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751 records in 1999
Austria · National Council · 17 February 1999
Schriftliche Anfrage der Abgeordneten Maria Rauch-Kallat und Genossen an die Bundesministerin für Frauenangelegenheiten und Verbraucherschutz betreffend den Weiterbau des Atomkraftwerks K2/R4 <i>(Khmelnitsky 2/Rivne 4, Ukraine)</i>
Austria · National Council · 16 February 1999
Schriftliche Anfrage der Abgeordneten Maria Rauch-Kallat und Genossen an die Bundesministerin für Frauenangelegenheiten und Verbraucherschutz betreffend die AKWs Mochovce und Temelin
Austria · National Council · 11 February 1999
Schriftliche Anfrage der Abgeordneten MMag. Dr. Madeleine Petrovic und Genossen an den Bundesminister für Umwelt, Jugend und Familie betreffend das Modellprojekt "Familienberatung bei Gericht"
Austria · National Council · 11 February 1999
Schriftliche Anfrage der Abgeordneten MMag. Dr. Madeleine Petrovic und Genossen an den Bundesminister für Umwelt, Jugend und Familie betreffend Beitritt Österreichs zur Konvention zur Erhaltung der wandernden wildlebenden Tierarten (Bonner Konvention)
Austria · National Council · 11 February 1999
Schriftliche Anfrage der Abgeordneten MMag. Dr. Madeleine Petrovic und Genossen an den Bundesminister für auswärtige Angelegenheiten betreffend Beitritt Österreichs zur Konvention zur Erhaltung der wandernden wildlebenden Tierarten (Bonner Konvention)
Austria · National Council · 11 February 1999
Schriftliche Anfrage der Abgeordneten MMag. Dr. Madeleine Petrovic und Genossen an den Bundeskanzler betreffend Beitritt Österreichs zur Konvention zur Erhaltung der wandernden wildlebenden Tierarten (Bonner Konvention)
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Amends the Federal Power Act to direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to discontinue its licensing and regulatory authority over certain new, small (power production capacity of 5,000 kilowatts or less) qualifying hydroelectric project works in Alaska, effective upon FERC certification that Alaska has a regulatory program in place for water-power development meeting specified criteria. Prescribes such criteria as: (1) protection of certain public and environmental interests to the same extent provided by FERC and specified Federal law; (2) equal consideration given to energy conservation, fish and wildlife protection, recreational opportunities, environmental quality, the interests of Alaska Natives, and beneficial public uses; and (3) licensing requirements for construction, operation and maintenance of lights, signals, and fishways by a licensee at its own expense, operation of navigation facilities subject to Secretary of the Army regulations, and fish and wildlife protection and enhancement based upon Federal and State agency recommendations. Authorizes the licensee of a project works licensed before enactment of this Act to elect to subject such works to licensing and regulation by Alaska in accordance with this Act. Declares that, with respect to project works on an Indian reservation, a conservation system unit, or Federal public lands, a State license or exemption from license shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary having jurisdiction over such lands, and such conditions as the Secretary may prescribe. Requires FERC to consult with the Secretaries of the Interior, of Agriculture, and of Commerce before certifying Alaska's regulatory program. Requires the State of Alaska to notify FERC within 30 days after making any significant modification to its regulatory program. Requires FERC to reassert its regulatory and licensing authority if Alaska has not complied with one or more requirements of this Act. Prescribes FERC compliance review procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Gila River Indian Community-Phelps Dodge Corporation Water Rights Settlement Act of 1999 - Ratifies, approves, and confirms the May 4, 1998, settlement agreement among Phelps Dodge Corporation, the Gila River Indian Community, and the United States (agreement). Directs the Secretary of the Interior or his lawful designee (Secretary) to execute, and perform all of the Secretary's duties under, the agreement. (Sec. 5) Directs that: (1) the Secretary take all actions specified in the agreement necessary on the Secretary's part to obtain title to Blue Ridge Reservoir from Phelps Dodge; and (2) title to the Reservoir be held by the Secretary in trust for the benefit of the Navajo Nation. (Sec. 6) Directs the Secretary, simultaneously with the transfer of the Reservoir to the United States, to: (1) reallocate to the Community 12,000 acre-feet of Central Arizona Project (CAP) water; (2) amend the Community's CAP Contract to include the reallocated water; and (3) extend the Community's CAP Contract to 100 years, plus such additional term as may result from the exercise of the option provided for in, or other extension of, the lease referred to in the agreement. Sets forth provisions regarding nonreimbursability of water service and other capital charges and operation, maintenance, and replacement charges to the Community. (Sec. 7) Ratifies, approves, and confirms a lease referred to in the agreement. Makes such lease ineffective as to the United States and directs the Secretary not to execute it, until environmental compliance has been completed and the exchange has been approved. Allows the Secretary and the Community to renew or extend the lease at the end of the initial or any extended term as the Community, the Secretary, and Phelps Dodge may agree, with a limitation. (Sec. 8) Authorizes the Secretary and the Community to enter into an exchange agreement under which CAP water leased to Phelps Dodge by the Community is delivered by Phelps Dodge to the Community in return for the right to divert water from the Gila River upstream of the Gila River Indian Reservation. Sets the term of any such exchange agreement at 100 years, plus any additional term occasioned by the exercise of the option contained in the lease or other authorized extension. Directs the Secretary to commence negotiations regarding the exchange agreement and to process all associated environmental compliance expeditiously. Prohibits the Secretary from executing the exchange agreement until: (1) all such environmental compliance has been finally concluded; (2) any necessary order approving the exchange, or any aspect of the exchange, has been obtained from the U.S. district court; and (3) the order is final and subject to no further appeal. (Sec. 9) Makes specified waivers of the agreement effective, and binding upon the Community and the United States, on behalf of the Community and the owners of beneficial interests in allotted land within the Reservation (allottees), after the date certain conditions set forth in the agreement occur. Directs the United States to execute the agreement on behalf of the allottees in its capacity as trustee of allotted lands on the Reservation. Makes the agreement binding upon the allottees. (Sec. 10) Authorizes the Navajo Nation, and the United States on its behalf, to enter into an agreement with: (1) the town of Payson, Arizona, or the unincorporated communities of Pine and Strawberry, Arizona (the towns), to subordinate water rights held in the Reservoir by the United States for the benefit of the Navajo Nation to rights to the use of up to 3,000 acre-feet per annum of water in the Reservoir acquired by the towns under Arizona law; and (2) Phelps Dodge to subordinate water rights held in the Reservoir by the United States on behalf of the Navajo Nation to water rights acquired by Phelps Dodge in the Reservoir subsequent to this Act's enactment under Arizona law for use on land owned by Phelps Dodge around the Reservoir identified in the agreement. Designates the Bureau of Reclamation as the lead agency with regard to environmental compliance. Authorizes any party to the agreement, and to the lease and exchange agreement, if approved, to bring suit in the U.S. district court for the district of Arizona for the interpretation and enforcement of this Act, the agreement, the lease, and exchange agreement and waives claims by the United States or the Community to sovereign immunity.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Taxpayer Oversight of Surplus Property Act - Requires that nonlethal excess supplies of the Department of Defense be made available to a State, a local government, a territory, or a possession upon request before such supplies are made available for humanitarian relief purposes. Permits the President to make such supplies available for humanitarian purposes before they are made available to a State, local government, territory, or possession in response to a natural disaster emergency. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to prohibit the transfer of property for environmental protection in foreign countries unless the Administrator of General Services (GSA Administrator) determines that there is no Federal or State use requirement for the property under any other provision of law. Requires the GSA Administrator to report to the Congress on the effectiveness of surplus personal property donation and disposal programs (except for any program that grants access to personal property by local communities affected by the closure of a military base), along with recommendations for consolidating such programs under a single Federal authority.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
OCS Environmental Consistency Act of 1999 - Amends the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to mandate State receipt of an environmental impact statement prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 as a prerequisite to State review of an exploration, development, or production plan.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Protection of Seamen Against Economic Reprisal Act of 1999 - Amends Federal shipping law to prohibit a person from discharging, or in any manner discriminating against, a seaman for refusing to perform the seaman's duties when the seaman has a reasonable apprehension that performing such duties would result in serious injury to the seaman, other seamen, a vessel, cargo, or the environment. Sets forth requirements with respect to receiving such protection. Authorizes a U.S. district court in which a seaman has brought an action for wrongful discharge or discrimination to award such seaman costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
Austria · National Council · 10 February 1999
Bericht des Außenpolitischen Ausschusses über den Antrag 432/A(E) der Abgeordneten Mag. Doris Kammerlander und Genossen betreffend Verlängerung der Österreichischen Nationalinitiative Wald - Dritte Welt
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Outer Continental Shelf Impact Assistance Title II: State, Local, and Urban Conservation and Recreation Title III: Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Conservation and Reinvestment Act of 1999 - Title I: Outer Continental Shelf Impact Assistance - Establishes the Outer Continental Shelf Impact Assistance Fund (OCSIAF) to provide impact assistance to coastal States from a portion (27 percent) of allocable new OCS revenues (payments received by the United States as royalties, net profit share payments, and related late-payment interest from natural gas and oil leases under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act). Prohibits placement in the Fund of OCS revenues from a leased tract (or portion) located in a geographic area subject to a leasing moratorium on January 1, 1999, unless the lease was issued before the moratorium and was in production on such date. (Sec. 103) Sets forth a formula for use by the Secretary of the Interior to determine the portion of the allocable share of new revenues attributable to each coastal State and county eligible to receive impact assistance payments. Mandates that such OCS funds be expended by the eligible coastal States and counties for certain environmental projects and activities. Requires: (1) the Governor of every OCSIAF recipient State to develop (and certify to the Secretary) a State plan for the use of such funds; (2) an eligible county to submit for the Governor's approval a plan setting forth the projects and activities for which it proposes to expend OCSIA funds; and (3) the Governor of each recipient State to account to the Congress for all OCSIAF monies received for the previous fiscal year. Title II: State, Local, and Urban Conservation and Recreation - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (LWCFA) to require an amount equal to 23 percent of specified Outer Continental Shelf revenues to be credited to a separate account in the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) in the Treasury in each fiscal year through September 30, 2015. (Sec. 202) Makes such funds available, without further appropriation, to carry out LWCFA in the next succeeding fiscal year. Provides that, if such revenues in a fiscal year exceed $900 million, such excess shall be available, without further appropriation, in the next succeeding fiscal year for obligation or expenditure as payments in lieu of taxes. Authorizes appropriations to maintain a certain minimum total annual income of the LWCF. Makes certain amounts covered into the LWCF available for expenditure without appropriation. Sets forth formulae for allocation of such funds for: (1) Federal acquisition of certain lands, waters, or interests; (2) financial assistance to the States for land acquisition, urban conservation, and recreation projects; and (3) local governments through the Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery Program of the Department of the Interior. Provides for an LWCFA allocation of funds to Indian tribes and Alaska Native Village Corporations. Requires States to make at least 50 percent of the annual State apportionment under LWCFA available as grants to local governments. Replaces, within a five-year period, LWCFA requirements for comprehensive State plans with requirements for State action agendas. Allows each State to define its own priorities and criteria for selection of outdoor recreation and conservation acquisition and development projects eligible for LWCFA grants so long as it provides for public involvement in this process and publishes an accurate and current State Action Agenda for Community Recreation and Conservation. Requires such Agendas to: (1) be strategic, originating in broad-based and long-term needs, but focused on actions that can be funded over the next four years, and be updated every four years; (2) consider all providers of recreation and conservation lands, and correlate with other State, regional and local plans for parks, recreation, open space, and wetlands conservation; (3) address wetlands as important outdoor recreation and conservation resources, and incorporate a State wetlands priority conservation plan consistent with the national plan developed under the Emergency Wetlands Resources Act; and (4) be guided in part by recovery action programs developed by urban localities under the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act. Revises LWCFA conditions for approval of conversions. (Sec. 203) Amends the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act (UPRRA) to provide (in addition to the current types of at-risk recreation grants and recovery action program grants) for matching capital grants to local governments in the form of: (1) development grants for development and construction on existing or new neighborhood recreation sites, including indoor and outdoor recreation facilities, support facilities, and landscaping, but excluding routine maintenance and upkeep activities; and (2) acquisition grants for purchasing new parkland to be permanently dedicated and made accessible for public recreation use. Revises UPRRA requirements for: (1) eligibility; (2) matching grants; (3) coordination; and (4) conversion approval. Repeals the limitation on the use of UPRRA funds for acquisition of land or interests in land. (Sec. 205) Establishes a Habitat Reserve Program (HRP) within the Department of the Interior to be administered by the Secretary of the Interior in association with the applicable State fish and wildlife department in the State where the affected land is located. Requires lands eligible for enrollment in the HRP to be privately owned and designated by the State agency as necessary to preserve the existence of one or more species listed under the Endangered Species Act, and their owners and operators to have voluntarily entered into partnership agreements with the Secretary and the State agency. Prescribes: (1) limitations on lands eligible for enrollment in the HRP; (2) HRP contract requirements; (3) HRP management plans; (4) HRP contract duration; and (5) payments to owners or operators of lands included in the HRP. Title III: Wildlife Conservation and Restoration - Amends the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (FAWRA) to require an amount equal to ten percent of specified Outer Continental Shelf revenues to be deposited in a new subaccount in the Federal aid to wildlife restoration fund (FAWRF), to be invested and to be made available without further appropriation, for apportionment in the next succeeding fiscal year for State wildlife conservation and restoration programs. Provides that all interest on such amounts shall be available without further appropriations, for obligation or expenditure for purposes of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act of 1989. (Sec. 305) Sets forth requirements for: (1) allocation of such subaccount receipts; (2) applications for approval of, and development grants for, State wildlife conservation and restoration programs; and (3) coordination. (Sec. 306) Allows certain subaccount funds for such a State wildlife conservation and restoration program to be used for law enforcement and education. (Sec. 307) Prohibits a State from receiving FAWRA matching funds if it diverts any funds from wildlife conservation purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1999
Florida Keys Water Quality Improvements Act of 1999 - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to make grants to the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority or other appropriate agencies of the State of Florida or Monroe County, Florida. Makes eligible for such grants projects to: (1) replace inadequate wastewater treatment systems in the County; (2) establish, replace, or improve stormwater management systems in the County; or (3) improve water quality in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Requires such grants to be consistent with specified growth management ordinances and agreements, policies of the Water Quality Steering Committee, and Federal water quality standards. Sets forth conditions on grants, including non-Federal cost share and planning and assessment requirements. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1999
Farm Sustainability and Animal Feedlot Enforcement Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to make it unlawful, except in compliance with a permit issued under this Act, to discharge pollutants from concentrated animal feeding operations. Requires permits, at a minimum, to specify the surface water and groundwater monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements necessary to ensure that no discharge of pollutants is occurring from such operations. Provides that permits shall require operation in conformance with: (1) applicable effluent limitations and standards of performance under the Act; and (2) an approved nutrient management plan. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to publish guidance on the preparation and implementation of nutrient management plans for concentrated animal feeding operations. Lists minimum required elements of such plans. Provides for submission of plans by operators to the Administrator for approval. Requires revision of guidance at least every five years. Directs the Administrator to revise regulations to ensure that concentrated animal feeding operations employ the best available technology economically achievable or, in the case of new or expanded operations, the best available demonstrated technology necessary to achieve no pollutant discharge. Requires effluent limitations and pretreatment standards for new and existing operations and standards of performance for new operations to, at a minimum and within specified time frames: (1) require that new containment structures and waste application systems be sited and constructed to minimize the risk of pollutant discharges to water; (2) prohibit the use of unlined containment structures or those that pose a significant risk of water pollution; (3) eliminate open-air lagoons for the storage of animal waste; (4) eliminate discharges of pollutants to surface water and groundwater; (5) eliminate the atmospheric deposition of nutrients derived from such operations to water; (6) significantly reduce the liquid content of wastes; and (7) promote technologies and production practices that minimize the need for large-scale storage of animal waste. Sets forth provisions regarding joint liability of owners of animals confined at operations in violation of the Act. Sets forth conditions under which the application of animal waste to land shall be considered to be a discharge of pollutants for purposes of this Act. Requires the Administrator to establish minimum distances from residences and environmentally sensitive locations within which animal waste shall not be applied by aerial spraying. Requires containment structures for animal waste to retain all waste produced by the operation between applications, including runoff that runs through or into any area or structure in which such waste is present. Sets forth requirements for containment systems for wet waste operations. Directs animal owners and operators, before applying waste from an operation on land other than their own, to execute an agreement that includes terms necessary to ensure that the waste is applied in accordance with this Act.
France · Senate · 9 February 1999
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1999
Acid Deposition Control Act - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a Nitrogen Oxide Allowance Program under which the contiguous States and the District of Columbia will be allocated allowances, beginning in the year 2002, to emit limited monthly amounts of nitrogen oxides. Allocates such allowances in proportion to a State's share of total electric power generated in the contiguous States. Sets forth requirements for the intrastate distribution of allowances among affected facilities (facilities with combustion units that serve an electricity generator with a minimum capacity of 25 megawatts) by a State or the Administrator. Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations: (1) authorizing allowances to be transferred among affected facilities or persons; and (2) for issuing and tracking the use and transfer of allowances. Permits unused allowances to be carried forward for subsequent years. Requires the Administrator, for States for which the Administrator distributes allowances, to place ten percent of the total allowances in a new source reserve. Provides for the auctioning and sale of undistributed allowances in such reserve during 2002 through 2007. Distributes auction proceeds to affected sources in proportion to the number of allowances that would have been received but for the auction. Authorizes the Administrator to terminate or limit allowances. Makes it unlawful, after January 1, 2002, for: (1) the owner or operator of an affected facility to emit nitrogen oxides exceeding the amount permitted by allowances held by such facility; or (2) any person to hold, use, or transfer such allowances, except as provided under this Act. Repeals the nitrogen oxides emission reduction program under the Clean Air Act. Bars the use of an allowance before the calendar year for which the allowance is allocated. (Sec. 5) Amends the Clean Air Act to require owners or operators of industrial facilities with a minimum capacity of 100 million British thermal units (mmBtus) per hour to install and operate continuous emission monitoring systems on affected units and quality assure data for sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, opacity, and volumetric flow. (Sec. 6) Imposes penalties for emissions in excess of allowances. Requires offsets of allowances in the calendar year following the one in which excess emissions occurred. (Sec. 7) Decreases the amount of sulfur dioxide authorized to be emitted under an existing allowance program for 2005 and subsequent years. (Sec. 8) Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress on objectives for scientifically credible environmental indicators, including acid neutralizing capacity, sufficient to protect sensitive ecosystems of the Adirondack, Mid-Appalachian, and Blue Ridge Mountains and the Great Lakes, Lake Champlain, Long Island Sound, and the Chesapeake Bay. Directs the Administrator, by December 31, 2008, to determine whether emissions reductions under this Act are sufficient to achieve such objectives and, if not, to promulgate regulations necessary to protect such ecosystems. (Sec. 10) Requires the Administrator to study and report to the Congress on the practicality of monitoring mercury emissions from all combustion units with a minimum capacity of 250 mmBtus per hour. Provides for regulations to: (1) require reporting of mercury emissions from such units; and (2) control electric utility and industrial source mercury emissions. (Sec. 11) Directs the Administrator to establish a competitive grant program to fund research related to the effects of nitrogen deposition on sensitive watersheds and coastal estuaries in the eastern United States. Requires the Administrator to report to specified congressional committees on the health and chemistry of certain Adirondack lakes and streams that were subjects of a specified report required under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1999
Directs the Secretary of Commerce to determine, and report to Congress, the levels of exports of U.S. goods to North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) parties and imports into the United States of goods from NAFTA parties, and the number of jobs that have resulted from increased exports of goods to NAFTA parties and the loss of jobs that have resulted from increased imports into the United States of goods from NAFTA parties since January 1, 1994. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to investigate, and report to the Congress on, whether pollution and health hazards in the United States have worsened since January 1, 1994, to the extent that may be attributable to NAFTA, and specifically in and around the U.S.-Mexico and the U.S.-Canada borders. Directs the President to certify annually to Congress whether or not each NAFTA country is meeting certain commitments made with respect to: (1) environmental protection in the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation; and (2) workers' rights in the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1999
Federal Facility Superfund Compliance Act of 1999 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to subject each department, agency, and instrumentality of the Federal Government to all Federal, State, interstate, and local requirements regarding response or restoration actions related to releases or potential releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants (current law refers only to compliance with CERCLA provisions) in the same manner and to the same extent as a nongovernmental entity. Waives any U.S. immunity otherwise applicable with respect to any such requirement. Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to issue an abatement order to a Federal entity and requires initiation of an administrative enforcement action in the same manner and under the same circumstances as action would be initiated against any other person. Removes provisions for application (and preemption) of State laws concerning removal and remedial action at Federal facilities not on the National Priorities List. Precludes interagency remedial action agreements from impairing or diminishing State authority to enforce requirements of State law, unless such requirements have been addressed or waived without objection from the State.
France · Senate · 4 February 1999
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Taxpayer Oversight of Surplus Property Act - Requires that nonlethal excess supplies of the Department of Defense be made available to a State or a local government upon request before such supplies are made available for humanitarian relief purposes. Permits the President to make such supplies available for humanitarian purposes before they are made available to a State or local government in response to a natural disaster emergency. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, with respect to the transfer of property for environmental protection in foreign countries, to prohibit such transfers unless the Administrator of General Services (GSA Administrator) determines that there are no Federal or State use requirements for the property under any other provision of law. Requires the GSA Administrator to report to the Congress on the effectiveness of surplus personal property donation and disposal programs (except for any program that grants access to personal property by local communities affected by the closure of a military base), along with recommendations for consolidating such programs under a single Federal authority.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
State and Local Government Participation Act of 1999 - Amends the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to require Federal officials, prior to making environmental impact statements on proposed actions and legislative proposals, to obtain the comments of Federal and State agencies and county and local governments (currently, Federal agencies) which have jurisdiction or special expertise with respect to involved environmental impacts.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Defense of the Environment Act of 1999 - Requires any report of a congressional committee or committee of conference accompanying a public bill or joint resolution that includes any provision that reduces environmental protection to contain: (1) an identification and description of the provision; (2) an assessment of the extent of such reduction; (3) a description of any actions to avoid such reduction; and (4) any statement received from the Comptroller General, upon request of the committee or a majority of either the minority or majority members of the committee, assessing the reduction. Deems a provision to reduce environmental protection if it may: (1) allow increased pollution; (2) adversely affect the environmental quality of public lands or diminish protection of species that may be endangered; (3) increase children's exposure to environmental contaminants and other environmental risks; or (4) have the effect of shielding environmental law violators or limiting judicial review of agency action under authority of any environmental law. Provides for consultation and assistance of the Comptroller General at the request of any committee. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to ensure that each Federal agency: (1) collects and catalogs available information that would assist in assessing whether any bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference report provision would reduce environmental protection; (2) facilitates the availability of such information for Congress' use; and (3) makes such information readily available to the Comptroller General for purposes of fulfilling the assessment and consultation duties described above. Requires such information to be made publicly available. Makes out of order in the House of Representatives and the Senate the consideration of any reported bill or joint resolution, or conference report, unless the committee has complied with the identification and assessment provisions of this Act. Makes any rule waiving these provisions out of order in the House. Amends the Rules of the House of Representatives with respect to the striking of, and points of order against, provisions reducing environmental protection within the meaning of this Act. Provides Senate procedures for the striking of such provisions.
Austria · National Council · 2 February 1999
Schriftliche Anfrage der Abgeordneten Andreas Wabl und Genossen an die Bundesministerin für Frauenangelegenheiten und Verbraucherschutz betreffend EU-Moratorium über die Verwendung von rBST <i>(Rinderwachstumshormon)</i>
Austria · National Council · 2 February 1999
Schriftliche Anfrage der Abgeordneten Dr. Gabriela Moser und Genossen an den Bundesminister für Finanzen betreffend Verkauf und Förderung der Salinen AG
Austria · National Council · 2 February 1999
Schriftliche Anfrage der Abgeordneten Dr. Gabriela Moser und Genossen an den Bundesminister für wirtschaftliche Angelegenheiten betreffend Verkauf und Förderung der Salinen AG
Austria · National Council · 2 February 1999
Schriftliche Anfrage der Abgeordneten Andreas Wabl und Genossen an den Bundesminister für Land- und Forstwirtschaft betreffend EU-Moratorium über die Verwendung von rBST <i>(Rinderwachstumshormon)</i>
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: General Management Improvements Title II: Improving Federal Debt Collection Practices Title III: Sale of Nontax Debts Owed to United States Title IV: Treatment of High Value Nontax Debts Title V: Federal Payments Government Waste, Fraud, and Error Reduction Act of 1999 - Title I: General Management Improvements - Amends requirements regarding certain Federal agencies' (executive departments as well as the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) audited financial statements, including to: (1) extend the deadline for the preparation and submission of the first of such statements; and (2) provide for submission of such statements to the Congress and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (Director). (Currently, such statements are to be submitted to the Director.) (Sec. 102) Excludes lodging provided under Federal travel and subsistence expense provisions from an exception which prohibits agency heads from requiring employees or members of the uniformed services to occupy quarters on a rental basis. Directs each head of an executive agency to require, with respect to travel by agency employees in the performance of their duties, the use by such employees of travel management centers, authorized travel agents, and electronic reservation and payment systems for the purpose of improving efficiency and economy regarding travel by agency employees. Requires the Administrator of General Services to develop a plan regarding implementation of this requirement and to report to the Congress on such plan and the means by which such agency heads plan to ensure that employees use travel management centers, travel agents, and electronic reservation and payment systems. Directs the Administrator to develop a mechanism to ensure that employees of executive agencies are not inappropriately charged State and local taxes on travel expenses. Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress on the steps taken and proposed to be taken to carry out such requirement. Title II: Improving Federal Debt Collection Practices - Makes technical amendments to financial management provisions relating to claims of the U.S. Government, including those that permit a State to collect by administrative offset certain payments under the Social Security Act, Black Lung Benefits Act, or railroad retirement laws for past due child support being enforced by a State. Sets forth provisions relating to the collection by private collection contractors through the use of garnishment of any debt owed to the United States, including to prohibit a private collection contractor, in attempting to collect through the use of garnishment any such debt, from being precluded from verifying the debtor's current employer, the location of the payroll office of the debtor's current employer, the period the debtor has been employed by the current employer, and the compensation received by the debtor from such employer. Requires collection contracts to include conditions under which contractors are: (1) subject to penalties for failures to comply with applicable law or for unreasonable or abusive collection practices; or (2) absolved from liability or contract penalties in connection with collecting a debt by actions required by such contracts. Amends provisions relating to contracts for collection services to authorize the Attorney General to make contracts retaining private counsel to furnish legal services in the case of any monetary claim, including claims for civil fines or penalties. (Under current law, such contracts are made only in the case of any claim of indebtedness owed the United States.) (Sec. 202) Bars certain delinquent Federal debtors from being eligible for the award or renewal of any: (1) Federal financial assistance in the form of a loan (other than a disaster loan), loan insurance, or guarantee; or (2) Federal permit or license. (Sec. 203) Prohibits an executive, judicial, or legislative agency head from discharging a nontax debt or terminating collection action on such a debt unless: (1) it has been referred to a private collection contractor, a debt collection center, or to the Attorney General for litigation; (2) it has been sold without recourse; (3) administrative wage garnishment has been undertaken; or (4) there is bankruptcy, death, or disability. Permits the agency head to waive the application of such requirement with respect to any nontax debt, or class of nontax debts, if the waiver is in the best interest of the United States. Title III: Sale of Nontax Debts Owed to United States - Allows an executive, judicial, or legislative agency head to sell, using competitive procedures, any nontax debt owed to the United States that is administered by the agency. Specifies that such sales shall: (1) be for cash or cash and a residuary equity, joint venture, or profit participation, if the proceeds will be greater than the proceeds from a sale solely for cash; (2) be without recourse against the United States, but may include the use of guarantees if authorized by law; and (3) transfer to the purchaser all U.S. rights to demand payment of the debt, other than with respect to a residuary equity, joint venture, or profit participation. (Sec. 302) Sets forth requirements for the sale of certain: (1) delinquent nontax loans; (2) loans; and (3) nontax debts or class of debts. Title IV: Treatment of High Value Nontax Debts - Requires each agency head that administers a program that gives rise to a delinquent high value nontax debt (a nontax debt having an outstanding value that exceeds $1 million) to submit an annual report to the Congress that lists each such debt. (Sec. 402) Requires the Inspector General of each agency to: (1) review such applicable annual report to the Congress and make such recommendations as necessary to improve the agency's performance; (2) periodically review and report to the Congress on the agency's nontax debt collection management practices; and (3) as part of such reviews, examine agency efforts to reduce the aggregate amount of high value nontax debts that are resolved in whole or in part by compromise, default, or bankruptcy. (Sec. 403) Requires an agency head authorized to collect a delinquent high value nontax debt to promptly seek seizure and forfeiture of assets pledged to the United States in any transaction giving rise to such a debt. Directs an agency, upon determining that seizure or forfeiture is not appropriate, to include a justification for such determination in the annual report. Title V: Federal Payments - Includes within requirements of the Director's regulations regarding Federal payments that a required payment date may be waived to provide for early payment in cases where an agency will implement an electronic payment technology which improves agency cash management and business practice. Permits an executive agency head, subject to an agreement between the agency head and the applicable financial institution, to accept an electronic payment, including debit and credit cards, to satisfy a nontax debt owed to the agency.
Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 28 January 1999
9 Mr. Dukes asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the consultations, if any, he held with local authorities before finalising the 1999 capital allocation for the improvement and maintenance of national roads, Subhead C.1 of his Department's Estimate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2164/99]
Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 28 January 1999
9 Mr. Dukes asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the consultations, if any, he held with local authorities before finalising the 1999 capital allocation for the improvement and maintenance of national roads, Subhead C.1 of his Department's Estimate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2164/99]
Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 28 January 1999
8 Mr. Dukes asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the consultations, if any, he held with local authorities before finalising the 1999 capital allocation for local authority and social housing, subhead B.1 of his Department's Estimate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2163/99]
Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 28 January 1999
7 Mr. U. Burke asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the number of cases of infringement of EU directives which are currently in the policy areas covered by his Department; the policy issues which arise in each case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2132/99]
Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 28 January 1999
6 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government when he will publish proposals for the amendment and improvement of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Acts; if he will hold consultations on these proposals before publishing a Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2134/99]
Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 28 January 1999
5 Mrs. T. Ahearn asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he will re-finance mortgages issued to home buyers through local authorities in order that those buyers can benefit from current interest rate levels rather than being obliged to pay interest at 12.5 per cent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2354/99]
Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 28 January 1999
4 Mr. Dukes asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the total amount of money allocated by his Department in 1998 for capital grants to devolved group water schemes; and the quality criteria which applied to water supplied through those schemes. [2353/99]
Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 28 January 1999
2 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government his views on whether there is a housing crisis; if he will establish a housing commission; the proposals he has to reduce the local authority housing lists; the further proposals, if any, he has to aid renters in the private sector; the proposals he has to further assist making housing affordable to families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2355/99]
Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 28 January 1999
1 Mr. Hayes asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government his views concerning the need to increase the standard of insulation used in the construction of new homes; if he has considered the prohibition of nine inch hollow concrete blocks in the context of revising the building regulations of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2351/99]
European Union · Court of Justice of the European Union · 28 January 1999
European Union · European Commission · 28 January 1999
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1999
Small Communities Air Service Act of 1999 - Amends Federal aviation law to require the Secretary of Transportation to grant, after receiving a joint application from an air carrier and a community primarily served by a small hub airport or a nonhub airport, an exemption to provide nonstop regional jet air service between the small hub airport or nonhub airport and a high density airport. Prohibits the Secretary from granting an exemption if: (1) granting the exemption would not be in accordance with established principles of safety; or (2) the exemption would violate the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Sets forth specified conditions and requirements with respect to the exemption. (Sec. 3) Directs the Secretary to study, and report the results to specified congressional committees, the efficacy of a program of Federal loan guarantees for the purchase of regional jets by commuter air carriers to improve jet aircraft service to underserved markets. (Sec. 4) Directs the Secretary, in order to improve security at U.S. public airports, to carry out at least one project to test and evaluate innovative airport security systems and related technology. Makes the Federal share of costs 100 percent. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 5) Authorizes appropriations for the Federal Contract Tower Program. (Sec. 6) Directs the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on efforts by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to implement capacity enhancements and improvements, such as precision runway monitoring systems, and the time frame for their implementation. (Sec. 7) Authorizes a small community or a consortia of small communities or a State to develop an assessment of its air service requirements and submit such assessment and service proposal to the Secretary. Sets forth specified criteria for the selection of participants in the communities program. Directs the Secretary to invite specified air carriers and regional-commuter carriers to offer service proposals in response to, or in conjunction with, the community aircraft service assessments. Sets forth certain program requirements. Directs the Secretary to establish a four-year pilot program: (1) to assist communities and States with inadequate access to the national transportation system to improve their access to such system; and (2) to facilitate better air service link-ups to support the improved access. Directs the Administrator of the FAA, in order to facilitate the use of and improve the safety at small airports, to establish a pilot program to contract for Level I air traffic control services at 20 facilities not eligible for participation in the Federal Contract Tower Program. Sets forth program requirements. Authorizes appropriations.
Austria · National Council · 20 January 1999
Unselbständiger Entschließungsantrag der Abgeordneten Maria Schaffenrath und Genossen betreffend Festlegung entsprechender Grenzwerte für Emissionen von Luftverunreinigungen aus Anlagen zur Herstellung von Holzspanplatten
France · Senate · 20 January 1999
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 1999
Amends the Clean Air Act to allow reformulated gasoline rules of States for which a certain waiver is in effect (permitting them to enforce State motor vehicle emissions standards) to apply in an ozone nonattainment area in lieu of Environmental Protection Agency- promulgated requirements if the State rules will achieve reductions in the aggregate mass of emissions of toxic air pollutants and the aggregate mass of emissions of ozone-forming compounds at least as great as would result from application of the Federal requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 1999
Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in issuing corrective action orders to owners or operators of underground storage tanks, to give highest priority to releases of petroleum into drinking water that pose a threat to human health or the environment.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 1999
Applies the final Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule under the Clean Air Act regulating exhaust emissions from new spark-ignition gasoline marine engines to engines manufactured for model year 2001. Directs the EPA Administrator to amend such rule to require manufacturers to place labels on the engine cowling or the hull of a personal watercraft powered by such an engine that indicate the emission level of the engine relative to that of similar engines by identifying the engine as low emission, very low emission, or ultra low emission.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Amendments of 1999 - Amends the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 to add a new title, Title VIII - Housing Assistance for Native Hawaiians. Directs the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development to make block grants to carry out affordable housing activities for Native Hawaiian families on or near Hawaiian Home Lands.. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands only if the Director of the Department has submitted a housing plan that meets requirements under this Act. Sets forth plan terms, conditions, and requirements. Provides for plan review by the Secretary. Sets forth provisions regarding the treatment of program income, project labor standards, and environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Limits assistance for affordable housing activities under the program to low-income Native Hawaiian families, with specified exceptions for: (1) certain homeownership activities; and (2) assistance to non-Native Hawaiians if the presence of the family in the housing involved is essential to the well-being of Native Hawaiian families and the housing need cannot be met without assistance. Describes eligible affordable housing activities. Sets forth program requirements, including the development of policies governing rents, homebuyer payments, eligibility, management, leases, and tenant selection. Sets the maximum monthly rent or homebuyer payment at 30 percent of the monthly adjusted family income. Reduces future grant payments and requires repayment if housing does not remain affordable for the longest feasible time determined by the Secretary. Sets forth additional remedies for noncompliance with program requirements, including termination of grants and civil actions against the Department. Provides for monitoring by the Director to assess compliance with this Act and progress reports to the Secretary. Sets forth additional review, auditing, and reporting requirements for the Secretary. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 4) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 to authorize the Secretary to guarantee up to $100 million in loans from approved lenders in each of FY 2000 through 2004 to provide access to sources of private financing to Native Hawaiian families who could otherwise not acquire housing financing because of the unique legal status of the Hawaiian Home Lands or as a result of a lack of access to private financial markets. Provides that a loan will be used to construct, acquire, or rehabilitate not more than four-family dwellings that are standard housing and located on Hawaiian Home Lands for which an approved housing plan to provide affordable homeownership housing applies. Limits loans to 30-year terms. Permits the Secretary to guarantee a loan only upon determining that there is a reasonable prospect of repayment. Sets forth remedies for the Secretary if lenders fail to meet certain requirements, including the imposition of monetary penalties. Establishes a Hawaiian Housing Guarantee Fund for the purpose of providing loan guarantees under this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to establish safety and quality standards for housing financed under these provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Lewis and Clark Rural Water System Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to make grants to the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System, Inc., a nonprofit corporation, for the planning and construction of a water supply system to provide service to specified counties in South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa. Requires the Secretary to make grants and other funds available to the System and other private, State, and Federal entities for the initial development of the environmental enhancement component. Requires the System to establish a water conservation program that ensures that System users use the best practicable technology and management techniques to conserve water use. Requires periodic review and revision of such program. Specifies that mitigation for fish and wildlife losses incurred as a result of the construction and operation of the water supply system be on an acre-for-acre basis, based on ecological equivalency, concurrent with project construction. Requires the Western Area Power Administration to make available the capacity and energy required to meet the pumping and incidental operational requirements of the water supply system during the period beginning May 1, and ending October 31, of each year from power designated for future irrigation and drainage pumping for the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin program. Provides that this Act shall not: (1) limit the authorization for water projects in South Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota; or (2) preempt State water rights. Specifies the Federal and non-Federal share of the cost. Requires the Secretary to provide funds for the city of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, equal to 50 percent of the incremental cost of its participation in the project. Authorizes the Secretary to allow the Bureau of Reclamation to provide project construction oversight to the water supply system and environmental enhancement component. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Perkins County Rural Water System Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to make grants to the Perkins County Rural Water System, Inc., for the Federal share of the costs of: (1) planning and construction of the System; and (2) repairs to existing public water distribution systems to ensure conservation of resources and to make such systems functional under the new System. Prohibits the obligation of System construction funds until: (1) Federal environmental compliance requirements have been met; and (2) a final System engineering report and plan have been prepared and submitted to the Congress for at least a 90-day period. Requires the mitigation of fish and wildlife losses during System construction and operation on an acre-for-acre basis, based on ecological equivalency, and concurrent with project construction. Directs the Western Area Power Administration to make available, from power produced under the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Program, the capacity and energy required to meet the pumping and incidental operational requirements of the System from May 1 to October 31 of each year. Provides power use conditions. Provides the Federal share (75 percent) of System costs. Authorizes the Secretary to provide construction oversight to a specified service area within the System, limiting oversight costs. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Clean Gasoline Act of 1999 - Amends the Clean Air Act to prohibit the manufacture, sale, supply, dispensation, transport, or introduction into commerce of motor vehicle gasoline that contains a concentration of sulfur exceeding 40 parts per million per gallon of gasoline. Provides that a person shall not be in violation of such prohibition if, during a one-year period, the person engages in such an activity with respect to gasoline that contains a sulfur concentration between 40 and 80 parts per million per gallon if the average concentration of sulfur in the gasoline during the period is less than 30 parts per million per gallon. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to report to the Congress on the effects of use of low sulfur motor vehicle gasoline on urban and regional air quality. Provides for an update within two years of submission of the original report. Authorizes the Administrator to promulgate a regulation to establish maximum and average allowable sulfur concentrations in motor vehicle gasoline that are lower than concentrations specified under this Act if: (1) research conducted after this Act's enactment indicates that significant air quality benefits would result from a reduction in allowable sulfur concentration in such gasoline; or (2) advanced vehicle technologies have been developed that can significantly reduce emissions of air pollutants from motor vehicles but that require gasoline with a lower concentration of sulfur than that specified under this Act. Prescribes penalties for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 1999
Acid Deposition and Ozone Control Act - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a Nitrogen Oxide Allowance Program under which the contiguous States and the District of Columbia will be allocated allowances, beginning in the year 2002, to emit limited monthly amounts of nitrogen oxides. Allocates such allowances in proportion to a State's share of total electric power generated in the contiguous States. Sets forth requirements for the intrastate distribution of allowances among affected facilities (facilities with combustion units that serve an electricity generator with a minimum capacity of 25 megawatts) by a State or the Administrator. Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations: (1) authorizing allowances to be transferred among affected facilities or persons; and (2) for issuing and tracking the use and transfer of allowances. Permits unused allowances to be carried forward for subsequent years. Requires the Administrator, for States for which the Administrator distributes allowances, to place ten percent of the total allowances in a new source reserve. Provides for the auctioning and sale of undistributed allowances in such reserve during 2000 through 2005. Distributes auction proceeds to affected sources in proportion to the number of allowances that would have been received but for the auction. Authorizes the Administrator to terminate or limit allowances. Makes it unlawful, after January 1, 2000, for: (1) the owner or operator of an affected facility to emit nitrogen oxides exceeding the amount permitted by allowances held by such facility; or (2) any person to hold, use, or transfer such allowances, except as provided under this Act. Repeals the nitrogen oxides emission reduction program under the Clean Air Act. Bars the use of an allowance before the calendar year for which the allowance is allocated. (Sec. 5) Amends the Clean Air Act to require owners or operators of industrial facilities with a minimum capacity of 100 million British thermal units (mmBtus) per hour to install and operate continuous emission monitoring systems on affected units and quality assure data for sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, opacity, and volumetric flow. (Sec. 6) Imposes penalties for emissions in excess of allowances. Requires offsets of allowances in the calendar year following the one in which excess emissions occurred. (Sec. 7) Decreases the amount of sulfur dioxide authorized to be emitted under an existing allowance program for 2005 and subsequent years. (Sec. 8) Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress on objectives for scientifically credible environmental indicators, including acid neutralizing capacity, sufficient to protect sensitive ecosystems of the Adirondack, Mid-Appalachian, Rocky, and Blue Ridge Mountains and the Great Lakes, Lake Champlain, Long Island Sound, and the Chesapeake Bay. Directs the Administrator, by December 31, 2008, to determine whether emissions reductions under this Act are sufficient to achieve such objectives and, if not, to promulgate regulations necessary to protect such ecosystems. (Sec. 10) Requires the Administrator to study and report to the Congress on the practicality of monitoring mercury emissions from all combustion units with a minimum capacity of 250 mmBtus per hour. Provides for regulations to: (1) require reporting of mercury emissions from such units; and (2) control electric utility and industrial source mercury emissions. (Sec. 11) Directs the Administrator to establish a competitive grant program to fund research related to the effects of nitrogen deposition on sensitive watersheds and coastal estuaries in the eastern United States. Requires the Administrator to report to specified congressional committees on the health and chemistry of certain Adirondack lakes and streams that were subjects of a specified report required under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. Authorizes appropriations.