EIA’s Natural Gas Production Data

This special report by the Energy Information Administration examines the stages of natural gas processing from the wellhead to the pipeline network through which the raw product becomes ready for transportation and eventual consumption, and how this sequence is reflected in the data published by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The discussion will be helpful to users of the data published by EIA in the Natural Gas Annual and Natural Gas Monthly, in particular, and industry analysts interested in gaining a better understanding of the production process.

Sound Health 2008

This report by Long Island Sound Study informs the public on the environmental issues affecting Long Island Sound. It provides information on water quality, the abundance of animal and plant life in the Sound, and trends in land use along the shore.

Oil and Gas Management: Federal Oil and Gas Management and Revenue Collection in Need of Stronger Oversight and Comprehensive Reassessement

This Government Accountability Office (GAO-09-556T) testimony before the Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives by Frank Rusco, Director Natural Resources and Environment focuses on findings from a number of recent GAO reports on federal
oil and gas management. GAO has made numerous recommendations to Interior, which the agency generally agreed with and is taking steps to address. However, two important issues remain unresolved. Specifically, GAO made one recommendation and one matter for Congressional consideration that together call for a comprehensive reevaluation
of how Interior manages federal oil and gas resources. Interior has not undertaken such a comprehensive review and until this is done, the public cannot have reasonable assurance that federal oil and gas resources are being appropriately managed for the public good.

Alternatives to Traditional Transportation Fuels 2007 (Part II - User and Fuel Data)

This report (Part II) contains data on the use of alternative fueled vehicles (AFVs) and the amount of fuel they consume. AFVs are on-road U.S. vehicles that operate on fuels other than motor gasoline or diesel. Information on the supply of AFVs is contained in Part I.

Alternatives to Traditional Transportation Fuels 2007 (Part I - Supplier Data)

These tables represent the number of onroad alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) and hybrid vehicles made available by both the original equipment manufacturers and aftermarket vehicle conversion facilities for 2007 and projected for 2008. These data include gasoline-electric and diesel-electric hybrids which are published separately from electric fuel type categories because they fall outside the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPACT92) definition of an AFV. The Department of Energy (DOE), which has EPACT92 implementation authority, ruled that gasoline- and diesel-electric hybrids are not “alternative fuel vehicles.”

Wildland Fire Management: Actions by Federal Agencies and Congress Could Mitigate Rising Fire Costs and Their Effect on Other Agency Programs

This tesitmony by Robin M. Nazzaro, Director Natural Resources and Environment, published as Government Accountability Office Report (GAO-09-444T) dated April 6, 2009 states that sharply rising costs of managing wildland fires have led the Forest Service and Interior agencies to transfer funds from other programs to help pay for fire suppression and, according to agency officials and others, may also be reducing the total funds available to agency programs unrelated to fire.

As GAO has reported, there are several steps the agencies could take, and actions Congress could consider, that could mitigate the rising costs of wildland fire management and its effect on the agencies’ other programs.

>Although the agencies have, among other actions, improved decision-support tools for helping officials select appropriate strategies for fighting individual wildland fires, the agencies continue to lack both an agencywide strategy for containing fire suppression costs and a broader long-term wildland fire management strategy that identifies options, along with associated funding, for reducing excess vegetation and responding to fires—what GAO has termed a cohesive strategy.

>The agencies could develop a better method of estimating the suppression funds requested, as GAO recommended in 2004. Better estimates in a given year could reduce the likelihood that the agencies would need to transfer funds from other accounts, yet the agencies continue to use an estimation method with known problems.

>In addition, Congress may wish to consider establishing a reserve account to fund emergency wildland firefighting, which could reduce the need for the agencies to transfer funds. The advantages and disadvantages of several alternative funding approaches were discussed in GAO’s 2004 report. Congress considered at least two bills in 2008 proposing establishment of a reserve account, but neither bill passed. One of those bills was reintroduced in March 2009.

Guidance on the Development, Evaluation, and Application of Environmental Models

The Council for Regulatory Environmental Modeling developed this document (EPA/100/K-09/003) dated March 2009 to provide a simplified, comprehensive resource for modelers across the Agency on best modeling practices. When adhered to, the guidelines will help to ensure the quality, utility and regulatory relevance of the models that EPA develops and applies and the transparency of modeling analyses and model-based decisions.