This report covers the role of the government in disaster management. While the disaster response and recovery process is fundamentally a relationship between the federal government and the requesting state government, there are roles for congressional offices to play in providing information to the federal/state response and recovery teams in their respective states and districts, and as a source of accurate and timely information to their constituents.

This report discusses the retirement systems in place for federal employees including the Civil Service Retirement System (for employees hired before 1984) and the Federal Employees' Retirement System (for employees hired in 1984 or later). Both programs require participants to contribute toward the cost of their pensions through a payroll tax. This report also summarizes relevant legislation in the 113th Congress that would make significant changes to federal benefits and financing, including H.J.Res. 59, S. 18, S. 1678, and H.R. 3639.

This report discusses the status of algae-based biofuels (ABB) research and development, federal funding, and legislative concerns.

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This report describes the formula and eligibility changes regarding Allocation of Wastewater Treatment Assistance adopted by Congress since 1972.

This report presents a summary of the law, the Clean Water Act, describing the statute without discussing its implementation.

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This report focuses on heritage areas designated by Congress and related issues and legislation.

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This report discusses appropriations for water infrastructure programs of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), focusing on such designations in the account that funds these programs. Information on the programmatic history of EPA involvement in assisting wastewater treatment and drinking water projects is provided in two appendixes.

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Coupon tests on A537 carbon steel materials were conducted to evaluate the Liquid-Air Interface (LAI) corrosion susceptibility in a series of solutions designed to simulate conditions in the radioactive waste tanks located at the Hanford Nuclear Facility. The new stress corrosion cracking requirements and the impact of ammonia on LAI corrosion were the primary focus. The minimum R value (i.e., molar ratio of nitrite to nitrate) of 0.15 specified by the new stress corrosion cracking requirements was found to be insufficient to prevent pitting corrosion at the LAI. The pH of the test solutions was 10, which was actually less than the required pH 11 defined by the new requirements. These tests examined the effect of the variation of the pH due to hydroxide depletion at the liquid air interface. The pits from the current testing ranged from 0.001 to 0.008 inch in solutions with nitrate concentrations of 0.4 M and 2.0 M. The pitting and general attack that occurred progressed over the four-months. No significant pitting was observed, however, for a solution with a nitrate concentration of 4.5 M. The pitting depths observed in these partial immersion tests in unevaporated condensates ranged from 0.001 to 0.005 inch after 4 …

Semiconductor-based radiation detectors are routinely used for the detection, imaging, and spectroscopy of x-rays, gamma rays, and charged particles for applications in the areas of nuclear and medical physics, astrophysics, environmental remediation, nuclear nonproliferation, and homeland security. Detectors used for imaging and particle tracking are more complex in that they typically must also measure the location of the radiation interaction in addition to the deposited energy. In such detectors, the position measurement is often achieved by dividing or segmenting the electrodes into many strips or pixels and then reading out the signals from all of the electrode segments. Fine electrode segmentation is problematic for many of the standard semiconductor detector technologies. Clearly there is a need for a semiconductor-based radiation detector technology that can achieve fine position resolution while maintaining the excellent energy resolution intrinsic to semiconductor detectors, can be fabricated through simple processes, does not require complex electrical interconnections to the detector, and can reduce the number of required channels of readout electronics. Proximity electrode signal readout (PESR), in which the electrodes are not in physical contact with the detector surface, satisfies this need.

As part of an integrated program to better understand corrosion in the high level waste tanks, Hanford has been investigating corrosion at the liquid/air interface (LAI) and at higher areas in the tank vapor space. This current research evaluated localized corrosion in the vapor space over Hanford double shell tank simulants to assess the impact of ammonia and new minimum nitrite concentration limits, which are part of the broader corrosion chemistry limits. The findings from this study showed that the presence of ammonia gas (550 ppm) in the vapor space is sufficient to reduce corrosion over the short-term (i.e. four months) for a Hanford waste chemistry (SY102 High Nitrate). These findings are in agreement with previous studies at both Hanford and SRS which showed ammonia gas in the vapor space to be inhibitive. The presence of ammonia in electrochemical test solution, however, was insufficient to inhibit against pitting corrosion. The effect of the ammonia appears to be a function of the waste chemistry and may have more significant effects in waste with low nitrite concentrations. Since high levels of ammonia were found beneficial in previous studies, additional testing is recommended to assess the necessary minimum concentration for protection of carbon …

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Report for the Coastal Water Authority's pension plan with fiscal years 2014 and 2015 analyzed in relation to the plan. Also includes financial statements.

This legal sidebar discusses the case of Kerry v. Din. The case asks the Court to recognize marriage as a constitutionally-protected interest of a U.S. citizen which can trigger limited judicial review of a spouse's visa denial and require the government to identify the specific laws and facts that are grounds for denying the visa.

This legal sidebar discusses a proposal in North Dakota that would amend the state constitution to address the right to life. If adopted, the North Dakota constitution would state: "The inalienable right to life of every human being at any stage of development must be recognized and protected."