Coastal Zone Management Bills
The House Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans, led by Del. Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-GU), will hold a legislative hearing on the following bills:
- H.R. 3223 (Allen): To amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to establish a grant program to ensure coastal access for commercial and recreational fishermen and other water-dependent coastal-related businesses, and for other purposes. (Keep Our Waterfronts Working Act of 2007)
- H.R. 5451 (Bordallo): To reauthorize the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, and for other purposes. (Coastal Zone Reauthorization Act of 2008)
- H.R. 5452 (Capps): To amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to authorize grants to coastal States to support State efforts to initiate and complete surveys of coastal State waters and Federal waters adjacent to a State’s coastal zone to identify potential areas suitable or unsuitable for the exploration, development, and production of renewable energy, and for other purposes. (Coastal State Renewable Energy Promotion Act of 2008)
- H.R. 5453 (Capps): To amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to authorize assistance to coastal states to develop coastal climate change adaptation plans pursuant to approved management programs approved under section 306, to minimize contributions to climate change, and for other purposes. (Coastal State Climate Change Planning Act of 2008)
FY 2009 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Geological Survey Budget
- Dale Hall, Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Mark D. Myers, Director, U.S. Geological Survey
Ben Chandler (D-Ky.) I know that you all have talked some about the alarming loss of common birds in our country. Alarming it is. I almost can’t believe it. The numbers that I’ve seen are absolutely atrocious. And one thing that I’d like to explore with you real quick, the Audubon Society has stated that the cause of the dramatic decline of birds is the outright loss of habitat due to poor land use, the clear-cutting of forests, the draining of wetlands and sprawl. Now, in light of such a stinging indictment as that, how does the administration justify a 70 percent cut in land acquisition?Hall I don’t know.
Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) That’s a good answer.
Chandler That’s one of the best answers I’ve heard in a while, because I think that’s accurate. I appreciate that.
Climate Change and Vulnerable Societies: A Post-Bali Overview
Witnesses
Panel I- Harlan Watson, Ph.D., Special Representative and Senior Climate Negotiator, Bureau of Oceans and International Environment and Scientific Affairs, U.S. Department of State
- His Excellency Ali’ioaiga Feturi Elisaia, Permanent Representative of the Independent State of Samoa
- Mason F. Smith, Charge d’affaires, a.i. of the Republic of the Fiji Islands
- Mr. Charles Paul, Charge d’affaires, a.i., Republic of the Marshall Islands
- His Excellency Masao Nakayama, Permanent Representative of the Federated States of Micronesia
- Her Excellency Marlene Moses, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Nauru
FY 2009 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Budget
We are here today to review the Administration’s proposed Fiscal Year 2009 budget for the Environmental Protection Agency.WitnessSince this is the Bush Administration’s final budget proposal, let’s ask ourselves a simple question:
Is EPA better able today to protect people and communities from serious public health and environmental problems than it was when this Administration took the reins?
The answer is a resounding “No.”
The Bush Administration’s proposed budget for 2009 represents a 26% decline in overall EPA funding since the Administration’s first budget was enacted, when adjusted for inflation. Budgets are about priorities – this shows the low priority that the Bush Administration places on environmental protection.
- Stephen L. Johnson, Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency
The nominations of Stanley C. Suboleski, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of Energy (Fossil Energy), and J. Gregory Copeland, of Texas, to be General Counsel, both of the Department of Energy
The White House withdrew Stanley Suboleski’s nomination the night before the hearing, saying that Suboleski asked for his nomination to be withdrawn “for personal reasons” Monday afternoon.
Food for Thought: Sustainability from Counter to Compost
Today, Chairman Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and the Select Committee will start a process to look into the choices our nation makes on food and agriculture and how those choices affect our environment, specifically the “carbon footprint” of how we grow, raise, transport, package, dispose of and otherwise provide sustenance to Americans and people around the world. And while changing the way the world creates and consumes energy is the most effective way to combat global warming, so-called “lifestyle” choices like the food we eat will play an increasing role in how to make immediate cuts in the pollution that causes global warming.
In today’s hearing—entitled “Food for Thought”—this hunger for knowledge on food and the environment starts by looking at the food service industry, and specifically at the food choices and serving options Congress makes available right here in the House of Representatives. For millions of Americans, the cafeterias that serve food in hospitals, universities, major employment centers and schools deliver the meals to get them through the day, but the environment is often an afterthought in the face of swarms of hungry patrons looking for calories instead of low-carbon food.
Witnesses- Dan Beard, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), House of Representatives
- Carina Wong, Executive Director, Chez Panisse Foundation
- Patricia D. Millner, Ph.D, Research Microbiologist in the Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory and Environmental Microbial Systems Laboratory, USDA
- Tom Kelly, Ph.D., Chief Sustainability Officer, University of New Hampshire Office of Sustainability
FY 2009 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Budget
- Stephen L. Johnson, Director. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Pressed by House panel, EPA chief defends waiver decision (02/26/2008) Katherine Boyle, E&ENews PM reporterU.S. EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson defended his rejection today of California’s waiver request that would have allowed state regulation of motor vehicles’ emissions of greenhouse gases in the wake of the release of agency documents showing that top EPA officials strongly disagreed with him.
Appearing before the House Interior and Environment Subcommittee, Johnson said climate change is not a unique California problem and the state’s petition for a Clean Air Act waiver did not meet the “compelling and extraordinary conditions” required by law.
“Every time another governor, another state representative talks about the need for their state to address global climate change, they’re actually making my very point on the California waiver,” he said.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee released documents showing EPA staff members strongly supported granting the waiver.
A presentation prepared for the director of EPA’s Transportation and Air Quality, Margo Oge, urged Johnson to grant the waiver and suggested he would face great outside pressure to deny it.
“If you are asked to deny this waiver, I fear the credibility of the agency that we both love will be irreparably damaged,” the presentation says. “You have to find a way to get this done. If you cannot, you will face a pretty big personal decision about whether you are able to stay in the job under those circumstances.”
It is “obvious” there is “no legal or technical justification for denying” the waiver, says the presentation prepared by Chris Grundler, Oge’s deputy director at the National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory in Michigan.
Johnson said he only became aware of the presentation when Congress requested documents on the waiver decision.
“It was never presented to me,” he said.
Rep. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) pressed him, asking if Oge ever raised the issues in the presentation.
But Johnson again denied seeing the presentation, although he didn’t say whether Oge raised those points.
“I received a lot of comments from my professional staff, and they presented me with a wide range of options,” Johnson said. “One of the options was denial. One of the options was to grant the waiver.”
Johnson said he will issue a final decision document on the waiver by the end of the week.
Department of Interior’s oil, gas and mineral revenue programs
At the hearing, Chairman Feinstein will call for passage of legislation she has sponsored to close a loophole that has allowed oil and gas companies to pay no royalty payments for drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf for leases negotiated in 1998 and 1999. This measure to close the loophole was stripped from the FY2008 Interior Appropriations bill.
Under this provision, the companies who have not renegotiated their existing contracts will have a choice.
- They can keep their existing leases royalty-free if they so choose, but be barred from bidding on new contracts, or
- They can agree to renegotiate these leases in good faith and be able to participate in the bidding for new leases.
- C. Stephen Allred, Assistant Secretary for Lands and Minerals Management, Department of the Interior
- Randall Luthi, Director, Minerals Management Service