Stephanie Salmon, AFS Washington Office; Jeff Hannapel & Christian Richter, The Policy Group, Washington, D.C. WASHINGTON ALERT
OSHA Proposes Major Changes to Injury and Illness Recordkeeping Rules
DATA FROM LARGER METALCASTING FACILITIES COULD BE MADE PUBLIC. In November, the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proposed major changes to its workplace reporting rules. The plan would require companies with more than 250 employees to submit their OSHA 300 injury and illness recordkeeping data and OSHA 301 Incident Report records elec- tronically on a quarterly basis. The OSHA 300A Summary would be submitted annually. In turn, OSHA plans to make this data public for larger companies. OSHA will phase in the estab- lishments required to submit records under the proposal, starting with high hazard establishments with a days away from work, restricted work activ- ity or job transfer (DART) rate of 2.0 or above. Following the first phase, the agency proposes to assess the effec-
ON THE HILL
Congressional Proposal Limits EPA’s Power Plant Rules
A draft bill released by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) in late October would limit the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to set greenhouse gas standards for new and existing fossil fuel-fired power plants.
The Manchin-Whitfield proposal requires EPA to set emission standards for new plants based on what a small number of existing plants around the country have already achieved. EPA plans to require newly constructed coal-fired power plants to trap and store a substantial amount of their carbon emissions. The business community argues this storage technology is not commercially available.
A House Energy and Commerce Committee subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Whitfield, held a hearing on the draft bill on Nov. 14.
OMB to Take Comments on New Social Cost of Carbon Calculation
The Social Cost of Carbon is a calcula- tion developed by an Interagency Working Group (IWG) comprised of several federal agencies to measure the social benefits of regulations that lower carbon emissions. The IWG originally developed the estimate in 2010, and earlier this year it increased the Social Cost of Carbon estimate by about 60% without public input. The Obama Administration has said it intends to use the calculation in the cost-benefit analyses for all major federal regulatory actions. The increased estimate allows agencies such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy to cost-justify their regulations and to claim even greater benefits from rules that reduce carbon emissions.
The Office of Management and Budget announced on Nov. 1 that the Administra- tion will accept comment on the revised estimate of the Social Cost of Carbon.
Legislation Introduced to Create Manufacturing Hubs
A bipartisan bill has been introduced in Congress to create a Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NMI), which would allow for public-private partner- ships between industry, colleges and universities, and local, state and federal governments. The NMI would be com- posed of manufacturing hubs located throughout the U.S. focused on acceler- ating the development and deployment of new technologies. The measure, Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act (H.R. 2996, S. 1468), was introduced by Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Reps. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) and Joe Kennedy (D- Mass.). The legislation, applauded by the White House, is similar to an administra- tion manufacturing initiative.
For additional information, contact Stephanie Salmon, AFS Washington Off ice,
202/842-4864,
ssalmon@afsinc.org. December 2013 MODERN CASTING | 15
employees at each facility in desig- nated industries with above-average injury and illness rates (includes the metalcasting industry) would be required to electronically submit the OSHA Form 300A Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses to OSHA once a year. Tey would not be required to submit the OSHA 300 Log or 301 Incident Report. Te agency has provided 90 days
to submit comments on the proposal. OSHA will consider the comments and hold a public hearing on Jan. 9, 2014, before deciding whether to ap- prove the plan. According to recently released
tiveness and burden of the reporting requirements before expanding the requirement to all other companies. Companies with 20 or more
safety statistics from OSHA for 2012, overall the metalcasting industry has seen a 10% decrease in recordable injuries and illnesses since 2008 and a 12% decrease in the DART rate.
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