Latest Action: 02/06/2008 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality.

Bill Text
To promote the use of certain materials harvested from public lands in the production of renewable fuel, and for other purposes. 2/6/2008--Introduced. Renewable Biomass Facilitation Act of 2008 - Amends the Clean Air Act to redefine the term "renewable biomass" as: (1) materials, precommercial thinnings, or exotic species that are removed as byproducts of preventive treatments to reduce hazardous fuels, to reduce or contain disease or insect infestation, or to restore ecosystem health, that would not otherwise be used for higher-value products, and that are harvested from National Forest System land or public lands in accordance with federal and state law, land management plans, and requirements for old-growth maintenance, restoration, management direction, and large-tree retention under the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003; or (2) any organic matter that is available on a renewable or recurring basis from non-federal land or Indian land held in trust by the [...]

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Latest Action: 03/01/2007 - Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S2491-2492)

Bill Text
A bill to amend the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 to reauthorize and improve that Act. 3/1/2007--Introduced. National Aquatic Invasive Species Act of 2007 - Amends the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 to establish aquatic invasive species reduction and prevention requirements for vessels (including towed vessels and structures) operating in U.S. waters. Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) to promulgate ballast water management regulations and certification procedures. Requires a program for Department of Defense (DOD) vessels to minimize the risk of invasive species through towed vessel hull and associated hull aperture transfers. Directs the Aquatic Invasive Species Task Force to establish a priority pathway management program that identifies those pathways that pose the highest risk for the introduction of aquatic invasive species. Prohibits the importation of an aquatic [...]

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Latest Action: 02/15/2007 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Oceans.

Bill Text
To amend the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 to establish vessel ballast water management requirements, and for other purposes. 2/7/2007--Introduced. Prevention of Aquatic Invasive Species Act of 2007 - Amends the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 to revise certain aquatic invasive species prevention requirements to, among other things: (1) apply them to certain U.S. vessels and to certain foreign vessels (or a structure being towed by a vessel) that are en route to, or have departed from, a U.S. port; and (2) establish ballast water exchange and treatment and sediment management standards for vessels of the armed forces. Prohibits an operator of a vessel from uptaking or discharging ballast water or sediment, except in specified circumstances, from a U.S. vessel operating in U.S. or non-U.S. waters. Requires a vessel to conduct all its ballast water management operations in accordance with an aquatic [...]

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Latest Action: 04/02/2007 - Unfavorable Executive Comment Received from USDA.

Bill Text
To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into cooperative agreements with States to augment their efforts to conduct early detection and surveillance to prevent the establishment or spread of plant pests that endanger agriculture, the environment, and the economy of the United States, and for other purposes.

1/24/2007--Introduced.

Early Pest Detection and Surveillance Improvement Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into a cooperative agreement with any state department of agriculture that agrees to conduct early plant pest detection surveillance activities, including inspection and surveillance of domestic plant shipments between a state and other states.

Latest Action: 01/18/2007 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. (text of measure as introduced: CR S764-765)

Bill Text
A bill to require the Secretary of the Army to operate and maintain as a system the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal dispersal barriers, and for other purposes. 1/18/2007--Introduced. Barrier Project Consolidation and Construction Act of 2007 - Requires the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal Dispersal Barrier Project constructed as a demonstration project under the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control act of 1990 (Barrier I) and the related project authorized under the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 2005 (Barrier II) to be considered to constitute a single project. Directs the Secretary of the Army, at full federal expense, to: (1) upgrade and make permanent Barrier I, construct Barrier II, operate and maintain Barriers I and II as a system, conduct a study of a full range of options and technologies for reducing impacts of hazards that may reduce the efficacy of the Barriers, and provide to each state a credit in an amount equal to that of funds [...]

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Latest Action: 01/18/2007 - Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Bill Text
To require the Secretary of the Army to operate and maintain as a system the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal dispersal barriers. 1/18/2007--Introduced. Great Lakes Asian Carp Barrier Act - Requires the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal Dispersal Barrier Project constructed as a demonstration project under the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 (Barrier I) and the related project authorized under the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 2005 (Barrier II) to be considered to constitute a single project. Directs the Secretary of the Army, at federal expense, to: (1) upgrade and make permanent Barrier I, construct Barrier II, operate and maintain Barriers I and II as a system, conduct a study of a range of options and technologies for reducing impacts of hazards that may reduce the efficacy of the Barriers, and provide to each state a credit in an amount equal to that of funds contributed by the state toward Barrier II (which the state [...]

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Latest Action: 02/07/2007 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Oceans.

Bill Text
To establish marine and freshwater research, development, and demonstration programs to support efforts to prevent, control, and eradicate invasive species, as well as to educate citizens and stakeholders and restore ecosystems. 1/5/2007--Introduced. Aquatic Invasive Species Research Act - Requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Smithsonian Institution, and the U.S. Geological Survey (administering agencies) to: (1) enter into a memorandum of understanding regarding the implementation and coordination of this Act; and (2) develop a marine and freshwater research program to support efforts to assess introduction rates and patterns of invasive nonnative species into the aquatic ecosystem, and efforts to detect, prevent, and eradicate them. Requires the administering agencies to: (1) develop standardized protocols for conducting ecological and pathway surveys of such species; (2) conduct research to identify the relationship between the [...]

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