Thursday, May 17, 2012

In The Spotlight

USDA and CO Governor Release Final EIS for CO Roadless Rule

U.S. Department of Agriculture
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper today announced the release of the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Colorado Roadless Rule.  The rule will impact an estimated 4.2 million acres of National Forest roadless areas within the state.  Today's announcement is the culmination of a seven-year process.   Read More ...

Bipartisan Bill Curbs EPA Power Under Clean Water Act

Western Farm Press
Legislation was introduced in the House to halt the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers’ attempts to illegally expand federal power under the Clean Water Act and extend the government’s regulatory reach to every ditch, puddle and pond in the country.   Read More ...

Rehberg Passes Amendment to Prevent Unprecedented Regulatory Expansion of Water

WaterWorld
Montana's Congressman, Denny Rehberg, offered an amendment during markup of the FY13 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill to prevent an unprecedented expansion of authority under the Clean Water Act. The Amendment, which passed and therefore became part of the bill as it advances to the House of Representatives, prohibits the Corps of Engineers from expanding its jurisdiction to include "non-navigable" waters.   Read More ...

House Natural Resources Alaska Hearing Focuses on Obama "Oceans" Policy Implications

U.S. House Natural Resources Committee
This week, the House Natural Resources Committee held an oversight field hearing in Anchorage, Alaska entitled “Alaska’s Sovereignty In Peril: The National Ocean Policy’s Goal to Federalize Alaska.”  The hearing focused on how President Obama’s plan to mandate ocean zoning through implementation of the National Ocean Policy threatens Alaska’s sovereignty and economic livelihood.

The Alaska Congressional delegation testified.  Joining them were a variety of Alaska-based witnesses, including the Alaska Resource Development Council.  
Read More ...

Senators Fight to Stop EPA’s Takeover of All Water

Senator John Barrasso
U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-WY),  Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Dean Heller (R-NV), Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and 26 other Senators have introduced legislation to stop the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from taking over all private water in the United States.  The “Preserve the Waters of the U.S. Act” prevents the EPA and the Army Corp of Engineers (Corps) from using their overreaching “guidance” to change legal responsibilities under the Clean Water Act (CWA).    Read More ...

EPA Introduces First Greenhouse-Gas Limits for Power Plants

Bloomberg
The Environmental Protection Agency proposed the first limits on greenhouse-gas emissions from U.S. power plants, the largest source of carbon dioxide linked to climate change.

The rules will permit emissions from new power plants at 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt hour, about the level for a modern natural-gas plant, the EPA said today in an e-mailed statement. The limit would effectively preclude construction of new coal-fired plants, which are struggling to compete with decade-low natural gas prices.  
Read More ...

USFS: Draft CO Roadless Rule Sent to White House

E&E News
The Obama Administration today inched closer to allowing Colorado to move forward with a plan to ban most logging and road building on more than 4 million acres of national forests.   Read More ...

Supreme Court Halts EPA Bullying

Washington Post
Yesterday, the Supreme Court, in a 9-0 decision, slapped down President Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency’s arrogant denial of property owners’ right to contest in court the EPA’s administrative abuses. It was a revealing decision — about the Obama administration, more than the court.   Read More ...

Excessive Regulation: Tangled Up in Green Tape

The Economist

The EPA, Congress, activists, the courts and power companies themselves all share the blame for the chaotic nature of environmental regulation in America.

 
Read More ...

Senate Rejects GOP Measure to Build Keystone Pipeline

CNN
The Senate narrowly rejected a Republican-sponsored measure Thursday that would have bypassed the Obama administration's current objections to the Keystone XL pipeline and allowed construction on the controversial project to move forward immediately.  Fifty-six senators voted in favor of the amendment -- four short of the 60 required for approval. Eleven Democrats joined a unanimous Republican caucus in backing the plan.   Read More ...

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