OSHA PSM revisions halted by Congress

Washington — The U.S. Congress on Dec. 18 included a rider in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 (H.R. 2029) that prohibits the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) from enforcing its revision to the retail exemption in the Process Safety Management (PSM) standard. OSHA last July published an enforcement memorandum that removed the long-standing retail exemption from PSM, causing an uproar in the ag retail community because it would force dealers to adopt a set of procedural, operational, and organizational design standards if they handled anhydrous ammonia. The rider prevents OSHA from enforcing the PSM revision for fiscal year 2016 until the Census Bureau establishes a new North American Industry Classification System code for Farm Supply Retailers. OSHA must also conduct a formal rulemaking process with public comment before any guidance change may be implemented. The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) called the Congressional directive “a significant victory” for agricultural retailers. “This bill puts a stop sign in front of a runaway agency,” said Daren Coppock, ARA president and CEO. “Congress blocked OSHA’s imprudent attempt to require ag retailers to comply with a regulation that doesn’t fit our industry. We are willing to work with the administration to develop targeted, common-sense regulations to improve safety and security at agricultural retail facilities and surrounding communities.” ARA and The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) brought suit against OSHA in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., in September. ARA said the court recently deferred ruling on OSHA’s motion to dismiss the case on jurisdictional grounds, allowing the case to proceed. "OSHA is misguided in trying to apply PSM to ag retailers," said Harold Cooper, ARA chairman and CEO of Premier Ag Cooperative in Columbus, Ind. “OSHA intentionally exempted ag retailers from PSM since the rule’s inception in 1992. Forcing us to comply with regulations aimed at manufacturers would cost my business at least $60,000, and not provide any improvement in worker safety – just more bureaucratic red tape.”