Environment

5 Mr. Dukes asked the Minister for the Environment his views on the European Parliament's proposal for a ban on EC exports of waste, including dangerous re-cycled materials, to countries other than OECD countries which are parties to the Basle Convention; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 23 February 1993

5 Mr. Dukes asked the Minister for the Environment his views on the European Parliament's proposal for a ban on EC exports of waste, including dangerous re-cycled materials, to countries other than OECD countries which are parties to the Basle Convention; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

6 Ms Keogh asked the Minister for the Environment if, in view of the fact that Ireland was required to introduce the EC Directive on freedom of access to environmental information by 31 December, 1992, he will give details of when it will be introduced; and if he will ensure that this is done as comprehensively as possible.

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 23 February 1993

6 Ms Keogh asked the Minister for the Environment if, in view of the fact that Ireland was required to introduce the EC Directive on freedom of access to environmental information by 31 December, 1992, he will give details of when it will be introduced; and if he will ensure that this is done as comprehensively as possible.

4 Mr. Dukes asked the Minister for the Environment the measures, if any, which are required to transpose the EC Directive on the freedom of access to information on the environment, directive 90/313/EEC, into national legislation; when he proposes to initiate this action; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 23 February 1993

4 Mr. Dukes asked the Minister for the Environment the measures, if any, which are required to transpose the EC Directive on the freedom of access to information on the environment, directive 90/313/EEC, into national legislation; when he proposes to initiate this action; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Antarctic Environmental Protocol Act of 1993

United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1993

Antarctic Environmental Protocol Act of 1993 - Directs the Secretary of State to appoint a U.S. representative to the Committee for Environmental Protection (Committee) under the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (Treaty) (done at Madrid in October 1991). Makes it unlawful for any person to: (1) conduct an activity within Antarctica in a manner inconsistent with the Protocol; (2) engage in or knowingly provide assistance to any Antarctica mineral resource activity; (3) introduce any prohibited product within Antarctica; (4) conduct open burning, or operate a landfill at a U.S. coastal facility, within Antarctica; (5) bring any dog into Antarctica; (6) use leaded fuel at a U.S. facility or in a U.S. vessel or aircraft within Antarctica; (7) transport passengers within Antarctica in a vessel subject to U.S. jurisdiction unless the owner or operator is required to comply with the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships; (8) engage in specified activities without a permit; (9) violate any terms of this Act; (10) have control of any native bird, mammal, plant, or invertebrate or mineral resource which the person knows was taken in violation of this Act; (11) refuse to permit any authorized U.S. employee to board a U.S. vessel for conducting any search or inspection in connection with enforcement; or (12) interfere with any search or interfere with or resist a lawful arrest or detention. Waives the prohibition on activities conducted without a permit under emergency circumstances. Prohibits specified activities in Antarctica except in accordance with a permit. Prohibits the issuance of a permit unless there is sufficient information to assess possible environmental impacts. Provides that permits which authorize any taking may only be issued for providing specimens for scientific study or for the unavoidable consequences of scientific research activities and subjects permit issuance to certain conditions. Establishes conditions for the issuance of permits for: (1) takings of specially protected species; (2) the introduction of nonindigenous animals or plants; and (3) entry into specially-protected areas. Requires permits which authorize the construction or operation of incinerators to: (1) reduce emissions and restrict incinerated material to food waste; and (2) prohibit the operation of incinerators after 1994, unless there is no alternative for the disposal of food. Authorizes Federal agency activities in Antarctica if the agency monitors them and verifies a minor or transitory environmental impact. Directs Federal agencies, if activities will have more than a minor or transitory environmental impact, to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS). Directs the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, to issue regulations establishing procedures for the environmental assessment of nongovernmental activities in Antarctica. Provides for review of an EIS by the Treaty parties and the Committee prior to permission for an activity to proceed. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary, to implement a plan for monitoring activities within Antarctica that have more than a minor or transitory environmental impact. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary, to develop requirements for contingency plans for responses to incidents with adverse environmental impacts in Antarctica. Requires the Secretary of State to circulate to all Treaty parties all inspection and compliance reports. Prescribes civil and criminal penalties for violations of this Act. Amends the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships to apply Annex IV of the Protocol to all ships of U.S. registry and all ships under U.S. jurisdiction. Applies Protocol requirements to ships currently excluded from the requirements of such Act. Requires the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to administer the Protocol. Repeals the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 and the Antarctic Protection Act of 1990. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the prohibition on Antarctic mineral resource activities should remain in effect permanently or indefinitely; (2) the Secretary of State should enter into negotiations with other Treaty parties to conclude an agreement on procedures for liability for damage arising from activities in Antarctica; and (3) the results of all investigations relating to geological processes and structures should be made available to the public. Authorizes appropriations.

Interstate Transportation of Municipal Waste Act of 1993

United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1993

Interstate Transportation of Municipal Waste Act of 1993 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize a State Governor, if requested by an affected local government and a local solid waste planning unit, to prohibit the disposal of out-of-State municipal waste in: (1) any landfill or incinerator in the State; and (2) landfill cells that do not meet the State's design and location standards and leachate collection and groundwater monitoring requirements for new landfills. Permits such Governors, without the request of such entities, to limit the quantity of out-of-State municipal waste received for disposal, or the disposal of such waste, at landfills covered by exceptions under this Act. Prohibits discrimination against any particular landfill and against shipments of out-of-State waste on the basis of State of origin. Exempts from a Governor's authority to prohibit the disposal of out-of-State waste: (1) landfills that received documented shipments of such waste in 1991 and are in compliance with State laws relating to design and location standards, leachate collection, groundwater monitoring, and financial assurance for closure and post-closure and corrective action; (2) proposed landfills that, prior to January 1, 1993, received an approval from the affected local government to receive municipal waste generated outside of the county or State and a State notice of decision to grant a construction permit; or (3) incinerators that received documented shipments of such waste during 1991 and are in compliance with performance standards under the Clean Air Act and State laws relating to facility design and operations. Authorizes States to collect fees on the combustion or disposal of out-of-State municipal waste.

States Solid Waste Regulatory Authority Act

United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1993

States Solid Waste Regulatory Authority Act - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize each State to enact and enforce laws: (1) imposing fees on the treatment, disposal, and other disposition of solid waste; and (2) banning the importation of solid waste beginning five years after enactment of this Act if the State has an approved solid waste management plan. Requires State solid waste management plans to require that the State: (1) identify the amount of solid wastes by waste type that are reasonably expected to be generated within the State or accepted from another State during the ten-year period following enactment of this Act; (2) identify the amount of solid waste to be reduced during such ten-year period through source reduction, recycling, and resource recovery; and (3) assure the availability of solid waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities. Requires that a State solid waste management plan: (1) require laws, regulations, and ordinances for the development of new and expanded solid waste management facilities; (2) describe solid waste management practices that promote source reduction and recycling; (3) identify existing State and regional markets for recyclable materials and actions that the State will take to develop recycling markets; (4) provide that all solid waste management facilities shall register with the State and that only registered facilities may manage solid waste identified in the plan; (5) provide for technical and financial assistance to local communities to meet plan requirements; and (6) specify the conditions under which the State will authorize a person to accept solid waste from other States. Sets forth additional plan requirements, unless the State demonstrates that their inclusion is impracticable, including: (1) a policy requiring the procurement of recycled products; (2) a program to encourage composting; (3) a system for curbside pickup or separation of recyclable materials; and (4) a policy requiring the separation of recyclable materials prior to treatment or disposal and requiring a surcharge on tipping fees for solid waste from commercial establishments or office buildings that is not source-separated before delivery to waste facilities. Requires States to submit plans for approval.

Rural Community Clean Water Assistance Act of 1993

United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1993

Rural Community Clean Water Assistance Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to make grants to States, municipalities, and other appropriate agencies for the construction of publicly owned water treatment works located in economically distressed rural communities and for certain other water pollution control purposes. States the Federal share of such grants to be 90 percent of the construction costs. Provides for the allotment of available funds to States for such construction. Requires such funds to be obligated within the fiscal year authorized and the succeeding fiscal year, after which time a reallotment shall occur. Authorizes appropriations.

Long Island Sound Restoration Act

United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1993

Long Island Sound Restoration Act - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to carry out a demonstration program to make annual grants to the States of New York and Connecticut for: (1) demonstrating methods of restoring and maintaining the water quality of designated bays and harbors of Long Island Sound at which water quality standards pursuant to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act have not been achieved or at which other significant water quality degradation has occurred; (2) demonstrating the importance of controlling nonpoint sources of pollution in restoring and maintaining water quality; (3) enhancing opportunities for water-dependent recreational activities, maintaining a healthy ecosystem, protecting and enhancing marine life, minimizing health risks associated with human consumption of shellfish and finfish, and ensuring that social and economic benefits to the public associated with the Sound are advanced; and (4) advancing goals and recommendations of the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan of the Long Island Sound Study. Requires the States of New York and Connecticut, in order to be eligible for grants, to designate bays and harbors of the Sound at which eligible activities will be carried out. Requires grants to be used to: (1) carry out eligible activities and monitoring programs at designated bays and harbors; and (2) educate the public on the implementation and results of such activities. Authorizes appropriations.

Energy Independence, Infrastructure, and Investment Act of 1993

United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1993

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Energy Independence Incentives Title II: Infrastructure Incentives Title III: Investment Incentives Energy Independence, Infrastructure, and Investment Act of 1993 - Title I: Energy Independence Incentives - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax on the first sale within the United States of any crude oil or refined petroleum product imported into the United States. (The tax is imposed on first use if no prior tax has been imposed.) Exempts crude oil and refined petroleum products purchased for export. Title II: Infrastructure Incentives - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the percentage depletion for stripper wells. Repeals the net income limitation on percentage depletion for oil and gas properties. Establishes a crude oil and natural gas exploration and development tax credit. Allows a ten percent credit for qualified investments exceeding $1 million, 20 percent for those of $1 million or less. Permits the credit as an offset against both minimum tax liability and regular liability. Requires any deduction allowed for costs taken into account in computing such credit to be reduced by the amount of the credit attributable to such costs. Establishes a marginal production income tax credit for producers who maintain economically unproductive oil wells. Applies the credit to domestic crude that is: (1) from stripper well property; (2) heavy oil; or (3) oil recovered through a tertiary recovery method. Expands the enhanced oil recovery tax credit to apply to the advanced secondary recovery costs of independent producers. Increases the required production of barrels of oil or natural gas per day for stripper wells. Title III: Investment Incentives - Treats certain geological and geophysical costs and surface casing costs as intangible drilling and development costs that a taxpayer may elect to amortize or to deduct for income tax purposes. Makes depreciation adjustments in computing such income inapplicable to environmental improvement assets.

Indian Agricultural Resources Management Act of 1993

United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1993

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: General Provisions Title II: Rangeland and Farmland Enhancement Title III: Education in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Title IV: Authorization of Appropriations Title V: Miscellaneous Indian Agricultural Resources Management Act of 1993 - Title I: General Provisions - States that existing Federal laws do not sufficiently assure the adequate and necessary trust management of Indian rangelands and farmlands. Title II: Rangeland and Farmland Enhancement - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to manage Indian rangelands and farmlands, either directly or through cooperative agreements, self-determination contracts, and grants under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act. Requires a reservation-by-reservation resource management planning program. Requires the Secretary's recognition of tribal governments for purposes of their participation in such land management activities. Requires compliance with tribal laws pertaining to Indian agricultural lands. Directs the Secretary to assemble a task force to develop a comparative analysis of Federal investment and management efforts for Indian trust lands as compared to federally owned lands managed by other Federal agencies. Authorizes the Secretary to approve leasing of Indian rangelands or farmlands under specified conditions. Sets forth rights of individual land owners. Title III: Education in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management - Requires the establishment, in the Bureau of Indian Affairs or elsewhere, of at least 20 natural resources intern positions for Indians and Alaska Native students. Requires establishment of a cooperative education program for employment of Indian and Alaska Native students in Federal professional natural resource-related positions. Authorizes a scholarship program and requires outreach programs, postgraduate recruitment programs, education and training programs, and internships to attract and train Indians and Alaska Natives in careers in Indian natural resources management. Authorizes cooperative agreements between the Department of the Interior and Indian tribes for: (1) manpower and job training; (2) environmental education and natural resources planning materials development and publication; and (3) land and natural resource management and development activities. Title IV: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations. Title V: Miscellaneous - Provides for regulations and severability of this Act. Prohibits construing this Act as diminishing or expanding U.S. trust responsibility.

Environmental Innovation Research Act of 1993

United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1993

Environmental Innovation Research Act of 1993 - Establishes an Office for the Development of Critical Environmental Technology in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Requires the EPA Administrator, acting through the Office Director, to: (1) carry out a critical environmental technology research program; and (2) conduct an environmental innovation research program. Requires the heads of covered Federal agencies (agencies for which more than $50 million per fiscal year is made available for environmental research and development or cleanup) to establish research programs for the commercialization of critical environmental technology to: (1) further the progress of cleanup and pollution prevention activities; and (2) avoid future pollution and cleanup problems. Directs such agencies to set aside funding for such programs. Sets forth phases of such programs and authorizes agreements with private businesses to carry out such research. Requires the Office Director to compile an annotated list of critical environmental technologies. Establishes a Critical Environmental Technology Task Force to coordinate the distribution of critical environmental technology and data, review research proposals, and ensure complementary research efforts. Directs the heads of covered Federal agencies to report annually to the Director on funding agreements under the environmental technology program and the percentage of successful commercialization efforts in critical environmental technology. Requires the Administrator to promulgate guidelines for Federal environmental innovation research programs. Directs the Administrator to survey and monitor all phases of the research programs of covered agencies. Authorizes appropriations.

Aboveground Storage Tank Act of 1993

United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1993

Aboveground Storage Tank Act of 1993 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to regulate aboveground storage tanks used to store regulated substances. Requires owners of such tanks to provide State or local authorities with all relevant particulars about such tanks, including age, size, type, location, and uses. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to issue notification and performance standards for such tanks. Requires the State to inventory all such tanks containing regulated substances, one inventory for petroleum, and another for all other regulated substances. Requires the Administrator to issue release detection, prevention, and correction regulations, including requirements for leak detection systems, reporting, release prevention, closure, upgrades, and evidence of financial responsibility. Permits corrective actions by the Administrator or State to protect human health and the environment, but makes owners or operators of tanks liable for costs. Authorizes States to conduct Administrator-approved programs to enforce this Act. Directs the Administrator to provide technical assistance to States, local governments, and owners and operators to assist in compliance with State programs. Sets forth authorized actions when a facility owner or operator has not complied with or cannot meet financial responsibility requirements. Requires owners or operators of tanks to furnish the relevant government employees with all necessary information, including submitting their facilities to inspection and monitoring. Provides for confidentiality of such information and criminal penalties for prohibited disclosure. Authorizes the use of compliance orders to enforce this Act, providing daily civil penalties for noncompliance. Includes tanks under Federal jurisdiction under this Act, permitting exemptions of up to one year upon the President's specific request. Requires that all exemptions be reported annually to the Congress. Directs the Administrator to study and report to the Congress on aboveground storage tanks used for both the storage of petroleum and of other regulated substances. Authorizes appropriations.

Omnibus Committee Funding Resolution for 1993 and 1994

United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1993

Omnibus Committee Funding Resolution for 1993 and 1994 - Authorizes expenditures by the following Senate committees and a joint committee from March 1, 1993, through September 30, 1994, and for the period March 1, 1994, through February 28, 1995: (1) Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; (2) Appropriations; (3) Armed Services; (4) Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; (5) Budget; (6) Commerce, Science, and Transportation; (7) Energy and Natural Resources; (8) Environment and Public Works; (9) Finance; (10) Foreign Relations; (11) Governmental Affairs; (12) Judiciary; (13) Labor and Human Resources; (14) Rules and Administration; (15) Small Business; (16) Veterans' Affairs; (17) Aging; (18) Intelligence; (19) Indian Affairs; and (20) Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress. Authorizes the transfer of any unexpended balance of any committee to a special reserve to assist such committee during the transition to a biennial budget. Earmarks a minimum amount to be reserved for each Committee.

Minor Crop Protection Act of 1994

United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1993

Minor Crop Pesticides Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to define "minor use" as the use of a pesticide on an animal or a commercial agricultural crop or site or for the protection of public health where: (1) the use does not provide sufficient economic incentive to support registration; and (2) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not determined that the use presents an unreasonable adverse environmental effect. Prohibits data that relates solely to a minor use, without the permission of the original data submitter, from being considered by the Administrator to support a minor use application by another person for ten years following the submission of the data. Requires the Administrator, upon the request of a registrant, to extend the deadline for the production of residue chemistry data required solely to support a minor use pesticide up to two years subject to specified conditions. Applies the same extension conditions to data for reregistrations. Permits the Administrator, in handling the registration of a pesticide for a minor use, to waive applicable data requirements if such use does not have an adverse environmental effect. Provides for expedited review (within six months of submission) of applications to support minor use pesticide registrations. Requires the Administrator to conditionally amend a registration to permit additional minor uses even if data is insufficient if the applicant has submitted satisfactory data pertaining to the proposed minor use and amending such registration would not increase environmental risks. Authorizes the Administrator to conditionally register or amend the registration of a pesticide for a minor use if: (1) the active ingredient is being supported for reregistration; (2) the minor use was a registered use of a product that has been canceled, proposed for cancellation, or deleted as a use after December 24, 1988; and (3) the use requires only residue chemistry data for reregistration. Outlines additional requirements for conditional registrations. Directs EPA to assure coordination of minor use issues through the establishment of a minor use program. Establishes and authorizes funding for a Department of Agriculture minor use matching fund program. Requires the program to be utilized to ensure the continued availability of minor use crop protection chemicals. Authorizes appropriations.

Business and Urban Partnership Act

United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1993

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Designation of Targeted Urban Areas Title II: Federal Income Tax Incentives Title III: Regulatory Flexibility Title IV: Establishment of Foreign-Trade Zones in Targeted Urban Areas Title V: Repeal of Title VII of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 Business and Urban Partnership Act - Title I: Designation of Targeted Urban Areas - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the designation of targeted urban areas by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Requires such areas to be within the jurisdiction of a qualified city and to have a required course of action designed to reduce the various burdens borne by employers or employees in the area, including tax relief and regulatory belief. Requires the Secretary to report biennially to the Congress on the effects of targeted urban areas designations. Provides for the coordination of such designations with relocation assistance programs and environmental policy. Title II: Federal Income Tax Incentives - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a refundable tax credit to area employers for 50 percent of the qualified expenses of: (1) employee accident or health plan coverage; (2) employee dependent care assistance; and (3) employee job training expenses. Allows employers to treat the cost of qualified area property as an expense which is not chargeable to capital account. Allows such cost as a deduction for the year in which the property is placed in service. Allows an individual a deduction for the amount paid for the purchase of targeted urban area stock. Imposes an interest charge if such stock is disposed of within five years of its purchase. Limits area stock in a corporation to $5 million. Requires the allocating commission of a targeted area to make allocations of credit amounts, expense treatment amounts, and area stock deduction amounts. Provides for determining limitations on such amounts. Allows targeted urban area incentives in determining the alternative minimum tax. Title III: Regulatory Flexibility - Revises the definition of "small entity" for purposes of the analysis of regulatory functions to include qualified business, government, and nonprofit enterprises operating within targeted urban areas. Provides for the waiver or modification of agency rules in targeted areas in order to further the job creation, community development, or economic revitalization objectives within such areas. Authorizes the Secretary to convene regional and local coordinating councils of appropriate agencies to assist State and local governments in achieving the required course of action. Title IV: Establishment of Foreign-Trade Zones in Targeted Urban Areas - Requires targeted areas to receive priority in the designation of foreign trade zones. Title V: Repeal of Title VII of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 - Repeals title VII (enterprise zone development) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987.

Emergency Climate Stabilization and Earth Regeneration Act of 1992

United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1993

Emergency Climate Stabilization and Earth Regeneration Act of 1992 - Declares that the purpose of this Act is to establish a process through which the Congress and the President shall cooperate in a national and international program to: (1) reduce heat, drought, famine, tornadoes, and forest fires and to decrease the freezing extremes, snow buildup, flooding, cloud cover, and storms in the winter; (2) regenerate the earth through reforestation, soil and ocean remineralization, conservation, and alternative energy technology development; (3) maximize food and agricultural security; and (4) create a secure, environmentally sustainable way of life consistent with long-term climate stabilization. Sets forth specific ways to achieve reduction of carbon dioxide. Directs the President to provide for a climatic stabilization program and for information development and processing centers to process data concerning world climatic conditions. Directs the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate to take steps to establish a Joint Committee on Climate Stabilization. Establishes a Council on Climate Stabilization and Earth Regeneration as an independent Federal agency. Requires the President to provide for a unified crisis management operation to minimize damage from, and to maintain agricultural and industrial production under, changing atmospheric conditions that cause natural disasters. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a corporate tax surcharge. Terminates such tax for tax years after December 31, 1996. Establishes a Climate Stabilization Trust Fund to be composed of the amount of corporate tax surcharges received in the Treasury. Makes the Fund available to carry out this Act. Authorizes appropriations.

Comprehensive Early Childhood Education Act of 1995

United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1993

Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to authorize appropriations for FY 1994 through 1997.

Antarctic Environmental Protection Act of 1993

United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1993

Antarctic Environmental Protection Act of 1993 - Amends the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978 to revise provisions concerning prohibited acts to make it unlawful for any person (currently, U.S. citizen) to: (1) engage in any taking or harmful interference in Antarctica; (2) introduce into Antarctica any nonnative species; (3) enter any Antarctic specially protected area; or (4) discharge, dispose of, or introduce any waste or pollutant within Antarctica, except as permitted by the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships. Makes it unlawful for any person to: (1) engage in or provide assistance to any Antarctic mineral resource activity; (2) ship, sell, import, export, or have control of any Antarctic mineral resource that was recovered as a result of such activity; (3) refuse to permit any U.S. official to board a vessel, vehicle, or aircraft for a search or inspection in connection with enforcement; or (4) interfere with a search, arrest, or detention for prohibited acts. Exempts from such prohibition any act committed under emergency circumstances. Revises requirements for the issuance of permits authorizing takings or harmful interferences or introductions of nonnative species in Antarctica. Requires certain regulations prescribed by the Secretary of State to apply to any person's (currently, U.S. citizen's) advance notification of expeditions to, and within, Antarctica. Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations to require nongovernmental activities in Antarctica for which the United States is required to give advance notice under the Antarctic Treaty to provide for prompt response actions to emergencies and to comply with contingency plans. Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation to prescribe regulations to implement the environmental impact assessment provisions of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty with respect to governmental activities in Antarctica. Directs the Secretary to prescribe such regulations for nongovernmental activities in Antarctica. Directs the Secretary to designate the U.S. representative to the Committee for Environmental Protection. Expands penalty and enforcement provisions. Repeals the Antarctic Protection Act of 1990. Directs the President to establish an Antarctic Environmental Protection Commission to review the compliance of all U.S. Antarctic Program stations, field camps, and operations with the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978.

Urban Environmental Initiative Act

United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1993

Urban Environmental Initiative Act - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) report to the Congress on health-based State laws and standards for the cleanup of sites at which hazardous substances were released or disposed; and (2) make recommendations to States on such standards, including guidance on the development of standards for sites in urban areas. Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress on State property transfer laws and whether such laws: (1) promote better land management practices; (2) help locate sites on which hazardous substances have been released or disposed; and (3) provide better protection for the buyer. Directs the Administrator to establish a computer data base that contains a national Superfund site inventory and includes information on any Federal action at a site or facility at which a hazardous substance was released or disposed. Requires the Administrator to: (1) prepare a list of Superfund sites located in urban areas that would be suitable for economic development ("targeted sites"); and (2) carry out a study of the effectiveness of technologies for conducting response actions at targeted sites. Authorizes the Administrator, in any case in which a person purchases a targeted site for purposes of economic development, to provide a covenant not to sue such person under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) for a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance at such site. Requires such covenants to: (1) not take effect unless the person enters into an agreement to complete remedial action at the site; and (2) include an exception that allows the Administrator to sue for future liability where such liability arises out of conditions unknown at the time the Administrator enters into a remedial action agreement. Directs the Administrator, in determining which sites to give priority for response action under CERCLA, to give preference to targeted sites that are located in the most populous areas, pose the greatest threat to human health, and have the greatest potential for economic development. Authorizes the Administrator to provide technical and financial assistance to States for implementing this Act and CERCLA. Authorizes appropriations.

Asbestos Management Incentive Act

United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1993

Asbestos Management Incentive Act - Absolves lending institutions that make loans or credit secured by liens on commercial buildings from liability resulting from asbestos material in any case in which the building was constructed during the five-year period ending on the date that the loan was made and the building's construction manager certifies that the building contains no asbestos-containing material, or in the case of any building: (1) for which an asbestos inspection was conducted after January 1, 1989, and during such five-year period; (2) that has not been significantly rebuilt in the area that contains such material since that inspection was completed; (3) for which that portion of material recommended for removal has been removed; and (4) for which an operations and maintenance program is currently being conducted. Bars immunity from liability if the lending institution requires: (1) removal of material that the management planner has recommended be handled in place; or (2) an asbestos inspection of the building despite the fact that the loan applicant demonstrates that certain conditions have been satisfied or that all such material has been removed. Makes immunity inapplicable to a subsidiary of a lending institution if the subsidiary is the person to whom the loan is made. Continues liability for institutions that acquire title to a building through foreclosure as long as the institution maintains an operation and maintenance program. Sets forth requirements for asbestos inspections and management planner qualifications. Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act to prohibit persons from preparing asbestos management plans for public or commercial buildings unless they are accredited. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) promulgate regulations governing the inspection and management of asbestos in public and commercial buildings; and (2) update and revise asbestos guidance documents periodically. Requires, after an asbestos inspection: (1) the remaining asbestos-containing material to be visually inspected every six months; (2) all remaining material in public and maintenance areas of the building to be prominently labeled; and (3) a report to be completed and made available to maintenance workers.

Local Government Interstate Waste Control Act

United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1993

Local Government Interstate Waste Control Act - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to prohibit owners or operators of landfills, incinerators, or other waste disposal facilities from receiving municipal solid waste generated outside their State unless they obtain authorization from the affected local government. Exempts from such prohibition: (1) landfills that, as of this Act's enactment date, complied with State laws relating to design and location standards, leachate collection, groundwater monitoring, and financial assurance for closure and post-closure care and corrective action and, during 1991, accepted municipal solid waste generated outside the State or, before this Act's enactment date, obtained authorization to accept such waste; (2) persons planning to own or operate a landfill, incinerator, or other waste disposal facility who obtained authorization to accept such waste before this Act's enactment; and (3) incinerators that accepted such waste during 1991 or obtained authorization before this Act's enactment. Considers expansions of landfills, incinerators, or waste disposal facilities to be separate facilities requiring authorization. Exempts owners or operators of such facilities from the requirement to obtain additional authorizations if: (1) at the time they obtained authorization, they possessed an option to purchase the land on which the expansion is proposed to occur; and (2) the area of expansion was indicated in documents filed with the affected local government before obtaining authorization; or (3) with respect to facilities exempted from authorization requirements, they possessed an option to purchase the land for the expansion during 1991. Authorizes State Governors to prohibit local government authorizations if the disposal of out-of-State waste is using solid waste management capacity required to be used for waste generated within the local government's region. Permits a Governor, if requested by an affected local government and local solid waste planning unit, to limit the amount of out-of-State waste received at landfills exempted from authorization requirements. Makes this Act inapplicable after 1996 unless each operating landfill in a State: (1) meets design and location standards applicable to landfills constructed on and after October 1993; or (2) is on an enforceable schedule to stop receiving waste by 2000 and to implement a closure plan.

Joint Commission for the United States-Mexico Border Region Resolution

United States · United States Congress · 18 February 1993

Joint Commission for the United States-Mexico Border Region Resolution - Urges the President to reach an agreement with Mexico on the establishment of a joint commission between the United States and Mexico to help alleviate public health and environmental problems in the U.S.-Mexico border region caused by the lack of environmental infrastructure in the region, the growing shortages of ground and surface water resources shared by both nations, and the increased levels of commerce, trade, and economic development under the North American Free Trade Agreement. Urges the Commission to establish: (1) and oversee a Border Environmental Guaranty Fund to provide financial guarantees for the repayment of debt instruments issued by public and private financial organizations to fund projects to create, replace, or improve the environmental infrastructure in the region; (2) a program to provide for technical assistance and the exchange of personnel for environmental coordination activities between the United States and Mexico; (3) procedures to promote increased public participation and public disclosure relating to public health and environmental issues in the region; and (4) a U.S.-Mexico Border Volunteer Service to work to expand specified activities of the Senior Corps of Retired Executives, provide certain assistance and advice to border area not-for-profit organizations, and promote initiatives aimed at increasing the level of corporate philanthropy among businesses in the region for alleviating public health and environmental problems. Directs the Commission to submit an annual report to both the United States and Mexican Governments regarding its activities.

Les problèmes posés par le traitement des déchets hospitaliers

France · Senate · 17 February 1993

Les problèmes posés par le traitement des déchets hospitaliers

Department of Environmental Protection Act

United States · United States Congress · 17 February 1993

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Redesignation of Environmental Protection Agency as Department of Environmental Protection Title II: Administrative Provisions Department of Environmental Protection Act - Title I: Redesignation of Environmental Protection Agency as Department of Environmental Protection - Redesignates the Environmental Protection Agency as the Department of Environmental Protection, an executive department to be administered by a Secretary of Environmental Protection appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Title II: Administrative Provisions - Sets forth administrative provisions applicable to such designation.

Energy Independence, Infrastructure, and Investment Act of 1993

United States · United States Congress · 16 February 1993

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Energy Independence Incentives Title II: Infrastructure Incentives Title III: Investment Incentives Energy Independence, Infrastructure, and Investment Act of 1993 - Title I: Energy Independence Incentives - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax on the first sale within the United States of any crude oil or refined petroleum product imported into the United States. (The tax is imposed on first use if no prior tax has been imposed.) Exempts crude oil and refined petroleum products purchased for export. Title II: Infrastructure Incentives - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the percentage depletion for stripper wells. Repeals the net income limitation on percentage depletion for oil and gas properties. Establishes a crude oil and natural gas exploration and development tax credit. Allows a ten percent credit for qualified investments exceeding $1 million, 20 percent for those of $1 million or less. Permits the credit as an offset against both minimum tax liability and regular liability. Requires any deduction allowed for costs taken into account in computing such credit to be reduced by the amount of the credit attributable to such costs. Establishes a marginal production income tax credit for producers who maintain economically unproductive oil wells. Applies the credit to domestic crude that is: (1) from stripper well property; (2) heavy oil; or (3) oil recovered through a tertiary recovery method. Expands the enhanced oil recovery tax credit to apply to the advanced secondary recovery costs of independent producers. Increases the required production of barrels of oil or natural gas per day for stripper wells. Title III: Investment Incentives - Treats certain geological and geophysical costs and surface casing costs as intangible drilling and development costs that a taxpayer may elect to amortize or to deduct for income tax purposes. Makes depreciation adjustments in computing such income inapplicable to environmental improvement assets.

Environmental Programs Assistance Act of 1984 Amendments of 1993

United States · United States Congress · 16 February 1993

Environmental Programs Assistance Act of 1984 Amendments of 1993 - Amends the Environmental Programs Assistance Act of 1984 to require older workers authorized to be used in connection with pollution control programs administered by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to have the same access as Federal employees have to, and be subject to the same penalties for disclosure of, confidential business information submitted pursuant to any contract with the United States, obtained by an EPA employee, or submitted in connection with the: (1) Solid Waste Disposal Act; (2) Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980; (3) Federal Water Pollution Control Act; (4) Clean Air Act; (5) Public Health Service Act; (6) Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act; (7) Toxic Substances Control Act; (8) Noise Control Act of 1972; (9) Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; or (10) Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986. Makes such individuals subject to Federal criminal code provisions concerning ethics and conflict of interests.

To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

United States · United States Congress · 16 February 1993

Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to make such Act inapplicable to the taking or jeopardy of an endangered species if such activity results from the modification of a water habitat located in or fed by a sole source aquifer designated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

To disqualify any individual or business concern who violates a Federal environmental law, or who holds a beneficial business interest in a person who has violated such a law, from being eligible to receive certain benefits from the Environmental Protection Agency for a period of 10 years.

United States · United States Congress · 16 February 1993

Denies Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) benefits for ten years to any person: (1) convicted of violating a Federal environmental law; or (2) found to have held a beneficial business interest in a business concern required to be listed on a disclosure statement under this Act and convicted of violating a Federal environmental law. Prohibits the EPA Administrator from denying benefits to any person who demonstrates that he has been rehabilitated. Requires the following persons to file disclosure statements with the Administrator: (1) Federal environmental permit applicants; (2) applicants for EPA loans, grants, or other benefits; or (3) persons submitting contract bids or competitive proposals to EPA. Provides for enforcement of this Act through EPA examination of disclosure statements and access to business sites and records. Grants persons declared to be ineligible for EPA benefits the opportunity for a hearing. Provides for public access to disclosure statements and business records, with the exception of confidential information.

proposition de loi tendant à modifier la loi n° 76-663 du 19 juillet 1976 relative aux installations classées pour la protection de l'environnement et le code de l'urbanisme

France · Senate · 11 February 1993

Sanierung einer Lederfabrik in Lhasa/Tibet angesichts der Umwelt- und Gesundheitsbelastungen durch hochgiftige Produktionsabfälle (G-SIG: 12054130)

Germany · German Bundestag · 5 February 1993

Vereinbarungen über eine verstärkte Zusammenarbeit der bei Umsetzung der Beschlüsse der UNCED-Konferenz Umwelt und Entwicklung in Rio anläßlich des Besuchs von Bundesminister Dr. Klaus Töpfer in Indien und Pakistan (G-SIG: 12044164)

Germany · German Bundestag · 5 February 1993

Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Expansion and Fossil Forest Protection Act

United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1993

Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Expansion and Fossil Forest Protection Act - Amends the San Juan Wilderness Protection Act of 1984 to incorporate additional lands in New Mexico into the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness. Withdraws such lands from all forms of appropriation under the mining laws and from disposition under laws pertaining to mineral and geothermal leasing and mineral material sales. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to follow specified coal lease exchange procedures under the Code of Federal Regulations on any coal preference right lease application on such lands if the applicant demonstrates that coal exists in commercial quantities on such lands. Provides for the exchange of State and Navajo Indian lands located in the wilderness for other lands. Establishes the Fossil Forest Research Natural Area within New Mexico. Makes such area subject to the same withdrawal requirements and coal preference rights as the wilderness area designated under this Act. Prohibits livestock grazing in the Area. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, to develop a baseline inventory of all categories of fossil resources and to conduct monitoring surveys. Requires the Secretary to submit a management plan for the Area to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs to include: (1) a plan for the implementation of a cooperative program with other agencies for laboratory and field interpretation and public education; (2) provisions for vehicle management; (3) procedures for the excavation and collection of fossil remains; and (4) mitigation and reclamation standards for activities that disturb the surface to the detriment of scenic and environmental values.

Pesticide Food Safety Act of 1993

United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1993

Pesticide Food Safety Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to exclude pesticide chemicals from the definition of "food additive." Modifies the circumstances in which the presence of a pesticide chemical residue renders a food adulterated. Replaces provisions relating to tolerances for pesticide chemicals in or on raw agricultural commodities with provisions relating to tolerances and exemptions for pesticide chemical residues. Deems a pesticide chemical residue unsafe, unless it is within an established tolerance or an exemption is in effect. Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a separate tolerance for a pesticide chemical residue with respect to food at the time the food is harvested, purchased at retail, and processed. Allows a tolerance only if the risk to human health from dietary exposure to the residue is negligible. Sets forth criteria for determining whether the risk is negligible. Requires, in determining dietary exposure, consideration of all other sources (including drinking water) of dietary exposure occurring over a lifetime. Sets forth a special exposure rule allowing, in certain circumstances, calculation of exposure to a food based on reliable data that provide the Administrator with a valid statistical basis to identify the percentage of the food in which the residue actually occurs. Requires, if a tolerance or exemption is revoked and the residue will unavoidably persist in the environment and contaminate food, that a new tolerance be established at the lowest level that permits only the unavoidable levels to remain in the food. Allows: (1) establishment, modification, or revocation of a tolerance or establishment or revocation of an exemption from a tolerance in response to a petition or on the initiative of the Administrator; and (2) an exemption if the residue is not a human or animal carcinogen and otherwise presents no risk to human health from dietary exposure. Conditions establishment and continuation of a tolerance or exemption on the existence of a practical method of residue detection that can be performed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services on a routine basis as part of surveillance and compliance sampling for residues. Allows any person to petition the Administrator for the establishment, modification, or revocation of a tolerance or exemption. Directs the Secretary to conduct surveillance and compliance sampling of food for pesticide chemical residues. Requires the Administrator to: (1) evaluate each existing tolerance or exemption; and (2) determine, for each method of detecting and measuring levels of residues, whether the method meets certain requirements of this Act. Mandates fees sufficient to provide, equip, and maintain adequate service with regard to the review of existing tolerances and exemptions and the review of methods of detecting and measuring levels of residues.

Boston Harbor Wastewater Treatment Act of 1993

United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1993

Boston Harbor Wastewater Treatment Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to make grants to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority for constructing wastewater treatment works for areas served by the Authority. Limits the Federal share of such grants to 75 percent of construction costs. Authorizes appropriations.

Toxic Cleanup Equity and Acceleration Act of 1993

United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1993

Toxic Cleanup Equity and Acceleration Act of 1993 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to absolve municipalities or other persons of liability (other than to the President) for claims of contribution or other response costs for the generation, transportation, or arrangement for the transportation, treatment, or disposal of municipal solid waste or sewage sludge. Authorizes eligible persons (defined as persons against whom administrative or judicial actions are brought, or to whom notice is given of potential liability, for activities involving municipal solid waste or sewage sludge) to settle their liability with the President. Requires final settlements to: (1) allocate to all activities for the management of municipal solid waste or sewage sludge a combined maximum of four percent of the total response costs for the facility; (2) require eligible persons to pay only equitable shares of the maximum percentage; (3) limit payments based on inability to pay, litigative risks, and other equitable factors; (4) permit in-kind services with regard to response actions in lieu of cash contributions; (5) limit a publicly owned treatment works' payments if it has promoted the reuse of sewage sludge through land application; and (6) be reached even if a person is liable under other CERCLA provisions. Authorizes the President to provide a covenant not to sue to persons who have entered into settlements. Absolves such persons of liability for contributions or other response costs for matters addressed in settlements. Reduces others' potential liability by the amount of a settlement, but bars discharging potentially responsible parties unless the settlement so provides. Applies settlement provisions to municipalities or treatment works who engage in municipal solid waste or sewage sludge management activities occurring 36 months after this Act's enactment date only if the eligible person is a: (1) municipality and a qualified household hazardous waste collection program has been operating while such waste was collected and disposed; or (2) treatment works in compliance with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Makes this Act retroactively effective to all actions commenced before this Act's effective date unless a final court judgment or approval of a settlement agreement has been granted.

Authorization for Use of United States Armed Forces in Somalia

United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1993

Authorization for Use of United States Armed Forces in Somalia - Authorizes the President to use U.S. armed forces to implement United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 794 which authorizes the use of all necessary means to establish a secure environment for humanitarian relief operations in Somalia. Declares that this Act is intended to constitute specific statutory authorization under the War Powers Resolution. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) consult with the Secretary General of the UN and with the other member countries of the Security Council to ensure that peacekeeping forces from other UN countries continue to be deployed in Somalia to maintain a secure environment and to allow U.S. armed forces to transfer the mission to a UN-led force at the earliest possible date; (2) ensure that U.S. armed forces serving in Somalia are permitted to take all reasonable measures to protect themselves; and (3) submit a report to the Congress providing an assessment of the costs of Operation Restore Hope. Directs the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense to jointly submit to the Congress a report on the introduction and commitment of U.S. armed forces into combat situations in Somalia and elsewhere.

Toxic Cleanup Equity and Acceleration Act of 1993

United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1993

Toxic Cleanup Equity and Acceleration Act of 1993 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to absolve municipalities or other persons of liability (other than to the President) for claims of contribution or other response costs for the generation, transportation, or arrangement for the transportation, treatment, or disposal of municipal solid waste or sewage sludge. Authorizes eligible persons (defined as persons against whom administrative or judicial actions are brought, or to whom notice is given of potential liability, for activities involving municipal solid waste or sewage sludge) to settle their liability with the President. Requires final settlements to: (1) allocate to all activities for the management of municipal solid waste or sewage sludge a combined maximum of four percent of total response costs for the facility; (2) require eligible persons to pay only equitable shares of the maximum percentage; (3) limit payments based on inability to pay, litigative risks, and other equitable factors; (4) permit in-kind services with regard to response actions in lieu of cash contributions; (5) limit a publicly owned treatment works' payments if it has promoted the reuse of sewage sludge through land application; and (6) be reached even if a person is liable under other CERCLA provisions. Authorizes the President to provide a covenant not to sue to persons who have entered into settlements. Absolves such persons of liability for contributions or other response costs for matters addressed in settlements. Reduces others' potential liability by the amount of a settlement, but bars discharging potentially responsible parties unless the settlement so provides. Applies settlement provisions to municipalities or treatment works who engage in municipal solid waste or sewage sludge management activities occurring 36 months after this Act's enactment date only if the eligible person is a: (1) municipality and a qualified household hazardous waste collection program has been operating while such waste was collected and disposed; or (2) treatment works in compliance with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Makes this Act retroactively effective to all actions commenced before this Act's effective date unless a final court judgment or approval of a settlement agreement has been granted.

California Military Lands Withdrawal and Overflights Act of 1993

United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1993

California Military Lands Withdrawal and Overflights Act of 1993 - Withdraws from appropriation under public land laws, and reserves for military training, research, and development activities by the Secretary of the Navy, specified lands in California known as the China Lake Naval Weapons Center and Chocolate Mountain. Withdraws the China Lake lands from the mining and mineral leasing laws and withdraws the Chocolate Mountain lands from the mining, mineral, and geothermal leasing laws. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to manage such lands pursuant to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, permitting the continuation of grazing, the protection of wildlife, the control of animals, recreation, the prevention of brush and range fires, and geothermal leasing (for China Lake only). Directs the Secretary of the Interior to develop a plan for the management of each area withdrawn. Directs the Secretary of the Navy to prevent and suppress brush and range fires occurring on such lands as a result of military activities. Authorizes such land to be used for other defense-related purposes. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to assign management responsibility for the China Lake area to the Secretary of the Navy, who shall submit specified reports and manage the wild horses and burros on such lands. Terminates such land withdrawals under this Act after 15 years. Requires an environmental impact statement. Requires the Secretary of the Navy to: (1) maintain a decontamination program for such lands; and (2) notify the Secretary of the Interior on whether an extension of withdrawal shall be requested and on the extent that such lands are contaminated with hazardous materials. Requires the decontamination of any such lands. Exempts the United States from liability for injuries or damages resulting from nonmilitary activity on withdrawn lands. Authorizes an extension of the Navy's use of the El Centro Ranges in California through 1993, terminating all military uses of such lands on January 1, 1994. States that nothing in this Act or the California Desert Protection Act of 1991 shall preclude low-level overflights by military aircraft, the designation of new airspace, or military flight training routes over the new units of the National Park or National Wilderness Preservation Systems designated by either Act. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to monitor the effect of aircraft overflights on the resources and values of such units, and prevent, minimize, or eliminate the derogation of such resources and values.

Boston Harbor Wastewater Treatment Act of 1993

United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1993

Boston Harbor Wastewater Treatment Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to make grants to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority for constructing wastewater treatment works for areas served by the Authority. Limits the Federal share of such grants to 75 percent of construction costs. Authorizes appropriations.

Department of Environmental Protection Act

United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1993

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Redesignation of Environmental Protection Agency as Department of Environmental Protection Title II: Administrative Provisions TABLE OF CONTENTS: Department of Environmental Protection Act - Title I: Redesignation of Environmental Protection Agency as Department of Environmental Protection - Redesignates the Environmental Protection Agency as the Department of Environmental Protection, an executive department to be administered by a Secretary of Environmental Protection appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Title II: Administrative Provisions - Sets forth administrative provisions applicable to such designation.

Defense Economic Reinvestment Act of 1993

United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1993

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Worker and Military Personnel Assistance Programs Title II: Defense Economic Development Title III: National Technology and Industrial Base Initiatives Defense Economic Reinvestment Act of 1993 - Title I: Worker and Military Personnel Assistance Programs - Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a program to assist displaced defense workers, at-risk defense workers, and military personnel involuntarily separated from active duty in obtaining reemployment in defense dependent areas. Directs the Secretary to enter into agreements to pay 25 percent of the first-year wages of such workers to public or private employers who hire them. Provides a similar incentive program with respect to defense facilities that have begun or announced the termination of employees before enactment of this Act due to completion or curtailment of a defense contract. Authorizes FY 1994 appropriations. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow an additional credit against Federal unemployment tax for employers who contribute to a reemployment assistance fund maintained under a State law certified by the Secretary of Labor; (2) lower the percentage rate of Federal unemployment tax paid by employers; (3) revise the definition of "Federal taxable wages"; and (4) revise the method of computing installment payments of Federal unemployment tax to take into account the additional credit allowed against such tax. Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a program to establish cooperative arrangements between the Department of Defense and specified entities for providing retraining services and placement assistance for displaced and at-risk defense workers; and (2) establish a program under which retraining services (and fellowship assistance) are provided to such defense workers and involuntarily separated military personnel to obtain employment in environmental engineering. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Defense Economic Development - Directs the Secretary to make grants to communities located in defense dependent areas to assist in the economic transition necessary due to reductions in defense spending or the closure of defense facilities. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: National Technology and Industrial Base Initiatives - Directs the Secretary to conduct a program to provide assistance for the establishment or continuation of cooperative arrangements between institutions of higher education and State government agencies and other entities to establish new, or enhance existing, programs of alternative technology development and application. Directs the Secretary to make grants to institutions of higher education in defense-dependent areas to assist in the establishment or operation of environmental and entrepreneurial technology centers that would focus on the transfer of technology and human resources from defense-related industries into growth sectors of the environmental field. Directs the National Defense Technology and Industrial Base Council to make a grant to each State to carry out a survey of eligible firms engaged in manufacturing activities to determine the manufacturing technology capabilities of that State's industrial base. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to establish a loan guarantee program to assist a defense facility holding a major defense contract or subcontract to finance economic development projects related to conversion and diversification from defense-related production and operations to nondefense-related uses.

Pesticide Food Safety Act of 1993

United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1993

Pesticide Food Safety Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to exclude pesticide chemicals from the definition of "food additive." Modifies the circumstances in which the presence of a pesticide chemical residue renders a food adulterated. Replaces provisions relating to tolerance for pesticide chemicals in or on raw agricultural commodities with provisions relating to tolerances and exemptions for pesticide chemical residues. Deems a pesticide chemical residue unsafe, unless it is within an established tolerances or an exemption is in effect. Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a separate tolerance for a pesticide chemical residue with respect to food at the time the food is harvested, purchased at retail, and processed. Allows a tolerance only if the risk to human health from dietary exposure to the residue is negligible. Sets forth criteria for determining whether the risk is negligible. Requires, in determining dietary exposure, consideration of all other sources (including drinking water) of dietary exposure occurring over a lifetime. Sets forth a special exposure rule allowing, in certain circumstances, calculation of exposure to a food based on reliable data that provide the Administrator with a valid statistical basis to identify the percentage of the food in which the residue actually occurs. Requires, if a tolerance or exemption is revoked and the residue will unavoidably persist in the environment and contaminate food, that a new tolerance be established at the lowest level that permits only the unavoidable levels to remain in the food. Allows: (1) establishment, modification, or revocation of a tolerance or establishment or revocation of an exemption from a tolerance in response to a petition or on the initiative of the Administrator; and (2) an exemption if the residue is not a human or animal carcinogen and otherwise presents no risk to human health from dietary exposure. Conditions establishment and continuation of a tolerance or exemption on the existence of a practical method of residue detection that can be performed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services on a routine basis as part of surveillance and compliance sampling for residues. Allows any person to petition the Administrator for the establishment, modification, or revocation of a tolerance or exemption. Directs the Secretary to conduct surveillance and compliance sampling of food for pesticide chemical residues. Requires the Administrator to: (1) evaluate each existing tolerance or exemption; and (2) determine, for each method of detecting and measuring levels of residues, whether the method meets certain requirements of this Act. Mandates fees sufficient to provide, equip, and maintain adequate service with regard to the review of existing tolerances and exemptions and the review of methods of detecting and measuring levels of residues.

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to add Morro Bay, California, to the priority list of the national estuary program.

United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1993

Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to include Morro Bay, California, in the list of areas to be given priority consideration for inclusion in the national estuary program.

Western Hemisphere Environmental Cooperation Act of 1993

United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1993

Western Hemisphere Environmental Cooperation Act of 1993 - Directs the Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) to establish a Western Hemisphere Biodiversity Cooperation Program within AID to assist (including by purchase of commercial debts of foreign countries) in the establishment and strengthening of biodiversity management organizations to protect biological diversity and to enhance the economic value of the biological resources of Latin America and the Caribbean. Directs the Administrator of AID to establish a program of Western Hemisphere Biodiversity Cooperation Grants to be awarded to such organizations. Requires the President to direct an appropriate Federal entity to study the feasibility of establishing a Western Hemisphere Environmental Partnership to promote hemispheric technological cooperation on environmental problems.

Environment and Public Works Fair Share Act of 1993

United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1993

Environment and Public Works Fair Share Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act to require the Federal formula used to allocate funds to States under such Act to use the population figures from the latest available estimates prepared by the Department of Commerce for each State (currently, from the latest decennial census). Requires the Federal formula used for grants to States for interstate highway systems, Federal-aid urban highways, and highway safety programs to include the population figures from the latest available estimates prepared by the Department of Commerce (currently, from the latest decennial census).

United States-Mexico Border Environmental Protection Act

United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1993

United States-Mexico Border Environmental Protection Act - Establishes the United States-Mexico Border Environmental Protection Fund to be used by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to investigate and respond to conditions which present a threat to the land, air, or water resources of the United States-Mexico border region. Authorizes the Administrator, whenever conditions exist which present a substantial threat to the land, air, or water resources in such region, to declare an environmental emergency. Prohibits the Administrator from declaring an emergency if the condition is within the sole jurisdiction of the International Boundary and Water Commission. Authorizes the Administrator to establish a system for information sharing and for early warning to the United States and affected States, political subdivisions, and Indian tribes of environmental problems affecting the United States-Mexico border region. Requires the Administrator to establish a United States-Mexico Border Environmental Protection Advisory Committee. Directs the Secretary of State, acting through the United States Commissioner, International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico, to conclude agreements with Mexico for the correction of and response to border sanitation problems in international streams forming or crossing the boundary between the United States and Mexico. Permits the Secretary to enter into agreements with Mexico to establish a binational advisory committee to assist EPA and SEDESOL in the monitoring and study of environmental conditions within the border region and make recommendations for ongoing environmental protection. Prohibits the expenditure of U.S. funds for emergency investigation or remediation in Mexico without a cost-sharing agreement unless the expenditure would be cost-effective and in the U.S. interest. Establishes the United States International Boundary and Water Commission Fund to carry out this Act. Authorizes appropriations.

A resolution supporting United States requests to reopen the December 20, 1991 draft final text in the Uruguay Round to address areas of particular concern to U.S. manufactures, environmental and consumer groups.

United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1993

Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) U.S. negotiators continue to strive for an early conclusion to the Uruguay Round of Trade Negotiations, provided the final text protects U.S. interests; and (2) U.S. interests require adoption of changes proposed by the United States in December 1992 in each of the areas identified, generation of the maximum market access package while being sensitive to our most import sensitive sectors, and achievement of the maximum initial commitments in the service negotiations.

To prohibit the transportation, treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous waste outside the State in which the waste was generated.

United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1993

Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to prohibit, after 1993, the transport, treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous waste outside the State in which such waste was generated.

To amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to require certain States to contribute to other States' shares of cleanup costs.

United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1993

Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to authorize a State in which a remedial action is being conducted at a hazardous waste facility to recover costs associated with such action from the State in which the waste was generated.

Solid Waste Disposal Relief Act of 1993

United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1993

Solid Waste Disposal Relief Act of 1993 - Exempts municipal solid waste landfills existing as of October 8, 1993, which meet criteria under the Solid Waste Disposal Act applicable as of January 1, 1993, from any revised criteria (established for facilities which may receive hazardous wastes). Terminates such exemption on October 9, 1995.