The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") announced that it will host two meetings regarding regulations developed under the Toxic Substance Control Act ("TSCA") and Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act ("EPCRA").
Specifically, EPA seeks public input on rules that could be made less burdensome. EPA's actions are in line with Executive Order 13777, "Enforcing the Regulatory Agenda," which, among other things, "requires each agency to create a Regulatory Reform Task Force to evaluate existing regulations and to identify regulations that should be repealed, replaced, or modified."
Both meetings will be held on May 1, 2017 at EPA.
The first meeting will be held from 9 AM to 12 PM and address regulations developed under Subchapters I, II, and VI of TSCA (Control of Toxic Substances, Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response, and Formaldehyde Standards for Composite Wood Products, respectively), as well as Subchapter II § 11023 of EPCRA (the Toxic Release Inventory).
The second meeting will be held from 1 PM to 2:30 PM and address regulations developed under Subchapter IV of TSCA (Lead Exposure Reduction).
To attend in person or via web conference, register here for the first meeting,
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/regulatory-reform-agenda-meeting-for-ocsppoppt-tsca-tri-registration-33533387264
and here for the second meeting
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/regulatory-reform-agenda-meeting-for-ocsppoppt-lead-registration-33533763389
Registration for both meetings is open until April 27, 2017.
Additionally, EPA is accepting comments until May 15, 2017.
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USA--On Monday, April 24, the EPA will be hosting a public teleconference from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM EDT to seek public and stakeholder input on the impacts of air and radiation regulatory actions. Registration for the teleconference is not required.
Participant dial-in number: (800) 305–3182
Conference ID number: 8535873
Further details about EPA's stakeholder outreach can be found here
https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=EPA-HQ-OA-2017-0190
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USA--EPA to Repeal and Replace WOTUS With Two Separate Rulemaking Processes
EPA to Repeal and Replace WOTUS With Two Separate Rulemaking Processes
April 10, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") Administrator Scott Pruitt, in a letter inviting state and local leaders to Washington D.C. to discuss EPA's strategy to rescind and replace the Waters of the United States ("WOTUS") rule, stated that the agency plans to use an "expeditious, two-step process" to reach that goal.
EPA's actions are in line with Executive Order ("EO") 13778, titled "Restoring the Rule of Law, Federalism, and Economic Growth by Reviewing the 'Waters of the United States' Rule," which directs EPA to repeal or re-write the regulation.
Upon repeal, EPA would revert back to the 1986 definition, further explained by guidance issued during the George W. Bush administration, of WOTUS. This definition is currently the status-quo, as the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has stayed the regulation, pending litigation.
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USA--D.C. Circuit Strikes Down Farm Pollution Rule
Today (April 11), in Waterkeeper Alliance, et al. v EPA, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ("EPA") Farm Pollution Rule, which would exempt most farms from air pollution reporting requirements for emissions from animal waste under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act ("EPCRA") and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act ("CERCLA").
In its opinion, the three-judge panel unanimously agreed that Congress did not give EPA the authority to make such exemptions. Specifically, the opinion notes that EPA cannot ignore a statute "whenever it decides that the reporting requirements aren't worth the trouble" and that EPA did not properly consider the tools at its disposal to fight such emissions.
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2008-12-18/pdf/E8-30003.pdf
https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/2E91F70B0AF28BBE852580FF004E33FF/$file/09-1017-1670473.pdf
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USA--EPA Proposes Delayed Implementation of Risk Management Program Rule
April 3, the EPA proposed pushing back the effective date of the Accidental Release Prevention Requirements: Risk Management Programs under the Clean Air Act to February 19, 2019. According to EPA, the delayed effective date will allow the agency "time to consider petitions for reconsideration of this final rule," including possible regulatory action or revision of the rule. The EPA is accepting comments on the proposal until May 19, 2017.
on March 2, Sens. Inhofe (OK), Cornyn (TX), Barrasso (WY), Moran (KS), and Johnson (WI) introduced a Congressional Review Act resolution seeking to repeal the final RMP rule. Rep. Mullin (OK-2) previously introduced a CRA resolution on the rule in the House.
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USA--The DOT HM-215N Final Rule
The HM-215N Final Rule was officially published March 30 in the Federal Register. In this final rule, PHMSA is amending the HMR to maintain consistency with international regulations and standards by incorporating various amendments.
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2017-03-30/pdf/2017-04565.pdf
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USA--EPA Releases Initial Mercury Inventory Report
March 29, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the release of its initial report on mercury supply, use, and trade in the United States, pursuant to section 8(b)(10)(B) of the Toxic Substances Control Act ("TSCA"), as amended by the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act ("LCSA").
The report focuses on mercury as a commodity and identifies "any manufacturing processes or products that intentionally add mercury." Specifically, EPA addresses this in three parts:
1. An introduction, including those laws affecting mercury supply and trade and the sources of information contained in the report;
2. Elemental mercury, including its supply, sources of the supply, uses, and trade; and
3. Mercury compounds, including their supply, uses, and trade.
The inventory report was to be released by April 1, 2017, and will be published every three years thereafter. EPA has stated that in future inventory reports, in addition to identifying any manufacturing processors or products that intentionally add mercury, it will "recommend actions, including proposed revisions of Federal law or regulations, to achieve further reductions in mercury use."
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cANADA-- WHMIS 2015 Compliance, Deadlines and Recent Technical Guides
On February 11, 2015, the federal government launched WHMIS 2015 to align with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS), revision 5 of the Purple Book. CPCA wishes to remind all manufacturer/importer members that they must ensure full compliance of their significant data sheets and labels with WHMIS 2015 by the fast-approaching implementation deadline of May 31, 2017.
Since the WHMIS 2015's introduction in Canada, CPCA has developed and updated its own technical guidance document with regard to new GHS conversion requirements. This document is a compilation of numerous sector-related Q&As obtained from CPCA members and addressed to the WHMIS desk. This document complements the Technical Guidance Parts I & 2 Report published last year by Health Canada as well as the general information on the legislation and training currently available on the WHMIS.org portal. You can find this CPCA document, entitled "CPCA WHMIS 2015 Preliminary Conversion Guidance for Paint Manufacturers" in the Members Only section of canpaint.com under "Resources." If you do not have access to this section, please contact Micheline Foucher to obtain your company's access and log-in information.
Extensive information such as courses, fact sheets, posters and webinars are available on the WHMIS.org portal, as well as references to the legislative statutes and related requirements in all provincial and territory jurisdictions across Canada.
I. WHMIS Compliance Deadline for Manufacturers and Importers
All industrial paint manufacturers and importers must ensure their products sold in Canada are converted to WHMIS 2015 as of June 1, 2017. Other criteria include:
• All your SDS/labels of products manufactured or shipped after that date should be WHMIS 2015 compliant
• Manufacturers and importers should end the sales of old labels/MSDS
• All staff must be trained for WHMIS 2015
II. Other WHMIS 2015 Implementation Deadlines
• December 1, 2017: Health Canada will only accept employer claims with WHMIS 2015 SDSs and labels.
• June 1, 2018: Distributors should have cleared all their old labels from the market.
• December 1, 2018: Any remaining purchases of old MSDS/labels in the workplaces end by this date. The transition to WHMIS 2015 must be completed for all employers and workers. Note: Related requirements with respect to WHMIS 2015 completion may vary slightly from one provincial jurisdiction to the next. However, all manufacturers, importers, distributors, and federally regulated employers using hazardous products in the workplace must comply with WHMIS 2015 fully.
III. WHMIS 2015 Implementation e-Training from Health Canada/CCOHS
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) is Canada's national resource for workplace health and safety. CCOHS offers WHMIS 2015 online training materials—developed jointly with Health Canada—that are available for purchase on its website. Please also note that CPCA offers rebates for online training materials developed by the ICC.
Upon a CPCA enquiry, Health Canada noted that it could not provide any kind of spreadsheet or template to share with SMEs for ease of conversion of labels and safety data sheets with WHMIS 2015. However, the CCOHS is offering several SDS templates and pictograms:
• WHMIS 2015 SDS Template and MSDS to SDS Whitepaper
• WHMIS 2015 (GHS) Pictograms
• Other WHMIS 2015 informatio
Specifically, EPA seeks public input on rules that could be made less burdensome. EPA's actions are in line with Executive Order 13777, "Enforcing the Regulatory Agenda," which, among other things, "requires each agency to create a Regulatory Reform Task Force to evaluate existing regulations and to identify regulations that should be repealed, replaced, or modified."
Both meetings will be held on May 1, 2017 at EPA.
The first meeting will be held from 9 AM to 12 PM and address regulations developed under Subchapters I, II, and VI of TSCA (Control of Toxic Substances, Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response, and Formaldehyde Standards for Composite Wood Products, respectively), as well as Subchapter II § 11023 of EPCRA (the Toxic Release Inventory).
The second meeting will be held from 1 PM to 2:30 PM and address regulations developed under Subchapter IV of TSCA (Lead Exposure Reduction).
To attend in person or via web conference, register here for the first meeting,
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/
and here for the second meeting
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/
Registration for both meetings is open until April 27, 2017.
Additionally, EPA is accepting comments until May 15, 2017.
---
USA--On Monday, April 24, the EPA will be hosting a public teleconference from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM EDT to seek public and stakeholder input on the impacts of air and radiation regulatory actions. Registration for the teleconference is not required.
Participant dial-in number: (800) 305–3182
Conference ID number: 8535873
Further details about EPA's stakeholder outreach can be found here
https://www.regulations.gov/
--
USA--EPA to Repeal and Replace WOTUS With Two Separate Rulemaking Processes
EPA to Repeal and Replace WOTUS With Two Separate Rulemaking Processes
April 10, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") Administrator Scott Pruitt, in a letter inviting state and local leaders to Washington D.C. to discuss EPA's strategy to rescind and replace the Waters of the United States ("WOTUS") rule, stated that the agency plans to use an "expeditious, two-step process" to reach that goal.
EPA's actions are in line with Executive Order ("EO") 13778, titled "Restoring the Rule of Law, Federalism, and Economic Growth by Reviewing the 'Waters of the United States' Rule," which directs EPA to repeal or re-write the regulation.
Upon repeal, EPA would revert back to the 1986 definition, further explained by guidance issued during the George W. Bush administration, of WOTUS. This definition is currently the status-quo, as the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has stayed the regulation, pending litigation.
---
USA--D.C. Circuit Strikes Down Farm Pollution Rule
Today (April 11), in Waterkeeper Alliance, et al. v EPA, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ("EPA") Farm Pollution Rule, which would exempt most farms from air pollution reporting requirements for emissions from animal waste under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act ("EPCRA") and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act ("CERCLA").
In its opinion, the three-judge panel unanimously agreed that Congress did not give EPA the authority to make such exemptions. Specifically, the opinion notes that EPA cannot ignore a statute "whenever it decides that the reporting requirements aren't worth the trouble" and that EPA did not properly consider the tools at its disposal to fight such emissions.
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/
https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/
--
USA--EPA Proposes Delayed Implementation of Risk Management Program Rule
April 3, the EPA proposed pushing back the effective date of the Accidental Release Prevention Requirements: Risk Management Programs under the Clean Air Act to February 19, 2019. According to EPA, the delayed effective date will allow the agency "time to consider petitions for reconsideration of this final rule," including possible regulatory action or revision of the rule. The EPA is accepting comments on the proposal until May 19, 2017.
on March 2, Sens. Inhofe (OK), Cornyn (TX), Barrasso (WY), Moran (KS), and Johnson (WI) introduced a Congressional Review Act resolution seeking to repeal the final RMP rule. Rep. Mullin (OK-2) previously introduced a CRA resolution on the rule in the House.
---
USA--The DOT HM-215N Final Rule
The HM-215N Final Rule was officially published March 30 in the Federal Register. In this final rule, PHMSA is amending the HMR to maintain consistency with international regulations and standards by incorporating various amendments.
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/
---
USA--EPA Releases Initial Mercury Inventory Report
March 29, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the release of its initial report on mercury supply, use, and trade in the United States, pursuant to section 8(b)(10)(B) of the Toxic Substances Control Act ("TSCA"), as amended by the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act ("LCSA").
The report focuses on mercury as a commodity and identifies "any manufacturing processes or products that intentionally add mercury." Specifically, EPA addresses this in three parts:
1. An introduction, including those laws affecting mercury supply and trade and the sources of information contained in the report;
2. Elemental mercury, including its supply, sources of the supply, uses, and trade; and
3. Mercury compounds, including their supply, uses, and trade.
The inventory report was to be released by April 1, 2017, and will be published every three years thereafter. EPA has stated that in future inventory reports, in addition to identifying any manufacturing processors or products that intentionally add mercury, it will "recommend actions, including proposed revisions of Federal law or regulations, to achieve further reductions in mercury use."
--
cANADA-- WHMIS 2015 Compliance, Deadlines and Recent Technical Guides
On February 11, 2015, the federal government launched WHMIS 2015 to align with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS), revision 5 of the Purple Book. CPCA wishes to remind all manufacturer/importer members that they must ensure full compliance of their significant data sheets and labels with WHMIS 2015 by the fast-approaching implementation deadline of May 31, 2017.
Since the WHMIS 2015's introduction in Canada, CPCA has developed and updated its own technical guidance document with regard to new GHS conversion requirements. This document is a compilation of numerous sector-related Q&As obtained from CPCA members and addressed to the WHMIS desk. This document complements the Technical Guidance Parts I & 2 Report published last year by Health Canada as well as the general information on the legislation and training currently available on the WHMIS.org portal. You can find this CPCA document, entitled "CPCA WHMIS 2015 Preliminary Conversion Guidance for Paint Manufacturers" in the Members Only section of canpaint.com under "Resources." If you do not have access to this section, please contact Micheline Foucher to obtain your company's access and log-in information.
Extensive information such as courses, fact sheets, posters and webinars are available on the WHMIS.org portal, as well as references to the legislative statutes and related requirements in all provincial and territory jurisdictions across Canada.
I. WHMIS Compliance Deadline for Manufacturers and Importers
All industrial paint manufacturers and importers must ensure their products sold in Canada are converted to WHMIS 2015 as of June 1, 2017. Other criteria include:
• All your SDS/labels of products manufactured or shipped after that date should be WHMIS 2015 compliant
• Manufacturers and importers should end the sales of old labels/MSDS
• All staff must be trained for WHMIS 2015
II. Other WHMIS 2015 Implementation Deadlines
• December 1, 2017: Health Canada will only accept employer claims with WHMIS 2015 SDSs and labels.
• June 1, 2018: Distributors should have cleared all their old labels from the market.
• December 1, 2018: Any remaining purchases of old MSDS/labels in the workplaces end by this date. The transition to WHMIS 2015 must be completed for all employers and workers. Note: Related requirements with respect to WHMIS 2015 completion may vary slightly from one provincial jurisdiction to the next. However, all manufacturers, importers, distributors, and federally regulated employers using hazardous products in the workplace must comply with WHMIS 2015 fully.
III. WHMIS 2015 Implementation e-Training from Health Canada/CCOHS
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) is Canada's national resource for workplace health and safety. CCOHS offers WHMIS 2015 online training materials—developed jointly with Health Canada—that are available for purchase on its website. Please also note that CPCA offers rebates for online training materials developed by the ICC.
Upon a CPCA enquiry, Health Canada noted that it could not provide any kind of spreadsheet or template to share with SMEs for ease of conversion of labels and safety data sheets with WHMIS 2015. However, the CCOHS is offering several SDS templates and pictograms:
• WHMIS 2015 SDS Template and MSDS to SDS Whitepaper
• WHMIS 2015 (GHS) Pictograms
• Other WHMIS 2015 informatio
