New regs for Wednesday: Sea snakes, fish, railroads

Wednesday’s edition of the Federal Register contains new protections for sea snakes and small fish, as well as safety requirements for railroads.

Here’s what is happening:

Endangered: The National Marine Fisheries Service is moving forward with new protections for dusky sea snakes.

The dusky sea snake, along with three foreign corals, will be listed as endangered species. They all fall outside of U.S. jurisdiction.

The protections, which go into effect in 30 days, stem from a July 2013 petition from WildEarth Guardians.

Threatened: The Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing new protections for certain small fish often used as bait by fishermen.

The headwater chub and certain roundtail chubs would be listed as threatened species under the agency’s proposal.

The public has 60 days to comment.

Railroads: The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is delaying new safety requirements for railroads.

The FRA proposed a risk reduction program for certain railroads in February but is reopening the comment period to give the public more time to consider the changes.

Under the proposal, railroads would be responsible for coming up with their own risk reduction programs.

The public has an additional 14 days to comment.

Trucks: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will allow truck drivers who may be prone to seizures to operate commercial motor vehicles.

The FMCSA is exempting 10 truck drivers who suffer from a history of seizures from requirements that would otherwise prohibit them from driving. In many cases, the drivers may have experienced only one seizure but have convinced the agency they are healthy enough to drive without incident.

The exemptions go into effect immediately.