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Agency
Updates
NRCS/USDA: The "Small
Watershed Rehabilitation Amendments of 2000" authorizes
$90 million over five years to rehab dams.
It provides up to 65
percent of total costs to a local organization
for rehabilitation of structural measures of certain
small watershed dams or decommissioning them if
the sponsoring organization requests it. The Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of the U.
S. Department of Agriculture's is critical because
lack of action will increase the probability of
dam failures, resulting in the loss of human life
and significant property damage. By the year 2020,
more than 85 percent of all dams in the United
States will be more than 50 years old, the typical
useful life span. Some small watershed dams were
originally constructed in rural areas that have
since had homes and businesses built downstream.
Consequently, these dams need to be rehabilitated
to meet today's more stringent safety standards,
or properly decommissioned, because of the possible
loss of life and property if a dam should fail.
What increases the funds for this market is matching
funds from the applicant.
EPA/Storm Water: On
October 30, 2000 the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) published in the Federal
Register the reissued their Storm Water Multi-Sector
General Permit (MSGP-2000). The MSGP-2000 replaces
the existing MSGP, first issued on September 29,
1995. Facilities located in areas where EPA is
the permitting authority and currently covered
under the MSGP-1995 must apply for coverage under
MSGP-2000, as must new dischargers within regulated
industrial sectors. The MSGP-2000 is effective
in EPA NPDES-regulated areas in EPA Regions 1,
2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, and 10. Facilities must obtain
a copy of the MSGP-2000 permit, make any necessary
changes to their SWPPP (or create one if necessary)
to comply with the new permit, and submit a new
Notice of Intent (NOI). Copies of the MSGP-2000
permit are available by calling 202-260-7786; or,
at www.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/dmr-fin.pdf.
You should submit an
NOI Form to:
ATTN: Storm Water Notice
Of Intent Center (4203M),
U. S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania
Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460. If you have any
questions, call your EPA Regional Office: Region
1 (Boston) 617-918-1615; Region 2 (Puerto Rico)
787-729-6951; Region 3 (Philadelphia) 215-814-7506;
Region 4 (Atlanta) 404-562-9296; Region 6 (Dallas)
214-665-7523; Region 8 (Denver) 303-312-6234; Region
9 (San Francisco) 415-744-1906; and, Region 10
(Seattle) 206-553-6650.
DOT: The Department
of Transportation revised its regulations for its
Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program
with an interim final rule that changes threshold
requirements for Federal Transit Administration
recipients, and Federal Aviation Administration
recipients to establish DBE programs and submit
overall goals. All FAA contracts of more than $250,000
trigger a mandatory DBE program with goal setting.
OSHA:
On Nov. 14, OSHA placed their final ergonomics
standard for manufacturing and materials handling
on their website http://www.osha-slc.gov/ergonomics-standard.
The Administration issued these standards over
the objections of the business community and Congress.
Two lawsuits have been filed in the U. S. Court
of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
to block the regulations, one by the National Association
of Manufacturers and industry groups, and another
by the U.S. Chamber of Congress and other industry
associations. Contractors will be treated in separate
regulations due out soon. AGC is already considering
legal action.
Here is OSHA's summary:
"Who is covered
by the standard?
All general industry
employers are required to abide by the rule, including
manufacturers and materials handling.
The standard does not
apply to employers whose primary operations are
covered by OSHA's construction (contractors). Regulations
for contractors are due out soon.
What does the rule require
employers to do?
The rule requires employers
to inform workers about common MSDs, MSD signs
and symptoms and the importance of early reporting.
When a worker reports signs or symptoms of an MSD,
the employer must determine whether the injury
meets the definition of an MSD incident -- a work-related
MSD that requires medical treatment beyond first
aid, assignment to a light duty job or temporary
removal from work to recover, or work-related MSD
signs or MSD symptoms that last for seven or more
consecutive days. If it is an MSD Incident, the
employer must check the job, using a Basic Screening
Tool to determine whether the job exposes the worker
to risk factors that could trigger MSD problems.
The rule provides a Basic Screening Tool that identifies
risk factors that could lead to MSD hazards. If
the risk factors on the job meet the levels of
exposure in the Basic Screening Tool, then the
job will have met the standard's Action Trigger.
The Ergonomics Program
Standard is effective on January 16, 2001. Employers
must have provided the required basic information
to employees by Oct. 14, 2001. After that date,
employers also must begin receiving and responding
to employee reports of MSD signs and symptoms.
On OSHA's website www.osha-slc.gov you will also
find helpful hints to comply with employer and
employees changes: In a plant office or separate
office, OSHA suggests that you look at the workstation
layout." They claim that "using a computer
intensively for 4-hours or more per day causes
hand/arm, shoulders, neck, and back injuries. OSHA
is asking you to provide: chairs that can be adjusted
to different heights, making it possible for employees
of all sizes to rest their feet comfortably on
the floor; keyboard and mouse - the entire computer
input device that: adjusts so that the elbows can
be near the body and the arms nearly perpendicular
to the floor, and also allows employees to keep
their wrists nearly straight without furniture
edges digging into their for wrists or forearms
- usually a wrist pad is needed; arrange monitors
so that the height of the monitor can be seen clearly
without looking up; the top line of typing should
be at eye level; to enable the employee to see
the screen clearly without leaning forward; to
provide enough space under the work surface for
the employee's knees and thighs; encourage workers
to take breaks; and, limit awkward positions by
providing head sets for employees to use when answering
phones and typing at the same time. OSHA states
that when using hand tools that can produce hand/arm
injuries select tools: suited to the task; designed
to minimize vibration at the handle and to minimize
the weight of the tools; supported by a handle
near the center of gravity; held by a handle of
the proper thickness, length, and shape; operated
with more than one finger on the trigger and with
a minimum amount of force; and maintain tools regularly
and repair or replace if broken. If you need free
assistance, contact your local OSHA office.
Allied Assns
If you are interested
in obtaining copies or viewing them, contact: (202)
334-2936, or www4.trb.org/trb/homepage.nsf/web/contact_trb.
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