The Environmental Protection Agency has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget a final rule for approval entitled: Toxics Release Inventory; Addition of National Toxicology Program Carcinogens.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has issued a proposed rule to amend the regulations concerning the importation of fruits and vegetables to allow the importation of fresh shepherd’s purse with roots from the Republic of Korea into the U.S. under a combination of mitigations to reduce the risk of introducing plant pests, under certain conditions. Comments are due by December 13, 2010.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has issued a final rule, effective November 12, 2010, which amends the regulations concerning the importation of citrus fruit to remove certain restrictions on the importation of Unshu oranges from the Republic of Korea that are no longer necessary, which includes removing requirements for the fruit to be grown in specified canker-free export areas and for joint inspection in the groves and packinghouses by the Government of Korea and APHIS.
On October 6, 2010, the Office of Management and Budget approved the Defense Department's interim final rule entitled: Defense Cargo Riding Gang Members (DFARS Case 2007-D002).
Various U.S. government agencies are seeking comments on the following information collections for which they have requested or intend to request Office of Management and Budget approval or extension of approval (see notices for specific details):
The Small Business Administration has issued a final rule, effective February 4, 2011, to provide a sheltered market for competition among small women-owned businesses competing for federal contracts (valued under $5 or $3 million). Industries benefiting from this change include specialized and general freight trucking, support activities for road transportation, freight transportation arrangement, warehousing and storage, cut and sew apparel manufacturing, apparel accessories and apparel manufacturing, software publishers, legal services, etc.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has prepared a pest risk analysis that evaluates the risks associated with the importation into the continental U.S. of fresh strawberries from Jordan. Based on this analysis, APHIS believes that the application of one or more designated phytosanitary measures will be sufficient to mitigate the risks of introducing or disseminating plant pests or noxious weeds. Comments are due by December 13, 2010.
The State Department, World Health Organization, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recently issued the following travel warnings, travel alerts, country specific information sheets, and disease outbreak-related information:
The Foreign Agricultural Service has posted the following September 2010 reports:
Building off his earlier announcement of a new plan for modernizing and rebuilding U.S. roads, railways, and runways, President Obama recently held a meeting on the economic impact of infrastructure investment on states and local communities at the White House.