The second week of May is here, and the Spring storm season is in full swing—a annual risk we all need to recall even as we continue to cope with the pandemic. If your facility is located within the broad swath of the country facing possible exposure to severe weather, be sure your emergency plans are ready to help protect your employees and secure your sites in case heavy weather impacts the location. Proactive is always better than reactive! It was a typical week in the regulatory world, with several items of interest. Here’s the latest news:
PHMSA
The agency issued a notice relating to its ongoing administrative action surrounding a classification issue about EX approvals issued for several 1.4S explosives. PHMSA is issuing this notice to serve process in accordance with 49 CFR 105.35(a)(3) and inform all persons who currently hold Explosive (EX) approvals for four specific Division 1.4S explosives of the process necessary for maintaining or upgrading these approvals. The numbers affected are UN0349, UN0367, UN0384, and UN0481. If you hold an EX approval related to these materials, you may wish to have a look at the notice. See it here.
The agency has been busy with Special Permit actions over the last year or so and this month seems no exception, with several newly published actions. As usual, they often related to cylinders, batteries, and issues surrounding unique carriage requirements. See the actions here:
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-05-10/pdf/2021-09823.pdf
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-05-10/pdf/2021-09822.pdf
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-05-10/pdf/2021-09824.pdf
TSA
The agency published a final affecting its security training program for railroads and bus operators. This action amends the ‘‘Security Training for Surface Transportation Employees’’ (Security Training) final rule (published March 23, 2020, and amended May 1, 2020, and October 26, 2020) to extend the compliance date by which a security training program must be submitted to TSA, and makes minor technical corrections. TSA is aware that many owner/operators within the scope of this rule’s applicability may be unable to meet the compliance deadline for submission of the required security training programs to TSA for approval because of the impact of COVID–19 as well as actions taken at various levels of government to address this public health crisis. In response, TSA is extending the compliance deadline for submission of the required security training program from March 22, 2021, to no later than June 21, 2021. See the rule here.
FMCSA
The agency announced a meeting of its Medical Review Board (MRB). The board sets medical standards for CMV operators and as such has significant potential impact to driver qualifications. The meeting is virtual and will be held May 19th. See details here.
U.S. DOT
The agency announced a regulatory review across a broad swath of its body of regulation. As directed by Executive Order 13990, ‘‘Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis,’’ and Executive Order 13992, ‘‘Revocation of Certain Executive Orders Concerning Federal Regulation,’’ the U.S. Department of Transportation (Department or DOT) is currently reviewing its existing regulations and other agency actions to determine whether they are consistent with the policies and National objectives set forth in these executive orders. As part of this review, the Department invites the public to provide input on existing rules and other agency actions for the Department’s consideration regarding consistency with the policies and objectives of these executive orders. DATES: Comments should be received on or before June 4, 2021. Late-filed comments will be considered to the extent practicable. See the review objectives and how to comment here.
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