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Army Corps of Engineers: Water Resource Authorizations, Appropriations, and Activities

Description: This report provides an overview of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civil works program, including congressional authorization and appropriations. Its civil works responsibilities are principally to support navigation, reduce flood and storm damage, and protect and restore aquatic ecosystems. The report also covers the standard project development process for Corps projects and other Corps activities and authorities.
Date: February 27, 2017
Creator: Carter, Nicole T. & Stern, Charles V.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Conventional Prompt Global Strike and Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues

Description: This report provides an overview of the rationale for the prompt global strike (PGS) mission and the possible deployment of conventional warheads on long-range ballistic missiles or boost-glide systems in support of this mission. It also reviews the Air Force and Navy efforts to develop these systems, summarizes congressional reaction to these proposals, and provides a more detailed account of the issues raised by these concepts and programs.
Date: February 3, 2017
Creator: Woolf, Amy F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Conventional Prompt Global Strike and Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues

Description: This report provides an overview of the rationale for the prompt global strike (PGS) mission and the possible deployment of conventional warheads on long-range ballistic missiles or boost-glide systems in support of this mission. It also reviews the Air Force and Navy efforts to develop these systems, summarizes congressional reaction to these proposals, and provides a more detailed account of the issues raised by these concepts and programs.
Date: February 3, 2017
Creator: Woolf, Amy F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Clean Power Plan: Legal Background and Pending Litigation in West Virginia v. EPA

Description: This report provides legal background on the Clean Power Plan rule (CPP) to regulate emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), its Clean Air Act (CAA) framework under Section 111, and climate-related lawsuits that have preceded the present litigation over the CPP. It then gives an overview of the participants in the current litigation, including two groups of Members of Congress, who have offered briefs in support of the petitioners and the respondents, respectively.
Date: January 10, 2017
Creator: Tsang, Linda & Wyatt, Alexandra M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: 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.
Date: January 5, 2017
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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EPA and the Army Corps' Rule to Define "Waters of the United States"

Description: 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.
Date: January 5, 2017
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

EPA Regulations: Too Much, Too Little, or On Track?

Description: This report provides background information on EPA regulatory activity during the Obama Administration. It examines major or controversial regulatory actions taken by or under development at EPA from January 2009 to late 2016, providing details on the regulatory action itself, presenting an estimated timeline for completion of rules not yet promulgated (including identification of related court or statutory deadlines), and, in general, providing EPA's estimates of costs and benefits, where avai… more
Date: December 30, 2016
Creator: McCarthy, James E. & Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: 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.
Date: December 7, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Pipeline Security: Domestic Threats

Description: This report discusses recent acts of sabotage against U.S. oil pipelines by environmental activists have raised concern about the security of the nation's energy pipelines and the federal program to protect them.
Date: November 3, 2016
Creator: Parfomak, Paul W.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Paris Agreement: United States, China Move to Become Parties to Climate Change Treaty

Description: This report discusses the Paris agreement, which was negotiated under the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and where President Obama and China's President Xi Jinping synchronously deposited their nations' signed instruments with U.N. Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon.
Date: September 12, 2016
Creator: Leggett, Jane A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Climate Change: Frequently Asked Questions about the 2015 Paris Agreement

Description: This report discusses the frequently asked questions about the 2015 Paris Agreement (PA). The PA opened for signature by Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on April 22, 2016, at U.N. headquarters in New York City.
Date: September 1, 2016
Creator: Leggett, Jane A. & Lattanzio, Richard K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Methane: An Introduction to Emission Sources and Reduction Strategies

Description: This report discusses the "Climate Action Plan" (CAP) announced by President Obama to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs), as well as to encourage adaptation to expected climate change.
Date: August 15, 2016
Creator: Lattanzio, Richard K.; Bracmort, Kelsi; McCarthy, James E. & Cunningham, Lynn J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The 2016 Olympic Games: Health, Security, Environmental, and Doping Issues

Description: This report discusses a variety of issues might pose risks to the health, safety, and general well-being of athletes and their families, team personnel, and spectators participating in or attending the 2016 Olympic Games. Chief among these are the Zika virus, public safety threats, security concerns, and environmental conditions. The report also discusses the possible implications of hosting the Olympics for Brazil and the issue of doping.
Date: August 8, 2016
Creator: Halchin, L. Elaine & Rollins, John W.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: 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.
Date: August 8, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Clean Power Plan: Legal Background and Pending Litigation in West Virginia v. EPA

Description: This report provides legal background on the Clean Power Plan rule (CPP or Rule) to regulate emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), its Clean Air Act (CAA) framework under Section 111, and climate-related lawsuits that have preceded the present litigation over the CPP. It then gives an overview of the participants in the current litigation, including two groups of Members of Congress, who have offered briefs in support of the petitioners and the respondents, respectively.
Date: August 8, 2016
Creator: Wyatt, Alexandra M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Evolution of the Meaning of "Waters of the United States" in the Clean Water Act

Description: This report examines the changing definition of the phrase, "waters of the United States." The scope of waters that are properly the subject of federal water pollution legislation has been the subject of long-standing consideration by all three branches of the federal government, particularly in the aftermath of the 1972 amendments to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, commonly referred to as the Clean Water Act.
Date: August 8, 2016
Creator: Mulligan, Stephen P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

EPA's Clean Power Plan for Existing Power Plants: Frequently Asked Questions

Description: 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, and describes how the EPA resolved these issues.
Date: June 15, 2016
Creator: McCarthy, James E.; Ramseur, Jonathan L.; Leggett, Jane A.; Wyatt, Alexandra M. & Dolan, Alissa M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: 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. The diminishment of Arctic sea ice has led to increased human activities in the Arctic, and has heightened interest in, and concerns about, the region's future.
Date: May 31, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Coast Guard Polar Icebreaker Modernization: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the sustainment and modernization of the Coast Guard's polar icebreaker fleet. The Coast Guard's proposed FY2017 budget requests $150 million in acquisition funding for a new polar icebreaker that the Coast Guard wants to begin building in FY2020. The issue for Congress is whether to approve, reject, or modify the Administration's FY2017 acquisition funding request for a new polar icebreaker, and, more generally, whether to … more
Date: May 27, 2016
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

EPA's Clean Power Plan for Existing Power Plants: Frequently Asked Questions

Description: This report provides a series of frequently-asked questions with answers regarding the Clean Power Plan and related litigation. On August 3, 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated standards for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from existing fossil-fuel-fired power plants under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA); the rule, known as the Clean Power Plan (CPP), appeared in the Federal Register on October 23, 2015.
Date: May 19, 2016
Creator: McCarthy, James E.; Ramseur, Jonathan L.; Leggett, Jane A.; Wyatt, Alexandra M. & Dolan, Alissa M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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EPA Policies Concerning Integrated Planning and Affordability of Water Infrastructure

Description: This report examines two recent initiatives by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in which the agency works with states to develop and implement new approaches for water quality goals that will be more cost-effective and address the most pressing water infrastructure problems first. The examples include an integrated planning policy and a framework policy for assessing a community's financial capability to meet objectives and requirements of the Clean Water Act (CWA).
Date: May 2, 2016
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Clean Power Plan: Legal Background and Pending Litigation in West Virginia v. EPA

Description: This report provides legal background on the Clean Power Plan rule (CPP) to regulate emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), its Clean Air Act (CAA) framework under Section 111, and climate-related lawsuits that have preceded the present litigation over the CPP. It then gives an overview of the participants in the current litigation, including two groups of Members of Congress, who have offered briefs in support of the petitioners and the respondents, respectively. This report explains the major … more
Date: April 27, 2016
Creator: Wyatt, Alexandra M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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