{"id":18267,"date":"2021-08-30T16:35:31","date_gmt":"2021-08-30T16:35:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/?p=18267"},"modified":"2021-08-30T16:35:31","modified_gmt":"2021-08-30T16:35:31","slug":"esa-policy-news-august-30-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/2021\/08\/30\/esa-policy-news-august-30-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"ESA Policy News: August 30, 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this issue:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Congress<\/a>
\n<\/strong>House passes $3.5 trillion budget resolution, paving the way for infrastructure bill.<\/p>\n

Executive Branch<\/a>
\n<\/strong>President Biden nominates Charles F. \u201cChuck\u201d Sams to lead the National Park Service.<\/p>\n

Courts<\/a><\/strong>
\nFederal judge cancels permits for \u201cWillow\u201d drilling project in Alaska.<\/p>\n

States<\/a>
\n<\/strong>New Mexico governor signs executive order creating a \u201c30 by 30\u201d conservation committee.<\/p>\n

International<\/a><\/strong>
\nUN plans virtual Biodiversity Conference in October 2021 and in-person meeting in April and May 2022.<\/p>\n

Scientific Community<\/a>
\n<\/strong>Duke University event to discuss the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act with representatives from the White House and the Commerce Department.<\/p>\n

Federal Register opportunities<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a>Congress<\/h2>\n

House:<\/strong> The full House of Representatives approved a $3.5 trillion budget resolution, paving the way for House committees to write legislative text for an infrastructure bill. The House expects to pass its final bill in late September or October. The Senate is also working on allocating the $3.5 trillion and is expected to pass a bill in late September (see ESA Policy News, Aug. 16, 2021<\/a>). The House also expects to pass the Senate\u2019s $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill (see ESA Policy News, Aug. 16, 2021<\/a>).<\/p>\n

An internal House Natural Resources Committee document obtained by E&E News shows that the committee intends<\/a> to spend $3 billion on the Civilian Climate Corps, $120 million for the NOAA Civilian Conservation Corps and $500 million for the Tribal Civilian Conservation Corps. The House Natural Resources Committee also plans to allocate $550 million to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, including $25 million each for conserving plants in Hawaii and insular areas, butterflies, freshwater mussels and desert fish and $10 million for wildlife corridors. The Climate Adaptation Science Centers receive $100 million. Under the plan, Congress will pay for these programs through increased royalties for drilling on federal lands and waters and others fees and taxes on polluters. The committee also hopes to repeal the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge leasing program through the reconciliation bill. The House Natural Resources Committee plans to hold a hearing for its section of the reconciliation bill Sept. 2.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told<\/a> colleagues in a letter that passing both infrastructure bills would put the country on track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030. Moreover, additional state-level and executive branch actions could bring the country on track to reduce emissions by 50% by 2030, in line with the U.S. commitments Paris Climate Agreement.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Executive Branch<\/h2>\n

Nominations:<\/strong> President Joe Biden nominated<\/a> Charles F. \u201cChuck\u201d Sams III to be the director of the National Park Service. If confirmed, Sams would be the first Native American to lead the agency and the first Senate-confirmed National Park Service director since the Obama administration. According to the Interior Department announcement, he has held a variety of roles with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, most recently as their Executive Director. He has also had roles as the President\/Chief Executive Officer of the Indian Country Conservancy, Executive Director for the Umatilla Tribal Community Foundation, National Director of the Tribal & Native Lands Program for the Trust for Public Land, Executive Director for the Columbia Slough Watershed Council, Executive Director for the Community Energy Project, and President\/Chief Executive Officer for the Earth Conservation Corps.<\/p>\n

Sams holds a bachelor\u2019s of science degree in Business Administration from Concordia University-Portland and a master\u2019s of legal studies in Indigenous Peoples Law from the University of Oklahoma. He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy.\u202fSams is an enrolled member, Cayuse and Walla Walla, of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.<\/p>\n

EPA<\/strong>: The agency announced<\/a> that it will ban the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on food crops. This decision comes after the 9th<\/sup> U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals directed the Environmental Protection Agency to ban the use of chlorpyrifos in instances where it harms workers and children.<\/p>\n

Chlorpyrifos is widely considered dangerous for children\u2019s brain development and can poison bees and other nontarget insects for up to 24 hours after application. In 2015, the Obama administration announced that it would ban chlorpyrifos, but former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt reversed that decision in 2017. The New York Times\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0in 2019 that former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt killed a study by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists, concluding that chlorpyrifos jeopardizes the survival over 1,200 endangered species.<\/p>\n

Three draft biological evaluations from the EPA conclude<\/a> that common insecticides \u2013 clothianidin, midacloprid and thiamethoxam \u2013 are \u201clikely to adversely affect\u201d federally threatened and endangered species. These insecticides are all neonicotinoids. The draft documents are open for public comment<\/a> through Oct. 25, 2021.<\/p>\n

Clean Water Act:<\/strong> A memo from the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers provides<\/a> guidance about how the Biden administrations will implement a 2020 Trump administration Clean Water Act rule<\/a> limiting states\u2019 ability to block infrastructure projects over water quality concerns. The memo aims to maximize states\u2019 flexibility and give states a year to review projects, the maximum allowed under the rule. The Biden administration intends to repeal this rule but leaves the rule in place in the interim.<\/p>\n

Interior<\/strong>: The department will resume<\/a> new oil and gas lease sales on public lands. President Joe Biden issued an executive order in January 2021, putting a moratorium on new oil and gas leasing on public lands. Red states, including Louisiana, quickly moved to challenge the executive order in the courts. In June 2021, a federal judge in Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction stopping this executive order. The judge determined that Biden\u2019s executive order violated the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, the Mineral Leasing Act and the Administrative Procedures Act.<\/p>\n

A federal magistrate judge recommended Aug. 23 that a federal district court in Louisiana allow the state\u2019s challenge to the oil and gas moratorium to advance. The Biden administration asked the court to dismiss this case. \u00a0The district court is expected to make a final decision in the coming weeks. In court filings, the Interior Department revealed<\/a> that the agency plans to consider greenhouse gas emissions from proposed oil and gas lease sales in decision-making. This analysis could also allow the agency to comply with the court order while still blocking oil and gas development.<\/p>\n

USFWS:<\/strong> The agency is proposing<\/a> listing five Texas freshwater mussel species \u2014 the Guadalupe fatmucket (Lampsilis bergmanni<\/em>), the Texas fatmucket (Lampsilis bracteata<\/em>), Guadalupe orb (Cyclonaias necki<\/em>), Texas pimpleback (Cyclonaias (=Quadrula) petrina<\/em>) and false spike (Fusconaia (=Quincuncina) mitchelli<\/em>) \u2014 as endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. Additionally, USFWS is proposing listing Texas fawnsfoot (Truncilla macrodon<\/em>) as a threatened species. The agency attributes the species status to declining water quality and quantity. This proposed rule also designates 1,944 river miles as critical habitat for the species. The proposed rule<\/a> is open for public comment through Oct. 25, 2021.<\/p>\n

USFWS is also proposing listing the Amur Sturgeon as an endangered species under this Endangered Species Act. This fish species is native to Russia and China and is threatened by illegal harvesting for meat and caviar. This proposed rule<\/a> is open for comments through Oct. 25, 2021.<\/p>\n

More News:<\/u><\/p>\n