Congressional Research Service Reports - 41 Matching Results
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- Alaskan Oil-Environment vs. Economy: A Compilation of Selected Writings
- This report provides a compilation of writings from news media, professional magazines and journals, and government agencies regarding the environmental risks and considerations that must be taken regarding Alaskan oil drilling and transportation and the economic benefits of Alaskan oil drilling and transportation.
- Antarctica: Environmental Protection, Research, and Conservation of Resources
- This report discusses protocols and treaties designed and implemented to protect Antarctica as a haven for environmental research, preservation, and conservation, as well as related legislation and Congressional efforts.
- Arsenic in Drinking Water: Regulatory Developments and Issues
- This report discusses the Regulatory Developments and Issues regarding Arsenic in Drinking Water. The report reviews issues surrounding the arsenic rule and related congressional and Environmental Protection Agency actions.
- Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides an overview of Arctic-related issues for Congress and refers readers to more in-depth CRS reports on specific relevant topics.
- Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress
- 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. Some general issues include Arctic territorial disputes; commercial shipping through the Arctic; Arctic oil, gas, and mineral exploration; endangered Arctic species; and increased military operations in the Arctic, which could cause the region in coming years to become an arena of international cooperation or competition.
- Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides an overview of Arctic-related issues for Congress, including sovereignty claims; commercial shipping through the Arctic; oil, gas, and mineral exploration; endangered species; and increased military operations in the region. It includes background information on the region and on a variety of issues for which Congress may want to consider legislation.
- Clean Air Act Issues in the 107th Congress
- In the early months of the 107th Congress, the most prominent air quality issue has been whether state and federal regulations designed to protect air quality have had a negative impact on energy production, and, if so, whether legislation should be enacted to temporarily or permanently relax such regulations. The early discussion focused primarily on California, but with the release of the Administration's energy policy recommendations in mid-May and subsequent congressional action, it has shifted to issues more national in scope.
- Clean Air Act Issues in the 107th Congress
- In the 107th Congress, the most prominent air quality issue has been whether state and federal regulations designed to protect air quality are having a negative impact on energy production, and, if so, whether legislation should be enacted to reform such regulations. The early discussion focused primarily on California, but with the release of the Administration’s energy policy recommendations in May 2001 and subsequent congressional action, attention shifted to issues more national in scope.
- Clean Air Act Issues in the 109th Congress
- Major amendments to the Clean Air Act were among the first items on the agenda of the 109th Congress, with S. 131 (the Clear Skies Act) scheduled for markup by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee March 9. The most prominent air quality issues discussed in this report are; Clear Skies / Multi-Pollutant Legislation, Mercury from Power Plants, New Source Review (NSR), MTBE and Ethanol, Ozone Nonattainment Area Deadlines, Conformity of Transportation Plans and SIPs.
- Clean Air Standards: The Supreme Court Agrees to Review
- In May, 2000, the Supreme Court agreed to review this decision, raising the prospect of a major pronouncement on the non-delegation doctrine, the enforceability of the revised ozone standard, and the role of compliance costs in setting nationwide air quality standards.
- Clean Water Act Section 401: Background and Issues
- 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 in this area dismayed development and hydroelectric power interest groups. The Court revisited these issues in a 2006 ruling that unanimously upheld the states' authority to condition hydropower licenses. The dispute between states and industry groups about Section 401 authority has been a legislative issue on several occasions, but Congress has not responded by modifying the provision's scope. In addition, there has been interest in clarifying whether Section 401 certification applies to nonpoint source discharges, such as rainfall runoff, as well as point source discharges from pipes or ditches.
- Clean Water Issues in the 107th Congress: An Overview
- Key water quality issues that may face the 107th Congress include: actions to implement existing provisions of the Clean Water Act, whether additional steps are necessary to achieve overall goals of the Act, and the appropriate federal role in guiding and paying for clean water activities. This Act is the principal law that deals with polluting activity in the nation’s lakes, rivers, and coastal waters and authorizes funds to aid construction of municipal wastewater treatment plants. Legislative prospects for comprehensively amending it have been stalled over whether and exactly how to change the law.
- Coast Guard Polar Icebreaker Modernization: Background and Issues for Congress
- This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the sustainment and modernization of the Coast Guard's polar icebreaker fleet, which performs a variety of missions supporting U.S. interests in polar regions. The report is written in response to the Coast Guard's budget request for a new polar ice breaker (none are currently in operation).
- 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.
- 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.
- The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Coastal Wetland and Wildlife Impacts and Response
- This report addresses the importance of wetlands in general, the ecology of the coastal wetlands in the Gulf, impacts of oil spills on wetland habitats, response options, the implications of hurricane season for the spill's impacts, and cleanup and recovery issues.3 The emphasis is on the nearshore environment, though a few species found in deeper waters will be mentioned. In addition, some lessons from past spills such as the Exxon Valdez in Alaska will be discussed along with issues that may arise in the years after the leak from the deepwater well is capped.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The Environmental Protection Agency's FY2003 Budget
- On April 9, 2001, the President requested $7.3 billion in discretionary budget authority for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for FY2002, $512.0 million (or 7%) less than the FY2001 funding level of $7.8 billion. The request would not have continued funding of about $500 million for activities earmarked for FY2001, and contained provisions shifting more enforcement responsibilities to the states. Popular wastewater infrastructure funding, state roles, and the future of Superfund were some of the predominant topics. On July 17, the House Appropriations Committee recommended $7.545 billion,$229 million more than requested (H.R. 2620, H. Rept. 107-159).
- Environmental Streamlining Provisions in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century: Status of Implementation
- At the state and local level, many observers have expressed long-standing concerns over delays, duplication of effort, and additional costs frequently associated with the environmental review process for highway projects that must be completed under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA, P.L. 91-190). To address these concerns, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA21, P.L. 105-178), enacted in 1998, requires the Federal Highway Administration(FHWA) to streamline the environmental review process for highway projects.
- EPA and the Army Corps' Rule to Define "Waters of the United States"
- This report describes the final revised rule--which the agencies refer to as the Clean Water Rule--announced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It includes a table comparing the existing regulatory language that defines "waters of the United States" with the revisions.
- EPA and the Army Corps' "Waters of the United States" Rule: Congressional Response and Options
- This report discusses four legislative options that Congress could consider to halt or redirect the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineer's proposed "waters of the United States" rule.
- EPA Regulation of Greenhouse Gases: Congressional Responses and Options
- This report provides background and discusses four options to address greenhouse gas (GHG) sources: (1) resolutions of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act; (2) freestanding legislation directing, delaying, or prohibiting EPA action; (3) the use of appropriations bills as a vehicle to influence EPA activity; and (4) amendments to the Clean Air Act, including legislation to establish a new GHG control regime.
- EPA Regulations: Too Much, Too Little, or On Track?
- This report provides background information on recent EPA regulatory activity to help address these issues.
- EPA Regulations: Too Much, Too Little, or On Track?
- This report provides background information on recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulatory activity to help address concerns surrounding its power. It examines 45 major or controversial regulatory actions taken by, or under development at, the EPA since January 2009, providing details on the regulatory action itself, presenting an estimated timeline for completion of the rule, and, in general, providing EPA's estimates of costs and benefits, where available. The report also discusses factors that affect the timeframe in which regulations take effect, including statutory and judicial deadlines, public comment periods, judicial review, and permitting procedures, the net results of which are that existing facilities are likely to have several years before being required to comply with most of the regulatory actions under discussion.
- EPA's Clean Power Plan for Existing Power Plants: Frequently Asked Questions
- This report summarizes the issues the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) encountered when developing regulations for "carbon pollution" from existing power plants as part of the Clean Power Plan. The report describes how the EPA resolved these issues.
- EPA’s Clean Power Plan: Implications for the Electric Power Sector
- This report presents an analysis of EPA's Clean Power Plan in the context of the electric power sector.
- Funding for EPA Water Infrastructure: A Fact Sheet
- This report provides a table showing budget requests and appropriations for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) water infrastructure assistance programs since 1973.
- The Future of the Citizen Suit After Steel Co. and Laidlaw
- Two recent court decisions have called into question the viability of environmental citizen suits. In Steel Co., the Supreme Court denied plaintiff standing in a citizen suit where the defendant came into compliance after plaintiff sent its notice of intent to sue, but before it filed the complaint. Subsequently, the Fourth Circuit in Laidlaw invoked mootness doctrine to extend Steel Co.
- Global Climate Change: A Concise History of Negotiations and Chronology of Major Activities Preceding the 1992 U.N. Framework Convention
- This report discusses the ongoing international policy debate regarding Global Climate Change and U.S. involvement in the issue of global climate change.The report provides an historical context of the current debate, which is important in understanding the fundamental issues about global climate change.
- Implementing Acid Rain Legislation
- This report discusses the broad-ranging provisions in Title IV of The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (P.L. 101-549), which raise myriad implementation issues, particularly with respect to the system of tradable "allowances."
- International Environment: Current Major Global Treaties
- 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.
- International Environmental Financing: The Global Environment Facility (GEF)
- This report provides an overview of one of the oldest international financial institutions for the environment-the Global Environment Facility (GEF)-and analyzes its structure, funding, and objectives in light of the many challenges within the contemporary landscape of global environmental finance.
- National Environmental Education Act of 1990: Overview, Implementation, and Issues for Congress
- No Description Available.
- The Role of Risk Analysis and Risk Management in Environmental Protection
- No Description Available.
- The Role of Risk Analysis and Risk Management in Environmental Protection
- No Description Available.
- Status of the Copenhagen Climate Change Negotiations
- This report evaluates the Copenhagen climate talks, including the status of the negotiations on the key issues under the formal negotiating tracks and the provisions of the Copenhagen Accord, and draws implications for the implementation of actions in developing countries.
- Superfund and Brownfields in the 107th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Superfund and Brownfields in the 107th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Water Quality: Implementing the Clean Water Act
- No Description Available.