Congressional Research Service Reports - 491 Matching Results
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- Global Climate Change: Selected Legal Questions About the Kyoto Protocol
- This report addresses legal issues after the United States signed the Kyoto Protocol to the UnitedNations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The protocol is not yet in effect internationally and cannot be legally binding on the U.S. unless and until the Senate gives its advice and consent.
- Global Climate Change: Selected Legal Questions About the Kyoto Protocol
- This report addresses legal issues after the United States signed the Kyoto Protocol to the UnitedNations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The protocol is not yet in effect internationally and cannot be legally binding on the U.S. unless and until the Senate gives its advice and consent.
- Global Climate Change: Selected Legal Questions About the Kyoto Protocol
- This report addresses legal issues after the United States signed the Kyoto Protocol to the UnitedNations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The protocol is not yet in effect internationally and cannot be legally binding on the U.S. unless and until the Senate gives its advice and consent.
- Global Climate Change: Selected Legal Questions About the Kyoto Protocol
- This report discusses the Kyoto Protocol and whether the United States is now legally bound by the Protocol, the legal implications of signing it, whether it could be implemented as an executive agreement without submission to the Senate, and whether the Protocol could be used as the legal basis for regulation of emissions even prior to ratification.
- The 2010 Oil Spill: MMS/BOEMRE and NEPA
- This report reviews the environmental procedures required following the explosion of an oil well on a tract leased by BP from the federal government.
- The 2010 Oil Spill: MMS/BOEMRE and NEPA
- This report reviews the environmental procedures required following the explosion of an oil well on a tract leased by BP from the federal government.
- The 2010 Oil Spill: The Minerals Management Service (MMS) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
- This report will review environmental procedures after an exploratory oil well in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, killing 11 people and causing an oil spill.
- Overview of NEPA Requirements
- This report provides an overview of The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements. NEPA establishes national environmental policies that apply to the federal government and also prescribes certain procedural requirements for federal agency actions.
- Statutory Modifications of the Application of NEPA
- From time to time, Congress has considered the operation of the National Environmental Policy Act. While Congress has amended the statute itself only twice since its enactment, Congress has often enacted provisions that modify the application of the Act or specify the extent of the documents that need be prepared in particular instances or contexts. This report collects and lists examples of such provisions.
- International Agreements on Climate Change: Selected Legal Questions
- This report provides background information on global climate change negotiations. The report discuses the United Nations framework for convention for climate change, the Kyoto protocol, and the Copenhagen accord.
- Exemptions from Environmental Law for the Department of Defense: An Overview of Congressional Action
- This report discusses the difficulty of assessing the impact of environmental requirements on military readiness, broader exemptions for military activities that Congress has enacted, and DOD's request for additional exemptions.
- Exemptions from Environmental Law for the Department of Defense: Background and Issues for Congress
- Over time, Congress has included exemptions in several environmental statutes to ensure that requirements of those statutes would not restrict military training needs to the extent that national security would be compromised. This report discusses these exemptions and congressional disagreement over the need for broader exemptions in the absence of data on the overall impact of environmental requirements on training and readiness.
- Military Base Closures: Role and Cost of Environmental Cleanup
- This report explains cleanup requirements for the transfer and reuse of properties on closed military bases, discusses property transfer status and cleanup costs on bases closed in prior rounds, and examines estimates of costs to clean up bases to be closed in the 2005 round to make these properties safe for civilian reuse.
- Military Base Closures: Role and Costs of Environmental Cleanup
- This report explains cleanup requirements for the transfer and reuse of properties on closed bases, discusses property transfer status and cleanup costs on bases closed in prior rounds, and examines estimates of costs to clean up bases to be closed in the 2005 round to make these properties safe for civilian reuse.
- Military Base Closures: Role and Costs of Environmental Cleanup
- This report provides an overview of cleanup requirements for the transfer and reuse of base closure properties, discusses the status of property transfer on bases closed under prior rounds, examines costs to clean up bases closed under these prior rounds, and discusses cleanup costs and issues for the 2005 round.
- Military Base Closures: Role and Costs of Environmental Cleanup
- This report explains cleanup requirements for the transfer and reuse of base closure properties, discusses the status of property transfer on closed bases, and examines estimates of costs to clean up closed bases to make them safe for civilian reuse.
- Military Base Closures: Role and Costs of Environmental Cleanup
- This report explains cleanup requirements for the transfer and reuse of properties on closed military bases, discusses property transfer status and cleanup costs on bases closed in prior rounds, and examines estimates of costs to clean up bases to be closed in the 2005 round to make these properties safe for civilian reuse.
- 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.
- National Environmental Education Act of 1990: Overview, Implementation, and Reauthorization Issues
- This report presents an overview of the National Environmental Education Act of 1990, discusses appropriations, examines the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) implementation of the act, and analyzes reauthorization issues relevant to legislation introduced in recent Congresses.
- National Environmental Education Act of 1990: Overview, Implementation, and Reauthorization Issues
- This report presents an overview of the National Environmental Education Act of 1990, discusses appropriations, examines Environmental Protection Agency (EPA's) implementation of the act, and analyzes potential issues for reauthorization that may be considered in the 109th Congress.
- National Environmental Education Act of 1990: Overview, Implementation, and Reauthorization Issues
- This report presents an overview of the National Environmental Education Act of 1990, discusses appropriations, examines Environmental Protection Agency (EPA's) implementation of the act, and analyzes potential issues for reauthorization that may be considered in the 109th Congress.
- Environmental Laws: Summaries of Major Statutes Administered by the Environmental Protection Agency
- This report summarizes several federal statutes providing legal authority for the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) programs and activities. These include: the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Ocean Dumping Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA), the Emergency Planning Act, and the Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).
- Biotechnology in Animal Agriculture: Status and Current Issues
- This report describes several scientifically emerging animal biotechnologies that are raising a variety of questions concerning risks to humans, animals, and the environment, as well as ethical concerns. The report examines applications of the technologies and discusses major issues that may arise.
- The Environment and Grass Roots Sentiment
- This report discusses the results of Congressional polls of their constituents regarding public interest in and willingness to pay for environmental controls and pollution reduction. The polls found that the majority of the public wanted to reduce pollution despite the costs and potential effect on the economy.
- Environmental Protection: How Much it Costs and Who Pays
- This report discusses a recurring issue in environmental policy: the cost of pollution control imposed on individuals, businesses, and governments.
- Global Climate Change: U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions - Status, Trends, and Projections
- This report discusses greenhouse gas emissions and baselines in the U.S. and various aspects of future projections.
- Global Climate Change: U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions - Status, Trends, and Projections
- This report reviews U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases in the contexts both of domestic policy and of international obligations and proposals. On October 15, 1992, the United States ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which entered into force on March 21, 1994. This committed the United States to “national policies” to limit “its anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases,” with a voluntary goal of returning “emissions of carbon dioxide [CO2] and other greenhouse gases [methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)]” at the “end of the decade” to “their 1990 levels.”
- Air Quality Standards: The Decisionmaking Process
- This report discusses how the decisions made by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in July 1997 impacted the process by which decisions are made by the agency. The new standards were subject to litigation, oversight hearings, and a Supreme Court ruling. Moreover, issues concerning implementation of the proposed air quality standards were raised.
- Environmental Protection: Legislation and Programs of the Environmental Protection Agency
- This report is a historical review of major legislation and programs enacted by the Environmental Protection Agency.
- National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (P.L. 91-190): A Bibliography
- This report is a bibliography on the National Environmental Policy Act, that requires federal agencies to take into account the environmental impact of their policies.
- Is Biopower Carbon Neutral?
- This report assesses the variables involved in determining whether or not biopower (i.e., electricity generated from biomass) is a carbon-neutral alternative to fossil fuels as a way to help meet meet U.S. energy demands and reduce U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It includes information about the biomass carbon cycle, GHG accounting for biopower production, recent developments affecting the assessment, and overview of whether or not it can be considered carbon neutral, and legislative implications.
- Is Biopower Carbon Neutral?
- This report assesses the variables involved in determining whether or not biopower (i.e., electricity generated from biomass) is a carbon-neutral alternative to fossil fuels as a way to help meet meet U.S. energy demands and reduce U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It includes information about the biomass carbon cycle, GHG accounting for biopower production, recent developments affecting the assessment, and overview of whether or not it can be considered carbon neutral, and legislative implications.
- The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS): Waiver Authority and Modification of Volumes
- This report discusses the process and criteria for the Environmental Protection Agency to waive various portions of the renewable fuel standard (RFS), and the modification of applicable volumes.
- The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS): Waiver Authority and Modification of Volumes
- This report discusses the process and criteria for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to waive various portions of the renewable fuel standard (RFS), and the modification of applicable volumes.
- The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS): Waiver Authority and Modification of Volumes
- This report discusses the process and criteria for the Environmental Protection Agency to waive various portions of the renewable fuel standard (RFS), and the modification of applicable volumes.
- Methane Capture: Options for Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction
- This report discusses alternatives for addressing methane capture, sources of methane, opportunities and challenges for methane capture, and current federal programs that support methane recovery.
- Methane Capture: Options for Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction
- This report discusses legislative alternatives for addressing methane capture, sources of methane, opportunities and challenges for methane capture, and current federal programs that support methane recovery.
- Nondiscrimination in Environmental Regulation: A Legal Analysis
- This report will examine the relevant legal authorities that may be asserted to address disproportionate impacts that result from how an agency implements environmental regulations, including the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and various environmental and conservation statutes. It will discuss administrative efforts to address "environmental justice," a term used by some advocates to refer to the distribution of environmental quality across various demographic groups, including the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Plan EJ 2014. It will also analyze the use of these authorities to prevent such impacts and the likelihood of success for future challenges under each legal theory.
- 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.
- Polar Bears: Proposed Listing Under the Endangered Species Act
- This report discusses the proposed listing of polar bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA; 16 U.S.C. §§1531 et seq.), which highlights the intersection of two significant issues currently before Congress — climate change and species protection.
- 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.
- 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.
- The Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the 11th Congress: Conflicting Values and Difficult Choices
- 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).
- 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.
- The Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the 109th Congress: Conflicting Values and Difficult Choices
- This report discusses various proposals to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA; P.L. 93-205, 16 U.S.C. §§1531-1543). Major issues include changing the role of science in decision-making, modifying critical habitat (CH) procedures, reducing conflicts with Department of Defense activities, incorporating further protection and incentives for property owners, and increasing protection of listed species, among others.
- EPA’s Proposed Greenhouse Gas Regulations: Implications for the Electric Power Sector
- This report presents an analysis of EPA's proposed plan.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Army Corps of Engineers: Water Resource Authorizations, Appropriations, and Activities
- This report summarizes congressional authorization and appropriations processes for the Army Corps of Engineers. It also discusses agency activities under general authorities. Congress directs the Corps through authorizations, appropriations, and oversight of its studies, construction projects, and other activities.