New regs for Friday: railroads, state rail systems, airline messaging and bioterrorism

Friday’s edition of the Federal Register contains new rules from the Department of Transportation for railroad, new regulations for state rail systems, new guidance from the Department of Transportation on recording airline messages, and a review of toxins that pose a serious threat to plants and animals.

Here’s what is happening:

Railroads: The Department of Transportation is considering a rule that would require any railroad with inadequate safety performance to develop and implement a risk reduction program to improve the safety of their operations.

The rule would require railroads to review their risk reduction programs annually. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) would also conduct an external audit of the program procedures.

The rule would allow railroads the flexibility to tailor risk reduction programs to the requirements of their specific operations. The FRA said the rule is part of efforts to improve rail safety and satisfy statutory mandates put forth in the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008.

The public has 60 days to comment.

State rail systems: The Federal Transit Administration is considering changes that would strengthen the State Safety Oversight Program for fixed guideway public transportation — light, heavy and rapid rail systems.

In passing the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, Congress directed the Federal Transit Administration to establish a comprehensive public transportation safety program and noticed critical weaknesses in the State Safety Oversight Program, including lack of adequate and consistent safety practices across rail transit systems; lack of regulatory, oversight and enforcement authority; and limited program funding, staff, training and other resources, the rule-making said.

The public has 60 days to comment.

Airline messages: The Department of Transportation is considering a rule that would update and clarify how the Federal Aviation Administration determines when datalink communications must be recorded as a function of the cockpit voice recorder operational regulations.

The new guidance requires all messages that are sent using the equipment on the aircraft necessary to complete data communications to be recorded.

The public has 90 days to comment.

Bioterrorism: The Department of Agriculture seeks public comment, as it reviews its list of agents and toxins that have the potential to pose a severe threat to animal or plant health, or to animal or plant products.

The Agricultural Bioterrorism Protection Act of 2002 requires a biennial review and republication of the list. In determining whether to include an agent or toxin on the list, the law requires the effect the toxin will have on production and marketability to be considered, as well as the methods by which a toxin is transferred to plants and animals and the availability and effectiveness to treat and prevent any illness. 

The public has 60 days to comment.

Insurance claims: The Department of Health and Human Services is moving forward with a rule that will strengthen the Medicare and Repaying Taxpayers Act of 2012 and give liability insurance carriers the right to appeal when Medicare comes seeking repayment for a worker’s compensation claim.

The public has 60 days to comment.