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The BlueGreen Alliance envisions a nation of good jobs and a clean environment. But that's not as easy as it sounds. In June 2019, labor and environmental activists from the [...]

AS SUMMER SEA ICE BEGAN MELTING away in the Arctic last August, some 25,000 Pacific walruses piled onto a barrier island in the northwest reaches of Alaska's Chukchi Sea in [...]

AMANDA SMITH WAS ENJOYING A weekend of fishing and camping with her extended family along the banks of the Pecos River in New Mexico on Aug. 19, 2000. Early that [...]

Commercial motor vehicle highway safety should become the next major state traffic initiative, the U.S. House of Representatives has decreed. It will get the same attention as drunk driving and [...]

Wireless global positioning systems have thus far shown the highest promise as a new technology to track hazardous material shipments. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) tested a variety [...]

Federal spending on some energy programs will go down this year, with Congress trimming domestic spending. Final figures are slightly below earlier numbers, due to a 0.8 percent across-the-board budget [...]

The Transportation Security Administration has changed the rules for individuals applying for a hazardous materials endorsement for a commercial driver's license. Effective immediately, states can process the security threat assessment [...]

Carriers would have to develop a system to verify compliance with hours-of-service regulations, under a federal plan. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has proposed a 'self-monitoring system,' which carriers [...]

In a flurry of last-minute negotiations before Congress broke for the election season, tax breaks to encourage propane use were dropped from the final tax bill. Congress approved the American [...]

Efforts to improve pipeline safety have failed to reduce the number of serious accidents, and the Office of Pipeline Safety hasn't established effective goals or measure success, according to the [...]

Although propane remains the second most common automotive fuel in the nation, the cost of using it likely will keep it a distant second. According to a report from the [...]

The Research and Special Programs Administration has updated its pipeline maintenance and repair regulations to take advantage of the latest technology and construction standards, including the use of plastics in [...]

New truck drivers are going to have to go through new training procedures. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued new minimum training requirements for entry-level commercial motor vehicle [...]

After failing to get the Senate to approve the comprehensive Energy Policy Act, supporters introduced a smaller package in hopes it would allay fears of reluctant senators about increasing the [...]

Senate backers of major energy legislation have introduced a slimmed-down package since the Senate has not approved a conference agreement. Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee Chairman Pete Dominici's (R-NM) [...]

The Bush administration submitted its 2005 budget request, which begins next October. It seeks $227 million for motor carrier safety grants, including $217 million for commercial motor vehicle safety and [...]

The U.S. Department of Transportation has proposed dismantling the Research & Special Programs Administration and moving the Office of Pipeline Safety into the Federal Railroad Administration--an agency familiar with hazmat [...]

The nation's surface transportation law is getting repaved to the tune of about $300 billion over six years. Key legislators in both houses are moving replacement legislation for the Transportation [...]

For the second year in a row, big benefits to the propane industry didn't quite make it through Congress. But unlike 2002, when each house passed an energy bill but [...]

The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program could get $3.4 billion in each of the next three years under the Poverty Reduction & Prevention Act of 2003. The bipartisan bill would [...]

We may see some new federal efforts next year to improve hazmat carrier safety. The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved a funding bill for the Department of Transportation in 2004 [...]

New cargo tank rules won't cause as much trouble as previously feared. The Research & Special Programs Administration revised rules it issued last spring covering motor vehicle transport of hazmat. [...]

Look for another contentious conference over energy legislation in Congress this fall. Rather than slug it out provision by provision on the Senate floor, the Senate has passed the same [...]

The House Appropriations Committee approved a spending bill for 2004 with $1.8 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, an increase of $111 million over 2003 and $100 [...]

Even this Republican administration is creating new regulations for hazmat carriers and others in the propane business. First of all, it introduced a reauthorization bill for the Transportation Equity Act. [...]

Increased grant money for energy production and efficiency has gotten a boost in Congress with the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee's approval of the Energy Policy Act of 2003. [...]

Notes from Capitol Hill The Department of Health & Human Services has released to states $200 million of the $300 million Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program reserve fund to [...]

At NPGA's request, RSPA is proposing to incorporate the National Fire Protection Association pamphlet 'Standard for the Storage & Handling of Liquefied Compressed Gases' to the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Code. [...]

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration established the National Advisory Committee on Ergonomics for two years as part of the new approach to reducing workplace injuries. NACE will provide advice [...]

Cold weather caused a record drawdown of 18.6 million barrels during January, a level that surpassed the previous monthly record of 17.6 million barrels set during January 1994. The Energy [...]

As promised, the bobtail tax was slashed and refunds are coming. The Research & Special Programs Administration lowered the tax even more than it planned--about $15 million in each of [...]

The American Petroleum Institute plans this spring to issue a draft for a consensus standard for pipeline operators to use in developing public awareness programs. It sought public comment last [...]

The 108th Congress that convened in January will have to revisit many of the energy issues the 107th Congress never resolved. Will Congress make another stab at passing a comprehensive [...]

Pipeline regulation will get somewhat more stringent over the next four years. Congress has approved the Pipeline Infrastructure Protection to Enhance Security & Safety Act of 2002, which both provides [...]

The article offers tips to expand and upgrade election coverage to help voters make informed choices by probing candidates' actions, positions, financing and misstatements. Topics include American journalists live in a district with a congressional election as voters will choose a senator in a regular election; and differences among candidates, political advertising and reporting often become focused on such things as alleged sexual improprieties, and domestic disharmony.

The bobtail tax will be lowered and those who overpaid likely can get refunds. Fifteen hazmat carrier groups, including the National Propane Gas Association, sued the Research & Special Programs [...]

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has corrected and clarified a number of truck safety rules. FMCSA has dropped an outdated requirement that hazmat truck operators with dual tires check [...]

More pipeline regulations are in the works, but the Research & Special Programs Administration promises they won't add significantly to costs or burdens. The agency proposed updating safety standards as [...]

The federal engine is being tuned up to take its first ride toward further regulation of hazmat trucking. Prompted by continuing terrorism fears, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and [...]

Rising demand and wear and tear on the nation's roadways--not problems with security, per se--is causing the biggest problems for transporting hazardous materials. Improving roadways would increase hazmat transit safety [...]

Pipeline operators may soon be required to guard against terrorist attacks as well as leaks and spills. Federal legislation to enhance pipeline safety is slowly working its way through the [...]

Tax credits and grants to encourage propane use have cleared both houses of Congress. A conference committee is trying to resolve differences between the Energy Policy Act of 2002 the [...]