IHMM Today March 12, 2024

Inside IHMM

A Collaborative Culture

There are 1,267 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

Government Funding: Better Late Than Never? Although a comprehensive spending bill is about six months overdue, this week the U.S. Congress finally made substantive progress toward funding the federal government for the 2024 fiscal year. As of the time of the Buzz’s publication on March 8, 2024, the U.S. Senate was finalizing a six-bill, $467.5 billion legislative package to fund agencies such as the U.S. departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Interior, Justice, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs, among others. President Biden was expected to sign the legislation into law later in the day. A second group of six bills must be passed by March 22, 2024, to avoid a partial federal government shutdown. This second batch of funding measures includes the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education bill, which funds the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). This particular bill is always a bit contentious, and along those lines, a group of Democrats from the Congressional Labor Caucus has requested increased funding for the NLRB, as well as removal of long-standing language that prohibits the Board from using funds to establish an electronic voting process for union representation. So, while Congress got some funding issues squared away this week, we still have a ways to go.

House Committee Presses EEOC on DEI-Related Enforcement. On March 1, 2024, leading Republicans on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Accountability sent a letter to U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chair Charlotte Burrows seeking information and a briefing concerning the Commission’s enforcement practices “in light of concerns that some U.S. companies may be incorporating racially discriminatory policies into decisions related to recruiting, hiring, job assignments, and promotions.” Specifically, the letter requests “[a]ll documents and communications related to or referencing the Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College.” Chair Burrows has stated that even after the Supreme Court of the United States’ June 2023 decision, “[i]t remains lawful for employers to implement diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programs that seek to ensure workers of all backgrounds are afforded equal opportunity in the workplace.” Readers should check out our DEI Under Scrutiny blog series.

DOL’s Independent Contractor Rule to Go Into Effect? As of this writing, the DOL’s new independent contractor rule is scheduled to go into effect on Monday, March 11, 2024. Here is the latest on where things stand with regard to opposition on the eve of the rule’s becoming effective:

• The rule is subject to multiple legal challenges in different federal courts, but it is not known whether any of the judges in these cases will issue a decision before the rule becomes effective. As a reminder, the new rule, which was finalized on January 9, 2024, rescinds the Trump-era independent contractor regulation (which focused on an individual’s control over his or her work, and the individual’s opportunity for profit or loss) and replaces it with a complicated and potentially confusing “totality-of-the-circumstances analysis of the economic reality test” that will likely lead to more workers being classified as employees.
• On March 6, 2024, Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and Representative Kevin Kiley (R-CA) introduced Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions in the Senate and House, respectively, to rescind the rule. Of course, even if Congress were to vote to rescind the rule (there are currently no Democratic sponsors of either resolution), President Biden is likely to veto the resolution.

NLRB’s Joint-Employer Rule to Take Effect? Pending a ruling by the judge in the Eastern District of Texas or further notice from the NLRB, the Board’s joint-employer rule becomes effective on March 11, 2024. According to a recent memo from NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, “[t]he Board is also planning to issue further guidance when the Final Rule becomes effective.”

DOL’s OT Rule Advances. On March 1, 2024, the DOL transmitted its final rule amending the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime regulation to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. This action likely means that a final rule will be published in several weeks, which would be consistent with the April 2024 timeframe set forth in the most recent regulatory agenda. As proposed, the rule would increase the salary basis requirement for the exemption from minimum wage and overtime pay from $35,568 to $55,068 per year (a 55 percent increase), or perhaps even more, as the DOL has stated that the final rule “will use the most recent data available, which will change the dollar figures.” The proposal also includes a provision to automatically update the salary basis threshold every three years.

Hoop, There It Is. Congress might be shooting air balls when it comes to funding the federal government on time, but the members rebounded this week by drawing up a play to introduce a bicameral resolution (S. Res. 572) to honor University of Iowa point guard Caitlin Clark for becoming the all-time leading scorer in the history of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I basketball. The resolution notes that because of Clark and her teammates, “women’s sports are being covered and talked about at the national level in the United States with the same fervor as men’s sports.” Of course, it was the Iowa congressional delegation that went hard in the paint for Clark, and they are undoubtedly hooping that the resolution will be a slam dunk.

ASAE’s Legislative Fly-In Builds Support for Key Workforce Bill

ASAE hosted its annual Legislative Fly-In on March 5-6 in Washington, DC, with association professionals from across the country in town to build support for a pro-association, pro-credentialing workforce development bill. IHMM’s Executive Director Gene Guilford participated and visited with the Maryland Congressional Delegation.

The bipartisan, bicameral Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act (H.R. 1477/S. 722) would expand qualified expenses under 529 savings plans to include postsecondary training and credentialing programs, such as licenses and voluntary certifications offered by many associations.

• By the numbers: The bill has been gaining traction over the past year – the House version has 121 bipartisan cosponsors, up from zero when it was introduced in March 2023; the Senate bill has 19 bipartisan cosponsors.

U.S. Representative Rob Wittman (R-VA), who leads H.R. 1477 in the House, helped educate fly-in attendees about his bill during an education session on March 5, speaking alongside Jay Karen, CAE, CEO of the National Golf Course Owners Association and an ASAE Board member.

Go deeper: Read more about ASAE’s 2024 Fly-In

US FMCSA and PHMSA Issue Safety Advisory for Nurse Tanks

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issue this safety advisory to provide notice of the possibility of catastrophic failure of certain hazardous materials packages commonly known as “nurse tanks.” See Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations.

49 CFR §173.315(m)

Safety Advisory Here.

2024 National Safety Stand Down to Prevent Falls in Construction

In advance of the 11^th Annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction on May 6 – 10, 2024, we want to share several new tools and resources to assist workplaces in preparing for and participating in the Stand-Down, as well as ways to get involved:

• 2024 Fall Stand Down Poster
• 2024 Stand-Down officially announced:
  • February 1, 2024 OSHA QuickTakes

• Resources and Handouts:
  • 2024 Fall Stand-Down Poster (English/Spanish) (also attached)
  • Hardhat Stickers and Hazard Alert Cards

• Get Involved:
  • If you plan to host a free event that is open to the public and want to post your event on OSHA’s webpage, you may submit the event details here or contact your Regional Stand-Down Coordinator to learn more.
  • Do you have fall prevention resources in other languages? We would love to include them in our Fall Prevention Resources: Additional Languages Page. Please send resources to Jessica Bunting: [email protected]

As a reminder, anyone who wants to prevent fall hazards in the workplace can participate in the Stand-Down. Companies can conduct a Safety Stand-Down by taking a break for a toolbox talk or other safety activities such as conducting safety equipment inspections, developing rescue plans, or discussing job-specific hazards. Consider planning a stand-down event that works for your workplace.  See Highlights from Past Stand-Downs.

Reconsideration of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter

EPA Amends Risk Management Program Requirements to Protect At-Risk Communities from Chemical Accidents

EPA Releases New Methodology to Detect Low Levels of PFAS in HDPE Containers

PHMSA – Hazardous Materials: Adoption of Miscellaneous Petitions and Updating Regulatory Requirements

EPA – Standards of Performance for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources and Emissions Guidelines for Existing Sources: Oil and Natural Gas Sector Climate Review

This document is unpublished. It is scheduled to be published on 03/08/2024.

Once it is published it will be available on this page in an official form. Until then, you can download the unpublished PDF version.

Although we make a concerted effort to reproduce the original document in full on our Public Inspection pages, in some cases graphics may not be displayed, and non-substantive markup language may appear alongside substantive text. If you are using public inspection listings for legal research, you should verify the contents of documents against a final, official edition of the Federal Register. Only official editions of the Federal Register provide legal notice of publication to the public and judicial notice to the courts under 44 U.S.C. 1503 & 1507. Learn more here.

Public Comment Period on Draft Guidance for Future CSO Permitting

On February 20, 2024, EPA announced in the Federal Register that it is seeking public comment on the Draft Guidance for Future National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permits for Combined Sewer Systems. This draft guidance highlights the available paths forward for permitting communities with combined sewer overflows (CSOs) at the next stage in their programs. It summarizes options under the Clean Water Act that are articulated in the original 1994 CSO Control Policy as well as the option to use EPA’s 2012 Integrated Planning Framework to look holistically at future investments.

Comments on the draft guidance can be submitted at http://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID: EPA–HQ–OW–2023–0475. The comment period ends on March 21, 2024.

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

Inside EPA Updates

Draft IRIS Assessment Finds Developmental Effects From PFNA Exposure

EPA’s just-released draft Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) assessment of perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) finds that oral exposure to the PFAS causes developmental harm in humans and is likely to cause liver damage and affect the male reproductive system as well, given sufficient exposure conditions.

Democratic Senators, Industry Press EPA To Ease Steel Sector Air Rules

Democratic senators are again pressing the Biden administration to walk back EPA’s plans to tighten air toxics limits for the steel sector, echoing industry and union warnings that a suite of regulations affecting steel plants will harm the industry and hamper the president’s goals to boost infrastructure and manufacturing and to fight climate change.

EPA Delay Of Existing Gas Plant GHG Standards Faces Many Questions

Even as EPA’s move to delay writing greenhouse gas standards for existing natural gas-fired plants appears to be an attempt to shore up the foundation of its rule for coal plants and newly built gas plants, a wide variety of observers are raising questions about the agency’s pledge to write follow-up pollution requirements for existing gas-fired plants.

Lawmakers Near Votes On FY24 Measure With ‘Trim’ To Base EPA Funding

House and Senate appropriators are floating a long-awaited proposal for EPA’s fiscal year 2024 spending bill that would cut the agency’s “base” funding by 3.8 percent — excluding Superfund programs — while avoiding much deeper proposed cuts and an array of policy riders that would have otherwise derailed multiple EPA climate and other programs.

Large Coalition Of States Sues EPA To Overturn Tougher PM NAAQS

A coalition of two dozen states — 22 led by Republicans and two by Democrats — is suing the EPA to scrap the agency’s recently strengthened national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter (PM2.5), in which EPA significantly toughened a key annual health-based limit for the pollutant.

EPA reaches deal to act on western states’ air plans

The agreement would see the EPA act by 2025 on dozens of air plan submissions from Arizona, Colorado, and Utah.

–Inside EPA

EPA – Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources and Emission Guidelines for Existing Sources: Large Municipal Waste Combustors Voluntary Remand Response and 5-Year Review

The EPA is proposing amendments to the new source performance standards (NSPS) and emission guidelines (EG) for large municipal waste combustion (MWC) units. These proposed amendments reflect the results from a reevaluation of the maximum achievable control technology (MACT) floor levels, a 5-year review, and the removal of startup, shutdown and malfunction exclusions and exceptions. These proposed amendments also streamline regulatory language, revise recordkeeping and electronic notification and reporting requirements, re-establish new and existing source applicability dates, clarify requirements for certain air curtain incinerators, close a 2007 proposed reconsideration action, correct certain typographical errors, make certain technical corrections, and clarify certain provisions in the NSPS and EG. These proposed amendments would revise all emission limits in the EG, except for carbon monoxide (CO) limits for two subcategories of combustors, and all nine emission limits in the NSPS. The EPA is reevaluating the MACT floors in response to the EPA’s voluntary remand of the large MWC rules following a petitioner’s request that the EPA review the MACT floors for large MWC units in consideration of a D.C. Circuit Court decision on MACT floor issues. The 5-year review is required by the Clean Air Act (CAA). The proposed amendments would result in an estimated 14,000 tons per year reduction in regulated pollutants.

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before March 25, 2024. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), comments on the information collection provisions are best assured of consideration if the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) receives a copy of your comments on or before February 22, 2024.

Public hearing: If anyone contacts us requesting a public hearing on or before January 29, 2024, we will hold a virtual public hearing. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for information on requesting and registering for a public hearing.

Read the proposed amendments here.

Expert Video: School Threat Assessment in Florida

In this video, Dr. Jenn Maeng presents findings from a new technical report on threat assessment. The report examines Florida threat assessment case data from the 2021-2022 school year, highlighting outcomes for over 22,000 cases.

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• 4/4 – Preventing Mass Attacks in Our Communities Webinar Hosted by the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center

School Threat Assessment Toolkit

The School Threat Assessment Toolkit, releasing 3/6, offers schools guidance on employing behavioral threat assessment (TA) and management to prevent violence. Developed with input from various experts and organizations, it provides training, implementation, and assessment tools for school TA teams while safeguarding student rights. Learn more here.

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Noise Control Engineering in Hearing Conservation

Organizations often initiate noise control in response to noise dosimetry surveys that have identified groups of workers who are at increased risk of noise-induced hearing loss. In an industrial environment, noise control means reducing the time-weighted average of noise levels a worker is exposed to throughout their shift.

Acoustics and noise control are not intuitive subjects. They involve logarithmic math that turns seemingly simple operations like addition and subtraction into multi-step formulas. Adding to the confusion, many quantities in this domain, including sound pressure, sound power, sound intensity, noise exposure, barrier insertion loss, and material transmission loss, are typically reported in decibels.

Read more here.

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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