New regs for Tuesday: Water pollution reporting rules

by Julian Hattem - 07/29/13 1:49 PM ET

Agriculture:

{mosads}The Department of Agriculture is reducing the assessment rate for California olives from $31.32 per ton to $21.16.

The USDA charges the assessment fee to police packaging and product quality for the industry.

The department claims that the reduced price was necessary since the 2012-2013 olive crop “was larger than last year’s crop and the previous assessment rate would generate excess revenue.”

The USDA is also ordering a referendum to determine whether Georgia onion growers support continuing an order that regulates their crop.

Transportation:
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is changing its rules for transporting air bag inflators and modules to remove “unnecessary burdens on the industry that do not advance safety.”

Additionally, the Federal Highway Administration is proposing national standards for tunnels. The agency is looking for input on a revised proposal that supplements a 2010 notice.

Superfund:

The EPA is deleting a Pennsylvania Superfund cleanup site from its roster through both a proposal that will allow the public to weigh in as well as a direct final rule.

Energy:

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is revising its rules for providers of supporting services to public utilities and changing its regulations on notices for the natural gas pipelines that it oversees.

Housing:

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is finalizing the members of a committee on block grants for Native American housing. The committee will be tasked with negotiating a new formula for the grant program’s allocation.

Fishing:

National fishing regulators are issuing new limits on the size of parrotfish that can be caught off of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to help protect the species and prevent its overfishing.

Additionally, the National Marine Fisheries Service is prohibiting fishing for a type of Cod in a region off of Massachusetts, since 90 percent of the catchable fish have been harvested.