The Commerce Department announces that the National Advisory Committee on Innovation and Entrepreneurship will hold a meeting on September 2, 2010. Agenda topics to be discussed include: U.S. capacity for innovation and entrepreneurship; Administration and Commerce priorities related to innovation and entrepreneurship; and strategies for promoting greater innovation and entrepreneurship in the U.S.
Transportation Secretary LaHood announced on August 18, 2010, that 109 commercial bus and truck drivers were removed from the roads and more than 175 carriers face enforcement actions as a result of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's annual drug and alcohol strike force sweep that occurred from June 21 through July 2.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control has announced that Banco Colpatria, S.A. (Colpatria), on behalf of the former Banco Colpatria, S.A., Miami Agency, which discontinued its operations in 2007 (Colpatria Miami), has remitted $91,849 to settle allegations of prohibited transactions involving blocked property under OFAC’s Narcotics Trafficking Sanctions Regulations (NTSR) occurring between November 22, 2004 and May 24, 2005, without admitting or denying liability. OFAC alleged that Colpatria Miami violated the NTSR by processing 26 dollar-denominated wire transfers on behalf of one Colpatria corporate client, after OFAC designated the corporate client’s beneficial owners as Special Designated Narcotics Traffickers.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued a final rule to extend until June 30, 2011, the June 30, 2010, compliance date of its December 2009 final rule with respect to the requirement for drivers and motor carriers to prepare a driver-vehicle inspection report (DVIR) on an item of intermodal equipment (IME) even if no damage, defects, or deficiencies are discovered by, or reported to, the driver. The requirements for intermodal equipment providers to have in place inspection, repair and maintenance programs, and a process for receiving and taking appropriate action in response to DVIRs on which damage, defects, or deficiencies are reported, remain in effect.
The Department of Defense has issued a final rule, effective August 20, 2010, which amends the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to update text on transportation matters relating to DOD contracts, including clarifying certain shipping procedures and offering additional guidance on their use.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has announced that as of August 16, 2010, it is providing individual commercial motor carrier companies a preview of their safety rankings under the agency’s new enforcement and compliance program, the Comprehensive Safety Analysis (CSA) 2010.
The Foreign Agriculture Service issued the following GAIN reports:
The Department of Energy has issued a proposed rule to use full-fuel-cycle (FFC) measures of energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, rather than the primary energy measures it currently uses to estimate the likely impacts of energy conservation standards. DOE will hold a public meeting on October 7, 2010, and comments are due by October 18, 2010.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requests comments on its technical report, "The Effectiveness of ABS [Antilock Braking Systems] in Heavy Truck Tractors and Trailers." Comments are due by December 17, 2010.
The Environmental Protection Agency has issued a final rule, effective October 19, 2010, which promulgates national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants for existing stationary spark ignition reciprocating internal combustion engines that either are located at area sources of hazardous air pollutant emissions or that have a site rating of less than or equal to 500 brake horsepower and are located at major sources of hazardous air pollutant emissions.