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Aging Infrastructure: Dam Safety

Description: To help inform discussions on the federal role in dam safety, this report provides background information on the nation’s dam safety activities and funding mechanisms.
Date: March 25, 2008
Creator: Lane, Nic
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Wetlands Coverage of the Clean Water Act is Revisited by the Supreme Court: Rapanos v. United States

Description: This report discusses the Supreme Court decision in Rapanos v. United States, which addressed the asserted jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over wetlands adjacent to "waters of the United States," the problematic phrase used by the Clean Water Act (CWA) to define the geographic scope of the act's wetlands permitting program.
Date: September 12, 2006
Creator: Meltz, Robert & Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Water Resource Issues in the 113th Congress

Description: This report provides an overview of the federal role in water resources development, management, and protection, including a discussion of the two major federal water resources agencies and related legislation. It also discusses overarching policy issues, such as flood and drought management and response; project funding and authorization priorities; and aquatic ecosystem restoration.
Date: January 31, 2013
Creator: Cody, Betsy A.; Stern, Charles V.; Carter, Nicole T. & Sheikh, Pervaze A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Safe Drinking Water Act: Background and Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: This report examines the Safe Drinking Water Act, which is the key federal law for protecting public water supplies from harmful contaminants. First enacted in 1974 and broadly amended in 1986 and 1996, the act is administered through programs that regulate contaminants in public water supplies, provide funding for infrastructure projects, protect sources of drinking water, and promote the capacity of water systems to comply with SDWA regulations.
Date: January 10, 2007
Creator: Tiemann, Mary
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Coast Guard Deepwater Program: Background, Oversight Issues, and Options for Congress

Description: This report discusses the Integrated Deepwater Systems (IDS) program, or Deepwater program which is the largest and most complex acquisition effort in Coast Guard history, encompassing 91 new cutters, 124 new small surface craft, and 244 new or converted airplanes, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Date: April 30, 2007
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Ballast Water Management to Combat Invasive Species

Description: The arrival of zebra mussels in the Great Lakes and their subsequent damage to city water supplies and electric utilities has focused significant attention on ballast water discharge by cargo ships as a high-risk mechanism for species invasion. New management efforts attempt to address this concern. Congress is considering legislative proposals to amend and reauthorize the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act, including specific provisions that would modify how ballast wate… more
Date: October 1, 2007
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Hydraulic Fracturing and Safe Drinking Water Act Regulatory Issues

Description: This report reviews past and proposed treatment of hydraulic fracturing under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), the principal federal statute for regulating the underground injection of fluids to protect groundwater sources of drinking water. It reviews current SDWA provisions for regulating underground injection activities, and discusses some possible implications of the enactment of legislation authorizing EPA to regulate hydraulic fracturing (beyond diesel) under this statute.
Date: January 10, 2013
Creator: Tiemann, Mary & Vann, Adam
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Wetland Issues

Description: This report discusses various wetland policy topics, of particular interest are statements by the Bush Administration shortly after the 2004 election that restoration of 3 million wetland acres would be a priority.
Date: April 5, 2006
Creator: Zinn, Jeffrey A. & Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Rural Water Supply and Sewer Systems: Background Information

Description: This report discusses the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act, which impose requirements regarding drinking water quality and wastewater treatment in rural areas. Approximately 27% of the U.S. population lives in areas defined by the Census Bureau as rural. Many rural communities need to complete water and waste disposal projects to improve the public health and environmental conditions of their citizens.
Date: April 12, 2007
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Perchlorate Contamination of Drinking Water: Regulatory Issues and Legislative Actions

Description: Perchlorate is the explosive component of solid rocket fuel, fireworks, road flares, and other products. Used mainly by the Department of Defense (DOD) and related industries, perchlorate also occurs naturally and is present in some organic fertilizer.This report reviews perchlorate water contamination issues and recent developments.
Date: November 9, 2007
Creator: Tiemann, Mary
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Wetland Issues

Description: 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… more
Date: July 15, 2005
Creator: Zinn, Jeffrey A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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