Recent Developments
| Date | 01 August 2009 |
39 ELR 10808 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW REPORTER 8-2009
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
In the Congress
ese entries cover activities reported in the Congressional Record from June 1, 2009, through June 30, 2009. Entries are
arranged by bill number, with Senate bills listed rst. “In the Congress” covers all environment-related bills t hat are intro-
duced, reported out of committee, pa ssed by either house, or signed by the President. “In the Congress” also covers all envi-
ronmental treaties ratied by t he Senate. is material is updated monthly. For archived materials, visit http://www.elr.info/
NewsAnalysis/archive.cfm.
CHAMBER ACTION
H.R. 325 (Avra/Black Wash Reclama-
tion and Riparian Re storation Project),
which would authorize the Secretar y of
the Interior to participate in the Avra/
Black Wash Reclamation and Riparian
Restoration Project, was passed by the
House. 155 Cong. Rec. H6019 (daily ed.
June 1, 2009).
H.R. 689 (jurisdiction of federal lands),
which would interchange the administra-
tive jurisdiction of certain federal lands
between the Forest Service a nd BLM,
was passed by the House. 155 Cong.
Rec. H6022 (daily ed. June 1, 2009).
H.R. 1120 (Central Texas Water Re-
cycling Act of 2009), which would
amend the Reclamation Wastewater and
Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to
authorize the Secretar y of the Interior to
participate in the Central Texas Water
Recycling and Reuse Project, was passed
by the House. 155 Cong. Rec. H6019
(daily ed. June 1, 2009).
H.R. 1280 (land grant patent), which
would modify a land gra nt patent is-
sued by the Secretary of the Interior, was
passed by the House. 155 Cong. Rec.
H6021 (daily ed. June 1, 2009).
H.R. 1393 (Low er Rio Gra nde Valley
Water Resource s Conservat ion and Im-
provement Act of 2009), which would
amend the Lower R io Gran de Valle y
Water Resource s Conservat ion and
Improveme nt Act of 20 00 to author ize
additional pr ojects and activities under
that Act, w as passed by the Hous e.
155 Cong. Rec. H6020 (daily ed. June
1, 2009).
H.R. 2330 (Camp Hale Study Act), which
would direct the Secretary of the Interior
to carry out a study to determine the suit-
ability and feasibility of establishing Camp
Hale as a unit of the National Park Sys-
tem, was passed by the House. 155 Cong.
Rec. H6023 (daily ed. June 1, 2009).
H.R. 2430 (sh stocks), which would
direct the Secretar y of the Interior to
continue stocking sh in certa in lakes
in the North Cascades National Park,
Ross Lake National Recreation Area, and
Lake Chelan National Recreation Area,
was passed by the House. 155 Cong.
Rec. H6024 (daily ed. June 1, 2009).
H.R. 2454 (American Clean Energ y and
Security Act of 2009), which aims to
create clean energy jobs, achieve energ y
independence, reduce global warming
pollution, and transition to a clean en-
ergy economy, was passed by the House.
155 Cong. Rec. H7451 (daily ed. June
26, 2009).
H.R. 2751 (Consumer Assistance to Re-
cycle and Save Act), which would accel-
erate motor fuel savings nationwide and
provide incentives to registered owners
of high-polluting automobiles to replace
such automobiles with new fuel-ecient
and less polluting automobiles, was
passed by the House. 155 Cong. Rec.
H6345 (daily ed. June 9, 2009).
COMMITTEE ACTION
S. 685 (oil transportation) was reported by
the Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation. S. Rep. No. 111-26,
155 Cong. Rec. S6580 (daily ed. June 15,
2009). e bill would require new vessels
for carrying oil fuel to have double hulls.
H.R. 556 (wildlife) was reported by
the Committee on Natural Resou rces.
H. Rep. No. 111-175, 155 Cong. Rec.
H7144 (daily ed. June 23, 2009). e bill
would establish a program of research,
recovery, and other activities to provide
for the recovery of the southern sea otter.
H.R. 934 (submerged lands) was re-
ported by the Committee on Natural
Resources. H. Rep. No. 111-176, 155
Cong. Rec. H7144 (daily ed. June 23,
2009). e bill would convey certain
submerged lands to the Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Isla nds in order
to give that territory the same benets in
its submerged lands as Guam, the Virgin
Islands, and America n Samoa have in
their submerged lands.
H.R. 1018 (wildlife) was reported by
the Committee on Natural Resou rces.
H. Rep. No. 111-177, 155 Cong. Rec.
H7144 (daily ed. June 23, 2009). e bill
would amend the Wild Free-Roaming
Horses and Burros Act to improve the
management and long-term health of
wild free-roaming horses and burros.
H.R. 1275 (land exchange) was reported
by the Committee on Natural Resources.
H. Rep. No. 111-179, 155 Cong. Rec.
H7144 (daily ed. June 23, 2009). e
bill would direct the exchange of certain
land in Grand, San Juan, and Uintah
Counties, Utah.
H.R. 2454 (energy) was reported by the
Committee on Energy and Commerce.
H. Rep. No. 111-137 Pt. 1, 155 Cong.
Rec. H6305 (daily ed. June 8, 2009).
e bill would seek to create clean en-
ergy jobs, achieve energy independence,
reduce global warming pollution, and
Copyright © 2009 Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, DC. reprinted with permission from ELR®, http://www.eli.org, 1-800-433-5120.
8-2009 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY ANNUAL REVIEW 39 ELR 10809
transition the United States to a clean
energy economy.
H.R. 2847 (appropriations) was reported
by the Committee on Appropriations. S.
Rep. No. 111-34, 155 Cong. Rec. S7069
(daily ed. June 25, 2009). e bill would
make appropriations for the Depart-
ments of Commerce, Justice, Science and
Technology, and related agencies for the
scal year ending September 30, 2010.
H.R. 2996 (appropriations) was reported
by the Committee on Appropriations.
H. Rep. No. 111-180, 155 Cong. Rec.
H7144 (daily ed. June 23, 2009). e bill
would make appropriations for the De-
partment of the Interior, environment,
and related agencies for the scal year
ending September 30, 2010.
H.R. 2997 (appropriations) was reported
by the Committee on Appropriations.
H. Rep. No. 111-181, 155 Cong. Rec.
H7144 (daily ed. June 23, 2009). e
bill would make appropriations for Ag-
riculture, Rural De velopment, Food and
Drug Administr ation, and related agen-
cies programs for the scal ye ar ending
September 30, 2010.
H. Res. 449 (greenhouse gas) was re-
ported by the Committee on Energy and
Commerce. H. Rep. No. 111-146, 155
Cong. Rec. H6742 (daily ed. June 12,
2009). e resolution would request the
president to provide certain documents
in his possession to the House relating
to EPA’s April proposed nding that
greenhouse gas emissions are a d anger to
public health and welfare.
H. Res. 578 (appropriations) was report-
ed by the Committee on Rules. H. Rep.
No. 111-184, 155 Cong. Rec. H7236
(daily ed. June 24, 2009). e resolution
would provide for consideration of the
bill (H.R. 2996) mak ing appropriations
for the Department of the Interior, en-
vironment, and related agencies for the
scal year ending September 30, 2010.
BILLS INTRODUCED
S. 1172 (Brown, D-Ohio) (energy) would
direct the Secretar y of Energy to estab-
lish a grant program to facilitate t he
production of clean, renewable energy
from municipal solid waste. 155 Cong.
Rec. S6030 (daily ed. June 3, 2009). e
bill was referred to the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources.
S. 1175 (Cantwell, D-Wash.) (energy)
would amend the Public Utility Regula-
tory Policies Act of 1978 to authorize
the Secretary of Energ y to make loans to
electric utilities to carr y out projects to
comply with any federal renewable elec-
tricity standard. 155 Cong. Rec. S6030
(daily ed. June 3, 2009). e bill was re-
ferred to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources.
S. 1189 (Bayh, D-Ind.) (energy) would
require the Secretary of Energy to con-
duct a study of the impact of energy and
climate policy o n the co mpetitiv eness
of en ergy -inten sive ma nufac turing
and measure s to mit igate t hose ef-
fect s. 155 Cong. Rec. S6185 (dail y ed.
June 4, 20 09). The b ill wa s ref erred to
the Committee on Ener gy a nd Natu-
ral Res ources.
S. 1191 (Bayh, D-Ind.) (energy) would
requ ire th e Se cretar y of E nerg y to
prep are a repor t on cl imate c hange
and ener gy pol icy in the Peo ple’s Re-
publ ic of China and in the R epublic
of I ndia. 155 Cong. Re c. S6186 (d aily
ed. June 4, 200 9). The b ill wa s re-
ferr ed to t he Com mitt ee on E nerg y
and Natu ral R esourc es.
S. 1214 (Lieberman, I-Conn.) (conserva-
tion) would conserve sh and aquatic
communities in the United States
through partnersh ips that foster sh
habitat conservation to improve the qual-
ity of life for the people of the United
States. 155 Cong. Rec. S6364 (daily ed.
June 9, 2009). e bill was referred to
the Committee on Environment and
Public Works.
S. 1215 (Case y, D-Pa.) (SDWA) wou ld
amend the SDWA to repeal a cer tain
exemption for hydraul ic fractu ring.
155 Cong. Rec. S636 4 (daily ed . June
9, 2009). e bill was referred to the
Commit tee on Envi ronment and P ub-
lic Works .
S. 1216 (Klobuchar, D-Minn.) (Con-
sumer Product Safety Act) would amend
the Consumer Product Safety Act to
require residential carbon monoxide
detectors to meet the applicable ANSI/
UL standard by treating that standard as
a consumer product safety rule a nd en-
courage states to require the installation
of such detectors in homes. 155 Cong.
Rec. S6364 (daily ed. June 9, 2009). e
bill was referred to the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
S. 1224 (Warner, D-Va.) (NOAA) would
reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Oce of
NOAA. 155 Cong. Rec. S6452 (daily ed.
June 10, 2009). e bill was referred to
the Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation.
S. 1225 (Sanders, I-Vt.) (energy) would
require the Commodity Futures Trad-
ing Commission to take cert ain actions
to prevent the manipulation of energy
markets. 155 Cong. Rec. S6452 (daily
ed. June 10, 2009). e bill was referred
to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri-
tion, and Forestry.
S. 1238 (Isakson, R-Ga.) (Workforce
Investment Act) would amend the Work-
force Investment Act of 1998 to make
non-union training programs elig ible
for federal funding from the Green Jobs
program. 155 Cong. Rec. S6542 (daily
ed. June 11, 2009). e bill was referred
to the Committee on Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions.
S. 1245 (Whitehouse, D-R.I.) (lead
removal) would amend the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a tax
credit for property owners who remove
lead-based pa int hazards. 155 Cong.
Rec. S6542 (daily ed. June 11, 2009).
e bill was referred to the Committee
on Finance.
S. 1246 (Sanders, I-Vt.) (energy) would
establish a home energy retrot nance
program. 155 Cong. Rec. S6542 (daily
ed. June 11, 2009). e bill was referred
to the Committee on Energy and Natu-
ral Resources.
S. 1248 (Casey, D-Pa.) (fuel eciency)
would establish a program in DOE to
encourage consumers to trade in older
vehicles for more fuel-ecient vehicles
and motorcycles. 155 Cong. Rec. S6542
(daily ed. June 11, 2009). e bill was
referred to the Committee on Finance.
S. 1250 (Nelson, D-Fla.) (biofuel) would
amend the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 to expand the denition of “cellu-
Copyright © 2009 Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, DC. reprinted with permission from ELR®, http://www.eli.org, 1-800-433-5120.
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