WASHINGTON ALERT
Stephanie Salmon, Artemis Strategies; Jeff Hannapel & Christian Richter, The Policy Group, Washington, D.C.
Industry Groups Join Forces in Letter to EPA I
MESSAGE IS CRITICAL OF SUE AND SETTLE POLICY
n April, AFS joined more than 150 industry groups signing a letter to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) expressing concerns about a frequently utilized rulemaking process known as “sue and settle.” Often, environmental groups will sue the EPA, demanding the agency issue a regulation on an accelerated timeframe for failing to meet a regulatory deadline or require- ment. Tese settlement agreements are reached after closed-door negotia- tions between EPA and environmental groups where other interested parties are excluded. Once the settlement is approved by a federal court in a consent decree, EPA is legally bound to engage in the rulemaking. Industry groups that signed the letter believe these out of court settlements go around the public participation and
ON THE HILL
Senate Committee Approves Energy Efficiency Measure
The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved by voice vote the bipartisan Energy Sav- ings and Industrial Competitiveness Act (S. 761) on Wednesday, May 8. The bill, introduced by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio), uses a variety of low cost tools to reduce barriers for private sector energy users. The bill seeks to encour- age energy efficiency by strengthening national model building codes, creating a Commercial Building Energy Effi- ciency Financing Initiative to encourage private investment in building efficiency upgrades, allowing federal agencies to take advantage of existing funding to use the most current building efficiency standards for new federal buildings and creating incentives for manufacturers to save energy by using more efficient electric motors and transformers. The measure is expected to spur the use of energy efficient technolo- gies in the residential, commercial,
16 | MODERN CASTING June 2013
and manufacturing sectors. The full Senate will likely vote on the measure in June.
In the House, David McKinley (R-W.
Va.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) have intro- duced companion legislation, H.R.1616, but no hearings have been held on the measure.
OSHA Launches Initiative to Protect Temporary Workers
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced an initiative to protect temporary employees from workplace hazards. A memo sent to the agency’s regional administrators directs agency inspectors to assess whether tempo- rary workers are receiving the required training for their jobs and in a language they could understand. The initiative comes on the heels of a number of tem- porary workers suffering fatal injuries during their first days on the job. In recent years, a number of metalcasting facilities have been utilizing temporary workers.
Appeals Court Strikes Down NLRB Poster Rule
On May 7, a federal appeals court ruled the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) violated the law when it required union and non-union businesses, including metalcasting facilities, to put notices in their workplaces and on their websites informing employees of their right to organize and strike. A failure to post this information would have been treated as an unfair labor practice.
A unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit struck down what had been called the “poster rule.” The business community has argued the NLRB overstepped its statutory authority and ignored congressional intent by issuing the rule. Metalcasting businesses that are federal contractors should be aware this Appeals Court decision has no impact on the obligation to post a similar notice as required by Executive Order 13496.
For additional information, contact Stephanie Salmon, AFS Washington Office, 202/842-4864,
ssalmon@afsinc.org.
transparency protections of the Ad- ministrative Procedure Act. Many environmental rules in the
pipeline for the next four years are on EPA’s regulatory agenda because of court-ordered settlement agreements. In addition, these suits have become a tool for environmental groups to force EPA to issue more regulations than would otherwise be written. When the court approves the consent
decree as a judgment against the agency, the victorious group is allowed to recover all attorneys’ fees, leaving U.S. taxpayers to foot the bill. In the past three years, the administration has concluded ap- proximately 60 settlements with special interest groups. Twenty-nine of these agreements bound EPA to make major policy changes. Te Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2013, which has
been introduced in the House and Senate by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Representative Doug Collins (R-Ga.), aims to prevent sue and settle lawsuits. While only Republicans currently sponsor the bill, Senator Grassley and Representative Collins are looking across the aisle to foster bipartisan support. Since the coalition letter was sent
to EPA, the agency announced it will comply with one of the provisions—a method for providing the public and regulated community with timely and transparent access to information involv- ing any legal action, or notice of intended legal action, against the EPA. Groups planning to file citizen suits against EPA must submit a “Notice of Intent to Sue” the agency at least 60 days prior to filing any lawsuit. Te document can be found on EPA’s website.
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