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Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New The White House budget for FY'00, released on Monday, totals more than $200 billion in new spending over the next five years, with a number of new environmental initiatives. The highlights include an 11 percent hike for the Interior Department, mostly to fund the Administration's new "Lands Legacy"; a new $200 million clean air program at the Environmental Protection Agency; and several billion dollars to promote protection of open space and control urban and suburban sprawl. Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New The Environmental Protection Agency would receive $7.2 billion, down from $7.6 billion in FY'99. EPA Administrator Carol Browner emphasized that another $1.9 billion in bonding authority would be provided to states and localities for environmental initiatives through tax code changes. Unfortunately, the clean water state revolving fund (SRF) will absorb some of the funding cut, dropping $550 million from $1.35 billion to $800 million in FY'00. Loan paybacks will allow the SRF to continue revolving at $2 billion annually by 2002, three years faster than the Administration had proposed earlier. Unexpectedly, the EPA did not seek additional funds for the Superfund program aimed at cleaning up toxic waste sties. According to Ms. Browner, EPA did not ask for more money for Superfund because appropriators had refused increased funding for the program for the past few years, and the agency will be able to reach the goal of 925 cleanups by 2002 without additional funds. The highlight of the EPA budget was the "Better America Bonds" program. The initiative will provide communities with $1.9 billion in bonding authority in FY'00 and $9.5 billion over the next five years to preserve open space, protect water quality, and redevelop brownfields. The FY'00 budget also include $651 million for watershed cleanup as part of the Clean Water Action Plan and will allow states to set aside 20 percent of their clean water state revolving fund to combat polluted runoff and protect coasts and estuaries. Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New Under President Clinton's FY'00 budget proposal, the Department of Interior will receive $8.7 billion, an increase of $832 million over the FY'99 appropriated level and the largest increase in the department's history at 11 percent. The Lands Legacy program would target $1.03 billion more toward conservation of wilderness, parks, and coastal areas; land acquisition; and open space preservation grants for states and local governments. DOI would direct $295 million for the Land and Water Conservation fund for federal land purchases, including the California desert, Florida Everglades, and forests in New England. Within DOI, the money would be broken down between the National Park Service ($172.5 million), the Fish and Wildlife Service ($73.6 million) , and the Bureau of Land Management ($48.9 million). The state portion of LWCF would receive $200 million in matching grants, $50 million for open space planning and $150 million for purchase of land or easements. The Cooperative Endangered Species Fund would receive $80 million for state and local land acquisition for threatened and endangered species protection and grants to states for safe harbor agreements and habitat conservation plans. A number of DOI agencies will receive funding increases in the FY'00 budget proposal: $1.269 billion for the Bureau of Land Management ($79.1 percent increase), $950 for the Fish and Wildlife Service ($147.8 million increase), $2.059 billion for the National Park Service ($304.7 million increase), $240.2 million for the Minerals Management Service ($16.2 million increase), $305.8 million for the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement ($27.1 million increase), $856.6 million for the Bureau of Reclamation ($76 million increase), and $838.4 million for the US Geological Survey ($40.6 million increase). Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New The United States Department of Agriculture had both good and bad news for environmental initiatives in the Administration's FY'00 budget proposal. Following the trend of a shrinking budget for the USDA begun in 1993, the Administration's budget would cut the department's budget to $55.2 billion. Under the proposal, USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, responsible for promoting the conservation and sustainable use of the nation's natural resources, would get a small increase in funding, receiving $1.4 billion. Conservation operations would receive $681 million of the total, with $28 million targeted toward helping animal feeding operations develop and implement waste management plans. The Environmental Quality Incentive Program would receive $300 million. The $126 million increase for the program is also aimed at controlling waste from factory farms. EQIP allows farmers to enter five to ten year contracts for technical assistance and to cover costs of initiatives to protect soil and water. Funding for other USDA programs include: $10 million for the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, $209 million for the Wetlands Reserve Program, and $35 million for Resource Conservation and Development. President Clinton's FY'00 budget proposal calls for $1 billion to support the new Lands Legacy initiative, which will straddle a number of federal agencies. Of the total allotment, $579 million would go to the Department of Interior, $268 million to the Department of Agriculture's Forest Service and Natural Resource Conservation Service, and $183 million for the Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Under the Lands Legacy initiative, the USDA also hopes to revive the Farmland Protection Program, which sets up partnerships to share the costs of conservation easements. Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New Representative Jim Hansen (R-UT), chair of the House Resources Committee National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee, will hold a hearing on Thursday to discuss three bills introduced on the first day of the 106th Congress. The first bill, introduced by Representative Joel Hefley (R-CO), would require the National Park Service, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land Management to levy a fee for use of parks or refuge lands in filming movies or TV shows or recording soundtracks. News programs would not be required to pay any fee. In granting permission to use a park or refuge for filming, the agencies would also have to consider the number of people on the site, the duration of the activities, whether any special areas would be used, and what degree of surface disturbance would be involved. The bill, H.R. 154, has bipartisan support and is expected to pass without much difficulty. The second bill, H.R. 15, would create the 18,500-acre Otay Mountain wilderness near San Diego, California, an area known for its rare and sensitive desert plants. Introduced by Representative Brian Bilbray (R-CA), the bill would also require that all fire suppression and Border Patrol activities comply with the Wilderness Act of 1962. The subcommittee will also consider H.R. 150, introduced by Representative J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ). The bill would allow state and municipal governments and local education authorities to apply for national forest lands for building elementary and secondary schools under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act. Conveyances would be limited to 640 acres. The hearing will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, February 4, in 1324 Longworth House Office Building. Contacts on the House Resources Committee are Tod Hull (film fees) and Gary Griffith (Otay, RPPA) for the majority, 202-226-7736, or Rich Healy for the minority, 202-226-2311. Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New On February 2, the House Resources Water and Power Subcommittee will hold an oversight hearing on the process involved in transferring federal reclamation projects to local control. In general, the irrigation, power, and water supply projects constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation in seventeen Western states have been financed by cost-sharing agreements between the federal government and the farmers, water districts, and local residents who benefited from the projects. After paying off their share of the capital costs, the local beneficiaries usually take n the costs of operating and maintaining the projects and often request title to them as well. Congress must approve all such title requests. In the 105th Congress, the House Resources and Senate Energy committees began work on several title bills, but only enacted two - S. 538 to transfer certain facilities of the Minidoka project to the Burley Irrigation District in Idaho and H.R. 3687 to allow the beneficiaries of the Canadian River Project in Texas to prepay their debt. Most of the bills were amended to determine to what extent they would have to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). House Water and Power Subcommittee Chair John Doolittle (R-CA) is trying get around the NEPA and ESA issues by defining the transfers as minor land transactions that would have no impact on the environment or endangered species, a move that greatly upset many environmental groups. Democrats have stated they will fight any language in the bill that would undermine or cut short the need for environmental studies of the transfers. During the hearing, the subcommittee will also look into two transfer proposals, both of which were first introduced in the 105th Congress. The first would turn over the Sly Park Project to the El Dorado Irrigation District near Sacramento, California. Rep. Doolittle has tried to enact the legislation in the past two sessions of Congress. The second would transfer five-sixths interest in the Pine River Project to the Pine River Irrigation District. The hearing will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, February 2, in 1334 Longworth House Office Building. House Resources contacts are Joshua Johnson, majority, 202-225-8331 and Steve Lanich, minority, 202-226-2311. Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New On February 3, the House Resources Committee is scheduled to mark up legislation (H.R. 193) to add portions of the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Rivers to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Introduced by Representative Martin Meehan (D-MA), the bill would designate 16.6 miles of the Sudbury River from Framingham to its confluence with the Assabet River at Egg Rock, 4.4 miles of the Assabet River from 1,000 feet downstream of the Damon Mill Dam in Concord to the confluence with the Sudbury River, and 8 miles of the Concord River from Egg Rock to the Route 3 bridge in Billerica. Last year, the bill passed both the House and Senate before the House attached unrelated legislation to the bill and the Senate declined to take it up again. In the same hearing, the House Resources Committee plans to discuss a plan in which the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport authority would pay the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge $20 million to compensate for increased noise from the airport expansion. More than half of the refuge, located directly south of the expanding airport, would be impacted by increased noise from planes taking off and landing. The refuge is home to many migratory birds and bald eagles. Under FAA regulations, the US Fish and Wildlife Service must require transportation projects minimize harm to refuges and other conservation land or else pay compensation for "use" of the affected land. The provision applies to any projects that do not incorporate the land itself but are close enough to have a significant impact on the land's activities and resources. Committee Chair Don Young (R-AK) is disturbed by what he feels are inconsistent standards used to make decisions regarding US Fish and Wildlife lands. Representative Young and other representatives of Western states point to the fact that the Administration denied a proposal to build a road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska without giving the landowners compensation. According to a minority committee staffer, however, the Minnesota and Alaska cases are very different. The airport expansion will not take any of the refuge land and includes a publicly developed noise mitigation strategy, the refuge is valued more for education than wildlife habitat, and the Alaskan road would have cut through an important wilderness area. The hearing will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, February 3 in 1324 Longworth House Office Building. House Resources contacts are Tod Hull (parks bills), 202-226-7736 and Elizabeth Megginson (Minnesota refuge), 202-225-7800, for the majority; Rich Healy (parks bills) or Chris Mann (Minnesota refuge), minority, 202-226-2311. Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New American Rivers, 1025 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 720 Washington, DC 20005, (202) 347-7550 CHECK OUT OUR HOMEPAGE!! http://www.amrivers.org at American Rivers Legislative information taken from many sources including: Congressional Green Sheets, Environment and Energy Weekly, Greenwire, and Roll Call. Suzy McDowell Conservation Outreach Coordinator American Rivers 1025 Vermont Ave., NW, #720 Washington, DC 20005 202-347-7550 x3040
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ADMINISTRATION FY'00 BUDGET
Clinton Administration Releases FY'00 Budget:
Environmental Protection Agency:
Department of Interior:
Agriculture and Land Preservation:
PARKS AND PUBLIC LANDS
Trio of Lands Bills Introduced:
WATER RESOURCES
Examination of the Facility Transfer Process:
WILD AND SCENIC RIVERS
Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord River Markup:
LINKS TO PAST UPDATES:
QUESTIONS? Contact Suzy McDowell, Conservation Outreach Coordinator, at smcdowell@amrivers.org or 202-347-7550x3040.
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