IHMM Today October 31, 2023

Voting Ends November 3rd

IHMM is conducting an election for two [2] seats on its Board of Directors that began on October 3, 2023 and ending on November 3, 2023.

The two seats are [1] At-Large seat, and [1] CSMP seat. Certificants are asked to cast ballots for 1 of the 2 At-Large candidates, and for 1 CSMP candidate.

Below are the candidates for these two seats. Every IHMM certificant in good standing will receive an email ballot with an individually numbered code to cast their ballots.

Melissa Hamer, CHMM – At Large seat

Ms. Hamer was elected to a four-year term beginning in 2020 to the Institute of Hazardous Materials Management’s (IHMM) National Board of Directors. She was elected to the IHMM Board’s Executive Committee in December 2020 and serves as the Board Secretary. The IHMM certifies and manages multiple hazardous and dangerous materials and occupational safety and health credentials. She is also a regular speaker on environmental law including PFAS topics, administrative laws and procedures, and on construction and insurance law issues.

Ms. Hamer has been a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM) since 2010 as accredited under ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024, the International Standard for Personnel Certification Programs and The Council of Engineering and Scientific Specialty Boards (CESB). She also is an environmental professional, as defined in the ASTM E1527 standard for environmental and real estate due diligence and under the U.S. EPA’s guidance.

Read more about Melissa Hamer, CHMM

Sarath Seneviratne, CHMM – At Large Seat

I care deeply about IHMM’s future. I believe no other candidate brings the wealth of detailed knowledge and specific work experience I have. This insight would be uniquely valuable to the Board. I sincerely hope you will do me the honor of electing me to serve this incredible and worthy mission. My first term serving on the Board of Directors has been educational, inspiring, and hugely motivational to stay involved with IHMM. If elected to a second term. I’d like to faci litate the translation of the IHMM’s mission into concrete ideas and actions.

Read more about Sarath Seneviratne.

Dan Blankfeld, CSHM, CSMP, CPPS – CSMP Seat

Dan Blankfeld, CSHM, CSMP, CPPS, is Vice President of Safety, GIC Madison / CBG Building Company of Silver Spring, Maryland.

Dan has served on two IHMM committees as Chair, Professional Standards, and Microcredential. Dan served previously on the ISHM board of directors as vice chair. He also serves on the NFPA 241 Committee, and previously chaired the DC metro ABC Safety Committee, the DCMSA Safety Committee, served on the Montgomery County (MD) Volunteer Fire Rescue Association Board of Directors and is an active professional member of the ASSP.

Dan also currently serves as the Deputy Fire Chief of the Bethesda Fire Department.

Read more about Dan Blankfeld

IATA – Make Lithium Batteries Safe to Ship

Do you know why lithium batteries are dangerous? Are you aware of the evolving standards regarding their shipment?

If you need an accessible yet comprehensive guide to lithium batteries that points you toward globally accepted best practices and a suite of support manuals and programs, then look no further!

Our White Paper “Make Lithium Batteries Safe to Ship” presents all the relevant information in an easy-to-read format with relevant links to industry standards and recommended practices. So, whether you just need to know the latest developments in this critical area or want to delve deep into the details, our whitepaper is for you.

Get the IATA White Paper Here

Call for Volunteers: CSMP Scheme Committee

The IHMM Certified Safety Management Professional (CSMP) Scheme Committee has an immediate vacancy for volunteers.

Participation in the Committee requires that members attend virtual meetings and participate in teleconferences to work on test development activities such as item writing, and technical review of the items. We will soon begin the Modified Angoff standard-setting procedure to determine the cut score for the CSMP exam. All committee members will receive training. Members of the committee are required to hold confidential all exam-related information and may not be involved in activities that train or prepare candidates for any IHMM examination(s) or be willing to cease such activities for the duration of service on the Committee and for five (5) years thereafter. Committee membership is awarded in 2-year increments.

The Committee meets via teleconference and the web, and it will take approximately 20 hours of participation on an annual basis, and at times work on individual assignments. The teleconference and web meetings range from 1-2 hours in duration.  If you would like to contribute to the continued vitality of the Institute and the CSMP credential, you will earn 10 certification maintenance points (CMPs) per year toward your recertification for your participation on the committee, and an additional 10 CMPs for participating in the Modified Angoff procedure. The test development policies and procedures are based upon professionally recognized psychometric principles and on the accreditation body(ies) standards by which IHMM is accredited or recognized.

If you are interested, please send your resume and a cover letter to M. Patricia Buley at [email protected]. Please put the CSMP Scheme Committee in the subject line.

The application deadline for this opportunity is Friday, November 10.

IHMM Organizing Broader Government Affairs Activities – Call for Volunteers

In strategic planning on August 17, 2023 IHMM created a strategic imperative to create a broader government affairs operation on behalf of, and with the assistance of, all of IHMM’s certificants.

On August 29, 2023 IHMM’s Executive Director made a presentation of this strategic imperative to the AHMP annual conference. Here is what IHMM intends to organize over the next few months:

• Federal Government  – Regulatory. We need a group of people watching Federal regulatory developments to advise when taking action can be helpful and raise our visibility in the agencies.

• Federal Government – Congress. We need a group of people watching legislation to advise us when taking action can be helpful and raise our visibility in Congress.

• State Governments  – Regulatory. We need a group of people watching state regulatory developments to advise when taking action can be helpful and raise our visibility in the agencies.

• State Governments – Legislatures. We need a group of people watching legislation to advise us when taking action can be helpful and raise our visibility in state legislatures.

If you want to make a difference in the recognition of your credentials and build on the successful record we have achieved thus far – we need you to volunteer. Please see > https://ihmm.org/join-the-government-affairs-committee/  and get involved with government affairs. You can volunteer for one, two, three or all four of the segments of the committee’s work. That’s up to you!

The full presentation may be viewed here.

FET Annual Conference

Visit IHMM at Booth 5 and say hello to Board Chair Bill Diesslin

Milwaukee Marriott West

October 31-Nov 2, 2023

EPA Proposes to Amend TSCA Risk Evaluation Framework Rule

EPA announced on October 19, 2023, a proposed rule that would amend the procedural framework rule for conducting risk evaluations under TSCA. Published in the Federal Register on October 30, 2023, the proposed rule states that the purpose of risk evaluations under TSCA is to determine whether a chemical substance presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment, without considering costs or non-risk factors, including unreasonable risk to potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations identified as relevant to the risk evaluation by EPA, under COUs. 88 Fed. Reg. 74292. EPA states that it has reconsidered the procedural framework rule for conducting such risk evaluations and determined that certain aspects of that framework should be revised to align better with applicable court decisions and the statutory text, to reflect its experience implementing the risk evaluation program following enactment of the 2016 TSCA amendments, and to allow for consideration of future scientific advances in the risk evaluation process without the need to amend further the Agency’s procedural rule. Comments are due December 14, 2023. EPA notes that under the Paperwork Reduction Act, comments on the information collection provisions are best assured of consideration if OMB receives a copy of the comments on or before November 29, 2023. B&C encourages interested parties to review carefully EPA’s proposed rule and to provide comments as appropriate. This is potentially the most impactful TSCA rule proposed to date this year. For more information on the proposed rule, please read the full memorandum.

Read more >> https://www.lawbc.com/epa-proposes-to-amend-tsca-risk-evaluation-framework-rule/?p=12022

Water Utilities Seek Voluntary Cybersecurity Plan After Blocking SDWA Mandate

Water utility groups are pushing EPA and other regulators to craft cybersecurity protections plans for water systems based on existing voluntary programs and prioritizing scalability, after the agency dropped its controversial Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) memo mandate for regular cybersecurity reviews in the face of litigation by states and utilities.

In recent interviews with Inside EPA, officials with two groups representing water systems — the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) — said the agency should issue guidance to utilities and forego any further binding SDWA cybersecurity requirements.

For example, AMWA chief advocacy officer Dan Hartnett highlighted the need for a baseline standard of preparedness for water systems that focuses on guidance and best practices, and suggested in particular one modeled on the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), which writes and enforces electric grid reliability standards.

Such an approach could be helpful “especially for smaller systems that that may not be doing much right now for their cybersecurity,” he told Inside EPA. “So, we want to try to do that in a way that’s not creating new regulations or inflexible mandates on systems, but [instead] just trying to guide them in the right direction in terms of making themselves more prepared.”

–Inside EPA

Chamber Says CEQ’s NEPA Plan Violates ‘Major Questions,’ Seeks Revisions

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other major industry groups are charging that the Biden administration’s proposal for how agencies implement the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) violates the Supreme Court’s “major questions” doctrine, as well as recent statutory amendments, but stops short of threatening litigation over the rule.

Instead, the Chamber in Sept. 29 comments asks the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to withdraw the proposal and “modify it in accordance with these comments.”

“Despite clear signals from the Supreme Court, the Proposed Rule is replete with specific provisions intended to achieve favored environmental outcomes at the expense of other considerations, contrary to the history and plain language of NEPA,” say the comments — which were signed onto by over two-dozen major industry trade associations representing agricultural, chemical, energy, construction, mining, power and other industry sectors.

“Transforming NEPA in this fashion into a substantive statute would rewrite the law — and greatly augment CEQ’s regulatory powers — in a manner that is not authored by the statute and would warrant rejection under the court’s precedent on statutory interpretation,” the comments add.

The Chamber references the high court’s June 2022 ruling in West Virginia v. EPA, which holds that under the major questions doctrine Congress must speak clearly when granting agencies broad authority to issue policies that have significant political or economic effects.

–Inside EPA

OSHA’s FY 2024 Outreach Initiatives

As part of our efforts to keep you informed of OSHA’s activities, we have attached a document that summarizes OSHA’s outreach initiatives for FY 2024.  It includes a summary of key national initiatives, a listing of priority industries/topics, and a calendar of key dates. Please note: As we receive new/updated information about events, we will share it with you.   

OSHA FY2024 Outreach Initiatives

Notice of Public Meeting: Lithium Battery Air Safety Advisory Committee

The Lithium Battery Air Safety Advisory Committee will be meeting on November 2, 2023, from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM EDT, at DOT Headquarters in Washington, DC (1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building). The final agenda will be posted on the Lithium Battery Air Safety Advisory Committee website at least 15 days in advance of the meeting.

This meeting is open to the public, including a virtual option. Requests to attend the meeting, to speak during the meeting, or to submit written materials to be reviewed during the meeting must be sent by October 18, 2023, either via email ([email protected]) or to the contacts listed in the Federal Register notice below.

Federal Register notice: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/10/03/2023-21883/lithium-battery-air-safety-advisory-committee-notice-of-public-meeting?utm_source=federalregister.gov&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=subscription+mailing+list

EXTENDED: HM-265A: Modernizing Regulations to Improve Safety and Efficiency

On July 5, 2023, PHMSA published the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) “HM-265A: Modernizing Regulations to Improve Safety and Efficiency” to the Federal Register. Based on feedback from industry stakeholders, internal PHMSA review, NTSB safety recommendations, and modal safety partners, the ANPRM addresses 46 separate areas where the requirements of the HMR may need to be updated to increase efficiency while improving safety. Topics addressed in the ANPRM include those related to UN Performance Oriented Package testing, tank car safety, hazardous material employee training, and updates to standards incorporated by reference, among others.

The public comment period for this ANPRM has been extended, in response to a request from the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association. Comments are now due by December 4, 2023. For questions, please contact Mr. Eamonn Patrick at [email protected].

OSHA – Extended Comment Period for Proposed Rule: Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Process

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has extended the comment period on its August 31, 2023 proposed rule regarding who can be authorized by employees to act as their representative to accompany compliance officers during physical workplace inspections.

Interested parties now have until November 13, 2023, to submit comments electronically at regulations.gov, which is the Federal eRulemaking portal. All submissions must include the agency’s name and docket number for this rulemaking (Docket No. OSHA-2023-0008). For more information, please see the Federal Register notice

EPA Agrees To Deadline For Sweeping Chemical Plants Air Toxics Review

EPA has agreed with environmentalists on a proposed timetable to review its air toxics regulations for hundreds of smaller “area source” chemical manufacturing facilities, in a sweeping rulemaking that could tighten emissions limits in the pesticides, plastics, pharmaceutical, synthetic rubber and other chemical sectors.

In its proposed consent decree deal announced in the Oct. 20 Federal Register, EPA commits to review its national emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for the Chemical Manufacturing Area Sources (CMAS) source category.

The agreement would require EPA to propose a rule for the sectors by Nov. 13, 2024, and to issue a final rule by September 17, 2025. EPA will take public comment on the proposal through Nov. 20, prior to asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to enter the decree.

The deal would settle California Communities Against Toxics v. Regan, a suit brought by environmentalists in 2022 over EPA’s failure to review the NESHAP for the sectors by the statutory Clean Air Act deadline of December 2020.

Under the air law, EPA must conduct a technology review of the rule every eight years. If EPA finds new, cost-effective control technology or methods are available, it must tighten the rule. EPA last revised the rule Dec. 21, 2012.

–Inside EPA

It’s Not as Easy as It May Appear: Bringing Sustainable Chemistry to Market in the U.S.

November 15, 2023
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (EST)

REGISTER NOW

Sustainable chemistry is critical to the global economy and making the world a better place. Increasingly chemical and product innovators, businesses, and others are more discerning in selecting and using raw materials based on new criteria heavily influenced by sustainability factors. Businesses are increasingly finding value in waste as a feedstock, reducing hazardous chemicals in manufacturing processes, designing chemicals to be greener, and being more efficient in using energy, water, and materials across a chemical’s life cycle.

Making the right choices is not easy, however, for a variety of societal, policy, and legal reasons. This webinar focuses on the challenges entities face in making chemical products more sustainable, what the federal government is doing to encourage sustainable chemistry, and how stakeholders can help move the needle to accelerate the pace of sustainable chemistry.

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C^®) is pleased to offer this one-hour complimentary webinar focused on bringing sustainable chemistry to market.

EPA Will Hold Virtual Training On High Throughput Toxicokinetic Modeling In November 2023:

EPA will hold a two-day training on its high throughput toxicokinetic (HTTK) R package as part of its New Approach Methods (NAM) Training Program:

• Day 1: Presentation and demo: Wednesday, November 8, 2023, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. (EST); and
• Day 2: Expert-led hands-on learning activity: Thursday, November 9, 2023, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. (EST).

EPA’s goal for the two-day training is to familiarize those engaged in chemical exposure assessment, including researchers, regulators, and health and environmental safety professionals, with EPA’s generic and open-source models and data for toxicokinetic, including reverse dosimetry and physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling for internal dose calculation.

EPA Proposes To Amend General Provisions For NESHAP:

On September 13, 2023, EPA proposed to amend the General Provisions for National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) to address applicability and compliance issues resulting from the addition of a compound to the list of hazardous air pollutants (HAP) under the Clean Air Act (CAA). 88 Fed. Reg. 62711. According to EPA, this action focuses on issues related to newly applicable standards for sources that become major sources solely from the addition of a compound to the CAA HAP list. This action also includes a discussion of the impacts of a newly listed HAP on the federal operating permit program. Comments are due November 13, 2023.

EPA Issues Phase II FOIA Final Rule:

EPA issued on September 14, 2023, its Phase II Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) final rule updating and modernizing EPA’s FOIA regulations. 88 Fed. Reg. 63020. According to EPA’s September 7, 2023, press release, the final rule “promote[s] transparency and accountability, make[s] FOIA more affordable, and expedite[s] access to information to communities potentially experiencing disproportionate and adverse human health or environmental effects.” The final rule establishes a new standard, in addition to the existing “compelling need” standard, for expediting EPA’s response to FOIA requests for records when there is a pressing need to inform a community that is potentially experiencing disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects. EPA will also waive fees for such FOIA requests. The final rule removes barriers by raising the threshold for when requesters will be charged fees, benefiting all requesters, as well as making other changes to bring EPA’s fee rates and other regulatory provisions into compliance with the FOIA statute, government wide policy, and relevant case law. Additionally, EPA updated the FOIA fee rates and will no longer charge any fees to a requester if the Agency accumulates less than $250 of chargeable fees. The final rule will be effective November 13, 2023.

• ECHA recommends more transparency in the trade of hazardous chemicals
• Assessment of regulatory needs reports published
• Consultation on EU’s Drinking Water Directive

Professional Certification Coalition

IHMM is a member of the PCC. The PCC monitors state and federal legislative and regulatory activity affecting professional certification on an ongoing basis. The PCC has compiled several “Watchlists” identifying and analyzing provisions in pending legislation at both the state and federal level that, under applicable rules, may still be enacted in the current legislative session.  Depending on the carry-over rules in the relevant legislature, the charts listing current legislation may include bills introduced in a prior year.  In addition, the PCC compiles each year a chart of enacted legislation that affects certification. The charts include hyperlinks to every bill or executive order. Note that the Watchlist and the Enacted Legislation document do not include profession-specific legislation and do not include regulatory initiatives. The charts will be updated as needed based on new developments.

• 2023 Accomplishments and 2024 Priorities

IHMM Credential Recognition

The highest priority of IHMM’s Government Affairs Committee is the recognition of IHMM’s credentials by government. We have made substantial progress in the two years we have undertaken this endeavor, as outlined in detail here > https://ihmm.org/credential-recognition/

In this project we have 45-in-5, increasing the number of states that recognize IHMM credentials.

• We have already succeeded in 13 states – New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Indiana, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Minnesota, Arkansas, Oklahoma. Ohio, North Dakota, and Georgia. [Red states in the map above]. These are states where IHMM credentials are cited or 40 CFR 312.10 is cited by reference.
• We have partially succeeded in another 16 states – Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Florida, Delaware, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maine. [Orange/Black Stripe states in the map above] These are states where the requirements of an “environmental professional” or QEP are cited that coincide with an IHMM credential so that relatively little work would need to be done to clarify the desired outcome.
• We have 21 states where no reference to an IHMM credential is made in either statute or regulation, nor is there anything defined in the area of an environmental professional. These states will require legislation or regulatory work. [Yellow states in the map above].

in January 2022 Gene Guilford released the 40 CFR § 312.10 EPA regulation that states a private certification that meets or exceeds the requirements of the regulation is an Environmental Professional under the regulation. Here is the crosswalk between the 40 CFR § 312.10 EPA regulation and the Certified Hazardous Materials Manager [CHMM] blueprint. The CHMM meets or exceeds the requirements of an Environmental Professional. 

Here’s what we ask each volunteer to do:

• Watch legislative and regulatory developments in your state that provide an opportunity for us to create amendments or other interventions
• Be willing to speak with regulators and legislators in your area about the recognition efforts we craft together

Regulatory Updates

PHMSA’s Office of Hazardous Materials Safety 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:

• The 29th session of the ICAO TDG, scheduled for November 13 to 17, 2023, in Montreal, Canada
• The 63rd session of the UNSCOE TDG, scheduled for November 27 to December 6, 2023, in Geneva, Switzerland

Each of these public meetings will be held approximately two weeks before the corresponding international meeting. Specific information for each meeting, including date, time, conference call-in number, and details for advance registration will be posted when available on the PHMSA website under “Upcoming Events.” These meetings will be virtual, with hybrid options available as possible, pending public health guidelines.

The Federal Register announcement can be found here.

IHMM CONFERENCES FOR 2023

IHMM will attend and support a number of conferences and trade shows throughout 2023, virtually as well as in-person as resources allow. Below are some of the conferences IHMM will support in 2023.

Are there conferences you believe IHMM should attend that do not appear here? If so, let us know by sending an email to [email protected]

FET Annual Conference

Visit IHMM at Booth 5 and say hello to Board Chair Bill Diesslin

Milwaukee Marriott West

October 31-Nov 2, 2023