The week just concluded finds the COVID-19 outbreak continuing to dominate regulatory activity, though there is a strong leavening of other news. Meanwhile, all of us continue to work towards moving the nation into a recovery phase, whenever that may become safe. For now, stay the course! Continue social distancing, wash those hands, protect your…
DG Digest: FMCSA extends IRC on highway routing of hazmat, FRA sets drug & alcohol test rates for 2020
Last Saturday marked the Chinese New Year; the year 4718 in the Chinese calendar and the Year of the Rat, which renews the twelve year cycle of the Chinese Zodiac. In Chinese culture, rats represent the positive traits of quickness, cleverness, and the ability to thrive even under difficult circumstances. The Labelmaster family wishes all…
DG Digest: EPA continues to refine TCSA and FRA proposes new truck safety standards
Welcome to 2020! It’s the first DG Digest of the New Year and new decade; here’s to a safe and successful year for you and yours. We’ll continue to bring our readers all the latest regulatory news of interest right here, so let’s get started. The last week of 2019 was typical of a holiday…
DG Digest: IATA releases addendum for the 61st DGR
We move fully into the month of December and its approaching holiday period with the biggest news being a brand-new Addendum for the 61st Edition of the IATA DGR; that’s the new volume that will become effective on January 1st, so change is in the air for it already. The EPA as well as our…
DG Digest: PHMSA releases pair of useful guides, FMCSA may reduce State fees collected from motor carriers
Although the calendar says that summer doesn’t end until September 22nd, for all practical purposes summer ended yesterday with the Labor Day holiday. Hopefully everyone had a safe and happy long weekend! The last week of the traditional summer season was unusually busy from a regulatory standpoint, with a number of actions rolling in to…
DG Digest: EPA to limit some feedback under Toxic Substances Control Act
It’s hot, right? Mid-summer is here with tremendous heat and we all have to protect our employees. Remember the basics: provide plenty of water, make sure employees take more frequent breaks in a cool area, caution them against overexertion in the heat, and keep an extra eye open for people struggling in the weather. Let’s all do our…
DG Digest: PHMSA to hold public meeting on 2020 ERG
Sunday was Mothers’ Day; here’s hoping all the Moms out there got the “royal treatment.” Thank you for all you do! The week was a little busy in the regulatory sense; here’s all the latest: FAA The agency published a proposed new ICR that will affect the manufacturers of small unmanned aircraft (drones) and that…
DG Digest: EPA eliminating requirement for mercury-based sensing devices for ignitability tests
The first week of April has ended—is your site experiencing “April showers that bring May flowers?” If so, make sure that your storm drains and other runoff devices aren’t clogged and that any regulated discharge doesn’t get into those storm drains. That tends to be a serious non-compliance issue for local municipal authorities who have…
DG Digest: IATA updates lithium battery handling guidance and the FAA posts 2019 drug and alcohol testing rates
Our entry into December and the full-on holiday season finds regulatory activity back to a slightly lower level after last week’s big HM-215O release. Don’t let the holiday rush impact your workplace’s safety plan; many people have busy schedules and lots to do away from the job for the next month or so. Be sure…
DG Digest: FMCSA announces listening session on automating CMVs on U.S. roadways
Summer vacation time brings a typical slowdown of regulatory activity and that is much the case this week, although EPA and FMCSA both issued notices dealing with withdrawals of certain regulatory actions taken during the Obama Administration. Here’s the latest: FMCSA The FMCSA announces a public listening session on July 12, 2018, to solicit information…