Recent Developments
| Date | 01 November 2016 |
46 ELR 10982 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW REPORTER 11-2016
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
In the Congress
“In the Congress” entries cover activities reported in the Congressional Record from September 1, 2016, through September
30, 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 ratied by the Senate. is material is updated monthly. For archived
materials, visit http://elr.info/legislative/congressional-update/archive.
Chamber Action
S. 1579 (governance), which would
seek to enhance and integrate Native
American tourism, empower Native
American communities, increa se co-
ordination and collaboration between
federal tourism assets, and expand heri-
tage and cultura l tourism opportunities
in the United States, was passed by the
House. 162 Cong. Rec. H5289 (daily
ed. Sept. 12, 2016).
S. 1886 (water), which would reautho-
rize the Integrated Coast al and Ocean
Observation System Act of 2009, was
passed by the Senate. 162 Cong. Rec.
S6080 (daily ed. Sept. 26, 2016).
S. 2848 (water), which would provide
for the conservation and development
of water and related resources and
authorize the Secretar y of the Army
to construct various projects for im-
provements to rivers and harbors of the
United States, was passed by the Sen-
ate. 162 Cong. Rec. S5736 (daily ed.
Sept. 15, 2016).
S. 2959 (water), which would amend
the White Mountain Apache Tribe
(WMAT) Water Rights Quantication
Act to clarify t he use of amounts in the
WMAT Settlement Fund, was pa ssed
by the Senate. 162 Cong. Rec. S6285
(daily ed. Sept. 29, 2016).
S. Res. 572 (wildlife), which would
designate November 5, 2016, as “Na-
tional Bison Day,” was passed by the
Senate. 162 Cong. Rec. S5911 (daily ed.
Sept. 20, 2016).
S. Res. 574 (energy), which would des-
ignate October 8, 2016, as “National
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Day,” was passed
by the Senate. 162 Cong. Rec. S6085
(daily ed. Sept. 26, 2016).
S. Res. 577 (governa nce), which
would commemorate the 50th an-
niversary of the Al aska Federation of
Natives, was passed by the Senate. 162
Cong. Rec. S6089 (daily ed. Sept. 26,
2016).
S. Res. 594 (governa nce), which
would express support for designation
of the third Saturday in October 2016
as “National Anima l Rescue Day” to
create awareness of and educate indi-
viduals on the importance of adoption
of animals, to create a humane environ-
ment for any pet, and to encourage ani-
mal adoptions throughout the United
States, was passed by the Senate. 162
Cong. Rec. S6256 (daily ed. Sept. 29,
2016).
H.R. 845 (natura l resources), which
would direct the Secretar y of Agricul-
ture to publish in the a
strategy to signicantly increase the role
of volunteers and partners in National
Forest System trail maintenance, wa s
passed by the House. 162 Cong. Rec.
H5874 (daily ed. Sept. 26, 2016).
H.R. 1296 (water), which would
amend the San Luis Rey India n Water
Rights Settlement Act to clarify certa in
settlement terms, was passed by t he
House. 162 Cong. Rec. H5841 (daily
ed. Sept. 22, 2016).
H.R. 1301 (land use), which would
direct the Federal Communications
Commission to extend to private land
use restrictions its rule relati ng to rea-
sonable accommodation of amateur
service communications, wa s passed
by the House. 162 Cong. Rec. H5302
(daily ed. Sept. 12, 2016).
H.R. 2494 (wildli fe), which would
support global anti-poaching eorts,
strengthen the capacity of pa rtner
countries to counter wildlife tra ck-
ing, and designate major wildli fe traf-
cking countries, was pa ssed by the
Senate. 162 Cong. Rec. S5832 (daily
ed. Sept. 15, 2016).
H.R. 2733 (governance), which would
require the Secretary of the Interior to
take land into trust for cer tain Native
American tribes, wa s passed by the Sen-
ate. 162 Cong. Rec. S6285 (daily ed.
Sept. 29, 2016).
H.R. 3004 ( governance), which would
amend the Gullah/Geechee Cultural
Heritage Act to extend the authoriza-
tion for the Gullah/Geechee Cultural
Heritage Corridor Commission, was
passed by the Senate. 162 Cong. Rec.
S6255 (daily ed. Sept. 29, 2016).
H.R. 3881 (natural re sources), which
would amend the Mineral Lea sing Act
to repeal provisions relating only to the
Allegheny National Forest, was passed
by the House. 162 Cong. Rec. H5057
(daily ed. Sept. 6, 2016).
H.R. 3957 (natural re sources), which
would amend the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 to temporarily allow ex-
pensing of certain cost s of replanting
citrus plants lost by reason of casua lty,
was passed by the House. 162 Cong.
Rec. H5735 (daily ed. Sept. 21, 2016).
H.R. 4245 (wildl ife), which would
exempt importation and exportation
Copyright © 2016 Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, DC. Reprinted with permission from ELR®, http://www.eli.org, 1-800-433-5120.
11-2016 NEWS & ANALYSIS 46 ELR 10983
of sea urchins and sea cucumbers from
licensing requirements under the ESA,
was passed by the House. 162 Cong.
Rec. H5065 (daily ed. Sept. 6, 2016).
H.R. 4510 (land use), which would
ensure adequate use and access to the
existing Bolts Ditch headgate and d itch
segment within the Holy Cross Wilder-
ness in Eagle County, Colorado, was
passed by the House. 162 Cong. Rec.
H5063 (daily ed. Sept. 6, 2016).
H.R. 4564 (la nd use), which would re-
designate the small triangular property
located in Washington, D.C., and des-
ignated by the NPS as reservat ion 302,
as “Robert Emmet Park,” was passed
by the House. 162 Cong. Rec. H5841
(daily ed. Sept. 22, 2016).
H.R. 4576 (wildlife), which would
implement the Convention on the Con-
servation and Management of High
Seas Fisheries Resources in t he North
Pacic Ocean and implement the
Convention on the Conservation and
Management of High Seas Fishery R e-
sources in the South Pacic Ocean, wa s
passed by the House. 162 Cong. Rec.
H5280 (daily ed. Sept. 12, 2016).
H.R. 4979 (energy), which would fos-
ter civilian resea rch and development of
advanced nuclear energy technologies
and enhance the licensing and commer-
cial deployment of such technologies,
was passed by the House. 162 Cong.
Rec. H5305 (daily ed. Sept. 12, 2016).
H.R. 5226 (governa nce), which would
amend Chapter 3 of Title 5, U.S. Code,
to require the publication of informa-
tion relating to pending agency regula-
tory actions, was passed by the House.
162 Cong. Rec. H5463 (daily ed. Sept.
14, 2016).
H.R. 5303 (water), which would
provide for improvements to U.S. riv-
ers and harbors and provide for the
conservation and development of water
and related resources, was pa ssed by the
House. 162 Cong. Rec. H6033 (daily
ed. Sept. 22, 2016).
H.R. 5346 (governa nce), which would
amend the Homeland Security Act of
2002 to make the Assist ant Secretary of
Homeland Security for Health Aairs
responsible for coordinating the eorts
of the Department of Homeland Se-
curity related to food, agricu lture, and
veterinary defense against terrorism,
was passed by the House. 162 Cong.
Rec. H5880 (daily ed. Sept. 26, 2016).
H.R. 5391 (energy), which would
amend the Homeland Security Act of
2002 to enhance certa in duties of the
Domestic Nuclear Detection Oce,
was passed by the House. 162 Cong.
Rec. H5952 (daily ed. Sept. 27, 2016).
H.R. 5577 (natural re sources), which
amends the Outer Continental Shelf
Lands Act to authorize the Secretary
of the Interior to conduct oshore oil
and gas lease sa les through Internet-
based live lease sales, was passed by the
House. 162 Cong. Rec. H5068 (daily
ed. Sept. 6, 2016).
H.R. 5687 (gover nance), which would
eliminate or modify c ertain mandates
of GAO, was passed by the House. 162
Cong. Rec. H5670 (daily ed. Sept. 20,
2016).
H.R. 5690 (governa nce), which would
ensure GAO has adequate access to
information, was passed by the House.
162 Cong. Rec. H5663 (daily ed. Sept.
20, 2016).
H.R. 5883 (governa nce), which would
amend the Packers and Stockyards Ac t
to clarify the duties relating to ser-
vices furnished in c onnection with the
buying or selling of livestock in com-
merce through online, video, or other
electronic methods, was passed by the
House, 162 Cong. Rec. H5874 (daily
ed. Sept. 26, 2016), and the Senate, 162
Cong. Rec. S6256 (daily ed. Sept. 29,
2016).
H.R. Con. Res. 122 ( governance),
which would support eorts to stop the
theft, illega l possession or sale, transfer,
and export of tribal cultu ral items of
American Indians, Alaska Natives, a nd
Native Hawaiians in the United States
and internationally, was passed by the
House, 162 Cong. Rec. H5772 (daily
ed. Sept. 21, 2016), and the Senate, 162
Cong. Rec. S6286 (daily ed. Sept. 29,
2016).
Committee Action
S. 815 (land use) was reported by the
Committee on Energy and Natura l
Resources. S. Rep. No. 114-345, 162
Cong. Rec. S5469 (daily ed. Sept. 8,
2016). e bill would provide for the
conveyance of certain federa l land in
the state of Oregon to the Cow Creek
Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians.
S. 1167 (land use) was reported by
the Committee on Energy and Natu-
ral Resources. S. Rep. No. 114-315,
162 Cong. Rec. S5279 (daily ed. Sept.
6, 2016). e bill would modify the
boundaries of the Pole Creek Wilder-
ness, the Owyhee R iver Wilderness,
and the North Fork Owyhee Wilder-
ness and authorize the continued use of
motorized vehicles for livestock moni-
toring, herding, and graz ing in certain
wilderness areas in t he state of Idaho.
S. 1448 (land use) was reported by
the Committee on Energy and Natura l
Resources. S. Rep. No. 114-348, 162
Cong. Rec. S5469 (daily ed. Sept. 8,
2016). e bill would designate the
Frank Moore Wild Steelhead Sanctuar y
in the state of Oregon.
S. 1577 (w ater) was repor ted by the
Commit tee on Ene rgy and Natu ral
Resour ces. S. Rep. No. 114-309, 162
Cong. R ec. S5279 (dai ly ed. Sept. 9,
2016). e bill would a mend the Wild
and Sc enic Rivers A ct to designate
certa in segments of East Rosebud
Creek i n Carbon Count y, Montana,
as comp onents of the Wild and Sc enic
River s System.
S. 1623 (water) was reported by the
Committee on Energy and Natura l
Resources. S. Rep. No. 114-301, 162
Cong. Rec. S5279 (daily ed. Sept. 6,
2016). e bill would establish the
Maritime Washington National Heri-
tage Area in the st ate of Washington.
S. 169 0 (land use) was reported
by th e Committee on Energ y and
Natural R esource s. S. Rep. No. 114-
3017, 162 Cong. Rec. S5279 (da ily
ed. S ept. 6, 2 016). The bill wou ld
esta blish th e Mount ains to Sound
Greenw ay Nationa l Herita ge Area in
the s tate of Was hington.
Copyright © 2016 Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, DC. Reprinted with permission from ELR®, http://www.eli.org, 1-800-433-5120.
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