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Environmental Reauthorizations and Regulatory Reform: Recent Developments

Description: If general regulatory reform bills were enacted, debates on statute-specific reauthorizations could shift from regulatory reforms to the substantive regulatory requirements of each Act. In this case, regulatory reform could consist of proposals to modify statutory requirements to reduce costs to the private sector and State and local governments, to increase flexibility, and to reduce or compensate regulatory impacts on the value of private property. At issue would be a series of potential trad… more
Date: December 19, 1994
Creator: Blodgett, John E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Acoustic Thermometry of Ocean Climate: Marine Mammal Issues

Description: After global warming became a concern in the mid-1950s, researchers proposed measuring deep ocean temperatures to reveal any significant trends in core ocean warming. Acoustic thermometry can detect changes in ocean temperature by receiving low-frequency sounds transmitted across an ocean basin because the speed of sound is proportional to water temperature. Acoustic Thermometry of Ocean Climate, or ATOC, is an international program involving 11 institutions in seven nations. It is designed as … more
Date: May 12, 1995
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Air Act Permitting: Status of Implementation

Description: The 1990 Clean Air Act amendments established an operating permit system that is affecting many new and existing sources of air emissions, as well as state and local air pollution control agencies. After delays and early missteps, the operating permit program is moving ahead. All state and local programs have received interim or full approval, and permits are being issued, although at a slower rate than anticipated. However, a number of issues exist. These include the effect of key federal regu… more
Date: May 14, 1999
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Water Act and TMDLs

Description: Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act requires states to identify waters that are impaired by pollution, even after application of pollution controls. For those waters, states must establish a total maximum daily load (TMDL) of pollutants to ensure that water quality standards can be attained. Implementation of this provision has been dormant until recently, when states and EPA were prodded by numerous lawsuits. The TMDL issue has become controversial, in part because of requirements and costs … more
Date: September 11, 1997
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Water Act Issues in the 106th Congress

Description: In the 106th Congress, no comprehensive activity on reauthorizing the Clean Water Act occurred, although a number of individual clean water bills were enacted. Other issues have been debated recently, such as reforming the law to provide regulatory relief for industry, states and cities, and individual landowners. The debate over many of these issues highlights differing views of the Act and its implementation by some who seek to strengthen existing requirements and others who believe that cost… more
Date: November 24, 1998
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Water Act Reauthorization in the 105th Congress

Description: In the 105th Congress, legislation to reauthorize the Clean Water Act was not been introduced, and no major House or Senate committee activity occurred. EPA and states' water quality inventories have identified wet weather flows (including agricultural runoff, urban storm water, and sewer overflows) as the largest remaining threat to water quality. EPA's clean water programs are now focusing to a large extent on solving wet weather pollution problems. These issues may be addressed legislatively… more
Date: October 29, 1998
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Water Act Section 401: Background and Issues

Description: Section 401 of the Clean Water Act requires that an applicant for a federal license or permit provide a certification that any discharges from the facility will comply with the Act, including water quality standard requirements. Disputes have arisen over the states' exercise of authority under Section 401. Until recently, much of the debate over the Section 401 certification issue has been between states and hydropower interests. A 1994 Supreme Court decision which upheld the states' authority … more
Date: October 4, 1998
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Water Issues in the 104th Congress

Description: For the 104th Congress, reauthorization of the Clean Water Act would seem likely to be a priority, since the Act was last amended in 1987 and authorizations expired on September 30, 1990. But legislative prospects in the 104th Congress are uncertain. Clean water also was a priority for the 103rd Congress, but, in 1994, Congress ran out of time and did not act on comprehensive amendments. Many of the issues proved to be too complex and controversial to be resolved easily, while Congress also was… more
Date: December 1, 1994
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Water Issues in the 105th Congress

Description: For the 105th Congress, reauthorization of the Clean Water Act may be a priority in the second session. The Act was last amended in 1987 and authorizations expired on Sept. 30, 1990. Clean water was a priority for the last two Congresses, but no legislation was enacted. In the 104th Congress, the House passed a comprehensive reauthorization bill, but during House debate and subsequently, controversies arose over whether and how the Act should be made more flexible and less burdensome on regulat… more
Date: August 21, 1997
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Stormwater Permits: Status of EPA's Regulatory Program

Description: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and states are implementing a federally mandated program for controlling stormwater discharges from industrial plants and municipalities. Because of the large number of affected sources and deadline changes and extensions that have led to confusion, numerous questions have arisen about this program. Impacts of the program;s requirements, especially on cities, are a continuing concern. EPA has recently proposed permit rules to cover smaller cities and so… more
Date: June 10, 1998
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Animal Waste Management and the Environment: Background for Current Issues

Description: This report addresses the Background and the then current issues related to Animal Waste Management and the Environment.This background report describes the livestock production industry along with the public health and environmental concerns related to the industry.
Date: April 26, 1999
Creator: Copeland, Claudia & Zinn, Jeffrey
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Superfund: A Brief Comparison of the Chairmen's Bills

Description: The chairmen of three subcommittees with jurisdiction over Superfund have introduced comprehensive reauthorization bills: Senator Bob Smith introduced S. 8 (the reported version is used here), Representative Sherwood Boehlert introduced H.R. 2727 (the subcommittee-approved version of March 11, 1998, is used here) and Representative Michael Oxley introduced H.R. 3000. This report compares the three bills, focusing on four disputed issues: liability, remedy selection, the role of the states, and … more
Date: April 13, 1998
Creator: Copeland, Claudia; McCarthy, James E.; Reisch, Mark & Tiemann, Mary
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Air Quality: Impacts of Trip Reduction Programs on States and Affected Employers

Description: This report discusses employer trip reduction (ETR) programs, which would require large employers to implement certain transportation control measures as part of a national effort to combat air pollution, largely as a direct result of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.
Date: August 18, 1993
Creator: Flechtner, Maura K. & Mayer, Susan L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Environment and the World Trade Organization (WTO) at Seattle: Issues and Concerns

Description: This meeting of the decision making body of the WTO was expected to make decisions that would lead to another round of negotiations on a wide variety of trade rules and related issues. Although the United States continues to assert the necessity of pursuing the twin goals of free trade and environmental protection and to argue that these need not be in conflict, controversy remains over how the multilateral trading system should address the specifics of environmental issues.
Date: December 21, 1999
Creator: Fletcher, Susan R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Global Climate Change Treaty: Negotiations and Related Issues

Description: This report discusses the negotiations leading the Kyoto conference of the parties. The United States and other parties to the 1992 Climate Change Convention signed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro will meet December 1-12 in Kyoto, Japan, to conclude year-long negotiations on a legally binding protocol or amendment to reduce or stabilize emissions of greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. proposal to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases to 1990 levels between 2008… more
Date: November 21, 1997
Creator: Fletcher, Susan R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Global Climate Change Treaty: The Kyoto Protocol

Description: Negotiations on the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) were completed December 11, 1997, committing the industrialized nations to specified, legally binding reductions in emissions of six "greenhouse gases." This report discusses the major provisions of the Kyoto Protocol.
Date: July 31, 1998
Creator: Fletcher, Susan R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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International Environment: Current Major Global Treaties

Description: Over the past decade, numerous major treaties have been concluded to deal with global environmental concerns. This report very briefly summarizes major global environmental treaties currently in effect, selected to include those that are subjects of frequent interest by Members of Congress.
Date: November 5, 1996
Creator: Fletcher, Susan R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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International Forest Agreements: Current Status

Description: Over the past decade, there has been extensive public concern about loss of forests around the world. Attention to the rapid rate of tropical deforestation accelerated during the late 1980's as concern about global climate change emerged; at the time, the extensive burning of forests in Brazil (and the consequent release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere) was a major concern.
Date: September 11, 1995
Creator: Fletcher, Susan R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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International Financial Institutions and Environment: Multilateral Development Banks and the Global Environment Facility

Description: The World Bank and other multilateral development banks (MDB) have come under increasing pressure to assess the environmental impacts of bank-sponsored projects. The U.S. Congress has required that U.S. participation be based on policies that encourage the banks to raise the priority of environmental protection in their operations and to address environmental impacts; however, major issues continue to revolve around the effectiveness of all the MDBs in promoting environmentally sustainable deve… more
Date: February 25, 1994
Creator: Fletcher, Susan R. & Cody, Betsy A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Trade and Environment: GATT and NAFTA

Description: Environmental concerns in trade negotiations have received extensive attention by policymakers both with regard to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Date: April 4, 1994
Creator: Fletcher, Susan R. & Tiemann, Mary
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Trade and Environment: Treatment in Recent Agreements--GATT and NAFTA

Description: This report reviews some of the concerns surrounding the environment work program and other environmental issues. It briefly describes work underway in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and current thinking underlying development of U.S. positions on trade and the environment in the GATT.
Date: February 24, 1994
Creator: Fletcher, Susan R. & Tiemann, Mary
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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DOE Environmental Technology Department - A Fact Sheet

Description: The Department of Energy (DOE) established the Office of Technology Development in 1989 to develop faster and less expensive technical solutions to the Department's widespread environmental problems, primarily the legacy of decades of nuclear weapons production. Without new environmental technologies, DOE contends, some types of contamination may prove impossible to clean up. The Office of Technology Development, which is part of DOE's Environmental Management Program (EM), manages all stages o… more
Date: March 11, 1994
Creator: Holt, Mark
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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