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Air Toxics: What Progress Has EPA Made in Regulating Hazardous Air Pollutants?

Description: This report considers the various ways the EPA has regulated hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) in the past and the changes following the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments. Moreover, the report details four programs that the EPA will use to better identify pollutant sources and regulate them.
Date: July 22, 2002
Creator: Hardenbergh, Anne L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Air Act Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: In the Summer of 2005, Congress focused on several Clean Air Act Issues before the August recess. Although the Congressional agenda stated that attention would be given to the needed amendments of the Clear Skies/Multi-Pollutant Legislation, this progress was stalled, and the committee failed to approve the bill due to a tied vote. This otherwise stagnated debate was given some attention due to the discussions over mercury regulations as they apply to power plants. The outcome of the decision c… more
Date: September 22, 2005
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Air Act Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: In the Summer of 2005, Congress focused on several Clean Air Act Issues before the August recess. Although the Congressional agenda stated that attention would be given to the needed amendments of the Clear Skies/Multi-Pollutant Legislation, this progress was stalled, and the committee failed to approve the bill due to a tied vote. This otherwise stagnated debate was given some attention due to the discussions over mercury regulations as they apply to power plants. The outcome of the decision c… more
Date: September 22, 2005
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Water Act Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: Congress has recently focused legislative attention on narrow bills to extend or modify selected Clean Water Act (CWA) programs, rather than taking up comprehensive proposals. In the 109th Congress, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has approved S. 1400, a bill authorizing $20 billion in federal grants to capitalize state clean water infrastructure loan programs. Also, a House committee has approved bills to reauthorize several Clean Water Act programs: H.R. 624 would provide $1… more
Date: June 22, 2005
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Environmental Protection Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: Environmental protection concerns span a wide variety of issues, including clean air, water quality, chemical security, and environmental aspects of other major issue areas such as transportation and defense. This issue brief provides an overview of key environmental issues that are receiving or may receive attention in the 109th Congress. The sections on specific issues contain references to more detailed and extensive CRS reports on the subjects covered.
Date: May 22, 2006
Creator: Fletcher, Susan R. & Isler, Margaret M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Climate Change Legislation in the 109th Congress

Description: Climate change and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are a continuing issue in the 109th Congress. Bills directly addressing climate change issues range from those focused primarily on climate change research to comprehensive emissions cap-and-trade programs. Additional bills focus on GHG reporting and registries, or on power plant emissions of carbon dioxide, as part of wider controls on pollutant emissions. The bills vary in their approaches to climate change issues. This report briefly discusse… more
Date: February 22, 2006
Creator: Yacobucci, Brent D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Air Act Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: This report provides background and analysis on several issues related to the Clean Air Act, including: Clear Skies / Multi-Pollutant Legislation, Mercury from Power Plants, New Source Review (NSR), MTBE and Ethanol, Ozone Nonattainment Area Deadlines, and Conformity of Transportation Plans and SIPs. It also discusses the most recent developments.
Date: February 22, 2005
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Environmental Protection Agency: FY2000 Budget Issues

Description: State and local wastewater and drinking water capital needs were the most prominent budgetary issues. Senate and House authorizing and appropriating chairmen expressed concern over the requested 17% decrease in the State and Tribal Assistance Grants account from $3.41 billion in FY1999 to $2.84 billion in FY2000. The conference agreement on H.R. 2684 provides a total of $3.47 billion. For clean water state revolving funds, the conference committee approved the Senate's level of $1.35 billion, a… more
Date: October 22, 1999
Creator: Lee, Martin R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Air Act Issues in the 108th Congress

Description: 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… more
Date: October 22, 2004
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Air Act Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: Major amendments to the Clean Air Act were among the first items on the agenda of the 109th Congress, with S. 131 (the Clear Skies Act) scheduled for markup by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee March 9. The most prominent air quality issues discussed in this report are; Clear Skies / Multi-Pollutant Legislation, Mercury from Power Plants, New Source Review (NSR), MTBE and Ethanol, Ozone Nonattainment Area Deadlines, and Conformity of Transportation Plans and SIPs.
Date: April 22, 2005
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Air After the CAIR Decision: Back to Square One?

Description: This report discusses three Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) long-term options in regard to Clean Air: (1) starting anew with a new strategy with respect to mitigating transported air pollution based on the decision; (2) allowing the states to sort out the issue through Section 126 petitions; and (3) seeking new legislation providing EPA with the statutory authority to implement either CAIR in some form, or an alternative.
Date: July 22, 2008
Creator: McCarthy, James E.; Parker, Larry B. & Meltz, Robert
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Global Climate Change

Description: This report briefly reviews the status of climate science, international negotiations, and congressional activity focused specifically on climate change.
Date: August 22, 2002
Creator: Justus, John R. & Fletcher, Susan R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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National Environmental Education Act of 1990: Overview, Implementation, and Issues for Congress

Description: 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.
Date: September 22, 2008
Creator: Bearden, David M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Wetlands Coverage of the Clean Water Act Is Revisited by the Supreme Court: Rapanos v. United States

Description: This report discusses the Supreme Court decision in Rapanos v. United States, which addressed the asserted jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over wetlands adjacent to "waters of the United States," the problematic phrase used by the Clean Water Act (CWA) to define the geographic scope of the act's wetlands permitting program.
Date: April 22, 2008
Creator: Meltz, Robert & Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Environmental Risk and Cost-Benefit Analysis: A Review of Proposed Legislative Mandates, 1993-1998

Description: Between 1993 and 1998 Congress considered many proposals that aimed to increase or improve the use of risk analysis by federal agencies, especially in developing environmental rules. This report describes differences and similarities among selected provisions of key proposals: Senate-passed Johnston amendments to S. 171 and S. 2019 in the 103rd Congress; S. 343, as reported by the Committee on the Judiciary, in the 104th Congress; House-passed H.R. 9 in the 104th Congress; S. 981, as reported b… more
Date: January 22, 1999
Creator: Schierow, Linda-Jo
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Chemical Plant Security

Description: This report highlights the reasons why chemical plants are susceptible to security breaches due to the ineffectiveness of proposed congressional mandates.
Date: October 22, 2004
Creator: Schierow, Linda-Jo
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Brownfields and Superfund Issues in the 108th Congress

Description: This report discusses the Superfund program designed 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.
Date: October 22, 2003
Creator: Reisch, Mark
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Climate Change Technology Initiative (CCTI): Research, Technology, and Related Programs

Description: The Climate Change Technology Initiative (CCTI) was the Clinton Administration's package of R&D (to develop renewable energy sources and more energy efficient technologies), targeted tax credits (to encourage purchase and deployment of more efficient technologies), and voluntary information programs (to help businesses and schools be better informed when making purchasing and operating decisions that involve energy use and emissions). This report describes the R&D, voluntary information program… more
Date: January 22, 2001
Creator: Simpson, Michael M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Perchlorate Contamination of Drinking Water: Regulatory Issues and Legislative Actions

Description: Perchlorate is the explosive component of solid rocket fuel, fireworks, road flares, and other products and is used heavily by the Department of Defense (DOD) and other industries. Perchlorate also occurs naturally. This compound has been detected in drinking water supplies, especially in California. It also has been found in milk and many foods. Because of this widespread occurrence, concern over the potential health risks of perchlorate exposure has increased, and some states and Member of Co… more
Date: May 22, 2008
Creator: Tiemann, Mary
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides an overview of Arctic-related issues for Congress such as Arctic sovereignty claims, commercial shipping through the Arctic, Arctic oil, gas, and mineral exploration, endangered Arctic species, and increased military operations in the Arctic, and refers readers to more in-depth CRS reports on specific Arctic-related issues.
Date: October 22, 2015
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Drinking Water State Revolving Fund: Program Overview and Issues

Description: This report discusses the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Amendments of 1996, which authorized a drinking water state revolving loan fund (DWSRF) program to help public water systems finance infrastructure projects needed to comply with federal drinking water regulations and to protect public health.
Date: February 22, 2008
Creator: Tiemann, Mary
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Highway Fund Sanctions for Clean Air Act Violations

Description: This report provides information concerning the authority to impose sanctions, lists the 14 areas that have been subject to sanctions since 1990, describes their status as of October 1997, and discusses the role of sanctions and alternatives under the Act.
Date: October 22, 1997
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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