lcalvobartolome/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2014-07-31 00:00:00

Water in the 21st Century Act or W21 - Establishes within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a WaterSense program to identify and promote water efficient products, buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and services.

 Requires the EPA to identify other voluntary approaches to encourage recycling and reuse technologies to improve water efficiency or lower water use and to implement those approaches, if appropriate.

Establishes a State Residential Water Efficiency and Conservation Incentives Program to provide financial incentives for consumers to purchase and install products, buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and services labeled under the WaterSense program.

Requires the EPA to make grants to owners or operators of water systems to address, mitigate, and adapt to any ongoing or forecasted impact of climate change on a region's water quality or quantity.

 Authorizes the Department of the Interior to provide financial assistance for water recycling, water infrastructure, enhanced energy efficiency in water systems, desalination projects, permanent water storage, and integrated water management in specified states.

Authorizes the transfer of title to nonfederal entities of reclamation projects in need of rehabilitation that are authorized before enactment of this Act under certain conditions. Requires the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to establish an open water data system.

Reauthorizes the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 and the Water Desalination Act of 1996 through FY2020.

Requires the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, after receiving a request from a nonfederal sponsor, to review the operation of a reservoir and update the water control manual to incorporate improved weather and runoff forecasting methods, if appropriate.

Directs the EPA to develop voluntary national drought resilience guidelines relating to preparedness planning and investments for water users and providers.

Requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to prepare a salmon drought plan for California.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Water resources development
Date: 2014-09-09 00:00:00

Prohibits the use of federal funds made available for FY2015 for the Bay Delta Conservation Plan.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2014-09-11 00:00:00

Great Lakes and Fresh Water Algal Bloom Information Act - Requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to create an online database of research and information on the causes and corrective actions being taken with regard to algal blooms in the Great Lakes, their tributaries, and other surface fresh waters. Requires NOAA to include relevant chemical, physical, and biological data that have been collected by an accredited university, association or organization, research group, federal agency, state, or local government in the United States or Canada.

Declares that this Act does not grant NOAA any new authority, including the authority to require submission of data.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2014-09-17 00:00:00

Protecting Our Great Lakes Act of 2014 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to prohibit any discharge of dredged material into waters within Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair, Lake Michigan, Lake Ontario, and Lake Superior lakeward from a line drawn across the mouth of tributaries to the Lakes. Includes within the area protected from discharges all waters enclosed by constructed breakwaters (barriers built in a body of water to break the force of waves and protect surrounding land). Excludes connecting channels from the protected area.

Requires any dredged material resulting from activity in the Great Lakes System to be reused in beneficial ways on land or disposed of in a confined land- or water-based disposal area determined to be economically and environmentally viable by the Army Corps of Engineers in consultation with concerned states.

Treats violators of the prohibition as having violated a condition or limitation set forth in a permit to discharge dredged or fill material into waters of the United States.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Water resources development
Date: 2014-09-18 00:00:00

Directs the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to revise the management plan for the conservation pool in Lake Texoma (Oklahoma and Texas) to ensure that: (1) the water surface elevation is maintained between 619 and 614 mean sea level; (2) if the water surface elevation is at or below 614 mean sea level, hydroelectric power generation is only conducted upon a determination by the Secretary, in consultation with the Lake Texoma Advisory Committee, that there are emergency power needs, including needs resulting from a natural disaster; and (3) additional water capacity resulting from the revised mean surface elevation may be made available for allocation and, if allocated, district water suppliers will be prioritized.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2014-11-14 00:00:00

Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Assessment Act of 2014 - Requires the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to assess and report on the cultural and historic resources in the waters of the Great Lakes. Directs the Under Secretary to make recommendations in the report on whether: (1) underwater geographic areas in the Great Lakes should be designated as national marine sanctuaries to protect resources of historical and archeological significance; and (2) the designation of a network of underwater Great Lakes areas that protect those resources could bring significant educational opportunities, economic development, jobs, and tourism to the Great Lakes region.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2014-11-20 00:00:00

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2014 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to authorize the Environmental Protection Agency's Great Lakes Restoration Initiative for FY2015-FY2019.

Requires that the Initiative carry out programs and projects for Great Lakes protection and restoration. Directs the Initiative to prioritize programs and projects, including:

 the remediation of toxic substances and areas of concern; the prevention and control of invasive species and their impacts; the protection and restoration of near-shore health and the prevention and mitigation of nonpoint source pollution (water pollution that comes from many diffuse sources, such as pollution on the ground picked up by rain or snow); habitat and wildlife protection and restoration; and accountability, monitoring, evaluation, communication, and partnership activities. Prohibits funding made available to implement the Initiative from being used for any water infrastructure activity (other than a green infrastructure project that improves habitat and other ecosystem functions in the Great Lakes) for which funding is made available under the clean water or drinking water state revolving fund program.

Requires federal agencies to maintain the base level of funding for their Great Lakes activities without regard to funding under the Initiative and identify new activities to support the environmental goals of the Initiative.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2014-12-10 00:00:00

Water Quality Investment Act of 2014 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to reauthorize the sewer overflow control grants program through FY2019.

Requires a project that receives a grant to be carried out under the same requirements as a project that receives assistance from a state water pollution control revolving fund, unless the state determines the requirements are inconsistent with treating sewer overflow.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2014-07-17 00:00:00

Revises the boundaries of the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System Unit P16 in Florida.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2013-01-22 00:00:00

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: (1) in accordance with such Proclamation, and (2) as part of the Monument.

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 management of the Monument as part of the National Landscape Conservation System.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2013-01-23 00:00:00

Secure Water Facilities Act - Secure Drinking Water Facilities Act - Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to revise and expand requirements for assessment by covered water systems of their vulnerability to a range of intentional acts. Defines a "covered water system" as a public water system that serves a population of more than 3,300 individuals or that presents a security risk that requires regulation.

Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate regulations to establish: (1) increasingly stringent, risk-based performance standards for the security of such systems; (2) requirements and deadlines for systems to conduct and update assessments, develop and revise security plans and emergency response plans, and provide training to system and contractor employees; and (3) four risk-based tiers for the categorization of systems. Requires the Administrator to assign each system to such tiers.

Authorizes the Administrator to designate any chemical substance as a substance of concern and establish the threshold quantity for the release or theft of each such substance. Requires the Administrator to: (1) provide baseline information to systems regarding the types of intentional acts that constitute probable threats, (2) direct systems that possess substances of concern in excess of the release threshold quantity to include in their site security plans assessments of methods to reduce the consequences of chemical releases from intentional acts, (3) determine whether to require systems to implement such methods, (4) develop non-binding guidance to assist systems in assessing and implementing methods to reduce consequences of a chemical release by reducing or eliminating reliance on the use of threshold quantities of such substances, and (5) prohibit the unauthorized disclosure of protected information.

Authorizes the Administrator to provide grants to assist states and systems in complying with this Act and to provide for security-related training of system employees and training for emergency response providers. Authorizes appropriations for FY2013-FY2017.

Secure Wastewater Treatment Facilities Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to establish the same requirements and set forth analogous provisions with respect to covered treatment works. Defines a "covered treatment works" as a treatment works that has a treatment capacity of no less than 2.5 million gallons per day or that presents a security risk that requires regulation.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2013-02-14 00:00:00

Land and Water Conservation Authorization and Funding Act of 2013 - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to make permanent the authorization for the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Makes monies covered into the Fund available for expenditure to carry out the purposes of the Act without further appropriation.

Requires not less than 1.5% of the annual authorized funding amount to be made available for projects that secure recreational public access to existing federal public land for hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2013-02-27 00:00:00

Sewage Overflow Community Right-to-Know Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to require owners or operators of publicly owned treatment works to: (1) institute monitoring systems to provide timely alerts of sewer overflows, (2) notify the public not later than 24 hours after receiving knowledge of such overflows in areas where human health is potentially affected, (3) notify public health authorities and other affected entities immediately of an overflow that may imminently and substantially endanger human health, (4) report each overflow on discharge monitoring reports to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or the state, and (5) annually report to the Administrator or the state on the total number of overflows in a calendar year.

Makes specified exceptions to notification and reporting requirements for backups into single-family residences and for overflows that occur in the course of treatment works maintenance, respectively.

Requires annual summary reports by states to the Administrator.

Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations, including to establish overflow assessment guidance and develop communications measures to provide notification under this Act.

Makes the monitoring systems eligible for state water pollution control revolving fund assistance.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2013-03-12 00:00:00

Rural Heritage Conservation Extension Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) make permanent the tax deduction for charitable contributions by individuals and corporations of real property interests for conservation purposes; and (2) prohibit any such deduction for contributions of an easement for use on, or intended use on, a golf course.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2013-03-12 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 L06 in the state of North Carolina) with another map relating to the same unit entitled "John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System Corrected Unit L06."
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2013-03-18 00:00:00

Oil Spill Tax Fairness Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny a tax deduction for business-related expenses paid or incurred by a responsible party relating to an incident resulting in the discharge of oil into the navigable waters, other than an incident caused by an act of God or an act of war.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2013-03-21 00:00:00

National Endowment for the Oceans Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to establish the National Endowment for the Oceans as a permanent endowment fund to support programs and activities to restore, protect, maintain, or understand living marine resources and their habitats and ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources, including baseline scientific research, ocean observing, and other programs in coordination with federal and state agencies.

Requires the contribution of non-federal matching funds for certain projects.

Specifies that programs funded in Great Lakes states shall also seek to attain the goals embodied in the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Plan, the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy, the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, or other collaborative planning efforts of the Great Lakes Region. Prohibits the funding of litigation.

Directs the Foundation, according to a specified allocation formula, to award a minimum percentage of funds as grants to coastal states while awarding a lesser percentage of funds to entities including states, Indian tribes, regional bodies, associations, non-governmental organizations, and academic institutions.

Sets forth a process for the Foundation, with approval of the Secretary, to establish application guidelines, eligibility criteria, and grant approval procedures.

Requires coastal states, as a condition to grant eligibility, to submit a five-year plan (updated at least every five years to continue receiving a grant) to the Secretary for approval after the Secretary has provided an opportunity for public comment. Directs the Foundation to establish an advisory panel to review and make recommendations with respect to the grant applications of other entities.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2013-05-16 00:00:00

Silviculture Regulatory Consistency Act - 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 silvicultural 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: 2013-05-23 00:00:00

Artificial Reef Promotion Act of 2013 - Amends the National Fishing Enhancement Act of 1984 to require the Secretary of the Army, in issuing a permit for artificial reefs, to ensure that a state assuming liability for future damages has established an artificial reef maintenance fund.

Requires the Director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and the Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to promulgate regulations that expedite the review of a final application submitted to dispose of or remove an offshore oil and gas platform in the Gulf of Mexico for use as an artificial reef by requiring that a decision be made within 150 days after the submission of such application. Requires the Commanding General of the Corps of Engineers to promulgate regulations that expedite the review of a final application by the Secretary by requiring a decision to be given within 120 days after the submission of such application.

Directs the Commanding General to designate no fewer than 20 artificial reef planning areas. Specifies location and depth requirements for such artificial reefs, including the number of areas that should be located outside the seaward boundary of each of the Gulf states. Revises siting compliance requirements imposed upon permittees.

Prohibits regulations from requiring an artificial reef planning area to be filled to capacity with offshore oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico before another artificial reef planning area is established. Requires the Regional Supervisor to give preference to a final application submitted to dispose of or remove a platform for use as an artificial reef.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2013-06-11 00:00:00

Amends the Highlands Conservation Act to extend, through FY2024, funding for: (1) land conservation partnership projects in the highlands regions of Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; and (2) Forest Service and Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs to assist such states, units of local government, and private forest and farm landowners in the conservation of land and natural resources in that region.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2013-06-13 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 impacts, resulting from the March 2011 earthquake and subsequent tsunami in the Tohoku region of Japan 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: Environmental protection
Date: 2013-07-24 00:00:00

Clean Cruise Ship Act of 2013 - Declares the purpose of this Act to be the establishment of national standards and prohibitions for discharges from cruise vessels. Defines "cruise vessel" as a passenger vessel that is authorized to carry at least 250 passengers and has onboard sleeping facilities for each passenger. Excludes vessels owned or operated by federal, state, or local governments.

Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to prohibit cruise vessels departing from, or calling on, a U.S. port from discharging effluents, including sewage or sewage sludge, incinerator ash, hazardous waste, graywater, or bilge water, into navigable waters. Allows an exception for discharges made solely to secure the safety of a cruise vessel or to save a human life at sea.

Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) promulgate effluent limits for sewage, graywater, and bilge water discharges from cruise vessels; (2) establish dates for compliance with such limits; (3) require sampling, monitoring, and reporting to ensure compliance with such limits and other applicable requirements; and (4) establish an inspection program to ensure the compliance of cruise vessels with the requirements of this Act.

Requires the Commandant of the Coast Guard, in consultation with the Administrator, to establish and carry out a program for hiring and placing trained, independent, observers on cruise vessels to monitor and inspect vessel operations, equipment, and discharges.

Establishes in the Treasury the Cruise Vessel Pollution Control Fund. Requires the Commandant and the Administrator to collect fees from cruise vessels and deposit such fees in the Fund for use in carrying out this Act.
Topic: Environment — Conservation
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2013-08-01 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: Environmental protection
Date: 2013-08-01 00:00:00

Commonsense Permitting for Job Creation Act of 2013 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to prevent guidelines applicable to permits for the discharge of dredged or fill material into the navigable waters at disposal sites from prohibiting specification of a site due to the lack of a final site plan resulting from the lack of an identified end user or industry or industrial classification when determining whether there is a practicable alternative to a proposed discharge that would result in less adverse impact on the aquatic ecosystem.