The House Appropriations Committee at press time neared approval of a bill that would slash Environmental Protection Agency water infrastructure accounts. The bill would cut EPA aid for clean- water state revolving funds (SRFs) by 55%, to $689 million, and would trim drinking-water SRFs by 14%, to $829 million.
A Nuclear Regulatory Commission task force has called for tightening safety regulations at the nation’s 104 nuclear powerplants and requiring plants to make upgrades when necessary, in areas such as seismic protection, electric power and cooling water for spent-fuel pools. Related Links: NRC task force report In a 90-day report released on July 13, the NRC panel concludes that a sequence of events like those following the Japanese accident is “unlikely to occur” in the United States. Still, the existing U.S. regulatory approach, developed piece by piece over decades, is a “patchwork,” and needs to be improved, the task force
The Congressional Budget Office has cast a skeptical eye on President Obama’s proposal to shed excess federal real estate through creating a special Civilian Property Realignment Board. CBO says in a June 27 letter to a House committee chairman that the White House proposal is unlikely to bring in the $16 billion in additional revenue that the Office of Management and Budget projects. Related Links: CBO analysis of White House plan But the proposal has supporters in the administration and in Congress, who contend that the current system for disposing of excess federal property isn’t working and that a civilian
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that it is the role of the Environmental Protection Agency, not the court system, to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from powerplants under the Clean Air Act. In a June 20 decision in AEP v. Connecticut, the high court said that states and conservation groups could not challenge powerplants' greenhouse gas emissions in federal court through “public nuisance” lawsuits.In the 8-0 ruling, the justices said that Congress clearly intended that the EPA develop a policy to deal with greenhouse gases. EPA is expected to announce by May 2012 whether it will regulate such emissions under
Some U.S. nuclear powerplants are not prepared to deal with complete power blackouts that could result from severe events such as the earthquake and tsunami that struck and crippled Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant in March, Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials say. Officials from a NRC task force said in a June 14 public meeting that some U.S. powerplants are not ready to cope with an extended loss of power from both the electrical grid and emergency generators, which occurred at the Japanese plant. “NRC inspectors revealed deficiencies at some plants,” says Charlie Miller, task force chairman.The task force, charged with evaluating
Some of the nation’s nuclear powerplants are not prepared to deal with potential station blackouts that could result from a severe event like the simultaneous earthquake and tsunami that struck Fukushima Daiichi, officials from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said on June 14. Officials from the task force established to inspect and evaluate the safety of the nation’s fleet of powerplants said in their 60-day report that some of the powerplants in the United States are not prepared to cope with a total station blackout—with a loss of both power from the electrical grid as well as from emergency generators-- that
As the U.S. government prepares to ramp down military operations in Afghanistan, a new congressional report warns that the billions of dollars being spent in financial aid to the war-torn nation are achieving achieving limited success and calls for more scrutiny on the types of projects, including reconstruction projects, that are funded. AP Wideworld The U.S. must improve oversight of reconstruction contracting in Afghanistan, according to a Congressional report. The government is under pressure to improve quality and sustainability, as it prepares to draw down forces. A worker carries plywood at a security checkpoint under construction near Khoshi in May
State budgets are getting healthier but spending remains tight, and some states are calling for cuts in programs such as transportation. A National Governors Association-National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) survey, released on June 2, reports 14 states are recommending a total of $212.8 million in 2012 general-fund transportation cuts. Six states made midyear 2011 transportation reductions totaling $357.2 million, including $262.4 million in California and $84.4 million in Texas. The report doesn’t cover capital budgets, but capital spending on infrastructure is likely to be under pressure, says Scott Pattison, NASBO executive director. States’ fiscal 2012 general-fund spending is
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says it will release a final rule that will streamline its safety standards and reduce employers’ paperwork. The changes, announced on May 26, are in step with a presidential executive order issued in January requiring federal agencies to simplify regulations and ease burdens on companies. The new regulation includes changes to OSHA’s existing respiratory-protection standard and deletes several requirements for companies to transmit exposure and medical records to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. OSHA estimates the rule will save companies more than $43 million a year and trim the number of
The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has released a draft plan that seeks to ensure adequate U.S. freshwater supplies in light of the expected effects of climate change. The plan, released on June 2, recommends a new vulnerability index to help managers of drinking-water facilities set priorities for adapting their infrastructure to the effects of climate change. CEQ’s draft is open for comment until mid-July.
