Recent Developments
| Date | 01 March 2011 |
41 ELR 10276 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW REPORTER 3-2011
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
In the Congress
“In the Congress” entries cover activities reported in the Congressional Record from January 1, 2011, through January 31,
2011. Entries are arranged by bill number, with Senate bills listed rst. “In the Congress” covers all 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 ratied by the Senate. is material is updated monthly. For archived materials, visit
http://www.elr.info/NewsAnalysis/archive.cfm.
Public Laws
S. 1609 (sheries), which authorizes
a single sheries cooperative for the
Bering Sea Aleutian Islands longline
catcher processor subsector, was signed
into law on December 22, 2010. Pub.
L. No. 111-335, 157 Cong. Rec. D8
(daily ed. Jan. 5, 2011).
S. 3481 (stormwater pollution),
which amends the Federal Water Pol-
lution Control Act to clarify federal
responsibility for stormwater pollution,
was signed into law on January 4, 2011.
Pub. L. No. 111-378, 157 Cong. Rec.
D41 (daily ed. Jan. 25, 2011).
S. 3874 (SDWA), which amends the
SDWA to reduce lead in drinking wa-
ter, was signed into law on January 4,
2011. Pub. L. No. 111-380, 157 Cong.
Rec. D41 (daily ed. Jan. 25, 2011).
H.R. 81 (shark conservat ion), which
amends the High Seas Driftnet Fish-
ing Moratorium Protection Act and the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conserva-
tion and Management Act to improve
the conservation of sharks, wa s signed
into law on January 4, 2011. Pub. L.
No. 111-348, 157 Cong. Rec. D39
(daily ed. Jan. 25, 2011).
H.R. 1061 (federal land), which trans-
fers certain land to the United States
to be held in trust for the Hoh Indian
Tribe, was signed into law on Decem-
ber 22, 2010. Pub. L. No. 111-323, 157
Cong. Rec. D8 (daily ed. Jan. 5, 2011).
H.R. 4973 (wildlif e refuges), which
amends the Fish and Wildlife Act of
1956 to reauthorize volunteer programs
and community partnerships for na-
tional wildlife ref uges, was signed into
law on January 4, 2011. Pub. L. No.
111-357, 157 Cong. Rec. D40 (daily ed.
Jan. 25, 2011).
H.R. 5470 (energy eciency), which
excludes an external power supply for
certain security or life safety alarms
and surveillance system components
from the application of certain energy
eciency standards under the Energy
Policy and Conservation Act, was
signed into law on January 4, 2011.
Pub. L. No. 111-360, 157 Cong. Rec.
D40 (daily ed. Jan. 25, 2011).
H.R. 5809 (diesel emi ssions), which
amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005
to reauthorize and modify provisions
relating to the diesel emissions reduc-
tion program, was signed into law on
January 4, 2011. Pub. L. No. 111-364,
157 Cong. Rec. D40 (daily ed. Jan. 25,
2011).
Bills Introduced
S. 15 (Vitter, R-La.) (climate) would
prohibit the regulation of carbon diox-
ide emissions in the United States until
China, India, and Russia implement
similar reductions. 157 Cong. Rec.
S122 (daily ed. Jan. 25, 2011). e bill
was referred to the Committee on Envi-
ronment and Public Works.
S. 29 ( Reid, D-Nev.) (fed eral land )
would establis h the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta Nat ional Heritage
Area. 157 Cong. Rec . S122 (daily ed.
Jan. 25, 2011). e bill was ref erred to
the Com mittee on Energy and Natu-
ral Resource s.
S. 33 (Lieberman, I-Con n.) (federal
land) would designate a portion of
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as
wilderness. 157 Cong. Rec. S122 (daily
ed. Jan. 25, 2011). e bill was referred
to the Committee on Environment and
Public Works.
S. 46 (Inouye, D-Ha w.) (coral
reefs) would reauthoriz e the Coral
Reef C onservation A ct of 2000. 157
Cong. Rec. S123 (daily ed. Jan. 25,
2011). e bill was re ferred to the
Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Trans portation.
S. 76 (Boxer, D-Cal.) (EPA) would
direct the EPA Administrator to inves-
tigate and address ca ncer and disease
clusters, including in infants a nd chil-
dren. 157 Cong. Rec. S124 (daily ed.
Jan. 25, 2011). e bill was referred to
the Committee on Environment and
Public Works.
S. 78 (Boxer, D-Cal.) (SDWA) would
amend the SDWA to require a health
advisory and drinking water standard
for perchlorate. 157 Cong. Rec. S124
(daily ed. Jan. 25, 2011). e bill was
referred to the Committee on Environ-
ment and Public Works.
S. 79 (Boxer, D-Cal.) (SDWA) would
amend the SDWA to require a health
advisory and drinking water standard
for hexavalent chromium. 157 Cong.
Rec. S124 (daily ed. Jan. 25, 2011). e
bill was referred to the Committee on
Environment and Public Works.
Copyright © 2011 Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, DC. reprinted with permission from ELR®, http://www.eli.org, 1-800-433-5120.
3-2011 NEWS & ANALYSIS 41 ELR 10277
S. 97 (Reid , D-Nev.) (San Francisco
Bay restora tion) would amend the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act
to establish a grant program to support
the restoration of Sa n Francisco Bay.
157 Cong. Rec. S124 (daily ed. Jan.
25, 2011). e bill was referred to t he
Committee on Env ironment and Pub-
lic Works.
S. 104 (Johanns, R-Neb.) (spill pre-
vention) would require the EPA Ad-
ministrator to nalize a proposed rule
to amend the spill prevention, control,
and countermeasure rule to tailor and
streamline the requirements for the
dairy industr y. 157 Cong. Rec. S125
(daily ed. Jan. 25, 2011). e bill was
referred to the Committee on Environ-
ment and Public Works.
S. 114 (Hutchinson, R-Tex.) (federal
land) would authorize the Secretary of
the Interior to enter into a cooperative
agreement for a park headquarters at
San Antonio Missions National Histor-
ical Park, expand the boundary of the
Park, and conduct a study of potential
land acquisitions. 157 Cong. Rec. S125
(daily ed. Jan. 25, 2011). e bill was
referred to the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources.
S. 127 (Hutchinson, R-Tex.) (federal
land) would establish the Bu alo Bay-
ou National Heritage Area in the state
of Texas. 157 Cong. Rec. S125 (daily
ed. Jan. 25, 2011). e bill was referred
to the Committee on Energy and Natu-
ral Resources.
S. 136 (Reid, D-Nev.) (tox ic sub-
stan ces) would establish requ ire-
ments wit h respect to bisphenol A .
157 Cong. Rec. S125 (daily e d. Jan.
25, 2011). e bil l was referre d to the
Committee on Hea lth, Education,
Labor, and Pensions.
S. 138 (Reid, D -Nev.) (federal la nd)
would provide for conser vation, en-
hanced recreation opportunities, and
development of renewable energ y in
the California Desert Conservation
Area. 157 Cong. Rec. S125-126 (daily
ed. Jan. 25, 2011). e bill was referred
to the Committe e on Energy and Nat-
ural Resources.
S. 140 (Levi n, D-Mic h.) (fede ral
land ) wou ld design ate as w ilderness
cert ain land and inland water within
the S leeping Bear Dunes National
Lak eshore in the s tate of M ichigan .
157 Cong. Rec. S126 (daily ed. Jan.
25, 2011). The bill was r eferred t o
the C ommittee on Energ y and Nat u-
ral Resource s.
S. 142 (Grassley, R-Iowa) (federal
land) would direct the Secretary of
Agriculture to convey certain federally
owned land located in Story County,
Iowa. 157 Cong. Rec. S126 (daily ed.
Jan. 25, 2011). e bill was referred to
the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri-
tion, and Forestry.
S. 147 (Kirk, R-Ill.) (sewage dump-
ing) would amend the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act to establish a
deadline for restricting sewage dump-
ing into the Great Lakes and to fund
programs and activities for improving
wastewater discharges into the Great
Lakes. 157 Cong. Rec. S126 (daily ed.
Jan. 25, 2011). e bill was referred to
the Committee on Environment and
Public Works.
S. 156 (Kohl, D-Wis.) (energy ef-
ciency) would amend the Energy
Policy and Conservation Act to provide
a uniform eciency descriptor for
covered water heaters. 157 Cong. Rec.
S126 (daily ed. Jan. 25, 2011). e bill
was referred to the Committee on En-
ergy and Natural Resources.
S. 161 (Boxer, D-Cal.) (federal land)
would establish Pinnacles National
Park in the state of California as a u nit
of the National Park System. 157 Cong.
Rec. S126 (daily ed. Jan. 25, 2011). e
bill was referred to the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources.
S. 171 (Boxer, D-Ca l.) (oshore
drill ing) would a mend the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act to perma-
nently prohibit the conduct of o shore
drilling on the outer continenta l shelf
o the coast of California, Oregon,
and Washington. 157 Cong. Rec. S126
(daily ed. Jan. 25, 2011). e bill was
referred to the C ommittee on Energ y
and Natura l Resources.
S. 173 (Boxer, D-Cal.) (federal land)
would establish the Sacramento River
National Recreation Area in the state of
California. 157 Cong. Rec. S126-127
(daily ed. Jan. 25, 2011). e bill was
referred to the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources.
S. 179 (Boxer, D -Cal.) (federa l
land) wou ld expand the bou ndaries
of the Gul f of the Farallone s National
Marine S anctuary a nd the Cordell
Bank Nat ional Marine Sa nctuary.
157 Cong. Rec. S127 (daily ed. Jan.
25, 2011). e bill was referred to the
Committee on Commerce , Science,
and Transpor tation.
S. 203 (Begich, R-Ala ska), (oil spills)
would direct the Administrator of
NOAA to institute research into the
special circumsta nces associated with
oil spill prevention and response in
Arctic waters, including assessment
of impacts on Arctic marine ma m-
mals and other wildlife, marine debris
research and removal, and risk assess-
ment. 157 Cong. Rec. S272 (daily ed.
Jan. 26, 2011). e bill was referred to
the Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation.
S. 204 (Begich, R-A laska), (oil spills)
would amend the Oil Pollution Act of
1990 to permit funds in the Oil Spill
Liability Trust to be used by NOAA,
the Coast Guard, and other federa l
agencies for certain research, preven-
tion, and response capabilities with
respect to discharges of oil; for environ-
mental studies; and for grant programs
to communities aected by oil spills on
the outer continental shelf. 157 Cong.
Rec. S272 (daily ed. Jan. 26, 2011).
e bill was referred to the Committee
on Finance.
S. 214 (Menendez, D-N.J.) (oil spills)
would amend the Oil Pollution Act of
1990 to require oil polluters to pay the
full cost of oil spills. 157 Cong. Rec.
S338 (daily ed. Jan. 27, 2011). e bill
was referred to the Committee on Envi-
ronment and Public Works.
S. 215 (Menendez, D-N.J.) (oil
spills) wou ld amend the Interna l Rev-
enue Code of 1986 to require oil pol-
luters to pay t he full cost of oil spills.
157 Cong. Rec. S338 (dai ly ed. Jan.
27, 2011). e bill was referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Copyright © 2011 Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, DC. reprinted with permission from ELR®, http://www.eli.org, 1-800-433-5120.
To continue reading
Request your trial