On its website the US Government Printing Office makes a wealth of Federal publications available for review and download; one of these is the Federal Register.
Published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents.
See below for a brief summary of announcements in the Federal Register by the US EPA on the subject of Hazardous Waste and the Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) of the US DOT on the subject of Transportation of Hazardous Materials.
The Federal Register is a great way to look down the road and see potential changes to the regulations long before they are put into effect (sometimes The Rulemaking Process takes years before a final rule is issued, if ever). Knowledge of these potential changes provides you with several advantages:
- Additional time to modify your business operations to comply.
- Awareness of on what topics the regulatory agencies intend to focus their efforts.
- The ability to register your concerns, complaints, suggestions, etc. in order to modify the proposed rule before a final rule is issued. It can be done, really!
- Make changes to your training program to account for changes that become effective before the next training cycle.
- Alert you to the need to re-train your employees prior to their next scheduled training cycle, if necessary.
- Keep you abreast of changes to the regulations that affect your business and/or your industry group.
Please note that this is my best effort to identify the relevant announcements in the Federal Register that may be of interest to generators of hazardous waste and shippers of hazardous materials. I encourage you to review the list of Federal Register publications yourself to ensure regulatory compliance.
November 1 through November 31, 2013
PHMSA – Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR):
Rules and Regulations:
Hazardous Materials Table, Special Provisions, Hazardous Materials Communications, Emergency Response Information, Training Requirements, and Security Plans Pages 69310 – 69310 [FR DOC # 2013-27733] PDF | Text | More
Proposed Rules:
Hazardous Materials: Rail Petitions and Recommendations To Improve the Safety of Railroad Tank Car Transportation (RRR) Pages 66326 – 66327 [FR DOC # 2013-26402] PDF | Text | More
Notices:
International Standards on the Transport of Dangerous Goods Pages 68501 – 68502 [FR DOC # 2013-27235] PDF | Text | More
Safety and Security Plans for Class 3 Hazardous Materials Transported by Rail Pages 69745 – 69746 [FR DOC # 2013-27785] PDF | Text | More
Paperless Hazard Communications Pilot Program Pages 70399 – 70410 [FR DOC # 2013-28168] PDF | Text | More
USEPA – Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA):
Rules and Regulations:
Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustment Rule Pages 66643 – 66648 [FR DOC # 2013-26648] PDF | Text | More
West Virginia: Final Authorization of State Hazardous Waste Management Program Revisions Pages 70225 – 70231 [FR DOC # 2013-28151] PDF | Text | More
Proposed Rules:
West Virginia: Final Authorization of State Hazardous Waste Management Program Revisions Pages 70255 – 70255 [FR DOC # 2013-28150] PDF | Text | More
Notices:
None
Information can be helpful but it’s useless if you are not able to make sense of it, determine how any changes to the rules and regulations (final or proposed) will affect your operations, and communicate the necessary information to your personnel. I can help you do that. Please contact me for a free consultation to determine your regulatory requirements and how training can help you to attain and maintain compliance.