FRA delayed the implementation dates for its comprehensive revisions to the nation’s railroad employee safety training standards. A pair of BNSF trains safely pass each other in Sumner, Washington on May 6th, 2017. Photo © 5/2017 by Nikki Burgess; all rights reserved.
Welcome to the second week of May. One more week until most of the nation reaches the “frost line cutoff,” when it is assumed safe to plant those spring annuals. Are you ready? The bright colors of summer are finally on the horizon! It was a fairly quiet week in regulations, with most action focusing on employee and vehicle safety. Here’s all the latest:
FRA
- The nation’s rail safety agency delayed the implementation dates for the final rule published on November 7, 2014, restructuring the nation’s railroad employee safety training mandates. Model training program developers alerted FRA that they will not be able to produce model programs that an estimated 1,459 railroads and contractors are expected to use to comply with the rule’s program submission requirements by the original compliance date. The dates in the training rule have thus been delayed by one year. The new dates range from 2019 to 2023, depending on the specific mandate concerned. See the link for further details
- FRA announced the fifty-seventh meeting of the Rail Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC). It develops recommendations on railroad safety regulations and other railroad safety issues through a consensus process. The meeting topics will include remarks from the FRA Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety and Chief Safety Officer and a status report from the Engineering Task Force. In addition, FRA will present to the Committee the consensus recommendations from the Hazardous Materials Working Group’s retrospective review of certain portions of the Hazardous Materials Regulations. The RSAC meeting is scheduled to commence at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 25, 2017. Here’s your way in
U.S. DOT
Need to know something from U.S. DOT? The agency has updated its regulations prescribing procedures for the public availability of information to conform these procedures with amendments to the Freedom of Information Act enacted by the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016. This rule also removes a reference to the Surface Transportation Board, as it has been made a separate agency outside of the Department under the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2015. Finally, this rule makes a technical amendment to the Department’s submitter notice process to include a reference to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s updated procedures related to the submission of confidential business information. This final rule is effective June 5, 2017. Get the details right here
2017 CVSA/U.S. DOT Road Check
Each year, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance partners with USDOT and the nation’s law enforcement community to sponsor and carry out “Road Check,” a 72 hour period when the commercial trucking industry is subjected to enhanced and more frequent roadside inspection. This year’s push focuses on cargo securement, with an additional emphasis on Hazardous Materials. The scheduled dates for this year’s effort are June 6 – 8. Time to get your fleet and driver’s ready! See the details here
OSHA
Under the Congressional Review Act, Congress has passed and the President has signed a resolution of disapproval of OSHA’s final rule titled, ‘‘Clarification of Employer’s Continuing Obligation to Make and Maintain an Accurate Record of each Recordable Injury and Illness.’’ OSHA published the rule, which contained various amendments to OSHA’s recordkeeping regulations for employers, on December 19, 2016. OSHA is now removing those amendments from the Code of Federal Regulations. See the action here
Transport Canada
Our northern neighbor’s analog of PHMSA is seeking comment on the second iteration of its revised small containers rule. Canada is taking action to harmonize the TDGR with current UN standards, and this action is part of that. Comments are open until May 31st. See the revised standard here
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