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Author: James E McCarthy
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Languages : en
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The conference report on the energy bill (H.R. 6), which came to the House and Senate floor for action the week of November 17, 2003, contained several Clean Air Act provisions. Most of these are also contained in S. 2095, a revised version of the bill introduced February 12, 2004, and in H.R. 4503, which passed the House June 15, 2004. Most of the air provisions concern the gasoline additives MTBE and ethanol, used to meet Clean Air Act requirements that reformulated gasoline (RFG) sold in the nation’s worst ozone nonattainment areas contain at least 2% oxygen, to improve combustion.
Author: James E McCarthy
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Languages : en
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The conference report on the energy bill (H.R. 6), which came to the House and Senate floor for action the week of November 17, 2003, contained several Clean Air Act provisions. Most of these are also contained in S. 2095, a revised version of the bill introduced February 12, 2004, and in H.R. 4503, which passed the House June 15, 2004. Most of the air provisions concern the gasoline additives MTBE and ethanol, used to meet Clean Air Act requirements that reformulated gasoline (RFG) sold in the nation’s worst ozone nonattainment areas contain at least 2% oxygen, to improve combustion.
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Languages : en
Pages : 0
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The most prominent air quality issue in the 108th Congress was what to do about emissions from coal-fired electric power plants. On January 30, 2004, EPA proposed standards for mercury, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxide emissions from such plants. The proposed mercury standards have been particularly controversial: EPA claims that technology to achieve more than a 30% reduction in mercury emissions cannot be implemented until 2018, an assertion widely disputed. Legislation was also proposed on the subject â€" a group of bills referred to as “multi-pollutantâ€ŗ legislation. The Administration version (the Clear Skies Act, H.R. 999/S. 485/S. 1844) proposed to replace numerous existing Clean Air Act requirements with a national cap and trade program for sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury. Senators Jeffords and Carper, and Representatives Sweeney, Waxman, and Bass, all introduced bills that were more stringent than Clear Skies, and four of the five would have regulated carbon dioxide in addition to the other pollutants. Congress took no action on any of the measures. Controversy also arose over EPAâ€TMs proposed and promulgated changes to the Clean Air Actâ€TMs New Source Review (NSR) requirements. NSR requires installation of best available emission controls when power plants and other major facilities are modified. Since December 31, 2002, EPA has promulgated several changes to streamline (and, many argue, weaken) the NSR requirements. On January 22, 2003, the Senate approved an amendment to H.J.Res. 2 that directed the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study of the NSR changes. The President signed the bill, with the amendment, February 20, 2003 (P.L. 108-7). The conference report on the energy bill (H.R. 6), which came to the House and Senate floor for action the week of November 17, 2003, contained several Clean Air Act provisions. Most of these were also contained in S. 2095, a revised version of the bill introduced February 12, 2004, and in H.R. 4503, which passed the House June 15, 2004. Most of the air provisions concerned the gasoline additives MTBE and ethanol, used to meet Clean Air Act requirements that reformulated gasoline (RFG) sold in the nationâ€TMs worst ozone nonattainment areas contain at least 2% oxygen, to improve combustion. MTBE has contaminated ground water in several states. All three bills would have banned the use of MTBE as a fuel additive nationwide, except in states that specifically authorized its use, after December 31, 2014; repealed the requirement that RFG contain oxygen; provided a major new stimulus to the use of ethanol; authorized $2 billion in grants to assist merchant MTBE production facilities in converting to the production of other fuel additives; and authorized funds for MTBE cleanup. H.R. 6 and H.R. 4503 would also have provided a “safe harborâ€ŗ from product liability lawsuits for producers of MTBE and renewable fuels; S. 2095 would not have. The 108th Congress also enacted changes to the “small engineâ€ŗ provisions of the Clean Air Act and considered changes to the requirement that metropolitan area transportation plans “conformâ€ŗ to the act.
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Category : Air
Languages : en
Pages :
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Languages : en
Pages : 0
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This issue brief, which will not be updated, discusses air quality issues and legislation in the 107th Congress. For information on the 108th Congress, see CRS Issue Brief IB10107. In the 107th Congress, the most prominent air quality issue was whether state and federal regulations designed to protect air quality are having a negative impact on energy production, and, if so, whether such regulations should be reformed. The early discussion focused primarily on California, but with the release of the Administrationâ€TMs energy policy recommendations in May 2001 and subsequent congressional action, attention shifted to issues more national in scope. Among these were whether the Clean Air Actâ€TMs New Source Review requirements have been enforced consistently, whether they have prevented power plants from making improvements that would expand power output, and whether Congress should enact “multi-pollutantâ€ŗ legislation for power plants in order to provide certainty regarding future regulatory requirements. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved a multipollutant bill, S. 556, June 27, 2002. The Administration also submitted legislation, S. 2815 / H.R. 5266, but no action was taken on it. A second set of air issues in the 107th Congress concerned regulation of the gasoline additive MTBE. MTBE is used to meet Clean Air Act requirements that gasoline sold in the nationâ€TMs worst ozone nonattainment areas contain at least 2% oxygen, but the additive has been implicated in numerous incidents of ground water contamination. Since mid-1999, bills to diminish the use of MTBE have been near the top of the clean air agenda. On September 25, 2001, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved one of these bills, S. 950, to ban MTBE use, waive the oxygen requirement, and provide additional funding for ground water cleanup (S.Rept. 107-131). Similar provisions, plus requirements that motor vehicle fuel contain ethanol or other renewable fuels were included in the Senate version of H.R. 4, the comprehensive energy bill passed by the Senate, April 25, 2002. The House version of H.R. 4 did not contain such provisions, howeverâ€"one of many issues on which the House and Senate bills differed. H.R. 4 died in conference. Congress last enacted major amendments to the Clean Air Act in 1990, and EPA is still implementing numerous provisions of those amendments. Recent efforts have included development of tighter emission standards for nonroad engines and for diesel engines and fuels. Review of state implementation plans for attaining ozone air quality standards is another ongoing agency activity. EPA decisions regarding implementation of these and other programs mandated by the Clean Air Act will provide continuing opportunities for oversight and possible legislation.
Author: U. S. Government Printing Office (Gpo)
Publisher: BiblioGov
ISBN: 9781289373771
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 214
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The United States Government Printing Office (GPO) was created in June 1860, and is an agency of the U.S. federal government based in Washington D.C. The office prints documents produced by and for the federal government, including Congress, the Supreme Court, the Executive Office of the President and other executive departments, and independent agencies. A hearing is a meeting of the Senate, House, joint or certain Government committee that is open to the public so that they can listen in on the opinions of the legislation. Hearings can also be held to explore certain topics or a current issue. It typically takes between two months up to two years to be published. This is one of those hearings.
Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Environment and Public Works. Subcommittee on Clean Air, Wetlands, Private Property, and Nuclear Safety
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Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 572
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Languages : en
Pages : 0
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This issue brief provides an overview of the key environmental protection issues that received attention in the 108th Congress. The sections on specific issues reference more detailed and extensive CRS reports. (This issue brief emphasizes pollution-related matters; natural resource management issues are not included.) Appropriations for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) affect many of the programs and issues discussed in this issue brief (e.g., funding for state environmental programs, enforcement, water infrastructure projects and many others); thus, EPAâ€TMs funding is an issue of perennial interest. At the beginning of the second session, Congress completed consideration of a consolidated appropriations act (P.L. 108-199, H.R. 2673), which provided $8.37 billion for EPA in FY2004. Later in the session, action was completed on FY2005 funding. The conference agreement on the Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2005 (H.R. 4818, H.Rept. 108-792) includes $8.09 billion for EPA, subject to an across-the-board rescission of 0.80%. The Administration requested $7.79 billion, and Congress appropriated $8.37 billion for FY2004. The most controversial issues were the adequacy of funding for federal assistance to states for wastewater and drinking water infrastructure projects, scientific research on human health effects upon which pollution control standards are based, and cleanup of hazardous waste sites under the Superfund program. The 108th Congress took action, but in most cases did not complete it, on legislation to address a number of other key issues, including leaking underground storage tanks that may contaminate water supplies; security issues related to wastewater treatment and chemical facilities; expanding authority for an EPA ombudsman; environmental concerns in surface transportation reauthorization legislation; brownfields grants and tax breaks; environmental issues in comprehensive energy legislation; and defense cleanup and military environmental issues. These issues are discussed in this report, along with others including issues involving the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, and alternative fuels and vehicles. The status of committee and floor action on environmental legislation as well as bills enacted into law are shown in Table 1 at the end of this issue brief. Bills that received some congressional action include the conference report on the energy bill, H.R. 6; the Water Infrastructure Financing Act, S. 2550; the Water Quality Financing Act of 2003, H.R. 1560; the Underground Storage Tank Compliance Act of 2003, S. 195; the Ombudsman ReauthorizationAct, S. 515; the Brownfields Redevelopment Enhancement Act, H.R. 239; the Chemical Facility Security Act, S. 994; the POPs, LRTAP POPs, and PIC Implementation Act of 2003, S. 1486; the Wastewater Treatment Works Security Act of 2003, H.R. 866 and S. 1039; the Economic Development Administration Reauthorization Act, H.R. 2535 and S. 1134; the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2004 (P.L. 108-136); and the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2005 (P.L. 108-375). Both defense authorization bills included environmental provisions that were controversial.
Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Environment and Public Works
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ISBN:
Category : Air
Languages : en
Pages : 978
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Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Environmentand Public Works
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Air
Languages : en
Pages : 680
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Author: Christopher J. Bailey
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN: 9780719036613
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 312
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Provides a comprehensive introduction and essential guide to one of the most important institutions in medieval England and to its substantial archive. This is the first book to offer a detailed explanation of the form, structure and evolution of the manor and its records. Offers translations of, and commentaries upon, each category of document to illustrate their main features. Examples of each category of record are provided in translation, followed by shorter extracts selected to illustrate interesting, commonly occurring, or complex features. A valuable source of reference for undergraduates wishing to understand the sources which underpin the majority of research on the medieval economy and society.
