ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE
Federal
EPA e-Manifest User Fees Effective October 1, 2021
July 15, 2021
Effective October 1, 2021, e-Manifest user fees are as follows. Paper manifests are not accepted.
Source: EPA
Permit Appeals and EAB Independence Reinstated
July 15, 2021
In August 2020, EPA promulgated a rule meant to streamline permit appeals and alter the way the Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) functions. A review of this rule is found in a previous article. On June 11, 2021, the agency finalized a rule reversing the majority of these changes and reaffirming the EAB as an impartial body independent of all EPA departments except the Office of the Administrator. [86 FR 31172] This rule was effective upon publication in the Federal Register on June 11, 2021.
Source: McCoy
EPA PFAS Action Sees Much Broader Scope Than In Past
July 14, 2021
The latest EPA PFAS action on Monday, July 13, 2021, shows once again that the agency is seeking to aggressively regulate certain PFAS compounds under the Safe Drinking Water Act. However, the EPA’s action on Monday is notable because it is one of the first instances in which the EPA acknowledges that it will consider potential regulation of all PFAS compounds – a class of chemicals consisting of over 9,000 substances – as opposed to just a small subset of the chemical group. This announcement should catch the eyes of any businesses in the stream of commerce that could in some way be held liable for cleanup costs due to PFAS environmental pollution.
Source: The National Law Review
Next Phase of TSCA Chemical Evaluations Underway
July 8, 2021
TSCA requires EPA to establish management standards for any chemical substance that poses unreasonable risks of injury to health or the environment, based on the results of risk evaluations mandated by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act or LCSA. EPA has completed risk evaluations for the original 10 substances and now plans to promulgate TSCA Section 6 management standards for three of those chemicals: HBCD, PV-29, and chrysotile asbestos.
Source: Lion
ASTM Proposes Changes to Phase I ESA Standard (E1527)
July 8, 2021
ASTM International's E1527-13 Standard Practice on Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) is required to be revised, reapproved as is, or abandoned this year. The ASTM E50.02 Task Group has been reviewing the existing standard, and many of the group's proposed changes are intended to correct what are viewed as deficiencies in the implementation of the current standard. Other changes are offered to provide greater consistency in the language of the standard. The current draft is out for ballot with results due on July 10, 2021.
Source: Holland & Knight
Final Rule: New TSCA Reporting Requirements for 50 Chemicals
July 6, 2021
US EPA has finalized a Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) rulemaking that will require manufacturers and importers of 50 chemical substances to report health and safety data. These reporting requirements will now apply to manufacturers (including importers) of chemicals of:
20 chemicals that EPA has designated as High-Priority for the purpose of TSCA chemical risk evaluations
30 organohalogen flame retardants being evaluated for risks by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
Reporting is required by September 27, 2021. Source: Lion
Texas
Major RCRA Updates Coming to Texas in 2021-2022
July 6, 2021
TCEQ announced a schedule of deadlines to propose and finalize new hazardous waste rules under Title 30 of the Texas Administrative Code (30 TAC). Key RCRA changes in the forthcoming proposal include:
EPA’s RCRA Hazardous Waste Generator Improvements Rule,
The Electronic Hazardous Waste Manifest (e-Manifest) Fee Rule,
Definition of Solid Waste (DSW) and recycling provisions changes,
New management standards for Pharmaceutical Hazardous Waste, and
The addition of aerosol cans to the universal waste program.
An exclusion for spent foundry sands from the iron and steel casting industry.
TCEQ’s anticipated schedule for this rulemaking process will start on July 14, 2021, when the agency proposes a hazardous waste rulemaking. The new RCRA rules are expected to take effect on January 6, 2022. See https://www.tceq.texas.gov/rules/prop.html#2020-001-116-AI for specifics.
Source: Lion
TCEQ Air Quality for Permitted Facilities: Responding to a Declared Disaster
July 1, 2021
When responding to damage from a hurricane, flood, tornado, fire, or other emergency, this guidance describes the relevant environmental rules to inform decisions on a reasonable course of action. Questions should be directed to the TCEQ regional office for the facility’s location. Contact 512-239-1000 to determine the correct region.
Source: TCEQ
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HEALTH & SAFETY COMPLIANCE
Time to Mask Up Again? CDC Revises Mask Guidance for Vaccinated Individuals
July 28, 2021
Once considered a watershed moment in the nation’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDC announced in May 2021 that fully vaccinated individuals were no longer required to wear a mask in most outdoor and indoor settings. Unfortunately, as the COVID-19 Delta variant spreads among the unvaccinated, and even some vaccinated populations, the CDC changed course and now recommends that “to maximize protection from the Delta variant and prevent possibly spreading it to others, wear a mask indoors in public if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission.” According to the CDC, the substantial or high transmission includes any county where there are more than 50 cases per 100,000 people in the area, over a seven-day period, or that the COVID-19 test positivity rate is higher than 5%.
Source: Seyfarth
OSHA Expands COVID-19 Inspections Under New NEP
July 9, 2021
Inspections at non-healthcare facilities will follow the revised Interim Enforcement Response Plan (IERP). Updates in the July 2021 IERP include:
Enforcing protections for workers in non-healthcare industries who are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated;
Where respirator supplies and services are readily available, OSHA will stop exercising enforcement discretion for temporary noncompliance with the Respiratory Protection standard based on employers’ claims of supply shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic;
OSHA will no longer exercise enforcement discretion for the same requirements in other health standards, where full compliance may have been difficult for some non-healthcare employers due to the COVID-19 pandemic;
Updated instructions and guidance for OSHA area offices and CSHOs for handling COVID-19-related complaints, referrals, and severe illness reports;
Ensuring workers are protected from retaliation; and
References to the revised NEP for COVID-19.
Source: Lion
OSHA Resources for Hurricane-Impacted Areas
July 8, 2021
OSHA's webpage on working hurricane-impacted areas can help employers and workers recognize the hazards after a severe storm hits, including keeping workers safe during flood cleanup.
Source: OSHA
Midwest OSHA Region Introduces Regional Emphasis Program for Noise Hazards and Programmed OSHA Inspections at Manufacturers
July 7, 2021
OSHA Region V has recently adopted an Instruction to establish a Regional Emphasis Program (REP) for conducting inspections of select manufacturing industries with hearing loss rates higher than the national average. OSHA has a programmed list that instructs Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHOs) to conduct walk-around inspections and do individual dosimetry if any noise hits at least 85 decibels.
Source: Seyfarth Shaw
OSHA Heat Illness Prevention Infographics
July 1, 2021
OSHA has new public service announcements and infographics (in English and Spanish) to help get the word out on keeping workers safe in the heat.
Source: OSHA
SUSTAINABILITY, ESG AND CLIMATE ACTION
A Coalition for Clean Skies
July 25, 2021
The European Union’s “Fit for 55” climate package of regulatory proposals—which aims to reduce emissions 55% by 2030 compared with 1990 levels— is likely to have long-term consequences for the aviation sector. Explore our recent insights on scaling sustainable aviation fuel and what’s ahead for airlines and other industries as they strive to meet climate goals, with topics including:
scaling new technologies that run on less-constrained feedstocks
cost-optimal pathways to a net-zero Europe
the dangers of infrastructure vulnerabilities
Source: McKinsey
A Clean COVID-19 recovery: The Global Opportunity
July 21, 2021
A report from EY Parthenon this month predicted 10 million potential jobs could be created worldwide from today’s visible pipeline of 13,000 renewable energy projects. Strong asset flows into climate finance — the WilderHill Clean Energy Index is up 69 percent in the past year — suggest clean energy companies have a mandate to grow.
Source: EY-Parthenon
Climate and Clean Energy Policy State of Play
July 21, 2021
On Capitol Hill, multiple infrastructure packages in play are poised to provide tremendous opportunities for clean energy initiatives. Lawmakers are actively drafting a legislative framework that demonstrates a keen interest in bolstering the United States' green technology capacities and promise to transform key domestic industries and put America at the forefront of the global clean energy transition.
Source: Holland & Knight
How Cities Can Adapt to Climate Change
July 20, 2021
Research identifies 15 proven ways that urban areas around the world can adapt to climate risk.
Source: McKinsey
How Real Estate Investors Should View Climate Data
July 19, 2021
A new framework for assessing climate change data helps real estate investors measure risks, including extreme weather events and the costs of transitioning to a low-carbon economy.
Source: Morgan Stanley
Climate Ambition: SBTi Raises the Bar to 1.5°C
July 15, 2021
The Science Based Targets initiative said it is increasing the minimum ambition levels for emissions reductions in corporate targets to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, ahead of the next Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report in August.
Source: SBTi
How Global Companies Can Manage Geopolitical Risk
July 15, 2021
McKinsey suggests a five-pronged approach to managing geopolitical risk, like climate change.
Engage the board with a holistic review
Look at short-, mid- and long-term actions
Critical thinking about the corporate narrative
Deploy refreshed risk frameworks/guidelines
Engage stakeholders’ hearts and minds
Source: McKinsey
What Companies Need to Know about the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation
July 13, 2021
The International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) have merged into the Value Reporting Foundation. They and three other sustainability reporting bodies—CDP, Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB), and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), known as the Group of Five—have called for closer coordination and launched a prototype climate-related financial disclosure standard.
Source: BSR
Federal Reserve Vice Chair Addresses Climate-Related Financial Risks July 13, 2021
The Federal Reserve Board's Climate Roadmap supports international coordination as to climate-related financial risks in several ways, such as:
promoting relevant initiatives at standard-setting bodies, the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), and other international organizations
presenting relevant ongoing and planned international work in one place, which is designed to help identify gaps to be covered by further work, limit overlap, and promote synergies
sketching out how the FSB can serve as a forum for discussing cross-sectoral and systemic issues and agreeing on a way forward
providing input into broader international policy considerations by facilitating communication with the G20, G7, and the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26)
Source: Holland & Knight
The Climate Issue
July 12, 2021
The week of July 12 will be a big one for climate policy in the European Union. On July 14 the European Commission will lay out how it intends to meet its target of reducing the continent’s emissions by 55% by 2030, compared with 1990 levels. This goal was agreed on by European lawmakers last year. It is a big step up from the previous target of 40%. Supporting the new ambition are around a dozen measures that make up the “fit for 55” package.
Source: The Economist
The Future of ESG - Twelve Ideas
July 8, 2021
The ESG investment trend will continue to have ripple effects felt throughout the investment world. This article shares a four-part approach to ESG integration, including constant access to experts, materiality-based stock-level analysis, decision-useful data analysis, and thematic, regulatory and policy research. The authors suggest twelve actionable recommendations for investors and corporates, supported by experts in the ESG space.
Sources: Jeffries
EU Drafts Plan to Grow 'Carbon Sinks' in Climate Change Fight
July 6, 2021
The European Union has drafted plans to build up forests, grasslands, and other natural "carbon sinks" that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to help curb climate change.
Source: Reuters
Will Mandated ESG Disclosures Lead to Increased Litigation Risk?
July 1, 2021
In a joint letter filed on June 11, 2021, by tech giants Amazon, Alphabet, Autodesk, eBay, Facebook, Intel, and Salesforce, the companies implored the SEC to keep climate change reporting out of public filings. While reiterating the companies’ commitment to combating climate change, the joint letter recommended that the SEC require companies to furnish—not file—their climate change disclosures with the Commission.
Source: National Law Review