The Congressional Research Service (CRS) published a report that examines federal laws and regulations pertaining to the export of natural gas, crude oil, and coal. This report provides an overview of federal laws and regulations and agency roles in authorizing and regulating the export of these fossil fuels. Any party wishing to export fossil fuels must comply, as appropriate, with the Natural Gas Act, a general ban on crude oil exports, and other various laws and regulations applicable to the construction and operation of exporting fossil fuels.

For most of September, Congress was focused on considering a budget for 2014 before the 2013 fiscal year ended on September 30th. Congress, however, has failed to pass a budget or a Continuing Resolution (CR) and so all non-essential government services are shutting down, and thousands of non-essential government employees, including those at the National Science Foundation, the Department of the Interior, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and NASA, are being furloughed.  

The House of Representatives passed the National Strategic and Critical Mineral Production Act, in a 246-178 vote. If enacted, the bill will expedite government review of gold, silver, copper, and uranium mining on federal land. Supporters of the bill suggest the bill will help create jobs by reducing waiting periods for new mining projects, which can linger up to 10 years; opponents suggest that it would weaken environmental protections.

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) issued a report that describes and compares 52 bills introduced in the 113th Congress that directly address climate change. The CRS also issued a report on federal climate change funding from fiscal year (FY) 2008 through the President’s request for FY2014. More than 75% of the $77 billion for climate change activities from FY 2008 to FY2013 was to fund technology development and deployment.

Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey, the California Geological Survey, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, and other agencies, academic and other institutions are teaming up to improve tsunami resilience in California. Instead of attempting to predict when tsunami-producing earthquake will occur, these scientists are instead identifying the impacts of a tsunami on local infrastructure and the economy.

On September 4, 2013, the Department of the Interior held its second competitive lease sale for renewable energy in federal waters. The sale consisted of 112,799 acres of Virginia’s Outer Continental Shelf, and brought in more than $1.6 billion in revenue. The first lease sale took place in July, and auctioned 164,750 acres of land off the coast of Rhode Island. That sale was won by Deepwater Wind New England, LLC, which had the high bid of $3.8 million.

The majority of federal agencies have released contingency plans detailing how they will execute an orderly ceasing of programs. The agencies’ plans are based on which programs and employees are considered essential (excepted) or non-essential (non-excepted) during the funding hiatus.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a dataset from the Deepwater Horizon Spill that includes more than two million chemical analyses of sediment, tissue, water and oil, as well as toxicity results. NOAA stated the dataset “wraps up a three year process that began with the gathering of water samples and measurements by ships in the Gulf of Mexico during and after the oil release in 2010.” The dataset is the result of collaboration between federal agencies, state environmental management agencies, BP, and its contractors.

The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) released the Fifth Assessment Report. According to the report, there is overwhelming scientific evidence that  greenhouse gas levels and the average world temperature continue to increase, and that the global risk of dramatic changes to weather systems, global sea level, and flood and drought patterns is increasing as well.

Colorado Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet introduced legislation September 24th to lift a $100 million cap on federal highway emergency relief funds after massive floods severely damaged or destroyed more than 21,000 homes, 50 bridges, and killed at least 9 people in Colorado. The bill, the Deficit Neutral Infrastructure Disaster Relief Act, would take already appropriated money to fund the increase. A similar bill will reportedly be submitted on the House side, as well.