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California’s nonemergency COVID-19 prevention regulations (California Code of Regulations Title 8 sections 3205 through 3205.3) took effect February 3 following approval by the state’s Office of Administrative Law. The new regulations, which take the place of the state’s emergency temporary standards (ETSs), remain in effect through February 3, 2025, and recordkeeping provisions of the rules […]
On January 26, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued new enforcement guidance, allowing “instance-by-instance” citations for “high-gravity” serious violations of several agency standards. Regional administrators and area office directors will have the authority to issue instance-by-instance citations for violations of fall protection, lockout/tagout, machine guarding, permit-required confined space, respiratory protection, and trenching standards, […]
On January 18, 2023, the long-awaited final “Revised Definition of ‘Waters of the United States (WOTUS)’” rule was published in the Federal Register. It is set to go into effect March 20, 2023. The definition of WOTUS is the key to determining the EPA’s authority under the Clean Water Act (CWA). This final rule repeals […]
The EPA announced a proposal to strengthen the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for fine particulate pollution (PM-2.5) on January 6, 2023. The pre-publication version of the proposed rule calls for a revision to the primary annual PM-2.5 standard by lowering the level from 12 micrograms per cubic meter to a level between 9 […]
Is your business in the bullseye of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) 2023 regulatory plans? If you oversee a healthcare facility, then the answer is a resounding “yes.” Labor Secretary Marty Walsh recently confirmed that three OSHA healthcare rulemakings are priorities for the Labor Department: a permanent healthcare COVID-19 standard, a proposed infectious […]
After a year of uncertainty, on December 15, 2022, the EPA published a final rule amending the All Appropriate Inquiries (AAI) Rule to reference ASTM International’s E1527-21, “Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process,” and allow for its use to satisfy the requirements for conducting AAIs under the Comprehensive Environmental […]
As we prepare to jump into the new year, EHS Daily Advisor reached out to professionals throughout the industry to get their predictions for what will happen in EHS and workplace safety in 2023. Here’s what they had to say. Check out our New Year, New You: EHS Predictions for 2023 article for more information. […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will proceed with three rulemakings focused on the healthcare industry—standards for COVID-19, infectious diseases, and workplace violence—the Department of Labor (DOL) announced as part of the fall 2022 unified regulatory agenda unveiled January 4. The agency also is moving forward with developing a federal heat illness prevention standard, […]
Both the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the EPA have recently issued proposed rules aimed at reduced methane emissions from both new and existing oil and gas production sources. BLM The BLM’s proposed rule aimed at curbing flared, vented, or leaked methane waste on federal and tribal lands is similar to a 2016 Obama […]
In November 2022, hundreds of delegates, heads of state, business leaders, activists, and journalists went to Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, for the 27th United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP27) to discuss reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and how to battle climate change impacts. World leaders made several speeches during the conference, with UN Secretary General […]