lcalvobartolome/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2013-03-14 00:00:00

Great Lakes Water Protection Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to prohibit a publicly owned treatment works (POTW) from performing a discharge (defined as an intentional diversion of waste streams to bypass any portion of a treatment facility which results in a discharge of untreated or partially treated sewage into the Great Lakes) unless: (1) the bypass is unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury, or severe property damage, there is no feasible alternative, and the treatment works provides notice; or (2) the bypass does not cause effluent limitations to be exceeded and is for essential maintenance to ensure efficient operation of the treatment facility.

Requires a POTW to provide prior notice for any anticipated discharge, or notice as soon as practicable for any unanticipated discharge (but no later than two hours after a discharge begins for a POTW with an automated detection system or 12 hours after a discharge begins for a POTW without such system), to: (1) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (or a state if the state has an approved permit program), (2) each local health department (or a state health department if a local department does not exist), (3) the municipality in which a discharge occurred, (4) each municipality with jurisdiction over waters that may be affected, (5) a daily newspaper of general circulation in each county in which such a municipality is located, and (6) the public.

Requires a POTW, within five days after such initial notice, to provide follow-up notice regarding the cause of, reason for, dates and times of, anticipated duration of, volume of, public access areas affected by, and steps taken or planned to reduce, eliminate, and prevent recurrence of, the discharge. Requires the Administrator (or a state with an approved permit program) to annually publish and make available to the public a list of the POTWs from which a follow-up notice was received.

 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 comply with this Act.

Establishes a maximum civil penalty of $100,000 per day for violations of this Act occurring on or after January 1, 2033.

Establishes the Great Lakes Cleanup Fund into which penalties for violations of this Act shall be deposited and from which amounts shall be provided for improving wastewater discharges.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2013-03-20 00:00:00

Flood Control Facility Maintenance Clarification Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to: (1) include the removal of sediment, debris, and vegetation as "maintenance" of a currently serviceable structure for which the discharge of dredged or fill material into the navigable waters at specified disposal sites is not prohibited; and (2) include a channel or basin as such a structure.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2013-04-09 00:00:00

(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on July 8, 2013. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

California Coastal National Monument Expansion Act of 2013 - Expands the boundary of the California Coastal National Monument, established by Presidential Proclamation 7264, to include the Point Arena-Stornetta public lands in Mendocino County, California.

Requires management of such lands in accordance with such Proclamation, and as part of the Monument, except that: (1) traditional economic activities and existing uses, such as grazing and maintenance of existing structures used for grazing, shall not be restricted; and (2) lands and interests in land within the proposed land addition not owned by the federal government shall not become part of the Monument, and the future acquisition of such lands and interests by the government may only occur through donation or exchange with the landowner's written consent.

Instructs the Secretary of the Interior to finalize an amendment to the Monument's management plan for the long-term protection and management of the lands added to the Monument under this Act. Requires the plan amendment to be developed with an opportunity for full public participation.

Permits the use of motorized and mechanized vehicles in the Monument only on roads and trails designated for such use, except as needed for emergency or authorized administrative purposes.

Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire non-federal land or interests within or adjacent to the land added to the Monument only through exchange, or donation with the landowner's written consent. Bars the inclusion of non-federal land within the boundaries of the Monument without such consent. Requires any such acquired land or interests to be added to and administered as part of the Monument.

Prohibits the addition of lands to the Monument under this Act from resulting in a lack of or restricted access by motorized vehicle to any non-federal lands within the Monument.

Declares that nothing in this Act: (1) restricts or precludes low-level military, commercial, and general aviation overflights; (2) affects law enforcement authorities of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); (3) enlarges, diminishes, or modifies the rights of any Indian tribes and Indian religious communities; or (4) affects livestock grazing and the maintenance of existing structures used for grazing with the Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands or the Monument.

States that: (1) the expansion of the Monument is not intended to lead to the establishment of protective perimeters and buffer zones around the land included in the Monument by this Act; and (2) the fact that activities outside the Monument can be seen or heard within the land added to the Monument by this Act shall not, of itself, preclude those activities or uses up to the Monument's boundary.

Requires management of the Monument as part of the National Landscape Conservation System.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2013-04-09 00:00:00

Marine Debris Emergency Act of 2013 - Amends the Marine Debris Act to: (1) require the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to approve or disapprove a grant application with respect to a severe marine debris event and provide grant funds to an approved applicant within 60 days after receipt of the grant application, and (2) authorize the Administrator to give preference under the Marine Debris Program to projects that address such an event.

Authorizes state governors to request that the Administrator declare a severe marine debris event for purposes of grant consideration and disbursement. Requires the Administrator, within 30 days after receiving such request, to either declare such an event or provide a response explaining why the declaration was not made.

Allows the Administrator to: (1) require a grant recipient to provide training to persons engaged in grant-funded marine debris response efforts on the potential impacts of marine debris, including nonindigenous species related to the debris, on the economy, the marine environment, and navigation safety; and (2) enter into agreements to use the personnel, services, equipment, or facilities of federal agencies, state and local governments, regional agencies, interstate agencies, and other entities on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis.

Defines "nonindigenous species" to mean any species or other viable biological material that enters an ecosystem beyond its historic range, including any such organism transferred from one country into another.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2013-04-11 00:00:00

Authorizes the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to provide funds to any state, local, or tribal government impacted by the events, including marine debris, resulting from the March 2011 earthquake and subsequent tsunami in the Tohoku region of Japan (such events are defined collectively as a "covered severe marine debris event"). Provides for such funds to assist with the costs of any activity carried out to address the effects of such event.

Permits the Administrator to provide such funds using any funds provided by the government of Japan for such purposes.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2013-04-26 00:00:00

Revises the boundaries of the Gasparilla Island Unit FL-70P in the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System in Florida.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2013-04-26 00:00:00

Directs the Secretary of the Interior to revise the maps of the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System to remove from Florida System Unit P-16 the areas of Collier County, Florida, known as Royal Marco Point on Marco Island and La Peninsula of the Isles of Capri in Naples.

Exempts such removed areas from provisions denying new insurance coverage under the National Flood Insurance Program to properties in violation of state or local laws restricting land development or occupancy in flood-prone areas, thereby making new flood insurance available to the removed areas. Prohibits the removed areas from being denied flood insurance pursuant to such restrictions unless: (1) the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) determines that such property would have been declared by a state or local zoning authority to be in violation of state or local laws without regard to whether this Act had been in effect at the time of such declaration; or (2) after the enactment of this Act, a state or local zoning authority finds such property to be in violation of such state or local laws.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2013-05-06 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 — Conservation
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2013-05-08 00:00:00

Offending Oil Polluters Act of 2013 - 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 — Conservation
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2013-05-16 00:00:00

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Silviculture Regulatory Consistency Act of 2013 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from requiring, or from promulgating regulations that direct a state to require, a permit under the national pollutant discharge elimination system for a discharge of stormwater runoff resulting from the conduct of the following silviculture activities: nursery operations, site preparation, reforestation, thinning, prescribed burning, pest and fire control, harvesting operations, surface drainage, and road use, construction, and maintenance.

 Specifies that nothing in this Act exempts a silvicultural activity resulting in the discharge of dredged of fill material from permit requirements for discharges into navigable waters.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2013-05-20 00:00:00

Amends the Coastal Barrier Resources Act to remove from the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System and related maps the areas comprising Bay County Unit P-31P in Florida.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Water resources development
Date: 2013-05-23 00:00:00

North American Wetlands Conservation Extension Act - Amends the North American Wetlands Conservation Act to reauthorize appropriations for allocations to carry out approved wetlands conservation projects through FY2018.

Prohibits: (1) the Secretary of the Interior from using these funds to acquire land, or (2) a nongovernment organization from using these funds to acquire land unless the acquisition is approved by the state or insular area fish and wildlife agency with jurisdiction with respect to that land.

Revises reporting requirements by requiring the annual assessment of the status of wetlands conservation projects to include an accounting of expenditures made for acquisition of federal lands.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2013-06-03 00:00:00

Reauthorizes the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009 with specified appropriations to the Secretary of Commerce through FY2018.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2013-06-06 00:00:00

Directs the Secretary of the Interior to revise the Coastal Barrier Resources System maps relating to the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System units in North Carolina to remove the following properties from such system:

 Lot Number 3, Waters Edge in Hampstead, NC 28443; 182 S Beach Road, Wilmington, NC 28405; 311 Windchase Lane, Wilmington, NC 28409; and 225 Chimney Lane Wilmington, NC 28411.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2013-06-28 00:00:00

Preserving Rural Resources Act of 2013 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to replace a requirement that a permit be obtained for any discharge of dredged or fill material into the navigable waters incidental to any activity having as its purpose bringing an area of such waters into a use to which it was not previously subject and where the flow or circulation of such waters may be impaired or the reach of such waters may be reduced with a requirement that a permit be obtained for any such discharge that is not currently exempted from permit requirements.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2013-07-17 00:00:00

Clean Water Compliance and Ratepayer Affordability Act of 2013 - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to carry out a pilot program to work cooperatively with and facilitate the efforts of municipalities to develop and implement integrated plans to meet their wastewater and stormwater obligations under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) in a cost-effective and flexible manner and consistent with the Integrated Municipal Stormwater and Wastewater Approach Framework issued by EPA in May 2012.

Directs the Administrator, in consultation with states that have approved National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System programs, to select at least 15 municipalities to participate in the program. Sets forth selection factors, including by giving a priority to those with a history of knowledgeable, detailed, and comprehensive efforts to develop integrated and adaptive clean water management practices, without regard to the municipality's status in the process of planning or implementing them.

Provides standards for approval of a municipality's integrated plan under the pilot program, including concerning financial capability, prioritization of obligations under the Clean Water Act, and the use of innovative and flexible approaches to meet obligations.

Allows priority to be given to municipalities seeking to develop and implement approaches that adapt to changed or future uncertain circumstances.

Provides additional authorities regarding selected municipalities concerning: (1) extension of the allowable national pollutant discharge elimination system permit term, (2) modification of implementation terms of a consent decree, and (3) additional regulatory flexibility in approving and implementing an integrated plan that includes adaptive approaches.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2013-07-18 00:00:00

Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to require that the comprehensive statement of estimated requirements submitted with the annual U.S. budget specify that not less than 40% of appropriations from the Land and Water Conservation Fund be made available for the Land and Water Conservation Fund State Assistance Program.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2013-07-24 00:00:00

Conservation Easement Incentive Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the tax deduction for charitable contributions by individuals and corporations of real property interests for conservation purposes. Makes this Act applicable to contributions made in taxable years beginning after 2013.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2013-08-02 00:00:00

Water and Agriculture Tax Reform Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit tax-exempt mutual ditch or irrigation companies to earn income from dispositions of certain real property and stock interests without affecting their tax-exempt status. Requires that such income be used to pay the costs of operations, maintenance, and capital improvements of such a company.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2013-09-19 00:00:00

Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network Reauthorization Act - Amends the Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act of 1998 to extend the authorization of appropriations for the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network through FY2018.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2013-10-01 00:00:00

Revises the boundaries of the Long Pond Unit SC-01 in the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System in South Carolina.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2013-10-01 00:00:00

Revises the boundaries of the Huntington Beach Unit SC-03 in the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System in South Carolina.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2013-11-13 00:00:00

Commercial Vessel Discharges Reform Act of 2013 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to prohibit a permit from being required under such Act for a discharge incidental to the normal operation of a covered vessel.

Defines a "covered vessel" to mean every description of watercraft, or other artificial contrivance used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water, that is engaged in commercial service and that is: (1) less than 79 feet in length; or (2) a fishing vessel, regardless of length.

Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) determine, within one year, the discharges incidental to the normal operation of a covered vessel for which it is reasonable and practicable to develop best management practices to mitigate adverse impacts on the waters of the United States; and (2) review such determination every five years.

Requires the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating, in consultation with the Administrator, to promulgate regulations on the use of best management practices for discharges incidental to the normal operation of a covered vessel that the Administrator determines are reasonable and practicable.

Prohibits, upon the promulgation of such regulation, the owner or operator of a covered vessel from operating in, or discharging such discharge into, navigable waters, if the owner or operator of the vessel is not using such practices.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2013-11-21 00:00:00

(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the House on December 2, 2014. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Revises the boundaries of the following units within the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System:

 Lea Island Complex L07, Wrightsville Beach Unit L08, and Masonboro Island Unit L09 in North Carolina; Sachuest Point Unit RI-04P, Easton Beach Unit RI-05P, Almy Pond Unit RI-06, and Hazards Beach Unit RI-07 in Rhode Island; Gasparilla Island Unit FL-70P in Florida; and Long Pond Unit SC-01 and Huntington Beach Unit SC-03 in South Carolina;
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2014-01-29 00:00:00

Making Public Lands Public Access Act - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to ensure, from amounts requested for the Land and Water Conservation Fund per fiscal year, that not less than the greater of 1.5% of the requested amounts or $10 million be made available for certain projects identified on an annual priority list to be developed pursuant to this Act.

Requires projects identified on such a list to secure, through rights-of-way or the acquisition of lands or interests from willing sellers, recreational public access to existing federal public lands that have significantly restricted access to hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes.