Today we saw a SIGNIFICANT change in OSHA’s attempt to revise their definition of “retail” as it applies to the Process Safety Management Standard. This all went down through channels we would have never imagined… The 2016 Omnibus (spending) bill policy provisions. Yes, that is correct, OSHA got slapped by politicians in a spending bill and oh how I hate when politics get pulled into safety. Seems that the Agricultural Fertilizer Lobby is well connected and got some language into the spending bill policy revisions that force OSHA to go through public rule making to revise the “retail exemption”. This change can be found in…
pages 3-4 state:
Significant concerns remain about the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) use of guidance documents to change longstanding OSHA policy. In June and July of 2015, OSHA issued three guidance documents related to Executive Order 13650, “Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security.” They are Process Safety Management ofHighly Hazardous Chemicals and Covered Concentrations of Listed Appendix A Chemicals, RAGAGEP in Safety Process Management Enforcement, and PSM Retail Exemption Interim Enforcement Policy. These along with other OSHA “letters of interpretation” attempt to change prevailing agency policies without proposing regulatory changes under the requirements of the Administrative Procedures Act (5 U.S.C.551 et. seq.). OSHA has issued letters of interpretation on substantive policy matters that leave the agency open to liability that can be avoided by going through the proper rulemaking process, including notice and period of public comment. OSHA is expected to implement agency policy changes through the formal regulatory process. As such, the agreement directs that the revised enforcement policy relating to the exemption of retail facilities from coverage of the Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals standard (29 CFR 1910.119(a)(2)(i)) issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on July 22, 2015, shall not be enforced nor deemed by the Department of Labor to be in effect in fiscal year 2016 until: the Bureau of the Census establishes a new North American Industry Classification System code under Sector 44-45 Retail Trade for Farm Supply Retailers, and the Secretary of Labor, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, has carried out all notice and comment rulemaking procedures and invited meaningful public participation in the rulemaking. OSHA is directed to continue to provide notification to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate 10 days prior to the announcement of any new National, Regional or Local Emphasis Program including the circumstances and data used to determine the need for the launch of a new Program.