…but fishermen might still have cause for concern:
A flurry of protests followed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s notice on August 24 that it would accept comments on a petition requesting that it ban lead in bullets and shot, as well as in fishing tackle (e.g., lead sinkers). As quickly as the clamor rose, it subsided, when EPA today denied the part of the petition calling for a ban on the production and distribution of lead hunting ammunition. The EPA letter explaining its denial can be found at http://www.epa.gov/oppt/chemtest/pubs/sect21.html.
EPA determined that the agency could not act on the requested ban on lead ammunition because it does not have the legal authority to regulate this type of product under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) – and stated that it is not seeking such authority.
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On July 29, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) denied 10 petitions challenging its 2009 determination that
- climate change is real,
- it is occurring due to emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities, and
- it threatens human health and the environment.
EPA’s decision rejected claims that climate science cannot be trusted and that collusion (dare we say, a “conspiracy”?) among members of leading research bodies to suppress conflicting data and hide errors or gaps in their own research invalidates the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the U.S. Global Change Research Program. Having given “months of serious consideration” to the petitions and to the state of climate change science, EPA found no evidence to support these claims. In fact, EPA has determined that climate science is credible, compelling, and growing stronger!
EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson blamed the petitions on “defenders of the status quo [who] will try to slow our efforts to get America running on clean energy,” and called on petitioners “to join the vast majority of the American people who want to see more green jobs, more clean energy innovation and an end to the oil addiction that pollutes our planet and jeopardizes our national security.”
The basic assertions by the petitioners and EPA responses follow.
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed to extend the compliance date for some facilities subject to the Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Rule amendments.
Drilling, production or workover facilities that are offshore or onshore facilities required to have and submit facility response plans (FRPs) will not be eligible for the proposed extension, and must prepare or update their SPCC Plans in accordance with the rule amendments by November 10 of this year. Other facilities, including onshore oil production facilities, farms, utilities, various manufacturers, petroleum bulk storage and retail, transportation and commercial operations may put off their plan and facility updates until November 10, 2011.
Provided, of course, that facilities that were in operation and subject to SPCC regulations before August 16, 2002, maintain and continue to implement their existing SPCC Plans in accordance with the regulations that were then in effect.
More information on SPCC requirements can be found at this page. Please comment below or contact T. Cozzie Consulting if you have questions or concerns about how these requirements affect your facility.
If you have not completed your Toxic Chemical Release Inventory (TRI) reports yet, note that they are due by July 1.
For additional information, refer to our TRI reporting guidance pages:
Of course, feel free to contact T. Cozzie Consulting (but soon!) if you need additional information or assistance.
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The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has confirmed that employers will be required to notify their workers of all hexavalent chromium exposures, effective June 15, 2010. Previously, OSHA’s Hexavalent Chromium standard required workers be notified only when they experienced exposures exceeding the permissible exposure limit.
Occupational exposures to hexavalent chromium can occur among workers operating chrome plating baths, of course, as well as when handling pigments, spray paints and coatings containing chromates and welding or cutting metals containing chromium (e.g., stainless steel).
More information on protecting workers from exposure to this chemical can be found on OSHA’s Safety and Health Topics page on Hexavalent Chromium.
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