Recent Developments

• Date: 01 March 2015

45 ELR 10244 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW REPORTER 3-2015

Public Laws

H.R. 3572 (water), which revises the

boundaries of certain John H. Chafee

Coastal Barrier Resources System units,

was signed by the president on Decem-

ber 16, 2014. Pub. L. No. 113-253, 160

Cong. Rec. D1157 (daily ed. Jan. 2,

2015).

H.R. 5057 (energy), which amends

the Energy Policy and Conservat ion

Act to permit exemptions for external

power supplies from certain eciency

standards, was signed by the president

on December 18, 2014. Pub. L. No.

113-263, 160 Cong. Rec. D1157 (daily

ed. Jan. 2, 2015).

H.R. 5069 (wildl ife), which amends

the Migratory Bird Hunting and Con-

servation Stamp Act to increase in

the price of Migratory Bird Hunting

and Conservation Stamps to fu nd the

acquisition of conservation easements

for migratory birds, was signed by the

president on December 18, 2014. Pub.

L. No. 113-264, 160 Cong. Rec. D1157

(daily ed. Jan. 2, 2015).

Chamber Action

S. 1 (energy), which would approve the

Keystone XL Pipeline, was passed by

the Senate. 161 Cong. Rec. S620 (daily

ed. Jan. 29, 2015).

H.R. 3 (energy), which would approve

the Keystone XL Pipeline, was pa ssed

by the House. 161 Cong. Rec. H168

(daily ed. Jan. 9, 2015).

H.R. 23 (natura l resources), which

would reauthorize the National Wind-

storm Impact Reduction Program, was

passed by the House. 161 Cong. Rec.

H83 (daily ed. Jan. 7, 2015).

H.R. 34 (natural resources), which

would authorize and strengthen NOAA’s

tsunami detection, forecast, warning,

research, and mitigation program, wa s

passed by the House. 161 Cong. Rec.

H87 (daily ed. Jan. 7, 2015).

H.R. 35 (energy), which would

increase the understanding of the

health eects of low doses of ionizing

radiation, was passed by the House.

161 Cong. Rec. H82 (daily ed. Jan. 7,

2015).

H. Res. 48 (energy), which would

provide for consideration of H.R. 351

to expedite approval of natural gas

exportation, was passed by the House.

161 Cong. Rec. H611 (daily ed. Jan. 27,

2015).

Committee Action

S. 147 (energy) was reported by the

Committee on Ener gy and Natural

Resources. S. Rep. No. 114-1, 161

Cong. Rec. S150 (daily ed. Jan. 12 ,

2015). e bill would approve the Key-

stone XL Pipeline.

H. Res. 38 (governa nce) was reported

by the Committee on Rules. H. Rep.

No. 114-3, 161 Cong. Rec. H429 (daily

ed. Jan. 20, 2015). e resolution would

provide for consideration of H.R. 161,

which would require the timely con-

sideration of all licenses, permits, and

approvals required under federal law

with respect to the siting, constr uction,

expansion, or operation of any natural

gas pipeline projects.

H. Res. 48 (energy) was reported by

the Committee on Rules. H. Rep. No.

114-5, 161 Cong. Rec. H581 (daily ed.

Jan. 26, 2015). e resolution would

provide for consideration of H.R. 351,

which would allow for expedited ap-

proval of natural gas ex portation.

Bills Introduced

S. 1 (Hoeven, R-N.D.) (energy) would

approve the Keystone XL Pipeline. 161

Cong. Rec. S11 (daily ed. Jan. 6, 2015).

S. 13 (Ha tch, R-Utah) (land use)

would est ablish the Hurricane Sand

Dunes Nat ional Re creation A rea in

Utah. 161 Cong. Re c. S11 (daily ed.

Jan. 6, 2015). e bill wa s referred to

the Comm ittee on Energy a nd Natu-

ral Re sources.

S. 15 (Hatch, R-Utah) (energy) would

amend the Mineral Lea sing Act to rec-

ognize the authority of states to regu-

late oil and gas operations and promote

American energy sec urity, development,

and job creation. 161 Cong. Rec. S11

(daily ed. Jan. 6, 2015). e bill was

referred to the Committee on Energy

and Natural Resource s.

S. 27 (Feinstein, D- Cal. ) (wildlife)

would make wildlife t racking a predi-

cate oense under racketeering statutes,

money laundering statutes, and the

Travel Act, and would provide for the

use of civil penalties, nes, for feitures,

and restitution under such statutes for

conservation purposes. 161 Cong. Rec.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

In the Congress

“In the Congress” entries cover activities reported in the  from January 1, 2015, through January 31,

2015. Entries are arranged by bill number, with Senate bills listed rst. “In the Congress” covers a ll environment-related

bills that are introduced, reported out of committee, passed by either house, or signed by the president. “In the Congress”

also covers all environmental treaties ratied by the Senate. is material is updated monthly. For archived materials, visit

http://elr.info/legislative/congressional-update/archive.

Copyright © 2015 Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, DC. Reprinted with permission from ELR®, http://www.eli.org, 1-800-433-5120.