Federal News by ENS Resources FEMA – $100 million for PSGP The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued a Bulletin [located at announcing Fiscal Year 2016 Notices of Funding Opportunity. A total of $100 million has been allocated for the Port Security Grant Program (PSGP). Additional information regarding the PSGP may be found in the […]
Continue ReadingInstant Analysis: Chair Yellen’s Semi-Annual Humphrey-Hawkins Testimony to Congress Key Insights From Chair Yellen’s Testimony Before Congress Today Chair Yellen kept her options open on rate hikes this year. No additional information on timing or number of Fed interest rate hikes this year. However, there was plenty of reference to global growth risks and deteriorating […]
Continue ReadingFederal Review of MTC’s Role in the Bay Area Transportation Planning Process The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) are reviewing MTC’s performance as the transportation planning agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. How are we doing? What: Public Listening Session Sponsored by FHWA and FTA Date: Tuesday, February […]
Continue ReadingUS Outlook Report: FOMC Signals a Return to Normalcy Citing considerable improvement in labor market conditions – specifically job gains, declining unemployment, and diminished underutilization of labor resources – the FOMC went ahead with its first interest rate hike in more than nine years. The move raises the Fed funds target rate to 25 to […]
Continue ReadingARMY CORPS: Western Drought Contingency Plans.-The Corps of Engineers carries out water control management activities for Corps of Engineers and non-Corps of Engineers projects as required by federal laws and directives. These activities are governed by the establishment of water control plans. Many of these plans and manuals were developed decades ago and are required […]
Continue ReadingWILDFIRE: No budget overhaul, but ‘borrowing’ likely averted in 2016 Phil Taylor, E&E reporter Published: Thursday, December 17, 2015 While Congress’s fiscal 2016 spending package provides no long-term funding overhauls for wildfire, it does provide a one-time boost in suppression cash to prevent the disruptive practice of “fire borrowing.” The package would provide $2.1 billion for […]
Continue ReadingInterior-Environment: EPA Stays Level, Avoids WOTUS Rider By Ed Felker, CQ Roll Call Republicans largely backed down in their push to use the appropriations process to stop major environmental regulations by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior Department in the $1.15 trillion fiscal 2016 omnibus spending bill announced late Tuesday, leaving out a […]
Continue ReadingWESTERN WATER: Feinstein touts ‘progress’ on drought bill Debra Kahn, E&E reporter Published: Wednesday, December 16, 2015 Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-Calif.) quest to introduce a bill addressing California’s drought continued yesterday when she sat down with federal officials responsible for ensuring compliance with the Endangered Species Act. Negotiations with California House Republicans fell apart late […]
Continue ReadingAPPROPRIATIONS: Deal to reform wildfire budget, hasten logging gains momentum Phil Taylor, E&E reporter Published: Friday, December 11, 2015 A pending deal to reform the nation’s wildfire spending and expedite logging on national forests is picking up momentum as a potential tag-along to the 2016 omnibus spending package, according to multiple sources close to Capitol […]
Continue ReadingWATER POLICY: Court to decide small question with big impact on Obama rule Jeremy P. Jacobs and Tiffany Stecker, E&E reporters Published: Monday, December 7, 2015 A federal appeals court will grapple tomorrow with whether to review President Obama’s controversial rule defining the scope of the Clean Water Act. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati […]
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