Environment

Environmental laws like the Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the Food Quality Protection Act improve America’s environment and protect public health. These landmark laws have helped provide Americans cleaner air, cleaner water, and safer food. While these environmental laws have been successful, a number of recent investigations for members of Congress by the Special Investigations Division have highlighted ongoing environmental problems.

Latest News

Chairman Waxman Urges Protection of Los Angeles River Basin

In a letter to EPA Administrator Johnson, Chairman Waxman urged Johnson to exercise EPA’s authority to block a proposed determination by the Army Corps of Engineers that could result in significant water quality degradation in the Los Angeles River Basin.

Chairman Waxman Criticizes EPA Proposal That Would Allow Contaminated Drinking Water

In a letter to EPA Administrator Johnson, Chairman Waxman expressed his concerns that an EPA proposal could expose significant populations in the United States to contamination levels in drinking water up to three times what the law now allows.

Chairman Waxman Issues Subpoena for EPA Documents

Chairman Henry A. Waxman today issued a subpoena to compel EPA to provide unredacted copies of documents involving the White House that have been improperly withheld from the Committee regarding EPA’s decision to reject California’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles.

Chairman Waxman Questions EPA’s Losses in Federal Court

In a letter to EPA Administrator Johnson, Chairman Waxman requested information regarding the extent and effects of EPA’s numerous losses in federal court on EPA rules that the courts found were contrary to law.

Chairman Waxman Presses EPA for Answers on Proposal to Increase Air Pollution in National Parks

Following an unsatisfactory response to an earlier letter sent to EPA Administrator Johnson, Chairman Waxman requests clarification of a proposed regulation that threatens to allow increased air pollution in the National Parks and other clean air areas.

Chairman Waxman Reiterates Request for OMB Documents Related to Ozone Regulation

In a letter to Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Administrator Susan Dudley, Chairman Waxman reiterated the Committee’s request for documents related to the rejection of expert recommendations for ozone air quality standards.

Chairman Waxman Statement on EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Decision

Chairman Henry A. Waxman released a statement in response to a letter from EPA Administrator Johnson.

Chairman Waxman Issues a Subpoena for EPA Documents

Chairman Waxman issued a subpoena to compel EPA to provide unredacted copies of documents that have been improperly withheld from the Committee regarding EPA’s decision to reject California’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles.

GAO Report Finds EPA Library Closures Flawed

A new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) finds that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) effort to close regional and research libraries around the country has been plagued by managerial problems.

Chairman Waxman Requests Explanation for EPA’s Decision to Ignore Scientific Experts

In a letter to EPA Administrator Johnson, Chairman Waxman requested an explanation for EPA’s decision to adopt national ambient air quality standards for particulate matter and ozone contrary to the recommendations of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee.

EPA Efforts to Regulate Carbon Dioxide Stymied

Senior EPA officials have told the Committee that after the agency concluded in December that CO₂ emissions were a danger to the United States and proposed significant cuts in motor vehicle emissions, the agency’s regulatory efforts were halted.

Rural Utilities Service Agrees to Moratorium on New Coal-Fired Power Plants

In a response to a letter from Chairman Waxman, RUS stated that it would not fund any new coal-fired power plants until it can calculate and apply a factor to reflect financial risks.

Chairman Waxman Introduces H.R. 5575, the "Moratorium on Uncontrolled Power Plants Act"

Today Chairman Henry A. Waxman and Chairman Edward J. Markey introduced H.R. 5575, the “Moratorium on Uncontrolled Power Plants Act of 2008.” The legislation addresses the largest new source of global warming pollution — new coal-fired power plants that are being built without any controls on their global warming emissions.

Chairman Waxman Requests Improperly Withheld EPA Documents

In a letter to EPA Administrator Johnson, Chairman Waxman requested documents that have been improperly withheld from the Committee regarding EPA’s decision to reject California’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Members Ask Rural Utility Service How it is Protecting Taxpayer Subsidized Loans from the Financial Risks of Climate Change

In a letter to the Rural Utilities Service, Chairman Waxman and Rep. Jim Cooper asked how RUS is addressing the financial risks of building new coal-fired power plants without emissions controls for greenhouse gases, when RUS provides taxpayer-subsidized loans for such plants. Failure to account for costs these plants may face for future carbon controls would put taxpayer dollars at risk.

Chairman Waxman Issues a Subpoena for EPA Presentations

Chairman Waxman issued a subpoena to compel the EPA to provide unredacted copies of a key presentation EPA staff made to Administrator Johnson in October 2007 about California’s regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles.

Chairman Waxman Urges EPA to Protect Air Quality Near National Parks

In a letter to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson, Chairman Waxman urged the agency to reject a proposed rule that would make it easier to build large, new polluting facilities near national parks and wilderness areas without installing adequate pollution controls. Chairman Waxman also requested an explanation of how the flawed proposal was approved and why the concerns identified by EPA’s key technical staff were ignored.

Chairman Waxman Requests Progress Update on Greenhouse Gas Regulations

Chairman Waxman wrote to EPA Administrator Johnson to request an update on the agency’s progress in implementing controls on greenhouse gas emissions.

Chairman Waxman Requests Unredacted EPA Documents

In a letter to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson, Chairman Waxman requests complete, unredacted copies of Administrator Johnson’s briefing slides regarding California’s petition for a Clean Air Act waiver to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.

Committee Requests Information Regarding DOD Greenhouse Gas Emission Compliance

Chairman Waxman and Ranking Member Davis requested information from Secretary Gates on how the Department of Defense will comply with a recently enacted provision of law barring the government from purchasing alternative fuels for vehicles and planes, such as fuels from a coal-to-liquids process or tar sands, if those fuels have higher greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels.

Committee Requests Action Plans for Uranium Contamination in the Navajo Nation

In letters to five federal agencies, Chairman Waxman and Ranking Member Davis request that the agencies prepare and submit five-year action plans for cleaning up the widespread uranium contamination in the Navajo Nation.

Investigation Into EPA's Denial of State Greenhouse Gas Regulations Advances

Following EPA’s failure to meet the Committee’s deadline for producing documents, Chairman Waxman requests that the agency agree to production deadlines and provide relevant EPA officials for interviews.

Chairman Waxman Initiates Investigation into EPA Decision

In a letter to EPA, Chairman Waxman requests that the agency preserve and produce all documents relating to Administrator Johnson’s decision to block California’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles.

Chairman Waxman’s Statement on EPA Denial of California Waiver Request

Chairman Henry A. Waxman released the following statement today in response to EPA’s denial of California’s waiver request:

“EPA’s decision ignores the law, science, and commonsense. This is a policy dictated by politics and ideology, not facts. The Committee will be investigating how and why this decision was made.”

Committee Report: White House Engaged in Systematic Effort to Manipulate Climate Change Science

The Oversight Committee approved a report that concludes that the Bush Administration has censored climate change scientists, edited climate change reports, and misled policymakers and the public about the dangers of global warming.

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