VIEW THIS ON THE AMERICAN RIVERS WEBPAGE WITH DIRECT LINKS TO THE ACTUAL BILLS!! http://www.amrivers.org/policynew.html American Rivers
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This week, the House Resources Committee will look into two options for creating dedicated funding sources for national conservation and recreation programs - the Conservation and Reinvestment Act of 1999, introduced by Chair Don Young (R-AK), and Permanent Protection for America's Resources 2000, introduced by ranking Democrat George Miller (D-CA).
Representative Young's bill, H.R. 701, would devote nearly $2.6 billion a year in federal Outer Continental Shelf revenues with affected coastal states and increase the amount of money going to land and wildlife conservation efforts in all fifty states. Representative Miller's bill, H.R.
798, would allocate about $2.3 billion every year to public lands acquisition by the federal and state governments, urban and national park restoration, open space and farmland protection, historic landmark preservation, and fish and wildlife resources restoration.
The Senate Energy Committee plans to hold hearings on companion bills - S.
25 and S. 446 - in the upcoming months.
The hearings on the House bills will be held Tuesday, March 9 and Wednesday, March 10 at 11:00 a.m. in 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
House Resources contacts: Mike Henry, majority, 202-225-2761; John Lawrence, minority, 202-225-6065.
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The House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife, and Oceans will examine the success of a 1995 law developed to protect salmon in US and Canadian waters. The Yukon River Salmon Act, which established an interim agreement for salmon conservation between the two nations and the Yukon River Salmon Panel to advise government agencies, is due to expire in September. The goal of the act, which includes a restoration and enhancement fund, was to rebuild salmon populations by ensuring the ability of the fish to migrate up the river to spawn while allowing fisheries to operate on both sides of the border. Officials from the State and Interior Departments, as well as the National Marine Fisheries Service have been invited to testify before the subcommittee.
The hearing will be held on Thursday, March 11 at 10:00 a.m. in 1334 Longworth House Office Building. House resources contacts: Bonnie Bruce, majority, 202-226-0200; Jean Flemma, minority, 202-226-2311.
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This week, the Senate will discuss a supplemental appropriations and recissions bill for disaster relief and foreign aid that includes a rider to extend a freeze on pending regulations on environmental and reclamation standards at mines on federal lands. Expected to spark debate on the floor, the mining rider would extend a moratorium currently due to expire on September 30. S. 544 would tack on another 120 days to the public comment period, effectively postponing the end of the moratorium for two months. For more information on the moratorium, see http://www.amrivers.org/policy2-22.html. The bill would provide $130 million in supplemental funding to the Agriculture Department, with $100 million going to the Natural Resources Conservation Service and $30 million to the emergency conservation program.
The bill, S. 544, was introduced in response to President Clinton's request for disaster assistance funding for victims of last fall's Hurricane Mitch in Central America, disaster aid to farmers, and economic and military aid to Jordan. A companion to the $1.89 billion Senate bill is being drafted in the House.
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On March 2, Senator John Warner (R-VA) introduced the Water Resources Development Act of 1999 (S. 507), which would authorize US Army Corps of Engineers flood control and navigation projects and make adjustments in flood control policy. The bill was referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works, which has scheduled a hearing for 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 11, in 406 Dirksen Senate Office Building. The bill was co-sponsored by Senators John Chafee (R-RI), Max Baucus (D-MT), George Voinovich (R-OH), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Robert Bennett (R-UT), and Barbara Boxer (D-CA).
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chair John Chafee (R-RI) has stated he plans to move quickly on the traditionally biannual bill, which died in the House last year due to a stalemate over flood control options to protect Sacramento, California and a controversial measure to build the proposed Auburn Dam. S. 507 is essentially the same as WRDA 1998 (S. 2131), although it does include several new project authorizations and updated funding authorizations for a number of projects.
In addition to discussing WRDA 1999, the committee will look into two Clinton Administration initiatives - a proposal to establish a user fee to fund a new Harbor Services Fund and Challenge 21, a program developed to restore riverine ecosystems and mitigate flood dangers - and the various flood control options on the table for Sacramento, which include increasing the size of floodgates on Folsom Dam, raising existing levees along the Sacramento River, and elevating several rivers.
Among other provisions, WRDA 1999 would: grant the Corps general authority to under take projects aimed at reducing flood risk and restoring rivers; direct the agency to pursue non-structural flood control options where possible; authorize a two-year, $75 million program for non-structural flood control and river restoration projects; direct the Corps to focus on five specific flood-prone areas; authorize a $30 million project to enhance fish and wildlife habitat along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers; increase from $5 million to $7 million per project the Corps' authority to undertake small flood control projects without further action from Congress; and enlarge allowed non-federal partners for projects aimed at restoring aquatic ecosystems and identifying beneficial uses of dredged materials.
Senate Environment and Public Works contacts: Dan Delich, majority, 202-224-6176; Jo-Ellen Darcy, minority, 202-224-9932.
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The House Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power will hold hearings this week to mark up several bills aimed at transferring title for a number of water projects from the Bureau of Reclamation to local irrigation districts.
The Bureau of Reclamation's irrigation, power supply, and water supply projects in seventeen states in the West were generally financed by cost-sharing agreements between the federal government and the farmers, local water districts, and citizens who benefited from the projects. After paying off their contractual obligations for capitol costs, local beneficiaries have the option of seeking title to the projects, a shift that generally must receive an okay from Congress.
Among the title transfers to be discussed are: H.R. 862 to transfer a water distribution system to the Clear Creek Community Services District in Shasta County, California; H.R. 992 to transfer title of the Sly Park Project in California to the El Dorado Irrigation District; H.R. 841 to transfer title for certain works, facilities, and lands of the Gila Project to the Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District in Arizona; and a bill to transfer five-sixths interest in the Pine River Project in Colorado to the Pine River Irrigation District.
The hearing will be Thursday, March 11 at 2:00 p.m. in 1334 Longworth House Office Building. House Resources contacts: Joshua Johnson, majority, 202-225-8331; Steve Lanich, minority, 202-226-2311.
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On March 4, the bill to designate portions of the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Rivers, H.R. 193, was marked up in the Senate Energy Committee and ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
The House passed the legislation on February 23, 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. H.R. 193, introduced to the House 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 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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Introduced by Senator Bob Graham (D-FL), S. 144 would require the Secretary of the Interior to review the suitability for inclusions in the National Wilderness Preservation System of the Everglades expansion area.
The bill, co-sponsored by Senator Connie Mack (R-FL), was referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
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Senator Russell Feingold's (D-WI) Irrigation Subsidy Reduction Act of 1999 would amend the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 to clarify the acreage limitations and incorporate a means to test certain farm operations.
The bill was referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The federal reclamation program, more than 90 years old, has cost taxpayers more than $70 billion. The bill found that below-cost water prices have encouraged excessive use of scarce water supplies in the arid regions of the West and reasonable price increases to the wealthiest western farmers would provide an economic incentive for greater water conservation.
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The Chesapeake Bay Restoration Act of 1999, introduced by Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), would amend the Federal Water Pollution Act to assist in the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay. The purpose of the bill is to expand and strengthen cooperative efforts to restore and protect the Chesapeake Bay and achieve the goals laid out in the Chesapeake Bay Agreement. The bill, co-sponsored by Senators Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), John Warner (R-VA), Charles Robb (D-VA), and Rick Santorum (R-PA), was referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
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The Endangered Species Land Management Reform Act, introduced by Representative William Thomas (R-CA), would reform federal land management activities relating to endangered species conservation. The legislation would prohibit a federal agency from taking an action affecting privately owned property that results in the diminishment of the value of any portion of the property by an amount equal to or greater than half of the value of that portion unless compensation is offered. H.R. 495 was referred to the Committee on Resources.
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The Agricultural Water Conservation Act, introduced by Representative Gary Condit (D-CA), would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit against income tax for the purchase and installation of agricultural water conservation systems. The bill was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.
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As introduced by Representative Peter Deutsch (D-FL), the Florida Keys Water Quality Improvement Act of 1999 would protect the resources of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary by providing the federal share of funds for projects to replace inadequate wastewater treatment systems and stormwater management systems in Monroe County, Florida. The federal funds would supplement money committed by the state and by Monroe County. H.R. 673 was co-sponsored by Representative Clay Shaw Jr.(R-FL) and was referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure's Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
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Introduced by Representative John McHugh (R-NY), H.R. 926 would require the Secretary of the Army to issue an environmental impact statement before the International Joint Commission implements any water regulation plan affecting the water levels of Lake Ontario or the St. Lawrence River.
The bill was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Resources.
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11:00 a.m.: House Resources Committee hearing on Conservation and Coastal Resources funding. Location: 1324 Longworth House Office Building. Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New 11:00 a.m.: House Resources Committee hearing on Conservation and Coastal Resources funding. Location: 1324 Longworth House Office Building. Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New 9:30 a.m.: Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works hearing on the Water Resources Development Act of 1999. Location: 406 Dirksen Senate Office Building. 10:00 a.m.: House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife, and Oceans hearing on the Yukon River Salmon Act. Location: 1334 Longworth House Office Building. 2:00 p.m.: House Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power mark up of title transfer bills. Location: 1334 Longworth House Office Building. American Rivers, 1025 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 720 Washington, DC 20005, (202) 347-7550 CHECK OUT OUR American Rivers 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.
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HEARINGS
Tuesday, March 9
Wednesday, March 10
Thursday, March 11
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