Silica, WOTUS, Paid Sick Leave, Local Hiring and More
The Trump administration released new details on its regulatory and deregulatory plans. Issued July 20, the 2017 Spring Unified Agenda provides some answers and many questions about the future of major regulatory issues facing AGC contractors. On the positive side, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced its goal to issue a new rule on the definition of “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act by the end of this year and kicked the can on new stormwater regulations as well as lead paint rules for public and commercial buildings. Also, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) signaled the withdrawal of regulatory efforts to further address: the establishment of an injury and illness prevention program (I2P2); noise in construction; combustible dust; and preventing back over injuries and fatalities. On the negative side, OSHA did not provide any details on plans for its silica standard, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council provided its plan to issue a final rule to cement the direct federal contractor paid sick leave regulation, and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) punted on any effort to withdraw the local hiring proposed rule and has still left in place the existing pilot program.
On the whole, the Trump administration has slowed the federal regulatory machine. In the first five months of 2017, the administration’s regulatory efforts produced quantifiable annualized cost savings estimated at $22 million, compared to $6.8 billion in annualized costs due to rules finalized during last five months of fiscal year 2016. AGC remains engaged in the legal fight against the silica rule and will push back on DOT and the FAR Council decisions on local hiring and paid sick leave, respectively. For more details, read the 2017 Regulatory Road Ahead.
For more information, contact Jimmy Christianson at [email protected] or 703-837-5325.
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