Posted on July 25, 2009 …

Identification of Priority Classes of Facilities for Development of CERCLA Section 108(b) Financial Responsibility Requirements

EPA http://www.epa.gov/superfund/policy/financialresponsibility/cercla108b_07-10-09.pdf This notice by the EPA under 40 CFR Part 320 identifies hard rock mining as a regulatory priority. “EPA is by this notice identifying classes of facilities within the hardrock mining industry for which the Agency will first develop financial responsibility requirements under CERCLA Section 108(b). For purposes of this notice, hardrock mining … Continue reading »

Two Recent Studies of Regional Differences in the Effects of Policies That Would Price Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Congressional Budget Office http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/104xx/doc10432/07-09-RegionalEffects_Cap-Trade.pdf Today CBO released a letter describing studies by two teams of experts—one affiliated with the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and one affiliated with Resources for the Future (RFF)—that estimated regional differences in the effects of policies that would increase the prices of fossil fuels in rough proportion to the … Continue reading »

Cost Estimate for the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2009

Congressional Budget Office http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/104xx/doc10470/SurfaceTranspExt.pdf [Summary]  The Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2009 would extend through March 30, 2011, Federal-Aid Highway programs authorized by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act (SAFETEA-LU; Public Law 109-59). The bill would set the amount of contract authority (the authority to incur obligations in advance of appropriations and a … Continue reading »

Cost Estimate for H.R. 2407 National Climate Service Act of 2009

Congressional Budget Office http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/104xx/doc10473/hr2407.pdf [Summary] H.R. 2407 would require the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to evaluate climate-related programs administered by federal agencies and develop a proposal for a new national climate service to coordinate such programs. The bill also would restructure the climate program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). … Continue reading »

Cost Estimate for H.R. 2749, Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009

Congressional Budget Office http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/104xx/doc10478/hr2749.pdf [Summary] H.R. 2749 would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to strengthen federal efforts related to ensuring the safety of commercially distributed food. H.R. 2749 would also broaden the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) authority to regulate food products, and would require the agency to assess fees on … Continue reading »

Climate Change and Vulnerable Societies

Brookings scholar Kemal Davis speaking before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and the Global Environment http://www.brookings.edu/testimony/2009/0723_climate_change_dervis.aspx?rssid=LatestFromBrookings [Summary] Kemal Derviş testified before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on America’s critical role in supporting climate change adaptation in the world’s most vulnerable communities. Derviş stressed that although global economies are … Continue reading »

Realistic Costs of Carbon Capture

Belfer Center, Kennedy School, Harvard Univ. / by Mohammed Al-Juaied and Adam Whitmore http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/19185/realistic_costs_of_carbon_capture.html [Abstract] There is a growing interest in carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a means of reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. However there are substantial uncertainties about the costs of CCS. Costs for pre-combustion capture with compression (i.e. excluding costs of … Continue reading »