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Federal Agency Actions Following the Supreme Court's Climate Change Decision in Massachusetts v. EPA: A Chronology

Description: This report offers a chronology of major federal agency actions, mainly by EPA, that involve GHGs or climate change and that occurred in the wake of Massachusetts v. EPA, a ruling that greenhouse gases are "air pollutants" via the Clean Air Act. As such, they are not under the EPA's jurisdiction.
Date: May 1, 2012
Creator: Meltz, Robert
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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EPA Regulations: Too Much, Too Little, or On Track?

Description: This report examines 40 major or controversial regulatory actions taken by or under development at EPA since January 2009, providing details on the regulatory action itself, presenting an estimated timeline for completion of the rule and provides the EPA's estimates of costs and benefits where available. It provides background information on recent EPA regulatory activity to help address issues raised by this activity, as well as factors that will affect the timeframe in which these regulations… more
Date: April 25, 2012
Creator: McCarthy, James E. & Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Supreme Court Accepts Five Environmental Cases During Its 2008-2009 Term

Description: In the Supreme Court's 2008-2009 term, which likely will conclude in late June, 2009, the Court has accepted for argument five environmental cases—an unusually large number out of the roughly 85 cases accepted for argument. The reason for this interest in environmental cases at this particular time is speculative; the Court generally does not explain why it accepts cases. This report reviews the cases, decided and undecided, and then briefly comments.
Date: February 27, 2009
Creator: Meltz, Robert
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Greenhouse Gas Legislation: Summary and Analysis of H.R. 2454 as Passed by the House of Representatives

Description: This report offers an introduction and overview of legislation regarding greenhouse gases. It also discusses combined efficiency and renewable electricity standard, geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide, vehicles and fuels, smart grid, energy efficiency, and major cap-and-trade provisions.
Date: July 27, 2009
Creator: Holt, Mark & Whitney, Gene
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Greenhouse Gas Legislation: Summary and Analysis of H.R. 2454 as Reported by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce

Description: This report offers an introduction and overview of legislation regarding greenhouse gases. It also discusses combined efficiency and renewable electricity standard, geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide, vehicles and fuels, smart grid, energy efficiency, and major cap-and-trade provisions.
Date: June 17, 2009
Creator: Holt, Mark & Whitney, Gene
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Role of Designation of Critical Habitat under the Endangered Species Act

Description: On June 14th, 1999, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) called for public comment on its current procedures for designating critical habitat. In addition, a proposal is before the Senate (S.1100) to move the time at which critical habitat must be designated for a species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) from being (basically) concurrent with the listing of the species to the time a recovery plan is finalized for that species. This report is written as background for considering the curren… more
Date: July 16, 1999
Creator: Baldwin, Pamela
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Commerce Clause as a Limit on Congressional Power to Protect the Environment

Description: Several times during the 1990s the Supreme Court struck down federal enactments as exceeding Congress' power under the Commerce Clause or Tenth Amendment. This report briefly reviews three of these decisions -- United States v. Lopez, New York v. United States, and Printz v. United States. Its focus, however, is how these cases have played out in subsequent lower-court challenges to federal environmental laws. The report shows that Supreme Court rulings in favor of these states notwithstanding,… more
Date: March 12, 1999
Creator: Meltz, Robert
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Air Act Permitting: Status of Implementation

Description: The 1990 Clean Air Act amendments established an operating permit system that is affecting many new and existing sources of air emissions, as well as state and local air pollution control agencies. After delays and early missteps, the operating permit program is moving ahead. All state and local programs have received interim or full approval, and permits are being issued, although at a slower rate than anticipated. However, a number of issues exist. These include the effect of key federal regu… more
Date: May 14, 1999
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Air Act Issues in the 106th Congress

Description: The Clean Air Act and its 1990 amendments appear to have contributed to a marked improvement in air quality nationwide. Of nearly 100 metropolitan areas not meeting air quality standards for ozone in 1990, more than two-thirds now do so. Even greater progress has been achieved with carbon monoxide: 36 of 42 areas not in attainment in 1990 now meet the standard. Nevertheless, EPA remains concerned about air pollution. In 1997, the Agency promulgated major revisions to its air quality standards f… more
Date: November 14, 2000
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Overview of NEPA Requirements

Description: The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) establishes national environmental policies that apply to the federal government and also prescribes certain procedural requirements for federal agency actions. Except as otherwise provided by Congress, NEPA applies to all federal agency actions, although its requirements may vary depending on the nature of the action involved. This report provides an overview of NEPA's requirements. It is not anticipated that this report will be updated.
Date: July 6, 2000
Creator: Baldwin, Pamela
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Water Act Section 401: Background and Issues

Description: 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 … more
Date: October 4, 1998
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Superfund: A Brief Comparison of the Chairmen's Bills

Description: The chairmen of three subcommittees with jurisdiction over Superfund have introduced comprehensive reauthorization bills: Senator Bob Smith introduced S. 8 (the reported version is used here), Representative Sherwood Boehlert introduced H.R. 2727 (the subcommittee-approved version of March 11, 1998, is used here) and Representative Michael Oxley introduced H.R. 3000. This report compares the three bills, focusing on four disputed issues: liability, remedy selection, the role of the states, and … more
Date: April 13, 1998
Creator: Copeland, Claudia; McCarthy, James E.; Reisch, Mark & Tiemann, Mary
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Water Act Issues in the 106th Congress

Description: In the 106th Congress, no comprehensive activity on reauthorizing the Clean Water Act occurred, although a number of individual clean water bills were enacted. Other issues have been debated recently, such as reforming the law to provide regulatory relief for industry, states and cities, and individual landowners. The debate over many of these issues highlights differing views of the Act and its implementation by some who seek to strengthen existing requirements and others who believe that cost… more
Date: November 24, 1998
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Water Act Reauthorization in the 105th Congress

Description: In the 105th Congress, legislation to reauthorize the Clean Water Act was not been introduced, and no major House or Senate committee activity occurred. EPA and states' water quality inventories have identified wet weather flows (including agricultural runoff, urban storm water, and sewer overflows) as the largest remaining threat to water quality. EPA's clean water programs are now focusing to a large extent on solving wet weather pollution problems. These issues may be addressed legislatively… more
Date: October 29, 1998
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Environmental Protection Legislation in the 105th Congress

Description: The 105th Congress enacted tax provisions relating to Superfund brownfields sites, transportation- and defense-related environmental provisions, a border smog bill, EPA funding as well as reinstating the tax that supports the Leaking Underground Storage Trust Fund. There were various actions on regulatory reform, the budget resolution, appropriations, highway- and defense-related environmental provisions, Superfund reform bills and underground storage tanks. It is too early to tell if these wil… more
Date: November 9, 1998
Creator: Lee, Martin R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Environmental Protection: Defense-Related Programs

Description: The Department of Defense (DOD) operates six environmental programs that address cleanup of past contamination at military facilities, compliance with environmental laws and regulations that apply to current activities, cleanup at military bases being closed, pollution prevention, natural resource conservation, and environmental technology. In addition, the Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for managing defense nuclear waste generated from the past production of atomic materials used to… more
Date: July 28, 1998
Creator: Bearden, David M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Water Act Issues in the 106th Congress

Description: In the 106th Congress, no comprehensive activity on reauthorizing the Clean Water Act occurred, although a number of individual clean water bills were enacted. Other issues have been debated recently, such as reforming the law to provide regulatory relief for industry, states and cities, and individual landowners. The debate over many of these issues highlights differing views of the Act and its implementation by some who seek to strengthen existing requirements and others who believe that cost… more
Date: February 23, 2001
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Air Act Issues in the 107th Congress

Description: 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 shi… more
Date: September 5, 2001
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Water Act Issues in the 107th Congress

Description: Key water quality issues that may face the 107th Congress include: actions to implement existing provisions of the Clean Water Act (CWA), 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. Legislative prospects for comprehensively amending the Act have for some time stalled over whether and exactly how to change the law. If clean water issues receive attention in the 107th Congress, consi… more
Date: August 15, 2001
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Role of Risk Analysis and Risk Management in Environmental Protection

Description: The recent change in the leadership in the Senate affects the prospects in the 107th Congress for comprehensive legislation that would mandate increased use of risk analysis by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Although the key Senate proposal for such risk legislation in the 106th Congress had bipartisan sponsorship, it was opposed by many Democrats, including party leadership. No comprehensive risk legislation has been proposed in the 107th Congress, although "unbiased" risk ana… more
Date: September 6, 2001
Creator: Schierow, Linda-Jo
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Supreme Court Addresses Corps of Engineers Jurisdiction Over "Isolated Waters": The SWANCC Decision

Description: On January 9, 2001, the Supreme Court handed down Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. At issue in SWANCC was the scope of Clean Water Act section 404, which requires permits for the discharge of dredged or fill materials into "navigable waters," defined by the Act as "waters of the United States." Section 404 is the charter for the federal wetlands permitting program.
Date: February 16, 2001
Creator: Meltz, Robert & Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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