Federal

A bill introduced by Eastern Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers could help speed up hydropower development in the US.

OTTAWA, ON, July 8, 2020 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada is working hard to protect our oceans and the marine life they sustain.

Climate change is real, and people across the nation—particularly people of color—are already feeling its effects.

Two members of the Florida delegation in the U.S. House teamed up this week on a proposal to create Centers of Excellence on Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) to help in the fights against red tide and blue-green algae.

Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, Oregon’s United States Senators, announced that they had acquired $215,000 from the Federal Environmental Protection Agency for Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) to test levels of bacteria in water at Oregon beaches.

U.S. Representatives Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-Florida) and Don Young (R-Alaska) filed a bill in Congress on Friday, 26 June, that calls for USD 3 billion (EUR 2.67 billion) in grants funding designed to restore the country’s coastal ecosystems, including fisheries.

Audubon supports the Shovel-Ready Restoration Grants for Coastlines and Fisheries Act of 2020.

NEW YORK -- A bill pending in Congress could help a project to restore a natural barrier to storm damage in New York.

Five federal agencies are collaborating to clarify rules related to flood insurance requirements.

The 2020-21 Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp – commonly known as the duck stamp – went on sale Friday, giving hunters, philatelists and anyone who cares about migratory birds and other wildlife an easy way to help conserve critical habitat.

On June 18th the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure approved new transportation infrastructure legislation. The Invest in America Act, H.R. 2, calls for new infrastructure with greater resilience to the impacts of climate change as well as investments to conserve America’s lands, waters and wildlife.

On June 27 the Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk Division released the draft Florida Keys Coastal Storm Risk Management Study and EICS for 45 day public review. The purpose of the Florida Keys CSRM Study is to evaluate coastal storm risk and recommend a project for implementation that would reduce that risk throughout the study area

The multi-year Flagler Beach dunes restoration project along State Road A1A could be in jeopardy if the county doesn’t meet requirements laid out by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Hawaii Proposed Detonation of World War II-Era Bombs at Molokini Angers Activists 8 State and federal agencies have been planning to dispose of the bombs since last year. By Kevin Knodell / June 26, 2020 Reading time: 4 minutes. The Navy is currently evaluating how to safely remove a pair of World War II-era explosives at Molokini Crater.

The Great American Outdoors Act sounds as patriotic as apple pie, and we agree with the overall goals of the bill, which would provide $900 million a year to improve national and local parks and wildlife refuges, plus $11.9 billion over five years to address a backlog in maintenance on public lands.

New protections for North Atlantic right whales have been delayed for the fourth time in two years.

NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), Office for Coastal Management (OCM) and Quantum Spatial, Inc. recently completed a 2-year study, funded by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). The team developed a cutting-edge decision-support tool, ShoalMATE, to guide wise use and dredging of offshore sand shoals.

The prevailing narrative behind the Senate's passage of the "Great American Outdoors Act" last week was a feel-good tale of bipartisan unity in the interest of advancing the most expansive conservation legislation in decades. But debate on the sweeping public lands bill was also marked by a strong undercurrent of anger and resentment from some lawmakers in both parties who felt their urgent calls for coastal restoration resources were being ignored.

The next installment in the 100-plus year drama around the Titanic is about to play out in a Virginia courtroom. RMS Titanic, which holds the rights to the wreck site, was due by June 18, 2020, to file a financing plan for the recovery and conservation of artifacts it is targeting during its 2020 expedition to the wreck. In addition, RMS Titanic also has to respond to a challenge from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to its plan to enter the ship to recover parts of the famed Marconi wireless.

Buffeted by breaking waves and a brisk ocean breeze, the town of Rodanthe balances on a precarious shard of land along the Outer Banks. From here, the eastern-most point in North Carolina, it is less than 45 miles to an expanse of the sea where energy corporations plan to puncture the ocean bed in search of oil and gas.

Feathers are being ruffled on the Ecréhous over protection of the offshore reef’s nesting birds – including two breeding pairs of ‘extremely rare’ roseate terns.

A California team uses science to predict the risk of whale entanglements and shut down the Dungeness crab industry when necessary in “near real time.”

ALBANY — The Trump administration’s February decision to abruptly pull funding for an Army Corps of Engineers study on how to protect New York and New Jersey from increased flooding blindsided local planners and environmental advocates.

The Great American Outdoors Act, a bill cosponsored by Maine's U.S. senators and considered by advocates among the most important conservation laws in decades, was passed by the Senate Wednesday.

LAKELAND, Fla. — Five employees of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s hurricane hunter team in Florida tested positive for the coronavirus Friday.

As some communities in the United States consider opening or begin to open public beaches, CDC offers the following considerations for steps beach managers can take to help protect their staff and beach visitors, both in the water and on land, and slow the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.

U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy of Orlando wants the federal government to start the hurricane season a couple of weeks earlier.

AROUND TT, there are Caribbean and Atlantic coasts. Our islands’ location along the edge of the South American shelf also provides exceptionally rich and diverse flora and fauna. Within the boundaries of our relatively small islands, the landscapes support wetlands, rainforests, savannahs, rivers and over 500 km of coasts. Our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) extends over an area which is 15 times the combined land mass (approximately 5000 km2 of land).

Bill with bipartisan backing would fund maintenance at national parks

But group praises former Bumble Bee exec's innovation and commitment to tuna sustainability.

A federal judge in Mississippi has approved Louisiana’s request to be added as a defendant in two lawsuits challenging the way a major Mississippi River flood control structure is operated.

The Aircraft Operations Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s hurricane hunter base in Lakeland was closed for additional cleaning earlier this month after five employees tested positive for COVID-10.

The World Bank is assisting Seychelles with technical support for the island nation to implement its $15 million coastal management and erosion plan. The plan – a first of its kind for the islands – will allow better measures to address hazards brought about by climate change affecting its coastal zones.

Senior conservation and wildlife officer says Gambia's biological resources are vital to the populations’ economic and social development with recognition that biological diversity is a global asset of tremendous value to present and future generations.

After three years in office, the Trump administration has dismantled most of the major climate and environmental policies the president promised to undo.

Efforts to block research on climate change don’t just come from the Trump political appointees on top. Lower managers in government are taking their cues, and running with them.

North Carolina’s objection to WesternGeco’s proposed Bureau of Ocean Energy Management permit to conduct a geological and geophysical seismic survey for oil and gas exploration in the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf has been overridden.

A ‘Green New Deal’, protections for Ireland’s fishing sector and a successor to Harnessing Our Ocean Wealth with a greater focus on sustainability are among the promises included in the draft Programme for Government published this afternoon (Monday 15 June), which as previously reported also features an emphasis on high performance sport.

Kelp forests have grown twenty-fold, providing new habitat for range of fish, researchers say

Scientists worry about increased threat of entanglement

NOAA’s Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary is seeking applicants for six primary and five alternate seats on its advisory council.

U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and chairman of the Senate Energy Subcommittee, addressed the Senate today to urge his colleagues to amend the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) to provide more funds available to Gulf and coastal states to address environmental issues such as land loss and coastal resiliency.

During a visit to Bangor, Maine, on Friday, President Donald Trump opened the Atlantic Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monument created by President Barack Obama in 2016 to commercial fishing.

Sea-level rise and associated flood hazards increasingly put coastal communities across Alabama, Mississippi, and northwest Florida at risk. This project looks at what risks we face in this region as well as how Gulf Coast communities are preparing.

SPI Pharma has applied for reissuance of a permit that allows the Lewes-based production facility to discharge treated process wastewater into the Delaware Bay and stormwater in the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal.

With summer here it is more important than ever for boaters to understand the vital role they play as ambassadors keeping Washington’s waterways safe and clean. Two major hazards boaters produce are oil and trash, but few boaters know what to do when they have a small oil spill on their boat or when they encounter marine debris.

State and federal environmental agencies will use $8.3 million from the Buzzards Bay oil spill natural-resource settlement to restore common loons and other birds throughout New England that were impacted by the 2003 spill.

Oceans cover 70 per cent of the Earth’s surface. But, because many of us spend most of our lives on land, the 362 million square kilometres of blue out there aren’t always top of mind.

America’s marine economy, including goods and services, contributed about $373 billion to the nation’s gross domestic product in 2018 and grew faster than the nation’s economy as a whole, according to the marine economy statistics released today by two Department of Commerce agencies.1

Just two days into the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, Tropical Storm Cristobal was churning in the Gulf of Mexico.

High spring rainfall, river discharge, nutrient loads into Gulf major contributors to size

Lawsuit by Environmental Groups Sought Action on Use of Toxic Dispersant Chemicals

June 1 is the start of hurricane season in the Atlantic, and with 2020 predicted to be particularly active, residents in coastal regions are keeping watchful eyes on the weather. Flooding is often the most damaging effect of tropical storms, and it can disproportionately affect vulnerable people and ecosystems. Now, in ACS' Environmental Science & Technology, researchers study water quality impacts of two recent hurricanes in North Carolina and suggest interventions to protect susceptible areas.

Earlier this month, the Maryland Watermen’s Association signed onto a notice of intent with Chesapeake Bay Foundation to potentially file a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to do what is required under the Clean Water Act and Chesapeake Bay Agreement.

A federal judge heard oral arguments on Thursday in a lawsuit brought by a Washington state environmental group seeking to shut down king salmon fishing in Alaska this summer, to protect the food supply of endangered killer whales.

Robin Rokobauer doesn't like to chance it. When there's a hurricane, she almost always evacuates.