jiayi-li23/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Environment — Drinking Water
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2011-01-25 00:00:00

Great Lakes Water Protection Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to prohibit publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) from intentionally diverting waste streams to bypass any portion of the treatment facility if the diversion results in a discharge into the Great Lakes unless: (1) the bypass is unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury, or severe property damage; (2) there is no feasible alternative; and (3) the treatment works provides notice; or (4) the bypass does not cause effluent limitations to be exceeded and is for essential maintenance to ensure efficient operation of the treatment facility. Requires: (1) such notice to be provided to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (or to a state with an approved permit program) prior to an anticipated bypass or by no later than 24 hours after the time at which the POTW first becomes aware of an unanticipated bypass; and (2) follow-up notice regarding the cause and duration of, volume of discharge resulting from, and public access areas affected by an unanticipated bypass. Includes among prohibited bypasses those resulting in discharges from a POTW that consist of effluent routed around treatment units and blended with effluent from treatment units prior to discharge.Directs the Administrator to establish procedures to ensure that permits issued to POTWs under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System include requirements to implement this Act. Provides an increased maximum civil penalty for violations occurring on or after January 1, 2031. Applies the prohibition on diverting waste streams to a bypass occurring after the last day of the one-year period beginning on the date of this Act's enactment. Establishes the Great Lakes Cleanup Fund from which amounts shall be provided for improving wastewater discharges.
Topic: Environment — Drinking Water
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2011-01-26 00:00:00

Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to remove the authority of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prohibit the specification of any defined area as a disposal site for discharges of materials into waters of the United States , or to restrict the use of any defined area for specification as a disposal site, once the Secretary of the Army has issued a permit for dredged or fill material.
Topic: Environment — Drinking Water
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2011-01-26 00:00:00

Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to repeal the authority of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prohibit the specification of, or to deny or restrict the use of, a defined area as a disposal site for the discharge of dredged or fill material into navigable waters.
Topic: Environment — Drinking Water
Subject: Health
Date: 2011-02-08 00:00:00

Endocrine Disruptor Screening Enhancement Act of 2011 - Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in carrying out the Estrogenic Substances Screening Program: (1) not later than one year after this Act's enactment, to publish a plan for the identification of endocrine disrupting substances that may be in drinking water for testing and a schedule for issuing test orders for all substances by not later than 10 years after this Act's enactment, with the goal of testing all substances that have been placed on the Drinking Water Preliminary Contaminant Candidate List and all substances for which a national primary drinking water regulation has been promulgated; (2) to give priority in selecting substances for listing to substances that pose the greatest public health concern; (3) not later than two years after enactment of this Act, to publish guidance on developing or updating protocols for testing of possible endocrine disruptors; (4) not later than five years after enactment and every three years thereafter, to determine whether to revise screening protocols based on significant improvements in the sensitivity, accuracy, reliability, reproducibility, or efficiency of such protocols and to require the use of screening protocols that eliminate or reduce the number of animals used; (5) not later than 180 days after this Act's enactment, to publish an electronic, publicly searchable database that contains information regarding the testing program; and (6) within six months after receipt of testing results, to determine whether to take administrative action related to the substance. Authorizes the Administrator to accelerate testing for a substance if: (1) such substance is known to be found in sources of drinking water; (2) a substantial population is known to be exposed to the substance; and (3) the substance is either suspected to be an endocrine disruptor or has a structural similarity to a substance known to be an endocrine disruptor. Requires the Administrator, not later than one year after this Act's enactment, to publish guidance on how the Administrator will make determinations on whether to require accelerated testing for such substances. Authorizes any person to petition the Administrator to identify a substance pursuant to the plan and to issue an order requiring the substance to be tested on an accelerated basis.
Topic: Environment — Drinking Water
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2011-02-28 00:00:00

Veterans Home Loan Refinance Opportunity Act of 2011- Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to tax-exempt veterans' mortgage bonds to permit: (1) proceeds from such bonds to refinance residences of veterans (currently, bond financing limited to new mortgages); (2) an annual inflation adjustment after 2011 to the amounts of veterans' mortgage bonds that states may issue; and (3) an increase from 1.125 % to 1.50% in the amount by which interest on veterans' mortgages may exceed the yield on a bond issue.
Topic: Environment — Drinking Water
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2011-03-15 00:00:00

Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act of 2011 - Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to repeal the exemption from restrictions on underground injection of fluids or propping agents granted to hydraulic fracturing operations related to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities under such Act. Requires: (1) state underground injection programs to direct a person conducting hydraulic fracturing operations to disclose to the state (or the Administrator if the Administrator has primary enforcement responsibility in such state) the chemicals intended for use in underground injections prior to the commencement of such operations and the chemicals actually used after the end of such operations; and (2) a state or the Administrator to make such disclosure available to the public. Requires a person conducting hydraulic fracturing operations, when a medical emergency exists and the proprietary chemical formula of a chemical used in such operations is necessary for medical treatment, to disclose such formula or the specific chemical identity of a trade secret chemical to the state, the Administrator, or the treating physician or nurse upon request, regardless of whether a written statement of need or a confidentiality agreement has been provided. Authorizes such person to require a written statement of need and a confidentiality agreement as soon thereafter as circumstances permit.
Topic: Environment — Drinking Water
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2011-03-17 00:00:00

Clean Water Affordability Act of 2011 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to revise requirements for capitalization grant agreements with states for establishing water pollution control revolving funds. Requires states to set aside 15% of funds for assistance to municipalities of fewer than 10,000 individuals that meet specified affordability criteria. Authorizes the fund to be used to make loans at terms not to exceed 30 years or the design life of the project to be financed with the proceeds of the loan (currently 20 years). Authorizes a state to provide additional subsidization, including forgiveness of principal and negative interest loans, to benefit a municipality that: (1) meets affordability criteria, or (2) does not meet such criteria if the recipient seeks the additional subsidization to benefit ratepayers that will experience a significant hardship from the increase in rates necessary to finance the project or activity for which assistance is sought. Establishes affordability criteria to assist in identifying municipalities that would experience a significant hardship raising the revenue necessary to finance a project or activity eligible for assistance. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to update the guidance entitled "Combined Sewer Overflows--Guidance for Financial Capability Assessment and Schedule Development," dated February 1997, to ensure that the evaluations by the Administrator of financial capability assessment and schedule development meet specified criteria, including criteria used in: (1) assessing financial capability of a community to make investments necessary to make water quality-related improvements, and (2) implementing water quality-related improvements.
Topic: Environment — Drinking Water
Subject: Water resources development
Date: 2011-04-01 00:00:00

End Unnecessary Costs Caused by Report Mailing Act of 2011 - Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to give public water systems for which there were no violations of the maximum contaminant level for any regulated contaminant during the year the option to: (1) mail the annual report on the level of contaminants in the drinking water purveyed by that system to each customer (required under current law); or (2) make such report available on the system's website and, upon request, by mail. Requires such report to include for any regulated contaminant in such water system for which there has been a violation: (1) a description in plain language of the specific contaminant measurements, the possible effects on health and welfare, and the actions being taken to correct the violation; and (2) the date by which compliance will be attained.
Topic: Environment — Drinking Water
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2011-04-05 00:00:00

Clean Water Protection Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to define "fill material" to mean any pollutant that replaces portions of waters of the United States with dry land or that changes the bottom elevation of a water body for any purpose and to exclude any pollutant discharged into the water primarily to dispose of waste.
Topic: Environment — Drinking Water
Subject: Water resources development
Date: 2011-04-07 00:00:00

Grassroots Rural and Small Community Water Systems Assistance Act of 2011 - Calls for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prioritize the type of technical assistance to enable small public water systems to comply with national primary drinking water regulations that small communities find is the most beneficial. Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to: (1) authorize appropriations to the Administrator of EPA for FY2011-FY2016 for such assistance; and (2) authorize the Administrator to provide such assistance to organizations providing onsite technical assistance, circuit-rider technical assistance programs, onsite and regional training, assistance with implementing source water protection plans, and assistance with implementation monitoring plans, rules, regulations, and water security enhancements. Directs the Administrator to give preference to nonprofit organizations that are determined to be the most qualified, experienced, and effective and the most supported by small community water systems.
Topic: Environment — Drinking Water
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2011-04-12 00:00:00

Prohibits the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for five years, from: (1) requiring a publicly owned treatment works that contributes nitrogen loadings to the Great Bay Estuary to commence construction on any upgrade of a facility for the purpose of enforcing water quality standards or effluent limitations with regard to nitrogen under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act); or (2) establishing any water quality standard or effluent limitation with regard to nitrogen in the such Estuary under such Act. Requires the Administrator to study eelgrass levels, and the causes of any loss of eelgrass habitat, in such Estuary. Defines "Great Bay Estuary" to mean the estuarine zone that extends from the mouth of Portsmouth Harbor, in the vicinity of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to the head-of-tide for the eight rivers (including the tributaries of those rivers) that flow into Great Bay, Little Bay, and the Piscataqua River.
Topic: Environment — Drinking Water
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2011-05-10 00:00:00

Offending Oil Polluters Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny all income tax credits and deductions to an offending oil polluter. Defines "offending oil polluter" to mean any person responsible for a vessel or a facility from which oil is discharged, unless such person: (1) has met all obligations under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to provide compensation for covered removal costs and damages; (2) was not found during the seven-year period after the first oil discharge to have committed willful or repeated violations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970; (3) was not convicted of a criminal violation for death or serious bodily injury; (4) did not have more than 10 fatalities at its facilities or refineries resulting from violations of federal or state health, safety, or environmental laws; and (5) was not required to pay fines of more than $10 million for violations of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) or the Clean Air Act.
Topic: Environment — Drinking Water
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2011-05-12 00:00:00

Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative Reauthorization Act of 2011 - Amends the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative Act to define "Northwest Straits" as the marine waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and of Puget Sound from the Canadian border to the south end of Snohomish County, Washington. Sets forth the membership of the Northwest Straits Advisory Commission. Directs the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, to appoint an employee of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to serve as a liaison between the Commission and the Department of Commerce and to attend the Commission's meetings and events as a nonvoting participant. States the goal of the Commission as the protection and restoration of the marine waters, habitats, and species of the Northwest Straits region in Washington to achieve ecosystem health and sustainable resource use. Enumerates the duties of the Commission and establishes benchmarks for its work. Authorizes the Manager of the Shorelands and Environmental Assistance Program of Washington's Department of Ecology, upon the recommendation of the Commission and the Director of the Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, to appoint and terminate a Director of the Commission. Requires the Director to be confirmed by the Commission. Provides for the establishment of marine resources committees in specified counties of Washington. Authorizes the Director of the Commission and the Director of the State of Washington Department of Ecology to establish the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Foundation as a nonprofit foundation to support the Commission and the marine resources committees established by this Act.
Topic: Environment — Drinking Water
Subject: Water resources development
Date: 2011-05-24 00:00:00

North American Wetlands Conservation Extension Act of 2011 - Amends the North American Wetlands Conservation Act to extend through FY2017 the authorization of appropriations for allocations to carry out approved wetlands conservation projects.
Topic: Environment — Drinking Water
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2011-05-31 00:00:00

Wetlands Conservation Investment Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat gain or loss from the sale or exchange of a mitigation bank credit by the sponsor of the mitigation bank (i.e., the wetland, stream, or other aquatic resource area that has been restored, established, enhanced, or preserved for the purpose of providing compensation for unavoidable impacts to aquatic resources) who earned such credit as the sale or exchange of a capital asset held for more than one year (thus allowing preferential tax treatment of such gain or loss). Exempts from tax withholding requirements any gain from sales of mitigation bank credits.
Topic: Environment — Drinking Water
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2011-06-03 00:00:00

Long Island Sound Improvement Act Amendments of 2011 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to create additional duties for the Long Island Sound Office of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), including studying the impacts of climate change on the Sound watershed. Requires a municipality that owns or operates a municipal separate storm sewer system to obtain, without regard to the size of the population served by the system, a permit for discharges composed entirely of stormwater for any portion of the municipality that is located within both the Long Island Sound watershed and an urbanized area. Authorizes such permits to be issued on a regional basis. Requires the EPA Administrator to ensure that: (1) permits held by industrial stormwater dischargers and permits held by construction activity dischargers conform to regional permits' conditions, and (2) monitoring requirements are included in a regional permit. Authorizes the Administrator to provide technical assistance to municipalities with respect to establishing regional permits. Establishes: (1) reporting requirements for the Office; and (2) requirements directing agencies to ensure that their property, actions, and activities within the watershed are consistent with the Long Island Sound Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (Plan) and to develop plans to maximize forest cover and riparian habitat and minimize stormwater discharge on agency property. Requires the Administrator to establish a voluntary interstate nitrogen trading program with respect to the Sound that includes the generation, trading, and use of nitrogen credits to facilitate the attainment and maintenance of the Sound Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). Authorizes: (1) grants for a prioritized list of projects and studies that will assist in meeting the Plan's goals and objectives; and (2) the Administrator to make grants for the construction of a publicly owned treatment work within Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont solely to a municipal or state agency if the state has established allocations for discharges within the state in a Long Island Sound TMDL. Requires the Administrator to implement a pilot project to demonstrate the efficacy of nutrient bioextraction for the removal of nitrogen and phosphorous from the waters of the Sound watershed.
Topic: Environment — Drinking Water
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2011-06-13 00:00:00

Replaces the map included in the set of maps entitled "Coastal Barrier Resources System" (referred to in specified provisions of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act and relating to Unit P16 in the state of Florida) with another map relating to the same unit entitled "John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System Corrected Unit P16."
Topic: Environment — Drinking Water
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2011-06-13 00:00:00

Replaces the map included in the set of maps entitled "Coastal Barrier Resources System" (referred to in specified provisions of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act and relating to Unit P17 in the state of Florida) with another map relating to the same unit entitled "John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System Corrected Unit P17."
Topic: Environment — Drinking Water
Subject: Water resources development
Date: 2011-07-06 00:00:00

Directs the Chief of Engineers, prior to any major federal action to prevent the introduction or establishment of a population of aquatic nuisance species between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River Basins that would impact the flow of commerce or commercial activity within the Chicago Area Water [sic] System, to prepare an economic impact statement regarding: (1) the impact on commerce and commercial activity and on jobs and job opportunities, (2) any adverse economic effects that could not be avoided, (3) alternatives to the proposed action, and (4) the relationship between any local short-term impacts on commerce or commercial activity and maintenance and enhancement of long-term productivity and environmental values.
Topic: Environment — Drinking Water
Subject: Water resources development
Date: 2011-07-08 00:00:00

Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to carry out a project for hurricane and storm damage reduction at West Onslow Beach and New River Inlet (Topsail Beach), North Carolina, substantially in accordance with the plans described in the West Onslow Beach and New River Inlet (Topsail Beach), North Carolina: Report of the Chief of Engineers dated September 28, 2009, for periodic beach nourishment and monitoring over the 50-year economic life of the project.
Topic: Environment — Drinking Water
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2011-07-11 00:00:00

Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2011 - Amends the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 to require the President, through the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources of the National Science and Technology Council, to establish an Inter-Agency Task Force on Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia (Task Force). Directs the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, through the Task Force, to: (1) establish and maintain a National Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Program to develop a national strategy to address marine and freshwater harmful algal bloom and hypoxia events; (2) promote activities and an action strategy to implement such Program; (3) oversee the development and review of regional research and action plans for addressing marine and freshwater harmful algal bloom and hypoxia events; (4) maintain a focus on technology research and development for each of the categories of marine harmful algal blooms, freshwater harmful algal blooms, and hypoxia in monitoring, predicting, preventing, controling, mitigating, and responding to events; (5) expand the existing electronic clearinghouse to provide information about such harmful algal blooms and hypoxia; and (6) develop a mechanism to provide a reliable and cost-effective supply of toxin standards for comparative research. Establishes the duties of the Secretary and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under such Program. Directs the Administrator, through the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force, to submit an updated assessment and a revised action plan prior to the implementation of any plan developed under such Act. Directs the Task Force to complete and submit to Congress and the President a plan for reducing, mitigating, and controlling hypoxia in the Chesapeake Bay.