In October, OSHA released its new Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs, which were issued to incorporate the experience and advances gained since the previous set of recommendations was released in 1989. ...more
Refrigeration and cooling systems face expanded and tighter regulation under a final rule recently signed by EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. The rule revises and expands EPA’s regulations for “Ozone-Depleting Substances”...more
Refrigeration and cooling systems face expanded and tighter regulation under a final rule recently signed by EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. The rule revises and expands EPA’s regulations for “Ozone-Depleting Substances”...more
10/31/2016
/ Certification Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
HFC Emissions ,
Inspections ,
Manufacturers ,
Ozone ,
Pollution Control ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Webinars
In September, OSHA issued new guidance for evaluating settlement agreements between complainants and their employers to protect past and future whistleblowing activities. OSHA reviews these settlement agreements to ensure...more
Last week, a federal court dismissed claims brought by three California cities against Monsanto that were aimed at forcing Monsanto to pay for polychlorinated biphenyl (“PCB”) contamination in San Francisco Bay.
The...more
9/2/2016
/ Biotechnology ,
City of San Jose ,
Contamination ,
Dismissals ,
Environmental Liability ,
Environmental Violations ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Manufacturers ,
Monsanto ,
PCBs ,
Public Nuisance ,
Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan ,
Stormwater Discharge Permits ,
Water Pollution
Last year, we told you about a district court case in which air emissions from a lead smelter that ultimately settled on the land and in a water body gave rise to liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response,...more
Employers are increasingly being contacted by individuals, their insurance and payroll providers, the IRS and/or police about employees who are possibly involved in identity theft. If an employee steals a name and matching...more
In a rare bipartisan effort, Congress overwhelmingly passed a bill significantly reforming the chemical safety provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”) for the first time in its forty-year history. The Frank...more
OSHA recently announced a final rule to improve tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses. Under the new rule, employers will be required to submit injury and illness data to OSHA on an annual basis for posting on OSHA’s...more
On March 25, 2016, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued its final rule cutting in half the Permissible Exposure Limit (“PEL”) for respirable crystalline silica down to 50 micrograms per cubic...more
OSHA’s updated reporting and recordkeeping rule, found at 29 C.F.R. 1904, went into effect in January 2015. We summarized these new requirements on the blog, which require employers to report severe workplace injuries,...more
Many manufacturers have found themselves in the position of negotiating an order with an environmental agency over environmental conditions at a site. Oftentimes, these orders are the result of extensive negotiations, and...more
To round out our series on industry and legal outlooks for 2016, I have compiled some of the many things for manufacturers to be aware of in the Environmental Health & Safety world for 2016....more
With the new year comes a new focus on increasing criminal prosecutions against employers for worker safety violations. In the end of December, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced...more
As a result of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (Budget Act), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will increase its maximum civil monetary penalties for the first time since 1990....more
Earlier this year, we reported on a case that seemed to breathe new life into the divisibility defense under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Under CERCLA, a party that...more
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. § 9601 et seq. (“CERCLA”) imposes fairly broad liability on potentially responsible parties (“PRPs”) to pay for the investigation and...more
EPA is poised to publish a proposed rule revising regulations applicable to hazardous waste generators under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, 42 U.S.C. § 6901 et seq. (RCRA). The proposed rule, which has not yet...more
In August 2015, OSHA updated its National Emphasis Program (NEP) on Amputations. Based on a review of data from general industry as well as targeted industries, OSHA determined that workplace amputations were being...more
EPA is in the process of rolling out Next Generation Compliance, or NextGen, in an effort to make its programs more effective, facilitate compliance, and, ultimately, enhance environmental benefit. But in many ways, NextGen...more
On July 15, 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule significantly expanding its program for underground storage tank (UST) systems that store petroleum or hazardous substances....more
Under EPA’s Audit Policy and Small Business Compliance Policy, companies that discover, promptly disclose, and expeditiously correct environmental violations may be entitled to penalty mitigation and other incentives. EPA...more
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as Superfund, is a federal law under which contaminated sites are identified and evaluated by the Environmental Protection...more
It seems like so long ago (just over three years, to be exact) that OSHA revised its Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) to align with the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of...more