Geoscience Policy Monthly Review
april 2014
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federal agencies & administration
National Science Board responds to FIRST Act
On April 24, the National Science Board (NSB) released a press statement responding to the Frontiers in Innovation, Research, Science, and Technology (FIRST) Act (H.R. 4186), which is currently making its way through the House of Representatives. The FIRST Act would reauthorize funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), which were previously authorized through the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act that expired in 2013. According to the presidentially-appointed NSB, which oversees NSF, the FIRST Act “impose[s] significant new burdens on scientists that would not be offset by gains to the nation.”
NSB objects to multiple provisions in the authorization bill, including language dictating how NSF vets grant proposals and specific funding levels set for each of NSF’s research directorates. The board suggests that Congress’ level of detail in allocating funding, “impede[s] NSF’s flexibility to deploy its funds to support the best ideas.” Under the FIRST Act, Congress could establish funding priorities that neglect certain research areas, such as the geosciences and social and behavioral sciences. NSB maintains that NSF should focus on rewarding exciting, quality research proposals across the sciences.
Under the America COMPETES Act, Congress authorized a lump sum to NSF, which NSF then allocated to its Directorates. The FIRST Act details the authorizations for each of NSF’s Directorates and singles out the Geosciences Directorate for a 3 percent cut and the Social, Behavioral, and Economics Directorate for a 22 percent cut from FY2014 levels, while increasing funding for the other Directorates.
Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX), chair of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, responded that the bill aims to increase accountability for how taxpayer dollars are spent. Smith argues that “basic research in the physical sciences drives economic growth, produces new technologies and creates jobs… [and] to regain America’s scientific edge the Committee will adjust priorities for taxpayer-supported research.” He deemed recent changes to NSF internal policy to address those accountability concerns as “too little too late.”
The FIRST bill was approved by the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee’s research panel on March 13 and is expected to be considered by the full committee sometime in May.
Sources: American Association for the Advancement of Science, ScienceInsider, National Science Foundation
Updated 5/5/14
GAO finds RFS causes problems for refiners
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on April 14 suggesting that delays in issuing yearly federal renewable fuel standards (RFS) leads to increased regulatory uncertainty and compliance costs for petroleum refiners. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has missed the statutory deadline for releasing yearly RFS’s since 2009, which stakeholders say contributes to “industry uncertainty, which can increase costs because industry cannot plan and budget effectively.” The GAO recommended that EPA identify the sources of delays in releasing the yearly RFS and implement a plan to publish the standards on time.
The report finds that the outlook for the U.S. petroleum industry relies on three factors: Domestic consumption, costs of key regulations such as the RFS, and foreign markets. Those factors are impacted by recent changes to the domestic petroleum refining industry such as increased production, declining consumption, and key regulations.
Sources: E&E News, Government Accountability Office
White House delays Keystone XL
On April 18, the U.S. Department of State issued a notice granting more time for intra-agency review of the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. The State Department’s press release did not explicitly state a timeline for continued review, reasoning that litigation currently moving through the Nebraska Supreme Court that could affect the pipeline route. The press release also cited 2.5 million public comments on the Keystone XL awaiting review as a basis for the extension.
The extension comes on the heels of a letter sent by eleven Democratic senators asking President Obama to issue an Executive Order approving the pipeline. Nine of the eleven authors face challenges for re-election this November. Election results in these energy-minded states could prove critical in determining the next Senate majority.
Sources: E&E News, U.S. Department of State, Senator Mary Landrieu
BLM moves forward with mine methane release rules
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) provided notice of its plans to develop rules to control methane releases from mining operations on public lands in the April 29 edition of the Federal Register. Methane makes up nearly 9 percent of man-made greenhouse gas emissions; roughly 10 percent of methane emissions come from active or closed underground coal mines, surface coal mines, and post-mining operations. The rulemaking also aims to protect miners who may be exposed to the toxic and explosive gas if it is not vented.
Industry representatives and environmentalists alike expressed interest in developing a solution that reduces methane emissions while protecting the safety of workers.
BLM’s notice of proposed rulemaking includes a request for comments on potential methods and technologies for methane reductions that are due by June 30, 2014.
Sources: Bureau of Land Management News Releases, E&E News, Environmental Protection Agency