Current News

DEEP has passed a new regulation adopting the EPA's 2013 Solvent-Contaminated Wipes Rule. This rule provides an exemption from hazardous waste requirements for certain solvent-contaminated wipes that meet specified management requirements. In particular, qualifying wipes may be: (1) laundered at certain laundry facilities; or (2) disposed of at certain in-state combustion facilities or at out-of-state combustion or landfill facilities meeting the requirements of the receiving state. [ more ]

Electronic manifesting for hazardous waste shipments began June 30, 2018.

Access the latest information on the EPA's E-Manifesting Portal.

Katt Training & Consluting can help your company transition to the new system. Please contact us for more information.

[The EPA's E-Manifesting Portal]

[EPA News Release]

Aerosol cans are widely used for dispensing a broad range of products including paints, solvents, pesticides, food and personal care products, and many others. The Consumer Specialty Products Association (CSPA) estimates that 3.82 billion aerosol cans were filled in the United States in 2015 for use by commercial and industrial facilities as well as by households. Aerosol cans can account for nearly 40 percent of retail items that are managed as hazardous waste at large retail facilities. [ more ]

This matrix tracks state implementation of the Hazardous Waste Generator Improvement Rule. Updated monthly, the matrix provides key information on rulemaking status, publication date, public hearing dates and comment periods, and the rule effective date.

Information is collected by a professional legislative and regulatory tracking service that monitors the development and adoption of the regulations, and individually contacts State Agencies to assess their progress on the Generator Improvement rulemaking process.

Katt Training can help you navigate the new rules in your state. Please contact us for more information.

[Go to the Tracking Matrix]

WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has updated the National Emphasis Program (NEP) on preventing trenching and excavation collapses in response to a recent spike in trenching fatalities.

OSHA's NEP will increase education and enforcement efforts while its inspectors will record trenching and excavation inspections in a national reporting system, and each area OSHA office will develop outreach programs. [ more ]

On May 12, 2016, OSHA published a final rule that, among other things, amended 29 C.F.R. § 1904.35 to add a provision prohibiting employers from retaliating against employees for reporting work-related injuries or illnesses. See 29 C.F.R. § 1904.35(b)(1)(iv). In the preamble to the final rule and post-promulgation interpretive documents, OSHA discussed how the final rule could apply to action taken under workplace safety incentive programs and post-incident drug testing policies.

The purpose of this memorandum is to clarify the Department's position that 29 C.F.R. § 1904.35(b)(1)(iv) does not prohibit workplace safety incentive programs or post-incident drug testing. The Department believes that many employers who implement safety incentive programs and/or conduct post-incident drug testing do so to promote workplace safety and health. In addition, evidence that the employer consistently enforces legitimate work rules (whether or not an injury or illness is reported) would demonstrate that the employer is serious about creating a culture of safety, not just the appearance of reducing rates. Action taken under a safety incentive program or post-incident drug testing policy would only violate 29 C.F.R. § 1904.35(b)(1)(iv) if the employer took the action to penalize an employee for reporting a work-related injury or illness rather than for the legitimate purpose of promoting workplace safety and health. [ more ]

Below are the maximum penalty amounts adjusted for inflation as of Jan. 23, 2019.

Serious: $13,260 per violation
Other-Than-Serious: $13,260 per violation
Posting Requirements: $13,260 per violation
Failure to Abate: $13,260 per day beyond the abatement date
Willful or Repeated: $132,598 per violation

[Read the OSHA memo]

WASHINGTON, DC – To protect worker privacy, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a final rule that eliminates the requirement for establishments with 250 or more employees to electronically submit information from OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) and OSHA Form 301 (Injury and Illness Incident Report) to OSHA each year. These establishments are still required to electronically submit information from OSHA Form 300A (Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses). [ more ]

NORTH PLATTE, NE – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Western Engineering Company Inc. after an employee suffered fatal injuries after being pulled into an unguarded slat/drag conveyor at the company's North Platte, Nebraska, asphalt plant. OSHA proposed penalties totaling $89,032.

OSHA cited the company for seven serious violations of machine guarding, lockout/tagout and permit-required confined space standards, including failing to develop a confined space entry program; issue safety permits; test atmospheric conditions; and provide air testing and monitoring equipment. [ more ]

ORLANDO, FL – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited two contractors – PCL Construction Services Inc. and Universal Engineering Sciences – for safety violations after two employees suffered fatal injuries at a work site for the new JW Marriott Hotel in Orlando.

The workers were pouring concrete on the seventh floor when the support structure collapsed. OSHA found the contractors failed to inspect formwork, shoring, working decks, and scaffolds properly prior to construction to ensure that the equipment met the required specified formwork drawings. OSHA also issued PCL Construction Services Inc. a willful citation - for the maximum allowed by law - for failing to design, fabricate, erect, support, and brace the formwork so that it was capable of supporting vertical and lateral loads. The contractors collectively received three violations totaling $157,792 in proposed penalties. [ more ]

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is requesting information as the Agency considers rulemaking to update the powered industrial trucks standards for general, maritime, and construction industries. The standards became effective in 1971, and were based on industry consensus standards from 1969. Since then, national consensus standards have been updated several times.

OSHA is requesting information on: the types, age, and usage of powered industrial trucks; maintenance and retrofitting; how to regulate older powered industrial trucks; types of accidents and injuries associated with operating these machines; costs and benefits of retrofitting the machines with safety features; and other components of a safety program. OSHA will use the information received in response to this request to determine what action, if any, it may take to reduce regulatory burdens and create jobs while improving worker safety. [ more ]

The EPA Acting Administrator signed the final rule, titled, "Management Standards for Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals and Amendment to the P075 Listing for Nicotine" on December 11, 2018 and it was published in the Federal Register (FR) on February 22, 2019.

This final rule establishes cost- saving, streamlined standards for handling hazardous waste pharmaceuticals to better fit the operations of the healthcare sector while maintaining protection of human health and the environment. [ more ]

PICAYUNE, MS – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Heritage Plastics Inc. for exposing employees to amputations at the company's facility in Picayune, Mississippi. The plastics manufacturer faces $159,118 in penalties, including a willful violation that carries the maximum penalty allowed.

An employee suffered the amputation of four fingers when the mixing machine from which the employee was removing material unexpectedly started. OSHA inspectors determined that Heritage Plastics failed to require the use of a lockout device and train employees on procedures to control the release of hazardous energy. OSHA also cited the employer for failing to install machine guarding. The inspection is part of OSHA's National Emphasis Program on Amputations." [ more ]