WIMS Environmental HotSheet 3/14/14

<> House Passes Water Rights Bill - The U.S. House of Representatives passed with bipartisan support Rep. Scott Tipton's (R-CO) legislation to protect private water rights from uncompensated federal takings (H.R. 3189).

• Republican Overreach Threatens America's Waterways and Outdoors - House Republicans passed H.R. 3189, the so-called Water Rights Protection Act.  The originally stated intent of the bill was to address a dispute between the Forest Service and ski resorts that operate on
• H.R.3189 - Water Rights Protection Act

<> Congressman Declares Wind Tax Credit 'Dead' - Companies across the country rushed to qualify for the wind production tax credit (PTC) in December, and for good reason—the chances of it returning seem even bleaker a few months later. Because Republicans are seeking a broader tax overhaul this year, one representative says there's virtually no hope of the PTC making a return this year. "Maybe there will be some in the Senate. . .

<> EPA to Lift Suspension and Debarment of BP From Federal Government Contracts/Agreement contains strong provisions to continue safety and ethics improvements in order to comply – U.S. EPA  and BP executed an agreement resolving all suspension and debarment actions against BP that barred the company from doing business with the federal government following the company's guilty plea in the Deepwater Horizon disaster of April 2010. The administrative agreement will be in place for five years

<> New Initiative Will Identify Ways to Create an Effective and Ambitious International Climate Action Agreement - Negotiators are meeting in Bonn, Germany this week to make progress on establishing a global climate agreement by 2015. But they're not the only ones working to secure a worldwide climate action plan. WRI along with several other organizations recently launched a new global consortium, the Agreement for Climate Transformation 2015 (ACT 2015), bringing together top researchers. . .

• Negotiations Towards New Universal Climate Agreement in 2015 Get Underway - Countries got down to the business of fleshing out how a new universal agreement on climate change might look by the deadline of Paris 2015 as part of worldwide efforts to keep a global temperature rise under 2 degrees Celsius this century.

<> Over 200 Groups Call on Obama Administration and Congress to Reject Fast-Tracking Exports of Natural Gas Overseas - Americans Against Fracking and allied organizations today called on President Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry and the United States Congress to reject plans to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) overseas.

<> Pesticide-contaminated communities call for ban - More than seven years since findings were presented, Californians who found chlorpyrifos in their air and bodies call for more restrictions on the pesticide

<> Newly-Published EPA Proposal Will Strengthen Transparency and Accountability for Oil and Gas Methane Emissions - Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) comments, "We urge EPA to swiftly finalize these long-overdue improvements to the way we gather oil and natural gas methane emissions data."

• EPA Proposes Changes to Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rules - On March 10, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed changes to its greenhouse gas reporting requirements that would affect natural gas distribution operators that currently have to report estimated fugitive emissions of natural gas from distribution piping. Comments from the American Public Gas Association

<> Duke Energy Offers Plan to Remove Dangerous Coal Ash Pits, Considers Retiring Asheville Coal Plant - Sierra Club's thousands of North Carolina members and supporters recognize Duke Energy's leadership for taking responsibility for the tragic Dan River coal ash spill.

• More on Duke Energy's plans

<> NRC Seeks Public Comment on Draft Environmental Report for Davis-Besse Nuclear Plant License Renewal Meetings Scheduled for March 25 - The draft report assesses the environmental impacts of extending the operating license for the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant in Oak Harbor, Ohio, southeast of Toledo on the shoreline of Lake Erie

<> Reflections on Fukushima from Noam Chomsky to Ralph Nader and More - The news from Japan three years after Fukushima began its eruptions is simple: it's anything but over. Three molten radioactive cores are still missing, four explosions have. . . 

<> Solar Water Bottle Bulbs - Alfredo Moser with his solar water bottle bulbs Introduction Thomas Alva Edison lit up the world with his electric bulb in the nineteenth century. In this century it is the solar bottle bulbs of Alfredo Moser which are illuminating thousands of houses of under-privileged. . .

<> Press Release: Secretary Jewell Commends President Obama, Congress for Designating 32,557 Acres of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore as Wilderness - Secretary Jewell commended President Obama for signing into law S.23, legislation designating 32,557 acres of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan as wilderness, the first congressional designation under the Wilderness Act since 2009.

• The Wilderness Society Praises First Wilderness Designation in 5 Years - The Wilderness Society Praises First Wilderness Designation in 5 Years -- Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Conservation and Recreation Act