Projects. The Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have finalized a rule that will mandate the use of project labor agreements for contractors and subcontractors engaged in construction of federal projects “for which the total estimated cost of the construction contract to the Federal Government is $35 million or more.” The regulations implement President Biden’s February 4, 2022, executive order “Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects.” According to a White House fact sheet, “It is estimated that the rule will result in the Federal Government requiring PLAs on a majority of large Federal contracts.” The rule becomes effective thirty days after the date of publication in the Federal Register.

DOL Proposes Changes to National Apprenticeship System. The Employment and Training Administration has released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend the regulations governing registered apprenticeship programs. As Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), notes, the 779-page NPRM implements the National Apprenticeship Act of 1937, which is a little over one page in length. Among other provisions, the proposal would:

• “create more safeguards for apprentices to ensure that they have healthy and safe working and learning environments as well as just and equitable opportunities throughout their participation in a registered apprenticeship program”;
• allow government “Registration Agencies”—according to Senator Cassidy—to take over the role of the National Labor Relations Board by empowering them to dissolve apprenticeship programs when any program sponsor or participating employer is merely alleged to have interfered with workers’ Section 7 rights; and
• aim to make “quality improvements throughout the system to improve the protection, safety, and welfare of apprentices, such as proposed prohibitions on non-compete and non-disclosure provisions in apprenticeship agreements between sponsors and apprentices and enhanced protections against unreasonable participation costs for apprentices.”

Comments are due sixty days after publication in the Federal Register.

Senate Targets Bureaucratic Waste. Who says Congress doesn’t accomplish anything constructive? Well, on December 20, 2023, the U.S. Senate took a step—albeit a small one—to reduce federal government waste by passing the Eliminate Useless Reports Act of 2023 (S. 2073). The bipartisan bill instructs heads of federal agencies to identify recurring plans or reports that it submits to Congress that are “outdated or duplicative,” along with “a recommendation on whether to sunset, modify, consolidate, or reduce the frequency of the submission of the recurring plan or report.” This all sounds good to the Buzz—assuming the U.S. House of Representatives passes the bill—just so long as Congress doesn’t subsequently establish a standing committee to evaluate and report on the impacts of the legislation.

United Nations Sub-Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods

The 63rd session of the United Nations Sub-Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods was held November 27 to December 6 in Geneva, Switzerland. At the meeting, Associate Administrator William S. Schoonover presented a document from the United States encouraging the Sub-Committee to embrace opportunities in its work developing and maintaining the United Nations Model Regulations for the Transport of Dangerous Goods.

Mr. Schoonover focused on how technological advancements and modernization of supply chains introduce opportunity and challenges in regulating dangerous goods transport. He noted that a holistic strategy which incorporates technological advances and responds to the evolution of the transport system supports a key United Nations Sustainable Development Goal to “build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.” The message was well-received and set the foundation for a collaborative approach to the topics on the Sub-Committee’s agenda for the current biennium, which have the potential to significantly impact transportation safety and environmental sustainability.

Published biennially, the UN Model Regulations are implemented world-wide to ensure products vital to our every-day lives are delivered safely and efficiently. The work of the United Nations Sub-Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods contributes directly to the development of quality, reliable, sustainable, and resilient national and global infrastructure, economic development, and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all. The Office of Hazardous Materials Safety extends its thanks to PHMSA and US DOT leadership for their consistent support in maintaining the United States’ leading role in this important body’s work.

NPRM: Streamlining Requirements for the Approval of Certain Energetic Materials

On November 30, PHMSA published the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) “HM-257A: Streamlining Requirements for the Approval of Certain Energetic Materials” to the Federal Register. This NPRM proposes to amend the Hazardous Materials Regulations to:

• Streamline the classification and approval process for low-hazard ground device fireworks
• Codify existing guidance for UN3178 novelty devices
• Revise classification criteria for small arms cartridges to include tracer ammunition
• Include the PHMSA Portal as the method to submit applications for all explosives approvals
• Allow for voluntary termination of an explosive approval by the approval holder.

If you’re involved in the pyrotechnics supply chain, PHMSA wants your input! The public comment period for this NPRM ends on February 28, 2024.
Interested in being the first to know when PHMSA posts notices and rulemakings to the Federal Register? Receive email notifications from the Federal Register whenever PHMSA posts by visiting the Federal Register site and clicking ‘Subscribe’ at https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/pipeline-and-hazardous-materials-safety-administration.

Security Requirements and Considerations for Hazardous Materials Transportation

Millions of tons of hazardous materials transported each day, but not all shipments carry the same level of risk. Certain quantities and types of hazmat require security plans due to the elevated risks that they pose.

This brochure outlines the Safety and Security Plan requirements found in 49 CFR Part 172, Subpart I, including when a security plan is required, what should be included in the plan, and what additional training is necessary for those who fall under the security plan requirements. It also offers suggested security measures, per PHMSA’s Risk Management Self-Evaluation Framework, to help develop of these plans.

Link: https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/training/hazmat/security-requirements-brochure

What to Expect in Chemicals Policy and Regulation and on Capitol Hill in 2024

January 23, 2024
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EST

REGISTER NOW

2024 will be exciting, in a good sense. There is an exceptional level of uncertainty in Washington for the New Year, even in comparison to past election years. Two wars tugging at the national attention and the federal budget, a divided government now referring to just the House of Representatives alone, and an election year with one of the presumptive Presidential candidates under 91 indictments for crimes in multiple jurisdictions. Other than that, for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it will definitely not just be “another day at the office.” As an example, the new House Speaker marshaled a House budget bill that would cut EPA funding by almost 40 percent!

We invite you to join Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C^®); James V. Aidala, Senior Government Affairs Consultant, B&C; and Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry, B&C for a lively, timely, and focused discussion on the state of play and how we expect things will shake out in 2024. Registration is open now. 

Topics Covered:

• Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in 2024:
  • Final/proposed existing chemical rules;
  • TSCA Section 4 test rules;
  • Final fees rule;
  • Updated existing chemical framework rule;
  • Prioritization of additional substances;
  • Chemical Data Reporting;
• Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) in 2024:
  • EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) activities expected as election year 2024 priorities;
  • EPA’s development of policies and strategies for implementation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA); and
  • OPP’s implementation of the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2022 (PRIA 5) requirements.

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. Releases 2024 Forecast for U.S. Federal and International Chemical Regulatory Policy

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and its global consulting affiliate The Acta Group (Acta®) and consortia management affiliate B&C® Consortia Management, L.L.C. (BCCM) are delighted to share with you our Forecast 2024. This carefully curated document represents our seasoned team’s collective take on what to expect regarding global industrial, agricultural, and biocidal chemical initiatives in the New Year. Given the global state of play, speculating on how things will shake out in 2024 is challenging.

Read more here.

New OSHA Electronic Injury and Illness Reporting Requirements for 2024 – Pillsbury Law

As 2023 is swiftly coming to a close, certain employers should begin preparing for electronic submission of injury and illness information to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in 2024.

OSHA – Forthcoming Proposal for Emergency Response Workers

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced in December that it will publish a proposal in January 2024 to update an existing standard and expand safety and health protections for emergency responders, including firefighters, emergency medical service providers and technical search and rescue workers.

OSHA’s forthcoming Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposes modernizing the agency’s “Fire Brigades” standard (29 CFR 1910.156)— first published in 1980— as its protections for a narrow set of industrial and private firefighters have become outdated. The newly named “Emergency Response” standard would update safety and health protections in line with national consensus standards for a broad range of workers exposed to hazards that arise during and after fires and other emergencies and will include major changes for protective clothing and equipment and significant improvements in safety and health practices that the industry generally accepts as standard procedures.

For more information, please see the trade release or visit osha.gov/emergency-response/rulemaking. An unofficial version of the proposed rule is also available for viewing; please note that OSHA will accept public comments once the official version is published in the Federal Register in January.

OSHA – New Injury Tracking Application

Please be aware that the updated Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Injury Tracking Application (ITA) is now available from osha.gov/injuryreporting. This page provides requirements and guidance about electronically submitting your establishments’ injury and illness data from the OSHA Form 300A: Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, OSHA Form 300: Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, and OSHA Form 301: Injury and Illness Incident Report.   These data help employers, workers and OSHA evaluate the safety of a workplace, understand industry hazards, and implement worker protections to reduce and eliminate hazards -preventing future workplace injuries and illnesses.

As a reminder, establishments that meet certain size and industry criteria are required to electronically submit injury and illness data from their OSHA Form 300A, 300, and 301 (or equivalent forms) once per year to OSHA via the ITA. Employers should visit the ITA Coverage Application to determine whether they are required to submit this data. Data collection for CY 2023 will begin January 2, 2024, and must be submitted by March 2, 2024.

Linking Risk Characterization and Risk Management: How to Optimize Tools for a Safer Workplace

AIHA and the Foundation for Chemistry Research and Initiatives (FCRI) hosted a series of workshops on occupational risk assessment. The fifth and final webinar in the Many Paths – One Goal series, which was held on Dec. 7, brought together a panel of experts to discuss approaches for characterizing and managing risks in the workplace. The experts presented an overview of risk characterization, the application of the hierarchy of controls, risk management in the context of regulations (for example, EPA’s implementation of the Toxic Substances Control Act), and emerging hazard control technologies and practices.

Read more here.

EPA Begins TSCA Prioritization Process For Five Chemicals

EPA announced on December 14, 2023, that it is beginning the process to prioritize five additional toxic chemicals for risk evaluation under TSCA. The chemicals are acetaldehyde, acrylonitrile, benzenamine, 4,4’-methylene bis(2-chloroaniline) (MBOCA), and vinyl chloride. Between September and November 2023, EPA met with federal partners, industry, environmental organizations, labor organizations, state and local governments, and Tribes to discuss the prioritization process and presented a list of 15 chemicals that EPA was considering for prioritization. The ten chemicals not selected include: 4-tert-Octylphenol(4-(1,1,3,3-Tetramethylbutyl)-phenol); benzene; bisphenol A; ethylbenzene; napthalene; styrene; tribromomethane; triglycidyl isocyanurate; hydrogen fluoride; and N-(1,3-Dimethylbutyl)-N’-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine. Publication of a Federal Register notice announcing the process will begin a 90-day comment period. EPA has posted a prepublication version of the notice. More information will be available in a forthcoming memorandum.

–Bergeson & Campbell

EPA Updates

Upcoming PFAS Rules May Heighten Urgency For CERCLA Liability Waivers

Upcoming EPA rules to regulate PFAS in drinking water and under waste laws will likely heighten the urgency for the water and waste management sectors and other so-called “passive receivers” of PFAS contamination to secure exemptions from Superfund liability in Senate legislation in 2024, one water sector source says.

Biden WOTUS Regime Remains Uncertain As Post-Sackett Battles Continue

The Biden administration’s implementation of its amended “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule to align with the Supreme Court’s Sackett ruling remains uncertain, as states and industry continue to battle over its legality and lower courts have begun strictly applying the high court’s standard rather than deferring to the administration’s new rule.

EPA Moves To Codify Narrow Approach To Title V Air Permit Review

In a blow to environmentalists, EPA is planning to codify its current narrow view of what “applicable requirements” may be examined during review of Clean Air Act Title V air operating permits, seeking to entrench a more-restrictive approach first taken by the Trump administration that largely excludes consideration of underlying air permitting decisions.

Court’s ‘Blockbuster’ Cases Could ‘Radically Change’ Administrative Law

The Supreme Court is poised to make significant changes to longstanding administrative law precedent, with a series of cases to be decided this term that could dramatically upend EPA and other agencies’ ability to interpret statutes, conduct administrative enforcement as well as open established regulations to new legal challenges.

–Inside EPA

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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