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Bill· SS. 3374 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 1992
Lake Tahoe Water Quality Protection Act of 1992 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) establish a continuing comprehensive water quality assessment and management program for Lake Tahoe (California and Nevada); and (2) enter into an agreement with, and award a grant to, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency to carry out such program. Requires the Administrator, as part of the program, to establish an ongoing research program for Lake Tahoe and the associated basin by entering into an agreement with, and awarding a grant to, Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village, Nevada. Requires the research program to provide for water quality monitoring and assessment. Directs the Administrator, with the approval of the Governors of California and Nevada, to award water pollution control and prevention grants to political subdivisions located within the Lake Tahoe basin. Authorizes grants for the planning and construction of treatment works and facilities to control or prevent pollution from stormwater and other nonpoint source discharges to Lake Tahoe. Requires grant recipients to pay 25 percent of the costs of such projects. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 3384 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 1992
International Population Stabilization and Reproductive Choice Act of 1992 - Title I: United States Population Assistance - Sets forth congressional findings with respect to population assistance. Declares that it shall be a principal objective of U.S. foreign policy to achieve universal availability of high quality fertility control services. Requires all family planning activities receiving support under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide a broad range of fertility control methods permitted by individual country policy. Prohibits funds from being used to coerce any person to undergo sterilization or involuntary abortion or to accept any method of fertility control. Requires the U.S. Government to support the expansion of reproductive rights in countries receiving foreign assistance. Prohibits subjecting nongovernmental and multilateral organizations to requirements which are more restrictive than requirements applicable to foreign governments for such assistance. Requires population assistance to provide increased support for special programs to reach young adults before they begin childbearing. Provides that funds shall be allocated to countries meeting at least one of the following criteria: (1) countries accounting for a substantial proportion of the world's annual population increment; (2) countries having significant unmet needs for fertility control and that require foreign assistance to implement, expand, or sustain family planning services; and (3) countries which demonstrate a strong policy commitment to population stabilization through the expansion of reproductive choice. Makes funds available for: (1) the United Nations Population Fund; and (2) the Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction. Prohibits assistance for the United Nations Population Fund from being obligated if China is denied most-favored-nation trading status. Prohibits U.S. population assistance for programs in China. Applies prohibitions on funding for abortions or involuntary sterilization to assistance to assistance for the Fund. Requires the Fund to maintain such assistance in a separate account, without commingling with other funds. Requires agreements between the United States and the Fund to obligate such assistance to provide for a full refund to the United States if the Fund provides more than a specified amount for family planning programs in China. Prohibits the use of such funds to carry out any program that is disapproved by the U.S. representative to the United Nations. Requires the Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) to establish simplified procedures for the development and approval of programs to be carried out by nongovernmental organizations that have demonstrated a capacity to undertake effective population and family planning activities and a commitment to quality reproductive health care for women. Makes 50 percent of all U.S. population assistance available for nongovernmental organizations. Requires AID to encourage greater involvement in the delivery of family planning services by private health practitioners, employer-based health services, unions, and cooperative health organizations. Sets forth targets for global expenditures in developing countries for core population programs and for U.S. population assistance. Authorizes appropriations for U.S. population assistance. Prohibits individuals in programs assisted by the United States from being denied family planning services because of an inability to pay the cost of such services. Lists research programs to be supported by U.S. assistance. Requires the U.S. Government to support communications strategies to create public awareness about reproductive health needs and the problems associated with world population growth. Directs the AID Administrator to report annually to the Congress on world progress toward population stabilization and universal reproductive choice. Title II: Population Assistance Policy and Development - Declares that it is U.S. policy to promote universal access to basic education. Declares that it is U.S. foreign policy to assist efforts to: (1) reduce the infant mortality rate in all countries by the lower of one-third of the 1990 level or to 50 deaths per 1,000 live births; and (2) reduce the mortality rate of children under five years of age by the lower of 30 percent or 70 deaths per 1,000 live births. Title III: Organizational Provisions - Establishes within the Department of State an Under Secretary of State for Global Population, Environment, and Natural Resources to provide a focus for dialogue on global population growth, environmental degradation, and natural resources management. Declares that the multilateral development banks should increase their support for core population activities. Requires the U.S. executive directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Asian Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the African Development Bank to submit annual reports to the Congress on allocations to core population activities and, if such allocations total less than $1,000,000, to report on actions taken to encourage increases in such allocations. Requires the President to establish a National Bipartisan Commission on World Population Stabilization and Reproductive Health to oversee U.S. preparations for, and participation in, the 1994 International Population Meeting. Directs the Commission to report on population trends and their impact on efforts to alleviate poverty and protect the environment. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 3365 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1992
Central Valley Project Fish and Wildlife Act of 1992 - Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from entering into any new short-term, temporary, or long-term contracts or agreements for water supply from the Central Valley Project (CVP), California (a Bureau of Reclamation facility) for any purpose other than fish and wildlife before certain requirements have been met. Provides an exception to such prohibition for certain contracts. Requires the Secretary to renew any existing long-term repayment or water service contract for the delivery of CVP water for a period of 25 years, with additional 25-year renewals, subject to reclamation law pricing requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into contracts with: (1) the Tuolumne Regional Water District for delivery of water from the New Melones project to the county's water distribution system; (2) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for the delivery in perpetuity of water to meet the needs of the San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery; and (3) the Watsonville subarea of the San Felipe Division of the CVP upon completion of a specified plan of study. Requires all CVP repayment contracts providing for water service and water service contracts for agricultural, municipal, or industrial purposes that are renewed after this Act's enactment date to make water available to contracting entities pursuant to a system of tiered water pricing. Sets forth requirements for such system. Directs the Secretary to develop, select, and implement specified actions with respect to fish and wildlife habitat issues in the California Central Valley. Includes among initial actions that the Secretary shall take by specified dates: (1) negotiation and execution of agreements with the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) to mitigate the direct fishery losses associated with the operation of the Tracy Pumping Plant and the Contra Costa Canal Pumping Plant numbered one and to eliminate, to the extent practicable, losses of salmon and steelhead trout due to flow fluctuations caused by the operation of Keswick, Nimbus, and Lewiston Regulating Dams; (2) installation and operation of a structural temperature control device at Shasta Dam and development and implementation of modifications in CVP operations to allow for control of water temperatures in the upper Sacramento River sufficient to protect salmon; (3) rehabilitation and expansion of the Coleman National Fish Hatchery; (4) development and implementation of a gravel replenishment program to restore and replenish spawning gravel lost due to the construction and operation of Shasta, Folsom, and New Melones Dams, bank protection programs, and other actions that have reduced availability of spawning gravel in the upper Sacramento River and the American and Stanislaus Rivers; and (5) development and implementation of a Delta Cross Channel monitoring and operational program to protect striped bass eggs and larvae as they approach the Delta Cross Channel gates. Directs the Secretary to establish an assessment program to monitor fish and wildlife resources in the Central Valley and to assess the biological results of restoration and enhancement actions. Requires the Secretary to develop, evaluate, select, and implement, by specified dates, actions that address specified fish and wildlife protection, restoration, and enhancement issues, including: (1) developing and implementing programs to eliminate the need to reduce Keswick Dam releases every Spring to place the Anderson-Cottonwood Irrigation District's Diversion Dam into operation and every Fall to take the Dam out of operation to minimize fish passage problems for salmon at the CVP Red Bluff Diversion Dam and to augment natural production of salmon and steelhead trout population levels in the San Joaquin River system in above-normal water years through means of artificial production; (2) constructing and operating a new satellite hatchery to augment the single and dual purpose channels at the Tehama Colusa Fish Facility and to further mitigate the impact of Shasta Dam on fishery resources; (3) constructing a salmon and steelhead trout hatchery on the Yuba River; (4) negotiating and executing an agreement with the CDFG that requires the release of the minimum flows necessary to take full advantage of the spawning, incubation, rearing, and outmigration potential of the Upper Sacramento River and the Lower American River for salmon, subject to the physical capabilities of the CVP facilities involved; (5) providing flows to allow sufficient spawning, incubation, rearing, and outmigration conditions for salmon and steelhead trout from Whiskeytown Dam and a new fish ladder constructed at the McCormick-Saeltzer Dam; (6) evaluating and implementing a program to correct a defective fish screen at the Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District's Sacramento River diversion; (7) assisting in the funding of enforcement measures to reduce the numbers of striped bass illegally taken from the San Francisco Bay Estuary and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta; (8) participating in a program to mitigate for fishery impacts associated with operations of the Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District's Hamilton City Pumping Plant; (9) providing such assistance as may be requested by the State of California to develop and implement fishing regulations that protect the older, more productive striped bass females in order to maintain a viable reproducing striped bass population; and (10) developing and implementing measures that will provide additional dependable water supplies of suitable quality. Directs: (1) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to expedite, and complete by December 31, 1995, efforts to clean up mines causing intermittent releases of lethal concentrations of dissolved metals from the Spring Creek Debris Dam; and (2) the Secretary, in the interim, to provide water from the Keswick Dam sufficient to dilute the Spring Creek Debris Dam discharges to concentration levels that allow survival of fish life below Keswick Dam, except when the U.S. Corps of Engineers flood control criteria for Shasta Dam limits that capability. Authorizes the Secretary to construct, in partnership with the State of California, a barrier at the head of Old River in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta by December 31, 1995, to partially mitigate the impact of the CVP and State Water project pumping plants in the south Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta on the survival of young outmigrating salmon that are diverted from the San Joaquin River to the pumps. Directs the Secretary to: (1) participate in the San Joaquin River Management Program; and (2) evaluate in-basin needs in the Stanislaus River basin and investigate alternative storage, release, and delivery regimes for satisfying both in- and out-of-basin needs. Authorizes and directs the Secretary to provide firm water supplies to improve wetland habitat areas on National Wildlife Refuge System units in the Central Valley of California; the Gray Lodge, Los Banos, Volta, North Grasslands, and Mendota State wildlife management areas; and the Grasslands Resources Conservation District, subject to certain requirements. Directs the Secretary to: (1) identify additional actions that would provide mitigation of CVP impacts on, protect, and restore Central Valley fish and wildlife habitat; (2) develop the information needed to evaluate such actions technically, determine the economic and biological feasibility using specified criteria, determine appropriate cost allocations specific to each action, and select actions to recommend to the Congress for authorization to implement; and (3) report to the Congress according to a specified schedule until the year 2010. Sets forth fish and wildlife habitat issues to be evaluated by the Secretary, including: (1) determination of the flows and habitat restoration measures needed to protect, restore, and enhance salmon and steelhead trout in parts of the San Joaquin River; (2) investigation of actions allowing closure or screening of the Delta Cross Channel and Georgiana Slough to prevent the diversion of out-migrating salmon and steelhead trout through those facilities; (3) as a means of increasing survival of migrating young fish, investigation of the feasibility of using short pulses of increased water flows to move salmon, steelhead trout, and striped bass into and through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta; (4) investigation of ways to maintain suitable temperatures for young salmon survival in the lower Sacramento River and in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta by controlling or relocating the discharge of irrigation return flows and sewage effluent; (5) investigation of the need for additional hatchery production to mitigate the impacts of water development on Central Valley fisheries where no other feasible means of mitigation is available or where hatchery production would enhance efforts to increase natural production of a particular species; (6) investigation of measures available to correct flow pattern problems in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta created by the operation of the CVP and the California State Water Project; (7) evaluation of measures to avoid unqualified losses of juvenile anadromous fish due to unscreened or inadequately screened diversions on the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, their tributaries, and in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta; and (8) elimination of barriers to upstream migration of salmon and steelhead trout adults to spawning areas downstream of existing storage facilities in the Central Valley caused by agricultural diversions and other obstructions. Directs the Secretary to consider specified criteria and factors and issue findings thereon when determining which alternate programs, policies, or procedures should be implemented to protect and restore fish and wildlife conditions. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) cost allocations; (2) additional authorities; and (3) funding to carry out the purposes and provisions of this Act. Establishes the Central Valley Project Restoration Fund and authorizes appropriations from the Fund to carry out this Act. Directs the Secretary to collect an annual fee from CVP beneficiaries to recover costs of fish, wildlife, and habitat restoration programs. Authorizes the Secretary, subject to specified limitations, to approve all transfer agreements: (1) among CVP contractors and between CVP contractors and noncontractors involving CVP water within the authorized CVP service area; (2) between CVP contractors and parties outside the CVP service area upon the determination that as a result of the proposed transaction over the term of the agreement there is no net export of water out of the CVP service area of the transferor; and (3) between CVP water contractors and parties outside the CVP service area where the Secretary determines that as a result of the proposed transaction over the term of the agreement there will be a net export of water out of the service area of the transferor, provided that the water being transferred would not otherwise be available to other consumptive beneficial uses absent implementation of the program and that, over the term of the agreement in question, the transfer will have no significant, long-term adverse impact on groundwater conditions in the transferor's service area. Sets forth provisions with respect to transfers of water developed through temporary or permanent land fallowing. Specifies that: (1) all existing and future contracts for CVP water shall be deemed to allow for the transfers and exchanges provided for within this Act; and (2) specified agreements entered into under this Act shall provide that, during the years of actual transfer, CVP water subject to transfer shall be repaid at full cost. Requires all existing CVP agricultural contractors, within two years after the enactment of this Act, to submit a report to the Secretary which identifies water conservation practices and analyzes the cost and benefits to that entity and its customers of implementing each of such practices and any additional practices the Secretary determines should be analyzed. Requires all CVP agricultural contractors to develop a plan for implementation of such practices determined by the entity within the required water conservation report to be financially and otherwise feasible for the specific entity. Requires the entity to complete the plan for implementation within one year after completion of such report. Specifies that financially feasible conservation practices that will cause environmental harm or that are inconsistent with other legal requirements shall not be required to be implemented. Establishes a Water Conservation Incentive Program which shall be administered by the Secretary to encourage and assist with the on-farm implementation of the water conservation practices set forth in this Act. Directs the Secretary to require all CVP municipal and industrial water users, to the extent they provide retail, municipal, and industrial water service, to comply with the provisions of a specified memorandum regarding urban water conservation in California. Requires the Secretary to evaluate the benefits and cost analysis for each of the water conservation practices found by the specific water user preparing the required reports not to be feasible and to determine: (1) which practices would make additional water available to Central Valley streams or to a usable ground water basin that would not otherwise be available; and (2) for each of specified practices, the benefit/cost ratio of implementation if that water were used to fulfill wildlife refuge water supply obligations or made available to other water agencies through the transfer provisions established by this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to implement those water conservation practices identified which conserve water, are economically feasible, and are prudent, with the entity holding the contractual right to the water conserved and then make that water available for use by Central Valley refuges as required by provisions of this Act, subject to specified requirements. Directs the Secretary to negotiate for, and report to the Congress on, the transfer of the CVP to the State of California. Requires the Secretary to credit any expenditures by the State in this Act for fish and wildlife mitigation, protection, and restoration to the purchase price negotiated for the sale of the CVP.
Bill· SS. 3352 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1992
Environmental Innovation Research Act of 1992 - Establishes an Office for the Development of Critical Environmental Technology in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Requires the EPA Administrator, acting through the Office Director, to: (1) carry out a critical environmental technology research program; and (2) conduct an environmental innovation research program. Requires the heads of covered Federal agencies (agencies for which more than $50,000,000 per fiscal year is made available for environmental research and development or cleanup) to establish research programs for the commercialization of critical environmental technology to: (1) further the progress of cleanup and pollution prevention activities; and (2) avoid future pollution and cleanup problems. Directs such agencies to set aside funding for such programs. Sets forth phases of such programs and authorizes agreements with private businesses to carry out such research. Requires the Office Director to compile an annotated list of critical environmental technologies and provide for periodic list updates. Establishes a Critical Environmental Technology Task Force to coordinate the distribution of critical environmental technology and data, review research proposals, and ensure complementary research efforts. Directs the heads of covered Federal agencies to report annually to the Director on funding agreements under the environmental technology program and the percentage of successful commercialization efforts in critical environmental technology. Requires the Administrator to promulgate guidelines for Federal environmental innovation research programs. Directs the Administrator to survey and monitor all phases of the research programs of covered agencies. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 6210 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1992
Comprehensive Services for Youth Act of 1992 - Title I: School-Based or School-Linked Health and Social Services Center Grants - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) (the Secretary), acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (the Administrator), to award grants to eligible local community partnerships to coordinate and deliver comprehensive education, health, and social services to children or youth in school-based, school-linked, or community-based locations. Requires each such partnership to include: (1) a local health care provider with experience in delivering services to adolescents; (2) one or more local public schools; and (3) at least one community-based organization with a history of providing services to at-risk youth in the particular community. Requires broad-based community participation, through an expanded partnership or an advisory board, involving parents and youth to be served, teachers and other public school and school board personnel, community-based organizations (particularly those serving minority youth), youth development and service organizations and interested business leaders. Requires targeting of the partnership's location and service to a community in which youth are exposed to a high risk environment. Describes high risk environment as having high rates of: (1) children in poverty or lacking access to health care; (2) dropouts and students retained in grade; (3) alcohol or drug abuse; (4) sexually transmitted diseases (including HIV); (5) teen pregnancy; (6) suicide; (7) community or gang violence; (8) youth unemployment; or (9) juvenile justice involvement. Requires partnership use of grant funds for coordination and delivery of specified core services at a school-based, school-linked, or community-based location or locations accessible to and used by at-risk children, youth, and their families. Sets forth such core services under the categories of: (1) comprehensive health, mental health, and social services; and (2) youth development and life planning services. Requires coordination among core services. Allows use of grant funds for coordination or co-location of core services with additional services identified in the comprehensive plan to enhance support available through the partnership service delivery network. Gives priority to grant applicants whose comprehensive services plan demonstrates: (1) continuity of access to core services on a year-round basis or beyond traditional school or service hours, either on site or through a backup referral system of community-based providers; and (2) the offer of services beyond the in-school population, including core services to out-of-school youth, to the extent practicable. Provides for an initial three-year grant period, and authorizes two-year extensions upon demonstration of substantial progress in integration of comprehensive services and improvement in health and education outcomes of the populations served. Sets forth application and plan requirements. Requires equitable geographic distribution of grants to both urban and rural communities. Sets minimum and maximum grant amounts. Sets forth provisions for Federal share, non-Federal share, and waivers of the latter. Requires grantees to use ten percent of such assistance to provide staff training (including teachers and school personnel) and to secure necessary technical assistance (through local community-based entities, to the maximum extent feasible). Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Administration, to award one-year nonrenewable planning grants to eligible entities that agree to establish a local community partnership to deliver comprehensive services. Sets forth application requirements. Requires use of such planning grants for: (1) assessments of needs and barriers to services; (2) delivery planning and coordination of services; and (3) development of program goals and progress measurements. Limits to ten percent the portion of grant program funds which may be used for such planning grants. Limits the maximum amount of each planning grant. Title II: State and Local Coordinated Youth Services Grants - Subtitle A: Local Consortia Grants - Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Administrator, to award grants to eligible consortia to coordinate and deliver comprehensive core education, health, and social services to at-risk youth through an integrated service delivery network directed by a consortium. Requires such consortia membership to include representatives from the local health department, local educational agency, health and social services providers and community-based organizations with a history of serving at-risk youth (including minority youth, dropouts, adolescent parents, and runaway or homeless youth), youth development organizations, juvenile justice personnel, and parents and the at-risk youth to be served. Requires specified financial or organizational commitments by consortium members. Subtitle B: Statewide Youth Services Center Grants - Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Administrator, to award grants to eligible States to provide for coordination and delivery of comprehensive education, health, and social services to at-risk youth through the award of State grants to local community partnerships or consortia. Requires States, to be eligible for such grants, to: (1) provide assurances of cooperative agreements among State education, health, and social services agencies concerning planned delivery of such comprehensive youth services; (2) demonstrate financial and organizational commitments; (3) currently support coordinated delivery of such services through a system of school-based, school-linked, or community-based comprehensive youth services centers; (4) document that services are prioritized among communities that have a high-risk environment for youth, as indicated by specified factors; and (5) meet certain application requirements. Subtitle C: Provisions Relating to Both Local and Statewide Grant Programs - Sets forth requirements for applications and use of grant funds for a consortium or State entity awarded a grant under subtitle A or B. Requires coordination and delivery of specified core services through a system of school-based, school-linked, or community-based youth centers to serve in-school and out-of-school youth and their families. Sets forth such core services under the categories of: (1) comprehensive health, mental health, and social services; and (2) youth development and life planning services. Requires coordination and co-location of delivery of existing core services into a broader system of health and social services centers accessible to in-school or out-of-school youth to use available resources more effectively before adding new resources or developing new services. Requires provision of outreach services to out-of-school youth (including adolescent parents and runaway and homeless youth), and coordination of core services with alternative education and job training and placement opportunities for such youth. Allows use of grant funds for: (1) coordination and co-location of core services with additional services to enhance the support available to at-risk youth and their families through the service delivery network; and (2) expansion of coordination and delivery of core services to the feeder elementary schools whose students will attend secondary schools currently providing core services. Sets forth grant application and plan formulation and content requirements. Provides for an initial three-year grant period, and authorizes two-year extensions upon demonstration of substantial progress in integration of comprehensive services and improvement in health and education outcomes of the youth served. Provides for an integration incentive. Authorizes the Secretary, in making a grant under this title, to make bonus amounts available as integration incentives. Specifies forumulae for such bonuses. Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Administrator, to award one-year nonrenewable planning grants to consortia or States. Sets forth application requirements. Requires the use of such funds to: (1) establish an administrative mechanism to develop and implement a citywide, countywide, or statewide system of school-based, school-linked, or community-based comprehensive youth services centers; (2) assess needs and barriers to services; (3) develop program goals and progress measurements; and (4) develop a strategic plan for coordination and delivery of comprehensive services to youth at school-based, school-linked, or community-based locations. Limits to ten percent the portion of grant program funds which may be used for such planning grants. Limits the maximum amount of each planning grant. Title III: Implementation Provisions - Makes ineligible for title I funds any community that: (1) is currently receiving State funds to deliver co-located education, health, and social services; or (2) will receive funding from a State funded under subtitle B of title II. Allows such a currently funded community partnership to form a consortium to seek funding for an expanded citywide or countywide youth services network under subtitle A of title II. Requires a local consortium operating in a locality receiving State funding for delivery of such co-located services to include participation from the entities receiving such State funding. Makes eligible for continued funding, at the completion of its five-year grant period under title I, a partnership that has expanded into a citywide or countywide consortium (as described under subtitle A of title II) or has become part of a statewide network (as described under subtitle B of title II). Directs the Secretary to consult with the Secretary of Education in developing program regulations to implement this Act. Directs the Secretary to disseminate information on programs under this Act and on successful and model programs and to provide technical assistance. Requires such information and assistance to be provided directly through the Health Resources and Services Administration as the administering agency and other Department of HHS agencies with appropriate expertise, or through grants and contracts with nonprofit organizations. Requires the Secretary to collaborate with the Departments of Education and Labor and the Commission on National and Community Service, in such information and technical assistance efforts. Sets forth annual reporting requirements for entities receiving funds under this Act, including analyses of progress at the end of the third year. Sets forth maintenance-of-effort requirements. Authorizes appropriations for titles I and II and for special projects of national significance under title IV. Title IV: Federal Coordinated Youth Services Initiatives - Directs the Secretary, acting through the Administrator, to establish and administer a special projects of national significance program to award direct grants to public and nonprofit private entities to fund model programs to integrate health and social services, including HIV prevention, provided to special populations of youth at risk. Bases grant awards on: (1) need to provide such services to such subpopulations; (2) need to assess effectiveness of a prevention or service model or collaboration strategy; and (3) potential replicability of proposed activities in other localities. Allows such special projects to include projects targeting youth who are: (1) runaway, homeless, or street youth; (2) immigrants or migrants; (3) in the juvenile justice system; (4) in foster care; (5) in gangs; (6) with a history of substance abuse; (7) with HIV disease; (8) adolescent parents; and (9) Native American. Amends the Augustus F. Hawkins Human Resources Reauthorization Act of 1990 to direct the Federal Council on Children, Youth, and Families to: (1) identify (and make recommendations to modify or eliminate) program regulations or practices that impede coordination and collaboration; (2) develop recommendations for creating jointly funded programs, unified assessments, eligibility, application procedures, and confidentiality regulations that facilitate information-sharing; and (3) make recommendations to the Congress on legislative action needed to facilitate coordination of educational, health, and social services for in-school and out-of-school youth. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress: (1) biannual summaries of annual grantee reports and progress assessments; and (2) a final evaluation report within four and a half years. Directs the Secretary to use the amount made available under specified provisions of the Public Health Service Act to conduct such evaluation. Title V: Grants to Cities to Provide Education, Employment, Recreation, Social, and Cultural Awareness Assistance to At-Risk Youth - Directs the Secretary, to make grants to not more than ten selected cities to assist them to establish and operate teen resource and education centers to provide education, employment, recreation, social, and cultural awareness assistance to at-risk youth. Authorizes the Secretary to make such grants to a city if it applies and agrees to operate at least two such centers. Requires such centers to offer for at-risk youth: (1) educational assistance, including information on institutions of higher education, assistance with financial aid applications and scholarship search, and preparatory courses for high school equivalency and college entrance examinations; (2) employment and skills training, including hiring teen peer counselors to provide basic job skills training, job referral services, and job banks; (3) recreational opportunities, such as sports teams, neighborhood gardening and food distribution, and reading programs; (4) social skills development, including hiring adult counselors and providing support groups for counseling on social and personal issues; and (5) cultural awareness programs, such as classes in the history and culture of various cultural groups and productions of plays, stories, and artwork reflecting the cultural heritage of such youth. Requires such centers to provide financial assistance to college graduates who work full-time at the center to assist them to repay part of their student loan debt. Sets forth grant selection and allocation requirements. Requires city reports to the Secretary on their use of the grant, and interim and final reports by the Secretary to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 6199 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1992
Voluntary Environmental Response Act of 1992 - Applies this Act to any facility where there has been a release or threat of release of a hazardous substance into the environment. Makes this Act inapplicable to: (1) any portion of a facility with respect to which a Record of Decision has been issued by the President under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA); (2) any portion of a facility with respect to which an administrative or judicial order or consent decree requiring remedial action has been issued under CERCLA, the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Clean Water Act, or the Safe Drinking Water Act; (3) any land disposal unit for which a closure notification under RCRA has been submitted and closure requirements have been specified; or (4) any portion of a facility with respect to which a corrective action permit or order has been issued, modified, or amended. Authorizes States to apply to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to administer the voluntary response program under this Act, subject to certain requirements. Permits any person to submit a notification of intent to conduct a voluntary response and requires such person to agree to pay the direct costs incurred by the Administrator or the State in reviewing the response action plan overseeing the response. Directs the Administrator to establish procedures for arbitration of disputes concerning reimbursement of costs. Requires persons intending to perform responses to: (1) conduct a facility investigation which assesses specified factors that are necessary to determine an appropriate response to a release; and (2) set forth such response in a response action plan to be submitted with the facility investigation report to the Administrator or the State. Sets forth response action plan approval procedures. Provides for waivers of response requirements if: (1) compliance with response standards under this Act will result in greater health and environmental risks than alternative options; (2) compliance is impracticable from an engineering perspective; (3) the response action will attain a level of protection equivalent to that provided by such standards; or (4) contaminants will not travel the expected exposure pathways. Sets forth recordkeeping and reporting requirements for persons conducting voluntary responses and requires certifications that responses have been completed in accordance with an approved plan. Requires the National Academy of Sciences to review and report to the Administrator on the risk assessment methodology used by EPA to determine response standards for contaminants in soil and groundwater and improvements in such methodology. Directs the Administrator to promulgate numerical response standards for: (1) soil and groundwater that are protective of human health and the environment for a minimum of the 100 hazardous substances which are most commonly found at facilities subject to this Act; (2) soils on residential, commercial, and industrial property; and (3) groundwater which can be expected to serve as a source of public drinking water. Requires all voluntary responses, pending promulgation of such standards, to attain response standards derived on a site-specific, case-by-case basis. Lists satisfactory alternate response standards. Provides that: (1) no Federal, State, or local permit shall be required for voluntary responses; and (2) performance of a response shall not constitute an admission of liability or be admissible as evidence in citizens' suits or private actions. Authorizes the Administrator to require additional response actions only if: (1) the voluntary response has not been substantially completed; or (2) there is new information that was not available at the time of response action plan approval that would have justified the application of substantially different conditions at the time of approval. Prescribes penalties for failures to comply with response plan conditions. Deems voluntary responses to be in compliance with specified Federal environmental laws and provides that further response action shall not be required for matters addressed in a voluntary response plan.
Bill· SS. 3341 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1992
Publicly Owned Treatment Works Biomonitoring Use Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide that if the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency determines that in the control of toxicity it is necessary to include biological monitoring, testing, or assessment methods as a condition of a permit issued to a publicly owned treatment works, the failure of a whole effluent toxicity test shall not result in a violation finding. Makes it a violation of this Act if the treatment works fails to comply with a schedule or other permit condition to identify and control toxic discharges.
Bill· SS. 3336 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1992
Federal Resource Efficient Building Materials Act of 1992 - Requires the Administrator of General Services to establish a three-year pilot program to demonstrate the acquisition and use of resource efficient building materials in Federal facilities and buildings. Directs the Administrator, in selecting resource efficient building materials, to use the criteria of: (1) maximizing the conservation and preservation of natural resources; and (2) ensuring that the materials are similar in quality and durability to comparable, more conventional materials, are cost competitive with comparable, more conventional materials on a life cycle cost basis, and meet appropriate environmental, public health, and safety standards. Sets forth reporting requirements. Establishes the Resource Efficient Building Material Advisory Board to: (1) advise the Administrator on the latest developments in resource efficient building materials and design and on how such developments may be incorporated into the construction of Federal buildings; and (2) make recommendations to the Administrator on actions needed to further facilitate the acquisition and use of resource efficient materials in Federal construction and to minimize the generation of solid waste in the construction of Federal buildings and facilities. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations containing guidelines to Federal agencies on minimizing the creation of solid waste and on maximizing the use of resource efficient building materials in the construction of Federal buildings, after considering the Board's recommendations. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 6154 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1992
Prohibits the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from implementing any national primary drinking water regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act (the Act) or any similar regulation until this Act's requirements are met and legislation that extends the authorization of the Act is enacted. Requires the Administrator to study and report to the Congress on: (1) each final regulation that has been promulgated under the Act and regulatory alternatives that reflect a range of levels of safety or direct health benefits; (2) any health effect an alternative would prevent and the system-level incremental cost of each alternative; (3) the contaminants listed pursuant to the Act for purposes of considering revisions to the list, taking into account anticipated adverse health effects of the contaminant, the risk or safety factors associated with the maximum contaminant level, and whether the contaminant may occur in public water systems; (4) compliance deadlines; (5) whether a regulation should apply exclusively to small public water systems; and (6) recommended alternatives to ensure that States and political subdivisions meet funding needs to carry out the Act. Directs the Administrator, if the implementation or promulgation of a primary drinking water regulation is justifiable to protect human health, to implement or promulgate such regulation without regard to the requirements of this Act. Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to exclude from the definition of "public water system" any system which: (1) relies only on surface water supplies; (2) serves only seasonal rental residences; and (3) serves 100 or fewer individuals.
Bill· HRH.R. 6176 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1992
Safe Drinking Water Act Alternative Compliance Procedures Act - Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to direct each State to authorize waivers of monitoring requirements of the following national primary drinking water regulations for designated systems where there has been no previous use of the contaminant at issue within the State, or an area within the State: (1) Phase II regulations for 26 synthetic organic chemicals and seven inorganic chemicals; and (2) Phase V regulations for 18 synthetic organic chemicals and five inorganic chemicals. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a grant program to assist States in carrying out such waivers. Authorizes appropriations. Provides that public water systems that serve 3,300 or fewer individuals and comply with alternative testing requirements shall not be required to conduct any other testing or sampling to determine compliance with such regulations. Requires systems electing to comply with such requirements to: (1) conduct baseline testing with respect to contaminants covered by such regulations; (2) conduct a vulnerability survey with respect to water supplies to determine the potential contamination sources; (3) submit plans for testing potential contaminants and demonstrations that a contaminant source has been removed or remedied; and (4) conduct updated testing and surveys. Requires the Administrator to establish a grant program to assist small public water systems in conducting testing and surveys and developing plans. Authorizes appropriations.
Law· HRH.R. 6167 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1992
Water Resources Development Act of 1992 - Title I: Water Resources Projects - Authorizes the Secretary of the Army (the Secretary) to carry out public works projects in the following locations for improvements to navigation, flood control, ecosystem restoration, and beach erosion control and hurricane protection: (1) Southeast Alaska Harbors of Refuge, Alaska; (2) Whiteman's Creek, Arkansas; (3) Morro Bay Harbor, California; (4) Sacramento Metro Area, California; (5) Rio Grande Alamosa, Colorado; (6) Delaware River Mainstem and Channel Deepening, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania; (7) Canaveral Harbor, Florida; (8) Kissimmee River, Florida; (9) Port Everglades Harbor, Florida; (10) Savannah Harbor, Georgia and South Carolina; (11) Amite River and Tributaries, Louisiana; (12) Saugus River and Tributaries, Massachusetts; (13) Las Vegas Wash and Tributaries, Nevada; (14) Morehead City Harbor, North Carolina; (15) West Onslow and New River Inlet, North Carolina; (16) Lackawanna River at Olyphant and at Scranton, Pennsylvania; (17) Locks and Dams 2 and 3, Monongahela River, Pennsylvania; (18) Rio Grande De Loiza, Puerto Rico; (19) Sargent Beach, Texas; (20) Shoal Creek, Austin, Texas; and (21) Sandbridge Beach, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Modifies projects at the following locations with respect to wildlife mitigation, flood control, beach erosion control and hurricane protection, navigation, and other improvements: (1) Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, Alabama and Mississippi; (2) Goleta and vicinity, California; (3) Oceanside Harbor, California; (4) San Leandro Marina, California; (5) O'Hare system of the Chicagoland underflow plan, Illinois; (6) Illinois River, Illinois; (7) South Frankfort, Kentucky; (8) Locks and Dam 26, Mississippi River, Alton, Illinois and Missouri; (9) Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana; (10) Parish Creek, Shady Side, Maryland; (11) Buffomville Lake, Massachusetts; (12) South Fork Zumbro River, Minnesota; (13) New Madrid Harbor, Missouri; (14) Papillion Creek and Tributaries Lakes, Nebraska; (15) Passaic River Main Stem, New Jersey and New York; (16) Raritan Bay and Sandy Hook Bay, New Jersey; (17) Sandy Hook to Barnegat Inlet, New Jersey; (18) Rio Grande Floodway, New Mexico; (19) Jones Inlet, New York; (20) Westhampton Beach, New York; (21) Broken Bow Lake, Red River Basin, Oklahoma; (22) Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania; (23) Chetco River, Oregon; (24) Port Orford, Oregon; (25) Cliff Walk, Newport, Rhode Island; (26) Ray Roberts Lake, Elm Fork of the Trinity River, Texas; (27) Sims Bayou, Texas; (28) Virginia Beach, Virginia; (29) Lower Granite Lock and Dam, Washington; (30) Beech Fork Lake, West Virginia; (31) Bluestone Lake, Ohio River Basin, West Virginia; and (32) La Crosse and Shelby, Wisconsin. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to authorize and direct the Secretary of the Interior to enter into a contract with the St. Johns River Water Management District and the Southwest Florida Water Management District of the State of Florida for the continued operation and maintenance by the Secretary of portions of the Cross Florida barge canal project, subject to specified requirements. Authorizes the Secretary (subject to specified requirements) to: (1) construct visitor centers at Melvin Price Lock and Dam, Alton, Illinois, and at Mt. Morris Dam, New York, and a Northeastern New Jersey Regional Flood Operations-Response, Engineering, and Visitor Center, and at the John Hammerschmidt Lake, Arkansas River, Arkansas; and (2) establish and operate the Lower Mississippi River Museum and Riverfront Interpretive Site, Vicksburg, Mississippi. Directs the Secretary to consult with the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in the planning and design of the museum and site and with the Secretary of the Interior and the Director of the National Park Service in the planning, design, and implementation of interpretive programs. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct studies and carry out small navigation projects at: (1) Calcasieu River, Louisiana; (2) Provincetown Harbor, Massachusetts; (3) Aunt Lydia's Cove, Chatham, Massachusetts; (4) Grand Marais, Minnesota; (5) Grand Portage, Minnesota; (6) Silver Bay, Minnesota; (7) Seaway Pier, Buffalo, New York; and (8) Tangier Island, Virginia. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct studies and, if the Secretary determines such projects to be feasible, to carry out small flood control projects at: (1) Blue River and Brock Creek, Salem, Indiana; (2) White River, Elnora, Indiana; (3) White River, Gibson County, Indiana; (4) White River, Petersburg, Indiana; (5) Wabash River, Knox County, Indiana; (6) Red River at Grand Marais Outlet, Minnesota; (7) Sullivan Run Creek, Butler, Pennsylvania; (8) Little Fossil Creek, Texas; and (9) Turpentine Run, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Modifies the project with respect to the maximum allotment and cost-sharing at St. Peters, St. Charles County, Missouri. Directs the Secretary to develop and carry out a Sonoma Baylands wetland demonstration project in the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary, California. Sets forth project purposes and requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth limitations on amounts transferred and obligated pursuant to the Upper Mississippi River Management Program. Specifies that the costs of operation and maintenance of projects located on Federal lands or lands owned or operated by a State or local government shall be borne by the Federal, State, or local agency that is responsible for management activities for fish and wildlife on such lands. Directs the Secretary to construct a research and quarantine facility in Broward County, Florida, to be used in connection with efforts to control Melaleuca and other exotic plant species that threaten native ecosystems in Florida. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to maintain navigation access to, and berthing areas at, all currently operating public and private commercial dock facilities associated with or having access to the Federal navigation project on the Columbia, Snake, and Clearwater Rivers from Bonneville Dam to and incuding Lewiston, Idaho, at a depth commensurate with the Federal navigation project. Exempts the Federal Government from liability resulting from such project. Authorizes the Secretary to construct such bulkheads along the Outer Harbor, Buffalo, New York, as may be necessary to protect the shoreline and reduce the flow of pollutants into Lake Erie. Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a study for a streambank and shoreline protection project for Walnut Canyon Creek, Anaheim, California, subject to specified requirements; and (2) proceed expeditiously with design, land acquisition, and construction of the Montgomery Point Lock and Dam on the White River, Arkansas. Sets forth provisions with respect to the costs of major rehabilitation from specified projects. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct a study for the purpose of determining whether there is contaminated ground water flowing downstream from the San Gabriel Valley Ground Water Basin to the Central Ground Water Basin in California through existing Federal facilities at Whittier Narrows Dam, Los Angeles County, California. Directs the Secretary: (1) to complete the general reevaluation study for the flood control project at Santa Paula Creek, California, and transmit to the Congress a report on the results of such study; (2) to complete and transmit to the Congress a feasibility study for enlargement of the flood control project for the Success Reservoir, Tule River, California; and (3) as part of the ongoing review of the Anacostia River Watershed in the District of Columbia and Maryland, to carry out a comprehensive assessment of adverse impacts to such watershed from Federal facilities, review current plans for reducing such adverse impacts, and carry out a feasibility study to identify and recommend measures for implementation to eliminate such adverse impacts. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to: (1) expeditiously complete the general design memorandum for the sand transfer portion of the navigation project for Canaveral Harbor, Florida; (2) expeditiously complete that portion of the navigation study for Tampa Harbor, Alafia River and Big Bend, Florida, relating to the Alafia River; (3) complete the feasibility study for Cedar River and tributaries, Blackhawk, Iowa; (4) complete the study for Federal maintenance of the Port Fourchon Navigation Channel, Louisiana; (5) conduct a study of and report to the Congress on, the water supply, distribution, and transmission needs of Brockton, Massachusetts; the feasibility of providing additional water supply for Brockton and vicinity; and the water quality and quantity and related land resources of the Taunton River; (6) conduct a study on proposed uses of the seawall located in Haverhill, Massachusetts (7) conduct an economic reevaluation of proposed improvements at Grand Marais Harbor, Michigan; (8) conduct a review and evaluation of the recreational master plan for Yazoo Basin, Mississippi; (9) conduct a study of the project for flood control, Ramapo River, Oakland, New Jersey; (10) complete the feasibility study for Little River, Niagara Falls, New York; (11) complete the feasibility study of shoreline protection for Strawberry Island, New York (and take such interim emergency measures as necessary); (12) complete a study of the flood control project for Wister Lake, Oklahoma; (13) conduct independent studies to determine the Federal interest and feasibility of providing improvements to the Chesapeake Bay shoreline in Hampton and Poquoson, Virginia, for environmental protection and enhancement and protection against high tides and wave action; (14) conduct a study of the project for navigation, Corpus Christi Ship Channel, Texas to determine the feasibility of modifying the project to include maintenance of the Jewel Fulton Canal at a depth of 17 feet as a Federal responsibility; and (15) conduct a study to determine the feasibility of establishing a Tug Valley Greenway, West Virginia, for the purpose of utilizing the river environment for public recreation opportunities. Sets forth reporting requirements. Sets the Federal share (100 percent) of the cost of completion of the study for mitigation of shoreline damage attributable to the Federal navigation project at Salmon Harbor, Oregon. Continues the authorization for projects and studies (for flood control and other purposes) at the following locations: (1) Green Bay Levee District, Iowa; (2) Lake Pontchartrain, North Shore, Louisiana; (3) St. Johns Bayou and New Madrid Floodway, Missouri; (4) Deal Lake, Monmouth County, New Jersey; (5) Tyrone, Pennsylvania; and (6) Big Pine Lake, Texas. Sets forth limitations with respect to such projects and studies. Deauthorizes navigation projects at the following locations: (1) Boothbay Harbor, Maine; (2) Boston Inner Harbor Channel, Massachusetts; (3) Newburyport, Massachusetts; (4) Greilickville, Michigan; (5) South Haven Harbor, Michigan; and (6) Sag Harbor, New York. Deauthorizes a portion of the Canaveral Harbor project, Florida. Designates: (1) lock and dam 3, Arkansas River, Arkansas, as the "Joe Hardin Lock and Dam"; (2) the Greers Ferry Lake Visitors Center, Arkansas, as the "William Carl Garner Visitors Center"; (3) the reservoir created by the James W. Trimble Lock and Dam on the Arkansas River, Arkansas, as the "John Paul Hammerschmidt Lake"; (4) lock 5 on the Red River Waterway, Louisiana, as the "Joe D. Waggonner, Jr. Lock"; (5) the area for which environmental and other streambank restoration measures are authorized relating to the project for flood control, Passaic River Mainstem, New Jersey and New York, as the "Joseph G. Minish Passaic River Waterfront Park and Historic Area"; (6) the project for flood control, Buena Vista, Virginia, as the "James R. Olin Flood Control Project"; (7) the Gallipolis Locks and Dam, Ohio River, Ohio and West Virginia, as the "Robert C. Byrd Locks and Dam"; and (8) the Mill Creek Reservoir, Washington, as the "Virgil B. Bennington Lake." Title II: Generally Applicable Provisions - Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to modify requirements concerning the ability of non-Federal interests to pay under cost-sharing agreements. Directs the Secretary to: (1) review regulations on ability to pay in light of locally prevailing conditions such as those associated with specified projects; and (2) amend the regulations to the extent that the Secretary determines necessary to more appropriately take into account locally prevailing conditions which would limit the ability of local interests to participate as non-Federal project sponsors in accordance with established cost-sharing formulas. Prohibits project modifications for improvements of the environment without specific congressional authorization if the estimated cost exceeds $5 million. Authorizes appropriation of not to exceed $25 million (currently, $15 million) annually to carry out provisions related to such modifications. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) accept contributions for environmental and recreation projects, with funds received to be deposited into a specified account in the Treasury; and (2) carry out projects for the protection, restoration, and creation of aquatic and ecologically related habitats in connection with dredging of an authorized navigation project. Sets forth provisions, in connection with the latter, regarding cooperative agreements, determination of construction costs, and authorization of appropriations. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) the definition of rehabilitation for inland waterway projects; (2) construction of shoreline protection projects by non-Federal interests; (3) cost-sharing for disposal of dredged material on beaches; and (4) fees for development of State water plans. Extends specified State safety and training, research, and dam inventory programs. Authorizes the Secretary to provide assistance to non-Federal interests for the repair, reconstruction, or other modification to Mussers Dam, Middle Creek, Snyder County, Pennsylvania, subject to specified limitations. Sets forth the Federal share. Authorizes appropriations. Specifies that all costs incurred in carrying out the project to correct seepage problems at Beaver Lake, Arkansas, shall be treated as costs incurred for a dam safety project, subject to cost-sharing requirements of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986. Authorizes the Secretary to procure materials necessary to promote the Corps safety program, for distribution to Corps employees, and to recognize outstanding safety performance by such employees. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary: (1) to the maximum extent practicable, to make use of private sector resources in carrying out surveying and mapping activities in the Corps' Civil Works Program; (2) to ensure that procurement with funds appropriated to carry out this Act are conducted in compliance with the "Buy American Act," with exceptions; (3) to report to specified congressional committees with specific recommendations on improving the equitable distribution of water resources development projects in rural areas; and (4) to conduct a comparative analysis with respect to the compensation of Corps and other similarly-situated Federal employees. Sets forth additional reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study on the need for changes in Federal law and policy with respect to dredged material disposal areas for the construction and maintenance of harbors and inland harbors by the Secretary. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to provide assistance to non-Federal interests for carrying out specified projects for the beneficial reuse of waste water, including: (1) a Southern California Comprehensive Water reuse system; (2) San Diego area water reuse demonstration facilities; (3) Santa Rosa water reuse projects; and (4) a project to reduce salt water intrusion into aquifers in the vicinity of Castroville, California, improve the water quality of Monterey Bay and enhance the long-term water supply in the area. Sets forth certain restrictions regarding procurement of assistance from non-private sources. Sets the non-Federal share of the cost of projects for which assistance is provided at not less than 25 percent, with exceptions. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to provide design and construction assistance to the Santa Clara Valley Water District and to the city of San Jose, California to demonstrate and field test for public use innovative processes which advance the technology of waste water reuse and treatment and which promote the use of treated waste water for critical water supply purposes and for the protection of fish and wildlife in the San Francisco Bay. Sets the Federal share for specified grants at 75 percent. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to provide assistance to non-Federal interests to carry out water-related environmental infrastructure and resource protection and development projects relating to wastewater treatment and for other purposes at the following locations: (1) Washington, D.C. and Maryland; (2) Atlanta, Georgia; (3) Hazard, Kentucky; (4) Rouge River, Michigan; (5) Jackson County, Mississippi; (6) Epping, Manchester, and Rochester, New Hampshire; (7) Paterson and Passaic County, New Jersey; (8) State of New Jersey (including New Jersey Wastewater Treatment Trust); (9) Erie County, New York; (10) Otsego and Chenango Counties, New York; (11) Greensboro and Glassworks, Pennsylvania; (12) Lynchburg and Richmond, Virginia; and (13) along the U.S.-Mexican border. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to provide design and construction assistance to: (1) appropriate non-Federal interests for a water transmission line from the northern part of Beaver Lake, Arkansas, into Benton and Washington Counties, Arkansas; (2) the Buffalo Sewer Authority, Buffalo, New York, for the development and implementation of best management practices to reduce pollution from the combined sewer system in the city; (3) the town of Amherst, New York, for a storm water control project; and (4) the city of Lewiston, New York, for construction of a storm water control project. Sets forth cost and cost-sharing provisions. Provides for the termination of the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors. Authorizes the Secretary to develop and implement a program to share the cost of managing recreation facilities and natural resources at water resource development projects under the Secretary's jurisdiction. Requires the Secretary to debar persons convicted of intentionally affixing a label bearing a "Made in America" inscription to any product sold in or shipped to the United States which is not made in the United States and which is used in a civil works project of the Secretary from contracting with the Federal Government for a period of from three to five years. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Extends the jurisdiction of the Mississippi River Commission. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a prevention monitoring program for zebra mussels throughout the New York City water supply system; (2) develop appropriate zebra mussel prevention and removal technologies for such system; and (3) provide technical assistance to the State and city of New York on alternative design and maintenance practices for such system in the event of zebra mussel infestation. Sets forth cost-sharing provisions. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 to direct the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to issue regulations to prevent the introduction and spread of aquatic nuisance species in the Great Lakes through ballast water carried on vessels that, after operating on the waters beyond the exclusive economic zone, enter a U.S. port on the Hudson River north of the George Washington Bridge. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a cooperative agreement with the Earth Conservancy to develop, and carry out along the Susquehanna River between Wilkes-Barre and Sunbury, Pennsylvania, a wetlands demonstration project for the purposes of: (1) enhancing municipal waste water treatment in the region; (2) restoring and maintaining the physical, chemical, and biological integrity of the Susquehanna River and its tributaries as well as nearby lands; and (3) developing cleanup technologies which can be utilized for various environmental restoration initiatives. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to enter into a cooperative agreement with non-Federal interests to develop and carry out along the Juniata River and its tributaries, Pennsylvania, a watershed reclamation and protection and wetlands creation and restoration project. Sets the Federal share at 75 percent. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes: (1) the construction of boat ramps and docks at Clarks Hill Reservoir, Georgia, subject to specified requirements; and (2) the Secretary to construct trailhead facilities at specified projects in West Virginia. Authorizes the Secretary to design and construct projects to address water quality problems associated with: (1) storm water discharges from large storm events for the New Orleans, Louisiana, area; and (2) watershed areas of Onondaga County and Syracuse, New York; of the Penobscot River near Bangor, Maine, and the Casco Bay near Portland, Maine; and of Narragansett Bay near the Providence, Rhode Island Metropolitan area. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) project design; and (2) cost-sharing. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to conduct studies of Baltimore Harbor, Maryland, for the purpose of developing analytical procedures and criteria for contaminated dredged material in order to distinguish those materials which should be placed in containment sites from those which could be used in beneficial projects or placed in open waters without being chemically altered, and of determining the feasibility and necessity of decontaminating dredged materials and of dewatering and recycling such materials for use as marketable products. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to review the report of the Chief of Engineers on the Ohio River and Tributaries and other pertinent reports to determine whether modifications of the report's recommendations are advisable at the present time. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to conduct a study of the economic benefits of Federal and significant non-Federal shore protection activities in the Mid-Atlantic region from New York to Virginia. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Secretary of Agriculture for the purpose of studying problems associated with flooding in Harrison County, Mississippi, under which the Secretaries will jointly conduct a reconnaissance study of such County and of specified bodies of water and associated watersheds; and (2) conduct a study on the need for navigation improvements in Reynolds Channel and the connecting State Boat Channel between Captree Island and Oak Beach. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) review the reports of the Chief of Engineers and other pertinent documents pertaining to Orchard Beach, Bronx, New York, and to make appropriate recommendations concerning storm damage prevention, recreation, environmental restoration, and other purposes; and (2) conduct a study on the need for erosion protection along the East River, New York, in the vicinity of Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan, with a view toward mitigating the deleterious effects of drift removal on protecting the adjacent shoreline from erosion. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct a reconnaisance and feasibility study: (1) of remediation of contaminated sediments in Lake Champlain and the Narrows of Lake Champlain, Vermont; (2) of providing additional boat access points on Lake Champlain, Vermont; and (2) on providing additional flood protection for Montpelier, Vermont. Sets forth funding provisions. Directs the Secretary, in studying the feasibility of Federal improvements to the St. John's River Channel, Florida, to examine the commercial and military uses of the channel in those areas traversed by both military and commercial vessels, and coordinate the Secretary's efforts with the Secretary of the Navy to utilize available studies and resources which project future military dredging needs in the St. John's River Channel. Requires the Chief of Engineers to review the report of the Chief of Engineers on central and southern Florida, and other pertinent reports, with a view to determining whether modifications to the existing project are advisable at the present time due to significantly changed physical, biological, demographic, or economic conditions. Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a study on whether or not to relieve the State of Illinois of the requirement to make annual payments for unused water supply storage in Rend Lake on the Big Muddy River, Illinois; and (2) report to the Congress. Requires such State, until six months after the date on which the Secretary transmits such report to the Congress, to make any payments under its contract with the United States for use of storage space for water supply in Rend Lake on such River. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1988 to authorize the Secretary to pay tuition expenses of suitable, English-taught primary and secondary education in Puerto Rico for the children of Federal employees who are employed (currently, temporarily residing and employed) in Puerto Rico for the construction of the Portuguese and Bucana Rivers, subject to specified requirements. Directs the Secretary to undertake such measures as necessary to compensate for damages caused to public and private property by the drawdown undertaken in March 1992 by the Corps at the Little Goose and Lower Granite projects in Washington. Specifies that the costs of such measures shall be considered project costs and shall be allocated in accordance with existing cost allocations for such projects. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to establish a pilot program for providing environmental restoration infrastructure and resource protection development projects to non-Federal interests in south central Pennsylvania, subject to specified (including reporting) requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to make capital improvements to the Illinois and Michigan Canal. Directs the Secretary to enter into such arrangements as necessary to rehabilitate, renovate, preserve, and maintain the Illinois and Michigan Canal and its related facilities. Sets the Federal share of such improvements at 50 percent. Directs the Secretary to study the feasibility of establishing a transfer facility at the Leonard Ranch property adjacent to Port Sonoma-Marin, California, for the drying and rehandling of dredged material from San Francisco Bay for transport to an upland site for beneficial uses. Sets forth reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop and implement a plan for modifying the channel bypass element of the Levisa Fork, Kentucky, project for water quality improvement in and restoration of Pikeville Lake, Kentucky (and authorizes appropriations); and (2) undertake a revision of the master plan for the Raystown Lake, Pennsylvania, project and submit to the Congress for approval any proposed changes that significantly change uses of the Lake, surrounding land resources, or any facilities located thereon. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) study the feasibility of developing and preserving seasonal wetlands on the Santa Rosa plain, California, and provide technical assistance to the Sonoma County Vernal Pool Task Force in developing a plan for the development and preservation of such wetlands; and (2) participate in the study and construction of a water resources project in the vicinity of Phoenix, Arizona, for the purpose of providing flood control and improving water quality in the Tres Rios wetlands, Arizona, at a total cost of $6.5 million. Directs the Secretary to: (1) determine whether a design deficiency exists at the Klamath Glen levee, California (and, if so, correct the deficiency); and (2) cooperate with State and local officials in reviewing the water supply needs of the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District, Ohio. Redesignates a parcel of land to be conveyed by the Secretary to the Commandant of the Coast Guard, and the building located thereon, for use as a clubhouse for the local American Legion Post of Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan. Authorizes the Secretary to provide assistance to the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission of the State of New Jersey for the development of the Phase I Environmental Improvement Program of the Special Area Management Plan for the Hackensack Meadowlands area, New Jersey. Sets forth cost-sharing provisions. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to initiate a program to exchange certain lands at Allatoona Lake, Georgia. Requires the Secretary to: (1) study a hydro-environmental monitoring and information system in the New York Bight and Harbor, subject to specified requirements; and (2) conduct a national study on information that is currently available on contaminated sediments, and compile information obtained in such study for the purpose of identifying the location and nature of contaminated sediments in the nation. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to cooperate with non-Federal interests in the completion of a study on contaminated sediments in Milwaukee Harbor, Wisconsin, and surrounding areas. Authorizes appropriations. Directs: (1) the Secretary to complete planning, design, and construction of a project for navigation, Arthur Kill, New York and New Jersey after entering into appropriate agreements with non-Federal interests for completion of such planning and design; and (2) the President to transmit to specified congressional committees a report on expenditures from and deposits into the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) conduct investigations and surveys of the watersheds of the rivers in the Conemaugh River Basin, Pennsylvania; and (2) develop and implement restoration projects for abatement and mitigation of water quality degradation caused by abandoned mines and mining activity in such basin. Authorizes the Secretary to transfer to the State of Wisconsin the locks and appurtenant features of the navigation portion of the Fox River System, Wisconsin. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to include costs of lands, easements, rights-of-way, and relocations among specified costs to be allocated to mitigate damages to fish and wildlife. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct a study on environmentally beneficial ways to expand or supplement existing placement options and sites serving channel dredging operations of the Port of Baltimore. Specifies that such study shall enhance an ongoing long-term management study for the Chesapeake Bay area being conducted by the State of Maryland and the Secretary. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Declares portions of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, to be non-navigable waters of the United States, subject to specified limitations. Directs the Secretary to carry out an exchange rate demonstration project at the Eastern Channel of the Lockwoods Folly River, Brunswick County, North Carolina. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to review the construction performed by non-Federal interests at the project for navigation, Port Everglades, Florida. Authorizes the Secretary to reimburse such interests, subject to specified requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) use available resources to support the logistical and minor construction needs of the local organizing committee of the 1993 World University Games in western New York; and (2) undertake a program to control nuisance aquatic vegetation for the purpose of preserving the recreational uses of the waters of Lake Gaston, Virginia and North Carolina (and authorizes appropriations). Directs the Secretary to establish a pilot program for providing water-related environmental assistance to non-Federal interests in southern West Virginia, subject to specified (including reporting) requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to establish the Tennessee River Heritage Museum and Education Facility to encourage science and technology as it relates to developing, managing, and preserving rivers as a nationally significant resource. Directs TVA to cooperate with the Tennessee Valley Exhibit Commission of Alabama to establish an exhibit in Florence, Alabama, on research and development in the area of inland navigation, tributary development, and related activities. Authorizes TVA to accept contributions from private sources in carrying out such provision. Requires the Comptroller General to conduct a study to review the operation of the project for flood control, Red Rock Dam and Lake, Iowa, authorized by the Flood Control Act of June 28, 1938. Sets forth reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary, in carrying out modifications (under the Water Resources Development Act of 1986) in the structures and operations of the project for flood control, Sacramento River, California, for the purpose of improving the quality of the environment in the public interest, to: (1) credit the value of all lands, easements, and rights-of-way provided by non-Federal interests for such modifications to the non-Federal share of the cost of such modifications; (2) include the one-time construction of the operation and maintenance facilities as part of project costs for cost-sharing purposes; and (3) in addition to the plan contained in the Yolo Basin Wetlands Project Modification Report dated April 1992, plan, design, and construct as part of such modifications historical wetlands at an alternative site located contiguous to the Yolo Bypass. Requires the Secretary to complete a project modification report by September 30, 1993. Requires the Secretary to conduct a study on bank stabilization and marsh creation by construction of a system of retaining dikes and by beneficial use of dredged material along the Calcasieu River Ship Canal, Louisiana, at critical locations. Sets forth reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary, subject to the cost-sharing provisions of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986, to investigate and carry out saltmarsh restoration projects along the coastline of the State of Connecticut. Directs the Secretary to provide technical assistance to the towns of Winfield, Buffalo, and Eleanor, West Virginia, to assist residents in analyzing and understanding the remedial options available for dealing with substances posing a risk to the environment at the Corps lock and dam construction site in the vicinity of Winfield, West Virginia. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) convey to the city of Fort Smith, Arkansas, all right, title, and interest of the United States (with exceptions) in and to a tract of real property located adjacent to the city, subject to specified requirements; and (2) conduct a study on flooding problems along the Rahway River, New Jersey, and implement such measures as the Secretary determines feasible. Authorizes the Secretary to participate as an active Federal member in the Memorandum of Understanding for the Interagency Ecological Study Program for implementation of the monitoring requirements in the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary, California. Amends the Water Resource Development Act of 1988 to authorize the Secretary to design and implement a comprehensive flood warning and response system to serve communities and flood prone areas along the Juniata River and its tributaries in Pennsylvania (as under current law) at full Federal expense (currently, consistent with the cost sharing policies of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986). Deletes provisions of specified Acts authorizing and directing the Secretary to use funds for activities authorized by the Follow Through Act to develop, at full Federal expense, detailed plans and specifications and to construct measures in Tarrant County, Texas, to eliminate flood damage in the historical stockyards area along Tony's Creek and Marine Creek. Authorizes and directs the Tennessee Valley Authority to grant a release from the restriction and covenant which requires that certain property located in Decatur, Alabama, be used solely for the purpose of erecting docks and buildings for shipbuilding purposes or for the manufacture or storage of products for the purpose of trading or shipping in transportation. Authorizes the Secretary to construct, establish, equip, maintain, and operate (or assist in doing so) an interagency child care facility at Fort Point, Galveston, Texas, to provide child care services for children of Federal employees. Sets forth provisions regarding the establishment of fees for such services, transfers of funds from Federal agencies in connection with such facility, and the Secretary's authority to accept donations. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes and directs the Secretary to offer technical assistance to the National Park Service (NPS) on infrastructure repairs and improvements at the Presidio of San Francisco, California, during the transition period from Army to NPS management and after its inclusion into the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Requires the Secretary to assist the NPS in identifying opportunities at the Presidio for demonstration and education programs of environmentally suitable and innovative technologies, and make available a liaison from its Construction Engineering Research Laboratory for such purpose. Directs the Secretary to develop a comprehensive five- and 20-year sediment management strategy for the Maumee River, Toledo Harbor, which may include a combination of several sediment disposal alternatives and shall emphasize innovative, environmentally benign alternatives, including reuse and recycling for wetland restoration. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct the engineering and construction activities necessary to implement the five-year sediment management strategy. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1990 to repeal an authorization of appropriations for the relocation of the Southeast Light on Block Island, Rhode Island. Sets forth cost-sharing provisions. Authorizes the Secretary to reconstruct the Allendale Dam in North Providence, Rhode Island, subject to specified cost, cost-sharing, and other requirements. Directs the Secretary to execute a water supply contract with the Ouachita River Water District for withdrawals from Lake DeGray, Arkansas, as provided in the agreement forwarded by the Vicksburg District Corps of Engineers dated March 1992. Authorizes the Secretary (subject to specified requirements) to: (1) remove a sunken barge from waters off the shore of the Narragansett Town Beach in Narragansett, Rhode Island; (2) construct two elevated water storage towers at Quonset Point-Davisville, Rhode Island, and to relocate 6,000 linear feet of sewer lines to West Davisville, Rhode Island; and (3) undertake the repair and reconstruction of a flood wall system at Stillwater, Minnesota, including an extension of such system to prevent the continuous eroding of the riverfront. Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide that: (1) prior to October 1, 1994 (currently, 1992) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency or the State shall not require a permit for stormwater discharges; and (2) not later than October 1, 1993 (currently, 1992) the Administrator shall issue regulations which designate certain stormwater discharges to be regulated to protect water quality and establish a comprehensive program to regulate such designated sources. Title IV: Infrastructure Technology, Research and Development - Authorizes the Secretary to engage in activities to inform the U.S. maritime industry and port authorities of technological innovations abroad that could significantly improve waterborne transportation in the United States. Sets forth funding provisions. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct such studies as necessary to provide a report to the Congress on the dredging needs of the national ports and harbors of the United States. Authorizes appropriations. Deauthorizes the responsibility of the Federal Government to maintain and operate a 1,400-foot eathen dike constructed by local interests in lieu of a 1,400-foot steel sheetpile breakwater authorized as part of the Flushing Bay and Creek, New York, project by the River and Harbor Act of 1962. Authorizes and directs the Secretary to develop a data collection and monitoring program of coastal processes for the Atlantic Coast of New York, from Coney Island to Montauk Point, with a view toward providing information necessary to develop a program for addressing post-storm actions and long-term shoreline erosion control. Directs the Secretary to provide an initial plan for data collection and monitoring to specified congressional committees within 12 months. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator and the Secretary: (1) within a year, based upon a review of decontamination technologies identified pursuant to the Water Resources Development Act of 1990, to jointly select removal, pretreatment, post-treatment, and decontamination technologies for contaminated marine sediments for a decontamination project in the New York/New Jersey Harbor; and (2) upon selection of technologies, to jointly recommend a program of selected technologies to assess their effectiveness in rendering sediments acceptable for unrestricted ocean disposal or beneficial reuse, or both. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: Contaminated Sediment and Ocean Dumping - National Contaminated Sediment Assessment and Management Act - Establishes a National Contaminated Sediment Task Force. Sets forth provisions regarding the duties and compensation of the Task Force. Sets forth reporting requirements. Directs the Administrator to: (1) conduct a comprehensive national survey of data regarding aquatic sediment quality in the United States; and (2) compile all existing information on the quantity, chemical and physical composition, and geographic location of pollutants in aquatic sediment, including the probable source of such pollutants and identification of contaminated sediments. Sets forth reporting requirements. Requires the Administrator to conduct a comprehensive and continuing program to assess aquatic sediment quality. Sets forth reporting requirements. Amends the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 to revise provisions regarding: (1) ocean dumping requirements (including the addition of a requirement that the Secretary, prior to issuing a permit, obtain the concurrence by the Administrator and the establishment of related procedures); (2) restrictions on States' rights to adopt or enforce requirements respecting ocean dumping (eases such restrictions under specified circumstances); (3) the designation of sites for dumping; (4) permit conditions; and (5) ocean dumping penalties. Extends the authorization of appropriations under such Act through 1997. Authorizes appropriations to the Administrator for the Task Force and for sediment survey and monitoring. Requires the annual ocean dumping reports required to be submitted to the Congress under such Act to include: (1) a description of the number of permits issued (including the number of permits issued by the Secretary with the concurrence of the Administrator); (2) any actions taken involving waiver of requirements under the dumping permit program for dredged material; and (3) for each permit, the site receiving the material, the volume and characteristics of material dumped (including the extent and nature of pollutants in such material), and the management practices implemented in connection with each disposal activity.
Bill· HRH.R. 6162 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1992
Designates the area for which environmental and other streambank restoration measures are authorized for a flood control project for the Passaic River Mainstem, New Jersey and New York, as the Joseph G. Minish Passaic River Waterfront Park and Historic Area.
Bill· HRH.R. 6163 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1992
Designates: (1) the U.S. courthouse under construction located at 400 Cooper Street in Camden, New Jersey, as the Mitchell H. Cohen United States Courthouse; (2) the Federal building and U.S. courthouse located at 402 East State Street in Trenton, New Jersey, as the Clarkson S. Fisher Federal Building and United States Courthouse; (3) the Federal building located at 1900 E Street in Washington, D.C., and currently occupied by the Office of Personnel Management as the Theodore Roosevelt Federal Building; (4) the building located at 80 North Hughey Avenue in Orlando, Florida, as the George C. Young United States Courthouse and Federal Building; (5) the Federal building located at 501 West Ocean Boulevard in Long Beach, California, as the Glenn M. Anderson Federal Building; (6) the Federal building and U.S. courthouse located at 204 South Main Street in South Bend, Indiana, as the Robert A. Grant Federal Building and United States Courthouse; (7) the Federal building located at 200 Federal Plaza in Paterson, New Jersey, as the Robert A. Roe Federal Building; (8) the Federal building and U.S. courthouse located at the corner of College Avenue and Mountain Street in Fayetteville, Arkansas, as the John Paul Hammerschmidt Federal Building and United States Courthouse; (9) the Federal building and courthouse to be constructed at Fifth and Ross Streets in Santa Ana, California, as the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse; (10) the U.S. Court of Appeals building located at 125 South Grand Avenue in Pasadena, California, as the Richard H. Chambers United States Court of Appeals Building; (11) the Federal building located at Main and Church Streets in Victoria, Texas, as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Building; (12) the U.S. courthouse to be constructed in Fargo, North Dakota, as the Quentin N. Burdick United States Courthouse; and (13) the area for which environmental and other streambank restoration measures are authorized pursuant to the flood control project for flood control, Passaic River Mainstem, New Jersey and New York, as the Joseph G. Minish Passaic River Waterfront Park and Historic Area.
Bill· HRH.R. 6137 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1992
Directs the President to negotiate with Mexico and Canada in order to enter into a trade agreement which obligates the parties to: (1) impose a special uniform import fee on the importation of each other's goods; and (2) establish a trinational commission which shall create a fund from such fees which shall be applied in enforcing the environmental protection provisions, including standards applicable to imported goods, of the North American Free Trade Agreement and parallel cooperative environmental protection plans developed by such parties.
Bill· HRH.R. 6141 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1992
Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge Expansion Act of 1992 - Directs the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of the Interior to enter into a memorandum of understanding to provide for the transfer of certain jurisdictional rights over a portion of the Fort Devens Military Reservation in Massachusetts to the Secretary of the Interior for inclusion in the Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge. Excludes certain property and facilities from such transfer. Provides for the continuation of the Secretary of the Army's responsibility and liability for environmental cleanup with respect to the area transferred above. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to transfer to the Town of Lancaster, Massachusetts, certain real property at the Reservation.
Bill· HRH.R. 6134 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1992
Endangered Species Act Reform Amendments of 1992 - Title I: Ensuring the Integrity of the Listing, Critical Habitat Designation, and Consultation Processes - Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (the Act) with respect to improved data collection and analysis, peer review, equal access to judicial review, recognition of State, local, and international activities, priority for species preservation, critical habitat designation, and consultation processes. Title II: Providing Significance to the Recovery Planning Process - Amends the Act with respect to ensuring the preparation and use of timely, comprehensive, and effective recovery plans. Requires either the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Commerce, as program responsibilities are vested, to report biennially to specified congressional committees on the status of: (1) efforts to develop and implement recovery plans for listed endangered and threatened species; and (2) all species for which such plans have been developed. Title III: Ensuring that the Compliance Procedures and Standards for Private Landowners and Other non-Federal Persons Are Not More Burdensome, Time-Consuming, or Costly than Those Applicable to Federal Agencies - Amends the Act to: (1) make consultation procedures for Federal agencies available to private landowners and other non-Federal agencies available to private landowners and other non-Federal individuals and entities; (2) include permit or license applicants in consultations concerning Federal agency actions; (3) authorize the issuance of general permits for private and other non-Federal activities which have minimal effect on species listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973; (4) facilitate the application for, and processing and issuance of, conservation plans for endangered or threatened species; (5) define the "take prohibition" for application in accordance with the intent of the Congress and in a manner providing more precise guidance to all parties wishing to avoid its violation and possible sanctions; (6) establish special limitations on application of take prohibitions; (7) provide for exemptions from the Act for non-Federal individuals and entities and remove payment requirements associated with obtaining such an exemption; and (8) give non-Federal property owners the option of purchase of their property by, or receipt of compensation for diminished value of their property from, the Federal Government when it requires that the property be managed to protect endangered or threatened species. Title IV: Species Enhancement - Amends the Act to authorize the Secretary to: (1) enter into cooperative management agreements for governing the administration and management of areas identified as habitats for listed species; (2) provide grants to private property owners for preserving the habitat of threatened or endangered species; and (3) permit activities otherwise prohibited when such actions are carried out by certain organizations for the sole purpose of promoting species conservation and population enhancement. Provides for guidance for the release of experimental populations. Title V: Reauthorization and Other Amendments - Makes technical amendments regarding application of Endangered Species Act prohibitions to threatened species and citizens suits. Reauthorizes the Endangered Species Act of 1973 at increased levels.
Resolution· HCONRESH.Con.Res. 381 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1992
Declares that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should modify regulations that implement the Clean Air Act to permit any State in nonattainment to adopt a State Implementation Plan that relies on a selective inspection and maintenance program. States that such program should focus on how best to locate and repair that proportion of the fleet that causes the majority of pollution. Declares that States should adopt the most cost-effective method of locating and fixing gross polluters. States that EPA regulations under such Act should provide that States that opt for a selective program will receive credits that are no less than the actual pollution reduction achieved by such a program and that they may rely on actual data accumulated during the program in determining the reduction achieved. Declares that such regulations should require States to compile information gained through methods of on-road testing and that an individual panel of experts should evaluate such information to report on emission status and trends and the effectiveness of vehicle emission control activities and make recommendations to correct deficiencies and enhance capabilities of EPA's mobile source emission models.
Bill· HRH.R. 6116 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 1992
Solid Waste Transfer Permitting Act of 1992 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate regulations governing the placement and operation of solid waste transfer stations, including standards governing the proximity of stations to water resources and residential areas and permit requirements. Defines "solid waste transfer station" as any facility where shipments of solid waste are held during the course of transportation for transfer to another facility for disposal or resource recovery.
Bill· HRH.R. 6123 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 1992
Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to prohibit a Federal official or employee from enforcing or implementing a designation of critical habitat, a protective regulation, or a recovery plan without the preparation and publication of an economic impact analysis. Provides for: (1) the limitation of economic losses resulting from the listing of a species as endangered or threatened; and (2) compensation for loss or diminishment in value. Authorizes appropriations to carry out such Act.
Bill· SS. 3304 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 1992
Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to include nitrogen stabilizers in the definition of "pesticide." Defines a "nitrogen stabilizer" as a substance or mixture of substances that is intended, through action upon soil bacteria, to prevent or hinder the process of nitrification, denitrification, ammonia volatization, or urease production. Excludes from such definition any substance that: (1) was not registered pursuant to FIFRA prior to January 1, 1992; and (2) was used in a commercial agronomic use prior to such date, with respect to which after such date, the distributor or seller has made no specific claim relating to the prevention of hindering of the processes described in the definition. Exempts mixtures of nitrogen stabilizers and fertilizer products from registration, reregistration, experimental use permit, suspension, recordkeeping, indemnity, and export requirements if the mixture: (1) is accompanied by labeling required for nitrogen stabilizers; (2) is mixed or combined in accordance with such labeling; and (3) does not contain any active ingredient other than a nitrogen stabilizer.
Bill· HRH.R. 6089 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1992
Comprehensive Budget Process Reform Act of 1992 - Title I: Balanced Budget with Enforcement; Mandatory Consideration of President's Budget - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to revise the Federal and congressional budget processes by establishing a two-year budgeting and appropriations cycle and timetable, beginning in the 103d Congress. Defines the budget biennium as the two consecutive fiscal years beginning on October 1 of any odd-numbered year. Title II: Biennial Budget - Devotes the first session of any Congress to the budget resolution and to appropriations decisions, retaining current deadlines in most cases. Changes relevant deadlines as follows to conform to the biennial scheme: (1) from April 1 to March 31 for the Senate Budget Committee's report on the concurrent resolution on the budget; (2) from June 15 to September 30 for completion of congressional action on reconciliation legislation; and (3) from June 30 to September 30 for completion of congressional action on appropriations bills. Adds the reporting dates for OMB to report on the surplus/deficit. Devotes each second session to authorization activity, subject to deadlines of: (1) May 15 for the submission of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report to the Budget Committees; (2) OMB surplus/deficit reporting dates; and (3) the last day of the session for completion of congressional action on bills and resolutions authorizing new budget authority for the next biennium. Changes from January 15 to February 15 of each year the date by which the CBO Director must submit to the Congress a report on authorizations. Requires the Director of the CBO to issue four-year projections of congressional budget action. (Current projections are on a five-year basis.) Amends provisions relating to the reconciliation process to: (1) increase from 20 to 100 hours the time of debate permitted in the Senate with respect to reconciliation measures; and (2) make it out of order in both the House and the Senate to consider any reconciliation legislation changing any provision of law other than one relating to new budget or spending authority, revenues, or the public debt limit. Revises the extent of projections to be included in CBO analyses of reported bills. Conforms provisions governing the President's budget to the biennial framework. Directs the heads of Federal executive agencies, the Comptroller General, and the Directors of the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Technology Assessment, and the Congressional Research Service to provide studies, analyses, reports, and other documentation concerning program administration to assist the standing committees of the House and the Senate having jurisdiction over the programs in question. Amends the Rules of the House of Representatives to conform to the biennial framework. Title III: Unified Operating and Capital Budget - Amends Federal law to require that the budget the President submits to the Congress be a unified budget comprising an operating budget and a capital budget, each presented separately for total funds, Federal funds, and trust funds. Restricts the capital budget to the major activities, projects, and programs supporting the acquisition, construction, alteration, and rehabilitation of capital assets. Includes all other items in the operating budget. Directs the Comptroller General to review and report to the Congress, as necessary, on the implementation of this Act. Requires the following reports to the House Committee on Public Works and Transportation and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on capital activities and operating activities associated with: (1) roadways and bridges, airports and airway facilities, and mass transportation systems; (2) waste water treatment and related facilities; (3) water resource projects; and (4) public buildings. Requires OMB to promulgate regulations requiring: (1) each department and agency to establish standards to compare the advantages and disadvantages of leasing versus purchasing any proposed real estate or equipment with a cost in excess of $10 million; and (2) the completion of such analysis before any purchase or lease is made. Title IV: Sunset Authority - Subtitle A: Reauthorization of Government Programs - Requires each Government program to be reauthorized at least once during each sunset reauthorization cycle. (Sunset reauthorization cycle means the period of five Congresses beginning with the 103d Congress and with each sixth Congress following the 103d Congress.) Sets forth the procedure in the House of Representatives and the Senate for the consideration of any legislation which authorizes new budget authority. Exempts from the requirements of this Act specified items, such as interest on Federal debts, certain programs related to the administration of the Federal judiciary, and certain payments of refunds of internal revenue collections. Expresses the sense of the Congress that all programs should be considered and reauthorized in program categories which constitute major areas of legislative policy. Provides for such reauthorizations. Subtitle B: Program Inventory - Directs the Comptroller General and the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, in cooperation with the Director of the Congressional Research Service, to prepare an inventory of Federal programs. Declares that the purpose of such program inventory is to advise and assist the Congress in carrying out reauthorization and reexamination requirements and to link such reauthorization and review process with the budget process. Requires the Comptroller General to submit such program inventory to each House of Congress no late than January 1, 1993. Directs the congressional committees, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Congressional Research Service to review the program inventory and to suggest revisions. Requires that the program inventory be revised at the end of each session of the Congress and that such revisions be reported to each House. Subtitle C: Program Reexamination - Requires each committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives to reexamine selected programs or groups of programs over which it has jurisdiction. Sets forth procedures for such review and criteria for selection of program areas for evaluation. Subtitle D: Tax Expenditures - Requires the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, after consultation with the Joint Committee on Taxation of the Congress, to prepare an inventory of tax expenditure provisions and to submit a report on such inventory to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House and the Senate Finance Committee by July 1, 1993. Directs the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance to prepare a reauthorization schedule for all tax provisions similar to the schedule set out for Federal programs in title I of this Act. Requires the Congress to take final action on the reauthorization schedule for tax provisions before the end of the 103d Congress. Subtitle E: Miscellaneous - Sets forth miscellaneous provisions to carry out the purposes of this Act. Directs the President, with the cooperation of the head of each appropriate agency, to submit to the Congress a Regulatory Duplication and Conflicts Report for all programs scheduled for reauthorization in the next Congress. Requires specified congressional committees to report on a review of the procedures established under this Act by December 31, 1998, and every five years thereafter. Authorizes appropriations through FY 2002. Title V: Enhanced Rescission Authority - Amends the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to grant the President line item veto rescission authority if he determines, within ten days of the date of enactment of a law, that such a rescission: (1) would help balance the Federal budget, reduce the Federal budget deficit, or reduce the public debt; (2) will not impair essential Government functions; and (3) will not harm the national interest. Requires the President to notify the Congress of such rescission by a special line item veto message. Requires a message for each item of rescission of budget authority. Makes such rescission effective unless the Congress enacts a resolution of disapproval. Sets forth procedures for congressional review and disapproval of such messages. Title VI: Performance-Based Budgeting - Amends Federal law to include in the Federal budget a performance standards and goals plan for the overall budget. Directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to issue regulations requiring each Federal department and agency to establish such a plan for each major expenditure category of its budget. Requires OMB to review and adjust such plans and establish an overall performance standards and goals plan for the Federal Government. Requires OMB by December 31 of each odd-numbered year, to report to the President and the Congress on all tax expenditures that reduced revenues by at least $2 billion. Requires each bill or resolution which provides for the authorization of appropriations or for the appropriation of funds to specify performance standards and goals for such authorization or appropriation. Title VII: Incremental-Based Budgeting - Requires the head of each department or agency to submit to OMB at least one budget that sets forth spending at least ten percent lower than the prior biennium's budget. Requires the President, when OMB reports an estimated budget deficit, to recommend to the Congress specific changes in outlays or revenues to eliminate that deficit or recommend waiver of the requirement to eliminate such deficit.
Bill· SS. 3290 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1992
Great Lakes Federal Effectiveness Act - Establishes a Great Lakes Research Council to: (1) advise and promote the coordination of Federal research activities and ensure greater effectiveness in achieving ecosystem protection of the Great Lakes through the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement; (2) prepare and provide to the Congress and other interested parties a document which includes an assessment of research activities needed to fulfill the goals of the Agreement and of existing Federal expertise in such activities and recommendations for research priorities; (3) identify topics for and participate in workshops and conferences on Great Lakes research issues; (4) make recommendations for the uniform collection of data for enhancing research and management protocols relating to the Great Lakes ecosystem; (5) advise and cooperate in the establishment of a multi-media data base for such ecosystem; and (6) ensure that findings and information regarding such research are disseminated in a timely manner. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 6060 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1992
United States-Mexico Border Environmental Zone Protection Act - Establishes the United States-Mexico Border Environmental Zone Protection Fund to be used by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to investigate and respond to conditions which present a threat to the land, air, or water resources of the United States-Mexico border region (Border Environmental Zone). Authorizes the Administrator, whenever conditions exist which present a substantial threat to the land, air, or water resources in such region, to declare an environmental emergency. Permits the Governors of the States of Arizona, California, New Mexico, or Texas or the governing body of a federally recognized Indian tribe to petition for the declaration of an environmental emergency in such region. Prohibits the Administrator from declaring an emergency if the condition is within the sole jurisdiction of the International Boundary and Water Commission. Authorizes the Administrator to establish a system for information sharing and for early warning to the United States and affected States, political subdivisions, and Indian tribes of environmental problems affecting the Border Environmental Zone. Requires the Administrator to establish a United States-Mexico Border Environmental Zone Protection Advisory Committee to: (1) monitor and study environmental conditions within the Border Environmental Zone; and (2) make recommendations for ongoing environmental protection in such zone. Directs the Secretary of State, acting through the United States Commissioner, International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico, to conclude agreements with the Ministry of Foreign Relations of Mexico for: (1) the correction of border sanitation problems in international streams forming or crossing the boundary between the United States and Mexico; and (2) a joint response through the construction of works, repair of existing infrastructure, and other measures to correct border sanitation emergencies in such streams. Defines such emergencies as situations in which untreated or inadequately treated sewage is discharged into surface waters or streams that form or cross the U.S.--Mexican boundary. Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Commissioner, to correct border sanitation emergencies in such streams in the United States. Permits the Secretary to enter into agreements with Mexico to establish a binational advisory committee to: (1) assist EPA and the Mexican environmental agency (SEDUE) in the monitoring and study of environmental conditions within the Zone; (2) make recommendations for ongoing environmental protection within the Zone; and (3) carry out other functions prescribed by EPA and SEDUE. Prohibits the expenditure of U.S. funds for emergency investigation or remediation in Mexico without a cost-sharing agreement unless the Secretary can demonstrate that the expenditure of such funds would be cost-effective and in the U.S. interest. Establishes the United States International Boundary and Water Commission Fund to carry out this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 6075 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1992
American Jobs Retention Act of 1992 - Prohibits the use of funds under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 or the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to finance: (1) the establishment of an export processing zone in a foreign country in which the tariff, commercial, tax, labor, environmental, and safety laws of such country do not apply to such zone; (2) any activity carried on by any foreign business within the United States to encourage U.S. businesses to locate or relocate outside of the United States; or (3) activities of a foreign country that contribute to the violation of laws to protect internationally recognized worker rights, including activities within any export processing zone.
Bill· HRH.R. 6062 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1992
Environmental Education Act of 1992 - Directs the Secretary of Energy and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a joint program to support instructional equipment and facilities for environmental science and technology. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 6073 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1992
Amends Federal bankruptcy law to preclude from a discharge in bankruptcy any debt for a claim by a governmental entity or other qualified person for removal or remedial action costs for which the debtor is liable under specified environmental protection laws.
Bill· SS. 3286 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 1992
Amends the Endangered Species Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to enter into agreements with States, local governments, or groups of States or local governments to provide interest free loans for the acquisition of habitats for rare or endangered species. Authorizes the Secretary to consider the number of species involved when making a habitat agreement determination. Grants the Department of the Interior the right to assume habitat ownership.
Bill· SS. 3284 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 1992
Authorizes the United States to participate in the Cascadia Corridor Commission to be established as a bilateral advisory commission in coordination with the Canadian Government and State, provincial, and local governments in the Cascadia region along Interstate 5/Highway 99 from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Eugene, Oregon. Authorizes the Commission to: (1) establish a forum to coordinate consideration of regional issues in the Cascadia region; and (2) develop a strategy for environmentally sound economic development in such region and submit such plan to the Congress, the Canadian Parliament, the legislature of British Columbia, and the State legislatures of Oregon and Washington. Requires the strategy to consider environmental management, urban development, transportation, communications, and education. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 6033 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1992
Interstate Transportation of Municipal Waste Act of 1992 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize a State Governor, if requested by an affected local government or local solid waste planning unit, to prohibit the disposal of out-of-State municipal waste in the following landfills or incinerators subject to the jurisdiction of the Governor or the affected local government: (1) landfills that begin operations after this Act's enactment date; (2) existing landfills that did not receive out-of-State municipal waste in 1991 or are not in compliance with State laws relating to design and locational standards, leachate collection, groundwater monitoring, and financial assurance for closure and post-closure and corrective action; and (3) existing incinerators that did not receive such waste during 1991, are not in compliance with standards and monitoring requirements under the Clean Air Act, or are not in compliance with State laws relating to facility design and operations. Authorizes State Governors, if requested by an affected local government or local solid waste planning unit, to limit the amount of out-of-State municipal waste received at landfills or incinerators that received shipments of such waste during 1991 or the first six months of 1992. Permits State Governors, effective in 1993, to limit the disposal of such waste at any landfill or incinerator that receives, on an annual basis, shipments totaling more than 100,000 tons of such waste (that represents more than 30 percent of all municipal waste received during such period) by prohibiting the disposal of out-of-State waste in an annual amount greater than 30 percent of all municipal waste received during the later of 1993 or the first year in which more than 100,000 tons of out-of-State waste was received. Authorizes Governors, if requested by an affected local government or local solid waste planning unit, to further limit the disposal of such waste by reducing the 30 percent annual volume limitation to 20 percent in 1998 and 1999 and to ten percent in succeeding years. Authorizes a State to impose a fee on the combustion or disposal of out-of-State waste. Prohibits Governors from exercising authority under this Act if such action would result in the violation of a legally binding contract, with exceptions.
Bill· HRH.R. 6044 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1992
Economic Leadership through Environmental Cooperation Act of 1992 - Directs the Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) to establish a Western Hemisphere Biodiversity Cooperation Program within AID to assist (including by purchase of commercial debts of foreign countries) in the establishment and strengthening of biodiversity management organizations to protect biological diversity and to enhance the economic value of the biological resources of Latin America and the Caribbean. Directs the Administrator of AID to establish a program of Western Hemisphere Biodiversity Cooperation Grants to be awarded to such organizations. Directs the President to: (1) strengthen the leadership role of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee in the area of environmental technology and services exports; and (2) direct the Committee to develop a comprehensive strategy for expanding the U.S. share of the global market for environmental technology and services. Sets forth the responsibilities of the Committee. Requires the Committee to study the feasibility of establishing a Western Hemisphere Environmental Partnership to promote hemispheric technological cooperation on environmental problems.
Bill· HRH.R. 6040 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1992
Authorizes the United States to participate in the Cascadia Corridor Commission to be established as a bilateral advisory commission in coordination with the Canadian Government and State, provincial, and local governments in the Cascadia region along Interstate 5/Highway 99 from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Eugene, Oregon. Authorizes the Commission to: (1) establish a forum to coordinate consideration of regional issues in the Cascadia region; and (2) develop a strategy for environmentally sound economic development in such region and submit such plan to the Congress, the Canadian Parliament, the legislature of British Columbia, and the State legislatures of Oregon and Washington. Requires the strategy to consider environmental management, urban development, transportation, communications, and education. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 6028 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1992
Save Florida Bay Act of 1992 - Requires the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality to establish and coordinate an interagency committee to develop a program for facilitating the restoration of Florida Bay and to define the roles and responsibilities of each agency in facilitating that restoration. Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that the Chairman should include Florida Bay in the Coastal America program. Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to add Florida Bay, Florida, to the list of areas mandated for priority consideration as an estuary of national significance. Mandates a study of Florida Bay problems, including those from Hurricane Andrew. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 6006 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1992
National Park System Reformation Act - Title I: Development of a Comprehensive Plan for the Future of the National Park System - Establishes the National Park System Strategic Planning Commission to develop a long-term plan for the direction of the National Park System (System). Requires the plan to guide the System for the next ten to 20 years and to address criteria for determining inclusion or exclusion of a site within the System. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to terminate National Park Service management at all park areas as recommended by the Commission. Applies the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to all actions of the Secretary during the termination process. Directs the Administrator of General Services to delegate to the Secretary, with respect to excess and surplus real property and facilities located at such park areas, the authority to: (1) dispose of surplus property; and (2) grant certain approvals under the Surplus Property Act of 1944. Directs the Secretary, as part of each annual budget request, to transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a schedule of actions to be carried out under this title and an estimate of the total expenditures required and cost savings to be achieved by each closure, along with environmental assessments of such actions. Prohibits the Secretary from establishing new units of the System until the Commission transmits a report to the Congress. Title II: New Area Establishment - Directs the Secretary to submit reports of new area studies to the appropriate congressional committees for purposes of determining the suitability of adding such areas to the System. Designates the following areas for study as potential units: (1) Apollo XI Launch Tower, Florida; (2) Kennecott/McCarthy, Alaska; (3) New Jersey Delaware Bay Wetlands, New Jersey; (4) Nicodemas, Kansas; (5) Oak Hill, Virginia; (6) Susan B. Anthony House, New York; and (7) Virginia City, Montana. Requires the National Park Service to maintain a list of units in order of their numerical priority for potential addition to the System. Repeals provisions of existing law concerning inclusion of additional areas to the System. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Enhanced National Park Service Technical Assistance Program for Protection and Management of Natural, Cultural, and Recreation Sites - Establishes the American Heritage System to better protect natural, cultural, and recreational resources which do not belong in the System. Provides for administration of such sites by State and local governments and private entities with Federal technical assistance. Requires the National Park Service to establish a grant program to conduct studies for potential designations of American Heritage sites. Provides for Federal technical and financial assistance for designated sites for periods of up to ten years.
Bill· HRH.R. 6004 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1992
Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to extend to October 1, 1994, the deadline by which: (1) a permit for stormwater discharges is required; and (2) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall issue regulations which designate stormwater discharges to be regulated to protect water quality and to establish a program to regulate designated sources.
Bill· SS. 3261 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1992
Environmental Aid and Trade Act of 1992 - Amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993, the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, the Export Enhancement Act of 1988, and the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to: (1) declare U.S. policy to foster the export of U.S. goods and services to control or reduce pollution and to clean up existing pollution problems; and (2) direct the Secretary of State, the Agency for International Development, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the Department of Commerce, and the Export-Import Bank of the United States to implement specified measures to foster such policies, including establishment of Environmental Business Centers and an Environmental Competitor Program Officer in U.S. embassies in countries that are important competitors for U.S. exports of environmental goods and services. Requires the President to establish the Environmental Trade Promotion Working Group as a subcommittee of the Trade Promotion Coordination Committee.
Bill· HRH.R. 5990 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1992
Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to direct the Great Lakes National Program Office to: (1) conduct five demonstration projects of promising technologies to remedy contaminated sediments at appropriate sites; (2) conduct chemical, physical, and biological assessments of contaminated sediments at each area of concern and make recommendations on technologies to remedy contaminated sediments; and (3) report findings and recommendations to the Congress. Establishes deadlines for the publication and submission to the International Joint Commission of lakewide management plans for Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Extends the authorization of appropriations for the Great Lakes water quality program through FY 1999. Allocates funds for assessments, demonstration projects, and a program of nutrients and toxics monitoring in the Great Lakes Basin.
Resolution· SRESS.Res. 344 (102nd)passed
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1992
Appoints: (1) Senator Conrad of North Dakota to serve on the Senate Committee on Appropriations for the 102d Congress; and (2) Senator Burdick of North Dakota to serve on the Committee on Environment and Public Works, the Special Committee on Aging, and the Select Committee on Indian Affairs for the 102d Congress.
Bill· HRH.R. 5962 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 1992
Mineral Exploration and Development Act of 1992 - Title I: Mineral Exploration and Development - Sets forth guidelines for mineral exploration on public domain lands. Declares that holders of mining claims executed under this Act have the exclusive right of possession and use of the claimed land for mineral activities (including the right of ingress and egress to conduct such activities. Prescribes rules for mining claim location and use of public land surveys, including the requirement that a copy of the notice of mining claim location be filed with the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary). Restricts such claims to U.S. citizens or corporations only. Provides for administrative adjudication of conflicting claims. Sets forth an annual, graduated rental fee schedule based upon the number of diligence years following location of the claim. Requires the Secretary to deposit all moneys received from rental fees into the Abandoned Minerals Mine Reclamation Fund (established by this Act). Prescribes guidelines under which a claim holder may elect to reduce the amount of the requisite rental fee by the amount of diligent development expenditures made for mining claim mineral activities during the same diligence year to which the rental fee would otherwise apply. Sets a minimum annual rental fee of $2.50 per acre of all land within the boundaries of a mining claim, which shall be all a claim holder need pay in specified circumstances. Establishes a civil penalty of $5,000 per violation of mining claim requirements. Prohibits the issuance after February 6, 1991, of patents for vein, lode, placer, and mill site mining claims unless certain administrative requirements are met. Declares that the Multiple Minerals Development Act, and certain provisions of the Act of July 23, 1955, apply to all mining claims located or converted under this Act. Amends Federal law to declare that after the date of enactment of this Act, all mineral materials deposits including block pumice, shall be subject to disposal under the terms of the Materials Act of 1947. (Eliminates the concept of uncommon varieties of mineral materials.) Renames specified Federal laws: (1) the Surface Resources Act of 1955; and (2) the Materials Act of 1947. Repeals the Building Stone Act and the Saline Placer Act. Title II: Environmental Considerations of Mineral Exploration and Development - Prescribes surface management guidelines for mineral activities and reclamation, including a mandatory: (1) plan of operations; (2) mining permit application; (3) reclamation plan; (4) public notice of the proposed plan of operations; (5) approved plan for temporary cessation of activities; and (6) posting of bond and financial assurances by the operator for reclamation purposes. Mandates that: (1) lands subject to mineral activities be restored to a condition capable of supporting the uses they were capable of supporting before surface disturbance (or other beneficial uses); and (2) the surface area disturbed by mineral activities be backfilled, graded and contoured to its natural topography. Requires the Secretary to establish reclamation standards which include certain requirements for: (1) topsoil; (2) stabilization to control erosion and minimize air and water pollution; (3) erosion; (4) hydrologic balance; (5) pit backfilling; (6) revegetation; (7) removal of excess spoil and waste; (8) sealing of drill holes and openings; (9) removal of structures and equipment used during mineral activities; and (10) restoration of fish and wildlife habitat conditions. Requires the Secretary to inspect mineral activities to ensure compliance with statutory directives. Sets forth enforcement guidelines and civil penalties for non-compliance. Authorizes citizen suits to enforce compliance with this Act. Declares that State standards for reclamation, bonding, inspection, water or air quality, which either meet or exceed Federal standards, shall not be construed as being inconsistent with this Act. Permits cooperative agreement between the States and the Secretary. Prohibits the Secretary from delegating authorities or responsibilities conferred under this Act to any State or its political subdivision. Prescribes guidelines within which the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, in preparing land use plans pursuant to specified statutes, shall designate and publish in the Federal Register those areas deemed unsuitable for all or certain types of mineral activities. Requires withdrawal of unsuitable areas from mineral exploration and development. Specifies standards for suitability reviews, including the determination that mineral activities: (1) would substantially impair water quality or supplies within the area subject to the mining plan or adjacent lands, such as impacts on aquifers and aquifer recharge areas; and (2) would impair the productivity of the land subject to such activities. Requires the Secretary to review all administrative withdrawals for possible revocation and reopening of the lands in question for mining claim location subject to certain conditions. Grants any person with an interest that may be adversely affected by potential mineral activities the right to petition the Secretary for a suitability review. Identifies lands which are not open to the location of mining claims under this Act. Directs the Secretary of the Interior (or other appropriate Secretary) to prevent mineral activities that could have an adverse impact on the resources or values within the boundaries of Denali National Park and Preserve (Alaska) and all other National Conservation System units. Title III: Abandoned Minerals Mine Reclamation Fund - Amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to establish the Abandoned Minerals Mine Reclamation Fund to be administered by the Secretary of the Interior (acting through the Director, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement) for the reclamation and restoration of land and water resources adversely affected by past minerals (other than cool and fluid minerals) and mineral materials mining within the boundaries of States that have certain lands subject to this Act and the Materials Act of 1947. Sets forth: (1) State eligibility requirements; and (2) Fund allocation and expenditure guidelines for distribution as grants among eligible States. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Administrative and Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Mining and Minerals Policy Act of 1970 and the National Materials and Minerals Policy Research and Development Act of 1980 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to implement: (1) minerals policy; and (2) actions to improve availability and analysis of mineral data in Federal land use decision making for National Forest System lands. Authorizes the Secretaries of the Interior and of Agriculture to establish and collect user fees to reimburse the United States for a portion of the expenses incurred in administering this Act. Directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and of the Interior to promulgate final regulations to implement their respective responsibilities under this Act, and to coordinate the promulgation of such regulations. Sets forth guidelines for a three-year transitional period during which the holder of an unpatented mining or mill site claim may elect to convert it. Deems any claim not converted within such period as forfeited and declared null and void. Declares that any tunnel site located under the general mining laws on or before the effective date of this Act shall not be recognized as valid unless converted according to such guidelines. Sets forth a transitional period for surface management requirements governing new mining claims and preexisting unpatented claims. Prescribes guidelines under which a mining claim may be challenged after the effective date of this Act. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) initiate contest proceedings immediately after the enactment of this Act challenging the validity of certain unpatented mining claims (including those for which a patent application has not been filed); and (2) declare null and void those claims determined to be invalid. Directs the Secretary to adjust all rental rates, penalty amounts, and other dollar amounts established in this Act for changes in the purchasing power of the dollar every ten years. Sets a minimum royalty amount of eight percent of the gross income from the production of locatable minerals from any mining claim located under this Act (including mineral concentrates derived from such minerals). Empowers the Secretary to prescribe reporting requirements and conduct audits of all persons holding claims under this Act to ensure compliance with its requirements. Sets forth a royalty receipts disposition schedule. Directs the Secretary to: (1) promulgate regulations to establish gross income for royalty purposes; and (2) submit an annual report to the Congress on the implementation of this Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 5969 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 1992
Commission on the Conservation of Biological Resources Act of 1992 - Establishes the National Commission on the Conservation of Biological Resources to: (1) create a plan for the development of a systematic, ongoing inventory of the biological resources of the United States; (2) identify unprotected biological resources at risk of being lost; (3) identify policies for managing public lands by Federal agencies with responsibility for natural resources; (4) identify mechanisms to coordinate activities with respect to the conservation of biological resources; (5) identify laws and programs needed to ensure conservation and sustainable use of biological resources; (6) identify early warning mechanisms needed to prevent the endangerment of genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity; (7) identify mechanisms that can be used to help communities bear the economic costs and share the benefits of plans to conserve such resources; (8) make recommendations for increasing public awareness of the importance of conserving such resources; and (9) analyze whether international approaches are conserving biological resources and the need for improving such approaches. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 5959 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 1992
Office of National Environmental Technologies Act - Establishes the Office of National Environmental Technologies within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) coordinate Federal environmental restoration and protection planning; (2) identify areas that need technical solutions to maintain environmental security, are not receiving product-oriented research necessary to meet those needs, and exhibit the greatest promise for the development of solutions; (3) support the development of technology having future application in environmental restoration and protection; (4) coordinate the exchange of technological information relating to environmental restoration and protection between Federal agencies and the private sector; (5) support continuing research and development of advanced technologies; (6) monitor research and development being conducted on advanced technologies by private industry; and (7) promote continuing development of a technological industrial base in the United States. Establishes an interagency advisory committee to provide information to the Office with respect to the needs and concerns of specified agencies in the field of environmental technologies. Establishes the Industry and Academia Advisory Council to make recommendations regarding general policy for the Office. Permits the EPA Administrator to transfer to the domestic private sector technology developed with the support of the Office if the technology may have potential application in private activities relating to environmental restoration and protection. Authorizes the Administrator to enter into cooperative agreements with public or private entities to carry out Office functions, subject to certain conditions. Provides for dissemination of the results of Office research. Prohibits the making of a contract or award until the research project in question has passed a merit review. Directs the Administrator, in determining whether to make an award to a joint venture, to consider whether the joint venture has provided for appropriate participation of U.S. small businesses. Exempts from Federal disclosure requirements information obtained on a confidential basis in connection with business operations or trade secrets of a joint venture. Prohibits the disclosure by a Federal employee of intellectual property owned by a joint venture that receives funding under this Act, except in accordance with an agreement between the owner and the Administrator. Entitles the United States to a share of licensing fees and royalty payments made to a joint venture in an amount proportionate to the Federal share of costs incurred. Provides for the return of unspent Federal funds to the Office if it appears that the recipient is not making satisfactory progress toward successful completion of the project. Entitles the United States, upon dissolution of a joint venture that receives funding under this Act, to a share of the residual assets proportionate to the Federal share of costs. Establishes the Environmental Advanced Research Projects Revolving Fund. Authorizes the Administrator to use the Fund to provide financial assistance to industrial and nonprofit research centers, universities, and other entities that serve long-term environmental security needs. Requires the Administrator to report annually to the Congress on: (1) activities of the Office; (2) the extent to which technologies developed with Office assistance have been used; and (3) the extent to which those technologies have been transferred overseas. Authorizes appropriations.
Resolution· SRESS.Res. 340 (102nd)passed
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1992
Appoints Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York as the Chairman of the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Bill· HRH.R. 5937 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1992
Ballona Wetlands Restoration Act of 1992 - Directs the Secretary of the Army to issue regulations for the expedited consideration of permit applications submitted under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act for the discharge of dredged or fill material into navigable waters at the Ballona Wetlands in Los Angeles, California. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a demonstration program to encourage the full restoration of such wetlands. Provides for mitigation credits to persons who conduct restoration activities. Permits credits to be used for obtaining permits for the discharge of dredged or fill material between Point Conception, California, and the Mexican border. Requires the Administrator to establish a mitigation banking system and authorizes the sale of credits to third parties with the Administrator's approval. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 5944 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1992
Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act of 1992 - Designates the following lands in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System (System): (1) Greater Glacier/Continental Divide Ecosystem; (2) Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem; (3) Greater Salmon Ecosystem; (4) Greater Cabinet/Yaak/Selkirk Ecosystem; (5) Sky Island Wilderness; (6) Rattlesnake Wilderness; and (7) Rattlesnake Wilderness Area. Adds specified lands to the Rattlesnake National Recreation Area. Designates: (1) specified wild land areas as Biological Connecting Corridors (Corridors) to protect the life flow of the Northern Rockies Bioregion; and (2) the inventoried roadless areas identified as part of the Corridors as components of the System. Sets forth provisions for the management of those portions of the Corridor which are not designated as components of the System. Exempts specified roads and highways from the provisions of this Act. Requires that roadless lands (including uninventoried roadless lands and areas less than 5,000 acres in size) within the national forests in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming which have been studied for potential inclusion in the System, but have not been designated as such, shall be analyzed on an individual, case-by-case basis with full public involvement. Requires the results of each case-by-case analysis and associated environmental analysis to be submitted to specified congressional committees so that the Congress may decide whether these areas should become components of the System to be managed for other, nonwilderness, multiple uses. Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary), acting through the Director of the National Park Service, to study the feasibility of: (1) creating a Hells Canyon/Chief Joseph National Park and Preserve; (2) creating a Flathead National Park and Preserve; and (3) designating such areas as units of the National Park System (NPS), including national park and national preserve designations to be administered by the National Park Service. Requires the national park and preserve study areas to be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture, until the Congress determines otherwise, to maintain their presently existing natural character and potential for inclusion in the NPS. Provides that, until the Congress determines otherwise, no new road construction or reconstruction, timber harvest (except firewood gathering), oil and gas leasing, mining, or other development which impairs the natural and roadless qualities of the study areas shall be allowed. Requires that special consideration be given to preserving scenery, water quality and fisheries habitat, biological diversity, and wildlife habitat for threatened and endangered species. Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate: (1) segments of specified rivers and creeks in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System (NWSRS); and (2) segments of specified rivers and creeks in Montana and Wyoming for study as potential addition to the NWSRS. Requires that: (1) such designated wild and scenic river areas be administered by the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to maintain their presently existing wild and scenic character and potential for inclusion in the NWSRS at their highest level of eligibility; and (2) the streambed and the lands one half mile wide along either side of the streambed of any river or stream included in the study be managed to protect their presently existing suitability for inclusion into the NWSRS as wild rivers. Prohibits new road construction or reconstruction, bridges, dams, timber harvesting, mining, oil and gas leasing, or other developments from being allowed within the one half mile corridor along either side of rivers and streams under study. Establishes the National Wildland Restoration and Recovery System (Recovery System) to: (1) restore National Forest System lands and surrounding areas to their native vegetative cover and species diversity; (2) stabilize slopes and soils to prevent or reduce further erosion; (3) recontour slopes to their original contours; (4) remove barriers to natural fish spawning runs; and (5) generally restore, as much as possible, such lands to their natural condition as existed prior to their entry and development. Authorizes appropriations to establish the National Wildland Recovery Corps (a special unit of the U.S. Forest Service) which shall hire necessary personnel and purchase necessary equipment to carry out its land recovery responsibilities. Designates certain lands within the Lewis and Clark National Forest known as Badger-Two Medicine Area as the Blackfeet Wilderness Area. Declares that the Congress recognizes that the Blackfeet Nation retains treaty rights in this area provided for in the 1896 treaty with the Federal Government. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to review the wilderness area and report to the Congress. Requires that special consideration shall be given to the religious, wilderness, and wildlife uses of the area, taking into account any Federal treaties entered into with the Blackfeet Nation. Withdraws the Badger-Two Medicine Wilderness Area from all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the mining laws and disposition under the geothermal and mineral leasing laws. Authorizes appropriations to purchase certain privately owned lands located within the Gallatin Range inventoried roadless area to become part of the Gallatin National Forest. Requires that, upon purchase, the former owners shall relinquish all title, rights, and interests in such lands, including all mineral leases, Federal oil and gas leases, and water rights. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into negotiations with private landowners within the greater boundaries of the Crazy Mountains Wilderness to determine a fair purchase price for the sections of private land located within the established Wilderness boundary. Requires the Secretaries to assure nonexclusive access by native people to Wilderness areas, National Park and Preserve Study areas, Wildland Recovery areas, and Biological Corridors designated by this Act by Native Americans for transitional cultural and religious purposes. Requires the Forest Service to enter into cooperative management agreements with the appropriate Indian tribes to assure protection of religious, burial, and gathering sites, and to work cooperatively on the management of all uses in the protected areas that affect Indian lands and people. Requires the Secretaries to give particular emphasis to the preservation and protection of cultural resources located within the areas.
Bill· HJRESH.J.Res. 550 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 1992
Designates the week beginning October 18, 1992, as National Radon Action Week.
Bill· SS. 3231 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 1992
Antarctic Environmental Protection Act of 1992 - Title I: Amendment to the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 - Amends the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 to set forth U.S. policy with respect to the protection of Antarctica. Revises provisions concerning prohibited acts to make it unlawful for any person (currently, U.S. citizen) to: (1) engage in any taking or harmful interference in Antarctica; (2) introduce into Antarctica any nonnative species; (3) enter any Antarctic specially protected area; or (4) discharge, dispose of, or introduce any waste or pollutant within Antarctica, except as permitted by the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships. Exempts from such prohibition any act committed under emergency circumstances that involves the safety of human life or of ships, aircraft, or equipment or facilities of high value or the protection of the environment. Revises requirements for the issuance of permits authorizing takings or harmful interferences or introductions of nonnative species in Antarctica. Authorizes permits to be issued to provide for unavoidable consequences of scientific activities or of the construction and operation of scientific support facilities. Adds to the list of permit requirements that such permits ensure that no more native mammals, birds, or plants are taken than are necessary to provide specimens for scientific or cultural uses. Adds to the list of requirements for permits authorizing the taking of specially protected species that such takings involve nonlethal techniques, where appropriate. Allows permits for entry into any Antarctic specially protected area to be issued only in accordance with a specified management plan. Provides that permits authorizing the importation of nonnative species shall: (1) not be issued unless allowed under the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty of October 1991; (2) require such species to be removed from Antarctica and disposed of in a specified manner; (3) not permit the importation of dogs or living birds; and (4) require that precautions be taken to prevent the introduction of microorganisms not present in native fauna and flora. Sets forth restrictions on the importation of animal food products into Antarctica. Requires certain regulations prescribed by the Secretary of State to apply to any person's (currently, U.S. citizen's) advance notification of expeditions to, and within, Antarctica. Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations to require nongovernmental activities in Antarctica for which the United States is required to give advance notice under the Antarctic Treaty to provide for prompt response actions to emergencies and to comply with contingency plans. Requires the Secretary to prescribe regulations to implement the environmental impact assessment provisions of the Protocol with respect to nongovernmental activities in Antarctica. Directs the Secretary to designate the U.S. representative to the Committee for Environmental Protection. Increases the ceiling on civil penalties and expands the scope of criminal penalties for specified violations of the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. Authorizes civil actions with respect to violations. Title II: Prohibition of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities; Repeal of Antarctic Protection Act - Declares that the purpose of this title is to provide the legislative authority necessary to implement the provisions of the Protocol relating to Antarctic mineral resource activity by persons subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Makes it unlawful for any person to: (1) engage in, provide assistance to, or knowingly finance any Antarctic mineral resource activity; (2) violate any provision of this title; (3) ship, sell, purchase, import, export, or have control of any Antarctic mineral resource which the person knows was recovered as the result of Antarctic mineral resource activity, without regard to the citizenship of the person that engaged in the activity; (4) refuse to permit any authorized U.S. employee to board a vessel, vehicle, or aircraft subject to this title for conducting any serarch or inspection in connection with enforcement; or (5) interfere with any search or resist a lawful arrest or detention or interfere with such an arrest or detention. Prescribes civil and criminal penalties for violations of this title. Sets forth enforcement procedures and provisions concerning forfeitures and searches and seizures. Declares that this title shall prevail over any inconsistent provision of the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act. Repeals the Antarctic Protection Act of 1990. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 5920 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1992
Establishes an 18-month moratorium on the application of the following regulations to public water systems serving fewer than 10,500 individuals: (1) national primary drinking water regulations for lead and copper; (2) Phase II drinking water regulations for 26 synthetic organic chemicals and seven inorganic chemicals; and (3) Phase V drinking water regulations for 18 synthetic organic chemicals and five inorganic chemicals. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to report to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on potential barriers faced by small- and medium-sized public water systems in complying with such regulations. Provides for application of such regulations to systems subject to the moratorium if necessary to protect human health.
Bill· SS. 3189 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Antarctic Environmental Protection Protocol Act of 1992 - Directs the Secretary of State to appoint a U.S. officer or employee as the U.S. representative to the Committee for Environmental Protection (Committee) under the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (Treaty) (done at Madrid in October 1991). Makes it unlawful for any person to: (1) conduct an activity within Antarctica in a manner inconsistent with the Protocol; (2) engage in, finance, or knowingly provide assistance to any Antarctica mineral resource activity; (3) introduce a prohibited product within Antarctica (defined as polychlorinated biphenyls, nonsterile soils, polystyrene or similar packaging, pesticides, and other designated products); (4) conduct open burning, operate a landfill at a U.S. coastal facility, or operate an incinerator after December 31, 1994; (5) bring a dog into Antarctica; (6) use leaded fuel at a U.S. facility within Antarctica or in any vessel or aircraft subject to U.S. jurisdiction; (7) transport passengers to, from, or within Antarctica by a vessel subject to U.S. jurisdiction unless the owner or operator is required to comply with the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships; (8) discharge untreated sewage into Antarctic waters or onto Antarctic ice shelves; (9) engage in specified activities without a permit; (10) violate any terms of this Act; (11) ship, sell, purchase, import, export, or have control of a native bird, mammal, plant, invertebrate, or mineral resource which the person knows was taken in violation of this Act; (12) refuse to permit an authorized U.S. employee to board a U.S. vessel subject to U.S. jurisdiction for conducting any search or inspection in connection with enforcement; or (13) interfere with any search or resist a lawful arrest or detention or interfere with such an arrest or detention. Waives the prohibition on activities conducted without a permit under emergency circumstances to prevent the loss of human life or involving the safety of a ship or aircraft. Prohibits the following activities in Antarctica, except in accordance with a permit: (1) the conduct of an expedition of more than ten persons to, from, or within Antarctica; (2) the operation of U.S. facilities within Antarctica, including the construction or decommissioning of a U.S. base, building, or airfield; (3) taking within Antarctica a native mammal, bird, or plant in such quantities that their local distribution or abundance would be significantly affected; (4) taking within Antarctica a specially protected species; (5) introducing an animal or plant not indigenous to Antarctica; (6) entering a specially protected area; or (7) operating an incinerator on or prior to December 31, 1994. Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, to issue general permits for any category of such activities if the activities are similar in nature and will cause no more than a minor environmental impact when performed cumulatively. Establishes a specific procedure for permit applications requesting authority to undertake actions with respect to: (1) native marine mammals covered by the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972; (2) endangered or threatened species; (3) native birds protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act; or (4) the discharge of treated sewage into Antarctic waters or onto Antarctic ice shelves. Prohibits the issuance of a permit unless there is sufficient information to assess possible environmental impacts and if required, an environmental impact statement (EIS) has been prepared and circulated to Treaty parties and to the Committee. Provides that permits which authorize any taking may only be issued for providing specimens for scientific study or institutions or for the unavoidable consequences of scientific research activities and shall ensure that only small numbers are taken, the variety of the species and balance of the ecological systems are maintained, and the taking is determined by peer review to further a bona fide scientific purpose. Authorizes permits for takings of specially protected species to be issued only if: (1) there is a compelling scientific purpose as determined by peer review of the proposed permit; (2) the actions authorized will not jeopardize any existing natural ecological systems or the survival or recovery of the species; and (3) nonlethal techniques are used, if appropriate. Requires permits which authorize the introduction of any nonindigenous animal or plant to be issued only for animals and plants to be used in a laboratory and requires the removal of such plants or animals from Antarctica prior to the expiration of the permit, unless they pose no risk to native mammals, birds, or plants. Authorizes the issuance of a permit that allows the entry into any specially protected area only if: (1) there is a compelling scientific purpose for the entry; and (2) the actions will not jeopardize the natural ecological system and are in accordance with any management plan. Authorizes permits for the operation of U.S. facilities within Antarctica to be issued for five-year periods. Provides for annual inspections of such facilities and permit renewals, as appropriate. Requires permits which authorize the construction or operation of incinerators to: (1) ensure that emissions are reduced to the maximum extent practicable; (2) restrict the material which may be incinerated to food and food-contaminated waste; and (3) prohibit the operation of incinerators after 1994 unless the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Under Secretary, reports to the Congress that there is no alternative for the disposal of food. Requires permits which authorize the disposal of sewage within Antarctica to minimize environmental impacts. Provides that permits which authorize expeditions of ten or more passengers to, from, or within Antarctica may be: (1) effective for up to three years; and (2) issued only if consistent with the Protocol and this Act and allow observers on vessels to monitor compliance. Permits judicial review of permit issuance decisions. Authorizes permit modification, suspension, or revocation. Provides for permit application fees. Requires Federal agencies planning to conduct activities in Antarctica to determine whether such activities will have more than a minor or transitory impact on the environment. Authorizes such activities if the agency monitors them to assess and verify the minor or transitory impact. Directs Federal agencies, if activities will have more than a minor or transitory environmental impact, to prepare an EIS. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary, to issue regulations establishing procedures for the environmental assessment of nongovernmental activities in Antarctica. Provides for review of an EIS by the Treaty parties and the Committee prior to permission for an activity to proceed. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary, to develop a plan for monitoring activities within Antarctica that have more than a minor or transitory environmental impact. Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary, to conduct a program for monitoring the health of the waters of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean as part of a global ocean observing system. Directs the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Under Secretary, to develop requirements for contingency plans for response to incidents with adverse environmental impacts in Antarctica. Requires the Secretary of State to circulate to all Treaty parties all inspection and compliance reports and all actions taken to ensure compliance with the Protocol and to bring to the attention of the other parties all known incidents of noncompliance with the Protocol by the nationals of those parties. Prescribes civil and criminal penalties for violations of this Act. Sets forth enforcement procedures and establishes authorities for searches and seizures and forfeitures. Amends the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships to apply Annex IV of the Protocol to all ships of U.S. registry and all ships under U.S. jurisdiction. Applies Protocol requirements to ships currently excluded from the requirements of such Act. Requires the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to administer the Protocol. Directs the Secretary to ensure that such ships, before entering Antarctica, have: (1) sufficient capacity to retain all oil, noxious liquid substances, and garbage; and (2) concluded arrangements to discharge such substances at reception facilities outside of Antarctica. Makes enforcement and inspection provisions of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships applicable to violations of the Protocol. Repeals the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 and the Antarctic Protection Act of 1990. Sets forth procedures with respect to acceptance of amendments to the Protocol. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the prohibition on Antarctic mineral resource activities should remain in effect permanently or indefinitely; (2) the Secretary of State should enter into negotiations with other Treaty parties to conclude an agreement on procedures for liability for damage arising from activities in Antarctica; and (3) the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Under Secretary, should ensure that the results of all investigations relating to geological processes and structures are made available to the public.
Bill· SS. 3216 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Long Island Sound Comprehensive Improvement Act of 1992 - Directs the Secretary of the Army to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the Long Island Sound to: (1) consolidate certain ongoing studies; and (2) develop a comprehensive long-range plan of improvement for the Sound that includes provisions for the control of water quality, commercial and recreational navigation, storm protection, water pollution control and remediation, beach erosion control and recreation, technical data and modeling support for the Management Conferences of the Long Island Sound Study (Study), and other areas of concern. Requires the Secretary, with respect to the Sound and its principal tributaries, to: (1) develop a three-dimensional mathematical model; and (2) construct, operate, and maintain in the State of New York a large-scale hydraulic model and, in association with that model, construct a center for public education. Directs that the models and center be available, in conjunction with any research, investigation, or study conducted by the entity concerning the Sound, for use by: (1) any Federal agency; (2) the governments of New York and Connecticut; and (3) the Study. Requires the Secretary to: (1) develop a reconnaissance-level plan to implement this Act, including an inventory of ongoing related studies, an examination of known water resource problems and needs, an implementation plan for locating and constructing the hydraulic model, and a framework for participation by States and the public in the investigation; and (2) report to specified congressional committees. Directs the Secretary to conduct a comprehensive study, with respect to the Sound, to: (1) fully explore water resources problems; and (2) develop alternative plans that include an assessment of costs, benefits, and environmental impacts. Specifies that: (1) the principal focus of the study shall be the development of cost-effectiveness criteria against which to evaluate identified solutions to water resources problems of the Sound; and (2) the study shall fully evaluate the environmental consequences and future costs of refraining from taking any Federal action. Directs the Secretary to submit to specified congressional committees a feasibility report that includes the findings of the study. Requires that the full cost of developing and preparing the reconnaissance plan and report be paid by the Federal Government. Sets the Federal share of developing and preparing the feasibility report at 50 percent. Directs that 50 percent of such costs be paid from non-Federal sources. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 3207 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Environment and Public Works Fair Share Act of 1992 - Amends the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Act to require the Federal formula used to allocate funds to States under such Act to use the population figures from the latest available estimates prepared by the Department of Commerce for each State (currently, from the latest decennial census). Requires the Federal formula used for grants to States for interstate highway systems, Federal-aid urban highways, and highway safety programs to include the population figures from the latest available estimates prepared by the Department of Commerce (currently, from the latest decennial census).
Bill· SS. 3188 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Florida Keys Water Quality Protection Act - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to continue the Water Quality Program established under the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Protection Act. Requires the Administrator and the Governor of Florida to establish a Steering Committee to set guidance and policy for the implementation of the Program. Directs the Administrator to establish a Florida Keys Liaison Office in Florida to: (1) assist in the implementation of the Program and to support local, State, and Federal agencies in implementing specific action plans to carry out the Program; (2) coordinate the actions of the EPA with other Federal agencies and State and local authorities in developing strategies to protect and improve water quality in the Florida Keys; (3) make information related to the water quality in the Keys available to the public; and (4) report biennially to the Congress on the Program. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to State agencies, local governments, and nonprofit, private organizations for projects or studies to implement the Program. Provides for establishment of a Technical Advisory Committee to assist in the design and prioritization of grants and programs for scientific research and monitoring. Authorizes appropriations.