OSHA Focusing on Regional Fatality and Injury Rates in Tree Care

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) utilizes various strategies to mitigate workplace hazards and ensure compliance with safety standards. One approach is the implementation of Regional Emphasis Programs (REPs). REPs are primarily targeted enforcement and inspections in specific high-risk industries or for particular hazards within a region. As of the end of 2023, OSHA has been active in addressing the risks associated with tree care work.

OSHA’s recent activity includes issuing two new REPs for Region II and Region IX, as well as renewing existing programs in Regions III and IV, all aimed at reducing injuries and fatalities in this sector. Consequently, OSHA now actively maintains five different regional emphasis programs targeting specific hazards in the tree care industry.

Given the likelihood of increased OSHA inspections and the potential for heightened penalties for non-compliance, it is important for TCIA members to be well informed about these initiatives.

New Regional Emphasis Programs Region IX (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa and Guam)

On November 8, 2023, OSHA announced a new REP for Region IX “to reduce workplace fatalities and injuries in the landscaping and horticultural services industries.” Under the program, OSHA will conduct safety and health inspections of landscaping and horticultural-industry employers and focus on tree care and related services, including tree and bush planting, pruning, bracing, spraying, removal and surgery; commercial lawn and landscape maintenance; and utility-line tree-trimming services.

• Scope: While all of the states in Region IX are OSHA State Plan states, and therefore maintain their own safety and health regulations, Federal OSHA still retains enforcement authority over certain jurisdictions within these states. For instance, in California, a state with its own Tree Care Safety Standard, Federal OSHA retains enforcement authority over private-sector workers in military installations; federal enclaves such as U.S. national parks, monuments, memorials and recreation areas; and Native American reservations. Tree care businesses in these areas must comply with Federal OSHA standards, including adherence to this REP.
• Hazards identified: Falls from trees, roofs and ladders; being struck by heavy equipment and trees; amputations from chain saws, brush chippers and stump grinders; safety hazards from other power tools, including tractors, loaders and ride-on and walk-behind mowers; and electrocutions when workers (or a branch, a tool or another piece of equipment that the worker was touching) contact energized power lines or electric transformers. This REP emphasizes that a compliance safety and health officer (CSHO) might encounter these hazards in the aftermath of natural disasters, typhoons, wildland fires and earthquakes, and should acquaint themselves with the directive when responding to such incidents.
• Program procedures: To execute this program, OSHA will conduct scheduled inspections at predetermined sites and engage in outreach with local companies to provide education about relevant hazards and compliance requirements. Simultaneously, OSHA will conduct targeted inspections based on referrals from CSHOs who observe serious hazards while they travel during the course of their work. CSHOs conducting tree care inspections taking place under the REP will perform the following:
  • Determining the applicable safety standard: Determine a job site’s scope of work and ensure it meets the applicable Federal OSHA standards (Vegetation Management for Power Transmission & Distribution 1910.269, or Logging 1910.266).
  • Review of employer-provided PPE: Assess if an employer meets OSHA’s personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements by providing employees with PPE at no cost, and whether workers require additional PPE such as hearing protection, cut-resistant leg protection, hand and foot protection, eye and face protection and head protection.
  • Review of safety programs: Check the proximity of work activities to overhead energized wires ensuring safe distances and practices, and compliance with traffic-control regulations and noise levels to determine if an employer should implement a hearing-
    conservation program.
  • Crane use: If an employer is in the process of hoisting an arborist via crane access, the employer must have determined that “all reasonably positive alternative methods are inaccessible and attachment to the tree would create greater hazards.” In cases where the employer cites the greater-hazard defense, the CSHO must request all documents from the employer “prior to commencing the work as a result of which the employer determined that hoisting an individual on the crane load or hook was allegedly the safest method.” Additionally, if the employer utilizes a rental crane, the crane rental company also will be included in the inspection.

• Effective date: The REP became effective November 8, 2023, and will expire five years after the date of implementation. Before commencing enforcement activities, OSHA planned to conduct outreach to employers through February 8, 2024.

Region II (New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands)
On October 1, 2023, OSHA issued a new REP for Region II to reduce the number of fatalities, serious injuries and serious safety and health hazards relating to tree trimming, tree removal, landscaping-
service activities and site-clearing operations. Under the program, OSHA will focus on activities such as pruning, bracing, spraying, removal, surgery and utility-line tree-trimming services on highways, lawns and road strips.

• Scope: Unlike Region IX, Federal OSHA has jurisdiction over private-sector workers in all Region II states and territories except Puerto Rico. Consequently, the REP applies to each of these states, and specific locations in Puerto Rico also will be subject to the plan.
• Hazards identified: The REP identifies pretty much the same hazards as those listed for the Region IX REP in the previous section of this article.
• Program procedures: The REP identifies pretty much the same program procedures as those listed for the Region IX REP in the previous section of this article.
• Effective date: The REP became effective on October 1, 2023, and will expire five years after the date of implementation. Enforcement began on January 1, 2024.

Renewals of existing REPs Region III (Washington, D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia)
On October 1, 2023, OSHA renewed a REP for Region III to increase its inspection of tree trimming operations in order to reduce the number of fatalities, serious injuries and serious safety and health hazards occurring in the industry.

• Scope: While Federal OSHA maintains jurisdiction over Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia, both Maryland and Virginia maintain state plans.
• Hazards identified: The REP focuses on OSHA’s Focus Four hazards, including falls, caught-in or between incidents, struck-bys and electrocutions.
• Program procedures: CSHOs will actively monitor tree care operations. Upon identifying unprotected serious hazards, they will promptly contact the area office to obtain authorization for an inspection or document their observations.
• Effective date: The REP took effect on October 1, 2023, and is valid until September 30, 2028. This renewed REP has already undergone outreach initiatives, and enforcement activities remain in progress.

Region IV (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee)
On October 21, 2023, OSHA renewed a REP for Region IV to reduce fatal accident rates associated with activities in the landscaping and horticultural services, such as trimming trees near overhead power lines.

• Scope: Region IV encompasses states under both federal and state jurisdiction. South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee have their own state plans, while Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and Georgia adhere to Federal OSHA regulations. Notably, Federal OSHA maintains jurisdiction on military bases in these states.
• Hazards identified: Falls, electrocutions and struck-bys.
• Program procedures: CSHOs will remain vigilant for tree care operations. Upon detecting unprotected serious hazards, they will promptly contact the area director or team leader for authorization to conduct an inspection. In cases where the area office cannot be reached, CSHOs may proceed with a limited-scope inspection or intervention.
• Effective date: The REP became effective October 1, 2023, and will remain in effect for four years. As this is a renewed REP, outreach efforts have already been initiated, and enforcement activities are ongoing.

Conclusion

As TCIA members conduct operations within the abovementioned regions, they should familiarize themselves with their respective Regional Emphasis Programs. Additionally, tree care companies operating within state plan locations should remain cognizant of work sites that may fall under Federal OSHA jurisdiction, thus triggering Federal OSHA standards.

Josh Leonard is a legislative assistant with Ulman Public Policy, TCIA’s Washington, D.C.-based advocacy and lobbying partner.