Following the recent release of a report by the Interior Office of Inspector General (OIG), four House Democrats sent a letter to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) encouraging it to strengthen its policies for preventing illegal drilling for federal mineral resources.

The United Kingdom (UK) opened its first space weather forecasting center, the Met Office Space Weather Operations Center, on October 9 in Exeter, England.

NASA’s Langley Research Center and the Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) have entered into a one-year agreement to test small unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for detecting brush and forest fires in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Suffolk, VA.

In an October 14 report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended the formation of an independent office to streamline the federal response to ocean acidification.

DOI -- The Department of the Interior issued a final rule that amends the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) oil and gas resources regulations. The rule updates fees that cover BSEE's cost of processing and filing certain documents relating to its oil and gas resources program. [Tuesday, October 1, 2013, (Vol. 78, No. 190)]

In the case, Alt v. EPA, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia ruled that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cannot require a West Virginia poultry farm to obtain a Clean Water Act discharge permit for its stormwater. The court found that the stormwater discharge came from the farmyard that surrounds the concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) and that the farmyard itself was not a “production area” under the Clean Water Act.

NASA is preparing to launch its next spacecraft. The Mars Atmosphere and Volatiles Evolution mission (MAVEN) is set to launch on November 18 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. MAVEN will examine Mars’ upper atmosphere, which could potentially provide data on the history of climate change on the Red Planet. 

As the dust settled on the latest fiscal crises this October, members of Congress were able to address the lapse in authorization for The America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education and Science Act (COMPETES Act) that occurred at the end of September.

New Jersey and federal officials have teamed up to help buy back damaged or high-risk homes impacted by Superstorm Sandy. The first purchase made on October 18, 2013 is part of New Jersey’s Blue Acres program, which will use $300 million in federal aid to buy out damaged or at-risk homes along the New Jersey coastline.

The Supreme Court agreed to hear six cases challenging the regulations set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from stationary sources this October. The court agreed to examine whether EPA, under the Clean Air Act, rightfully determined that GHG emissions from new motor vehicles should require permits.