Stephanie Salmon, Artemis Strategies; Jeff Hannapel and Christian Richter, The Policy Group, Washington, D.C. WASHINGTON ALERT
OSHA Withdraws Workplace Noise Standard Proposal
The proposal would have changed the way metalcasters mitigate noise concerns.
level standards, stating it required more outreach and resources than initially anticipated. The proposal would have required metalcasters to utilize engineering and administrative controls as the first line of defense to comply with OSHA’s noise standard, ending a longstanding practice of primarily using personal protective equipment to meet the stan- dard. Metalcasting industry analysts estimate the proposed change would have added millions of dollars in new compliance costs to facilities. “The agency has decided to suspend
T
work on this proposed modification while we study other approaches to abating workplace noise hazards,” OSHA Administrator David Michaels said in a press announcement. The agency still plans to hold a stakeholder meeting in Washington,
he U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on Jan. 19 withdrew its proposed interpretation change to workplace noise
D.C., on preventing occupational hear- ing loss, review the comments it has received on the issue, consult with experts from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the National Academy of Engineering, and start “robust” outreach and compliance assistance efforts. Metalcasting industry advocates
believe the noise standard proposal would have required facilities to make significant changes that would have incurred costs that would out- weigh the potential benefits of the change. Washington insiders also have suggested the agency sought to implement these changes to OSHA policy outside the traditional rulemaking process.
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To read the full OSHA announce- ment, visit
www.osha.gov/pls/os- haweb/
owadisp.show_document?p_ table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=19119. If you have questions regarding the notice, contact Stephanie Salm- on, AFS Washington Office, at
ssalmon@afsinc.org or 202/842-4864.
On the Hill
Lawmakers Seek to Limit EPA Climate Rules Republicans in the U.S. House
of Representatives have begun efforts to prevent the U.S. En- vironmental Protection Agency (EPA) from implementing new rules for regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. On the first day of the new Congress, three House mem- bers—Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.) and Ted Poe (R-Texas)— each introduced separate bills aimed at blocking EPA in some fashion from regulating carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases under the act. Capito in- troduced the Protect America’s Energy and Manufacturing Jobs Act, which would delay any ac- tion by EPA to regulate emissions from stationary sources for two years. Poe introduced the Ensur- ing Affordable Energy Act, which is aimed at cutting off funding for the implementation of EPA’s greenhouse gas rules.
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Bi-Partisan Tax Bill Approved After months of debate, the
With the new OSHA proposal off the table, metalcasters can continue to control hearing damage with personal protective equipment.
MODERN CASTING / February 2011
new Congress has approved the most significant tax bill in nearly a decade and avoided a Jan. 1 rate spike. The $858 billion tax pack- age, the Tax Relief, Unemploy- ment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act (H.R. 4853), provides temporary extensions of a number of expiring provisions, including the so-called “Bush tax cuts,” cuts payroll taxes, creates business investment incentives and adjusts eligibility for un- employment benefits. President Obama signed the measure into law on Dec. 17, 2010. The key provisions of interest to the met- alcasting industry are the exten- sion of the 2001/2003 income tax rates, capital gains/dividends, bonus depreciation, research and development tax credit, estate tax, and payroll tax break for workers.
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