NGFA joined a coalition of employers in comments submitted to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) outlining concerns about the agency’s proposal to update existing regulations for firefighters and other emergency responders.
As noted in the comments submitted on July 22, this rule could impact rural grain handling facilities as many of them depend on volunteer services as first responders and their employees often participate in the volunteer units.
OSHA says the focus of the proposed rule is to provide workplace protections for workers who respond to emergencies as part of their regularly assigned duties and would expand the scope of protected workers to include emergency medical service and technical search and rescue.
The proposed rule would replace OSHA’s existing Fire Brigades standard and would require written emergency response plans, hazard vulnerability assessments, training, personal protective equipment, medical screening and behavioral health services, and other requirements. Further, the proposal would incorporate several voluntary consensus standards from the National Fire Protection Association. One problem is that the drafters of such so-called “voluntary” standards do not calculate their economic burdens.
The coalition’s comments, led by Conn Maciel Carey LLP, describe several issues with the proposal, including how it duplicates existing OSHA standards, adds administrative burdens that will not enhance safety, includes vague compliance requirements, and compounds costs for agribusinesses.
NGFA participated in the proposed rule’s Small Business Advocacy Review panel in 2021 to emphasize that it would place an undue regulatory burden on grain handling facilities in both costs and additional paperwork. Some examples include: 1) additional paperwork burdens related to pre-incident planning; 2) responder preparedness e.g., training and certification and facility; and 3) equipment preparedness, to name a few.
OSHA published the proposed rule on Feb. 5. Currently, the agency has received more than 2,500 comments after extending the initial public comment period from May 6 to June 21 and then until July 22. The agency also scheduled an informal virtual hearing on the proposed rule for Nov. 12, 2024.