ESA would like to alert you to an opportunity to help increase funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF). Representatives Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Bob Inglis (R-SC), and Brian Baird (D-WA) are circulating a “Dear Colleague” letter to each member of House of Representatives asking for their signature on a letter requesting that the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) Appropriations subcommittee make NSF a priority in the fiscal year (FY) 09 appropriations process.The Dear Colleague letter requests that the CJS subcommittee restore NSF to a pathway to double its budget as outlined in the America COMPETES Act. Specifically, the letter is seeking a FY 09 appropriation for NSF of $7.326 billion. The President’s FY 09 request is $6.854 billion.

The House Dear Colleague letter also requests that Representatives include the NSF in their “programmatic requests” to the Appropriations Committee.

Similarly, Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Kit Bond (R-MO) are circulating a “Dear Colleague” letter on the Senate side asking the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science to support NSF by providing at least the President’s FY 09 request of $6.85 billion.

If you are interested in supporting this effort, contact your Representative and Senators to request support for NSF. Encourage them to sign the NSF Dear Colleague letter. When speaking with your Representative’s office, please also request that he or she includes NSF in their programmatic requests to the Appropriations Committee. The deadlines for signatures in the Senate and House are Friday, March 7, and Wednesday, March 12, respectively. Contact information for your members of Congress is available at www.house.gov and www.senate.gov

Please let us know of any communication you make and of any response you receive – contact Colleen Fahey at collen@esa.org.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Stephen Johnson signed off on a notice February 29 finalizing his rejection of California’s request for a waiver that would allow it to regulate motor vehicles’ emissions of greenhouse gases.

Johnson’s notice reiterates views he presented to House and Senate panels recently, saying the Clean Air Act does not allow California to create state standards aimed at addressing global climate problems.

California did not present a “compelling” argument in its bid to receive the waiver, the notice says. House and Senate Democrats had urged Johnson during hearings this week to reconsider his denial of the waiver. Several, including Senate Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA), predicted the courts would overturn his decision.

The Senate panel produced documents revealing that several top EPA staffers and a former EPA Administrator warned that EPA would lose a lawsuit challenging the denial.

California and nearly 20 other states hoping to implement similar standards are suing EPA over the waiver denial. Boxer has noted that leading presidential candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton (D), John McCain (R) and Barack Obama (D) all have promised to sign the waiver.

The Interior Department will decide this year on proposed endangered species listings for 71 species, a nearly tenfold increase in the number of species listed in the Bush Administration’s first seven years.

Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Director Dale Hall told a House panel that the Administration would chip away at a backlog of hundreds of species awaiting protection. The Service will decide on listings for 71 species this year and 21 more in 2009.

There are more than 280 species on the candidate list, whose listing is “warranted but precluded” because of lack of funding or other higher priorities, federal scientists say. And there are hundreds of additional plants and animals on whose behalf environmentalists have filed petitions.

The effort marks a turnaround for the Administration that has hesitated to list any new plants or animals. President Bush’s Interior Department has listed only eight species — compared with 62 by the Clinton Administration and 56 under President George H.W. Bush. All eight listings came in response to lawsuits.

If the agency decides to protect any of the 92 species on its list for determinations, the long timeline for such considerations would likely move final decisions to the next administration.

The Bush Administration’s most high-profile listing decision, the polar bear, should be made “within weeks,” Hall said. He said the FWS has completed its work and the Interior Department is reviewing the decision.

If listed, the polar bear would be the first mammal protected under the Endangered Species Act because of global climate change.

The House approved a bill on February 14 that would authorize more than $750 million for ocean research and exploration at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The bill would formally establish existing ocean exploration and undersea research programs at NOAA. It would authorize $486 million for ocean exploration and $265 million for undersea research between fiscal years 2008 and 2017. It would also create a public-private task force to help transfer new exploration and research technology and improve data management.

The California company Planktos is halting plans to sell ocean-based carbon credits, citing money concerns and strong opposition from �anti-offset crusaders.”

The company had proposed producing the credits by seeding the world’s oceans with iron. That would theoretically spur the growth of carbon dioxide-consuming plankton that would reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The company said it would “indefinitely” abandon those plans.

In January, 16 researchers published a cautionary essay in the journal Science, arguing that it is not clear whether fertilizing the world’s oceans with iron would actually reduce CO2, despite at least 12 field trials over the last 15 years. Furthermore, they warned, the technique could have unanticipated effects on marine life. The essay called for “targeted research” to determine the safety and effectiveness of ocean fertilization.

Another California-based company with a business model similar to Planktos’ has already responded to such criticism. Climos said last fall that it would set a “code of conduct” for ocean fertilization projects. The draft plan requires companies to follow fertilization methods that have been approved by an independent body, avoid sensitive ecosystems, and track and register offsets.

For much of President Bush’s tenure in the White House, members of the scientific community have often complained they are being squeezed out of the political process on issues such as climate change, energy policy, and federal spending.

Now, with one of their own locked in a high-profile congressional race, scientists from across the country are rallying to support Democratic nominee Bill Foster, a physicist who spent much of his career at the Energy Department’s Fermilab.

Foster is running to fill the seat left vacant by former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) in a March 8 special election. But observers say it is unlikely that his scientific background or the issues that are important to the scientific community will be much of a factor when voters head to the polls.

Officials from various scientific organizations say it is important to get people into the halls of Congress who understand their scientific issues and who employ the logical decision-making embraced by the scientific community.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) appointed Kevin Teichman to be Deputy Assistant Administrator for Science at the agency’s Office of Research and Development.

Teichman has been serving as Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator and previously was the Director of the Science Policy Office.

He directed the Science Policy Office’s air staff during enactment of the Clean Air Act amendments of 1990. He also managed EPA’s indoor air quality research program. Teichman has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley, all in mechanical engineering.

While the Senate seems unlikely to approve an energy bill during the few weeks it reconvenes before the November elections, it may consider measures on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency climate rules, power plant pollution curbs and energy tax incentives.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) acknowledged it’s a “cinch” that climate legislation won’t move this year. But he praised negotiations among some senators in recent months on plans to cap carbon from utilities. Amid election-year politics and an already-crowded legislative calendar, consideration may be punted until a lame-duck session. Reid stated that small business legislation will top the chamber’s agenda this month, but recently suggested that a narrow energy bill could see floor action before the election.

The energy bill will likely include incentives for natural gas vehicles and the "Home Star" energy efficiency retrofits program, two measures Reid has indicated he supports. The “Home Star” legislation establishes a $6 billion rebate program to encourage immediate investment in energy-efficient appliances, building mechanical systems, insulation and energy-efficiency retrofits for households.

Both measures were included in the slimmed-down energy and oil spill-response package that Senator Reid introduced just before recess (S. 3663, the Clean Energy Jobs Oil Accountability Act, but that bill — and a Republican counterpart — were pulled from floor consideration after Democrats failed to find enough support for passage.

The bill also could include a provision establishing a renewable electricity standard (RES). Language establishing a national standard was once considered a shoe-in for a Senate climate bill, but hopes were quashed in July when leaders pulled the language from the scaled-back energy bill.

Senator Reid’s oil spill-response legislation also included language that would eliminate oil companies’ liability, which caused contention and delayed earlier consideration. Sens. Mark Begich (D-AK) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) offered up separate liability proposals as alternatives to Reid’s language, and Reid indicated last month he is willing to compromise with the senators in crafting language. Begich and Landrieu contend their proposals would ensure small- and mid-sized oil companies can continue to operate offshore.

The House approved a sweeping climate and energy bill in the summer of 2009 that would have imposed emissions limits across many sectors.  But even a scaled-back approach failed to gain traction in the Senate, and Reid dropped climate legislation before the August recess, citing a lack of 60 votes. Reid stated that attempts to tackle climate legislation in the next Congress should start with a “piecemeal” approach rather than a more sweeping proposal.

Rockefeller challenges climate rules

With climate legislation likely off the table, opponents of the Obama administration’s greenhouse gas rules are planning efforts to hinder EPA’s climate regulations, while environmentalists seek to protect the agency’s authority.

Senate Commerce Science and Transportation Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) has stated he will seek a vote this year on his bill that would block EPA from regulating stationary sources’ emissions for two years. Rockefeller told reporters in July that Reid promised a vote on the measure before the November election. Rockefeller’s bill has six Democratic co-sponsors, including North Dakota Sens. Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan, Sens. Tim Johnson (SD), Claire McCaskill (MS), Ben Nelson (NE) and Jim Webb (VA).

Reid promised the vote in order to siphon Democratic support away from a more sweeping resolution from Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), according to a Senate Democratic aide. There was great speculation that Senator Murkowski would have offered the legislation, which sought to altogether block EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act, as an amendment during a mark-up of the Fiscal Year 2011 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, which was postponed this week.

If Rockefeller’s bill comes up for a vote, several senators may bring up an alternative aimed at draining support from it. White House officials have insisted that Obama would veto the Rockefeller bill if it reached his desk. Many see an appropriations amendment as having a better shot because it would be more difficult for the president to veto.

Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) and Bob Casey (D-PA) for several months have considered offering a provision that would be very similar to EPA’s "tailoring" rule that would exempt small sources from EPA climate rules while allowing the agency to regulate the largest polluters.

For more information on the EPA tailoring rule, see the May 21 edition of the ESA Policy News at: www.esa.org/pao/policyNews/pn2010/05212010.php

Casey said last month that he was not certain they would offer the measure if Rockefeller sought a vote, but we "certainly want to be prepared to drop our alternative if we think it would make sense."

Carper to push air pollution bill

The Senate may also move forward this fall with legislation aimed at curbing conventional air pollution from power plants. Sens. Carper and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) have introduced S. 2995, the Clean Air Act Amendments of 2010. This legislation would mandate steep cuts in nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and mercury from electric utilities over the next decade. Carper had pushed to have the measure included as part of broader climate legislation, but with slim prospects for that this year, Carper is pushing to move the bill on its own.

Carper, Chairman of the Environmental and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety, hopes to move forward with a markup in the next few weeks. Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has promised a markup, but no date has yet been set, according to a Carper spokesperson.

Another shot at tax extenders?

Another piece of legislation that may see action on the Senate floor this fall is the $30 billion package of tax extenders that failed to pass the Senate in June.

The package includes the research and development tax credit President Obama last week called on Congress to renew and to increase from its previous rate of 14 percent to 17 percent, at a cost of about $100 billion. It also includes a $1-per-gallon production tax credit for biodiesel and renewable diesel along with credits for energy efficiency, steel industry fuel and alternative vehicle fuel. Republicans blocked three previous iterations of the package earlier this year.

Senate Finance Committee staff previewed a slightly modified bill to industry officials earlier this month, although many details were left uncertain, including how to pay for the bill that would cost $30 billion over a decade. Likely to be included — or even increased — as an offset is a 49-cent-per-barrel tax hike on oil companies to raise funds for the oil spill liability trust fund, which pays for economic damages after a company’s $75 million liability cap. The additional funds would relieve the government from paying for most of any future spills, freeing up revenue to support other programs. Republicans argue oil spill liability fees should not be used to pay for anything else.

Reid’s spokesman said the tax extenders package would have to be brought to the floor on its own and not as an amendment to other legislative vehicles, so the measure’s fate depends on whether Democrats can win any Republican support to reach the 60-vote threshold to break a filibuster.

The House passed its $115 billion version of the tax extenders bill last May, which included a 34-cent-per-barrel tax for the oil spill liability fund.

Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV) requested to see permits related to Mariner Energy’s Vermilion 380 platform, which caught fire Sept. 2 in the Gulf of Mexico.

In a letter issued Sept. 3, Rahall asked for "prompt attention" from Interior Secretary Ken Salazar in assembling a variety of documents related to the company and its activities in the Gulf, including inspection and non-compliance reports from the Vermilion 380 platform, and e-mail correspondence between the company, its contractors and sub-contractors, and their government overseers.

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEM) Director Michael Bromwich, who has announced that he will launch an investigation into the fire, was copied on the letter. BOEM made it clear that "the current six-month suspension involves drilling rigs in deepwater and therefore does not apply to this platform." Mariner’s production platform was operating in about 340 feet of water, much shallower water than BP’s oil rig, which was in 5,000 feet of water.

The three most recent drilling approvals for the Vermilion Block 380, the area where Thursday’s fire occurred, were approved by federal regulators in 1999 and 2000, using categorical exclusions, according to federal mining records. Categorical exclusions are waivers that allow companies to proceed with drilling without having to undergo an in-depth environmental review, the same type of waiver granted for the BP Deepwater Horizon project.

The moratorium is currently scheduled to expire on Nov. 30. Bromwich recently stated there are no plans to extend the moratorium. In August, the Department of Interior restricted its use of categorical exclusions for deepwater drilling while it reviews its National Environmental Protection Act process.

In mid-September, the Ecological Society of America was joined by 13 other professional organizations in sending letters to the Senate concerning the need for maintaining public access to independent scientific research conducted in the Gulf region in the wake of the BP oil disaster. The letter requests that “funding for research of actual or potential industry impacts be available and dispersed from an independent source.”

As part of the ongoing Natural Resource Development Assessment (NRDA), most government research funding is being spent on its own spill damage assessment process while BP is funding research as part of its legal defense in determining how much the oil company will have to pay in fines for restoration.

Many scientists as well as Members of Congress have argued for an independent funding source, separate from the NRDA, to allow widespread coordination throughout the research community and allow studies to be conducted in a timely and more open fashion.

The Senate has introduced, but not yet taken up, legislation to address the oil spill in the form of S. 3663, the Clean Energy Jobs Oil Accountability Act. The multi-society letter also requests that the Senate bill include “additional statutes as needed to ensure that scientists retain their right to independent peer-reviewed study.”

 To read the letter, see:

http://www.esa.org/pao/policyStatements/Letters/Letter%20to%20Senate%20on%20BP%20Gulf%20Research.pdf

The Ecological Society of America (ESA) and the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) issued a joint letter this week requesting the Russian government forgo its plans to “bulldoze” the Pavlovsk Experiment Station outside Saint Petersburg.  The letter, not only went to Russian President Medvedev, but also to others, including Secretary of State Clinton, Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and several others.

According to the letter, the planned auction of the research site covers an area containing 5,000 distinct varieties of fruit trees and plants, most of which are extinct or endangered around the world and have been cultivated since 1926. The living collections at the Pavlovsk Experiment Station have been cultivated in part to serve as a type of insurance against future plant diseases or catastrophic events. Specifically, seed banks, germplasm and living plant collections are critical in reintroducing food sources should humanity experience a global food pandemic, because of a new crop disease or widespread drought. 

The letter also calls attention to  the “precarious” state of science collections worldwide where many suffer from insufficient funds leading to deterioration of facilities and loss of expert staff.  In their joint letter, ESA and AIBS recommend that government and non-governmental organizations that fund scientific research increase investments in the physical and human infrastructure of living and non-living natural science collections.

Following a recent audit by a Russian commission, the auction has been postponed, possibly until the end of October according to Russian news reports. The Russian Housing Development Foundation has announced the formation of an independent international commission to evaluate the presence of unique plant specimens housed there.

To read the letter, see: www.esa.org/pao/policyStatements/Letters/Letter%20re%20Vavilov%20Institute%20of%20Plant%20Industry.pdf

The US Global Change Research Program has announced the publication of "US National Climate Assessment Objectives, Proposed Topics, and Next Steps" and requests public comments. The document describes the objectives of the National Climate Assessment (NCA) process, provides an initial outline of the next NCA synthesis report (scheduled for publication in June 2013), and describes the next steps in planning for and implementing the NCA process.

The National Climate Assessment (NCA) is being conducted as part of the Global Change Research Act of 1990, which requires a report to the President and the Congress that evaluates, integrates and interprets the findings of the $2.6 billion federal research program on global change (USGCRP) every four years.

Public comments received on these documents will be evaluated and, if appropriate, used to inform the NCA structure and process. Updates on the NCA structure and process will be posted on the NCA Web site: http://globalchange.gov/what-we-do/assessment

National climate assessments act as a status report on climate change science and impacts. They are based on observations made across the country and compare these observations to predictions from climate system models.  The NCA aims to incorporate advances in the understanding of climate science into larger social, ecological, and policy systems, and with this provide integrated analyses of impacts and vulnerability. 

The NCA will help evaluate the effectiveness of mitigation and adaptation activities and identify economic opportunities that arise as the climate changes.  It will also serve to integrate scientific information from multiple sources and highlight key findings and significant gaps in knowledge. 

Comments:

http://globalchange.gov/what-we-do/assessment/notices.

Comments are due no later than 11:59 PM EST, October 8, 2010.

For more information, please refer to the Federal Register Notice at:

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-22229.pdf or http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/2010-22229.htm.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has begun awarding its competitive grants under President Barack Obama’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which targets the most significant environmental problems in the region. Awards will be published on the multi-agency website at http://greatlakesrestoration.us.

The Great Lakes provide some 30 million Americans with drinking water and underpin a multi-billion dollar economy. President Obama has proposed significant funding as part of his Great Lakes Restoration Initiative since Feb. 2009. The initiative action plan, which covers FY 2010 through 2014, was developed by a task force of 16 federal departments and agencies to implement the president’s historic initiative.

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has five primary focus areas:

• Toxic Substances and Areas of Concern
• Invasive Species
• Near shore Health and Nonpoint Source Pollution
• Habitat and Wildlife Protection and Restoration
• Accountability, Education, Monitoring, Evaluation, Communication and Partnerships

The first EPA Great Lakes competitive grants were awarded Sept. 7, 2010. More information on the president’s initiative and action plan: http://www.greatlakesrestoration.us

The week of April 16, both the House and Senate Commerce Justice and Science (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittees approved their respective funding bills for Fiscal Year (FY) 2013.

In total, the House CJS appropriations bill would provide $51.1 billion to all agencies under its jurisdiction, a reduction of $1.6 billion below FY 2012 and $731 below the president’s request. The Senate bill would fund all agencies under its jurisdiction at $51.862 billion, a $1 billion reduction from FY 2012.  While the House bill’s funding levels are overall less than the Senate, both chambers supported increases in key science agencies in comparison to the current fiscal year.

The Senate CJS bill would also move funding for weather satellite procurement from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). There has been bipartisan, bicameral criticism directed at NOAA’s costly satellites. According to Subcommittee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), the move would save $117 million in FY 2013 and reduce duplicative federal activities. The bill was approved in a heavily bipartisan vote of 17-1. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), the sole dissenter, was concerned the bill’s spending reductions do not go far enough in addressing the national debt.

Enclosed are funding levels for key science bureaus outlined within the House and Senate bills:

The National Science Foundation
House: $7.333 billion, an increase of $299 over FY 2012.
Senate: $7.273 billion, an increase of $240 million over FY 2012.

NASA
House: $17.6 billion, $226 million below FY 2012
Senate: $19.4 billion, an increase of $1.6 billion over FY 2012. (*The increase is due to the bill’s provision transferring weather satellite procurement from NOAA to NASA. Absent these funds, the bill would mean a $41.5 million cut for NASA.

NOAA
House: $5 billion, $68 million above FY 2012 Senate: $3.4 billion, $1.47 billion below FY 2012

For additional information on the Senate CJS bill, click here:
http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news.cfm?method=news.view&id=6bc432b7-656b-4930-b0cf-bd3deef4fc3a

For additional information on the House CJS bill, click here:
http://appropriations.house.gov/news/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=290672

On April 17, the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee released its funding bill for Fiscal Year (FY) 2013. The bill, which funds federal programs for the Department of Energy, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and water programs within the Department of Interior, would be funded at $32.1 billion, $965 million less than the president’s request, yet a slight increase from FY 2012.

Department of Energy (DOE) – DOE would receive $26.3 billion, $365 million less than FY 2012. DOE environmental management activities would be funded at $5.5 billion, $166 million below FY 2012. The bill increases funding for nuclear security by $300 million from FY 2012 and would direct funding towards the abandoned nuclear waste dump under Yucca Mountain. The administration has repeatedly opposed opening the Yucca Mountain repository.

For DOE science programs, the bill would provide $4.8 billion, a decrease from $4.9 billion in FY 2012 and also less than the $5 billion proposed in the president’s budget. The bill also includes $554 million for research and development to advance coal, natural gas, oil and other fossil energy technologies, a $207 million increase from FY 2012. 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – $4.8 billion, a $200 million decrease from FY 2012, although $100 million greater than the president’s FY 2013 budget proposal.

Bureau of Reclamation – $988 million, $89 million below FY 2012 and $47 million below the president’s request.

For additional information on the House Energy and Water bill, click here:
http://appropriations.house.gov/news/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=290398

On April 17, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued new rules on  emissions  from the oil and gas industry.

According to EPA, the rules constitute the first federal air standards for natural gas wells that are hydraulically fractured and also include requirements for several other sources of pollution in the oil and gas industry that currently are not regulated at the federal level. The agency states that the rules would cut 95 percent of smog-forming and toxic emissions from wells developed with hydraulic fracturing.

Under the  rules, companies can comply with the standards until 2015 using flaring, which reduces harmful emissions by burning off the gases that would otherwise escape during natural-gas drilling. After 2015, companies will need to install so-called “green completions,”  technologies that capture harmful emissions. EPA estimates the combined rules will yield a cost savings of $11 to $19 million in 2015, arguing that the value of natural gas that will be recovered and sold will offset costs. 

The new regulations spurred partisan reactions from House committee leaders. “This rule is another example of EPA expanding its role in national energy policy. The president says he wants to promote American energy production, yet he continues to allow EPA to issue regulations that increase environmental regulatory requirements and impose more red tape for domestic producers of affordable energy,” stated Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI).

“These new EPA safety and environmental standards will ensure that less pollution escapes into our air and our atmosphere, and that the natural gas industry won’t be able to escape proper oversight of their practices,” stated House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Ed Markey (D-MA). “American natural gas will be a vital part of our economic and environmental progress, but only if the industry accepts the fact that the public wants assurances that drilling practices are done safely and don’t result in needless releases of pollution into the environment.”

For more on EPA’s air quality standards, click here:
http://www.epa.gov/airquality/oilandgas/actions.html

On April 17, the Oil Spill Commission Action project released a report assessing the progress the federal government and industry have made since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The report’s publication came just three days before the two year anniversary of the spill.

In implementing the commission’s recommendation, the report gives high marks for the administration, yet low marks to Congress. “Overall, we conclude that, although much more needs to be done, the administration and industry are undertaking important enhancements to make offshore drilling safer and to improve the nation’s ability to respond to oil spills that may occur. Unfortunately, so far, Congress has provided neither leadership nor support for these efforts,” the report states. The report goes on to note that Congress has actually passed bills that would lease drilling in offshore areas without adequate review, an effort that runs “contrary to what the commission concluded was essential for safe, prudent, responsible development of offshore oil resources.”

The commission did praise Congress for moving on the RESTORE Act, which would place 80 percent of all administrative and civil penalties in a Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund and establish a Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council. Versions of the bill have been incorporated into the respective House and Senate surface transportation reauthorization bills.

The report compliments the administration on its efforts to improve safety and environmental protection, including the Department Interior’s separation of the leasing and environmental review functions from the regulatory activities and the agency’s decision to appoint a chief scientist to oversee its offshore development environmental review processes. However, the report also urged strengthening the administration’s National Environmental Policy Act reviews during planning, leasing, exploration and development.

Industry received a slightly lower grade than the administration, yet still rated better than Congress. The report commends industry’s establishment of a new Center for Offshore Safety. However, the commission urged that the center become fully independent of the American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry’s chief lobbying organization.

The report also calls for increasing funding for research into environmental conditions in the Arctic and further study into oil spill response capabilities in this region. "Although a great deal of Arctic research has been undertaken over the last several decades, many central unanswered questions remain about the unique and complex ecosystems, and how climate change is impacting those systems," the report states.

The Oil Spill Commission Action project is an outgrowth of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, established by President Obama. While the commission issued its final official report in January 2011, its members have continued the Oil Spill Commission Action project in an effort to ensure the commission’s recommendations to policymakers are implemented.

View the full report here:
http://oscaction.org/topics/assessing-progress/

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently released a proposal to restore the Chesapeake Bay’s diminished oyster population.

Entitled the Native Oyster Restoration Master Plan, the initiative seeks to implement a “large-scale, science-based” approach towards oyster restoration in the Chesapeake Bay. The bay’s oyster population has suffered from pollution, overharvesting and diseases. The Corps’ plan identifies 19 tributaries for assessment that could drive a population rebound for the oysters. 

The plan, estimated to cost up to $7.5 billion to implement, was developed in coordination with the states of Maryland, Virginia, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, the Environment Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy, the Potomac River Fisheries Commission and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Congress has already authorized $50 million for the effort, over half of which has already been appropriated.

The Corps will be accepting public comments on the plan through May 19. The agency expects to release the final plan by Dec. 5. Comments can be submitted by mail to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Baltimore District, C/O Angie Sowers, P.O. Box 1715, Baltimore, MD 21203-1715 or via email:
NativeOysterRestMasterPlan@usace.army.mil.

Additional information can be found here:
http://www.nao.usace.army.mil/news/20120329_PublicMeetingsOysterRestoration.asp

Considered by House Committee

On April 17, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power held a hearing on the following bills:

H.R. 460, the Bonneville Unit Clean Hydropower Facilitation Act – Introduced by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), the bill would facilitate hydropower development on the Diamond Fork System of Utah.

H.R. 2664, the Reauthorization of Water Desalination Act of 2011 – Introduced by Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA), the bill would authorize additional funding for water-desalination research and development.

On April 19, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs held a hearing on the following bill:

H.R. 4043, the Military Readiness and Southern Sea Otter Conservation Act – Introduced by Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-CA), the bill  would exempt the U.S. military from having to protect the threatened southern sea otter in waters off a remote Channel Island in southern California where the Navy tests weapons.

Passed by House

H.R. 4089, the Sportsman’s Heritage Act – Introduced by Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), the bill would require the Department of Interior and the U.S. Forest Service to provide access to certain federal lands for hunting, fishing and recreational shooting. The bill also includes provisions that would amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to add ammunition and sport fishing equipment to the list of items that are exempted by TSCA.  Critics of the bill charge that the provision limits the authority of EPA to regulate bullets, angling lures and other hunting equipment with respect to toxic substances. The bill passed April 17 by a vote of 274-146 with 39 Democrats joining all but two Republicans in supporting the bill.

The rule under which the bill was considered also generated controversy as it incorporated a provision into the Sportsman’s Heritage Act that would fast-track enactment of the Ryan Budget’s funding levels. The rule was agreed to by a vote of 228-184 with four Republicans joining all Democrats in opposing the rule.

H.R. 4348, the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012, Part II – Introduced by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-FL) – the bill would extend the current authorization for surface transportation programs through September 30, 2012. The current authorization for surface transportation programs expires at the end of June under the previous extension enacted on March 30. The bill passed April 18, by a vote of 293-127. Sixty-nine Democrats joined all but 14 Republicans in supporting the bill.

Among its provisions, the bill would transfer authority to approve the Keystone XL pipeline project from the State Department to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). FERC would be required to issue the permit within 30 days of receiving an application regarding the process. If FERC takes no action to approve the permit, it would be deemed approved after the 30-day period. The measure also establishes a Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund, where 80 percent of penalties related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill would be deposited. The money would be available to states, pursuant to a future act of Congress, to restore the ecosystem and economy of the Gulf Coast region.

The Obama administration released a statement proclaiming that he would veto the bill in lieu of the Keystone pipeline provision. The administration’s statement is available here:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/112/saphr4348r_20120417.pdf