Congressional Research Service Reports - 42 Matching Results

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Environmental Laws: Summaries of Major Statutes Administered by the Environmental Protection Agency

Description: 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 Insectic… more
Date: October 8, 2010
Creator: Bearden, David M.; Copeland, Claudia; Luther, Linda; McCarthy, James E.; Schierow, Linda-Jo & Tiemann, Mary
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Army Corps of Engineers Water Resource Projects: Authorization and Appropriations

Description: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers attracts congressional attention because its projects can have significant local and regional economic benefits and environmental effects, in addition to their water resource development purposes. 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. It also includes an Appendix on the evolution o… more
Date: September 29, 2010
Creator: Carter, Nicole T. & Stern, Charles V.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Pesticide Use and Water Quality: Are the Laws Complementary or in Conflict?

Description: This report provides background on the conflict over interpretation and implementation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Clean Water Act. A brief discussion of the two laws is followed by a review of the major litigation of interest. EPA's efforts to clarify its policy in this area and the November 2006 rule and the 2009 federal court ruling are discussed, as well as possible options for EPA and Congress to further address the FIFRA-CWA issues. In June, … more
Date: October 13, 2010
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Water Infrastructure Projects Designated in EPA Appropriations: Trends and Policy Implications

Description: This report discusses appropriations for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) water infrastructure programs, focusing on congressional special project designations in the account that funds these programs. While some Members of Congress, interest groups, and Administration officials are critical of these types of congressional actions, there is little indication that the practice will cease. Information on the programmatic history of EPA involvement in assisting wastewater treatment and drinki… more
Date: October 28, 2010
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Coastal Wetland and Wildlife Impacts and Response

Description: The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, and the resulting oil spill began a cascade of effects on the coastal areas of the Gulf and on the wealth of species that inhabit those areas. 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 issue… more
Date: October 15, 2010
Creator: Corn, M. Lynne & Copeland, Claudia
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Coastal Wetland and Wildlife Impacts and Response

Description: The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, and the resulting oil spill began a cascade of effects on the coastal areas of the Gulf and on the wealth of species that inhabit those areas. 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 issue… more
Date: July 7, 2010
Creator: Corn, M. Lynne & Copeland, Claudia
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Coastal Wetland and Wildlife Impacts and Response

Description: 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 … more
Date: August 5, 2010
Creator: Corn, M. Lynne & Copeland, Claudia
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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2006 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5): Designating Nonattainment Areas

Description: This report summarizes and describes the EPA's (Environmental Protection Agency) final revisions to the NAAQS (National Ambient Air Quality Standards). The summary also explores how the revisions are contentious in certain areas that may not be meeting those standards which materializes as congressional oversight.
Date: September 7, 2010
Creator: Esworthy, Robert
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Appropriations for FY2011

Description: This document provides the appropriations for FY2011. A comparison is shown in the amount of funding given throughout the years and how the President is wanting to decrease the funding presently (2011). The document continues to describe in detail the funding given for clean water and drinking water along with its changes. The appropriations for prominent issues such as, climate change, hazardous waste clean-up, and the restoration of The Great Lakes are also described.
Date: May 28, 2010
Creator: Esworthy, Robert; Bearden, David; Copeland, Claudia; Leggett, Jane; McCarthy, James & Tiemann, Mary
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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International Climate Change: A Negotiations Side-by-Side

Description: This report discusses various cooperative international efforts to address the issue of global climate change. The two major international agreements discussed in a side-by-side comparison are the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and the 2010 Copenhagen Accord. The report discusses how many observers are hoping that initiatives carried out under the Copenhagen Accord may help bridge divides between the various tracks and economic groupings established under the Kyoto Protocol.
Date: November 18, 2010
Creator: Leggett, Jane A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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A U.S.-centric Chronology of the International Climate Change Negotiations

Description: The Copenhagen conference in December 2009 achieved only mandates to continue negotiating toward the next Conference of the Parties (COP) to be held in Mexico City in December 2010. As a background to these proceedings, this document provides a U.S.-centric chronology of the international policy deliberations to address climate change from 1979-2009. Negotiations underway since 2007 have run on two tracks, the Kyoto Protocol the Convention under the Bali Action Plan. Many in the U.S. Congress a… more
Date: January 7, 2010
Creator: Leggett, Jane A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for Disaster Response, Recovery, and Mitigation Projects

Description: This report discusses the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 as it applies to projects for which federal funding to recover from or prepare for a disaster has been requested by local, tribal, or state grant applicants.
Date: February 3, 2010
Creator: Luther, Linda
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Regulating Coal Combustion Waste Disposal: Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides an overview of the current rulemaking for Coal combustion waste (CCW) and relevant background information that applies to that rulemaking. In particular, the report describes the nature of the waste itself and primary methods of managing it; discusses potential risks associated with its mismanagement, particularly as supported by new data EPA has gathered to support the proposed rulemaking; and provides an overview of EPA's current regulatory proposal.
Date: September 21, 2010
Creator: Luther, Linda
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Environmental Considerations in Federal Procurement: An Overview of the Legal Authorities and Their Implementation

Description: This report discusses issues about the role of environmental considerations in federal procurement. These include: to what extent do agencies consider environmental factors when procuring goods or services? What legal authorities presently require or allow agencies to take environmental factors into account when acquiring goods or services?
Date: June 21, 2010
Creator: Manuel, Kate M. & Halchin, L. Elaine
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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EPA Regulation of Greenhouse Gases: Congressional Responses and Options

Description: This report discusses elements of the greenhouse gas (GHG) controversy, providing background on stationary sources of GHG pollution and identifying options Congress has at its disposal to address GHG issues, including: (1) resolutions of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act; (2) freestanding legislation; (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.
Date: June 8, 2010
Creator: McCarthy, James E. & Parker, Larry
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Civil and Criminal Penalties Possibly Applicable to Parties Responsible for the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

Description: Since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill began on April 20, 2010, Congress has given much attention to the compensatory liability provisions of the Oil Pollution Act and, to a lesser extent, those of the Jones Act and the Death on the High Seas Act. However, federal laws possibly relevant to the oil spill also impose civil and criminal money penalties, which may reach dollar amounts in connection with the Gulf spill greater than those for compensatory liability. This report summarizes selected fed… more
Date: August 16, 2010
Creator: Meltz, Robert
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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