|
|
To:
|
Chemical Industry Council of Illinois (CICI) Members
|
|
From:
|
Mark Biel, Chief Executive Officer
[email protected] or 217/522-5805
|
|
Re:
|
Afternoon Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update – 1,865 Confirmed Cases, 19 Deaths; Interactive Website for Illinois Manufacturers, Suppliers; IEPA Enforcement Discretion Discussion; Industry Urges DHS Uniform Application of Critical Infrastructure Definition; CICI Staff working Remotely; SOCMA Webinar
|
At the time of this e-mail, the Illinois Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) is now reporting 19 deaths, out of 1,865 now-confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in Illinois, an increase of 330 new cases from yesterday. In total, 14,209 people have been tested for the virus. You can see where these cases are occurring at the State of Illinois COVID-19 website that also contains more information on this outbreak. In addition, Western Illinois University has an put together this Map of COVID-19 Cases in Illinois & Surrounding States to give you a better picture of where Covid-19 cases are at in relation to areas surrounding Illinois.
Interactive Website for Manufacturers, Suppliers: CICI is participating in the Governor’s Supply Chain Task Force, which is working to ensure key products including disinfectants, cleaning products, sanitizers, sterilizers, soaps and personal protective gear, etc. get to the necessary hospitals and medical providers. In addition, CICI has been assisting in securing various ingredients for manufacturers of hand sanitizer.
It is imperative to connect suppliers with those in need of supplies and to connect manufacturers with suppliers. There are over 20 critical products needed to respond to COVID-19. The Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (IMEC) has set up an Interactive Website to connect relevant manufacturing sectors of the state to get vital products - ventilators, N95 masks, gloves, hand sanitizers and disinfectants, and biohazard waste bags – to the front lines of this pandemic.
Please visit this website and see where your facility may be able to help get these products to where they are needed the most.
IEPA Enforcement Discretion Discussion: CICI recently had a call with the Illinois EPA on the topic of reporting deadlines/filings/inspections/RCRA storage/shutdowns/provisional variances, etc.
While the IEPA won’t currently be changing deadlines & requirements, the Agency did indicate they will use their “Enforcement Discretion” when these requirements aren’t addressed during the proper time frames.
Discretion determinations will be made on a “Case-by-Case” basis. While not exactly the response CICI had hoped, the IEPA obviously understands not only industry’s challenges but the Agency’s own lack of manpower in the IEPA office. Most of the IEPA staff is working remotely.
While CICI is not overly concerned about the IEPA penalizing facilities who are all dealing with this crisis, it would be wise to document your specific challenges in complying with various IEPA requirements for future reference if asked by the IEPA.
If you have specific questions of the IEPA, either please contact the CICI staff or feel free to reach out directly to the IEPA. Please keep in mind that it may take some time for the IEPA staff to respond.
Industry Groups Urge President, Elected Officials at All Levels to Uniformly Apply Department of Homeland Security Critical Infrastructure Definition: Industry Letter on Critical Infrastructure
CICI Staff Working Remotely: As many of you already know, the CICI staff has been working from home for the past week.
While the chemical industry is deemed an “Essential Industry”, interestingly - trade associations who represent “Essential Industries” are deemed “Non-Essential” and thus CICI is complying with the Governor’s “Stay-At-Home” order by working from home.
If you need to contact us, the best way to do so is the following:
Brad Babcook, Director of Legislative Affairs – [email protected] or 217-522-5805 ext. 2
Mark Biel, CEO – [email protected] or 217-522-5805 ext. 1
Lisa Frede, Director of Regulatory Affairs – [email protected] or 847-544-5995 ext. 2
Lisa Leahy, Operations Manager – [email protected] or 847-544-5995 ext. 1
Note: Phone calls to the CICI offices are transferred to our cell phones. Voice messages which are left are automatically sent to our email addresses.
For all practical purposes, CICI staff has been working every day since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis and will continue to quickly respond to your requests.
Seminar on Insurance Coverage & Policy Responses to Pandemic Related Incidents: CICI national association member SOCMA will be hosting a webinar this Friday for a discussion on key topics and questions relating to policy coverages as a result of COVID-19. This webinar is available to any CICI member however registration is required at SOCMA Webinar
|
