The White House regulatory review office is seeking to speed and streamline deregulatory actions, directing OSHA and other agencies to repeal “facially unlawful” regulations without notice and comment under the “good cause” exemption and skip certain consultations with state and local officials, tribes and others when issuing such actions.
Worker rights advocates are opposing a trio of related Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) proposals that would narrow district managers’ authority to require additional safety measures at coal mines, arguing MSHA has failed to demonstrate the proposals are necessary and would not harm miners.
A mining industry group is warning that a “fully functional” National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is vital to ensuring the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) can achieve the goals of its proposal to ease the process for using certain respirators in mines.
With the Senate’s recent confirmation of David Keeling as the head of OSHA, agency observers are outlining potential regulatory and enforcement changes under the Trump administration, including likely rollbacks of certain reporting requirements and other Biden-era priorities while possibly finalizing some version of a national heat standard.
Despite Senate pressure to quickly propose a workplace-violence standard, OSHA says in its latest Unified Agenda of regulatory actions that a proposal date is “to be determined,” and the agency is also not committing to a timeline for finalizing a heat injury and illness standard, though it is still looking to do so.
Pennsylvania coal mine operators and a former Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) attorney are criticizing the agency’s plan to curtail district managers’ authority to mandate roof-collapse prevention measures, with the operators raising concerns about the plan’s impacts and the attorney saying it misstates the purpose and process of roof control plans.
Mining industry safety-training experts are backing the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA) plan to remove discretionary authority that allows agency district managers to require additional safety measures beyond those specified in regulation, but are urging MSHA to bolster the administrative record for the proposed rule.
The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) is urging the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to retain safety standards for the use of trolleys in mines, arguing the technology used to transport mined ore and coal as well as personnel is still used in at least one mine.
OSHA is extending by 60 days the comment period on 20 proposed rules that are part of a Trump administration regulatory reform package, granting a request from labor unions and other stakeholders for more time to evaluate proposed changes to rules relating to respirator standards and other safety requirements.
Labor and worker rights advocates are urging the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MHSA) to “withdraw” its proposal seeking to remove duplicative requirements for inspection and maintenance of aerial tramways, arguing it would eliminate inspections mandates and compromise miners’ safety.