Congressional Research Service Reports - 361 Matching Results

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Soil and Water Conservation Issues: No Description Available.
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund: Program Overview and Issues: In the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Amendments of 1996 (P.L. 104-182), Congress authorized a drinking water state revolving loan fund (DWSRF) program to help public water systems finance infrastructure projects needed to comply with federal drinking water regulations and to protect public health. Under the program, states receive capitalization grants to make loans to water systems for drinking water projects and certain other SDWA activities. Since the program was first funded in FY1997, Congress has provided $7.8 billion, including roughly $844 million for FY2005. The President has requested $850 million for FY2006. Through June 2004, the DWSRF program had provided $7.9 billion in assistance and had supported 6,500 projects.
Water Resources Issues in the 109th Congress: Report on water resource issues, especially projected future issues, for Congress, including projects, engineering efforts, competing interests, and more.
Hydropower Licenses and Alternative Licensing Conditions in H.R. 6, 109th Congress: In the next ten years, nearly 20% of the nation’s nonfederal hydropower projects will require new federal licenses to continue operating. New licenses will establish facilities’ operating parameters for the next 30 to 50 years. These operating parameters will affect the total quantity and timing of electricity production. They will also affect flood control, irrigation, municipal and industrial water supplies, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat, and transportation.
War Infrastructure Needs and Investment: Review and Analysis of Key Issues: No Description Available.
War Infrastructure Needs and Investment: Review and Analysis of Key Issues: No Description Available.
“Corps of Engineers Reform” in WRDA 2005: No Description Available.
Terrorism and Security Issues Facing the Water Infrastructure Sector: Damage to or destruction of the nation’s water supply and water quality infrastructure by a terrorist attack could disrupt the delivery of vital human services in this country, threatening public health and the environment or possibly causing loss of life. Interest in such problems has increased greatly since September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City and at the Pentagon.
Soil and Water Conservation Issues: No Description Available.
Coastal Louisiana Ecosystem Restoration: The Recommended Corps Plan: The Corps estimates that this entire package of recommended activities would cost a total of $1,996 million. Included in this package are recommendations for immediate authorization ($1,123 million), further authorized investigation ($145 million), and projects that could be authorized in the future ($728 million). This CRS short report is limited to a summary of this Corps report and the next steps in implementation.
Energy and Water Development: Appropriations for FY2006: No Description Available.
Federally Supported Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment Programs: This report provides background information on the types of water supply and wastewater treatment projects traditionally funded by the federal government and the several existing programs to assist communities with water supply and wastewater recycling and treatment. These projects and programs are found primarily within the Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Commerce, Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Department of the Interior (DOI), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Everglades Restoration: The Federal Role in Funding: In 2000, Congress approved a 30-year, $7.8 billion restoration plan, termed the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), for the Everglades ecosystem in southern Florida, and authorized an initial set of projects at a cost of $1.4 billion. This report provides information on federal appropriations for Everglades restoration, and discusses some issues related to the authorization and appropriations for restoration projects.
Stormwater Permits: Status of EPA's Regulatory Program: No Description Available.
Arsenic in Drinking Water: Regulatory Develpoments and Issues: This report discusses issues regarding the arsenic’s health effects and how to reduce the uncertainty in assessing health risks associated with exposure to low levels of arsenic. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the current standard of 50 parts per billion (ppb) in 1975. . This report reviews EPA efforts to develop a new arsenic rule and summarizes key provisions and subsequent events.
Army Corps of Engineers Water Resources Activities: Authorization and Appropriations: This report is about the About Corps of Engineers Water Resources Activities, Specificallly about the authorizations and Appropriations.
Soil and Water Conservation Issues: No Description Available.
CALFED Bay-Delta Program: Overview of Institutional and Water Use Issues: The California Bay-Delta Program (CALFED) was initiated in 1995 to resolve water resources conflicts in the Sacramento/San Joaquin Rivers Delta and San Francisco Bay (Bay-Delta) in California. The program planning effort focused on developing a plan to address three main problem areas in the Bay-Delta: ecosystem health, water quality, and water supply reliability. CALFED was authorized to receive federal funding from FY1998 to FY2000, and is now being considered for reauthorization.
Nationwide Permits for Wetlands Projects: Issues and Regulatory Developments: No Description Available.
South Florida Ecosystem Restoration and the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan: No Description Available.
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund: Program Overview and Issues: No Description Available.
Western Water Resource Issues: For more than a century, the federal government has constructed water resource projects for a variety of purposes, including flood control, navigation, power generation, and irrigation. While most municipal and industrial water supplies have been built by non-federal entities, most of the large, federal water supply projects in the West, including Hoover and Grand Coulee dams, were constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation (Department of the Interior) to provide water for irrigation.
Wetland Issues: Wetlands, in a wide variety of forms, are found throughout the country. The various values of these areas have been increasingly recognized in recent years, but the remaining acreage has been disappearing rapidly. When European settlers first arrived, total wetland acreage was more than 220 million acres in the lower 48 states, according to estimates by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. By 1980, total wetland acreage was estimated to be 104 million acres. Losses continue, although the rate of loss hasslowed considerably during the past decade. Recent losses have been concentrated in the lower Mississippi River Valley, the upper Midwest, and the Southeast.
Terrorism and Security Issues Facing the Water Infrastructure Sector: Damage to or destruction of the nation’s water supply and water quality infrastructure by a terrorist attack could disrupt the delivery of vital human services in this country, threatening public health and the environment or possibly causing loss of life. Interest in such problems has increased greatly since September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City and at the Pentagon.
Clean Water Act and Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) of Pollutants: 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 now facing states to implement a 25-year-old provision of the law. Congressional activity to reauthorize the Act, a possibility in the 2nd Session of the 105th Congress, could include TMDL issues, but the direction for any such action is unclear at this time.
Safe Drinking Water Act: Implementation and Issues: This report discusses key drinking water issues in the 108th Congress involving water infrastructure funding and problems caused by specific contaminants, such as the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), perchlorate, and lead in drinking water. Congress last reauthorized the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) in 1996, and although funding authority for most SDWA programs expired in FY2003, broad reauthorization efforts were not pursued as EPA, states, and water utilities continued implementing the 1996 amendments.
Implementing the Conservation Security Program: This report discusses the Conservation Security Program (CSP), which is a agricultural conservation program created in the 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171, §2001). It provides incentives for farmers to pursue conservation and helps pay for conservation practices. Unlike some other NRCS programs, it pays for conservation on land that remains in production and makes eligible a wide range of farm lands (cropland, pastureland, rangeland, grassland, prairie land, tribal lands, and forested lands incidental to an agricultural operation)
Coastal Louisiana: Attempting to Restore an Ecosystem: Congress continues to consider legislative options to address wetlands loss in coastal Louisiana. Some legislative proposals would dedicate some federal revenues from offshore oil and gas development to restoration efforts. Other proposals would authorize specific restoration projects or activities, or further examination of the causes and effects of loss. These projects are neutralizing conditions that lead to loss at some sites, and are reestablishing some wetlands. These projects are expected to have many ecological, economic, and social benefits. A July 2004 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers report, a draft ecosystem restoration study, identifies more than 150 possible remedies.
Western Water Resource Issues: Growing populations and changing values continue to place increasing demands on water supplies and river systems, resulting in water use and management conflicts throughout the country. Recent conflicts are particularly evident in the West, where the population is expected to increase 30% in the next 20-25 years and where agricultural needs are often in direct conflict with urban needs, as well as with water demand for threatened and endangered species, recreation, and scenic enjoyment.
Soil and Water Conservation Issues: No Description Available.
CALFED Bay-Delta Program: Overview of Institutional and Water Use Issues: The California Bay-Delta Program (CALFED) was initiated in 1995 to resolve water resources conflicts in the Sacramento/San Joaquin Rivers Delta and San Francisco Bay (Bay-Delta) in California. The program planning effort focused on developing a plan to address three main problem areas in the Bay-Delta: ecosystem health, water quality, and water supply reliability. CALFED was authorized to receive federal funding from FY1998 to FY2000, and is now being considered for reauthorization.
Soil and Water Conservation Issues: No Description Available.
Upper Mississippi River - Illinois Waterway Navigation Expansion: An Agricultural Transportation and Environmental Context: No Description Available.
Upper Mississippi River - Illinois Waterway Navigation Expansion: An Agricultural Transportation and Environmental Context: No Description Available.
Western Water Resource Issues: For more than a century, the federal government has constructed water resource projects for a variety of purposes, including flood control, navigation, power generation, and irrigation. While most municipal and industrial water supplies have been built by non-federal entities, most of the large, federal water supply projects in the West, including Hoover and Grand Coulee dams, were constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation (Department of the Interior) to provide water for irrigation.
Safe Drinking Water Act: State Revolving Fund Program: No Description Available.
Ballast Water Management to Combat Invasive Species: This report is on Ballast Water Management to Combat Invasive Species.
Phosphorus Mitigation in the Everglades: This report discusses the FY2004 appropriations provisions that condition federal funding for Everglades restoration on compliance with water quality standards, provides a side-by-side analysis of pending appropriations legislation, and provides background and a timeline of efforts to address Everglades phosphorus pollution (from Summary).
Indian Reserved Water Rights: An Overview: This report provides an overview of the legal issues surrounding Indian reserved water rights disputes.
Wetland Issues: Instead of a single comprehensive federal wetland protection law, multiple laws provide varying levels of protection in different forms: the permit program authorized in §404 in the Clean Water Act; programs for agricultural wetlands; laws that protect specific sites; and laws that protect wetlands which perform certain functions. Many protection advocates view these laws and their implementation as inadequate or uncoordinated. Others, who advocate the rights of property owners and development interests, by contrast, characterize these efforts, especially the §404 permit program, as too intrusive. Numerous state and local wetland programs add to the complexity of the protection effort.
Water Quality: Implementing the Clean Water Act: No Description Available.
Western Water Resource Issues: For more than a century, the federal government has constructed water resource projects for a variety of purposes, including flood control, navigation, power generation, and irrigation. While most municipal and industrial water supplies have been built by non-federal entities, most of the large, federal water supply projects in the West, including Hoover and Grand Coulee dams, were constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation (Department of the Interior) to provide water for irrigation.
Soil and Water Conservation Issues: No Description Available.
Wetland Issues: Instead of a single comprehensive federal wetland protection law, multiple laws provide varying levels of protection in different forms: the permit program authorized in §404 in the Clean Water Act; programs for agricultural wetlands; laws that protect specific sites; and laws that protect wetlands which perform certain functions. Many protection advocates view these laws and their implementation as inadequate or uncoordinated. Others, who advocate the rights of property owners and development interests, by contrast, characterize these efforts, especially the §404 permit program, as too intrusive. Numerous state and local wetland programs add to the complexity of the protection effort.
Water Quality: Implementing the Clean Water Act: No Description Available.
Water Quality: Implementing the Clean Water Act: No Description Available.
Western Water Resource Issues: For more than a century, the federal government has constructed water resource projects for a variety of purposes, including flood control, navigation, power generation, and irrigation. While most municipal and industrial water supplies have been built by non-federal entities, most of the large, federal water supply projects in the West, including Hoover and Grand Coulee dams, were constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation (Department of the Interior) to provide water for irrigation.
Wetland Issues: Instead of a single comprehensive federal wetland protection law, multiple laws provide varying levels of protection in different forms: the permit program authorized in §404 in the Clean Water Act; programs for agricultural wetlands; laws that protect specific sites; and laws that protect wetlands which perform certain functions. Many protection advocates view these laws and their implementation as inadequate or uncoordinated. Others, who advocate the rights of property owners and development interests, by contrast, characterize these efforts, especially the §404 permit program, as too intrusive. Numerous state and local wetland programs add to the complexity of the protection effort.
Soil and Water Conservation Issues: No Description Available.
Water Quality: Implementing the Clean Water Act: No Description Available.

Congressional Research Service Reports - 361 Matching Results

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