Recent Developments
| Date | 01 May 2015 |
45 ELR 10472 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW REPORTER 5-2015
Chamber Action
S. 535 (energy), which would promote
energy eciency, was passed by the
Senate. 161 Cong. Rec. S2082 (daily
ed. Mar. 26, 2015).
H.R. 1029 (governance), which would
amend the Environmental Research,
Development, and Demonstration
Authorization Act of 1978 to provide
for Scientic Advisory Board member
qualications and public participation,
was passed by the House. 161 Cong.
Rec. H1678 (daily ed. Mar. 17, 2015).
H.R. 1030 (governance), which would
prohibit EPA from proposing, nal-
izing, or disseminat ing regulations or
assessments based on science that is not
transparent or reproducible, was passed
by the House. 161 Cong. Rec. H1733
(daily ed. Mar. 18, 2015).
Committee Action
H.R. 1029 (governance) was reported
by the Committee on Science, Space,
and Technology. H. Rep. No. 114-33,
161 Cong. Rec. H1523 (daily ed. Mar.
2, 2015). e bill would amend the En-
vironmental Research, Development,
and Demonstration Authorization Act
to provide for Scientic Advisory Board
member qualication requirements and
public participation.
H.R. 1030 ( governance) wa s reported
by the Com mittee on Science, Spa ce,
and Technology. H. R ep. No. 114-34,
161 Cong. Rec. H1524 (daily ed. M ar.
2, 2015). e bill would proh ibit EPA
from proposing, na lizing, or di s-
seminat ing reg ulations or asse ssments
based on science that is not t ranspar-
ent or reproducible.
Bills Introduced
S. 630 (Feinstein , D-Cal.) ( land
use) wou ld establish the Sa cramento-
San Joa quin De lta National He ritage
Area . 161 Cong. Re c. S1246 (da ily ed.
Mar. 2, 2015). e bill wa s referred to
the Com mittee on Energy a nd Natu-
ral R esourc es.
S. 631 (Murkowski, R-Ala ska)
(natura l resources) would exempt
National Fore st System land in A laska
from the R oadless Area C onservation
Rule. 161 Cong. Rec . S1246 (daily ed.
Mar. 3, 2015). e bill was referred to
the Comm ittee on Energy a nd Natu-
ral Re sources.
S. 634 (Gardner, R-Colo.) (natural
resources) would prohibit FEMA from
recouping certain assistance. 161 Cong.
Rec. S1246 (daily ed. Mar. 3, 2015).
e bill was referred to the Committee
on Homeland Security and Govern-
mental Aairs.
S. 638 (Flake, R-Ar iz.) (air) would
amend the CA A with respect to excep-
tional event demonstrations. 161 Cong.
Rec. S1246 (daily ed. Mar. 3, 2015).
e bill was referred to the Committee
on Environment and Public Works.
S. 639 (Flake, R-Ari z.) (climate
change) would require EPA to include
in any proposed rule that limits green-
house gas emissions and imposes in-
creased costs on other federal a gencies
an oset from funds ava ilable to EPA
for all projected increased costs t hat the
proposed rule would impose. 161 Cong.
Rec. S1246 (daily ed. Mar. 3, 2015).
e bill was referred to the Committee
on Environment and Public Works.
S. 640 (Flake, R-Ariz.) (ai r) would
amend the CA A to delay the review
and revision of NAAQS for ozone.
161 Cong. Rec. S1246 (daily ed. Mar.
3, 2015). e bill was refer red to the
Committee on Env ironment and Pub-
lic Works.
S. 651 (Boxer, D-Ca l.) (land us e)
would authorize D OI to acquire cer-
tain la nd in Mart inez, Ca lifornia, for
inclusion in the John Muir National
Historic Site. 161 Cong. Rec. S1302
(daily ed. Ma r. 4, 2015). e bill was
referred to the C ommittee on Energ y
and Natura l Resources.
S. 653 (Cardin , D-Md.) (water)
would amend the Water Res ources
Research Act to reauthori ze grants and
require applied water supply research
regarding the institutes establi shed
under the Act. 161 Cong. Rec. S1302
(daily ed. Ma r. 4, 2015). e bill was
referred to the C ommittee on Envi ron-
ment and Public Works.
S. 655 (une, R-S.D.) (wildlife)
would prohibit DOI from using funds
to make a nal determination on the
listing of the northern long-eared bat
under the ESA. 161 Cong. Rec. S1302
(daily ed. Mar. 4, 2015). e bill was
referred to the Committee on Environ-
ment and Public Works.
S. 659 (Sullivan, R-Ala ska) (land use)
would protect and enhance opportuni-
ties for recreational hunting, shing,
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
In the Congress
“In the Congress” entries cover activities reported in the Congressional Record from March 1, 2015, through March 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 ratied 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.
5-2015 NEWS & ANALYSIS 45 ELR 10473
and shooting. 161 Cong. Rec. S1303
(daily ed. Mar. 4, 2015). e bill was
referred to the Committee on Environ-
ment and Public Works.
S. 691 (Reid, D-Nev.) (energy) would
require NRC to obtain the consent of
aected state and loca l governments
before authorizing the construction of
a nuclear waste repository. 161 Cong.
Rec. S1383 (daily ed. Mar. 10, 2015).
e bill was referred to the Committee
on Environment and Public Works.
S. 697 (Uda ll, D-N.M.) (toxic sub-
stance s) would amend TSCA to
reauthorize a nd modernize the Act.
161 Cong. Rec. S1384 (daily ed. Mar.
10, 2015). e bill was referred to the
Committee on Env ironment and Pub-
lic Works.
S. 700 (Dur bin, D-Ill.) (toxic sub-
stance s) would amend the A sbestos
Information Act to establis h a public
database of asbestos-c ontaining prod-
ucts and requ ire public disclo sure of
information per taining to the manu-
facture, proc essing, distribution, and
use of products c ontaining a sbestos.
161 Cong. Rec. S1384 (daily ed. Mar.
10, 2015). e bill was referred to the
Committee on Env ironment and Pub-
lic Works.
S. 703 (Coons, D-Del.) (energy)
would reauthorize the weatherization
and state energy programs. 161 Cong.
Rec. S1438 (daily ed. Mar. 11, 2015).
e bill was referred to the Committee
on Energy and Natural Resources.
S. 718 ( Warner, D-Va.) ( land use)
would modif y the bou ndary of Pe-
tersbu rg National Battlee ld in Vir-
gini a. 161 Cong . Rec. S1439 (daily
ed. Mar. 11, 2015). e bil l was re-
ferred to the Com mittee on E nerg y
and Na tura l Resourc es.
S. 7 20 (Port man, R-Ohio) (e nergy)
would pro mote energy saving s in
resi dential and indust rial bu ilding s.
161 Cong . Rec. S1439 (da ily ed.
Mar. 11, 2015). Th e bill w as refe rred
to t he Comm itte e on Ener gy and
Natu ral Re sources .
S. 721 (Bennet, D-Colo.) (land us e)
would amend the Pittman-Robertson
Wildlife Restoration Act to facilitate
the establishment or expansion of pub-
lic target ranges. 161 Cong. Rec. S1439
(daily ed. Mar. 11, 2015). e bill was
referred to the Committee on Environ-
ment and Public Works.
S. 722 (Coons, D-Del.) (wildlife)
would extend the date after which in-
terest earned on obligations held in the
wildlife restoration fund may be ava il-
able for apportionment. 161 Cong. Rec.
S1439 (daily ed. Mar. 11, 2015). e
bill was referred to the Committee on
Environment and Public Works.
S. 72 3 (Schat z, D-Haw.) (ener gy)
would ame nd the Nat ional Ene rgy
Conserva tion Polic y Act to provid e
guid ance on util ity energ y serv ice
contr acts used by fede ral age ncies.
161 Cong. Rec. S1494 (da ily ed. Mar.
12, 2 015). The bi ll w as r eferred t o
the C ommittee on Energ y and Nat u-
ral Resource s.
S. 725 (Boxer, D-Ca l.) (toxic sub-
stance s) would amend TSCA. 161
Cong. Rec. S1494 (daily ed. Ma r. 12,
2015). e bill was refer red to the
Committee on Env ironment and Pub-
lic Works.
S. 727 (King, I-Me.) (gover nance)
would amend the Internal Revenue
Code to include biomass heating ap-
pliances for tax credits ava ilable for
energy-ecient building property and
energy property. 161 Cong. Rec. S1494
(daily ed. Mar. 12, 2015). e bill was
referred to the Committee on Finance.
S. 732 (Tester, D-Mont.) (gover-
nance) would rearm the authority of
DOI to take land into trust for Indian
tribes. 161 Cong. Rec. S1494 (daily ed.
Mar. 12, 2015). e bill was referred to
the Committee on Indian A airs.
S. 736 (Enzi, R-Wyo.) (wildlife)
would amend the ESA to require dis-
closure of the basis of determinations
to states, and ensure the use of infor-
mation provided by state, tribal, and
county governments in decisionmak-
ing. 161 Cong. Rec. S1495 (daily ed.
Mar. 12, 2015). e bill was referred to
the Committee on Environment and
Public Works.
S. 738 (Murkowski, R-Ala ska) (wa-
ter) would reduce the risks associated
with genetically a ltered salmon. 161
Cong. Rec. S1495 (daily ed. Mar. 12,
2015). e bill was referred to the
Committee on Health, Education, La-
bor, and Pensions.
S. 741 (Cardin, D-Md.) (water) would
authorize EPA to establish a program of
awarding grants to owners or operators
of water systems in order to increase the
resiliency or adaptability of the systems
to any ongoing or forecasted chang es to
the hydrologic conditions of a region.
161 Cong. Rec. S1528 (daily ed. Mar.
16, 2015). e bill was referred to the
Committee on Environment and Pub-
lic Works.
S. 751 (une, R-S. D.) (air) would
improve the establ ishment of any
lower ground-level ozone standard s.
161 Cong. Rec. H1585 (daily ed. Mar.
17, 2015). e bill was referred to the
Committee on Env ironment and Pub-
lic Works.
S. 755 (Alexander, R-Tenn.) (land
use) would designate certain public
land in the Cherokee National Forest
in Tennessee as wilderness. 161 Cong.
Rec. S1585 (daily ed. Mar. 17, 2015).
e bill was referred to the Committee
on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
S. 764 (Wicker, R-Miss.) (gover-
nance) would reauthorize and amend
the National Sea Grant College Pro-
gram Act. 161 Cong. Rec. S1585 (daily
ed. Mar. 17, 2015). e bill was referred
to the Committee on Commerce, Sci-
ence, and Transportation.
S. 765 (Portman, R-Ohio) (energy)
would determine the budgetary eects
of energy savings performa nce contracts
and utility energy ser vice contracts.
161 Cong. Rec. S1585 (daily ed. Mar.
17, 2015). e bill was referred to the
Committee on Budget.
S. 769 (Blunt, R-Mo.) (land use)
would streamline the permit process
for rail and transit inf rastructure. 161
Cong. Rec. S1628 (daily ed. Mar. 18,
2015). e bill was referred to the
Committee on Science, Commerce,
and Transportation.
S. 770 (Rubio, R-Fla.) (land use)
would authorize Escambia County,
Florida, to convey property that was for-
Copyright © 2015 Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, DC. Reprinted with permission from ELR®, http://www.eli.org, 1-800-433-5120.
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