Democrats divided over Biden administration response to reported drone sightings. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “Such assurances have done little to assuage public concerns that something more nefarious is afoot. Those fears have been fueled by allegations from some Capitol Hill lawmakers that foreign adversaries are sending armies of drones over U.S. airspace to collect intelligence — or worse.”
Mountains of unused coal causing financial headaches for US power sector: Report. TheHill.comm article. Pull quote: “Given the buildup in coal stockpiles, the authors warned that at a certain point, power providers will buy a lot less of the resource from coal producers.”
Japanese company ispace plans to land helium-3 mining missions on the moon. Space.com article. Pull quote: “Magna Petra, meanwhile, says this type of technology demonstration will allow the company to proceed on a "rapid timeline to validate, capture and return" the large quantities of helium-3 it hopes to eventually deliver back to Earth.”
Trichloroethylene (TCE); Regulation Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Federal Register EPA final rule. Summary: “The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) is finalizing a rule to address the unreasonable risk of injury to health presented by trichloroethylene (TCE) under its conditions of use. TSCA requires that EPA address by rule any unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment identified in a TSCA risk evaluation and apply requirements to the extent necessary so that the chemical no longer presents unreasonable risk. EPA's final rule will, among other things, prevent serious illness associated with uncontrolled exposures to the chemical by preventing consumer access to the chemical, restricting the industrial and commercial use of the chemical while also allowing for a reasonable transition period with interim worker protections in place where an industrial and commercial use of the chemical is being prohibited, and provide time-limited exemptions for critical or essential uses of TCE for which no technically and economically feasible safer alternatives are available.” Effective date: January 16th, 2025.
Implementing the Whistleblower Provisions of the Vehicle Safety Act. Federal Register NHTSA final rule. Summary: “This final rule addresses an important source of motor vehicle safety information and fulfills a requirement in the Motor Vehicle Safety Whistleblower Act (Whistleblower Act) that NHTSA promulgate regulations on the requirements of the Act, in complement to NHTSA's existing whistleblower program. The Whistleblower Act authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to pay an award, subject to certain limitations, to eligible whistleblowers who voluntarily provide original information relating to any motor vehicle defect, noncompliance, or any violation or alleged violation of any notification or reporting requirement, which is likely to cause unreasonable risk of death or serious physical injury, if the information provided leads to the successful resolution of a covered action. This final rule defines certain terms important to the operation of the whistleblower program, outlines the procedures for submitting original information to NHTSA and applying for awards, discusses NHTSA's procedures for making decisions on award applications, and generally explains the scope of the whistleblower program to the public and potential whistleblowers.”
Extension of Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review: Sensitive Security Information Threat Assessment Application. Federal Register TSA 30-day ICR renewal notice. Summary: “Pursuant to the requirements in Section 525(d) of the DHS Appropriations Act, 2007, Public Law 109-295 (120 Stat 1355, 1382, Oct. 4, 2006), as reenacted, TSA must establish a process by which a party seeking access to SSI in a civil proceeding in federal district court can make a request to receive a record designated as SSI. TSA's process applies to parties who demonstrate a substantial need for relevant SSI in preparation of the party's case and not having the record would create an undue hardship to obtain the substantial equivalent of the information by other means. Under this process, the party's representative may request and be granted conditional access to the SSI at issue in the case. TSA may grant court reporters and experts access to the SSI under similar terms and conditions.”
ESCAPADE looking at 2025 and 2026 launch options. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “Those new launch opportunities involve complex trajectories compared to the direct flight to Mars available during traditional launch windows. He showed several options for launch opportunities in late 2025 and early 2026 that involved what he described as a “kidney bean-shaped dance” around the Earth-sun L-2 Lagrange point before doing an Earth gravity assist to head off to Mars.”
Congress strikes deal on $100B in disaster aid and
punting funding into March, House GOP leaders say. Politico.com article.
Pull quote: “The inclusion of a policy that would approve increased ethanol
sales is a major win for Republicans in corn states, and a large group of GOP
senators strongly backed the move, helping Midwest Republicans in the House
push the measure into the package. But many House conservatives, who had urged
Johnson to forgo the policy and overwhelmingly oppose ethanol subsidies, are
livid about its inclusion.”
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