Environmental Policy: CRS Experts

November 21, 2013 (R42630)

The federal government, primarily the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), administers a number of laws, largely through states and local agencies, established by Congress to protect human health and the environment. These environmental laws involve authorizing, appropriations, and oversight jurisdiction of numerous congressional committees and subcommittees. Analysis of environmental policy issues requires an understanding of the impacts to, and from, various industries including coal, oil and gas, manufacturing, and agriculture resulting in overlapping policy issues (e.g., energy, natural resources, and pollution control) requiring coordination between experts on environmental statutes and those industries.

The following table provides names and contact information for CRS experts on various environmental policy issues, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act ("Superfund"), National Environmental Policy Act, Oil Pollution Act, Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, Toxic Substances Control Act, and related policy, economic, and technical issues facing Congress. Broad policy areas include air and water quality and pollution control, federal financing for wastewater and drinking water treatment, other types of financial assistance, hazardous and nuclear waste management and cleanup, chemicals in commerce, and international environmental issues, including "sustainability." (See also CRS Report R42617, Water Resources and Water Quality: CRS Experts, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed], and CRS Report R42598, Farm Bill: CRS Experts, by [author name scrubbed].)

Legislative Issues	Name/Title	Phone		E-mail
General Environmental Quality, Pollution Control, and EPA Issues
EPA budget and administration	[author name scrubbed], Specialist in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
General environmental review, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), environmental impact statements and categorical exclusions	[author name scrubbed], Analyst in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Legal aspects of federal environmental laws	[author name scrubbed], Legislative Attorney	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Air Quality, Air Pollution Control, and Clean Air Act
General Clean Air Act (CAA), utility emissions and air toxics	Jim McCarthy, Specialist in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Air emissions from oil and natural gas operations, including hydraulic fracturing	Richard Lattanzio, Analyst in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Air emissions from offshore oil and gas operations	Jonathan Ramseur, Specialist in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)	Jim McCarthy, Specialist in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA)	David Bearden, Specialist in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards for hazardous air pollutants	Jim McCarthy, Specialist in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Title V air pollution permitting	[author name scrubbed], Specialist in Resources and Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
State and local agency role in air permitting	[author name scrubbed], Environmental Policy Section Research Manager	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Vehicle emissions control, conventional pollutants	Brent Yacobucci Section Research Manager	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
	Richard Lattanzio, Analyst in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Vehicle emissions control, greenhouse gas (GHG) regulation	Brent Yacobucci Section Research Manager	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
	Jim McCarthy, Specialist in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
	Richard Lattanzio, Analyst in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Legal issues and court decisions involving the Clean Air Act (CAA)	[author name scrubbed], Legislative Attorney	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Water Quality and Water Pollution Control¹
General Clean Water Act (CWA), water treatment and water infrastructure financing	[author name scrubbed], Specialist in Resources and Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Drinking water, Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), underground injection control	[author name scrubbed], Specialist in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Water protection and unconventional oil and gas development, including hydraulic fracturing	[author name scrubbed], Specialist in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Drinking water standards, treatment, infrastructure financing and security	[author name scrubbed], Specialist in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Ground water protection	[author name scrubbed], Specialist in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Rural water development assistance	[author name scrubbed], Analyst in Agriculture Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Soil conservation, erosion control, and general agriculture-environment coordination²	[author name scrubbed], Specialist in Agricultural Conservation and Natural Resources Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasures (SPCC)	Jonathan Ramseur, Specialist in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Mountaintop surface mining permitting and water quality	[author name scrubbed], Specialist in Resources and Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Wetlands regulation and policy	[author name scrubbed], Specialist in Resources and Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Legal aspects of wetlands and other Clean Water Act (CWA) issues	[author name scrubbed], Legislative Attorney	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Solid, Hazardous, and Nuclear Waste Management and Cleanup
"Superfund" (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, or CERCLA), hazardous waste/brownfields site cleanup and redevelopment	David Bearden, Specialist in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), defining "solid" and "hazardous" wastes	[author name scrubbed], Analyst in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Coal combustion residuals ("coal ash")	[author name scrubbed], Analyst in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Household waste recycling (glass, plastics, metals, pharmaceuticals, electronic wastes)	[author name scrubbed], Analyst in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Industrial and municipal solid waste disposal, disaster debris, marine debris³	[author name scrubbed], Analyst in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear weapons production facility cleanup	David Bearden, Specialist in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Legal aspects of Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA)	[author name scrubbed], Legislative Attorney	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Yucca Mountain, nuclear power, low and high level nuclear waste	[author name scrubbed], Specialist in Energy Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Solid waste, hazardous waste, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), coal combustion residuals ("coal ash")	[author name scrubbed], Analyst in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) "Corrective Action" Site Cleanup	David Bearden, Specialist in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
High level nuclear waste and spent/used nuclear fuel, Department of Energy (DOE) facility cleanup	[author name scrubbed], Environmental Policy Section Research Manager	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Oil spill response and cleanup	Jonathan Ramseur, Specialist in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Leaking Underground Storage Tanks (USTs): prevention and cleanup	[author name scrubbed], Specialist in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Disposal of pharmaceuticals	[author name scrubbed], Analyst in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Chemicals in Commerce
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)	[author name scrubbed], Analyst in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), general pesticides toxicity and regulation	[author name scrubbed], Analyst in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Pesticides and water quality	[author name scrubbed], Specialist in Resources and Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Fees associated with pesticide registration	[author name scrubbed], Specialist in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Endocrine disruptors	[author name scrubbed], Analyst in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Lead paint	[author name scrubbed], Analyst in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Control
Climate change ("global warming") general and overall coordinator	Jane Leggett, Specialist in Energy and Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Control of greenhouse gas (CO₂) emissions from electric generating units (i.e., "power plants")	Jim McCarthy, Specialist in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Climate change funding in federal budget overall	Jane Leggett, Specialist in Energy and Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Climate change funding in U.S. EPA budget	Robert Esworthy, Specialist in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
State & Foreign Ops authorizations and appropriations for climate and environment; multilateral funding	Richard Lattanzio, Analyst in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Geoengineering	Richard Lattanzio, Analyst in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
	[author name scrubbed], Specialist in Natural Resources Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Overall climate change science, research and policy issues, IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)	Jane Leggett, Specialist in Energy and Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Climate change impacts and adaptation, mitigation benefits, coordinate arctic environmental changes, ocean acidification impacts on coral reefs and non-fishing impacts	Jane Leggett, Specialist in Energy and Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
European Union Emission Trading System, international GHG emissions control and trading programs	Jane Leggett, Specialist in Energy and Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
International climate change policies and programs, including negotiations (UN, G20, MEF, bilateral)	Jane Leggett, Specialist in Energy and Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
	Richard Lattanzio, Analyst in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Carbon capture and sequestration	Pete Folger, Specialist in Energy and Natural Resources Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Role of agriculture as source and sink for greenhouse gas emissions	[author name scrubbed], Specialist in Resources and Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Climate change/GHG control legislation and program design issues; greenhouse gas offsets; emission allowance allocation; carbon tax; state climate change activities (RGGI and CA AB32)	Jonathan Ramseur, Specialist in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Climate change/GHG control legislation and program design issues; greenhouse gas offsets; emission allowance allocation; carbon tax	Jane Leggett, Specialist in Energy and Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions (e.g., Keystone XL pipeline and Canadian oil sands)	Richard Lattanzio, Analyst in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
Greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas operations including hydraulic fracturing	Richard Lattanzio, Analyst in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]		[email address scrubbed]
International Environmental Issues
Sustainability and Rio follow-up	Jane Leggett, Specialist in Energy and Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Multilateral environmental agreements, environmental aspects of trade agreements (pollution control)	Richard Lattanzio, Analyst in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Multilateral environmental agreements, environmental aspects of trade agreements (natural resources, logging, fisheries, wildlife)	Pervaze Sheikh, Specialist in Energy and Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
Bilateral environmental agreements	Jane Leggett, Specialist in Energy and Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]
NAFTA environmental provisions and side agreements	[author name scrubbed], Specialist in Environmental Policy	[phone number scrubbed]	[email address scrubbed]

Footnotes

1.	See related CRS experts list (CRS Report R42617, Water Resources and Water Quality: CRS Experts, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed]).
2.	See related CRS experts list (CRS Report R42598, Farm Bill: CRS Experts, by [author name scrubbed]).
3.	See related CRS experts list (CRS Report R40882, Flooding Events: CRS Experts, by [author name scrubbed]).