{"id":3231,"date":"2010-04-26T13:41:39","date_gmt":"2010-04-26T17:41:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/?p=3231"},"modified":"2010-04-26T13:41:39","modified_gmt":"2010-04-26T17:41:39","slug":"esa-policy-news-april-23","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/2010\/04\/26\/esa-policy-news-april-23\/","title":{"rendered":"ESA Policy News: April 23"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here are some highlights from the latest ESA Policy News by ESA\u2019s Science Policy Analyst, Piper Corp. Read the full Policy News <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/a>SENATE CLIMATE DEBATE: UNCERTAINTY REMAINS HIGH AS KERRY, LIEBERMAN, AND GRAHAM PREPARE TO RELEASE CLIMATE BILL<\/span><\/strong>
\nSenators John Kerry (D-MA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) are set to unveil their much-anticipated climate and energy bill on Monday, April 23. The trio will not formally introduce it, since doing so would trigger the committee process. Instead, they plan to hand it directly to Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), who will oversee its progress closely, first calling on all Senate committees with jurisdiction to submit their changes over the next few weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bill is the product of months of negotiations and includes a notable amount of committee input already\u2014according to Lieberman, the draft will reference all of the energy bill passed by the Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee last summer (S 1462) and draw from in-depth conversations with Finance Committee staff. Still, several lawmakers are worried that the committee process\u2014critical, they say, to arriving at a bipartisan consensus\u2014could be circumvented entirely. For more information on S 1462, see the <\/span>June 19 edition<\/span><\/a> of the ESA Policy News.<\/span><\/p>\n

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: HOUSE SCIENCE SUBCOMMITTEE APPROVES $48B NSF R&D BILL<\/strong>
\nOn April 14, the House Science Committee held the second of three subcommittee markups on the reauthorization of the 2007 America COMPETES Act.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Research and Science Education Subcommittee approved by voice vote a bill that would authorize $47.5 billion for research and development programs at the National Science Foundation (NSF) over the next five years. Of the agency\u2019s research budget, at least 5 percent would go toward high-risk, high-reward basic research proposals.<\/span><\/p>\n

ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE: FWS TO UPDATE ANWR MANAGEMENT PLANS; ALASKAN SENATORS VOW TO BLOCK ADDITIONAL WILDERNESS DESIGNATIONS<\/strong>
\nThe Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)\u2014home to one of North America\u2019s largest caribou herds as well as what could be, by US Geological Survey estimates, as much as 10.3 billion barrels of oil and substantial natural gas deposits\u2014is again the source of debate, after the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced plans to revise its management plans. Alaska Senators Mark Begich (D) and Lisa Murkowski (R) fear that the new plans will hinder their efforts to open the area for drilling and have therefore vowed to block the agency from moving forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

ANWR drilling is already prohibited under the 1980 Alaskan National Interest Lands Conservation Act, with the exception of projects authorized by Congress. Begich and Murkowski introduced a bill last year (S 503) to open up more than a million acres of the refuge for energy development, an effort that would be halted were Congress to designate the site a wilderness area. Though federal agencies cannot make such designations themselves, they can spur congressional action with recommendations. The new management plan could include such recommendations, and FWS has said that all areas in the refuge would be \u201copen for discussion.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

WIND ENERGY: INTERIOR RECEIVES NEW GUIDELINES TO MINIMIZE IMPACT OF WIND FARMS ON WILDLIFE<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

On April 13, the Wind Turbine Guidelines Federal Advisory Committee finalized its recommendations for minimizing the impact of land-based wind farms on wildlife and habitat. The committee, established in 2007, is comprised of a range of experts and stakeholders, including representatives from government, wildlife conservation groups, and wind industry interests.<\/span><\/p>\n

PUBLIC LANDS: OBAMA ANNOUNCES PLAN TO DEVELOP FEDERAL LAND CONSERVATION STRATEGY<\/strong>
\nOn April 16, President Obama signed a presidential memorandum to launch the \u201cAmerica\u2019s Great Outdoors\u201d initiative: an interagency effort that will use existing and nonfederal resources\u2014rather than additional funding\u2014to develop a federal conservation strategy for protecting outdoor spaces.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Obama, private land trusts have already conserved 10 million acres through voluntary efforts; the Agriculture Department has preserved an additional 33 million. Conservation groups praised the initiative, though some have called on the Administration to support its goals with additional federal funding.<\/span><\/p>\n

CLEAN WATER ACT: \u2018NAVIGABLE WATERS\u2019 BACK UNDER CONSIDERATION IN THE HOUSE<\/strong>
\nOn April 21, Representative James Oberstar (D-MN) introduced a bill to extend Clean Water Act protections to all of the nation\u2019s fresh waters by effectively reversing two Supreme Court decisions\u2014Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. United States Army Corps of Engineers<\/em> (2001) and Rapanos v. United States <\/em>(2006)\u2014<\/em>that limited the law\u2019s scope to \u201cnavigable\u201d waters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although Oberstar\u2019s bill is the fifth attempt at restoring the original language in the Clean Water Act, increased stakeholder involvement and unprecedented progress in the Senate have given supporters new cause for optimism. Last year marked the first time a companion bill made it through committee (albeit with strong GOP opposition), when the Senate and Environmental Public Works Committee voted 12-7 in favor of S 787. Farm and industry groups have been outspoken critics of such efforts, arguing that they will impose unreasonably strict and economically burdensome regulations on bodies of water \u201cas insignificant as puddles.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For more information, see the <\/span>May 7, 2009 edition<\/span><\/a> of the ESA Policy News.<\/span><\/p>\n

OFFSHORE ENERGY: PIVOTAL SENATORS IN CLIMATE DEBATE INTRODUCE BILL TO PROMOTE OFFSHORE WIND<\/strong>
\nA number of coastal senators\u2014including many key swing votes in the upcoming climate debate\u2014recently introduced legislation to promote offshore wind energy development. The bill\u2019s sponsor, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), sees offshore wind as a source of manufacturing jobs in his state, which could supply equipment to Great Lakes-based wind projects. Maine Senators Olympia Snowe (R) and Susan Collins (R) are both cosponsors, as are Delaware Senators Tom Carper (D) and Ted Kaufman (D).<\/span><\/p>\n

Although Brown is not proposing that his bill be integrated into the Kerry-Lieberman-Graham package, his office says it would consider \u201cany moving legislative vehicle.\u201d It may be possible, then, for the bipartisan climate effort to use the legislation as grounds for negotiating the support of Brown and his cosponsors.<\/span><\/p>\n

CURRENT POLICY<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

PASSED BY THE HOUSE<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n