The world's political record
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1,101 records in 2017
Netherlands · House of Representatives · 13 April 2017
Position paper Natuur & Milieu t.b.v. hoorzitting/rondetafelgesprek Biobrandstoffen d.d. 19 april 2017
Netherlands · House of Representatives · 13 April 2017
Voorstel tot wijziging van de lijst van controversiële onderwerpen van de vaste commissie voor Infrastructuur en Milieu
Netherlands · House of Representatives · 13 April 2017
Aan de minister van Infrastructuur en Milieu - verzoek om toestemming voor een technische briefing door het PBL over het Zesde Actieprogramma Nitraatrichtlijn
Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 12 April 2017
326. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of persons awaiting agri-environment options scheme payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18682/17]
Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 12 April 2017
325. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a person (details supplied) will receive an AEOS payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18638/17]
Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 12 April 2017
314. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of an AEOS payment for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18458/17]
European Union · European Commission · 12 April 2017
Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 11 April 2017
657. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a person (details supplied) will receive an AEOS 2 payment. [17617/17]
Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 11 April 2017
325. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the steps involved in a strategic environment assessment in view of the revised wind energy policies; if such a nationwide assessment has been carried out in respect of any other situation to date; the timeframe involved in carrying out this assessment in terms of public consultation, the publication of draft documents, submissions from the public, finalising the document and the process for approving such an assessment; the time necessary to gather information regarding the impact on the areas to be considered under the strategic environment assessment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18192/17]
Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 11 April 2017
324. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the steps prior to the undertaking of a strategic environment assessment in view of the revised wind energy guidelines that are necessary to take before the competition to carry out this work can be advertised in the European Journal; the time taken to process the tenders under this process and appoint an organisation to carry out this work; if a separate tender process is required in advance of this to obtain advice on the way to prepare the tender documents for this process; when the main tender process will be advertised in the European Journal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18188/17]
Netherlands · House of Representatives · 11 April 2017
Duurzaamheid in het onderwijs
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 2017
Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act This bill amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to authorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to issue one-year permits allowing Washington, Oregon, Idaho, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, and the Cowlitz Indian Tribe to kill sea lions in a portion of the Columbia River or certain tributaries in order to protect fish from sea lion predation. Permits may be issued to kill sea lions only if the sea lions are part of a population that is not depleted. The permits may authorize the lethal taking of 100 sea lions or fewer. The cumulative annual taking of sea lions each year under all such permits is limited to 10% of the annual potential biological removal level. Permit holders must be trained in natural resource management. These permits are exempted from environmental review requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for five years. NOAA may suspend the issuance of the permits if, after five years, lethal removal authority is no longer necessary to protect fish from sea lion predation.
Austria · National Council · 7 April 2017
Schriftliche Anfrage der Abgeordneten Leopold Steinbichler, Kolleginnen und Kollegen an den Bundesminister für Finanzen betreffend "Exzessive Elektrizitätsabgabe"
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2017
Disability Integration Act of 2017 This bill prohibits states or local governments that provide institutional placements for individuals with disabilities who need long-term assistance with daily living activities or health-related tasks, and prohibits insurance providers that fund such long-term services, from denying community-based services that would enable such individuals to live in the community and lead an independent life. States, local governments, or insurance providers may not discriminate against such individuals in the provision of community-based services by: (1) imposing prohibited eligibility criteria, cost caps, waiting lists, or payment structures; (2) failing to provide a specific community-based service; or (3) requiring an individual to receive a service in a congregate or disability-specific setting. Community-based services must be offered to individuals with such disabilities prior to institutionalization. Institutionalized individuals must be notified regularly of community-based alternatives. States, local governments, and public insurance providers must assess: (1) transportation barriers that prevent individuals from receiving services in integrated settings, and (2) the availability of integrated employment opportunities. The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must issue regulations requiring states, local governments, or insurance providers to offer community-based long-term services to individuals with such disabilities who would otherwise qualify for institutional placement. State and local governments, in conjunction with housing agencies, must ensure sufficient availability of affordable, accessible, and integrated housing that is not a disability-specific residential setting or a setting where services are tied to tenancy. Such regulations must also require states and local governments to begin implementing a transition plan to achieve the requirements of this bill within 12 years after its enactment. For 10 years after issuance of the regulations, HHS must determine annually whether each state is complying with the transition plan. If a state is complying, HHS must increase by five percentage points the federal medical assistance percentage for a state requesting an increase for expenditures on home and community-based services furnished under the state Medicaid plan under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act, or a waiver of such plan, that are identified as: (1) improvements to ensure accessibility or self-directed receipt of such services, (2) funding shifts from institutional settings to integrated community-based services, or (3) environmental modifications for housing targeted toward the lowest income individuals. The bill provides for DOJ enforcement and allows civil actions by individuals subjected to, or about to be subjected to, a violation of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2017
Conservation Program Improvement Act of 2017 This bill amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to modify the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and conservation easement programs administered by the Department of Agriculture (USDA). (CRP provides payments to farmers who agree to remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production and plant species that will improve environmental health and quality.) The bill modifies CRP to: reauthorize the program through FY2023, increase the annual acreage cap to 30 million acres, revise the formula for determining state target acreage enrollment, add restrictions for land that is planted to trees, modify policies regarding grazing and the mechanical harvesting of vegetative cover, and remove payment limitations for rural water districts or associations that use land enrolled in CRP to protect a wellhead. The bill also modifies the Transition Incentives Program (TIP), which currently provides retired or retiring land owners or operators with additional payments for land enrolled in expiring CRP contracts in exchange for agreeing to sell or rent the land to a beginning farmer or rancher or a socially disadvantaged group. The bill revises TIP to: (1) make landowners who are at least 65 years of age and not retiring eligible for the program, (2) permit the land to be transferred to a veteran farmer or rancher, and (3) modify policies regarding the early termination and transfer of CRP contracts. In administering conservation easement programs, USDA must allow enrolled land to be: (1) modified for specified purposes; or (2) exchanged for land that has equal or greater conservation, wildlife, ecological, and economic values.
France · National Assembly · 6 April 2017
M. François Ruffin alerte Mme la ministre du travail sur les licenciements en cours dans le groupe Mulliez. Suite à une "réorganisation", à la fusion de Auchan et Atac, 70 postes vont être supprimés à Amiens, 870 au niveau français. Pour tous ces licenciements, pour l'instant, aucune prime supra-légale n'est prévue (sources FO et CGT.) Ce groupe ne crie pourtant pas famine : « Auchan Holding a vu son bénéfice net progresser de 14 % en 2016 ». ( L'Express , 10 mars 2017). Les dividendes ont augmenté de 75 % en ce printemps 2017, à hauteur de 350 millions d'euros. Avec 26 milliards d'euros, cette famille est aujourd'hui la troisième fortune de "France". Entre guillemets, car la famille s'applique à déposer ses économies en Belgique : la justice les a d'ailleurs perquisitionnés, les soupçonnant de fraude fiscale et de blanchiment. ( Le Parisien , 10 mai 2016). Mais c'est un autre souci qu'on voudrait pointer : avec 84 millions d'euros (source entreprise), Auchan est, semble-t-il, le troisième plus gros bénéficiaire privé du crédit impôt compétitivité emploi (après Casino et Carrefour). L'année où ces aides étaient perçues pour la première fois, l'effectif a diminué de 1 400 personnes... Mais les dividendes des actionnaires familiaux étaient triplés. Ces aides ont été octroyées sans la moindre conditionnalité et, ajoutera-t-on, sans ciblage : la grande distribution n'est nullement soumise à la concurrence internationale. Compte tenu de ces éléments, il apprécierait qu'elle lui fasse connaître les mesures qu'entend prendre le Gouvernement dans ce dossier, mais au-delà souhaite l'interroger sur ce que contiendrait la loi travail n° 2 qui empêcherait les multinationales de licencier alors que leurs bénéfices grossissent et qu'ils bénéficient d'aides publiques.
France · National Assembly · 6 April 2017
Mme Marietta Karamanli attire l'attention de Mme la ministre des solidarités et de la santé sur les mesures à prendre pour protéger les personnes des perturbateurs endocriniens. Ces éléments sont présents dans la plupart des produits de consommation (les aliments, les revêtements des ustensiles de cuisson, les emballages, les produits de beauté, les couches pour petits enfants, les canapés ou encore les sols, les jouets). Des études montrent qu'on retrouve ces substances potentiellement dangereuses dans le sang et les cheveux des enfants. Non seulement ils apparaissent dangereux seuls mais leur mélange, même à faible dose entre eux, pose la question d'un effet de « cocktail ». Elle lui demande les initiatives qu'elle entend prendre pour limiter aux niveaux français et européen leur utilisation, encourager le recours à des produits de substitution non dangereux, informer les consommateurs et développer la recherche scientifique sur les effets, associations et protection des personnes.
France · National Assembly · 6 April 2017
M. Martial Saddier attire l'attention de M. le ministre de l'économie et des finances sur les plateformes chimiques. Acteur majeur de l'économie française, l'industrie chimique est le 2ème producteur européen, derrière l'Allemagne et le 6ème producteur mondial. Elle emploie 158 000 salariés pour un chiffre d'affaires de 82,4 milliards d'euros, ce qui en fait l'un des premiers secteurs industriels français. Pour renforcer leur attractivité et face à la forte compétitivité de ce secteur, des plateformes chimiques se sont peu à peu développées. Une circulaire du ministère de l'écologie, du développement durable et de l'énergie, en date du 25 juin 2013, reconnaît la spécificité des 17 plateformes chimiques de notre territoire et renforce leur rôle. Toutefois, une étude, menée par la direction générale des entreprises (DGE) et l'Union des industries chimiques (UIC) dans le cadre du Pipame et parue en septembre 2014, estime que « les contraintes réglementaires sont jugées plus fortes en France qu'ailleurs, notamment par des industriels opérant à la fois en France et en Allemagne ». Elle indique également que « l'instabilité de la réglementation et la rétroactivité des nouvelles réformes ne créent pas un environnement propice à l'investissement de croissance ». L'étude recommande donc une nécessaire évolution du contexte réglementaire, afin de favoriser le développement des plateformes chimiques. Elle propose notamment la finalisation des PPRT d'ici à la fin de l'année 2014, la limitation de l'impact de la réglementation sismique et la restructuration de la taxe sur les activités polluantes (TGAP). Il souhaite donc connaître la position du Gouvernement sur ce sujet et savoir s'il envisage une prochaine évolution réglementaire adaptée aux plateformes chimiques.
Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 6 April 2017
284. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of persons who applied for AEOS who have received their total 2016 payment, by county, in tabular form; the number of persons who have passed all payment approval checks and are awaiting their 2016 payment; the total number of AEOS recipients who have yet to receive payment by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17301/17]
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2017
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2017 This bill amends the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to extend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Trust Fund until 19 years after this bill's enactment. The trust fund compensates individuals who contract cancer or other diseases as a result of their exposure to radiation during nuclear testing undertaken by the United States during the Cold War. The bill revises the requirements of that Act, including by: increasing the amount of compensation that an individual may receive; expanding the affected area to include Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and New Mexico; expanding eligibility requirements to include additional individuals, such as certain employees of uranium mines or mills, or individuals who participated onsite in the cleanup of Enewetak Atoll (a ring of islands in the Pacific Ocean where nuclear testing occurred) from 1977 through 1980; and extending until 19 years after this bill's enactment the statute of limitations for the filing of claims. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences must establish a grant program for institutions of higher education to study the epidemiological impacts of uranium mining and milling among non-occupationally exposed individuals. The bill amends the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 by expanding eligibility requirements for the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program with respect to chronic beryllium disease.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2017
Eastern Interior Alaska Land Use Protection Act This bill declares that the management plan prepared by the Bureau of Land Management for the Eastern Interior Planning Area in Alaska, which is entitled the "Eastern Interior Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement," for which a notice of availability was published in the Federal Register on July 29, 2016, shall have no force or effect.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2017
Public Input for National Monuments Act This bill applies the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to the designation of a national monument. The President must certify compliance with the Act when designating national monuments.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2017
Bringing Reductions to Energy's Airborne Toxic Health Effects Act or the BREATHE Act This bill amends the Clean Air Act to revise requirements for hazardous air pollutants. Specifically, the bill allows: (1) emissions from oil or gas exploration or production wells and emissions from pipeline compressors or pump stations to be aggregated with emissions from other similar sources and regulated as a major source of toxic air pollutants, (2) emissions from those wells to be aggregated for purposes of emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants, and (3) emissions from oil or gas production wells to be regulated as an area source of toxic air pollutants. The Environmental Protection Agency must: (1) issue a final rule adding hydrogen sulfide to the list of hazardous air pollutants; and (2) revise the list of air pollution sources within 365 days after issuing the rule to include categories and subcategories of major sources and area sources of hydrogen sulfide, including oil and gas wells.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2017
Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act of 2017 This bill repeals the exemption for hydraulic fracturing operations related to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a process to extract underground resources such as oil or gas from a geologic formation by injecting water, a propping agent (e.g., sand), and chemical additives into a well under enough pressure to fracture the geological formation. The chemicals intended for use in underground injections must be disclosed before the hydraulic fracturing operations commence. The chemicals actually used must also be disclosed at the end of the operations. The disclosure must be made to state underground injection programs or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) if the EPA has primary enforcement responsibility in the state. The state or the EPA must make the disclosure available to the public. When a medical emergency exists and the proprietary chemical formula of a chemical used in the operations is necessary for medical treatment, hydraulic fracturing operations must disclose the formula or the specific chemical identity of a trade secret chemical to the state, the EPA, or the treating physician or nurse upon request, regardless of whether a written statement of need or a confidentiality agreement has been provided. Hydraulic fracturing operations may require a written statement of need and a confidentiality agreement as soon thereafter as circumstances permit.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2017
Focused Reduction of Effluence and Stormwater runoff through Hydrofracking Environmental Regulation Act of 2017 or the FRESHER Act of 2017 This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to eliminate a prohibition on the Environmental Protection Agency from requiring a permit under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System for discharges of certain collected, uncontaminated stormwater runoff from mining operations or oil and gas operations. The Department of the Interior must study stormwater runoff associated with oil or gas operations, including an analysis of: (1) measurable contamination, (2) groundwater resources, and (3) the susceptibility of aquifers to contamination from stormwater runoff associated with the operations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2017
CLEANER Act of 2017 or the Closing Loopholes and Ending Arbitrary and Needless Evasion of Regulations Act of 2017 This bill amends the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to eliminate the exemption for waste derived from the exploration, development, or production of crude oil, natural gas, or geothermal energy from regulations governing the disposal of hazardous waste. Within a year of this bill's enactment, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must: determine whether waste associated with oil, gas, or geothermal energy activities meet the criteria promulgated for the identification or listing of hazardous waste; identify or list as hazardous waste any of those wastes if they meet the identification or listing criteria; and promulgate regulations regarding standards applicable to generators, transporters, and owners and operators of facilities for the treatment, storage, or disposal of those wastes. The EPA may modify the regulation of those standards to consider the special characteristics of those wastes so long as the modified regulations protect human health and the environment. Within a year of this bill's enactment, the EPA must promulgate revisions of certain criteria concerning landfills and waste management practices of open dumping for facilities that may receive wastes that are: (1) associated with those activities, and (2) not identified or listed as hazardous waste. Those revisions must: protect human health and the environment, while allowing consideration of the practicable capability of such facilities; and require groundwater monitoring as necessary to detect contamination; establish criteria for the acceptable location of new or existing facilities; and provide for corrective action and financial assurance as appropriate.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2017
National Opportunity for Lead Exposure Accountability and Deterrence Act of 2017 This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revise the national primary drinking water regulations for lead and copper. The rule must direct: public water systems (the systems) to meet certain reporting requirements; the EPA to develop a sampling protocol and develop instructions for compliance with the protocol; the EPA, or the state exercising primary enforcement responsibility, to require on-site investigations for identifying the source of lead in all residential or nonresidential facilities when their individual samples have concentrations of lead or copper contamination exceeding specified levels; the systems to meet certain notification and reporting requirements when lead or copper concentration levels are exceeded; the systems to develop and make publicly available an inventory of the material composition of the service lines at residential and nonresidential facilities; the systems to collect and make publicly available information about the ownership of those service lines; and the systems to replace an entire lead service line (instead of partially replacing them) when they are replaced. The EPA must also revise the rule to lower the allowable level of lead that may be contained in drinking water.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2017
Water Infrastructure Flexibility Act This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to allow municipalities to develop a plan that integrates wastewater and stormwater management. A permit for a municipal discharge under the national pollutant discharge elimination system that incorporates an integrated plan may integrate all requirements under the Act addressed in the plan. Those permits may include a schedule of compliance that allows actions for meeting water quality-based effluent limitations to be implemented over more than one permit term if the compliance schedules are authorized by state water quality standards. Those actions may include implementing green infrastructure as part of a water quality-based effluent limitation. (Green infrastructure includes measures that mimic natural processes to store, reuse, or reduce stormwater.) The bill establishes an Office of the Municipal Ombudsman in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide: (1) technical assistance to municipalities seeking to comply with the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act, and (2) information to the EPA to ensure that agency policies are implemented by all EPA offices. The EPA must ensure that specified EPA offices promote the integration of green infrastructure into permitting programs, planning efforts, research, technical assistance, and funding guidance. The bill establishes requirements for revising the EPA's 1997 guidance about combined sewer overflows, including by setting forth criteria for determining the ability of households to pay utility bills. (Combined sewer systems collect rainwater, sewage, and industrial wastewater into one pipe. During storms, the combined wastewater sometimes exceeds the capacity of the treatment plant. When this occurs, combined sewer overflows discharge directly into water bodies.)
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2017
Safe Hydration is an American Right in Energy Development Act of 2017 This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to require states, in order to obtain primary enforcement responsibility for a state underground injection control program, to prohibit the underground injection of fluids or propping agents pursuant to hydraulic fracturing operations related to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities unless the person proposing to conduct the hydraulic fracturing operations agrees to conduct testing and report data in accordance with this bill. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a process to extract underground resources such as oil or gas from a geologic formation by injecting water, a propping agent (e.g., sand), and chemical additives into a well under enough pressure to fracture the geological formation. Regulations under the Act for state underground injection control programs must require any person conducting such hydraulic fracturing operations to: (1) conduct testing of underground sources of drinking water in accordance with sampling and testing requirements described in this bill, and (2) report to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the testing results. Hydraulic fracturing operations are exempted from those testing and reporting requirements if there is no accessible underground source of drinking water within a radius of one mile of the site where the operations occur. The EPA must establish and maintain a publicly accessible and searchable database of testing results.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2017
CO2 Regulatory Certainty Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise requirements for the secure geological storage of carbon dioxide for the purpose of the tax credit for carbon dioxide sequestration. The bill establishes a December 31, 2017, deadline and requirements for regulations that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is required, under current law, to establish for determining adequate security measures for the geological storage of the carbon dioxide such that carbon dioxide does not escape into the atmosphere. The IRS regulations must consider the carbon dioxide to be disposed of in secure geological storage if it is stored in compliance with specified rules promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Air Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act for the geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide, the injection of carbon dioxide, and the criteria and standards for underground injection control programs that are applicable to Class II wells.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2017
This joint resolution nullifies the rule submitted by the Department of the Interior relating to the management plan prepared by the Bureau of Land Management for the Eastern Interior Planning Area in Alaska, entitled the "Eastern Interior Proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement," published on July 29, 2016.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2017
Made in America Water Infrastructure Act This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act by requiring all of the iron and steel products used in projects funded by the drinking water state revolving fund program to be produced in the United States, unless: (1) it would be inconsistent with the public interest, (2) iron and steel products are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality, or (3) inclusion of iron and steel products produced in the United States will increase the cost of the overall project by more than 25%.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2017
National Forest Ecosystem Improvement Act of 2017 This bill directs the Forest Service to prioritize and carry out ecosystem restoration projects on National Forest System (NFS) land to accomplish one or more of the objectives specified in this bill, which include restoring terrestrial habitat, carrying out a needed timber stand improvement, reducing the risk or extent of insect or disease infestation, or reducing wildland fire severity potential. The Forest Service may not carry out an ecosystem restoration project on any area of NFS land in the National Wilderness Preservation System or on which removal of vegetation is prohibited by law. The Forest Service must accomplish restoration treatments throughout the NFS on 1 million acres using certain mechanical treatment methods and on another 1 million acres using prescribed fire. The Forest Service shall prepare an environmental assessment in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for each ecosystem restoration project that accomplishes objectives of this bill. The Forest Service shall study and describe in each ecosystem restoration project both the proposed action and a no-action alternative. The Forest Service shall establish an arbitration program as an alternative dispute resolution process in lieu of judicial review for specified types of ecosystem restoration projects. A categorical exclusion is made available to the Forest Service for certain forest management activities in order to: (1) expedite specified critical response actions, (2) expedite salvage operations in response to catastrophic events, and (3) meet forest plan goals for early successional forests. For each forest management activity covered by a categorical exclusion granted by this bill, the Forest Service shall satisfy the interagency consultation obligations under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 by achieving compliance with certain alternative consultation procedures established by federal regulation.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2017
Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act or the FRAC Act This bill repeals the exemption for hydraulic fracturing operations relating to oil and natural gas production activities under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is a process to extract underground resources such as oil or gas from a geologic formation by injecting water, a propping agent (e.g., sand), and chemical additives into a well under enough pressure to fracture the geological formation. The bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to allow the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prescribe regulations that authorize a state to seek primary enforcement responsibility for hydraulic fracturing operations for oil and natural gas without seeking to assume primary enforcement responsibility for other types of underground injection control wells. The chemicals intended for use in underground injections must be disclosed before the hydraulic fracturing operations commence. The chemicals actually used must also be disclosed at the end of the operations. The disclosure must be made to the state or, if the EPA has primary enforcement responsibility, to the EPA. The state or the EPA must ensure the accuracy and completeness of the disclosed information and make it available to the public. When a medical emergency exists and the proprietary chemical formula of a chemical used in such hydraulic fracturing is necessary for medical diagnosis, treatment, or emergency response, hydraulic fracturing operations must disclose the formula or the specific chemical identity of a trade secret chemical to the state, the EPA, a first responder, or a health care practitioner upon request, regardless of the existence of a written statement of need or a confidentiality agreement. Hydraulic fracturing operations may require the execution of the statement and agreement as soon as practicable. First responders or health care practitioners may share any information disclosed with other persons if the information is medically necessary, but such personnel may not make the information publicly available.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2017
Balkan Economic Partnership Act This bill authorizes the President to designate a private, nonprofit organization to be known as the Bosnia and Herzegovina-American Enterprise Fund to promote private sector development through: the initiation and expansion of employment and profitability of private enterprises; the modeling, promotion, and dissemination of sound corporate governance and law-abiding Western business practices; the promotion of policy reforms to improve the business enabling environment and facilitate foreign and domestic investment; and the demonstration that private sector investment can be undertaken profitably. The Board of Directors of the fund should adopt the best practices and procedures used by investment funds authorized for the U.S. Agency for International Development through enactment of the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989 and the FREEDOM Support Act.
European Union · Court of Justice of the European Union · 6 April 2017
European Union · Court of Justice of the European Union · 6 April 2017
Netherlands · House of Representatives · 6 April 2017
Brief van de staatssecretaris van Infrastructuur en Milieu over het rapport van de OVV inzake veiligheid vliegverkeer Schiphol (Ad.nl, 6 april 2017)
France · Senate · 5 April 2017
Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 5 April 2017
51. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on whether ASD, autism spectrum disorder, units in mainstream schools for children with autism is the preferred educational environment for children; and his plans with regard to developing and working with the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and the Minister of State with special responsibility for disabilities to further ASD units. [14830/17]
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2017
Blocking Regulatory Interference from Closing Kilns Act of 2017 This bill prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency from requiring compliance with Clean Air Act rules concerning national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants with respect to brick and structural clay products manufacturing or clay ceramics manufacturing until judicial reviews of the rules are complete.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2017
Blocking Regulatory Interference from Closing Kilns Act of 2017 This bill prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency from requiring compliance with Clean Air Act rules concerning national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants with respect to brick and structural clay products manufacturing or clay ceramics manufacturing until judicial reviews of the rules are complete.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2017
Environmental Health Workforce Act of 2017 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop model standards and guidelines for credentialing environmental health workers. HHS must develop a comprehensive and coordinated plan for the environmental health workforce that includes performance measures and identifies: (1) any gaps between existing programs and future environmental health workforce needs, (2) actions needed to address any identified gaps, and (3) any additional statutory authority required by HHS to implement identified actions. The Government Accountability Office must identify best practices related to training and credentialing environmental health professionals in six states, based on the examination of three states that have credentialing requirements for environmental health workers and three that do not. The bill also amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to specify that environmental health workers are eligible for public service loan forgiveness.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2017
Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2017 This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require states to direct their local educational agencies (LEAs) to establish policies that prevent and prohibit conduct, including bullying and harassment, that is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive to: (1) limit students' ability to participate in, or benefit from, school programs; or (2) create a hostile or abusive educational environment that adversely affects students' education. LEAs shall also provide: (1) students, parents, and educational professionals with annual notice of the conduct prohibited in their disciplinary policies; (2) students and parents with grievance procedures that target such conduct; and (3) the public with annual data on the incidence and frequency of that conduct at the school and LEA level. The Department of Education must conduct, and report on, an independent biennial evaluation of programs and policies to combat bullying and harassment in elementary and secondary schools. The National Center for Education Statistics shall collect state data to determine the incidence and frequency of the conduct prohibited by LEA disciplinary policies.
European Union · Court of Justice of the European Union · 5 April 2017
Netherlands · House of Representatives · 5 April 2017
Brief van de staatssecretaris van Infrastructuur en Milieu over het bericht ‘Nederland blijft vieze man in Europa’ (Volkskrant, 5 april 2017)
United Kingdom · UK Parliament · 4 April 2017
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to establish clear objectives for all aspects of future environmental protection in the UK; and when those objectives will be published.
United Kingdom · UK Parliament · 4 April 2017
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that appropriate enforcement mechanisms will be in position post-Brexit in place of those currently exercised by the European Commission and European Court of Justice, in relation to the
United Kingdom · UK Parliament · 4 April 2017
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the announcement by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 4 January, what progress they have made on finalising the two green papers on (1) the future of food and farming, and (2) the
United Kingdom · UK Parliament · 4 April 2017
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to match, post-Brexit, the funding provided by the European Investment Bank for the environment and water industry within the UK; and what long-term plans they intend to have in place to guarantee