The Senate has approved an amendment to streamline the permitting process for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The American Water Resources Association (AWRA) Policy Committee released the second volume of their report, “Proactive Flood and Drought Management”.

On April 20, the Senate voted to permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) within bipartisan energy reform legislation (S. 2012) sponsored by Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

The Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015 (S. 2012) passed the Senate with overwhelming support on April 20.

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining held an oversight hearing on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) proposed rule to reduce venting, flaring, and leaks during oil and gas production on Federal and Indian lands.

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) held a webinar entitled, "Can Coal Country Thrive in a Clean Energy Economy?" to discuss the range of adaptations, investments, and development programs underway in coal-reliant regions.

The Monthly Review is part of a continuing effort to improve communications about the role of geoscience in policy.
Current and archived monthly reviews are available online.

Subscribe to receive the Monthly Review directly.

April 2015

​Budget

A list of notices from the federal register for April 2015 from agencies including the Department of the Interior, USGS, NOAA, NASA, and more.

The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee held a markup of the NASA Authorization Act for 2016 and 2017 (H.R. 2039).

A new $3.6 million effort supports a partnership between NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Geological Survey to develop an early warning indicator for freshwater algal blooms.