Recent Federal Bills

Below are summaries of Bills Introduced, Committee Reports, Chamber Actions, and Public Laws reported in the most recent issue of ELR's Weekly Update.

would amend the Water Resources Development Act of 1996 to make modifications to the Chesapeake Bay environmental restoration and protection program.

would amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to create a designation for property owners who take actions to reduce nutrient and sediment runoff into the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

would reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

would amend the Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act of 1998 to provide for the continuing authorization of the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network.

would amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to preserve jobs and coastal communities through transparency and accountability in fishery management.

would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the financing of the Superfund.

would establish a temporary prohibition against revising any NAAQS applicable to coarse particulate matter and limit federal regulation of nuisance dust in areas in which such dust is regulated under state, tribal, or local law.

would designate as wilderness certain public land in the Cherokee National Forest in the state of Tennessee.

would release wilderness study areas administered by BLM that are not suitable for wilderness designation from continued management as de facto wilderness areas and release inventoried roadless areas within the National Forest System that are not recommended for wilderness designation from the land use restrictions of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Final Rule and the 2005 State Petitions for Inventoried Roadless Area Management Final Rule.

would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose a retail tax on disposable carryout bags.