This report discuss issues that received congressional attention in the 107th Congress, such as The impact of air quality regulations, key water quality issues, superfund, solid/hazardous wastes, multibillion dollar cleanup and compliance programs, climate change, pesticides, EPA budget, and Science and Technology.

After four Congresses in which Superfund reauthorization was not achieved, the 107th Congress is focusing on the brownfields program to clean up less seriously contaminated sites. S. 350 passed the Senate on April 25, 2001. The bill provides $200 million per year for the program and relieves liability for contiguous property owners, prospective purchasers, and innocent landowners. An additional $50 million is provided for petroleum-contaminated sites.

Wetlands, in a wide variety of forms, are found throughout the country. The various values of these areas have been increasingly recognized in recent years, but the remaining acreage continues to disappear. When European settlers first arrived, total wetland acreage was more than 220 million acres in the lower 48 states, according to estimates by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It estimates that by 1997 total wetland acreage was 105.5 million acres. Losses continue, although the rate of loss has slowed considerably during the past decade and restoration efforts have grown, and some regions are approaching the national policy goal of no-net-loss. Recent losses have been concentrated in forested wetlands, and net losses are greatest in the eastern United States.

This report discusses the Shib’a Farms area, which remains a source of tension and potential risk. This is a roughly 10 square mile enclave at the southern edge of the Lebanese-Syrian border.