Wednesday, June 11, 2014

WIMS Environmental HotSheet 6/11/14

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National / International News

 

<> HEARING: Potential Impacts of Proposed Changes to the Clean Water Act Jurisdictional Rule

<> House Supports Critical Transportation and Infrastructure Priorities - House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) released the following statement applauding House passage of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (H.R. 4745)

<> Senators Boxer and Vitter Applaud Signing of Water Infrastructure Bill into Law - Statement below following the President's signing of the Water Resources and Reform Development Act (WRRDA) into law.

<> Distilling Science at the Experimental Lakes Area: Climate change and water - This video describes research being conducted at the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA), Canada, into the effects of climate change on lake ecosystems

<> 80 Orgs Call on Apple to Eliminate Dangerous Chemicals From Chinese Supply Chain  - 80 environmental and human rights organizations, socially responsible investment firms, and occupational health professionals from 27 countries sent a letter today to Apple's VP of Environmental Affairs Lisa Jackson, the former head of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), urging her to address worker safety in its supplier factories in China.

<> Compliance with Flexibility: State approaches to reduce GHG emissions from existing power plants - This article appears in the June 2014 issue of EM Magazine, a publication of the Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA)

<> Some states push back against proposed EPA carbon rule

<> USDA Awards Loans and Grants to Support Rural Economic Development

<> Crude-by-rail transportation provides Bakken Shale production access to major markets - U.S. Energy Information Administration reports on the fact that as onshore crude oil production in the United States increased over the past few years, producers have increasingly moved crude oil out of production areas by rail.

<> John Podesta Announces National Marine Sanctuary Nomination Process is Reopened - The rulemaking allows Americans to nominate areas in our ocean and Great Lakes as national marine sanctuaries. NOAA has been unable to accept new nominations since 1995.

<> New video illustrates the high stakes of rail competition reform - American Chemistry Council just released this new video to help illustrate how the lack of freight rail competition and outdated policies are negatively impacting the chemical industry, which employs nearly 800,000 Americans and is on track to invest more than $100 billion in the U.S.

<> Oceana Launches Interactive Map Showing Global Reach of Seafood Fraud - The map, which is the most current and comprehensive review of seafood fraud literature to date, compiles more than 100 studies from 29 countries and every continent except Antarctica.

<> FDA, EPA advise pregnant women, children to eat more low-mercury fish - Federal officials on Tuesday announced major changes in advice to pregnant and breastfeeding women by recommending consumption of at least 8 ounces of low-mercury fish per week. . .

<> Vermont Prepared for Challenges to GE Labeling Law - The law, which is the first of its kind in the nation, was specially written so that it created  the Food Fight Fund that allows individuals to donate to defend the law if it were to be challenged in court.

 

Federal Register Highlights 

The following is an alert of Environmental Federal Register announcements that may be of interest for: Wednesday, June 11, 2014.  (Click here to access today's complete Federal Register index with links to complete announcements).

 

1. Nothing We're Tracking Today (click for the complete Energy & EPA announcements)