EPA seeks public response to proposed changes to Clean Water Act

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army will be seeking public comments on their proposal to change the definition of “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) as applied in the Clean Water Act.  According to the 12/28/19 Federal Register Notice, a related public hearing will be held January 23, 2019 in Kansas City, Read More

GOMURC workshop on Oil Pollution Act on February 5

GOMURC will coordinate a workshop on February 5, 1-5pm, during the GOMOSES Conference in New Orleans, entitled, “Examining the 1990 Oil Pollution Act to improve the governmental and scientific response to future oil spill events.” Our purpose is to capture lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DHOS) that can be used to improve Read More

New tax plan will hurt students

From American Federation of Teachers (AFT), “If the [proposed] Republican tax plan passes, it will not be possible for many graduate students across the country to afford their education. Their [Republican-led] bill will force them to pay hundreds of dollars more in taxes by treating tuition waivers – the tuition that is waived by universities Read More

NOAA Briefing on the Presidents FY16 Budget Request – Feb 17, 2015

On February 17, 2015, 2:00-4:00PM, tentatively, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will give a FY16 Budget Briefing for stakeholders. This will be following the announcement of the President’s Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Request expected during the week of February 2, which includes funding for NOAA. Per NOAA communication, “NOAA Administrator Dr. Kathryn Sullivan will Read More

3.19 Million Barrels Spilled, BP Faces $13.7 Billion in Fines for Deepwater Horizon Disaster

In an official ruling on Thursday, January 15, 2015, U.S. District Court Judge Carl Barbier determined 3.19 million barrels of oil were spilled in the Gulf of Mexico from the Macondo well following the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion on April 20, 2010. Under the Clean Water Act, oil spill violators face fines ranging from $1,000 to Read More

Legislation

S.1254: Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2014 was signed by President on June 30. Authorizes over $20M to include maintaining and enhancing “a national harmful algal bloom and hypoxia program” — bill at https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s1254/text. Program is to be led by NOAA and a national task force, similar to Gulf Read More

Legislation

House passed H.R. 2431: National Integrated Drought Information System Reauthorization Act of 2013, “a collaborative effort between numerous federal agencies and several state governments to provide a dynamic and accessible drought-risk information system.” House subcommittee news item at http://democrats.science.house.gov/press-release/house-passes-drought-research-legislation. Bill now goes to Senate. Read More