Recent Developments

• Date: 01 February 2017

47 ELR 10162 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW REPORTER 2-2017

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

In the Congress

“In the Congress” entries cover activities reported in the Congressional Record from December 1, 2016, through December

31, 2016. 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 ratied by the Senate. is material is updated monthly. For archived

materials, visit http://elr.info/legislative/congressional-update/archive.

Public Law

H.R. 4665 (gover nance), which re-

quires the Secretar y of Commerce to

conduct an assessment and ana lysis of

the outdoor recreation economy of the

United States, was signed into law on

December 8, 2016. Pub. L. No. 114-

249. 162 Cong. Rec. D1078 (daily ed.

Dec. 9, 2016).

Chamber Action

S. 8 (energy), which would provide for

the approval of the Agreement for Co-

operation Between the Government of

the United States and the Government

of the Kingdom of Norway Concerning

Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, was

passed by the Senate. 162 Cong. Rec.

S7103 (daily ed. Dec. 9, 2016).

S. 817 (land use), which would provide

for the addition of certain real propert y

to the Grand Ronde Reservation Act to

make technica l corrections, was passed

by the House. 162 Cong. Rec. H7212

(daily ed. Dec. 6, 2016).

S. 1776 (governance), which would

enhance tribal road sa fety, was passed

by the Senate. 162 Cong. Rec. S7146

(daily ed. Dec. 9, 2016).

S. 2058 (governance), which would

require the Secretary of Commerce to

study the coverage gaps of the Next

Generation Weather Radar of the Na-

tional Weather Service to develop a

plan for improving radar coverage and

hazardous weather condition detection

and forecasting, wa s passed by the Sen-

ate. 162 Cong. Rec. S6679 (daily ed.

Dec. 1, 2016).

S. 3028 (land use), which would redes-

ignate the Olympic Wilderness as the

Daniel J. Evans Wilderness, was pas sed

by the House. 162 Cong. Rec. H7301

(daily ed. Dec. 7, 2016).

S. 3086 (water), which would amend

the Marine Debris Act to promote

international action to reduce marine

debris, was passed by the Senate. 162

Cong. Rec. S7106 (daily ed. Dec. 9,

2016).

S. 3395 (natural resourc es), which

would require limitations on prescribed

burns, was passed by the House. 162

Cong. Rec. H7159 (daily ed. Dec. 5,

2016).

H.R. 756 (energy), which would

amend the Energy Policy and Conser-

vation Act to provide for the dissemina-

tion of information regarding available

federal programs relating to energ y-ef-

ciency projects for schools, was passed

by the House. 162 Cong. Rec. H7190

(daily ed. Dec. 6, 2016).

H.R. 1219 (land use), which would

authorize the Secretar y of the Interior

to convey certain land and appurte-

nances of the Arbuckle Project, Okla-

homa, to the Arbuckle Master Con-

servancy District, was passed by the

House. 162 Cong. Rec. H7301 (daily

ed. Dec. 7, 2016).

H.R. 1561 (governance), which would

improve NOAA’s weather research

through a focused program of invest-

ment on aordable and attainable

advances in observationa l, computing,

and modeling capabilities to support

substantial improvement in weather

forecasting and prediction of high-im-

pact weather events, was passed by the

Senate. 162 Cong. Rec. S6680 (daily

ed. Dec. 1, 2016).

H.R. 2028 (govern ance), which would

make appropriations for energy and

water development and related agencies

for the scal year ending September 30,

2016, was passed by the House. 162

Cong. Rec. H7498 (daily ed. Dec . 8,

2016).

H.R. 3711 (land use), which would

authorize the Secretar y of the Interior

to conduct a special resource study of

Chicano Park in San Diego, Cali fornia,

was passed by the House. 162 Cong.

Rec. H7298 (daily ed. Dec. 7, 2016).

H.R. 4680 (la nd use), which would

prepare the National Park Service for

its Centennial in 2016 and for a second

century of promoting and protecting

the natural, historic, and cu ltural re-

sources of our National Parks for the

enjoyment of present and future genera-

tions, was passed by the House. 162

Cong. Rec. H7203 (daily ed. Dec. 6,

2016).

H.R. 6375 (energy), which would pro-

vide for consideration of the extension

under the Energy Policy and Conserva-

tion Act of nonapplication of No-Load

Mode energy-eciency standard s to

certain security or life safety alarms or

surveillance s ystems, was passed by the

House. 162 Cong. Rec. H7192 (daily

ed. Dec. 6, 2016).

H.R. 640 0 (land us e), which would

revise the boundaries of cer tain John

H. Chafee Coasta l Barrier Resources

System units in New Jersey, was passed

Copyright © 2017 Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, DC. Reprinted with permission from ELR®, http://www.eli.org, 1-800-433-5120.

2-2017 NEWS & ANALYSIS 47 ELR 10163

by the House. 162 Cong. Rec. H7279

(daily ed. Dec. 7, 2016).

H.R. 640 0 (land us e), which would

revise the boundaries of cer tain John

H. Chafee Coasta l Barrier Resources

System units in New Jersey, was passed

by the Senate. 162 Cong. Rec. S7130

(daily ed. Dec. 9, 2016).

H.R. 6452 (natura l resources), which

would implement the Convention on

the Conservation and Mana gement

of High Seas Fisheries in the Pacic

Ocean and implement the Convention

on the Conservation and Management

of High Seas Fishery Resourc es in the

South Pacic Ocean, was passed by the

House. 162 Cong. Rec. H7533 (daily

ed. Dec. 8, 2016).

H.R. 6452 (wildli fe), which would

implement the Convention on the

Conservation and Mana gement of

High Seas Fisheries Resource s in the

North Pacic Ocean, to implement the

Convention on the Conservation and

Management of High Seas Fishery R e-

sources in the South Pacic Ocean, wa s

passed by the Senate. 162 Cong. Rec.

S7131 (daily ed. Dec. 9, 2016).

Committee Action

S. 8 (governance) was repor ted by the

Committee on Foreign Relations. 162

Cong. Rec. S6839 (daily ed. Dec. 7,

2016). e bill would provide approval

of the Agreement for Cooperation Be-

tween the Government of the U.S. and

the Government of the Kingdom of

Norway Concerning Peaceful Uses of

Nuclear Energy.

S. 1403 (natural resource s) was

reported by the Committee on Com-

merce, Science, and Transportation.

162 Cong. Rec. S6708 (daily ed. Dec.

5, 2016). e bill would amend the

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conserva-

tion and Management Act to promote

sustainable conservat ion and manage-

ment for the Gulf of Mexico and South

Atlantic sheries and the communities

that rely on them.

S. 1403 (wildlife) was reported by the

Committee on Commerce, Science,

and Transportation. S. Rep. No. 114-

398, 162 Cong. Rec. S7031 (daily ed.

Dec. 9, 2016). e bill would amend

the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con-

servation and Management Act to

promote sustainable conservation and

management for the Gulf of Mexico

and South Atlantic sheries and t he

communities that rely on them.

S. 1685 (land use) was reported by the

Committee on Commerce, Science,

and Transportation. 162 Cong. Rec.

S6758 (daily ed. Dec. 6, 2016). e bill

would direct the Federal Communica-

tions Commission to extend to private

land use restrictions its ru le relating to

reasonable accommodation of amateur

service communications.

S. 2609 (natura l resources) was re-

ported by the Committee on Agr icul-

ture, Nutrition, and Forestry. S. Rep.

No. 114-403, 162 Cong. Rec. S7031

(daily ed. Dec. 9, 2012). e bill would

amend the Agricultu ral Marketing

Act of 1946 to require the Secretary

of Agriculture to establish a national

voluntary labeling st andard for bioengi-

neered foods.

S. 2 829 (wat er) was reported by

the Committ ees on C ommerce , Sci -

ence , and Tra nsporta tion. S. Rep.

No. 114- 402, 162 C ong. Re c. S7031

(dai ly ed. D ec. 9, 2016 ). T he bill

would amend a nd enha nce cer tain

DOT mari time prog rams.

S. 2852 (governanc e) was reported by

the Comm ittee on Homeland Secu-

rity and Government A airs. S. Rep.

No. 114-396, 162 Cong. Rec. S6922

(daily ed. Dec. 8, 2016). e bill

would expand the government’s use

and adm inistration of dat a to facilitate

transp arency, eective governa nce,

and innovation.

S. 3038 (natural re sources) was

reported by the Committee on Com-

merce, Science, and Transportation.

S. Rep. No. 114-399, 162 Cong. Rec.

S7031 (daily ed. Dec. 9, 2016). e bill

would reauthorize the CZMA .

S. 3346 (governa nce) was reported by

the Committee on Commerce, Science,

and Transportation. S. Rep. No. 114-

390, 162 Cong. Rec. S6708 (daily ed.

Dec. 5, 2016). e bill would authorize

NASA programs.

H.R. 3062 (land u se) was reported by

the Committee on Natural Resou rces

and the Committee on Energy and

Commerce. H. Rep. No. 114-856, 162

Cong. Rec. H7566 (daily ed. Dec. 8,

2016). e bill would prohibit the use

of eminent domain in carry ing out cer-

tain projects.

H.R. 3094 (natur al resources) was

reported by the Committee on Natural

Resources. H. Rep. No. 114-851, 162

Cong. Rec. H7566 (daily ed. Dec. 8,

2016). e bill would amend the Mag-

nuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation

and Management Act to transfer to

states the authority to manage red snap-

per sheries in the Gulf of Mexico.

H.R. 3711 (land use) was reported by

the Committee on Natural Resou rces.

H. Rep. No. 114-845, 162 Cong. Rec.

H7181 (daily ed. Dec. 5, 2016). e bill

would authorize the Secretar y of the

Interior to conduct a special resource

study of Chicano Park, located in San

Diego, California.

H.R. 3764 (governanc e) was reported

by the Committee on Natural Resourc-

es. H. Rep. No. 114-847, 162 Cong.

Rec. H7396 (daily ed. Dec. 7, 2016).

e bill would provide that a Native

American group may receive federal

acknowledgment as a Native American

tribe only by an act of Congress.

H.R. 4220 (water) was reported by

the Committee on Ways and Means.

H. Rep. No. 114-862, 162 Cong. Rec.

H7566 (daily ed. Dec. 8, 2016). e

bill would amend the Internal Revenue

Code of 1986 to facilitate water leasing

and water transfers to promote conser-

vation and eciency.

H.R. 4579 (land use) was reported by

the Committee on Natural Resou rces

and the Committee on Armed Ser vices.

H. Rep. No. 114-857, 162 Cong. Rec.

H7566 (daily ed. Dec. 8, 2016). e

bill would withdraw certa in BLM land

in the state of Utah from all forms of

public appropriation, provide for the

shared management of the withdraw n

land by the Secretary of the Interior

and the Secretary of the Air Force to

Copyright © 2017 Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, DC. Reprinted with permission from ELR®, http://www.eli.org, 1-800-433-5120.