Capitol Hill Calendar: February 12-13, 2014


Hearings on Energy and Environment Issues and Legislation

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2014


SENATE
9:30 a.m. Senate Chamber
After the transaction of any morning
business (not to extend beyond 11 a.m.), Senate will begin consideration of the
nominations of Tina S. Kaidanow, of the District of Columbia, a Career Member
of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Coordinator
for Counterterrorism, with the rank and status of Ambassador at Large, Daniel
Bennett Smith, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of State (Intelligence
and Research), Catherine Ann Novelli, of Virginia, to be United States Alternate
Governor of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development for a
term of five years, and United States Alternate Governor of the Inter-American
Development Bank for a term of five years, and Catherine Ann Novelli, of
Virginia, to be an Under Secretary of State (Economic Growth, Energy, and the
Environment). At 11:30 a.m., Senate will vote on confirmation of the
nominations.
SENATE ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Subcommittee on Energy
2:30 p.m. SD-366
Oversight hearing to examine lessons
for Federal policy from state efficiency and renewable programs, 2:30 p.m.

SENATE ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
10:00 a.m. SD-406
To hold hearings to examine Moving
Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) re authorization, focusing on
the economic importance of maintaining Federal investments in our
transportation infrastructure, 10 a.m., SD-406.

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2014



SENATE COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND
TRANSPORTATION
Subcommittee on Surface Transportation
and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
2:30 p.m. SR-253 (202) 224-4852
To hold hearings to examine enhancing
our rail safety, focusing on current challenges for passenger and freight rail,
2:30 p.m., SR-253.

SENATE ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
10:00 a.m. SD-366
Business meeting to consider the
nominations of Rhea Sun Suh, of Colorado, to be Assistant Secretary for Fish
and Wildlife, and Janice Marion Schneider, of New York, to be Assistant
Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, both of the Department of the Interior,
10 a.m., SD-366.
Recent posts:  

Snowy owl, seeking Washington celebrity, pays a price
Is New York State not all it’s fracked up to be?

Bill would track federal funds to enviro groups that sue  
Capitol Hill Calendar: February 6, 2014
 In from the cold, a free copy of today’s EnviroPolitics  

Capitol Hill Calendar: February 12-13, 2014 Read More »

Snowy owl, seeking Washington celebrity, pays a price

Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post

Snowy owls, a rare sight below the Arctic, have been appearing at nature preserves and beaches along the coastline of New Jersey this winter. Birdwatchers have spent long, cold hours, peering through binoculars, hoping for a glimpse of one of the impressive creatures.

In late January, a snowy owl abandoned the anonymity of the shore to assume a power position atop an awning at a Washington, D.C. building where lobbyists are the usual nesters. It drew a crowd of gawking pedestrians, then flew on to greater photo ops, landing on a ledge at the Washington Post headquarters.  

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Fame can exact a heavy cost, as the owl learned when it was struck by a bus and an SUV. After some rehab at The National Zoo, the female was transferred to a much bigger (and very chilly) clinic with a warehouse-sized flight cage.

The location is being kept secret.  Dick Cheney’s hidden bunker is our guess.

Read the Washington Post’s coverage here:
Snowy owl moves on, with no goodbye
In cold isolation, a snowy owl heals
D.C. cops tailed inured owl for two hours
Snowy owl, hit by bus, may have head injury
Bird watchers at rush hour: A snowy owl descends on D.C.

 

Snowy owl, seeking Washington celebrity, pays a price Read More »

Is New York State not all it's fracked up to be?


Brian Brock; a retired geologist; Jerry Atcon, a former systems engineer; Chip Northrup, a former executive for the gas company ARCO, and Louis Allstadt, former executive vice president of Mobil Oil told a state senate panel that New York State does not have enough gas reserves to provide the type of major economic boom pro-fracking interests claim it will.

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According to The Legislative Gazette, Brock testified that "the geology of shale limits how much gas could be produced from them."

"Brock says a well’s productivity depends on a number of factors, but organic content, thermal maturity, shale thickness and depth are particularly important to the amount of gas that can be produced from a given well. Based on these four major factors, Brock said much of the Marcellus and Utica Shale formations will not produce an abundance of gas as some gas industry and fracking proponents have claimed.

"In his testimony, Brock explains much of the area of the Marcellus Shale spanning into New York lacks a sufficient amount of organic content that is heated at the correct temperature to create an abundance of gas."

The hearing was held by Sen. Tony Avella, D- Queens, an outspoken critic of fracking.
Read the full story here

Recent posts: 
Bill would track federal funds to enviro groups that sue 
Capitol Hill Calendar: February 6, 2014
In from the cold, a free copy of today’s EnviroPolitics
NJ legislative panels to meet on Passaic River flooding 
Sandy aid: Did NJ towns hurt most get the most money? 



Is New York State not all it's fracked up to be? Read More »

Bill would track federal funds to enviro groups that sue

A bill passed out of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee that Rep. Cynthia Lummis hopes will shed light on reimbursements of public funds environmental groups receive when they sue the federal government, the Casper Star Tribune reports.
Rep. Cynthia Lummis
"Lummis, R-Wyo., sponsored H.R. 2919, the Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act, with Reps. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn.; Joe Garcia, D-Fla., and Doug Collins, R-Ga. After Wednesday’s passage in committee, the bill heads to the House floor. The bill was introduced Aug. 1.
"The bill would require more transparency for those who use the Equal Access to Justice Act. EAJA was passed by Congress in 1980. Lummis said EAJA was created to reimburse legal fees of the “little guy,” such as a veteran, retiree, small-business owner or nonprofit with legal bills when facing the giant federal government in court.
Lummis contends that “EAJA was later co-opted by large environmental groups so their litigation shops could get reimbursed for filing expansive litigation on environmental issues.” 

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Her would require the nonpartisan Administrative Conference of the United States to report to Congress each year how much has been paid from EAJA, by which federal agencies, and the recipients of those dollars. The Administrative Conference, an independent agency tasked with finding solutions to improve federal agencies’ administrative processes, would also create an online database with the information.


Read the full story here

Related environmental news story:
The Environmental Relevance of the Equal Access to Justice Act


Recent posts:
Capitol Hill Calendar: February 6, 2014 
In from the cold, a free copy of today’s EnviroPolitics
NJ legislative panels to meet on Passaic River flooding
Sandy aid: Did NJ towns hurt most get the most money?
Injection well OK for Pa fracking water; more coming

Bill would track federal funds to enviro groups that sue Read More »

Capitol Hill Calendar: February 6, 2014

Hearings on Energy and Environment Issues and Legislation

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2014

 
SENATE ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
9:30 a.m. SD-366
To hold hearings to examine S. 1784, to improve timber management on Oregon and California Railroad and Coos Bay Wagon Road grant land, and S. 1966, to provide for the restoration of the economic and ecological health of National Forest System land and rural communities, 9:30 a.m., SD-366.

 
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SENATE ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
10:30 a.m. SD-406
Business meeting to consider H.R. 1206, to grant the Secretary of the Interior permanent authority to authorize States to issue electronic duck stamps, S. 741, to extend the authorization of appropriations to carry out approved wetlands conservation projects under the North American Wetlands Conservation Act through fiscal year 2017, S. 212, to approve the transfer of Yellow Creek Port properties in Iuka, Mississippi, S. 864, to amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to reauthorize technical assistance to small public water systems, H.R. 724, to amend the Clean Air Act to remove the requirement for dealer certification of new light-duty motor vehicles, S. 51, to reauthorize and amend the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act, S. 970, to amend the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 to reauthorize grants for and require applied water supply research regarding the water resources research and technology institutes established under the Act, S. 898, to authorize the Administrator of General Services to convey a parcel of real property in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to the Amy Biehl High School Foundation, S. 969, to amend the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act to reauthorize the Act, S. 1077, to amend the Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act of 1998 to provide for the reauthorization of the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network, S. 1865, to amend the prices set for Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamps and make limited waivers of stamp requirements for certain users, S. 1451, to provide for environmental restoration activities and forest management activities in the Lake Tahoe Basin, to amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the importation or shipment of quagga mussels, S. 1080, to amend and reauthorize certain provisions relating to Long Island Sound restoration and stewardship, and the nominations of Victoria Marie Baecher Wassmer, of Illinois, to be Chief Financial Officer, Thomas A. Burke, of Maryland, to be an Assistant Administrator, and Kenneth J. Kopocis, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Administrator, all of the Environmental Protection Agency, Roy K. J. Williams, of Ohio, to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, Rhea Sun Suh, of Colorado, to be Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife, Richard J. Engler, of New Jersey, to be a Member of the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, and proposed resolutions relating to the General Services Administration, 10:30 a.m., SD-406.

Recent posts: 

In from the cold, a free copy of today’s EnviroPolitics

NJ legislative panels to meet on Passaic River flooding
Sandy aid: Did NJ towns hurt most get the most money?
Injection well OK for Pa fracking water; more coming
UPDATE on Delaware River oil spill at Delta refinery  

Capitol Hill Calendar: February 6, 2014 Read More »

In from the cold, a free copy of today’s EnviroPolitics

It’s out! Despite a power outage that left our office cold and dark and an Odysseus-like
search for Internet access through miles of suburban shopping centers, today’s ‘EnviroPolitics’ has been shipped.

In the mood for celebrating (before dealing with a cold and dark house), we’re making today’s edition free to all. If your power’s on and your Internet’s accessible, Enjoy the download! 

In from the cold, a free copy of today’s EnviroPolitics Read More »