$3.4M grant to fight prescription drug abuse
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) siad on Friday that Tennessee will get a “big boost” in its fight against prescription drug abuse, an epidemic affecting about 5 percent of Tennesseans.
The state ranks third in the nation for prescription drug abuse and 12th in the nation for deaths resulting from drug overdose.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also announced Friday that Tennessee will receive $3.4 million over four years from the agency to help the state continue its work combatting prescription drug abuse and overdose. Tennessee is one of 16 states to receive funding under the agency’s Prescription Drug Overdose Prevention for States program.
Alexander said, “Tennessee has been working hard to fight this fast-growing drug problem, but we are losing more than a thousand Tennesseans a year to drug overdoses. This is an epidemic that cuts across all demographics, with about 5 percent of Tennesseans abusing prescription painkillers and the majority of those individuals getting drugs from a friend or relative.”
He continued, “This $3.4 million grant will allow the state to improve its programs to monitor prescription painkiller use, fight prescription drug abuse in the hardest-hit communities, and spread information to doctors who are prescribing these drugs.”
CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden, who announced the grant Friday, said, “A growing epidemic is gripping our country – deaths due to opioid overdose. Nearly 150,000 Americans have died from prescription drug overdoses in the past decade, and Tennessee has been hit especially hard.”
The grant will help by supporting:
- Enhancements to Tennessee’s Controlled Substance Monitoring Database Program, a statewide database that monitors the dispensing of controlled substances, such as opioids;
- Appropriate use of opioids for patients who need them, including through the dissemination of information on managing pain for health care providers who prescribe opioids;
- Prevention efforts throughout the state and in communities with a high incidence of prescription drug use; and
- Rapid response projects to address new and emerging problems related to prescription drug overdose.
EPA proposes 2 new hazardous waste rules
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing two new hazardous waste rules to strengthen environmental protection while reducing regulatory burden on businesses.
One of the proposed rules will protect waterways, including drinking and surface water, by preventing the flushing of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals and simplify the requirements for healthcare workers.
The other rule will provide greater flexibility to industry while requiring new safeguards to protect the public from mismanagement of hazardous waste.
“These rules provide businesses with certainty and the flexibility they need to successfully operate in today’s marketplace,” said Mathy Stanislaus, assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response.
EPA’s proposal is projected to prevent the flushing of more than 6,400 tons of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals annually by banning healthcare facilities from flushing hazardous waste pharmaceuticals down the sink and toilet.
The proposed rule will reduce the burden on healthcare workers and pharmacists working in healthcare facilities by creating a specific set of regulations for these facilities, including hospitals, clinics, and retail stores with pharmacies and reverse distributors that generate hazardous waste.
EPA’s proposed generator rule will enhance the safety of facilities, employees, and the general public by improving labeling of hazardous waste and emergency planning and preparedness. The proposal will also reduce the burden by providing greater flexibility in how facilities and employees manage their hazardous waste and make the regulations easier to understand.
EPA solicited public comment on improving hazardous waste management from states, healthcare facilities, retailers, facilities generating hazardous waste, and other key stakeholders. Both proposals directly address the challenges raised by these stakeholders in implementing and complying with hazardous waste regulations.
The Agency will accept public comments on the proposal for 60 days following publication in the Federal Register. For details on these proposed rules, including how to submit comments, visit http://www2.epa.gov/hwgenerators.
‘Waters of the U.S.’ rule gives clear guidelines
LYONS, Neb. — A couple of weeks ago, the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule took effect in all but 13 states.
Late on the night before it took effect, a federal judge in North Dakota issued a preliminary injunction that temporarily prevents the rule from taking effect in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.
“Efforts to improve water quality and conserve natural resources will fail unless farmers, landowners, and others are given clear and commonsense guidelines to follow,” commented Johnathan Hladik of the Center for Rural Affairs (CRA). “The Waters of the U.S. rule helps set this standard. We look forward to stakeholders working together toward responsible, reasonable, and cost-effective implementation.”
The CRA is a private, non-profit organization working to strengthen small businesses, family farms and ranches, and rural communities through action-oriented programs addressing social, economic, and environmental issues.
According to Hladik, “Many farmers welcome the clarity this rule brings. For them, removing uncertainty means it will now be easier to achieve conservation and stewardship goals while improving the long-term health of their operation.”
On May 27, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finalized the Clean Water Rule to protect the streams and wetlands that form the foundation of the nation’s water resources from pollution and degradation.
According to the CRA, the Clean Water Rule, also known as the “Waters of the U.S.,” seeks to cut through the chaos and confusion surrounding Clean Water Act enforcement, which arose from Supreme Court decisions in 2001 and 2006.
The rule goes to great lengths to ensure that farmers and ranchers benefit from preserving water quality but are not overly burdened with the rule’s implementation, according to the CRA.
Hladik concluded, “It is important that states and others who question EPA’s authority to add clarity to the Clean Water Act have an opportunity to be heard. We hope for a timely legal resolution that removes uncertainty and allows those impacted to begin implementing plans to move forward.”
