Here we are at the very last DG Digest of the year. It’s been another year of difficult days for everyone as we all continue to cope with the pandemic, which now seems set to take us into a third year of dealing with it. Especially for those of us working as part of the “supply chain,” the last two years have offered real challenge. However—despite the probable bumps in the road ahead, the New Year will be here in just a few days and with it a chance for making new choices and doing new things, overcoming challenges and embracing changes. We’ll all keep getting through this together. Enjoy the New Year’s holiday (safely!) and then let’s finally put all this mess behind us in 2022! It was a fairly busy week in the regulatory world, despite the holiday. Here’s the latest:
TSA
The agency has published a proposed ICR renewal. The collection involves the submission of biometric and biographic information that TSA uses to verify identity and conduct a security threat assessment (STA) required before an applicant may obtain a hazardous materials endorsement (HME) on a commercial driver’s license (CDL) issued by States and the District of Columbia. Comments are due by January 26, 2022. See the ICR and how to comment right here.
BATF
The bureau published its annual list of materials it defines as regulated explosives. While not specifically DG related, it is nevertheless a useful set of information to have if you deal with these materials as part of your industry sector. See it here.
FMCSA
The agency amended its Hazardous Materials Safety Permits regulations to incorporate by reference the updated Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) handbook containing inspection procedures and Out-of-Service Criteria (OOSC) for inspections of shipments of transuranic waste and highway route controlled quantities of radioactive material. Through this rule, FMCSA incorporates by reference the April 1, 2021, edition of the handbook. The incorporation is approved as of February 22, 2022. See the rule at this link.
USCG
The service issued an interim rule as the first step to implementing the statutorily mandated requirements for fire safety on certain covered small passenger vessels. This statutory mandate is in response to the fire and loss of life on the dive boat CONCEPTION off the coast of California on September 2, 2019. This interim rule adds additional fire safety requirements for small passenger vessels, including fire detection and suppression systems, avenues of escape, egress drills, crew firefighting training, watchmen monitoring devices, and the handling of flammable items such as rechargeable batteries. This interim rule is effective March 28, 2022, except for amendatory instruction numbers 13, 14, 29, and 31 adding of § 122.507(b), amending 122.515, adding 185.507(b), and adding 185.515(a), respectively, which are delayed indefinitely. The Coast Guard will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of those additions. See the IFR here.
USEPA
The agency issued a new ICR proposal that reflects the consolidation of the following two currently approved ICRs:
- ‘‘TSCA Section 5(a)(2) Significant New Use Rules for Existing Chemicals’’ (identified by EPA ICR No. 1188.12 and OMB Control No. 2070–0038), which is currently approved through July 31, 2022
- ‘‘Premanufacture Review Reporting and Exemption Requirements for New Chemical Substances and Significant New Use Reporting Requirements for Chemical Substances’’ (identified by EPA ICR No.0574.18 and OMB Control No. 2070–0012), which is currently approved through December 31, 2022.
Comments are due no later than February 25th, 2022. See the proposal here.
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