Congressional Research Service Reports - 13 Matching Results

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Water Quality Issues in the 113th Congress: An Overview

Description: This report discusses the legislative and oversight issues regarding water quality, as well as wastewater treatment funding issues.
Date: January 8, 2015
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Microbeads: An Emerging Water Quality Issue

Description: This report discusses the debate over how to address growing environmental concerns regarding microbeads (synthetic particles made of either polyethylene or polypropylene plastic) and whether federal regulation to control or ban them is needed. A number of companies are voluntarily removing microbeads from their products, and some states--eight so far--have passed laws to ban manufacture and sale of products with microbeads.
Date: July 20, 2015
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

EPA Regulations: Too Much, Too Little, or On Track?

Description: This report provides background information on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulatory activity during the Obama Administration. It examines major or controversial regulatory actions taken by or under development at EPA since January 2009, providing details on the regulatory action itself, presenting an estimated timeline for completion of rules not yet promulgated (including identification of related court or statutory deadlines), and, in general, providing EPA's estimates of costs an… more
Date: January 8, 2015
Creator: McCarthy, James E. & Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF): Program Overview and Issues

Description: This report discusses the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Amendments of 1996, which authorized a drinking water state revolving loan fund (DWSRF) program. The program was intended to help public water systems finance infrastructure projects that were needed to comply with federal drinking water regulations and to meet the Act's health objectives. It includes an overview of funding, allotments and set-asides, drinking water infrastructure needs, program issues, and legislative activity.
Date: April 8, 2015
Creator: Tiemann, Mary
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF): Program Overview and Issues

Description: This report discusses the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Amendments of 1996, which authorized a drinking water state revolving loan fund (DWSRF) program. It includes an overview of funding, allotments and set-asides, drinking water infrastructure needs, program issues, and legislative activity.
Date: February 6, 2015
Creator: Tiemann, Mary
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

EPA and the Army Corps' Proposed Rule to Define "Waters of the United States"

Description: This report describes the March 25, 2014 proposed rule to define "waters of the United States," particularly focused on clarifying the regulatory status of waters located in isolated places in a landscape, the types of waters with ambiguous jurisdictional status following the Supreme Court's ruling. It includes a table comparing the proposal to existing regulatory language.
Date: March 20, 2015
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

EPA and the Army Corps' Rule to Define "Waters of the United States"

Description: This report describes the final revised rule defining the scope of waters protected under the Clean Water Act (CWA)--which the agencies refer to as the Clean Water Rule--and includes a table comparing the existing regulatory language that defines "waters of the United States" with the revisions.
Date: June 29, 2015
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

EPA and the Army Corps' Proposed "Waters of the United States" Rule: Congressional Response and Options

Description: This report discusses four legislative options that Congress could consider to halt or redirect the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineer's proposed "waters of the United States" rule: the Congressional Review Act, appropriations bill limitations, targeted legislation, and broad amendments to the Clean Water Act. Each option faces a steep path to enactment.
Date: May 26, 2015
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Gold King Mine Spill May Renew Interest in "Good Samaritan" Legislation

Description: This report discusses legislation related to an accidental spill from the Gold King Mine, a long-abandoned gold mine site in Colorado, which released acid mine drainage (AMD) wastewater into a tributary of the Animas River and downstream to the San Juan River. The proposed legislation would authorize Good Samaritan remediation, in which third parties who have no history of polluting at a particular site or legal responsibility for its pollution step forward to clean up AMD or other historic mi… more
Date: August 27, 2015
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Oil Spills: Background and Governance

Description: This report reviews the history and trends of oil spills in the United States, and identifies the legal authorities governing oil spill prevention, response, and cleanup.
Date: June 16, 2015
Creator: Ramseur, Jonathan L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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