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Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New On February 10, Representative George Miller reintroduced his animal feedlot bill, the Farm Sustainability and Animal Feedlot Enforcement Act (Farm SAFE). HR 684 is viewed as the best national feedlot bill to date by many environmental groups, including the Clean Water Network's feedlot working group of 200 groups from forty-one states. Little changed from HR 3232, introduced last year. Farm SAFE will require all Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) to obtain and abide by a Clean Water Act pollution permit within 1.5 years; lower the size threshold for CAFOs by half, increasing the number of facilities that will have to contain animal wastes; mandate water quality monitoring, record keeping, and reporting by CAFOs; and require CAFOs to adopt procedures to eliminate both surface and ground water pollution resulting from the storage and disposal of animal waste. The bill also directs the Environmental Protection Agency, in coordination with the US Department of Agriculture, to develop limits based on crop nutrient requirements on the amount of animal waste that can be applied to land as fertilizer. In recent years, the number of livestock facilities has dramatically decreased as the number of animals raised has stayed about the same, demonstrating an increasing concentration in the industry. Under current Clean Water Act regulations, CAFOs are supposed to have no discharge of pollutants. But as a result of loopholes and lax enforcement at the state and federal levels, CAFOs are in reality major polluters. The current co-sponsors of the bill are Representative Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-MI), Representative Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Representative Fortney Pete Stark (D-CA), Representative Lynn Rivers (D-MI), and Representative Martin Meehan (D-MA). Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New Effective at the end of February, a ban issued by the Administration will block the construction of roads in 33 million acres of forest wilderness in the US. The block on forest roads will last for eighteen months, giving the US Department of Agriculture an "official time out" to develop a long-term forest roads policy based on the most up-to-date scientific data. The moratorium halts plans for a projected 360 miles of permanent and temporary roads in 33 million acres of forests currently undisturbed by roads. The Forest Service estimates 200 million board feet of timber will remain unlogged and 300 timber industry jobs will be lost as a result of the eighteen month ban. The 200 million board feet comes out of the FY'99 and FY'00 combined timber sale programs estimated at seven billion board feet. The economic impact is projected at $22 to $33 million, according to the Forest Service's impact assessment. Although most environmental organizations support enacting a moratorium on forest road construction, many are upset over exemptions in the ban. Among the exemptions are twenty-four recent road plans, including the seventeen million acre Tongass National Forest in Alaska and those under the Pacific Northwest Forest Plan and the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project. The published rule will also allow exceptions for roads in areas under imminent threat of fire or flooding that would cause loss of life or property, and areas where roads are needed for public safety. Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New On February 3, the Administration proposed a two-year moratorium on mining along Montana's Rocky Mountain Front, a 100-mile-long region of remarkable mountain vistas between Helena and Glacier National Park. US Forest Service Chief Michael Dombeck announced the decision to protect the area from hardrock mining, saving a critical habitat for many wild animals. The Forest Service seeks input from the public on a proposal to ban mining in the region permanently. Much of the Rocky Mountain Front has been protected by the Forest Service from oil and gas exploration since September 1997. The region is home to an abundance of wildlife, including threatened elk, deer, grizzly bear, and mountain goat. Because the sedimentary geologic formations along the Front are not sufficiently mineralized, the region is believed to have little potential for metal mining. The formations contain limestone and bentonite, however, and three years ago a Wyoming citizen staked 120 mining claims totaling 2,400 acres on the Front in Blackleaf Canyon, an area popular for its scenery and recreational opportunities. The 1872 Mining Act allows prospectors to claim title to federal lands with mining potential for as little as $2.50 an acre after staking claims and meeting certain requirements. Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) urged Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt to stem speculative development by putting the Front off-limits to mineral development. Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, Babbitt can unilaterally impose such a moratorium for up to two years, and can do so for up to 20 years if Congress does not disapprove. Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New Last week, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee let the Environmental Protection Agency and the Administration know that it did not approve of President Clinton's budget reductions on water programs in its budget proposal for FY'00. Announced on February 1, the EPA budget calls for $7.2 billion, a drop of $360 million from FY'99. The reductions came partly from a $550 million cut to the clean water state revolving fund (SRF), dropping the program from $1.35 billion to $800 million. Some in Congress claim the cut represents an attempt on the part of the Administration to increase overall EPA spending, assuming Congress would oppose large cuts from popular, locally visible programs and provide money for them itself. Representative Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), chair of the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee, questioned how the EPA could call for such significant cuts to the SRF when the agency put clean water funding needs across the nation at $139 billion in 1996. He announced that Congress would never give its approval to the $550 million cut to the SRF. EPA Assistant Administrator Water Chuck Fox responded that national drinking water needs are also estimated at $139 billion, a figure that does not take into account underestimated and unforeseen needs such as non-point source pollution and estuary restoration. During the hearing, Representative Don Sherwood (R-PA) criticized EPA for failing to provide funding for the $205 million in FY'99 water-project earmarks set by Congress. EPA Assistant Administrator Fox stated EPA budget plans have not allowed such carry-over funding for more than a decade and added that the level of earmark shortcomings in the FY'00 budget is closer to $400 million. Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) Joseph Westphal and Representative Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) agree that the Water Resources Development Act must be reintroduced and passed this year. WRDA, the biennial water-works legislation, did not survive the 105th Congress due to controversy over the Auburn Dam proposal. Representative Boehlert and Representative John Doolittle (R-CA) have pledged to reach a compromise on the legislation this year. Westphal has support from Representative Earl Blumenauer (R-OR) that WRDA's Challenge 21 initiative is an important step toward making flood control projects more environmentally friendly. Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New A number of water-related bills were recently introduced into Congress and await action: ù S. 49: Senator Ted Stevens' (R-AK) Alaska Wetlands Conservation Act to amend the wetlands program under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide credit to the low wetlands loss rate in Alaska, recognize the significant extent of wetlands conservation by Alaska property owners, and ease the burden of regulations on Alaskan cities, boroughs, municipalities, and villages. S. 49 was referred to the Senate Committee On Environment and Public Works on January 19. ù S. 123: Senator Russell Feingold's (D-WI) legislation, similar to bills offered in the two previous Congresses, to terminate funding for the non-power programs of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). In FY'99, after terminating funding for these programs in the FY'99 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, the Congress revived funding for these programs in the Omnibus Appropriations measure. The legislation would terminate funding for all appropriated programs of the TVA after FY'00. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on January 19. ù S. 144: Senator Bob Graham's (D-FL) bill to require the Secretary of the Interior to review the suitability for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System of the Everglades expansion area. The legislation aims to maintain the natural habitat of such endangered species as the Florida panther, the snail kite, and the cape sable seaside sparrow, as well as sustaining uninterrupted water flow to the Everglades' aquifers, the main water source for the majority of the rapidly growing state of Florida. S. 144 was referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on January 19. ù S. 244: A bill introduced by Senators Tim Johnson (D-SD), Thomas Daschle (D-SD), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Charles Grassley (R-IA), and Paul Wellstone (D-MN) to authorize the construction of the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System and to authorize assistance to the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System, Inc., a nonprofit corporation, for the planning and construction of the water supply system, and for other purposes. The Lewis and Clark Rural Water system is made up of 22 rural water systems and communities in southeastern South Dakota, northwestern Iowa, and southwestern Minnesota working together to address the dual problems of inadequate quantities of water and poor quality water. S. 244 was referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. ù S. 294: Senator Ron Wyden's (D-OR) bill directing the Secretary of the Army to develop and implement a comprehensive program for fish screens and passage devices. S. 294 was referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on January 22. ù H.R. 193: Representative Martin Meehan's (D-MA) Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate a portion of the three rivers as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. H.R. 193 was reported to the House from the Committee on Resources on January 6, referred to the Subcommittee on National Parks and Lands on January 12, marked-up and ordered to be reported by voice vote on February 3, reported by the Committee on Resources on February 8, and placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 9, on February 8. The bill has twelve co-sponsors.>
American Rivers, 1025 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 720 Washington, DC 20005, (202) 347-7550 CHECK OUT OUR HOMEPAGE!! http://www.amrivers.org QUESTIONS? Contact Suzy McDowell, Conservation Outreach Coordinator, at smcdowell@amrivers.org or 202-347-7550x3040. Legislative information taken from many sources including: Congressional Green Sheets, Environment and Energy Weekly, Greenwire, and Roll Call. Suzy McDowell
ANIMAL WASTE
Feedlot Bill Introduced Into House:
FORESTS
Administration Announces Block on Forest Road Building:
President Clinton Proposes Mining Moratorium in Montana Wilderness:
WATER RESOURCES
EPA Gets Heat Over FY'00 Budget Proposal:
Water Resources Development Act to be Relaunched in House:
Other Water Bills Introduced:
Conservation Outreach Coordinator
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