New regs for Tuesday: Whales, truck drivers, oil and gas

Tuesday’s edition of the Federal Register contains new rules for endangered humpback whales, truck drivers with cardiovascular health problems, and federal oil and gas leases.

Here’s what is happening:

Boats: The Coast Guard is issuing new guidance for mariners on liftboats.

The guidance for merchant mariner credentials affects service of liftboats.

“Liftboats spend significant periods elevated at work sites and are not underway at those times,” the agency wrote. “The time a liftboat spends underway is generally limited to travelling to and from a job site, and may be a relatively small portion of the total time the liftboat is in operation. 

The changes went into effect on April 6.

Endangered: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is proposing to loosen protections for certain humpback whales.

Humpback whales are currently listed as endangered. But the NMFS is proposing to remove or lessen the protections for certain humpback whales while maintaining the endangered species status for others.

The NMFS began a review of the status of humpback whales in 2009, and has been petitioned twice since then to remove the endangered species protections.

The public has 90 days to comment.

Truck drivers: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is considering exempting 15 truck drivers from the agency’s cardiovascular standard.

“These 15 individuals are requesting an exemption due to the presence of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) as a result of their underlying cardiac condition,” the agency wrote.

The public has 30 days to comment.

Medical devices: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing a draft guidance concerning medical devices.

Medical device companies would formally be allowed to submit foreign clinical studies during the premarket approval process. But the foreign clinical studies must be relevant to U.S. populations, the agency noted.

The public has 90 days to comment.

Oil and gas: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is considering new rules for federal onshore oil and gas leases.

The oil and gas lease agreements could be subject to new civil penalty assessments, royalty rates, rental payments, and minimum acceptable bids under an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking.

The public has 45 days to comment.