Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/772143
40 AGGREGATES MANAGER / January 2017 Will the Trump Administration make MSHA great again? Ross J. Watzman is counsel in Jackson Kelly PLLC's Den- ver office, practicing in the firm's Occupational Safety and Health Practice Group. He can be reached at 303- 390-0189 or ross.watzman@ jacksonkelly.com MSHA: Under New Managment O n Jan. 20, 2017, President-elect Donald Trump will take the oath of office to formally become the 45th president of the United States. But what happens after the inaugura- tion, and how will it affect the mining in- dustry? While the answer to this question is largely unknown, we can expect a significant departure from the Obama Administration's ag- gressive regulatory and enforcement agenda. Throughout his campaign, Trump indicated that economic growth and job creation are top priorities of his administration. Specifical- ly, he plans to create 25 million new jobs and grow the economy at 3.5 percent annually. Although the devil is in the details, Trump will attempt to accomplish this goal by reduc- ing the federal government's influence in the workplace. His administration will likely take a hard look at current regulations and any regulations that the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) may try to promulgate prior to the transition of administration to de- termine which regulations create the greatest burden for companies. In the waning hours of the Obama Ad- ministration, it is likely that the industry will see a significant increase in the number of issued regulations. This phenomenon, known as "midnight rulemaking, is well established in history and typically used by the outgoing administration to achieve certain policy goals before the end of its term. For example, one week after the election, on Nov. 15, 2016, the Obama Administration published 527 pages of new regulations in the Federal Register. This included a Methane and Waste Prevention Rule published as part of the Interior Depart- ment's agenda to create a cleaner and more sustainable energy future. Moreover, on Nov. 18, 2016, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a Final Rule to update the general industry Walking-Work- ing Surfaces and Fall Protection Standards. Among other things, the new OSHA rule updates general industry standards address- ing slip, trip, and fall hazards (subpart D) and adds requirements for personal fall protection systems (subpart I). To this end, we expect MSHA will have tried to finalize two rules prior to the end of the Obama Administration, namely: (1) the Examination of Working Places in Metal and Non-metal Mines rule, and (2) the Respirable Crystalline Silica rule. Both rules have drawn significant criticism from a number of industry and business groups, which claim that key components of the rules are burdensome and compliance is nearly impossible. The Respira- ble Crystalline Silica rule would likely be mod- eled after the OSHA rule, which is currently being litigated. As such, the Trump Adminis- tration could re-open the rulemaking process to revise and nullify these rules. by Ross J. Watzman ROCKLAW