On January 15, 2020, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has increased the maximum civil penalties (fines) for serious, other-than-serious, and posting requirements to $13,494, from $13,260. Failure to Abate violations has increased to $13,494 per day beyond the abatement date from $13,260 and Willful/Repeat violations have increased to $134,937 from $132,598. These civil penalty increases were mandated by Congress, on November 2, 2015, through legislation that required all federal agencies to adjust their civil penalties to account for inflation. OSHA increased their penalties on August 1, 2016, the link to our previous blog post discussing that increase is below. Moving forward, as the legislation requires, the penalties will be adjusted each year based on the Consumer Price index. Click here for the 2020 increase announcement. OSHA will continue to do penalty reductions based on the size of the employer and other factors. The OSHA January 10, 2020 details the penalty increase, minimum penalties, gravity-based penalty amounts, and serious willful penalty reductions.
Future Environment Designs Training Center specializes in asbestos, indoor air quality, industrial hygiene, and occupational safety training programs. We offer New York State asbestos and mold certification courses. We design, develop, and maintain the various indoor air quality, asbestos, and safety programs that are Keeping Your Employees Safe.
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Sunday, March 15, 2020
Saturday, February 01, 2020
Nassau County's Environmental Hazard Remediation Contractors License Added to Nassau County Fire Prevention Ordinance
In our mold refresher courses, we've been discussing the 2016 edition of the Nassau County Fire Prevention Ordinance. This Ordinance now requires businesses that provide board-up services and restoration services must be licensed with the Nassau County Fire Marshall. The Fire Prevention Ordinance defines restoration services as the act of cleaning or restoring a residential or commercial building damaged by fire, flood, hurricane, storm or other emergency events. The Nassau County Fire Marshall charges a fee to be licensed, however, if a business has a home improvement or environmental hazard remediation contractors license issued by Nassau County Department of Consumer Affairs are still required to have the Fire Marshall License but are exempt from paying the fee.
If you are wondering what is an Environmental Hazard Remediation Contractor license? This is a license created by Nassau County Local Law No. 13-2014 that requires "Licensing of Environmental Hazard Remediation Providers" or in other words environmental contractors. However, environmental contractors are defined as "any person who or legal entity that, contracts with an owner or an owner's agent to inspect a suspected environmental hazard or to implement any measure or measures that result in the remediation of an environmental hazard in a building." This definition means both consultants and contractors have to be licensed. Even more amazing is the definition of Environmental hazard. "Environmental hazard(s) means any condition that constitutes an indoor air quality violation as defined by any United States statute or regulation, any New York State Law or regulation, any local law or any regulation promulgated by the Commissioner of Consumer Affairs, and which hazard was caused by fire, flood, storm, chemical spills, dust, sewage, mold, pathogens or other biological contaminants and not caused by the presence of asbestos or lead." Not totally sure what isn't covered, under this definition.
The Local Law 13-2014 requires two licenses, environmental contractors have to get the Environmental Hazard Remediation Provider (EHRP) License ($1,300 for a two-year license, renewal fee is $500 every two years) and the Environmental Hazard Remediation Technician (EHRT) License ($110 for two-year license, every two years). The EHRT shall be issued to an EHRP or their principal(s) and any person employed by, seeking employment by or under contract to a EHRP for the purpose of environmental hazard assessment and environmental hazard remediation. It does allow an EHRT to supervise up to 10 unlicensed employees or contractors performing remediation or remediations. To get the EHRT license the applicant must show proof that they have taken the following courses:
Fire Restoration Companies Must Be Licensed with the Nassau County Fire Marshall |
Flood Damage & Mold are Environmental Hazards under Local Law 13-2014 |
- OSHA Safety Standards for Construction or General Industry - a minimum of 10 hours
- NYS Asbestos Handler - a minimum of 32 hours
- EPA Lead Worker - a minimum of 16 hours. Lead RRP is NOT sufficient
- Hazardous Waste Operations (HAZWOPER) - a minimum of 40 hours
- Microbial Remediation - a minimum of 24 hours
- Water damage restoration - minimum 20 hours or Institute of Inspection, Cleaning Restoration Certification (IICRC) WRT Certification
- Fire damage restoration - a minimum of 16 hours or IICRC FSRT Certification
- PCB Awareness - a minimum of 4 hours
- Bloodborne pathogens - a minimum of 4 hours
- Infection control risk assessment - a minimum of 4 hours
- Proof of a valid lead and asbestos abatement licenses.
170 hours of training, is a lot of training! |
- is accredited by the Council of Engineering and Scientific Specialty Boards (CESB) and/or the American National Standards Institute under ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024, and
- is wholly independent of training organizations, membership organizations, and industry trade associations.
- Individuals or legal entities shall not conduct environmental assessments for a period of one year on projects for which they have conducted environmental remediation services.
- Individuals or legal entities shall not conduct environmental remediations for a period of one year on projects for which they have conducted environmental assessments.
We have written to our representative on the Nassau County Legislature (click on the link to see our letter) and have not gotten very far. We suspect that is because we are only one voice and we need the industry to write to the legislature to get some traction on this. We plan on sending another version of this letter in the next week or two. We may not all agree on what changes need to be made, but we all agree that it needs to change. Under the current version, very few contractors and no consultants would become license under this local law.
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Saturday, December 28, 2019
Future Environment Designs wishes all of you a Merry Holidays and a Happy New Year for 2020!
Future Environment Designs (#FEDTC) wishes you and your family a Merry Holidays and a Happy New Year. As we say goodbye to 2019 and 2010 decade, it is a good time to reflect on all we accomplished in the last decade, including:
- Future Environment Designs achieving over 30 years in business. Including writing a book called "Do As I Say, Not As I Did" about the experience.
- We have successfully added online registration for all our courses.
- We have created several online courses including NYCDEP Exam Prep, Asbestos Awareness, Hazard Communication with a New York State Department of Labor Right-to-Know component, Respirator User and OSHA Crystalline Silica Standard for Workers. Expanding our client's ability to provide training for its workers.
- We have digitized the course evaluation process. To see how our students have been rating our courses visit our Coursecheck website.
- We have automated most of the reminder process.
- We have converted most of the asbestos and mold refresher courses into blended learning courses.
- We have continued to establish FEDTC as a resource of information. Maintaining our position as a leading training provider in New York State.
2019 Rockefeller Center |
As we say hello to 2020 and we look forward to the coming decade, the time is coming to hand over the reins of Future Environment Designs to a younger generation. We expect this process to take most of the decade to ensure our clients are still provided the level of information and service they have come to expect from Future Environment Designs. We expect more digitizing and blending of the courses moving into the future, including:
- All exams being moved online.
- Shopping cart added to the website.
- Revision of the website making it more mobile-friendly.
- New online courses including Bloodborne Pathogens, Respirator Administrator, PCB Awareness, etc.
Wednesday, December 04, 2019
Save The Dates February 26th through February 28th 2020!!! PACNY's Environmental Conference Is Set!!
The Professional Abatement Contractors of New York (PACNY) have announced the dates for their annual Environmental Conference to be held on February 26th through February 28th, 2020. It will be held at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York. To register for the conference or sponsor the conference click here!
This year Future Environment Designs is working with PACNY to put together the Wednesday, February 26th, 2020, Proficiency Day. We are working with the regulatory bodies to start the conference with a bang and get the professional development points for professional engineers/architects, which would also apply for the American Council for Accredited Certifications (ACAC) and the American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH). We are focusing on Asbestos Contamination Assessments - what is expected by the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) Engineering Department to approve a Site-Specific Variance and What NYSDOL Enforcement expects in the cleanup process?
On Thursday, February 27, 2020, will be the Professional Day this day will include information on Vinyl Asbestos Tile (VAT) removal; exposure updates on talc; mercury flooring; waste management, recycling, and your carbon footprint; New York State (NYS) harassment training; and NYS Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE)/Minority-Owned Business Enterprise (MBE) requirements. The Vendor Exhibit Hall will also open on Thursday. As usual Future Environment Designs will have a booth and we will have our book for sale "Do As I Say Not As I Did" and it can be signed by the author Angelo Garcia, III.
On Friday, February 28, 2020, will be Regulatory Day. The day will open with a round table panel and discussion including survey requirements expert panel discussion. Afterward, the NYSDOL Asbestos Control Bureau will once again be present to update us and answer questions from the attendees. It plans to be another fantastic conference and we look forward to seeing you there!
NYSDOL Asbestos & Mold Control Bureau |
Professional Presentations |
Vendor Exhibit Hall |
On Friday, February 28, 2020, will be Regulatory Day. The day will open with a round table panel and discussion including survey requirements expert panel discussion. Afterward, the NYSDOL Asbestos Control Bureau will once again be present to update us and answer questions from the attendees. It plans to be another fantastic conference and we look forward to seeing you there!
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Future Environment Designs Attends the Plattsburgh Safety Expo and the PACNY Fishing Tournament
For a while there, it felt like Future Environment Designs was traveling all over the place. We were in Plattsburgh/Montreal area at the end of June. We were in Ohio/Michigan for the 4th of July week. Then we were on Lake Ontario the week after. We also developed two new online courses that allowed us to initiate a new training service. The two new online (e-learning) courses are the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Hazard Communication and the New York State Right-to-Know Hazard Communication training courses. Both courses were developed to meet the training requirements in the OSHA Hazard Communication standard (1910.1200). While the NYS Right-to-Know course meets the New York State Right-to-Know training requirements in New York State Labor Law Section 551, Articles 48 and 28 and Title 12 of New York Code of Rules & Regulations Part 820, these laws are enforced by New York State Department of Labor's Public Employee Safety Health (PESH) division, in addition to the OSHA Hazard Communication standard (1910.1200). The addition of these online courses to our training catalog allows us to provide a training subscription service that can meet your annual training requirements under the OSHA standards and New York State laws. In some cases, we can reduce your training costs to $20 per student. Contact us if you are interested.
Our Display at the NASHC Safety Expo 2019 |
On June 27, 2019, we attended the North Adirondack Safety and Health Council's (NASHC) Safety Expo 2019 at West Side Ballroom in Plattsburgh, New York. The Safety Expo had a short agenda but the presentations were excellent. Our favorite presentation was "Hazards of Working on or Near Energized Electrical Circuits" by Mr. John Olsen, of Blue Collar Safety. His presentation on Arc Flash/Blast was particularly eye-opening. Ms. Lola Miller's (of the Volvo Group) presentation "Preventing Serious Injuries & Fatalities" was also interesting especially since she was using Menti,com to make the presentation interactive. Her presentation was challenging Heinrich's Triangle, which is the theory of industrial accident prevention. It says if you reduce the number of minor accidents there would be a corresponding fall in serious accidents. Her data with working with the Volvo Group did not indicate that. Her view was you need to evaluate Serious Injury & Fatalities (SIF) precursors and make sure these are addressed. There were 15 vendors at the Safety Expo 2019, Reynolds and Son's display had an interesting variety of catalogs including a catalog called Cut Safe. The Cut Safe catalog had a variety of cutting tools that use ceramic technology, visit their website for more information.
Mr. John Olsen of Blue Collar Safety at NASHC Safety Expo |
Sunrise on Lake Ontario |
1. Dival - Reel Excitement
2. Cornerstone Training Institute (CTI) - Sunrise 2
3. CTI- Legacy
4. AAC- Shotgun
5. AAC- Troutman
6. NRC- Reflection
7. Abscope- Rusty Lure
8. Future Environment Designs (FEDTC)- Catchin’ Hell
9. SES- Intimidator
10. Aramsco- Pleasure Unit
11. Paradigm - Free Spirit
12. Sienna- Get Hooked
13. Expert - Irish Thunder
14. Expert - Screaming Reels
My big catch for the day! |
We had the good fortune to catch just enough Salmon & Steelhead to last us the entire year and fill our freezer again! Thank you, Darren Yehl, of Cornerstone, for giving us his catch to add to what we caught! The winners were:
So far the summer has been entertaining but is going quickly and soon it will be fall and the rush for asbestos and mold refresher classes will be on. This year is the 4-year anniversary of Article 32 the Mold Law and most everyone's license will be expiring between September and January 2020. See you soon!
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