Environment

California Desert Protection Act of 2010

United States · United States Congress · 21 December 2009

California Desert Protection Act of 2010 - Amends the California Desert Protection Act of 1994 to, among other things: (1) establish or designate national monuments, wilderness areas, a special management area, and off-highway vehicle recreation areas; (2) release specified wilderness study areas; (3) adjust national park and preserve boundaries; and (4) specify land withdrawals, exchanges, and acquisitions. Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate specified segments of rivers and creeks as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to direct the Secretary of the Interior to designate Renewable Energy Coordination Offices (the Offices) in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, Montana, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming for the coordination of federal permits for renewable energy projects and transmission lines to integrate renewable energy development. Establishes a process and procedures (including deadlines) for consideration of right-of-way use authorizations applications for the construction of wind and solar electricity generation facilities. Requires programmatic environmental impact statements analyzing the impacts of the development of solar, biomass, wind, geothermal energy, and associated electric transmission capacity on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands, National Forest System lands, and on military installations in the Mojave and Colorado Deserts in Arizona, California, and Nevada. Requires a study analyzing the impacts of a program to develop large-scale renewable electricity generation projects on military installations in the Mojave and Colorado Deserts in California and Nevada. Establishes the California Desert Mitigation Bank Pilot Program under which eligible lands in the California Desert Conservation Area shall be made available as habitat mitigation zones to serve as mitigation for the development of renewable energy projects on non-federal land. Requires a report on the Offices and renewable energy permitting policies and processes in the western states. Authorizes grants for the development, construction, and acquisition of advanced electric transmission properties.

Of inquiry requesting the President to transmit to the House of Representatives all information in the possession of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency relating to nutrient management of the Illinois River Watershed, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

United States · United States Congress · 19 December 2009

Requests the President to transmit to the House of Representatives copies of all documents in the possession of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) relating to nutrient management of the Illinois River Watershed, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Comprehensive National Mercury Monitoring Act

United States · United States Congress · 18 December 2009

Comprehensive National Mercury Monitoring Act - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a national mercury monitoring program that monitors: (1) long-term changes in mercury levels and important ancillary measures in the air; and (2) long-term changes in mercury and methyl mercury levels and important ancillary measures in the water and soil or sediments and in aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Requires the Administrator to: (1) select multiple monitoring sites representing multiple ecoregions that include national parks, wildlife refuges, National Estuarine Research Reserve units, and other sensitive ecological areas that include long-term protection and in which substantive changes are expected from reductions in domestic mercury emissions; (2) establish and publish standardized measurement protocols for the program; and (3) establish a centralized database for environmental mercury data. Establishes the Mercury Monitoring Advisory Committee to advise the Administrator on the establishment, site selection, protocols, and operation of the program.

Oregon Eastside Forests Restoration, Old Growth Protection, and Jobs Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 17 December 2009

Oregon Eastside Forests Restoration, Old Growth Protection, and Jobs Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, through the Chief of the Forest Service, to manage certain forest, stream, grassland, wetland, alpine, and other land and water located in a covered area of Oregon to: (1) conserve and restore forest and watershed health; (2) reduce the risk of uncharacteristic natural disturbances from fire, insects, and disease; (3) allow for characteristic natural disturbances; and (4) increase the resistance and resiliency of the covered lands to uncharacteristic events. Requires the Secretary to implement ecological restoration projects in the covered area in order to achieve such goals. Requires the delineation of each riparian habitat conservation area in a watershed for all permanently flowing streams, lakes, wetlands, seeps, springs, and intermittent streams. Requires the conservation and restoration of aquatic and riparian resources within National Forest land in the covered area. Establishes the Eastside Forest Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel to periodically advise the Secretary, collaborative groups, and the public about the development and implementation of forest and watershed management goals, the Eastside Landscape Forest Restoration Assessment, and ecological restoration projects. Requires the Restoration Assessment to include a 10-year restoration plan for the comprehensive ecological restoration of forest and watershed health in the covered area. Subjects ecological restoration projects carried out under this Act to an environmental analysis. Provides for expedited judicial review of an action challenging a project developed under this Act. Provides for: (1) the establishment of regional biomass projects; (2) stewardship contracting projects to carry out ecological restoration projects; and (3) the selection of a Deputy Regional Forester to serve as the principal agency contact for implementation of this Act.

Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2009

Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2009 - Authorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2014 for the Surface Transportation Board. Increases Board membership from three to five members. Removes the Board from the Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish it as an independent U.S. agency. Grants the DOT Inspector General authority to review only Board financial management, property management, and business operations to determine compliance with applicable federal laws and detect fraud and abuse. Revises member composition of the Railroad-Shipper Transportation Advisory Council. Revises the objectives of U.S. rail transportation policy, including protection of rail shippers. Requires the Board to: (1) maintain an Office of Public Assistance, Governmental Affairs, and Compliance; and (2) appoint a rail customer advocate to resolve rail customer complaints. Authorizes the Board to investigate rail carrier and pipeline carrier violations on its own initiative as well as on complaint (as under existing law). Requires proceedings to determine the reasonableness of a rate charged by a carrier be initiated only upon complaint. Requires the Board to: (1) establish a database of rail service complaints it has received; and (2) post a quarterly report of such complaints on its website. Authorizes the Board to revoke class exemptions to rail carrier requirements to protect rail shippers from the abuse of market power. Requires Board studies on: (1) class exemptions; (2) the Uniform Railroad Costing System; (3) use of a replacement cost approach to value rail facility assets; (4) rail practices; and (5) rail interchange rules. Directs the Board to require Class I railroad carriers and other railroad carriers to report regularly on railroad service metrics and other performance data as prescribed by the Board. Delineates requirements regarding proof and admissibility of evidence of rail carrier interline rate agreements. Prohibits the Board from issuing a person (other than a rail carrier) a certificate to acquire a railroad line or extended or additional railroad line that includes interchange commitments or other mechanisms restricting the ability of the purchaser or tenant to interchange traffic with another carrier unless they are reasonable and in the public interest. Delineates a process for persons to challenge existing interchange commitments as well as certain rights and remedies with respect to them. Directs the Secretary to make grants available to assist any Class III rail carrier under Board jurisdiction with the credit risk premium of a direct loan or loan guarantee made to purchase or lease a rail line. Requires a Class I rail carrier to establish, upon rail customer request, reasonable bottleneck and terminal switching rates for single line movement or interline movement rail transportation over a bottleneck rail segment in which the carrier has market dominance. Revises criteria authorizing the Board to require a rail carrier to make its terminal available to another rail carrier. Authorizes the Board to require a Class I rail carrier (including any other rail carrier deemed appropriate) to make its terminal facilities available for use by another carrier in cases where it has market dominance in a terminal area. Changes from discretionary to mandatory the authority of the Board to establish reasonable rail rate standards for terminal use. Requires the Board to establish a binding arbitration process to resolve rail rate, practice, and common carrier service disputes. Revises maximum rates of relief that the Board may provide to railroad shippers in certain rail rate reasonableness cases. Sets forth time limits for Board review of such cases. Revises requirements with respect to the approval or denial of the consolidation, merger, or acquisition of control of rail carriers to authorize the Board to take into consideration significant effects of the transaction on public health, safety, and the environment as well as intercity rail passenger transportation and commuter rail passenger transportation. Exempts from Board authority pipeline transportation of natural or artificial gases used primarily as fuel or other energy purposes. Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the federal and state regulatory framework to support the development of carbon dioxide pipelines.

National Sustainable Offshore Aquaculture Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2009

National Sustainable Offshore Aquaculture Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish an Office of Sustainable Offshore Aquaculture in the National Marine Fisheries Service at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) headquarters and at satellite offices in each of NOAA's regional fisheries offices. Requires the Office to establish a Sustainable Offshore Aquaculture Advisory Board. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish and maintain in the Office an aquaculture database; and (2) make the database available to the public but protect proprietary information of owners and operators of offshore aquaculture facilities. Requires, for permit issuance, a regional programmatic environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) for each Regional Fishery Management Council and a separate environmental review under NEPA. Prohibits engaging in offshore aquaculture without a permit under this Act and authorizes the Secretary to issue such permits. Requires the Secretary to: (1) assess application and annual fees with respect to such permits that are sufficient to pay the costs of issuing, monitoring, and enforcing such permits; and (2) assess resource rental fees to recover from permittees a reasonable portion of the value of the use under the permits of ocean resources held in public trust. Directs the Secretary to establish and conduct a research program to guide the sustainable development of offshore aquaculture, including regarding: (1) industry expansion that ensures ecological sustainability and functional ecosystems and fisheries; and (2) cost-effective solutions to environmental and socioeconomic impacts. Requires a related competitive, peer-reviewed grant program. Prohibits permit issuance: (1) for a species having a fishery management plan under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson Act) or in a Regional Fishery Management Council's jurisdiction unless all relevant Councils recommend approval; or (2) if opposed by the nearest coastal state. Regulates the relationship of this Act to the Magnuson Act, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, and the Coastal Zone Management Act. Regulates the assessment and liability for natural resource damages associated with offshore aquaculture.

Decabromine Elimination and Control Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2009

Decabromine Elimination and Control Act of 2009 - Makes it unlawful, beginning January 1, 2013, to produce for distribution in commerce, distribute in commerce, import, or export decabromodiphenyl ether, CAS No. 1163-19-5, either pure or in commercial mixtures which are predominantly decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) or decaBDE mixtures or products. Phases in such ban through a series of annual quotas through 2012. Requires each entity that engaged in such decaBDE activities during 2009 to report on them, including the amount of decaBDE and decaBDE mixtures used, and to then report annually. Requires an entity that engages in decaBDE activities to: (1) disclose to any entity that receives decaBDE, decaBDE mixtures, or decaBDE products that these contain decaBDE; and (2) disclose to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) any articles that contain decaBDE. Applies to violations of this Act the enforcement procedures applicable to violations of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Allows citizens' civil actions to restrain violations. Provides exceptions from the restrictions imposed by this Act relating to critical uses, recycled articles, resale, and low-concentration articles. States as policy that decaBDE shall be replaced by safer alternatives and prohibits use of any alternative determined to contain a chemical substance that is a persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic chemical. Directs the Administrator to: (1) require any entity that produces a chemical substance that is a substitute for decaBDE to provide all existing information about the hazard and exposure characteristics of the chemical substance that is known to, in the possession or control of, or reasonably ascertainable by the entity and that has not previously been submitted; and (2) require any such entity to notify the Administrator at least 90 days before new or existing chemicals are introduced into interstate commerce for significant new uses as decaBDE substitutes.

To prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from obligating any amounts for the regulation of emissions of carbon dioxide.

United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2009

Prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from obligating any amounts to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide.

Save Our Energy Jobs Act

United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2009

Save Our Energy Jobs Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) Congress did not intend the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases (GHGs); (2) the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should not have the authority to promulgate rules to regulate GHG emissions without explicit authority from Congress; (3) rules that regulate GHG emissions will have a significant impact on the U.S. economy and should not be left to administrative rulemaking in the absence of congressional action; and (4) comprehensive regulations to address global climate change must only be enacted at the direction of Congress. Amends the Clean Air Act to amend the definition of "air pollutant" to exclude carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, or sulfur hexafluoride.

Social Investment and Economic Development for the Americas Act of 2010

United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2009

Social Investment and Economic Development for the Americas Act of 2010 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the President, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and working with governments and civil society in the Americas (the countries of North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean), to provide assistance to reduce poverty, expand the middle class, and foster increased economic opportunity. Directs the Secretary of State to establish an advisory group to consider the feasibility of establishing a public-private Fund for Social and Economic Development in the Americas. Authorizes appropriations for: (1) assistance to Central America, South America, the Caribbean, and Mexico; (2) debt and equity financing for a Microfinance Growth Fund for the Americas; (3) the Fund for Social and Economic Development in the Americas; and (4) USAID for labor and environmental capacity building activities relating to the implementation of trade promotion agreements.

Small and Rural Communities Wastewater Infrastructure Act

United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2009

Small and Rural Communities Wastewater Infrastructure Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to allocate at least 5%, 10%, or 15% of funds received by a state in capitalization grants to provide assistance to publicly owned treatment works that serve populations of 5,000 or fewer persons, 5,001 to 20,000 persons, or 20,001 to 50,000 persons, respectively. Authorizes a state to use funds received in capitalization grants for making preloans (financial assistance from the state's water pollution control revolving loan fund) to municipalities or intermunicipal, interstate, or state agencies for costs incurred in connection with project development, environmental studies, legal and administrative expenses, and project design for construction of a public owned treatment works that will regularly serve 50,000 or fewer persons. Prohibits a preloan from being used for costs related to land acquisition. Authorizes a state agency to provide additional assistance in connection with a state water pollution control revolving loan if a project is to benefit a disadvantaged community with a population of 50,000 persons or fewer by: (1) forgiving all or a portion of the principal of the loan; (2) not requiring or reducing interest to be paid in connection with the loan; and (3) extending the loan repayment period to not to exceed 30 years. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to identify, implement, and make further recommendations regarding ways to expedite and improve the application and review process for obtaining financing from a state water pollution control revolving loan fund.

Disapproving a rule submitted by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency relating to endangerment and cause or contribute findings for greenhouse gases under section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act.

United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2009

Disapproves the rule submitted by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on December 15, 2009, relating to endangerment and cause or contribute findings for greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.

Of inquiry directing the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to transmit to the House of Representatives all information in the possession of the Administrator relating to nutrient management of the Illinois River Watershed, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2009

Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to transmit to the House of Representatives copies of all documents in the possession of the Administrator relating to nutrient management of the Illinois River Watershed, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

CIR ASAP Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 15 December 2009

Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform ASAP Act of 2009, or the CIR ASAP Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) (Secretary) to: (1) develop and submit to Congress a National Strategy for Border Security; (2) increase the number of Customs and Border Protection officers, agriculture specialists, and border security support personnel, and enhance related equipment, assets, and technology; (3) develop a comprehensive land and maritime border surveillance plan, including aerial and integrated surveillance demonstration programs; (4) issue a rule for electronic device searches and related agent training; (5) improve coordination efforts to combat human smuggling; (6) establish a Border Communities Liaison Office in every Border Patrol sector at the southern and northern borders; (7) carry out a ports of entry technology demonstration program; and (8) establish a Southern Border Security Task Force. Authorizes appropriations for border security improvements at U.S. ports of entry. Authorizes border relief grants for tribal, state, or local law enforcement and related agencies in proximity to the border or in a designated High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. Provides reimbursement for state and county prosecutors in border states for prosecuting federally initiated and referred drug cases. Suspends the Operation Streamline program pending an evaluation of its viability. Expands resources for Project Gunrunner and for Operation Armas Cruzadas along the U.S.-Mexico border. Establishes the United States-Mexico Border Enforcement Commission. Prohibits the U.S. Armed Forces, including the National Guard, from assisting in non-emergency federal, state, local, and civilian law enforcement of immigration laws. Directs the Secretaries of DHS, Interior, Agriculture, Defense, and Commerce to develop: (1) a land border protection strategy; and (2) a borderlands environmental monitoring plan. Provides for: (1) enhanced border cooperation with Mexico; and (2) expansion of Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism programs. Sets forth detention conditions. Directs the Secretary to appoint an Immigration Detention Commission. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) immigration enforcement protections; (2) unlawful detentions; (3) protections for vulnerable populations; (4) apprehension procedures for families and family detention; (5) welfare requirements for children separated from detained or removed parents; (6) unaccompanied alien children; and (7) female detainees. Provides a stay of removal and work authorization for detained alien workers who are witnesses or necessary for workplace prosecution claims. Eliminates, with specified exceptions, DHS authority to enter into agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies to perform immigration law enforcement functions. Establishes in DHS an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Ombudsman. Eliminates the one-year asylun filing requirement. Provides for federal court review of DHS orders of removal currently exempt from such review. Establishes an alien employment verification system which requires employers to comply with: (1) document verification requirements; and (2) a phased-in electronic employment verification system. Sets forth backlog reduction provisions respecting family-sponsored and employment-based immigrant levels. Revises the definition of "immediate relative" to: (1) include the spouse and child of a lawful permanent resident; and (2) permit a qualifying widow/widower and the child or parent of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident to maintain such status while filing for permanent resident status. Increases: (1) per-country limits for family-sponsored and employment-based immigrants; and (2) specified family-unity exceptions to unlawful presence-based inadmissibility. Prohibits the removal from the United States of an individual who: (1) fled his or her homeland while under the age of 12 years old; and (2) was later admitted to the United States as a refugee, parolee, or asylee. Exempts the sons and daughters of certain naturalized Filipino World War II veterans from worldwide or numerical immigrant visa limits. Makes a minor child of an alien fiancee/fiance or of an alien spouse of a U.S. citizen eligible for derivative K-visa status under specified circumstances. Redefines "child" to include a stepchild under 21 years old. Amends the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 to: (1) require determinations with respect to children to be made using the age and status of an individual on October 21, 1998; and (2) permit an application based upon child status to be filed by a parent or guardian if the child is present in the United States on such filing date. Permits new status adjustment applications to be filed for a limited time period. Reduces the required support level for immigrant sponsorship. Establishes the Prevent Unauthorized Migration Visa (PUM Visa) program which shall provide for: (1) 100,000 PUM conditional permanent resident visas annually, for three years, to persons from countries (transitional visa admission states) which represent at least 5% of the total unauthorized migration population to the United States for the past five years; and (2) a process to adjust to permanent resident status. Exempts specified categories of U.S.-educated aliens from employment-based immigration limits. Permits a nonimmigrant alien whose employer has petitioned for an employment-based green card for such alien to file an application for adjustment of status regardless of whether an immigrant visa is immediately available. (Requires visa availability before such application may be approved.) Return of Talent Act - Establishes the Return of Talent Program to permit an eligible alien (and certain family members) to return to the alien's country of citizenship for up to two years in order to contribute to such country's postconflict or natural disaster reconstruction activities. (During such absence the alien and family members shall be considered to be continuously present and residing in the United States for naturalization purposes.) Establishes a conditional nonimmigrant status for qualifying aliens and their dependents who are illegally present or out of status in the United States and who register and meet the requirements for such status. Authorizes: (1) adjustment from conditional to permanent resident status at the earlier of six years after enactment of this Act or 30 days after specified immigrant visas become available (with exceptions to such time frame for certain students, military personnel, and employed individuals); and (2) naturalization three years after permanent resident status adjustment. Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security Act of 2009 or the AgJOBS Act of 2009 - Confers "blue card status" upon an alien who: (1) during the 24-month period ending on December 31, 2008, has performed specified lengths of, or earned a specified amount from, agricultural employment in the United States; (2) applied for such status during the 18-month application period; (3) is otherwise admissible to the United States; and (4) has not been convicted of specified felonies or misdemeanors. Limits the number of blue cards that may be issued during the five-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act. Provides for adjustment of blue card status to permanent resident status based upon completed periods of agricultural employment. Revises H-2A visa (agricultural labor or temporary or seasonal services) provisions. Replaces the existing labor certification requirement with a labor attestation requirement containing: (1) a description of the nature and location of the job; (2) the job's expected beginning and ending dates; (3) the number of jobs; and (4) specified labor assurances respecting job opportunities covered by collective bargaining agreements and non-covered job opportunities. Establishes: (1) the Commission on Immigration and Labor Markets; and (2) the Security and Prosperity Account in the Treasury. Requires each State Workforce Agency (SWA) to establish an Internet-based American Worker Recruit and Match program. Requires employers and foreign labor contractors to provide workers recruited abroad with specified employment-related information. Amends H-1B visa (specialty occupation) employer application requirements to: (1) revise wage determination requirements; (2) require Internet posting and description of employment positions; (3) lengthen U.S. worker displacement protection; (4) apply certain requirements to all H-1B employers rather than only to H-1B dependent employers; (5) prohibit employer advertising that makes a position available only to, or gives priority to, H-1B nonimmigrants; and (6) limit the number of H-1B and L-1 visa (intracompany transfer) employees that an employer of 50 or more workers in the United States may hire. Authorizes the Department of Labor (DOL) to: (1) investigate applications for fraud; and (2) conduct H-1B compliance audits. Prohibits an employer from hiring an L-1 nonimmigrant for more than one year who will: (1) serve in a capacity involving specialized knowledge; and (2) be stationed primarily at the worksite of another employer. Specifies L-1: (1) employer petition requirements for employment at a new office; (2) wage rates and working conditions; and (3) employer penalties. Authorizes: (1) DOL to enforce federal labor laws with respect to employers of H-2B nonagricultural temporary workers; and (2) a private right of action against such employers. Specifies employer actions to recruit U.S. workers prior to filing for H-2B admissions. Sets forth H-2B and U.S. worker protections. Amends EB-5 visa (alien investor) provisions to: (1) increase EB-5 eligibility; (2) make the regional center program permanent; (3) establish $2,500 regional center designation and premium processing fees; (4) permit concurrent filing for EB-5 petitions and status adjustment applications; (5) establish in the Treasury the Immigrant Entrepreneur Regional Center Account; and (6) increase employment creation-related visas. Revises provisions regarding: (1) immigration service fees; (2) the naturalization age-based English language proficiency exemption; and (3) citizenship application background checks. Establishes the New Americans Initiative grants program to to assist lawful permanent resident aliens to become citizens. Authorizes grants for: (1) public education and community training regarding the provisions of this Act; (2) community-based organizations to assist naturalization applicants (initial entry, adjustment, and citizenship assistance grants); and (3) states to form New American Councils. Provides for the naturalization of certain graduates of U.S. high schools who are under 25 years of age on the date of application for naturalization. Establishes: (1) a tax credit and a deduction for certification expenses for teachers of English language learners; and (2) a tax credit for employer-provided adult English literacy and basic education programs. Makes funds available for oath of allegiance ceremonies.

Urging the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the endangerment and cause or contribute findings regarding greenhouse gases signed on December 7, 2009.

United States · United States Congress · 15 December 2009

Finds the endangerment and cause or contribute findings for greenhouse gases signed by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on December 7, 2009, unacceptable. Disapproves of such signing and urges the Administrator to reevaluate such findings.

Carbon Limits and Energy for America's Renewal (CLEAR) Act

United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2009

Carbon Limits and Energy for America's Renewal (CLEAR) Act - Requires the President to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to 2005 levels by 20% by 2020, 30% by 2025, 42% by 2030, and 83% by 2050 through this Act. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a program to reduce the emission of GHGs by: (1) placing a gradually declining limitation on the quantity of fossil carbon (carbon) permitted to be sold; and (2) requiring each first seller to surrender periodically to the Secretary a number of carbon shares equal to the quantity of covered carbon it produces or imports or be subject to a penalty. Defines a "first seller" as an entity in the business of producing or importing fossil carbon or production process carbon. Requires the President to establish a maximum aggregate quantity of carbon, and a corresponding number of carbon shares, permitted to be introduced into commerce for 2012. Requires that number of shares: (1) for 2012, 2013, and 2014 to be equal to the approximate level of carbon likely to be required by the economy during 2012; and (2) for each subsequent year to be reduced from the quantity of the previous year by 0.25%. Sets forth provisions concerning auctioning, purchasing, and selling shares. Restricts participation in such auctions to first sellers. Prohibits first sellers from directly or indirectly creating, purchasing, selling, or trading carbon share derivatives. Requires the Secretary to: (1) impose fees for the production process of carbon associated with commodities imported for sale; and (2) transfer collected fees and penalties to the Clean Energy Reinvestment Trust Fund established by this Act; and (3) distribute amounts from such Fund to individuals and entities that are unable to compete due to unfair market prices arising from disparate carbon limits or fees among countries. Requires the Secretary to: (1) promulgate regulations for the establishment, operation, and oversight of markets for carbon share derivatives; (2) provide carbon shares in excess of the aggregate quantity for carbon that is sequestered, injected, or embedded; (3) reduce the aggregate quantity of carbon shares for reductions of carbon emissions attributable solely to voluntary carbon reduction purchases; (4) establish a program that enables individuals to borrow against any future energy security dividends in order to make investments in energy efficiency or clean energy technologies and services; and (5) establish an Office of Consumer Advocacy for energy consumers. Establishes the Carbon Refund Trust Fund to be funded from auction proceeds and to distribute tax-free energy security dividends to U.S. residents.

Enhancing Livability for All Americans Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2009

Enhancing Livability for All Americans Act of 2009 - Establishes within the Office of the Secretary of Transportation an Office of Livability. Requires the Office Director to establish a program to award competitive grants to eligible entities to assist: (1) capital investments in surface transportation projects with a significant impact on enhancing the livability in a region, metropolitan area, community, or neighborhood; and (2) communities in developing strategic growth plans that provide a vision and goals for development over a minimum 20-year period and integrate long-term innovative transportation and land use planning. Requires priority be given to: (1) investment projects that increase the number of transportation options, improve access to housing, jobs, and services, and reduce greenhouse gas; and (2) innovative planning applicants who have proposed strategic growth plans for communities with transportation systems characterized by poor access to job centers and schools, limited transportation options for residents, and significant traffic congestion. Requires the Director to: (1) develop statistical and analytical capabilities to ascertain specified transportation data; and (2) collaborate with other federal agencies to carry out activities that promote the development of livable communities, increase transportation choices, and improve the environment, public health, and quality of life.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR 2010

United States · United States House of Representatives · 10 December 2009

Coral Reef Conservation Amendments Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 9 December 2009

Coral Reef Conservation Amendments Act of 2009 - Amends the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 to direct the Secretary of Commerce to submit to Congress a national coral reef ecosystem action strategy. Directs the Secretary to make grants for projects for the conservation of coral reef ecosystems. (Current law refers to conservation of coral reefs.) Authorizes the Secretary to make agreements with nonprofit organizations for public-private partnerships promoting coral reef ecosystem conservation. (Current law refers to a nonprofit organization.) Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) execute contracts, leases, grants, or cooperative agreements to carry out the Act, including agreements with universities and research centers; (2) use the resources of any domestic or foreign governmental entity, tribal government, or international organization; and (3) utilize grants from any federal source operating competitive grant programs. Authorizes the Secretary to provide assistance to any state, local, or territorial government agency for any unforeseen or disaster-related circumstance regarding coral reef ecosystems. (Current law refers to the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA].) Authorizes the Secretary to conduct activities, including with local, regional, or international programs and partners, to conserve coral reef ecosystems. (Current law does not does not provide for the inclusion of local, regional, or international programs and partners.) Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide for the long-term stewardship of environmental data; (2) establish the Emergency Response, Stabilization, and Restoration Account in the existing Damage Assessment Restoration Revolving Fund; and (3) conduct a study of the trade in corals. Directs the Secretary to carry out international coral reef conservation activities in waters outside the U.S. jurisdiction. Directs the Secretary to: (1) report to Congress regarding an international coral reef ecosystem strategy; and (2) establish an international coral reef ecosystem partnership program. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) make grants to work with federal, state, and local entities to increase protection of priority coral reef areas; and (2) maintain an inventory of all vessel reef grounding incidents and identify reef ecosystems with a high incidence of vessel impacts. Makes it unlawful to destroy, take, cause the loss of, or injure any coral reef or part except if caused by: (1) permitted fishing gear use; (2) a federally or state permitted use; (3) bona fide marine scientific research; (4) certain federal emergency activity; or (5) a vessel master's actions to ensure vessel safety or to save a life at sea. Makes anyone who engages in an activity that injures a coral reef ecosystem liable for response costs and damages, costs of seizure, forfeiture, storage, disposal, and related interest. Provides for in rem liability. Bars the commencement of a civil action for response costs and damages unless filed within three years after the date on which the Secretary completes a damage assessment and restoration plan for the coral reef. Provides for enforcement, including through civil administrative and judicial penalties and denial, suspension, amendment, or revocation of any permit involved. Provides for in rem jurisdiction, criminal and civil forfeiture, and injunctive relief. Authorizes the Secretary to issue permits for research and activities that would otherwise be prohibited by the Act. Directs the Secretary and other federal members of the Coral Reef Task Force to work in coordination with other federal agencies, states, and U.S. territorial governments to implement the strategies developed under this Act to address multiple threats to coral reefs and coral reef ecosystems.

Bottled Water Safety and Right to Know Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2009

Bottled Water Safety and Right to Know Act of 2009 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to identify and establish standards for contaminants in bottled water that are at least as protective as standards established by: (1) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for national primary drinking water; or (2) the World Health Organization, the European Union, or the state of California. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to states for the enforcement of standards adopted under this Act. Transfers all functions of the Secretary relating to inspections and enforcement concerning bottled water to the EPA if the Secretary fails to publish the final regulation concerning such standards within two years. Requires the Secretary to: (1) promulgate regulations that require each manufacturer of bottled water to submit reports on its water and display required information on bottle labels; (2) make such reports available to the public; (3) make certain additional information available to the public about the regulation of contaminants in bottled drinking water; (4) publish information regarding violations of bottled water regulations; and (5) establish a grant program to gather information on such violations. Prohibits a manufacturer of bottled water from failing to submit an annual report or to display the required information on bottle labels in accordance with this Act.

Healthy Forests Restoration Amendments Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2009

Healthy Forests Restoration Amendments Act of 2009 - Amends the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to expand the purposes of the Act to include providing for the protection, restoration, and enhancement of forest ecosystem components to protect infrastructure in rural communities. Expands federal land areas eligible for hazardous fuel reduction projects. Repeals the total federal land acreage limitation on authorized hazardous fuel reduction projects. Revises requirements regarding the alternative analysis process for authorized hazardous fuel reduction projects in the wildland-urban interface. Bars the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior from being required to study, develop, or describe more than the proposed agency action and a no action alternative in an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement for specified proposed authorized hazardous fuel reduction projects.

To authorize drought assistance adjustments to provide immediate funding for projects and activities that will help alleviate record unemployment and diminished agricultural production related to the drought in California.

United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2009

Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to use funds provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 or appropriation measures through FY2012 for any required non-federal share of the cost of projects that: (1) are funded by the federal government; (2) are located in an area that either has been identified by the U.S. Drought Monitor as experiencing severe, extreme, or exceptional drought within the 24 months prior to this Act's enactment or has been designated as a disaster area by California during 2009; (3) will make progress towards providing a more reliable water supply for California and protecting, restoring, and enhancing the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem, will increase water management flexibility, or will reduce impacts on environmental resources from projects operated by the California State Department of Water Resources, the California State Department of Fish and Game, the Bureau of Reclamation, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, or other relevant state and federal agencies; (4) show potential to restore agriculture production or agricultural employment for such areas; and (5) have made significant progress in the completion of any necessary environmental or public review. Directs that the use of funds for the nonfederal share of projects as authorized in this Act be considered a drought assistance adjustment. Requires the Secretary to establish criteria for calculating such adjustments utilizing existing practices for adjustments in water service and repayment rates.

Comprehensive Water Resource Development Act

United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2009

Comprehensive Water Resource Development Act - Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to establish a program to provide design and construction assistance to non-federal interests for water-related environmental infrastructure, resource protection and development, flood damage reduction, and ecosystem restoration projects in Pennsylvania.

Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2010

United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2009

Tax Extenders Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2010 certain expiring provisions for individual taxpayers, including: (1) the taxpayer election to deduct state and local general sales taxes in lieu of state and local income taxes; (2) the standard tax deduction for state and local real property taxes; (3) the tax deduction from gross income for qualified tuition and related expenses; and (4) the tax deduction from gross income for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers. Extends through 2010 expiring provisions for business taxpayers, including: (1) the tax credit for increasing research activities; (2) tax treatment of certain items affecting U.S. shareholders of controlled foreign corporation; (3) accelerated depreciation for qualified leasehold, restaurant, and retail property, for motorsports entertainment complexes, and for farming business machinery and equipment; (4) the tax credit for railroad track maintenance expenditures; (5) the enhanced expensing allowance for certain film and television production costs; (6) expensing of environmental remediation costs; (7) the tax credit for mine rescue team training expenses; (8) the taxpayer election to expense advanced mine safety equipment expenditures; (9) the tax credit for differential wages payments to employees who are active duty members of the Uniformed Services; (10) tax rules relating to regulated investment companies (RICs); and (11) the suspension of the taxable income limitation on percentage depletion for oil and natural gas produced from marginal properties. Extends through 2010 expiring provisions relating to charitable organizations and contributions, including: (1) the tax deduction for charitable contributions of capital gain real property by individual taxpayers and certain corporate farmers and ranchers for conservation purposes; (2) the enhanced tax deduction for charitable contributions of food inventory and book inventories to public schools and for corporate contributions of computer technology and equipment for educational purposes; (3) penalty-free distributions from individual retirement accounts (IRAs) for charitable purposes; and (4) special tax rules for payments to controlling exempt organizations, exclusion of gain or loss from unrelated business taxable income from the sale or exchange of certain brownfield sites, and basis adjustment to stock of S corporations making charitable contributions. Extends through 2010: (1) the tax credit for employment of members of Indian tribes; (2) accelerated depreciation of property used for business purposes on an Indian reservation; (3) extension of the tax deduction for income attributable to domestic production activities to such activities in Puerto Rico; (4) the limitation on the amount of distilled spirits tax covered (paid over) into the treasuries of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands; and (5) the tax credit for American Samoa economic development expenditures. Extends through 2010 certain provisions relating to community development and assistance, including: (1) tax incentives in empowerment zones and renewal communities; (2) the new markets tax credit; (3) tax incentives for investment in the District of Columbia, the New York Liberty Zone, the Gulf Opportunity Zone, and low-income housing. Extends through 2010 tax-related disaster relief provisions, including: (1) the tax deduction for personal casualty losses attributable to federally-declared disasters; (2) expensing allowance for cleanup and other expenditures in disaster areas; (3) the five-year extended carryover period for net operating losses incurred in a disaster area; (4) waiver of mortgage revenue bond requirements for refinancing residences damaged or destroyed in a disaster area; and (5) expensing and accelerated depreciation of certain disaster assistance property. Extends through 2010 energy conservation and production provisions, including: (1) the tax credits for biodiesel and renewable diesel used as fuel; (2) the alternative motor vehicle tax credit for large hybrid vehicles; (3) the alternative fuel excise tax credit for natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas; and (4) tax rules relating to sales required to implement federal and state restructuring policy for qualified electric utilities. Revises and adds reporting and other requirements relating to income from assets held abroad, including by: (1) requiring foreign financial and nonfinancial institutions to withhold 30% of payments made to such institutions by U.S. individuals unless such institutions agree to disclose the identity of such individuals and report on their bank transactions; (2) denying a tax deduction for interest on non-registered bonds issued outside the United States; (3) requiring any individual who holds more than $50,000 in a depository or custodial account maintained by a foreign financial institution to report on such accounts; (4) imposing an enhanced tax penalty for underpayments attributable to undisclosed foreign financial assets; (5) extending the limitation period for assessment of underpayments with respect to assets held outside the United States; (6) requiring shareholders of a passive foreign investment company to file informational returns; (7) enhancing tax rules and penalties relating to foreign trusts with U.S. beneficiaries; and (8) requiring withholding of tax on dividend equivalent payments received by foreign individuals. Sets forth tax rules relating to partnership interests transferred in connection with the performance of services. Increases by an additional 26.5% the required estimated tax payments for certain large corporations in the third quarter of 2014. Requires the Chief of Staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation to submit to the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee a report on each tax expenditure extended by this Act.

Endocrine Disruption Prevention Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 3 December 2009

Endocrine Disruption Prevention Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to establish the Endocrine Disruption Prevention Program, under which the Director shall: (1) conduct and support multidisciplinary research to improve the understanding of endocrine disruption; and (2) conduct workshops and fora on health effects associated with environmental agents that may affect the endocrine system. Requires the Director to establish an Endocrine Disruption Program Panel, which shall: (1) provide advice to the Director on the conduct and support of research; (2) evaluate existing population-level biomonitoring and biobanking surveillance and research programs and recommend changes needed to develop data on human exposures and effects to support the Program; and (3) develop a list of chemicals of concern for endocrine disruption effects and make findings with respect to such chemicals. Authorizes individuals to petition the Panel to determine whether a chemical should be listed or to revise a finding or determination based on new information. Requires the Director, if the Panel finds that data are sufficient to determine that there is at least a minimal level of concern associated with a chemical's potential to disrupt the human endocrine system, to transmit the finding, including the routes and sources of exposure to the chemical, to each federal agency with authority to regulate the chemical. Requires each federal agency that receives such a transmission: (1) to reply to the Director describing the agency's regulatory authority, past actions in connection with the chemical, and proposed action to protect human health from the potential endocrine disruption effects of exposure to the chemical; and (2) within one year, to report on the actions taken and future actions proposed by the Agency in response to the Panel's finding. Requires the Director to establish a program to support graduate and postdoctoral training in fields related to the prevention of endocrine disruption.

Green Infrastructure for Clean Water Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 3 December 2009

Green Infrastructure for Clean Water Act of 2009 - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make competitive grants to eligible higher education institutions and research institutions to establish and maintain between three and five centers of excellence for green infrastructure. Defines "green infrastructure" as a stormwater management technique that preserves, restores, enhances, or mimics natural hydrology. Establishes the duties of each center, including: (1) researching green infrastructure; (2) developing manuals and setting industry standards on best management practices relating to state, local, and commercial green infrastructure; (3) providing information about its research and manuals to the national electronic clearinghouse center; (4) providing technical assistance and training on green infrastructure; and (5) evaluating regulatory and policy issues about green infrastructure. Requires one of the centers to be designated as the national electronic clearinghouse center, which shall, in addition to its other duties, operate a website and a public database on green infrastructure. Requires the Administrator to make competitive grants to eligible entities that manage stormwater, water resources, or waste water resources to: (1) plan and design and install green infrastructure projects; (2) develop standards and revisions to local zoning, building, or other local codes necessary to accommodate such projects; (3) develop fee structures to provide financial support for green infrastructure; (4) develop training and educational materials about green infrastructure; (5) develop and implement a green infrastructure portfolio standard program; (6) monitor and evaluate the environmental, economic, or social benefits of green infrastructure; and (7) implement a best practices standard for a green infrastructure program. Requires the Administrator to give priority to applications from: (1) a community that has combined storm and sanitary sewers in its collection system or is low-income or disadvantaged; or (2) an eligible entity that will use 10% of the grant for a low-income or disadvantaged community. Requires the Administrator to: (1) establish within EPA's Office of Water a green infrastructure program to coordinate and promote the use of green infrastructure and to integrate green infrastructure into the permitting programs; (2) direct each EPA regional office to develop a program to promote and integrate the use of green infrastructure within the region; (3) create a green infrastructure compliance assistance center; and (4) establish measurable goals, to be known as the green infrastructure portfolio standard, to increase the percentage of annual water managed by eligible entities that uses green infrastructure.

San Gabriel Watershed Restoration Act

United States · United States Congress · 3 December 2009

San Gabriel Watershed Restoration Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior, in coordination with Los Angeles County, California, to: (1) prepare a feasibility study for environmental ecosystem restoration, flood control, water quality control, water supply storage, outdoor recreation enhancements, and other aspects of the San Gabriel River Watershed revitalization that is consistent with the goals of the San Gabriel River master plan published by that County; and (2) identify demonstration projects for construction and restoration of the San Gabriel River Watershed. Authorizes the Secretary to construct demonstration projects to provide information to develop the study. Limits to 65% the federal share of the cost of any project under this Act.

Endocrine Disruption Prevention Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 3 December 2009

Endocrine Disruption Prevention Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to establish the Endocrine Disruption Prevention Program, under which the Director shall: (1) conduct and support multidisciplinary research to improve the understanding of endocrine disruption; and (2) conduct workshops and fora on health effects associated with environmental agents that may affect the endocrine system. Requires the Director to establish an Endocrine Disruption Program Panel, which shall: (1) provide advice to the Director on the conduct and support of research; (2) evaluate existing population-level biomonitoring and biobanking surveillance and research programs and recommend changes needed to develop data on human exposures and effects to support the Program; and (3) develop a list of chemicals of concern for endocrine disruption effects and make findings with respect to such chemicals. Authorizes individuals to petition the Panel to determine whether a chemical should be listed or to revise a finding or determination based on new information. Requires the Director, if the Panel finds that data are sufficient to determine that there is at least a minimal level of concern associated with a chemical's potential to disrupt the human endocrine system, to transmit the finding, including the routes and sources of exposure to the chemical, to each federal agency with authority to regulate the chemical. Requires each federal agency that receives such a transmission: (1) to reply to the Director describing the agency's regulatory authority, past actions in connection with the chemical, and proposed action to protect human health from the potential endocrine disruption effects of exposure to the chemical; and (2) within one year, to report on the actions taken and future actions proposed by the Agency in response to the Panel's finding. Requires the Director to establish a program to support graduate and postdoctoral training in fields related to the prevention of endocrine disruption.

To amend the Water Resources Development Act of 1996 to make modifications to the Chesapeake Bay environmental restoration and protection program.

United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2009

Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1996 to eliminate the pilot program status of the Chesapeake Bay environmental restoration and protection program. Permits the nonfederal share of project costs of a local cooperation agreement to include in-kind services. Treats funds provided for a project by a federal agency other than the Corps of Engineers as nonfederal funds for purposes of cost sharing requirements. Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to carry out projects under the program in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, with the goal of carrying out projects in Delaware, New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia (currently the Secretary is required to establish at least one project in each of Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania). Directs the Secretary to establish a program, to be administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, to provide small watershed grants for technical and financial assistance to local governments and nonprofit organizations in the Chesapeake Bay region. Permits the use of grant funds only for implementation of cooperative tributary basin and other Chesapeake Bay-wide strategies that address storm water management or the establishment, restoration, protection, or enhancement of natural habitat associated with the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. Increases the authorization of appropriations for the Cheasapeake Bay program. Directs the Secretary to develop at federal expense and submit to Congress a comprehensive plan to prioritize projects within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Brownfield Cleanup Enhancement Act

United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2009

Brownfield Cleanup Enhancement Act - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to authorize appropriations for FY2010 and each fiscal year thereafter for: (1) the brownfield site characterization and assessment grant program and for grants and loans for brownfield remediation; and (2) state and Indian tribe brownfield sites response programs.

TRADE Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2009

Trade Reform, Accountability, Development, and Employment Act of 2009 or the TRADE Act of 2009 - Directs the Comptroller General to: (1) review certain free trade agreements (including Uruguay Round Agreements) between the United States and a trade agreement country to evaluate their economic, employment, environmental, national security, health, safety, and other effects; and (2) report on them to the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committee on Ways and Means, including analyses of specified aspects of each trade agreement and certain information about agreement parties, such as whether the country has a democratic form of government, adopted and enforces certain core labor rights, respects fundamental human rights, enforces rights under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), complies with environmental laws, and poses a potential national security concern. Requires implementing bills of new trade agreements between the United States and another country to include certain standards with respect to: (1) labor; (2) environment and public safety; (3) food and product health and safety; (4) services; (5) investment; (6) procurement; (7) intellectual property; (8) agriculture; (9) trade remedies and safeguards; (10) dispute resolution and enforcement; and (11) technical assistance. Sets forth a point of order to consideration of bills implementing new trade agreements. Requires the President to submit to Congress a plan for the renegotiation of existing trade agreements to bring them into compliance with such standards. Expresses the sense of Congress that certain processes for U.S. trade negotiations should be followed when Congress considers legislation providing special procedures for bills implementing trade agreements.

School Environment Protection Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2009

School Environment Protection Act of 2009 - Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to require each local educational agency (agency) of a school district to implement an integrated pest management (IPM) program that: (1) applies to school buildings and school grounds; (2) establishes an IPM coordinator within the agency; and (3) follows an IPM plan for addressing school pest problems. Prohibits agencies or schools from using: (1) pesticides other than nontoxic or least toxic (as defined in this Act) pesticides; or (2) synthetic fertilizers. Permits an agency or school to use: (1) a least toxic pesticide as part of the IPM program only as a last resort and only if the area or room treated is unoccupied or not in use; and (2) only natural organic fertilizers. Authorizes a school to use a pesticide otherwise if: (1) the school or agency determines that a pest in the school or on school grounds cannot be controlled after having used the IPM program and least toxic pesticides and it is a public health emergency; (2) the IPM coordinator approves of the application of the pesticide product; (3) the area or room treated is vacant during the application and for 24-hours after the application; (4) the application is made by a certified pesticide applicator; and (5) the school notifies the parents or guardians of each student 24 hours before application of the pesticide. Sets forth requirements for such notification. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a National School Integrated Pest Management Advisory Board to: (1) establish uniform standards and criteria for developing IPM; and (2) develop standards for the use of least toxic pesticides in schools. Requires the Administrator to: (1) appoint an official for school pest management within EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs to coordinate the implementation of IPM programs in schools; and (2) publish an IPM plan and a list of products containing the least toxic pesticides and restrictions on their use. Requires each agency, state pesticide lead agency, and the Administrator to create school environments that are protected from pesticides that drift from treated land to school grounds. Establishes the Integrated Pest Management Trust Fund. Requires the Administrator to provide grants to agencies to implement IPM systems.

Women's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2009

Women's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to make grants for the development and operation of centers to conduct multidisciplinary research on environmental factors that may be related to the development of women's health conditions. Requires each such center to: (1) conduct basic or clinical research; (2) develop protocols and conduct training programs for physicians, scientists, nurses, and other health and allied health professionals; (3) disseminate information to such professionals and the public; and (4) emphasize activities that are directed toward preventing the development in women of the diseases and conditions involved. Allows a center to use funds to provide stipends for health and allied health professionals enrolled in training programs. Requires each center to establish and maintain ongoing collaborations with community organizations in the geographic area served by the center, including organizations that represent women or children with disorders that appear to stem from environmental factors. Requires the Director to provide for the coordination of information among centers and ensure regular communication between them. Directs the House Committee on Energy and Commerce to hold a hearing on the Director's implementation of this Act.

Environmental Hormone Disruption Research Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2009

Environmental Hormone Disruption Research Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to establish a comprehensive program to: (1) research the health effects on women and children that may result through disruption of the hormone systems; (2) carry out research, development, and demonstrations on technologies to mitigate the occurrence of hormone-disrupting pollutants in the environment and their unintended effects on ecological and wildlife health, in cooperation with the United States Geological Survey (USGS); and (3) coordinate U.S. research on hormone disruption with research conducted in other nations. Requires the program to provide for: (1) the collection and dissemination of scientifically valid information on human health effects of hormone-disrupting pollutants, the extent of human exposure to such pollutants, and the exposure of wildlife species to such pollutants and possible associated health effects; and (2) research on mechanisms by which such pollutants interact with biological systems, testing for hormone disruption, and the identity and fate of hormone-disrupting pollutants in the environment. Directs the House Committee on Energy and Commerce to hold a hearing on program implementation. Gives the Director principal responsibility for conducting and coordinating research on the unintended effects of hormone-disrupting pollutants on human health and the environment. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish the Hormone Disruption Research Interagency Commission. Establishes a Hormone Disruption Research Panel to make recommendations on the design and implementation of the program.

Conflict Minerals Trade Act

United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2009

Conflict Minerals Trade Act - States that it is U.S. policy to promote peace in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo by supporting efforts of the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, other governments in the Great Lakes Region of Africa, and the international community to: (1) stop commercial activities involving the natural resources of the Democratic Republic of the Congo that contribute to armed groups and human rights violations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and (2) develop stronger governance and economic institutions to improve transparency in the cross-border trade of natural resources in order to reduce exploitation by armed groups and promote local and regional development. Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) produce a Congo Conflict Minerals Map of mineral-rich zones and areas under the control of armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and (2) submit a related report to the appropriate congressional committees. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Commerce to provide guidance to commercial entities seeking to exercise due diligence to ensure that conflict minerals used in their products do not finance armed conflict, result in labor or human rights violations, or damage the environment. Directs the Secretary to: (1) submit a strategy to the appropriate congressional committees addressing linkages between human rights abuses, armed groups, and the mining of conflict minerals; (2) ensure that the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices relating to the Democratic Republic of the Congo or countries that share a border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo include a description of instances where the extraction and cross-border trade in conflict minerals has negatively affected human rights conditions; and (3) include in the annual report to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Investment Committee a description of efforts to ensure that enterprises under U.S. jurisdiction are exercising diligence to ensure that their purchases of minerals or metals are not originating from mines and trading routes that are used to finance armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) should expand programs to assist communities in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo whose livelihoods depend on the mineral trade. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to annually publish in the Federal Register a list of articles specified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States that should be identified as likely containing conflict minerals. Requires importers of articles specified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States that are included on the potential conflict goods list to certify on the importer's Customs declaration that such articles contain conflict minerals or are conflict mineral free. Sets forth: (1) penalties relating to the introduction of goods that contain conflict minerals into the United States; and (2) events that must prior to the expiration of this Act's provisions.

Clean Renewable Water Supply Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2009

Clean Renewable Water Supply Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the issuance, until 2019, of tax-exempt clean renewable water supply bonds to finance certain water recycling, desalination, and groundwater remediation projects that comply with requirements for minimization of environmental impact. Establishes a national clean renewable water supply bond limitation for each of calendar years 2010-2018. Sets forth provsions governing the allocation of such limitation among qualified projects. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct a study of the method of allocation to determine whether a different method would result in the development of projects to provide new supplies of water in a more efficient manner.

After-School Partnerships Improve Results in Education (ASPIRE) Act

United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2009

Afterschool Partnerships Improve Results in Education (ASPIRE) Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to award competitive matching grants to partnerships, composed of a state or local educational agency (LEA) and at least one college or nonprofit, community, tribal, business, labor, or career technical student organization, for the development of national model afterschool interdisciplinary education programs for secondary school students. Directs the Secretary to allot grants to states for matching subgrants to other partnerships, composed of an LEA and at least one college or organization listed above, for the development of afterschool interdisciplinary education programs for secondary school students. Gives grant and subgrant priority to programs targeting a high percentage of impoverished, struggling, or rural students and their families. Requires each partnership grantee and subgrantee to include in its program: (1) at least one activity involving mathematics and science education, language arts, writing, and reading, or history, geography, or social studies; and (2) at least one activity involving career technical education, business and entrepreneurial education, health and wellness, the environment and conservation, or arts and music education. Allows program activities to take place after school, before school, or at any other time that the school is not in session. Directs the Secretary to carry out national activities, such as providing technical assistance to grantees and subgrantees, or conducting a national evaluation of such programs.

National Transportation Safety Board Reauthorization Act of 2010

United States · United States Congress · 10 November 2009

National Transportation Safety Board Reauthorization Act of 2009 - Reauthorizes appropriations to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) for FY2010-FY2014. Revises the term "accident" to expand the NTSB's authority to investigate, at its discretion, accidents not involving the destruction or damage of a vehicle, aircraft, or pipeline, but significantly affecting transportation safety. Authorizes the NTSB by subpoena to summon witnesses and obtain any and all evidence relevant to an accident investigation. Prohibits the NTSB (including agency that has received information from the NTSB) from disclosing publicly any commercial or financial or certain classified information during ongoing NTSB accident investigations. Authorizes public disclosure of such information when necessary, in certain circumstances, to promote transportation safety. Authorizes accident investigation training of NTSB employees in theory and techniques and on transportation safety methods in order to advance NTSB safety recommendations. Revises the authority of the NTSB to investigate transportation accidents to include: (1) freight or passenger railroad accidents involving a fatality (other than a fatality involving a trespasser), substantial property damage, or significant injury to the environment; (2) accidents or incidents in response to an international request and delegation under appropriate conventions, coordinated through the Department of State and accepted by the NTSB; (3) accidents or incidents significantly affecting transportation safety; and (4) accidents involving a commercial space launch vehicle. Authorizes the NTSB, with the consent of the appropriate Secretary, to delegate its authority to investigate: (1) aviation accidents or incidents to the Department of Transportation; and (2) maritime accidents or incidents to the Coast Guard. Authorizes the NTSB, as well as any NTSB officer or employee, to download or seize any recording device and recordings and require specific information only available from the manufacturer to enable the NTSB to read and interpret any flight parameter or navigation storage device or media on board an accident aircraft. Revises requirements for domestic and foreign air carrier plans for addressing the needs of families of passengers involved in aircraft accidents that incur major loss of life. Requires domestic and foreign air carriers to make a reasonable attempt to notify the family of a passenger at least 60 days prior to the planned destruction of any unclaimed property of the passenger.

To amend the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 to repeal a provision of that Act relating to geothermal energy receipts.

United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2009

Amends the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 to repeal provisions that require all monies received by the United States in FY2010 from sales, bonuses, rentals, and royalties under the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to be disposed of as provided by such Act as in effect immediately before enactment of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Puget Sound Recovery Act of 2010

United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2009

Puget Sound Recovery Act of 2009 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) establish a Puget Sound Program Office, to be co-located with the Puget Sound Partnership in Washington; and (2) appoint a Director of the Office. Requires the Administrator, acting through the Director, to: (1) assist and support the implementation of the Puget Sound Action Agenda; (2) provide funding and make grants for implementation of the Agenda and related projects; (3) promote methodologies and technologies that are cost-effective and consistent with the goals and objectives of the Agenda and the EPA permitting processes; (4) coordinate the major functions of the federal government relating to the implementation of the Agenda; (5) coordinate the research and planning projects authorized under this Act with activities of federal and state agencies, tribes, institutions of higher learning, and the Puget Sound Partnership's Science Panel; (6) track progress toward meeting the identified goals and objectives of the Agenda; (7) coordinate projects, programs, and studies for the protection of Puget Sound, the Strait of Georgia, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca with Canadian authorities; (8) collect and make available to the public publications and information relating to the environmental quality of Puget Sound; and (9) implement projects, programs, and studies to implement the Agenda. Establishes a Puget Sound Program Advisory Council to provide advice on the implementation of the Agenda's goals and objectives. Allows the Administrator, acting through the Director, to make grants for projects, programs, and studies to implement the Agenda, including a comprehensive grant to the Partnership to manage such implementation. Requires the President, as part of the annual budget, to submit information regarding expenditures and roles of each federal agency involved in Puget Sound protection and restoration. Requires the Administrator and the Executive Director of the Puget Sound Partnership to a report biennially to Congress on the implementation of the Agenda.

Puget Sound Recovery Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2009

Puget Sound Recovery Act of 2009 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) establish a Puget Sound Program Office, to be co-located with the Puget Sound Partnership in Washington; and (2) appoint a Director of the Office. Requires the Administrator, acting through the Director, to: (1) assist and support the implementation of the Puget Sound Action Agenda; (2) provide funding and make grants for implementation of the Agenda and related projects; (3) promote methodologies and technologies that are cost-effective and consistent with the goals and objectives of the Agenda and the EPA permitting processes; (4) coordinate the major functions of the federal government relating to the implementation of the Agenda; (5) coordinate the research and planning projects authorized under this Act with federal and state agencies, tribes, universities, and the Puget Sound Partnership's Science Panel; (6) track progress toward meeting the identified goals and objectives of the Agenda; (7) coordinate projects, programs, and studies for the protection of Puget Sound, the Strait of Georgia, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca with Canadian authorities; (8) collect and make available to the public publications and information relating to the environmental quality of Puget Sound; and (9) implement projects, programs, and studies to implement the Agenda. Requires the Administrator to establish a Puget Sound Program Advisory Council to provide advice on the implementation of the Agenda's goals and objectives. Requires the Administrator and the Executive Director of the Puget Sound Partnership to a report, biennially, to Congress on implementation of the Agenda. Allows the Administrator, acting through the Director, to make grants for projects, programs, and studies to implement the Agenda, including a comprehensive grant to the Partnership to manage such implementation. Requires the President, as part of the annual budget, to submit information regarding expenditures and roles of each federal agency involved in Puget Sound protection and restoration.

Clean Energy Partnerships Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 4 November 2009

Clean Energy Partnerships Act of 2009 - Requires the Secretary of Agriculture and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish: (1) a program to govern the creation of credits from emission reductions from uncapped domestic sources and sinks; (2) the Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction and Sequestration Advisory Committee to provide scientific and technical advice on the establishment and implementation of such offset program; and (3) a carbon conservation program to provide incentives to landowners or grazing contractor holders to implement projects that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions or sequester or permanently store carbon through conservation easements, sequestration contracts, and timber harvest or grazing contracts with the Department of Agriculture or the Department of the Interior. Requires the Administrator to establish a registry to record approved credits issued under such offset program. Requires each appropriate official to: (1) establish and maintain a list of types of offset projects eligible to generate offset credits under the program; and (2) prescribe regulations to ensure the emission reduction integrity of the offset projects. Authorizes the Administrator to issue offset credits for emissions reduced by specified international projects that reduce deforestation. Provides that a person is not required to hold allowances or credits for emissions resulting from the use of gas as an energy source if the gas is derived from an approved domestic methane offset project. Establishes: (1) the Carbon Conservation Fund for the carbon conservation program; and (2) the Rural Clean Energy Resources Fund to provide assistance for the development of biofuel and bioenergy, including by supporting the Rural Energy for America Program and implementing a research and demonstration program that includes approaches to sequestering carbon through agricultural, grazing, and forestry practices and reducing methane and nitrous oxide emissions associated with agricultural production.

Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2009

Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2009 - Amends the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act to require the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, to: (1) conduct forest management activities in the Lake Tahoe Basin in a manner that helps achieve and maintain the environmental threshold carrying capacities established by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (Agency) and attains multiple ecosystem benefits, unless the attainment of such benefits would excessively increase the project's cost in relation to the additional benefits gained; (2) establish post-project ground condition criteria for ground disturbance caused by forest management activities; and (3) provide for monitoring to ascertain the attainment of such conditions. Requires the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit to: (1) manage vehicular parking and traffic in the Unit; and (2) support the attainment of the environmental threshold carrying capacities. Withdraws federal land located in the Unit from: (1) all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws; (2) location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and (3) disposition under all laws relating to mineral and geothermal leasing. Requires the Chair of the Lake Tahoe Federal Interagency Partnership to submit to Congress a prioritized list of all Environmental Improvement Program projects for the Basin. Authorizes: (1) the Secretary, the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement specified projects and projects included in the prioritized list that have been subject to environmental review and approval under federal and state law and the Tahoe Regional Planning Compact; and (2) funding for such projects. Requires the Director to deploy strategies that meet or exceed specified criteria for preventing the introduction of aquatic invasive species into the Lake Tahoe Basin and that apply to all watercraft to be launched on water within the Basin. Requires the Administrator to implement a Lake Tahoe Science Program that includes: (1) developing and updating an integrated multiagency programmatic assessment and monitoring plan and evaluating the effectiveness of the Agency's Environmental Improvement Program; and (2) providing support to governments in reducing pollutants that contribute to the loss of lake clarity. Provides for the establishment of a grant to develop a Basin watershed strategy.

Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2009

Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2009 - Amends the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act to require the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, to: (1) conduct forest management activities in the Lake Tahoe Basin in a manner that helps achieve and maintain the environmental threshold carrying capacities established by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (Agency) and attains multiple ecosystem benefits, unless the attainment of such benefits would excessively increase the project's cost in relation to the additional benefits gained; (2) establish post-project ground condition criteria for ground disturbance caused by forest management activities; and (3) provide for monitoring to ascertain the attainment of such conditions. Requires the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit to: (1) manage vehicular parking and traffic in the Unit; and (2) support the attainment of the environmental threshold carrying capacities. Withdraws federal land located in the Unit from: (1) all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws; (2) location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and (3) disposition under all laws relating to mineral and geothermal leasing. Requires the Chair of the Lake Tahoe Federal Interagency Partnership to submit to Congress a prioritized list of all Environmental Improvement Program projects for the Basin. Authorizes: (1) the Secretary, the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement specified projects and projects included in the prioritized list that have been subject to environmental review and approval under federal and state law and the Tahoe Regional Planning Compact; and (2) funding for such projects. Requires the Director to deploy strategies that meet or exceed specified criteria for preventing the introduction of aquatic invasive species into the Lake Tahoe Basin and that apply to all watercraft to be launched on water within the Basin. Requires the Administrator to implement a Lake Tahoe Science Program that includes: (1) developing and updating an integrated multiagency programmatic assessment and monitoring plan and evaluating the effectiveness of the Agency's Environmental Improvement Program; and (2) providing support to governments in reducing pollutants that contribute to the loss of lake clarity. Provides for the establishment of a grant to develop a Basin watershed strategy.

A bill to amend the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 to repeal a provision of that Act relating to geothermal energy receipts.

United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2009

Amends the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 to repeal provisions that require all monies received by the United States in FY2010 from sales, bonuses, rentals, and royalties under the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to be disposed of as provided by such Act as in effect immediately before enactment of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Providing for consideration of the conference report to accompany the bill (H.R. 2996) making appropriations for the Department of the Interior, environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2009

Sets forth the rule for consideration of the conference report to accompany the bill (H.R. 2996) making appropriations for the Department of the Interior, environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010.

Natural Resources Climate Adaptation Act

United States · United States Congress · 27 October 2009

Natural Resources Climate Adaptation Act - Declares as the purposes of this Act to: (1) integrate federal agency activities to respond to ongoing and expected impacts of climate change by protecting, restoring, and conserving the natural resources and associated ecosystem services of the United States; and (2) provide financial support and incentives for authorized programs, strategies, and activities to protect, restore, and conserve natural resources and associated ecosystem services in response to threats and effects of climate change. Requires the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce (Secretaries) to: (1) establish procedures for coordinating among federal agencies the development and dissemination of science and information necessary to address the impacts of climate change on natural resources; and (2) issue, with the Secretary of Agriculture, a climate change impact survey that identifies natural resources likely to be adversely affected by climate change. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish the National Fish and Wildlife Habitat and Corridors Information Program to develop a national database regarding fish and wildlife habitat and corridors. Requires the Secretaries and the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a Natural Resources Adaptation Science Advisory Board to advise federal agencies on the impacts of climate change and natural resources adaptation. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish the National Climate Change and Wildlife Center within the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Requires the President to establish a Natural Resources Climate Change Adaptation Panel to develop a Natural Resources Climate Change Adaptation Strategy. Requires each federal agency on the Panel to complete a natural resources adaptation plan. Requires each state seeking funds under this Act to prepare a state natural resources adaptation plan to address the ongoing and expected impacts of climate change on natural resources within the state. Establishes in the Treasury the Natural Resources Climate Change Adaptation Fund to provide funding to states to carry out natural resources adaptation activities.

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to prohibit the sale of dishwashing detergent in the United States if the detergent contains a high level of phosphorus, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 27 October 2009

Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prohibit the sale in the United States of residential dishwashing detergent that contains phosphorus in any form in excess of 0.5% (by weight expressed as elemental phosphorus) beginning July 1, 2010. Requires the Administrator to: (1) review the available scientific information pertaining to nutrient excesses in the Great Lakes; and (2) recommend to Congress actions to be taken by EPA to address such nutrient excesses.

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should adopt a target of 350 parts per million of atmospheric carbon dioxide by which to evaluate domestic and international climate change policies, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2009

Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should: (1) adopt a target of 350 parts per million of atmospheric carbon dioxide by which to evaluate domestic and international climate change policies; and (2) develop domestic and international policies that are sufficiently flexible to accommodate advancing science in the event that a change in that target becomes warranted.

Clean Cruise Ship Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 21 October 2009

Clean Cruise Ship Act of 2009 - Declares the purpose of this Act to be the establishment of national standards and prohibitions for discharges from cruise vessels. Defines "cruise vessel" as a passenger vessel that is authorized to carry at least 250 passengers and has onboard sleeping facilities for each passenger. Excludes vessels owned or operated by federal, state, or local governments. Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to prohibit cruise vessels departing from, or calling on, a U.S. port from discharging effluents, including sewage or sewage sludge, incinerator ash, hazardous waste, graywater, or bilge water, into navigable waters. Allows an exception for discharges made solely to secure the safety of a cruise vessel or to save a human life at sea. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) promulgate effluent limits for sewage, graywater, and bilge water discharges from cruise vessels; (2) establish dates for compliance with such limits; (3) require sampling, monitoring, and reporting to ensure compliance with such limits and other applicable requirements; and (4) establish an inspection program to ensure the compliance of cruise vessels with the requirements of this Act. Requires the Commandant of the Coast Guard, in consultation with the Administrator, to establish and carry out a program for hiring and placing trained, independent, observers on cruise vessels to monitor and inspect vessel operations, equipment, and discharges. Establishes in the Treasury the Cruise Vessel Pollution Control Fund. Requires the Commandant and the Administrator to collect fees from cruise vessels and deposit such fees in the Fund for use in carrying out this Act.