Congressional Research Service Reports - 39 Matching Results
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- Environmental Protection Agency: Appropriations for FY2005
- The President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2005 on December 8, 2004. The law provides funding for numerous federal agencies, including $8.09 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency, subject to an across-the-board rescission of 0.8%. The final appropriations is more than the Administration's request of $7.79 billion, but is less than the FY2004 appropriation of $8.37 billion. This report contains information on the final action on FY2005 appropriations for the EPA.
- Defense Cleanup and Environmental Programs: Authorization and Appropriations for FY2005
- This report provides background information on each defense-related environmental program, discusses key funding issues, and examines relevant provisions in authorization legislation and appropriations for FY2005.
- Environmental Protection Issues in the 108th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Safe Drinking Water Act: Implementation and Issues
- This report discusses key drinking water issues in the 108th Congress involving water infrastructure funding and problems caused by specific contaminants, such as the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), perchlorate, and lead in drinking water. Congress last reauthorized the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) in 1996, and although funding authority for most SDWA programs expired in FY2003, broad reauthorization efforts were not pursued as EPA, states, and water utilities continued implementing the 1996 amendments.
- Clean Water Act Issues in the 108th Congress
- This report discusses issues regarding the Clean Water Act. Prospects for legislative initiatives to comprehensively amend the Clean Water Act (CWA) have stalled for some time over whether and exactly how to change the law, and Congress has recently focused legislative attention on narrow bills to extend or modify selected CWA programs, rather than taking up comprehensive proposals. For example, the 108th Congress enacted one bill amending the CWA, legislation to reauthorize the National Estuary Program (H.R. 4731, P.L. 108-399).
- Global Climate Change: Market-Based Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gases
- This report provides information about Market-Based Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gases on Global Climate Change. many readable permit proposals include provisions allowing countries to accumulate permits by reducing emission in other countries.
- Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR): Controversies for the 108th Congress
- This report discusses one major element of the energy debate in the 108th Congress, which has been whether to approve energy development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in northeastern Alaska, and if so, under what conditions, or whether to continue to prohibit development to protect the area's biological resources. The Refuge is an area rich in fauna, flora, and commercial oil potential. Current law forbids energy leasing in the Refuge.
- Global Climate Change
- This report briefly reviews the status of climate science, international negotiations, and congressional activity focused specifically on climate change.
- Environmental Protection Issues in the 108th Congress
- The 108th Congress has acted on a variety of disparate environmental measures; some of these represent proposals or issues that had been under consideration in the 107th Congress and earlier. Environmental issues considered by Congress tend to fall into several major categories: (1) funding issues — whether funding levels are adequate and focused on appropriate priorities; (2) expanding, renewing, or refocusing specific environment programs; (3) environmental issues that are important “subsets” of other major areas of concern, such as energy, defense, or transportation programs; and more recently, (4) terrorism and infrastructure protection in areas such as wastewater and chemical facilities.
- Brownfields and Superfund Issues in the 108th Congress
- This report discusses the Superfund program for cleaning up the nation's worst hazardous waste sites, created by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, or CERCLA (P.L. 96-510, as amended). It includes recent development and background issues, superfund issues, revenue issues, comprehensive reauthorization, and legislation regarding superfund program.
- Global Climate Change: The Kyoto Protocol
- This report discusses the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that was completed December 11, 1997, committing the industrialized nations to specified, legally binding reductions in emissions of six “greenhouse gases.”
- Clean Water Act Issues in the 108th Congress
- The Clean Water Act Issues has again received attention in the 108th Congress. At issue is how the federal government will assist states and cities in meeting needs to rebuild, repair, and upgrade wastewater treatment plants, especially in light of capital costs which are projected to be as much as $390 billion over the next two decades. In October 2004, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee reported legislation to authorize $20 billion in funding for clean water infrastructure (S. 2550), while in July 2003, a House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee also approved a water infrastructure financing bill (H.R. 1560). Still, prospects for further action during the 108th Congress are uncertain.
- Environmental Protection Issues in the 108th Congress
- The 108th Congress has acted on a variety of disparate environmental measures; some of these represent proposals or issues that had been under consideration in the 107th Congress and earlier. Environmental issues considered by Congress tend to fall into several major categories: (1) funding issues — whether funding levels are adequate and focused on appropriate priorities; (2) expanding, renewing, or refocusing specific environment programs; (3) environmental issues that are important “subsets” of other major areas of concern, such as energy, defense, or transportation programs; and more recently, (4) terrorism and infrastructure protection in areas such as wastewater and chemical facilities.
- Chemical Plant Security
- This report highlights the reasons why chemical plants are susceptible to security breaches due to the ineffectiveness of proposed congressional mandates.
- Clean Air Act Issues in the 108th Congress
- The conference report on the energy bill (H.R. 6), which came to the House and Senate floor for action the week of November 17, 2003, contained several Clean Air Act provisions. Most of these are also contained in S. 2095, a revised version of the bill introduced February 12, 2004, and in H.R. 4503, which passed the House June 15, 2004. Most of the air provisions concern the gasoline additives MTBE and ethanol, used to meet Clean Air Act requirements that reformulated gasoline (RFG) sold in the nation’s worst ozone nonattainment areas contain at least 2% oxygen, to improve combustion.
- Brownfields and Superfund Issues in the 108th Congress
- The Superfund program for cleaning up the nation’s worst hazardous waste sites was created by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, or CERCLA (P.L. 96-510, as amended). This report discusses recent development and background issues, superfund issues, revenue issues, comprehensive reauthorization, and legislation regarding superfund program.
- Brownfields and Superfund Issues in the 108th Congress
- This report discusses recent development and background issues, superfund issues, revenue issues, comprehensive reauthorization, and legislation regarding superfund program.
- Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR): Controversies for the 108th Congress
- This report discusses the ongoing debate about whether or not to approve energy development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Current law forbids energy leasing in the Refuge. This report addresses several legislative options on the issue, as well as policymakers' arguments for and against development, especially in the wake of increasing terrorism since 2000-2001.
- Global Climate Change: Market-Based Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gases
- This report provides information about Market-Based Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gases on Global Climate Change. many readable permit proposals include provisions allowing countries to accumulate permits by reducing emission in other countries.
- Air Pollution Emission Control: Existing Technologies and Mercury Cobenefits
- This report considers the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) use of stationary sources to reduce air pollutant emissions. Specifically, when these technologies reduce pollutants that they were not necessarily designed for which creates cobenefits.
- Environmental Protection Issues in the 108th Congress
- The 108th Congress has acted on a variety of disparate environmental measures; some of these represent proposals or issues that had been under consideration in the 107th Congress and earlier. Environmental issues considered by Congress tend to fall into several major categories: (1) funding issues — whether funding levels are adequate and focused on appropriate priorities; (2) expanding, renewing, or refocusing specific environment programs; (3) environmental issues that are important “subsets” of other major areas of concern, such as energy, defense, or transportation programs; and more recently, (4) terrorism and infrastructure protection in areas such as wastewater and chemical facilities.
- The Role of Risk Analysis and Risk Management in Environmental Protection
- This report includes information regarding the role of risk analysis and risk management in environmental protection. Views on potential uses of risk analysis, the information value of risk analysis, and legislature activity are among topics discussed in this report.
- The Role of Designation of Critical Habitat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)
- This report " provides background for considering the regulatory posture and current legislative proposals on Critical Habitat (CH), and may be updated as circumstances warrant " (p.1).
- Environmental Protection Agency: Appropriations for FY2005
- The House Appropriations Committee, as the of August 2004 congressional recess, has marked up the Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies appropriations bill for FY 2004, which includes funding for the Environmental Protection Agency, but not filed its report on the bill. The current draft markup of the bill would provide $7.75 billion for the EPA in FY2005, $36 million less than the Administration's request, and $613 million less than FY2004. This report contains information on the specifics of the appropriations.
- The Role of Risk Analysis and Risk Management in Environmental Protection
- No Description Available.
- Environmental Protection Issues in the 108th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR): Controversies for the 108th Congress
- This report discusses the ongoing debate about whether or not to approve energy development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Current law forbids energy leasing in the Refuge. This report addresses several legislative options on the issue, as well as policymakers' arguments for and against development, especially in the wake of increasing terrorism since 2000-2001.
- Global Climate Change: The Kyoto Protocol
- This report discusses the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that was completed December 11, 1997, committing the industrialized nations to specified, legally binding reductions in emissions of six “greenhouse gases.”
- Climate Change Legislation in the 108th Congress
- Climate change and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been an issue in the 108th Congress, as they have been over the past decade. Bills directly addressing climate change issues range from those focused primarily on climate change research (H.R. 1578 and S. 1164) to comprehensive emissions cap and trading programs for all six greenhouse gases (S. 139 and H.R. 4067). This report briefly discusses basic concepts on which these bills are based, and compares major provisions of the bills in each of the following categories: climate change research, GHG reporting and registries, and cap and trade programs.
- Legal Analysis and Background on the EPA's Proposed Rules for Regulating Mercury Emissions from Electric Utilities
- Report detailing the attempts to regulate mercury emissions from electric utilities, including an investigation, potential challenges, and more.
- Safe Drinking Water Act: State Revolving Fund Program
- No Description Available.
- Abandoned Mine Land Fund Reauthorization: Selected Issues
- This report provides a summary of the structure of the Abandon Mine Land (AML) program, distribution of funds, and discusses major proposals considered in the 108th Congress.
- Transportation Conformity Under the Clean Air Act: In Need of Reform?
- No Description Available.
- Implementation of EPA’s 8-Hour Ozone Standard
- No Description Available.
- National Environmental Education Act of 1990: Overview, Implementation, and Reauthorization Issues
- No Description Available.
- Air Quality: EPA’s Proposed Interstate Air Quality Rule
- This report discusses the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed rule on the effect of interstate transport of air pollutants on non-attainment of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The Interstate Air Quality (IAQ) rule suggests a region-wide emissions cap to be implemented in two phases.
- Environmental Protection Issues in the 108th Congress
- This report provides a brief overview of some of the key environmental protection issues that have been and are likely to continue to be the focus of public and congressional attention.
- MTBE in Gasoline: Clean Air and Drinking Water Issues
- No Description Available.
- MTBE in Gasoline: Clean Air and Drinking Water Issues
- No Description Available.