Severe storms swept across the southern plains over the last weekend, leading to significant damage and tragic loss of life. It’s another reminder that this time of year can bring dangerous weather, so please be sure your workplace plan is ready and your employees are trained to respond. Forewarned is forearmed. Here’s last week’s regulatory news of note:
EPA
In an important new action, the U.S. agency is proposing (via an NPRM) regulatory amendments to the hazardous waste manifest regulations to establish a date for prohibiting the use of paper manifests in favor of using only electronic manifests. Phaseout of paper manifests would be two years from the date of publication of any finalized rule. The proposed rule also introduces several conforming amendments to existing regulations. These include:
- new registration requirements with the EPA’s e-Manifest system for RCRA hazardous waste transporters, certain PCB waste generators, and PCB waste transporters
- updates to exception reporting requirements for very small quantity generators (VSQGs) managing hazardous waste from episodic events, as well as for healthcare facilities and reverse distributors handling hazardous waste pharmaceuticals
- revisions to discrepancy reporting requirements for owners and operators of hazardous waste facilities operating under standardized permits
- technical corrections to the import and export requirements to correct or remove obsolete text
Comments must be received on or before May 4, 2026. This is a huge change if implemented, so if your site handles hazardous waste, it’s a good idea to look this proposal over. See it here:
DOT
The agency published a list of “do’s and don’ts” for Substance Abuse Treatment Professionals that participate in DOT regulated testing and treatment programs. See the guidance here:
OSHA
The agency published an ICR related to its Hexavalent Chromium Standard. It’s a hazardous heavy metal that is regulated in its use and handling. See the ICR here:
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