On April 21, EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published a proposed rule that aims to clarify the definition of “waters of the U.S.” under the Clean Water Act which would significantly expand federal control of land and water resources across the nation – creating additional permitting and regulatory requirements. The public has until July 21 to submit written comments on the proposal; ABC as part of the Waters Advocacy Coalition (WAC) requested the agency grant an extension on the comment period.

STEP Platinum and Diamond recipients that would like to participate in the 2014 Construction Users Roundtable (CURT) Construction Industry Safety Excellence (CISE) awards must submit their applications to ABC by July 7.

In an informal public hearing May 19, Steve Wiltshire, vice president and director of corporate safety at ABC member company, ECS Corporate Services, LLC, testified on behalf of ABC on the issue of a proposed rulemaking to extend the compliance date for the crane operator certification requirement by three years to Nov. 10, 2017.

U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Thomas Perez faced tough questions from House appropriators on two ABC-opposed Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) actions at an April 2 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee hearing.

The ABC-led Construction Industry Safety Coalition (CISC) testified in front of OSHA March 24 on a proposed rule that would drastically lower the permissible exposure limit (PEL) of respirable crystalline silica for the construction industry.

The U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced March 19 a new piece of their Fall Prevention Campaign to raise awareness about the hazards of falls among employers and employees in construction. The national safety “stand-down” encourages employers to take time between June 2-6, 2014 to discuss fall prevention, ladder, scaffolding and roof safety and more and will recognize employers that participate with a personalized certificate.

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) and CNA March 19 announced that during their third year as strategic partners, the groups will collaborate on driving the construction industry toward world class safety by targeting specific safety issues each quarter. Their outreach and education efforts will include webinars and CNA safety resources for ABC members to use to promote workplace safety industry-wide.

More than 900 ABC members joined ABC in submitting comments to OSHA requesting it withdraw a proposed rule that would require employers to electronically submit detailed injury and illness records to the agency that would be made available to the public through an online database.

Under the proposal, OSHA would require establishments (worksites) with 20 or more employees at any time in the previous calendar year in construction and other high-hazard industries to submit their injury and illness records (Forms 300, 300A and 301) annually. The proposal also would require quarterly submission for establishments with 250 or more employees at any time in the previous calendar year.

More than 600 ABC members joined ABC in submitting comments to OSHA requesting it withdraw its proposed rule that would drastically lower the permissible exposure limit (PEL) of crystalline silica for the construction industry. The proposal also would require contractors to implement engineering controls and follow several “ancillary” provisions, such as exposure monitoring, medical surveillance and the establishment of regulated areas.