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The Environment and Grass Roots Sentiment

Description: This report discusses the results of Congressional polls of their constituents regarding public interest in and willingness to pay for environmental controls and pollution reduction. The polls found that the majority of the public wanted to reduce pollution despite the costs and potential effect on the economy.
Date: March 1, 1972
Creator: Blodgett, John E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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EPA Policies Concerning Integrated Planning and Affordability of Water Infrastructure

Description: This report examines two recent initiatives by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in which the agency works with states to develop and implement new approaches for water quality goals that will be more cost-effective and address the most pressing water infrastructure problems first. The examples include an integrated planning policy and a framework policy for assessing a community's financial capability to meet objectives and requirements of the Clean Water Act (CWA).
Date: March 14, 2017
Creator: Ramseur, Jonathan L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Power Plan: Legal Background and Pending Litigation in West Virginia v. EPA

Description: This report provides legal background on the Clean Power Plan rule (CPP) to regulate emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), its Clean Air Act (CAA) framework under Section 111, and climate-related lawsuits that have preceded the present litigation over the CPP. It then gives an overview of the participants in the current litigation, including two groups of Members of Congress, who have offered briefs in support of the petitioners and the respondents, respectively.
Date: March 8, 2017
Creator: Tsang, Linda & Wyatt, Alexandra M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Air Act Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: This report discusses major decisions on clean air issues facing the courts and the executive branch in 2006. One focus will be EPA's recent proposal to strengthen air quality standards for fine particles. Other issues of continuing interest are EPA's 2005 decisions limiting interstate transport of air pollution and establishing cap-and-trade systems for emissions from coal fired power plants, and the agency's proposed changes to New Source Review.
Date: March 21, 2006
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides an overview of Arctic-related issues for Congress, and refers readers to more in-depth CRS reports on specific Arctic-related issues. The diminishment of Arctic sea ice has led to increased human activities in the Arctic, and has heightened interest in, and concerns about, the region's future.
Date: March 25, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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EPA's Clean Power Plan for Existing Power Plants: Frequently Asked Questions

Description: This report summarizes the Clean Power Plan rule as it was finalized on August 3, 2015, before discussing how the ongoing litigation may potentially impact the rule and its deadlines. EPA faced a number of issues and questions while developing the regulations. This report describes how EPA answered these and other questions.
Date: March 9, 2016
Creator: McCarthy, James E.; Ramseur, Jonathan L.; Leggett, Jane A.; Wyatt, Alexandra M. & Dolan, Alissa M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Safe Drinking Water Act: Implementation and Issues

Description: This report discusses key drinking water issues in the 109th Congress, including problems caused by specific contaminants, such as methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) and perchlorate, as well as the related issue of the appropriate federal role in providing financial assistance for water infrastructure projects.
Date: March 20, 2006
Creator: Tiemann, Mary
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Coast Guard Polar Icebreaker Modernization: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the sustainment and modernization of the Coast Guard's polar icebreaker fleet. Congress's decisions on this issue could affect Coast Guard funding requirements, the Coast Guard's ability to perform its polar missions, and the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base.
Date: March 21, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Analysis of Recent Proposals to Amend the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to Create a Coal Combustion Residuals Permit Program

Description: This report identifies key elements of the Environmental Protection Agency's approach to the implementation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and regulations of coal combustion residuals. Under this approach, the EPA would have no formal role in creating state program to regulate coal combustion residuals and instead allows states that opt in to implement a coal combustion residuals permit program.
Date: March 19, 2013
Creator: Luther, Linda
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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An Overview of Air Quality Issues in Natural Gas Systems

Description: This report provides information on the natural gas industry and the types and sources of air pollutants in the sector. It examines the role of the federal government in regulating these emissions, including the provisions in the Clean Air Act and the regulatory activities of EPA. It concludes with a brief discussion of the aforementioned outstanding issues.
Date: March 23, 2015
Creator: Lattanzio, Richard K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Environmental Protection Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: This report provides an overview of key environmental issues that are receiving or may receive attention in the 109th Congress. The sections on specific issues contain references to more detailed and extensive CRS reports on the subjects covered.
Date: March 25, 2005
Creator: Fletcher, Susan R. & Isler, Margaret M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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2013 National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5): Designating Nonattainment Areas

Description: This report focuses on the EPA's (Environmental Protection Agency) revision of rules for designated areas for compliance with the NAAQS (National Ambient Air Quality Standard) for PM2.5 (fine particulate mattter).The states and EPA must then identify areas that exceed the standard and require those areas to take steps to pollutants to meet the standard. This is then the subject of congressional oversight.
Date: March 24, 2015
Creator: Esworthy, Robert
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Air Quality: EPA’s Proposed Interstate Air Quality Rule

Description: This report discusses the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed rule on the effect of interstate transport of air pollutants on non-attainment of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The Interstate Air Quality (IAQ) rule suggests a region-wide emissions cap to be implemented in two phases.
Date: March 13, 2004
Creator: Parker, Larry & Blodgett, John E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture and EPA’s New Air Quality Standards for Ozone and Particulates

Description: This report considers the effects of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) air quality regulations on agriculture. Moreover, the report summarizes these EPA regulations and what pollutants they target. Specifically, the report discusses the negative effects of these pollutants on agriculture and the benefits of these regulations.
Date: March 24, 1998
Creator: McCarthy, James E. & Zinn, Jeffrey A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Environmental Regulation and Agriculture

Description: This report discusses the impact of environmental regulation on agriculture. Most environmental regulations, in terms of permitting, inspection, and enforcement, are implemented by state and local governments, often based on federal EPA regulatory guidance. In some cases, agriculture is the direct or primary focus of the regulatory actions. In other cases, agriculture is one of many affected sectors. Traditionally, farm and ranch operations have been exempt or excluded from many environmental r… more
Date: March 12, 2013
Creator: Lyke, Bob & Shorter, Gary
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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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
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