President Trump´s Effect on EPA & OSHA
Gary Jones, Assistant VP, EHS Affairs; Kaitlin Rundle, EHS Associate; Mathew Crownover, EHS Associate; Printing Industries of America
The election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States quickly brought changes in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. One of the central themes of his campaign was reducing government regulation as part of an effort to stimulate the economy.
The Magazine 4
SUMMER 2017
President Trump and his administration wasted no time in reducing regulations. One of his first executive orders was that for every new regulation imposed, two existing regulations must be rescinded. He also issued an executive order focused on the controversial Obama administration rule expanding the definition of “Waters of the United States” or WOTUS. The Trump administration wants the current rule to be repealed and replaced with a less intrusive one, and the EPA has started the process.
Another executive order was directed at ways to roll back regulations on Obama-era policies pertaining to climate change, including emissions rules for power plants (the Clean Power Plan), limits on methane leaks, a moratorium on federal coal leasing, and the use of the social cost of carbon to guide government actions. He also announced that the United States will be withdrawing from the 2015 Paris Accord in order to renegotiate.
Fifteen other regulations also have been delayed to be reconsidered, modified, or eliminated. The most recent delay was a one-year extension of the deadlines for complying with the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). This is significant as it was due to go into effect in late 2017 and it would trigger many new air pollution control regulations.
During the campaign, candidate Donald Trump did not vocalize his criticism of OSHA. However, one regulation caught up in lawsuits is the new Electronic Recordkeeping/ Non-Discrimination rule. These new regulations required the electronic submission of OSHA logs, incident reports,
and annual summaries by July 1. This deadline has now been postponed and the future submission date will be December 1, 2017, unless further delayed. OSHA also withdrew its guidance allowing union representatives to accompany OSHA inspectors at non-union shops. While this is still allowed to occur, there is a much higher level of justification required.
Lastly, Congress used its authority to roll back another OSHA rule requiring companies to update their injury and illness records for five years. The rule aimed to extend the statute of limitations (from six months to five years) on how long the agency can issue a citation for failing to record an injury or illness. OSHA lost this battle in court in 2012. Yet, OSHA issued its rule, which prompted Congress to take action. Even though this rule was rescinded, companies with 10 or more employees are still required to keep and maintain five years of injury and illness data.
As promised during the election campaign, Trump has focused on and will continue to reduce regulatory burden. There will be contentious fights on multiple fronts including legal battles by those who do not wish to see the regulations changed, but the theme of reduced regulation will continue throughout the current administration.
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