Federal Agency Environmental Responsibility Act

Bill: 110-s-1072
Sponsor: Sen. Stevens, Ted [R-AK]
Introduced: 2007-03-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Alternative energy sources
Awards, medals, prizes
Building construction
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Commemorations
Commerce
Computers
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Cost effectiveness
Electric utilities
Electric vehicles
Electronics
Employee training
Energy
Energy conservation
Energy efficiency
Environmental Protection
Environmental Protection Agency
Environmental assessment
Executive Office of the President
Executive reorganization
Federal installations
Federal office buildings
Finance and Financial Sector
Foreign Trade and International Finance
Fuel consumption
Government procurement
Government vehicles
Imports
Labeling
Leases
Lighting
Mercury
Petroleum
Planning-programming-budgeting
Presidential appointments
Recycling of waste products
Refuse and refuse disposal
Science, Technology, Communications
Standards
Transportation and Public Works
Waste reduction
Water Resources Development
Water conservation

Summary:
action_date: 2007-03-29
text: 
Federal Agency Environmental Responsibility Act - Declares that it is U.S. policy that federal agencies conduct their environmental, transportation, and energy-related activities in an environmentally, economically, and fiscally sound, integrated, continuously improving, efficient, and sustainable manner.

Sets forth requirements for agency heads concerning: (1) energy efficiency and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions; (2) renewable energy sources and energy generation projects; (3) reduction in water consumption intensity; (4) sustainable environmental practices and management systems; (5) toxic and hazardous materials and cost-effective waste prevention and recycling programs; (6) fuel consumption; and (7) the acquisition and disposal of electronic products.

Requires the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality to establish a Steering Committee on Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management to advise the Chairman and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on performance of their functions under this Act. 

Establishes within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a Federal Environmental Office to advise the Council on agency activities and a presidential leadership award program.

Provides for exemption authority.

Sets forth requirements for federal agency purchases of a commercially available, off-the-shelf product that uses an external standby power device or that contains an internal standby power function. Requires the Secretary of Energy to maintain a list of products subject to such requirements and a list of products that meet the requirements.

Limits public utility contracts for renewable energy to 20 years.

Exempts specified project costs for energy-efficient technologies from requirements concerning a project's estimated maximum costs.

Requires the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA): (1) to implement a program to use energy-efficient light bulbs in federal buildings to replace low efficiency bulbs as they burn out; and (2) and the Secretary of Energy and the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to work with industry to develop consensus national standards for energy-efficient light bulb disposal and with manufacturers and importers of energy-efficient bulbs to develop standards for labeling bulbs containing mercury or other toxic substances.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2007-03-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2007-03-29
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S4210)
action_date: 2007-03-29
text: Introduced in Senate