OSHA and the White House say the silica rule will be finalized before the end of the Obama administration, according to Aaron Trippler, government affairs director for the American Industrial Hygiene Association.

Trippler reports in his “Happenings on the Hill” newsletter that “everything seemed to be in place for publishing a final rule” before the construction industry asked OSHA to consider new data that shows the agency underestimated the cost of the final rule by 20 percent. This puts OSHA on the spot. If the agency reopens rulemaking to review the data, the delay could push finalization beyond 2016. But if the agency ignores the request, the construction industry might have a challenge it can take to court to halt the final rule, according to Trippler. “Will be interesting to watch,” he writes.