On March 11th, Michael S. Regan was sworn in as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency replacing Andrew S. Wheeler.

Prior to his nomination as EPA Administrator, Michael Regan served as the Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Associate Vice President of U.S. Climate and Energy, and as Southeast Regional Director of the Environmental Defense Fund, and national program manager responsible for designing strategic solutions with industry and corporate stakeholders with the USEPA.

Other EPA administrative staff include Chief of Staff Dan Utech (1/20/2021) and Special Assistant to the Administrator John Lucey (1/20/2021).  The Deputy Administrator position is still vacant but 1/15/2021 Biden identified Janet McCabe as his nominee.  EPA’s administrative organization chart is available at https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/organization-chart-office-administrator.

On April 9th, President Biden announced Doug Parker is his nominee to lead OSHA, replacing Acting Assistant Secretary of OSHA Loren E. Sweatt . From the official announcement (link below)

Doug “previously served in the Obama Administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy in the Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration, and was a member of the Biden-Harris transition team focused on worker health and safety issues. He also held positions as a senior policy advisor and special assistant at the Department of Labor. He currently serves as chief of California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA)”.

President Biden Announces his Intent to Nominate Key Members for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Labor, Department of Energy, and Department of Transportation | The White House

Other OSHA leaders include Chief of Staff Leah Ford (2/16/2021), Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary James Frederick (1/28/2021), Deputy Assistant Secretary for Pandemic and Emergency Response Joseph Hughes, Jr. (1/28/2021), and Deputy Assistant Secretary Amanda Edens (4/1/2021).  OSHA’s administrative organization chart is available at https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/OSHAorgchart.pdf.

Beth Hodgson presented today at the Safety Fest of the Great Northwest virtual conference on “Chemical PFAS – Health & Remediation Update”.   Polyfluroalkyl Substances (PFAS) are manmade chemicals with a carbon and fluorine atom backbone that are “forever” chemicals.  Copies of the handouts, EPA December 2021 guidance, and EPA FACT sheet are available here.

• Chemical PFAS – Health & Remediation Update (handouts)
• EPA Interim Guidance on the Destruction and Disposal of PFAS 201218
• EPA PFAS InfoPage

Beth Hodgson and the staff at Spring Environmental wish you a Happy New Year and encourage you to register early for your 2021 training. https://springenvironmental.com/training/registration/

Check out our LinkedIn and FaceBook pages for more about Spring Environmental and plans for 2021.

Fire Marshals from Spokane Valley Fire Department (SVFD), City of Spokane Fire Department (SFD), Spokane County, City of Cheney, City of Airway Heights, and City of Deer Park have all enacted the Fire Danger Burn Restriction. With high temperatures in the forecast, all Cities and Fire Agencies want to keep area communities safe from fire risk by reducing the number of human-caused wildfires.  This season in particular with so many of our citizens testing positive for COVID-19, we want to do our part to keep our air quality as smoke free as possible. Breathing smoke affects the respiratory system and is especially harmful to everyone and most especially, younger and elderly generations, and those with heart and respiratory conditions.

Unauthorized open burning and unauthorized recreational fires are restricted until this order is lifted or unless otherwise permitted by law enforcement or authorized agencies.  Details, including photos of devices allowed/not allowed can be found here.

The 2020 Safety Fest: North Idaho was held at the NIC Workforce Training Center in Post Falls, Idaho February 19 – 21, 2020. Spring Environmental’s staff presented 4 seminars during the event. The presentations are available for download via the links provided.  If you have any questions on the presentations, please reach out to Rory and Beth using the contact information included in the presentation or on staff page of this website.

• 2/19/2020 – Respiratory Protection (Beth Fifield Hodgson)
• 2/19/2020 – Silica Awareness (Beth Fifield Hodgson)
• 2/20/2020 – Chemical PFAS: Health and Remediation Update (Beth Fifield Hodgson)
• 2/21/2020 – Confined Space Awareness (Rory McKinnon)

This year you may notice some changes to Ecology’s online reporting tool TurboWaste: Ecology relocated TurboWaste to SAW, added security, and updated its forms to address dangerous waste regulations effective 4/28/2019.  New forms will allow you to report consolidation of SQGs into a company-owned LQG, episodic events, and hazardous secondary material.   Annual Dangerous Reports are due 3/1/2020.  Ecology has a new reporting guide available.  Read more about these changes or contact us.

Governor Inslee selected Laura Watson to serve as the new Ecology Director effective January 8, 2020. Ms. Watson has been an assistant attorney general supporting the Department of Ecology for over fifteen years. During this time, Ms. Watson represented every program in enforcement actions, rulemaking efforts, permit appeals, site cleanups, bill analysis, etc. And during the last five years, she been a member of Ecology’s Executive Leadership Team.

Ms. Watson graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and from the University of Washington in 1998 with her law degree. She has spent her entire legal career in public service at the Washington Attorney General’s Office.

More information on Ms. Watson is available on LinkedIn and will be published at https://ecology.wa.gov/About-us/Get-to-know-us/Meet-our-director after January 1st.

The HIRE Vets Medallion Award is the only federal-level veterans’ employment award that recognizes a company or organization’s commitment to veteran hiring, retention, and professional development. Review the 2019 List of Awardees and the criteria for the 2020 award cycle.

Spring Environmental has been recognized in the highest level for the category of Small Employers [1 – 50 employees] based on our employment and community support of veterans.

Senators Introduce The Protecting Firefighters from Adverse Substances (PFAS) Act of 2019

This week, U.S. Senators Cory Gardner (R-CO), Gary Peters (D-MI), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) introduced legislation that would require FEMA to develop guidance for firefighters and other emergency response personnel on best practices to protect them from exposure to PFAS and to limit and prevent the release of PFAS into the environment.

“Our firefighters and emergency responders in Colorado and around the country risk everything to protect our communities, and it is our duty to make sure they are educated on the best ways to avoid and mitigate any PFAS exposure during emergency response and training activities,” said Senator Gardner. “This bipartisan legislation will provide resources to help educate our first responders and limit PFAS exposure. PFAS contamination is a serious issue facing our communities, and I will continue working to make sure Coloradans are provided with the most up to date information concerning PFAS as research regarding their effects on human health continues.”

“Firefighters are unfortunately exposed to extremely high levels of PFAS chemicals in the line of duty. Despite evidence linking PFAS to serious health problems, very little has been done to address the impact these chemicals can have on the health of the brave men and women who look out for our own safety,” said Senator Peters. “I’m proud to lead the way on this bipartisan initiative, which will encourage safer practices and raise awareness about the emerging public health risks that these forever chemicals pose to the heroes that keep our communities safe in emergency situations.”

“As Congress continues to understand and address the risks of certain PFAS chemicals to our first responders and the environment in which it’s used, I am glad to join a strong, bipartisan coalition focused on addressing this challenge,” said Senator Sullivan. “This bill is yet another important step toward employing safer practices, limiting exposure to our brave emergency personnel, reducing impacts on our communities, and exploring effective and responsible alternatives to PFAS.”

“Firefighters and first responders put their lives on the line every day to help others – and it is our responsibility to do everything we can to protect their health and safety,” said Senator Hassan. “Given the extensive health issues that can arise from exposure to PFAS chemicals, I joined my colleagues in introducing this bipartisan bill to help protect first responders from the risks of these dangerous chemicals.”

To view the press release on this bill please visit here.