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This week, Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) will reintroduce his Hydroelectric Licensing Process Improvement Act, originally introduced in the 105th Congress. The bill would diminish the responsibility of private dam owners to protect our public rivers. Under the Federal Power Act, these non-federal hydropower dams are regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and several other federal and state agencies.
In her testimony before the House Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power last fall, Margaret Bowman, Director of Hydropower Programs for American Rivers and Chair of the Hydropower Reform Coalition, urged Congress to support ongoing administrative remedies and FERC's new collaborative dam licensing process instead of legislation such as the Craig bill.
Representatives from the Department of the Interior, National Marine Fisheries Service, US Forest Service, FERC, and several state resource agencies echoed this view.
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On Wednesday, March 3, the Senate Energy Committee's Subcommittee on Water and Power will question officials from the Bureau of Reclamation and the government's four power marketing administrations on budget requests for FY'00. The Bureau of Reclamation has asked for almost ten percent more in funding for FY'00 over last year. A large part of the increase would go toward two projects in California - the Central Valley Project restoration fund ($47.3 million) and the California Bay-Delta restoration initiative ($95 million). The CVP funds would be used to acquire water for salmon and other anadromous fish, provide long-term water supplies to wildlife refuges, land purchases for habitat restoration, and building fish screens. The Bureau has asked for $5.5 million to construct a water temperature control device on the Glen Canyon dam. Currently, cold water released from the dam harms the survival of native species by fostering the introduction of non-native species such as trout. Other significant budget requests were:
$71.2 million for the dam safety program; $29.4 million (slight decrease) for the Mni Wiconi water delivery project for rural communities and three Sioux tribes in South Dakota; $27.3 million (41 percent decrease) for the Central Arizona Project; and a seven percent cut in funding to complete construction of the Central Utah Project, one of the Bureau's last large-scale water storage and delivery systems.
The hearing will also focus on funding for the federal government's four power marketing administrations. The Clinton Administration has requested $4.7 million for the Southeastern Power Administration, which sells power from 23 hydroelectric plants in 11 Southeastern states; $27.9 million for the Southwestern Power Administration, which sells power from 24 US Army Corps of Engineers projects to utilities in six states; and $171.5 million for the Western Area Power Administration, which markets power from 55 federal hydropower plants to 15 states. The Bonneville Power Administration, which provides power in the Pacific Northwest from 29 federal plants, has $352 million in borrowing authority for capital investments and does not require appropriation funding to operate.
The hearing will be held in 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building at 2:00 p.m.
on Wednesday, March 3. Senate Energy Contacts are: Colleen Deegan or Howard Useem, majority, 202-224-4971; David Brooks or Sam Fowler, minority, 202-224-4103.
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In late January, Representative George Miller (D-CA) introduced a bill to amend the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 to provide for the remediation of the Atlas uranium milling site located three miles from Moab, Utah, by directing the Secretary of Energy to remove residual radioactive materials from the Atlas site and the associated floodplain of the Colorado River for permanent disposal and stabilization of those materials in a safe and environmentally sound manner. The Attorney General would be responsible for securing reimbursement from the owners/operators of the Atlas site and other liable parties for remediation activities conducted by the federal government. Once the site and floodplain have been restored, the Secretary of Energy may then sell any lands and interests acquired in the Atlas site or donate such lands and interests to a Utah government entity for permanent use as a park or other public purpose.
The 1978 bill authorized the Secretary of Energy to make grants to states to carry out abandoned uranium mill site restoration plans, prescribed procedures for site restoration on Indian lands, required the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to issue regulations assuring non-impairment of public health and the environment by remedial actions taken under the act, and directed the Secretary of Energy to conduct a pilot study of radiation in Utah and report the finding to Congress.
H.R. 393, co-sponsored by Representatives Bob Filner (D-CA), Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Scott McInnis (R-CO), Maurice Hinchey D-NY), and Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), was referred to the House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Energy and Power on February 8.
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Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) has introduced a bill to foster the development of a model for restoration of urban rivers and watersheds.
The National Urban Watershed Restoration Act (H.R. 839) would direct the Administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency to carry out a pilot program to serve as a model for the nation for the restoration of urban watersheds and community environments. The pilot project will be carried out in the Anacostia River watershed, located in the District of Columbia and Maryland.
The focus of the program is to demonstrate ways of encouraging urban communities to use their natural resources as a catalyst for sustainable community redevelopment and help communities meet the objectives of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act - stormwater, combined sewer overflows, and other water quality improvement goals.
Specifically, H.R. 839 calls for the integration on a community level of the regulatory and non-regulatory programs of the EPA with other federal, state, and local government efforts, support of baseline monitoring efforts by state and local governments, demonstration of new technologies and approaches that are applicable on a national level, and assistance in the establishment of measurable restoration goals. Urban communities would also have access to grants, which would be given to local community groups and nonprofit organizations, to foster community involvement in the decision making process, environmental education, and restoration strategies. While the pilot project on the Anacostia River is underway, the EPA would also work in coordination with other federal agencies, including the Army Corps of Engineers, to identify projects and activities that would support the goals of the pilot project.
H.R. 839 was referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on February 24, but no further action has been taken.
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On February 23, the House passed the first addition to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System of the 106th Congress. The 105th Congress was the first since 1972 not to pass legislation designating a Wild and Scenic River. The bill, introduced on January 6 by Representative Martin Meehan (D-MA), would add portions of three Massachusetts rivers - the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Rivers - to federal rivers system. H.R. 193 passed the House with overwhelming support by a vote of 395 to 22.
The Senate Energy Committee plans to mark up H.R. 193 on Thursday, March 4, in 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building at 9:30 a.m. Senate Energy contacts are: Jim O'Toole, majority, 202-224-4971; David Brooks, minority, 202-224-4103.
Last year's version of Representative Meehan's bill, H.R. 1110 and S. 469, passed both the House and the Senate, but the House then added unrelated legislation that the Senate declined to take up.
The full text of the measure, as passed by the House, is available at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?r106:2:./temp/~r106FNjmGt::
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To link to the actual bills, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas2.html
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Senator Tim Johnson's (D-SD) bill - the Perkins County Rural Water System Act of 1999 - would authorize the Bureau of Reclamation to construct a rural water system to serve approximately 2,500 citizens in Lemmon, Bison, and other communities in rural northwestern South Dakota. Last year's version (S. 2117) passed the House and Senate in October, but the addition of numerous other measures in the House prevented the bill from passing through the Senate again. According to Senator Johnson, the measure is needed to provide sufficient water supplies to Perkins County, South Dakota, which does not have enough clean water supplies to meet minimum public safety and health standards. The project would be an extension of the existing Southwest Pipeline Project in North Dakota. The Senate Energy Committee will mark up the bill on Thursday, March 4 at 9:30 a.m. in 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
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Senator Pete Domenici's (R-NM) bill, the Carlsbad Irrigation Project Acquired Land Transfer Act, was introduced into the Senate on January 21.
The bill would convey lands, including surface and mineral estate, within the Carlsbad Project in Eddy County, New Mexico to the Carlsbad Irrigation District. The Carlsbad Irrigation District is a quasi-municipal corporation formed under the laws of the State of New Mexico. The Secretary of the Interior would retain title to the surface estate, but not mineral rights, of the acquired lands located under the footprint of Brantley and Avalon dams and any other project dam or reservoir division structure, as well as storage and flow easements for any tracts located under the maximum spillway elevation of the Avalon and Brantley Reservoirs. The District would assume all rights and obligations of the United States for all mineral and grazing leases, licenses, and permits on the designated lands and has the right to implement voluntary water conservation practices.
The Senate Energy Committee will mark up S. 291, which is co-sponsored by Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), on Thursday, March 4 at 9:30 a.m. in 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
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Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT) introduced the Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy's Reservation Indian Reserved Water Rights Settlement Act of 1999 to the Senate Committee on Energy and Resources on February 22. A similar bill, H.R. 795, was introduced into the House Committee on Resources on February 23 by Representative Rick Hill (R-MT). The goal of the bill is to achieve a fair, equitable, and final settlement of all claims to water rights in the State of Montana for the Chippewa Cree Tribe and the United States and to provide funding and other authorization necessary to implement the compact. The bill would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to identify and analyze potential mechanisms to enhance water supplies in North Central Montana, through water conservation or other efforts, to secure adequate water supplies for the future of the reservation. S. 438 and H.R. 795 would also authorize certain modifications to the purposes and operation of the Bureau of Reclamation's Tiber Dam and Lake Elwell on the Marias River in Montana to further the goals of the Act. S. 438 is co-sponsored by Senator Max Baucus (D-MT).
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Representative John Thune's (R-SD) bill - the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System Act of 1999 - is very similar to S. 244, introduced into the Senate by Senators Tim Johnson (D-SD), Thomas Daschle (D-SD), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Charles Grassley (R-IA), and Paul Wellstone (D-MN). The goal of both bills is 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. H.R. 297 was referred to the House Committee on Resources. Executive comment was then requested from the Department of Interior, and the bill was referred to the Subcommittee on Water and Power.
The bill is co-sponsored by Representatives David Minge (D-MN) and Tom Latham (R-IA).
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Tuesday, March 2 10:00 a.m. in 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building: Senate Energy Committee hearing on the Interior Department's FY'00 budget request, with highlights on the Lands Legacy initiative, mining regulations, and oil and gas valuation.
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9:00 a.m. in 406 Dirksen Senate Office Building: Senate Environment subcommittee hearing on Environmental Protection Agency's implementation of the 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act.
11:00 a.m. in 1324 Longworth House Office Building: House Resources Committee Hearing on initiatives to stem the decline of neotropical migratory bird populations, require the National Park Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to charge fees for the use of park and refuge lands for filming, and designate a portion of the Otay Mountain region in California as a wilderness.
2:00 p.m. in 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building: Senate Energy Committee's Subcommittee on Water and Power will question officials from the Bureau of Reclamation and the government's four power marketing administrations on budget requests for FY'00.
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9:30 a.m. in 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building: Senate Energy Committee hearing on bills to authorize the Perkins County, South Dakota rural water supply project, add portions of the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord rivers to the Wild and Scenic Rivers System; turn over certain works, facilities, and lands of the Gila Project in Arizona to the Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District; and convey certain property within the Carlsbad Project to the Carlsbad Irrigation District.
10:00 a.m. in 1324 Longworth House Office Building: House Resources Forests and Forest Health Subcommittee hearing on the forest roads moratorium.
10:00 a.m. in 1334 Longworth House Office Building: House Resources Subcommittee hearing on the Clinton Administration's FY'00 budget request for the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
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