Congressional Research Service Reports - 951 Matching Results
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- Brownfield Issues in the 110th Congress
- The Brownfields Act authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency to award grants for the assessment and cleanup of sites that pose a less serious threat to human health and the environment than sites addressed by the Superfund program. The authorization expired on September 30, 2006. In the 109th Congress, a reauthorization bill, H.B. 5810, was reported from the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on July 28, 2006, but went no further. This report contains information on the EPA's involvement in the program, EPA appropriations, Housing and Urban Development's involvement in the program and appropriations, other federal Brownfield programs, and Congressional actions of the 109th and 110th Congresses as related to the programs.
- Oil Spills in U.S. Coastal Waters: Background, Governance, and Issues for Congress
- 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.
- Climate Change: Action by States To Address Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- This report covers state actions that directly and explicitly address greenhouse gas emissions. First, the report describes the different types of state actions, both individual and cooperative efforts, that are either proposed or underway, and highlights several of the more significant developments. Second, the report examines state actions from a federal policymaking perspective, including both the potential effects of state-led actions and their limitations.
- Arsenic in Drinking Water: Regulatory Developments and Issues
- This report describes the Regulatory Developments and Issues related to Arsenic in Drinking Water.
- Oil Spills in U.S. Coastal Waters: Background, Governance, and Issues for Congress
- 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.
- National Environmental Education Act of 1990: Overview, Implementation, and Issues for Congress
- No Description Available.
- Animal Waste and Water Quality: EPA’s Response to the Waterkeeper Alliance Court Decision on Regulation of CAFOs
- On June 30th, 2006, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed regulations that would revise a 2003 Clean Water Act rule governing waste discharges from large confined animal feeding operations. This report details the 2003 rule, the Waterkeeper Alliance Decision and the EPA's response, and public response to the EPA's proposal.
- Environmental Activities of the U.S. Coast Guard
- This report discusses the U.S. Coast Guard’s (USCG’s) environmental activities, which focus on prevention programs, accompanied by enforcement and educational activities. An important component is maritime oil spill prevention, which includes inspection of U.S. and foreign-flagged ships to ensure compliance with U.S. laws and international agreements.
- Environmental Impacts of Airport Operations, Maintenance, and Expansion
- This report provides information about the Environmental Impacts of Airport Operations, Maintenance, and Expansion and in order to address these concerns, airports may be required to implement projects that would minimize the environmental impact.
- Air Quality Standards and Sound Science: What Role for CASAC?
- This report discusses the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), which are standards that define what EPA considers to be clean air. Their importance stems from the long and complicated implementation process that is set in motion by their establishment.
- The Endangered Species Act and "Sound Science"
- This report provides a context for evaluating legislative proposals through examples of how science has been used in selected cases, a discussion of the nature and role of science in general, and its role in the Endangered Species Act (ESA) process in particular, together with general and agency information quality requirements and policies, and a review of how the courts have viewed agency use of science.
- Polar Bears: Proposed Listing Under the Endangered Species Act
- This report discusses the polar bear status and they are affected by climate change, contaminants, and subsistence and sport hunting.
- Clean Air Issues in the 110th Congress: Climate Change, Air Quality Standards, and Oversight
- This report provides a brief overview of the climate change issue as well as other Clean Air Act issues the 110th Congress may consider.
- Perchlorate Contamination of Drinking Water: Regulatory Issues and Legislative Actions
- 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.
- Brownfield Issues in the 110th Congress
- The Brownfields Act authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency to award grants for the assessment and cleanup of sites that pose a less serious threat to human health and the environment than sites addressed by the Superfund program. The authorization expired on September 30, 2006. In the 109th Congress, a reauthorization bill, H.B. 5810, was reported from the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on July 28, 2006, but went no further. This report contains information on the EPA's involvement in the program, EPA appropriations, Housing and Urban Development's involvement in the program and appropriations, other federal Brownfield programs, and Congressional actions of the 109th and 110th Congresses as related to the programs.
- Environmental Laws: Summaries of Major Statutes Administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- This article summarises major statutes administered by the environmental protection agency. It mentions the Pollution Prevention Act, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Solied Waste Disposal Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
- Pipelines for Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Control: Network Needs and Cost Uncertainties
- This report examines key uncertainties in CO2 pipeline requirements for carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) by contrasting hypothetical pipeline scenarios in one region of the United States. The report summarizes the key factors influencing CO2 pipeline configuration for major power plants in the region, and illustrates how the viability of different sequestration sites may lead to enormous differences in pipeline costs.
- Climate Change: Federal Laws and Policies Related to Greenhouse Gas Reductions
- This report provides background on the evolution of U.S. climate change policy, from ratification of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to the George W. Bush Administration's 2001 rejection of the Kyoto Protocol to the present. The report focuses on major regulatory programs that monitor or reduce greenhouse gas emissions, along with their estimated effect on emissions levels.
- U.S. Global Climate Change Policy: Evolving Views on Cost, Competitiveness, and Comprehensiveness
- This report discusses U.S. policy toward global climate change, which evolved from a "study only" to a more "study and action" orientation in 1992 with ratification of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
- Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS)
- This report discusses carbon capture and sequestration (CSS), but not other types of carbon sequestration activities whereby CO2 is removed from the atmosphere and stored in vegetation, soils, or oceans.
- Open Ocean Aquaculture
- This report discusses four general areas related to open ocean aquaculture: (1) operational and business-related challenges; (2) potential economic impacts; (3) potential environmental impacts; and (4) the legal and regulatory environment. It summarizes recent executive and legislative branch actions.
- Polar Bears: Proposed Listing Under the Endangered Species Act
- This report discusses the polar bear status and they are affected by climate change, contaminants, and subsistence and sport hunting.
- Drinking Water State Revolving Fund: Program Overview and Issues
- This report discusses the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Amendments of 1996, which 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.
- The D.C. Circuit Rejects EPA’s Mercury Rules: New Jersey v. EPA
- No Description Available.
- The National Environmental Policy Act: Background and Implementation
- This report discusses the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) including its history, its provisions, and the evolution of its implementation; it also provides an overview of how agencies implement NEPA's requirements.
- California's Waiver Request to Control Greenhouse Gases Under the Clean Air Act
- This report reviews the nature of Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) authority, as well as that of California and other states, to regulate emissions from mobile sources. It includes a discussion fo the applicability of that authority to greenhouse gases (GHGs) and issues related to the California waiver request.
- The D.C. Circuit Rejects EPA’s Mercury Rules: New Jersey v. EPA
- No Description Available.
- The Wetlands Coverage of the Clean Water Act Is Revisited by the Supreme Court: Rapanos v. United States
- 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.
- Army Corps of Engineers Water Resources Activities: Authorization and Appropriations
- This report provides an overview of the Corps civil works program. It covers the congressional authorization and appropriation process, the standard project development process, and other Corps activities and authorities.
- Exemptions from Environmental Law for the Department of Defense
- Whether broader expansions from federal environmental laws are needed to preserve military readiness has been an issue. Questions have been raised as to whether environmental requirements have limited military training activities to the point that readiness would be compromised. The potential impacts of broader exemptions on environmental quality have raised additional questions. Although certain exemptions the Department of Defense (DOD) first requested in FY2003 have been enacted into law, Congress has opposed others. From FY2003 to FY2008, DOD requested exemptions from the Clean Air Act, Solid Waste Disposal Act, and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. To date, Congress has not enacted these three latter exceptions. The Administration's FY2009 defense authorization bill does not include these exemptions.
- Environmental Activities of the U.S. Coast Guard
- The U.S. Coast Guard's (USCG's) environmental activities focus on prevention programs, accompanied by enforcement and educational activities. An important component is maritime oil spill prevention, which includes inspection of U.S. and foreign-flagged ships to ensure compliance with U.S. laws and international agreements, as well as reduce the impact of oil and hazardous substances spills. Another prevention effort, minimizing marine debris, addresses commercial items as well as trash from recreational fishing and boating.
- Perchlorate Contamination of Drinking Water: Regulatory Issues and Legislative Actions
- Perchlorate is the explosive component of solid rocket fuel, fireworks, road flares, and other products and is used heavily by the Department of Defense (DOD) and other industries. Perchlorate also occurs naturally. This compound has been detected in drinking water supplies, especially in California. It also has been found in milk and many foods. Because of this widespread occurrence, concern over the potential health risks of perchlorate exposure has increased, and some states and Member of Congress have urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set a drinking water standard for perchlorate. This report reviews perchlorate water contamination issues and developments.
- Environmental Services Markets in the 2008 Farm Bill
- This report gives an overview of issues involved in the provisions of the 2008 farm bill (P.L. 110-234, the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act). It includes a brief overview describing environmental services markets, benefits and barriers, recent Congressional action related to the topics, and possible considerations.
- Open Ocean Aquaculture
- This report discusses four general areas related to open ocean aquaculture: (1) operational and business-related challenges; (2) potential economic impacts; (3) potential environmental impacts; and (4) the legal and regulatory environment. It summarizes recent executive and legislative branch actions.
- Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs): Fact Sheet on Three International Agreements
- Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are chemicals that do not break down easily in the environment, tend to accumulate as they move up the food chain, and may be harmful to people and wildlife. Between 1998 and 2001, the United States signed tow international treaties and one executive agreement to reduce the production and use of POPs and to regulate the trade and disposal of them. This report discusses these treaties in detail, as well as their ratification process and U.S. statutes that are inconsistent with these treaties.
- Global Climate Change: Status of Negotiations
- In December 2007, the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held their 13th annual meeting in Bali, Indonesia, and began the process of working toward an agreement/treaty that would succeed the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC when it expires in 2012. The Protocol includes a mandate for a reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30 developed/industrialized nations to an average of some 5% below their 1990 levels over the commitment period 2008-2012. The broad array of these issues, briefly discussed in this report, has been described by some as comprising perhaps the most complex negotiations ever undertaken internationally.
- Clean Water Act: Legislation Concerning Discharges from Recreational Boats
- The Environmental Protection Agency is attempting to develop a regulatory response to a 2006 federal court ruling that vacated a long-standing rule that exempts discharges associated with the normal operation of vessels from permit requirements of the Clean Water Act. Concern that this ruling could require millions of recreational boaters to obtain permits has led to the introduction of legislation to exempt these and other types of vessels from water quality regulation. This report discusses background to the issue; bills introduced in response, two of which were passed by Congress on July 22; and draft permits proposed by EPA on June 17.
- Cruise Ship Pollution: Background, Laws and Regulations, and Key Issues
- This report describes the several types of waste streams that cruise ships may discharge and emit. It identifies the complex body of international and domestic laws that address pollution from cruise ships. It then describes federal and state legislative activity concerning cruise ships in Alaskan waters and activities in a few other states, as well as current industry initiatives to manage cruise ship pollution.
- Coast Guard Polar Icebreaker Modernization: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress
- This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the modernization of the Coast Guard's polar icebreaker fleet, which performs a variety of missions supporting U.S. interests in polar regions.
- Clean Air After the CAIR Decision: Back to Square One?
- This report discusses three Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) long-term options in regard to Clean Air: (1) starting anew with a new strategy with respect to mitigating transported air pollution based on the decision; (2) allowing the states to sort out the issue through Section 126 petitions; and (3) seeking new legislation providing EPA with the statutory authority to implement either CAIR in some form, or an alternative.
- Nanotechnology and Environmental, Health, and Safety: Issues for Consideration
- This report identifies the potential environmental, health, and safety opportunities and challenges of nanotechnology; explains the importance of addressing nanotechnology environmental, health, and safety (EHS) concerns; identifies and discusses nanotechnology EHS issues; and summarizes options for Congressional action, including the nanotechnology EHS-related provisions of selected legislation. The report also includes two appendices.
- Water Infrastructure Financing: History of EPA Appropriations
- The principal federal program to aid municipal wastewater treatment plant construction is authorized in the Clean Water Act (CWA). In appropriations legislation, funding for EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) wastewater assistance is contained in the measure providing funds for the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. This report summarizes, in chronological order, congressional activity to fund items in the State and Tribal Assistance Grants (STAG) account since 1987.
- Clean Water Act: A Summary of the Law
- This report presents the Summary of the Clean Water Act Law describing the essence of the statute.
- Stormwater Permits: Status of EPA's Regulatory Program
- This report discusses the EPA's federally-mandated program for controlling stormwater discharges from industrial plants and municipalities.
- National Environmental Education Act of 1990: Overview, Implementation, and Issues for Congress
- No Description Available.
- Coast Guard Polar Icebreaker Modernization: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress
- This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the modernization of the Coast Guard's polar icebreaker fleet, which performs a variety of missions supporting U.S. interests in polar regions.
- Clean Water Act: Legislation Concerning Discharges from Recreational Boats
- The Environmental Protection Agency is attempting to develop a regulatory response to a 2006 federal court ruling that vacated a long-standing rule that exempts discharges associated with the normal operation of vessels from permit requirements of the Clean Water Act. Concern that this ruling could require millions of recreational boaters to obtain permits has led to the introduction of legislation to exempt these and other types of vessels from water quality regulation. This report discusses background to the issue; bills introduced in response, two of which were passed by Congress on July 22; and draft permits proposed by EPA on June 17.
- National Environmental Education Act of 1990: Overview, Implementation, and Issues for Congress
- This report summarizes major provisions of the National Environmental Education Act of 1990, discusses appropriations for activities authorized in that statute, examines the implementation of these activities, and analyzes key issues and relevant legislation.
- Do Not Mail Initiatives and Their Potential Effects: Possible Issues for Congress
- This report examines the state level initiatives to create Do Not Mail (DNM) registries, and analyzes their potential effects on the environment and the economy should they be implemented. It also notes, but does not exhaustively analyze, possible constitutional impediments to state DNM registries. In addition, the report reviews existing methods to reduce or eliminate the delivery of unsolicited advertising mail. This report concludes with federal legislative options that could affect direct mail marketing.
- Coast Guard Polar Icebreaker Modernization: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress
- This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the modernization of the Coast Guard's polar icebreaker fleet, which performs a variety of missions supporting U.S. interests in polar regions.