Short Takes – 7-29-23

New FAA Fact Sheet Clears the Air on Local Drone Regulation. WileyConnect.com article. Pull quote: “The Scope of Federal Authority. The updated guidance goes several steps beyond the 2015 fact sheet, unequivocally recognizing that “authority to regulate aviation safety and the efficient use of the airspace by aircraft [including UAS]” belongs exclusively to the FAA and that “[a]ttempts by state and local governments to regulate in those fields are preempted.” The 2015 fact sheet, in contrast, focused more on the policy rationale for avoiding “fractionalized control of the navigable airspace,” and tended away from definitive statements, instead pointing to areas where prospective state and local laws “should be carefully considered” to ensure consistency with federal law or where “consultation with the FAA is recommended.”

ACC Statement Regarding Expiration of Essential Chemical Security Program Key to Combating Terrorism. AmericanChemistry.com press release. Pull quote: ““The loss of CFATS creates immediate risks and problems by limiting the ability to vet personnel, increasing exposure to cyber threats, and opening the door to a patchwork of federal and state regulations. Congress must get back to work immediately to reinstate CFATS to help keep our industry and America safe.””

The Case for Guerrilla Crosswalks. Bloomberg.com article. Pull quote: ““I'm reticent to say people should just go out and change the streets any way they see fit,” he said. “But our current way of doing things — where we first have to collect enough data points to decide if a street should be revised — isn’t working. Because those data points tend to be people dying or getting hurt. If we’re waiting for that, we’re clearly doing something wrong with our streets.”

Notice of President's National Infrastructure Advisory Council Meeting. Federal Register DHS meeting notice. Agenda: “Agenda: The National Infrastructure Advisory Council will meet virtually in an open session on Monday, August 28, 2023, from 2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET with a focus on deliberation and vote on the Water Security Report. The meeting will include (1) remarks from the administration and CISA leadership related to water security (2) a period for public comment and (3) deliberation and vote on NIAC Report to the President on Preparing United States Critical Infrastructure for Today's Evolving Water Crises.”

Regulatory Guide: Cybersecurity Event Notifications. Federal Register NRC guidance issue. Summary: “The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing Revision 1 to Regulatory Guide (RG), 5.83, “Cybersecurity Event Notifications.” This revision describes methods that the staff of the NRC considers acceptable for licensees to meet requirements in NRC regulations to report and record cybersecurity events.”

Conservatives have already written a climate plan for Trump’s second term. Politico.com article. Pull quote: “Instead, the ideas laid out in Project 2025 show that conservative organizations want to achieve a more fundamental shift — moving federal agencies away from public health protections and environmental regulations in order to help the industries they have been tasked with overseeing, said Andrew Rosenberg, who was a senior official at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration during the Clinton administration.”