New regs for Tuesday: Truck drivers, airlines, endangered species

Tuesday’s edition of the Federal Register contains new rules for truck drivers recording the hours they spend on the road, protections for crayfish, and reporting requirements for airlines.

Here’s what is happening:

Truck drivers: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is moving forward with new rules for truck drivers using hours-of-service electronic logging devices to track the time they spend on the road.

{mosads}The new rules will address the mandatory use of these electronic logging devices as well as design and performance standards.

The rules go into effect in 60 days.

Endangered: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is delaying new protections for certain species of crayfish.

The FWS proposed listing the Big Sandy crayfish and Guyandotte River crayfish as endangered species in April 2015, but is now reopening the comment period to give the public more time to discuss the changes.

The public has 30 days to comment.

Airplanes: The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is loosening the requirements for airlines to report collisions and other close calls.

The NTSB is narrowing the circumstances in which airlines must report the use of the Airborne Collision and Avoidance System.

The changes go into effect in 60 days.

Regulatory forecast: A handful of federal agencies are formally releasing their semiannual regulatory agendas, which detail the rules they plan to promulgate in the coming year.

Some of the agencies publishing a regulatory agenda include the Justice Department, Environmental Protection Agency, Energy Department, Labor Department, Department of Health and Human Services, Agriculture Department, Education Department and Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The regulatory agendas were posted online a few weeks ago, but are now being formally published in the Federal Register.