New regs for Monday: Air quality standards, nuclear facilities, public transportation

Monday’s edition of the Federal Register contains new rules for national air quality standards, public utilities looking to minimize risk, public transportation, endangered species, and reporting at nuclear facilities. 

Here’s what is happening:

Finance: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is considering a new rule for swaps between public utility companies intended to minimize risk. 

The public has 30 days to comment.

Air: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving forward with a new national ambient air quality standards after a federal appeals court determined the rules the agency is currently enforcing are outdated. 

This comes after the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) sued the EPA for not upholding portions of the Clean Air Act, particularly the particulate matter-specific provisions. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with NRDC in January 2013, arguing that the EPA “erred” by implementing the 1997 standards as opposed to newer versions of the law.

So the EPA announced Friday new rules to comply with the court’s decision.

Endangered species: The Obama administration is moving to protect several types of sturgeon fish that are located outside of the U.S.

The National Marine Fisheries Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Friday they are classifying five species of sturgeon as endangered. This includes the Adriatic sturgeon, European sturgeon, Chinese sturgeon, Sakhalin sturgeon, and Kaluga sturgeon.

Even though they are being placed on the endangered species list, the agencies are not designating a critical habitat for these sturgeon species because they are located outside of the country.

The rule goes into effect in 30 days.

Transportation: The Federal Transit Administration and Federal Highway Administration are moving forward with new public transportation requirements for cities that receive federal funds under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). 

The agencies issued a joint guidance Friday informing metropolitan planning organizations around the country that they must include representatives from their cities’ public transportation systems by October in order to participate in the program.

Nuclear: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering new rules for reporting waste. The NRC issued a draft regulatory issue summary Friday governing how these facilities should report low levels of radionuclides activity.

The public has 30 days to comment.