New regs for Monday: Indian tribes, oil drilling, nuclear power plants

Monday’s edition of the Federal Register contains new rules for Indian tribes operating in national parks, drilling operations on the Arctic Outer Continental Shelf and large lead-acid batteries at nuclear power plants.

Here’s what is happening:

Indian tribes: The National Park Service (NPS) is proposing new rules for Indian tribes operating in public lands.

{mosads}Under the proposed rule, indian tribes would be allowed to gather plants and plant parts from national parks for cultural purposes, the agency said.

The NPS said it shares a “commitment to stewardship of the land and resources” with the Indian tribes.

“This relationship is augmented by the historical, cultural, and spiritual relationships that Indian tribes have with the park lands and resources with which they are traditionally associated,” the agency wrote.

“Indian tribes practiced their traditional harvests of plants and plant parts on or from lands that are now included in units of the National Park System long before the arrival of the European settlers,” it added. 

The public has 90 days to comment.

Drilling: The Department of the Interior is delaying new rules for oil and gas exploratory drilling operations on the Arctic Outer Continental Shelf.

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement proposed new safety requirements for drilling in February, but said Friday it is extending the comment period to give stakeholders more time to consider the changes.

The public now has until May 27 to comment.

Water: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is delaying new rules proposed under the Clean Water Act.

The EPA proposed updating the methods for effluent analysis in February, but said Friday it is extending the comment period to give stakeholders more time to consider the changes.

The public now has until May 20 to comment.

Battery: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is releasing a draft regulatory guidance addressing the size of large lead-acid batteries.

The guidance includes design requirements for stationary batteries in nuclear power plant full float operations.

The public has 60 days to comment.