Rulemaking

The National Employment Law Project (NELP) and Biden-era OSHA Administrator Doug Parker are urging the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to drop its proposal to remove what the agency says are duplicate requirements for maintaining and inspecting drilling equipment in mines, arguing the proposal violates the law.

The National Mining Association (NMA) is urging the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to expand its regulatory reform package of 19 proposed rule changes to include two additional measures, arguing the agency also needs to change accident reporting and approval of electric motor-driven mine equipment.

Labor unions are urging the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to provide additional options under its proposed hazard communication rule to allow miners rather than mine operators the choice of how to receive such materials, arguing a shift to electronic-only access will pose a barrier to some miners.

Environmentalists and industry groups are raising concerns about how EPA estimated risk to workers from phthalates in technical documents that will support a novel cumulative risk assessment of the chemicals, alleging that methodological deficiencies resulted in assessments that either understated or overstated risk.

Public health officials, labor unions and the construction industry are among numerous stakeholder groups asking OSHA for additional time to comment on a package of deregulatory proposals, with some targeting only a couple of the proposed rules and others seeking more time to review nearly all of the 24 regulations.

EPA has opened a new public comment period on a Biden-era TSCA risk management rule for the common solvent perchloroethylene (PCE or perc), seeking especially for information on whether workplace controls could reduce exposure to the chemical rather than outright prohibition of its use.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has agreed to extend by 30 days the comment period for five of 18 rules it recently proposed, although stakeholders have asked for a 60-day extension for all the rules and noted the challenge of providing meaningful comments on so many proposals at the same time.

The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) is seeking an additional 60 days to review 17 regulatory proposals the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) published in the Federal Register earlier this month, saying the agency’s 30-day comment period is not enough time to provide meaningful input.

While OSHA may still opt against finalizing a national heat standard, some observers believe the agency is looking to find middle ground on requirements that could be palatable to both employers and workers, especially because a federal rule would preempt state actions and prevent a more prescriptive approach in the future.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is seeking to eliminate a number of regulatory provisions that allow district managers to require additional safety measures beyond those specified in regulation as part of a group of proposals to remove outdated or duplicative provisions.