The Fish and Wildlife Service is issuing a final rule listing the Atlantic pigtoe, (Fusconaia masoni), a freshwater mussel species from Virginia and North Carolina, as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Listing includes a 4(d) rule for this species that prohibits importation and exportation without a permit. New import and export restrictions set by the agency’s final rule take effect Dec. 16.

The Census Bureau hasn’t yet decided whether to eliminate export filing requirements for shipments to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, despite struggling to find a legitimate, alternative data source for those filings. A Census official suggested in September the agency was unlikely to move forward with a rulemaking to eliminate the requirements because no alternative data source had been found (see 2109140037), and said a final decision on the rule would be made within days. But two months later, it’s still under review, a Census spokesperson said Nov. 15.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will, beginning Jan. 1, 2022, print phytosanitary certificates for export and reexport on plain paper, it said by email Nov. 10. “The use of plain paper and the continued implementation of electronic phytosanitary certificates (ePhyto) worldwide illustrate that commodities can be safely and successfully traded without traditional security paper,” it said. For companies that use the Authorized Entity role, all certificates will still need to be physically signed by the Authorized Certification Officials (ACOs), APHIS said. “All other companies will be able to print their approved phytosanitary certificates upon approval, as long as the ACO has their signature uploaded in PCIT,” and “will receive notifications through PCIT when their phytosanitary certificates are ready to print,” the agency said. “If the ACO does not have a signature uploaded, the phytosanitary certificate will still be printed by the ACO on plain paper, hand signed, and distributed like current practices.“

The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing new reporting requirements for 31 chemicals under significant new use rules. The proposed SNURs would require notification to EPA at least 90 days in advance of a new use by importers, manufacturers or processors, it said in a notice released Oct. 8. Importers of chemicals subject to these proposed SNURs would need to certify their compliance with the SNUR requirements should these proposed rules be finalized, EPA said. Exporters of these chemicals would become subject to export notification requirements. Comments on the proposed SNURs are due Nov. 12. The SNURs would cover the following chemical substances:

The Environmental Protection Agency released a final rule Oct. 6 setting new significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for three chemical substances subject to Premanufacture Notices (PMNs). As a result of the SNURs, persons planning to manufacture, import or process any of the chemical substances for an activity designated as a significant new use by this rule are required to notify EPA at least 90 days in advance. Importers of chemicals subject to these SNURs will need to certify their compliance with the SNUR requirements, and exporters of these chemical substances will now become subject to export notification requirements. The final rule takes effect Dec. 6. The SNURs cover the following:

The Environmental Protection Agency is amending its regulations on hazardous waste export and import notices to conform codes for 12 import-export recovery and disposal operations to their Canadian equivalents, EPA said. The final rule is necessary because of changes to the relevant Canadian regulations in March that take effect Oct. 31. The changes “will ensure that the disposal and recovery operation codes listed in U.S export notices proposing exports to Canada facilities and subsequent movement documents will continue to reflect the accurate Canadian code numbers and description of the operations, enabling matching to the information listed in the Canadian import notices and movement documents,” EPA said. “These revised codes and descriptions will be automatically available for exporters and importers to use in EPA’s [Waste Import Export Tracking System (WIETS)] on October 31, 2021 when they create export or import notices to submit to EPA.”

Exporters of certain used vehicles from the U.S. to Puerto Rico don’t have to electronically file or provide the vehicle’s certificate of title prior to the shipment, CBP said in a July 21 ruling that was released Sept. 24. The agency ruled that shipments of used, self-propelled vehicles from the continental U.S. to Puerto Rico don’t constitute an export under U.S. regulations because the regulations define “export” as the “transportation of merchandise out of the U.S. for the purpose of being entered into the commerce of a foreign country,” CBP said in the ruling. “It is clear, however, that Puerto Rico is not a foreign country, as it is an unincorporated territory of the United States.”

The Fish and Wildlife Service on Sept. 7 released a final rule listing the slenderclaw crayfish (Cambarus cracens), a freshwater crustacean from Alabama, as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. New import and export restrictions set by the agency’s final rule take effect Oct. 8.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is proposing to list methiopropamine, a central nervous stimulant that is structurally related to the schedule II stimulants methamphetamine and amphetamine, under schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, it said in a notice released Sept. 1. “If finalized, this action would impose the regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions applicable to schedule I controlled substances on persons who handle (manufacture, distribute, reverse distribute, import, export, engage in research, conduct instructional activities or chemical analysis with, or possess), or propose to handle, methiopropamine.” Comments are due by Oct. 4.

The Fish and Wildlife Service on Aug. 23 released a final rule listing the Franklin’s bumble bee (Bombus franklini), an insect species from Oregon and California, as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. New import and export restrictions set by the agency’s final rule take effect Sept. 23.