Short Takes – 2-24-26 – Federal Register Edition

Prior Notice of Citizen Suits. Federal Register EPA notice of proposed rulemaking. Summary: “The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to amend its regulations prescribing the manner in which prior notice of citizen suits is to be provided as required under the citizen suit provisions of the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), the Noise Control Act (NCA), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). This proposed rulemaking would generally require electronic service to EPA of Notices of Intent (NOIs) to file a citizen suit under the listed environmental statutes. These proposed revisions would help ensure the Agency receives and processes such NOIs in a timely and efficient manner.” Comments due: March 26^th, 2026.

Proposed Renewal Collection and Request for Comment; Chemical Data Reporting Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Federal Register EPA 60-day ICR renewal notice. Summary: “In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), this document announces the availability of and solicits public comment on the following Information Collection Request (ICR) that EPA is planning to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB): Chemical Data Reporting under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) (EPA ICR No. 1884.17 and OMB Control No. 2070-0162). This ICR represents a renewal of an existing ICR that is currently approved through October 31, 2026. Before submitting the ICR to OMB for review and approval under the PRA, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the information collection that is summarized in this document. The ICR and accompanying material are available in the docket for public review and comment.” Comments due: April 27^th, 2026.

Railroad Safety Advisory Committee. Federal Register FRA request for nominations. Summary: “In this notice, the Department is soliciting nominations for membership to the Committee. The Committee shall report to the Secretary of Transportation through the FRA Administrator and shall comprise 25 members representing the agency's major stakeholder groups, including railroads, labor organizations, suppliers, and manufacturers, as well as other interested parties.” Nominations due: March 26^th, 2026.

Pipeline Safety: Request for Special Permit; Sable Offshore Corp. Federal Register PHMSA notice. Summary: “PHMSA is publishing this notice to solicit public comments on a request for a special permit submitted by Sable Offshore Corp. (Sable). Sable is seeking relief from compliance with certain requirements in the Federal pipeline safety regulations. PHMSA has proposed conditions to ensure that the special permit is not inconsistent with pipeline safety. At the conclusion of the 30-day comment period, PHMSA will review the comments received from this notice as part of its evaluation to grant or deny the special permit request.” Comments due: March 26th, 2026.

Review – CSB Publishes PEMEX H2S Release Investigation Report

Yesterday the Chemical Safety Board announced the publication of incident investigation report for the October 2024, fatal hydrogen sulfide leak at the PEMEX facility in Deer Park, TX. During the incident 27,000-lbs of H2S were released when contractors opened the wrong line during a maintenance procedure. Two workers were killed and 13 were transported to local hospitals for exposure to H2S. The report identified four key safety issues and the Board made four safety recommendations to prevent future such accidents.

This closed investigation leave just eight CSB open investigations. The four new recommendations brings the total number of CSB recommendations to date to 1,026 with 118 open recommendations.

Incident Summary

The Executive Summary for the report describes the incident:

“The release occurred when contract workers from Repcon, Inc. (Repcon) opened piping containing hydrogen sulfide gas. Instead of opening a pipe flange on empty piping, the workers mistakenly opened an identical piping segment 5 feet away, releasing pressurized hydrogen sulfide gas and fatally injuring one of the Repcon workers. The released hydrogen sulfide traveled downwind to the adjacent unit, where a worker from ISC Constructors, who was unaware of the release, inhaled the toxic hydrogen sulfide and also was fatally injured. The release continued for nearly an hour until PEMEX Deer Park emergency responders reassembled the leaking flange, stopping the release. Thirteen additional contract workers were transported to nearby medical facilities to be evaluated for hydrogen sulfide exposure”

 

For more information on the CSB report, including commentary on another potential safety issue, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/csb-publishes-pemex-h2s-release-investigation - subscription required.

EPA Sends Chem Mfg Technology Review Final Rule to OMB

Yesterday the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIIRA) announced that it had received an final rule from the EPA on “National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Chemical Manufacturing Area Source Technology Review”. This mandatory NESHAP review is subject to a consent decree requiring the publication of the final rule by January 15^th, 2026. The notice of proposed rulemaking for this action was published on January 22^nd, 2025.

According to the Spring 2025 Unified Agenda entry for this rulemaking:

“This action will address the agency's technology review of the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Chemical Manufacturing Area Sources (CMAS). The CMAS NESHAP, subpart VVVVVV, was promulgated on October 29, 2009, pursuant to section 112(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and established emission limitations and work practice requirements for controlling emissions of hazardous air pollutants (HAP). The NESHAP controls HAP emissions from process vents, storage tanks, equipment leaks, wastewater streams, transfer operations and heat exchange systems. This action addresses the technology review requirements of CAA section 112(d)(6) which require the EPA to review and revise the standards as necessary (taking into account developments in practices, processes and control technologies) no less often than every 8 years.”

This rulemaking is beyond the normal scope of coverage in this blog, so I probably will not provide any detailed coverage of the final rule. I do expect to at least acknowledge its publication in the appropriate Short Takes post.

House Passes HR 2600 – ASCEND Act

Today the House took up HR 2600, the Accessing Satellite Capabilities to Enable New Discoveries (ASCEND) Act, under the suspension of the rules process. After just 8 minutes of debate, the House passed the bill by a voice vote.

This bill provides statutory authority for the Commercial SmallSat Data Acquisition (CSDA) program run by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Through the CSDA program, NASA acquires remote sensing data and imagery from commercial satellites to support its Earth science research. (Remote sensing generally refers to the collection of data by instruments in Earth’s orbit, such as satellites, that can be processed into imagery of Earth’s surface.) No new spending is authorized by this bill.

Review – FAA Publishes cUAS Coordination ICR Notice – 2-13-26

On February 13^th, 2026, the DOT’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) published a new information collection request notice in the Federal Register (91 FR 6976-6977) on “FAA Request Form for CUAS Coordination”. The proposed collection would support requirements for federal agencies and State, local, and tribal and territorial law enforcement agencies to coordinate with the FAA before conducting counter UAS operations. The notice reports that the FAA expects 100 coordination requests annually with a 100-hour annual burden estimate.

The notice explains that:

“Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Attorney General, the Secretary of Energy, State Local, Tribal, and Territorial Law Enforcement (SLTT) must coordinate with the Secretary of Transportation for certain Title 18 protections under 10 U.S.C. 130i, 6 U.S.C. 124n, and 50 U.S.C. 2661 authorities respectively. This data collection supports these laws.”

Public Comments

The FAA is soliciting public comments on this ICR notice. Comments may be submitted via the ‘Submit Public Comment’ button at the top of this Federal Register page. Comments should be submitted by March 3^rd, 2026.

 

For more details this ICR notice, including discussion of the administrative problems with this ICR notice, as well as a discussion of the cUAS coordination requirements of 6 USC 124n, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/faa-publishes-cuas-coordination-icr - subscription requirements.

Review – Committee Hearings – Week of 2-22-26

With both the House and Senate back in Washington, and with snow expected today, there is a relatively light hearing schedule. There are no hearings currently scheduled of specific interest here. Tuesday night is the State of the Union address by the President. The Senate will be having periodic (probably daily) cloture votes on HR 7147, the DHS spending bill; still no deal in sight there. The House has a short list (6) of bills that will be considered under the suspension of the rules process including one bill under Space Geek coverage here.

 

For more information on legislation and SOTU, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/committee-hearings-week-of-2-22-26 - subscription required.

Short Takes – 2-22-26

Trump signals new tariffs plan. Here's how Section 122 works. Axios.com article. Pull quote: “The global break from President Trump's tariffs will only be temporary. For months, top Trump officials said they had a "Plan B" if the highest court blocked their signature economic policy — which could leave hefty import taxes on foreign consumer goods essentially intact.”

A high-stakes State of the Union just got harder for Trump. Politico.com article. Pull quote: “Economic growth is flagging. U.S. military assets are massing in the waters around Iran in anticipation of a potential strike that many in the president’s base find odious. A major government agency is shut down over an immigration standoff with Democrats sparked after federal agents killed two U.S. citizens. “Make America Healthy Again” activists are furious over Trump’s order boosting domestic production of the herbicide glyphosate. The scandal surrounding Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted sex offender, continues to swirl.”

ICS Cybersecurity in 2026: Vulnerabilities and the Path Forward. Forescout.com blog post. Pull quote: “The number of OT/ICS vulnerabilities isn’t the only thing growing. They are also becoming more severe. The average CVSS score of advisories has been trending upwards (see below). Back in 2010, the average was 6.44, classified as medium severity. In 2024, the average crossed 8.0 for the first time and it remained there in 2025.”

Campus vaccine strategies put to test by rising measles cases. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: ““Academic institutions tend to be environments where infectious diseases can quickly spread. In one large classroom, many dozens of students can be confined in close spaces for prolonged periods of time. Under those conditions, even a single measles case is highly likely to spread widely across the campus, as students also live in close proximity with roommates in dorms and apartments,” Gostin said.”

How uncrewed narco subs could transform the Colombian drug trade. TechnologyReview.com article. Pull quote: “Analysts don’t think uncrewed narco subs will reshape the global drug trade, despite the technological leap. Trafficking organizations will still hedge their bets across those three variables, hiding cocaine in shipping containers, dissolving it into liquids and paints, racing it north in fast boats. “I don’t think this is revolutionary,” Shuldiner says. “But it’s a great example of how resilient cocaine traffickers are, and how they’re continuously one step ahead of authorities.”” What about narco terrorists shipping IED semisubmersibles?

Chemical Weapons by Violent Non-State Actors in Combat. SmallWarsJournal.com commentary. Pull quote: “While the use of chemical weapons by non-state actors in combat is a relatively new phenomenon, the examples of the LTTE and IS display several commonalities that may occur in future conflicts. Modern militaries should recognize and prepare for these risks, particularly in counterinsurgency operations. Chemical weapons deployed by similar organizations are likely to be crude and small-scale, deployed through explosives, primitive projectiles, or even wind dispersal, although there is a possibility of future drone use. Ultimately, it is likely that the psychological impact of these weapons will far outweigh any tactical advantage that they may confer.”

The scientist using AI to hunt for antibiotics just about everywhere. TechnologyReview.com article. Pull quote: “But de la Fuente is using artificial intelligence to bring about a different future. His team at the University of Pennsylvania is training AI tools to search genomes far and deep for peptides with antibiotic properties. His vision is to assemble those peptides—molecules made of up to 50 amino acids linked together—into various configurations, including some never seen in nature. The results, he hopes, could defend the body against microbes that withstand traditional treatments.”

Backlog List

• Empower Biomed Engineers with Smarter Medical Device Intelligence,

• A new diabetes treatment could free people from insulin injections,

• Why Some Doctors Say There Are Cancers That Shouldn’t Be Treated,

• Apple Supplier Hit by Cyberattack, Manufacturing Data at Risk,

• ‘Can You Print a House?’: God, Robots and the U.S. Housing Crisis,

• Here's Where Measles Case Counts Are Highest,

• The Nontoxic Cleaner That Kills Germs Better Than Bleach—And You Can Use It on Your Skin,

• Stunning Antarctic Sea Creatures Discovered after Iceberg Breaks Away,

• The Invisible Toll of Bird Flu on Wildlife, and

• Defining WMD for Policy Issues.