An ELI Professional Practice Workshop
Are you ready for the major regulatory change taking effect in California on October 1, 2017? In the Summer of 2017, California adopted significant revisions to its Process Safety Management (PSM) and Accidental Release Program (ARP) regulations, specifically targeting oil refineries and creating precedent for other industries, and for other states considering their own rules. These new extensive requirements created significant controversy, with some stakeholders believing the regulations will improve safety and others questioning both their effectiveness and wisdom in light of the significant costs they will impose. Certainly, there will be new burdens – the scope, costs, and actual benefits remain to be seen. At the same time, during the final weeks of the Obama Administration, EPA issued massive amendments to its federal Risk Management Plan (RMP) regulations and federal OSHA continues to implement its PSM program. The intersection of the federal and state programs and the interpretations of the new RMP regulations, which EPA is currently reconsidering, are evolving and will be critical to companies in California as they implement the CalPSM and CalARP rules.
This "master class" went beyond a comprehensive overview of the regulations; it provided insights from key regulators and knowledgeable attorneys on implementation concerns in light of ambiguous regulatory language. Topics included definitions of major incident and major change, requirements for involvement of employees and unions, the team for inherent safety technology reviews, and more. As these new regulations kick in, it is imperative to understand:
- what exactly is required;
- how those requirements may be enforced;
- how the state, federal EPA, and federal OSHA plan to integrate their respective programs or resolve inconsistencies; and
- how compliance can be managed.
Participants heard directly from regulators and had their questions answered by attending this half-day conference.
Please go HERE to see the full agenda.
Panelists:
Vanessa Sutherland, Chairperson of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board
Clyde Trombettas, Statewide Manager & Policy Advisor, Cal/OSHA Process Safety Management Unit
Gina M. Solomon, M.D., M.P.H., Deputy Secretary for Science & Health, California EPA
Randy Sawyer, Chief Environmental Health & Hazardous Materials Officer, Contra Costa Health Services
Kathryn Lawrence, Chief, Emergency Prevention and Preparedness Section, U.S. EPA Region 9
Kumani Armstrong, Special Counsel, California Department of Industrial Relations
Shannon S. Broome, Managing Partner, San Francisco Office, Hunton & Williams LLP
J. Tom Boer, Partner, Hunton & Williams, Former DOJ Prosecutor
Daniel Grucza, Senior Attorney, Hunton & Williams LLP, Former Environmental, Health & Safety Manager for complex plastics manufacturing facility
Materials:
If you are an ELI member and are logged onto the Members site, you will see links below to available materials/recordings from this session. If you are not an ELI member but would like to have access to archived sessions like this one, go HERE to see the many benefits of membership and how to join.