Megan Galey

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Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”), 42 U.S.C. §§6901 et seq., hazardous waste land disposal units in operation after November 19, 1980 are subject to the RCRA hazardous waste management regulatory program. After closure of a hazardous waste land disposal unit where waste remains in place, RCRA regulations require the owner or operator (“owner/operator”) to perform post-closure care activities and provide financial assurance for the estimated costs of the post-closure care. The regulations require a 30-year post-closure care period, though the post-closure period may be extended by EPA or an authorized state if it can be demonstrated that an extension is “necessary to protect human health and the environment.”

In an April 2016 Interpretation Letter recently made publically available, OSHA responded to an inquiry about whether an employee’s self-treatment of wrist pain constituted medical treatment beyond first aid for recordkeeping purposes. The scenario at issue involved an employee who bought and used a rigid wrist brace due to experiencing wrist pain after working at a computer for a number of hours.  Later, when the employee saw a doctor at the occupational health clinic, the doctor determined that the brace was not necessary, but recommended that the employee continue to wear the brace if the employee felt it was relieving his pain.

OSHA recently announced that it is delaying the effective date of the controversial anti-retaliation portion of its new recordkeeping rule in order to conduct additional outreach and provide educational materials and guidance for employers. The agency’s announcement comes on the heels of a legal challenge seeking injunctive relief from the anti-retaliation provision in the rule.

In response to twenty petitions for rulemaking submitted by the Chlorine Institute, Compressed Gas Association, and other members of the regulated community, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (“PHMSA”) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking on June 30, 2016 that, if finalized, will amend its hazardous materials regulations to update, clarify, or provide relief from the following miscellaneous regulatory requirements:

Hidden away in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (2015 Budget), signed by President Obama on November 2, 2015, is an obscure provision that will raise the maximum penalties for Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) violations for the first time since 1990. The financial ramifications of the significantly higher penalties may change how employers evaluate whether to contest OSHA citations.