Agricultural Conservation Issues In The 111th Congress

Agricultural conservation has been a public policy issue for more than 60 years. Congress has repeatedly taken action on the issue through water and soil legislation, often as part of omnibus farm bills. The USDA¿s conservation efforts have centered on implementing these conservation programs through working land conservation practices, retiring land from production or estab. conservation easements, and providing technical assistance. The climate change debate and use of ecosystem services markets has brought conservation to the forefront of discussion on the role of agriculture in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Also, the effect of ethanol production on natural resources and changes in land use is an ongoing concern in the area of biofuels policy.

Contents: (1) Intro.; (2) EPA's Greenhouse Gas Regulations; (3) Legislation on Climate Change: Legislative and Regulatory Issues; Cap-and-Trade; GHG Emission Standards; HFC Cap-and-Trade; Removal of Existing EPA Authorities; Agricultural Sources of Emissions; Internat. Offsets; Tariff Provisions; State Preemption; Experience with Other Cap-and-Trade Systems; (4) Emissions from Power Plants: Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR): N. Carolina v. EPA; Effects of the Decision; Judicial and Legislative Options; Clean Air Mercury Rule: Background; NJ v. EPA; Other Mercury Issues; Next Steps; New Source Review; (5) Air Quality Standards; Background; Judicial Reviews; Adequacy of Monitoring. Illus. This is a print on demand publication.

Federal water resource construction waned during the last decades of the 20th century in response to fiscal constraints, interest in more local control of water and land resources, and requirements to assess environmental impacts of federal actions and to protect fish and wildlife. [...] Water resources debates in the 111th Congress likely will be dominated by different opinions of the desirability and need for changing the water resource agencies' policies, practices, and accountability, and for authorizing multi-billion dollar investments in ecosystem restoration, agricultural land drainage, navigation, and flood and storm damage reduction measures. [...] A broad water resource issue significant to the water resources agencies and the nation is the changing federal role in water resources planning, development, and management, and changes in institutional structures to address an evolving federal role. [...] The question of the federal role also is raised by the increasing competition over water supplies, not only in the West but also for urban centers in the Southeast (e.g., Atlanta), which has resulted in a growing number of communities seeking financial and other federal assistance related to water supply development (e.g., desalination and water reuse projects, reservoir expansions and changes in [...] The 111th Congress is faced with numerous water resource development and management issues: the federal role in the planning, construction, maintenance, inspection, and financing of water resource projects; federal investment in water resources research and data collection; management and operation of existing projects; environmental protection; and climate variability and change.

The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record began publication in 1873. Debates for sessions prior to 1873 are recorded in The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States (1789-1824), the Register of Debates in Congress (1824-1837), and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873)

This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. In the 111th Congress, legislation has been introduced that seeks to clarify the scope of the Clean Water Act (CWA) in the wake of Supreme Court decisions in 2001 and 2006 that interpreted the law¿s jurisdiction more narrowly than prior case law. Bills to nullify the Court¿s rulings have been introduced repeatedly since the 107th Congress, but none had advanced until the 111th Congress. The legal and policy questions concerning the outer geographic limits of CWA jurisdiction and consequences of restricting that scope have challenged regulators, landowners and developers, and policymakers for more than 35 years. Contents of this report: Intro.; Analysis of Bills; Regulatory and Proposed Statutory Definitions of ¿Waters of the U.S.¿ Illus.

EQIP is the largest agriculture conservation program for working lands.3 The program encourages farmers and ranchers to participate in conservation efforts by paying a portion of the cost of installing or constructing approved conservation practices. [...] EQIP was amended and reauthorized in both the 2002 and 2008 farm bills.4 The U. S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) administers EQIP under a final rule.5 NRCS implemented EQIP by establishing national priorities to reflect the most pressing natural resource needs and emphasize offsite benefits to the environment. [...] The FY2010 appropriations act (Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2010, P. L. 111-80) limited EQIP to $1.18 billion for FY2010-a reduction of $270 million from the authorized level of $1.45 billion in the 2008 farm bill.11 For FY2011, the Administration has proposed a limit of $1.208 billion-a reduction of $380 million from the [...] As shown in Figure 1, the authorized funding level has continued to increase since the 2002 farm bill; however, annual appropriations acts have reduced the actual funding levels by a total of nearly $1.6 billion from FY2005 through FY2010.19 With the 111th Congress facing tighter budget constraints, similar cuts to EQIP could be considered either in the appropriations process or by the authorizing [...] Most of the concern about the child nutrition bill appears to revolve around the proposed reduction of EQIP funding to offset the bill's funding increases.