VIEW THIS ON THE AMERICAN RIVERS WEBPAGE WITH DIRECT LINKS TO THE ACTUAL BILLS!! http://www.amrivers.org/policynew.html
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This week a House-Senate conference committee will meet to resolve the differences between their respective budget resolutions for spending levels for FY00 and beyond. The conference report could move quickly, with possible floor action in both chambers this week. Unfortunately, the FY00 budget resolutions passed by the House and Senate (H. Con. Res. 68 and S. Con. Res.
20) would slash funding drastically for the environment and natural resource programs to levels that would result in fewer toxic waste cleanups, a reduction in public lands and wildlife stewardship, less effective energy and pollution control programs, and missed opportunities to protect open space. The Senate Budget Resolution would cut funding for the environment and natural resources programs from the FY99 level of $23.3 billion to $21.7 billion in FY00. The House Budget Resolution proposes funding at the slightly higher amount of $22 billion in FY00. The House and Senate will now go to conference to produce a final FY00 Budget Resolution.
To voice your opposition to slashing funding for important environmental and natural resource programs, call, write or visit members of the House and Senate Budget Committees. Urge them to produce a Budget Resolution from conference that:
Funds natural resources and the environment at $23.8 billion for FY00, the minimum federal agencies affected by the cuts have requested; and
Keeps the Senate adopted deficit-neutral reserve fund for use of Outer Continental Shelf receipts added to the Senate Budget Resolution. This fund is a key part of anticipated legislation to fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund and related programs that expand protection for historic preservation, wildlife and wildlife habitat, and coastal and ocean environments.
For members of the House Budget Committee, visit the committee webpage at
http://www.house.gov/budget/bios/members.htmFor members of the Senate Budget Committee, visit the committee webpage at http://www.senate.gov/committees/committee_detail.cfm?COMMITTEE_ID=415
or
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This week, the House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife, and Oceans Subcommittee will mark up a bill aimed at reauthorizing the 1972 Coastal Zone Management Act. The CZMA encourages states to regulate land and water uses that affect coastal zones and provides access to federal aid to states with approved coastal zone management plans. H.R. 1110, drafted by Subcommittee Chair Jim Saxton (R-NJ), would reauthorize most CZMA programs through FY03 and would allow the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to make grants to any coastal state to help local communities carry out approved coastal community conservation projects. The legislation could stir up controversy because of a provision that would require states to regulate the use of personal watercraft such as jet skis in order to be eligible for CZMA funds.
Congress appropriated $52.7 million for state grants in 1999. If a state receives approval for its coastal management plan, the state can receive a federal grant of between $500,000 and $2.15 million, depending on coastal population and shoreline mileage. The state must match the federal dollars.
The mark up is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on Thursday in 1324 Longworth House Office Building. House Resources contacts are: John Rayfield, majority, 202-226-0200; Cynthia Suchman, minority, 202-226-2311.
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Today, American Rivers released its America's Most Endangered Rivers of 1999. Now in its 14th year, the 1999 Most Endangered Rivers report demonstrates for the first time how devastating unbridled development is to the nation's rivers and catalogues areas where sprawl and rivers are on a head-on collision course.
Sprawl chews up riverbanks, wetlands and floodplains, critical components of a river ecosystem that provide wildlife habitat, filter sediment and toxins, and act like sponges to absorb floodwaters. Paving over the land creates "impervious cover" and dramatically increases the amount of polluted runoff flowing into rivers and streams. Impervious cover causes more frequent and severe flooding and leads to streambank erosion and habitat loss. According to the Center for Watershed Protection, when 10% of a watershed is sealed under such cover, the rivers and streams that receive its runoff will be degraded. And when 25-40% of a watershed is paved over, its rivers and streams can often no longer support fish and wildlife and are not safe for human uses.
While sprawl puts rivers at risk all over the country, a host of other chronic threats continue to damage waterways, including mining waste which pollutes and buries waterways, dams which block rivers and kill fish, and riverbank manipulation which destroys plantlife and animal habitat.
The Most Endangered Rivers in America of 1999 are, in order: Lower Snake (Washington), Missouri (Midwest), Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basin (Georgia, Alabama), San Pedro (Arizona and Sonora, Mexico), Yellowstone (Montana, North Dakota), Cedar (Washington), Fox (Illinois, Wisconsin), Carmel (California), Coal (West Virginia), and Bear River (Utah).
To see the full report, please visit the American Rivers webpage at www.amrivers.org/99endangered.html.
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On April 14, Representative Don Young (R-AK), Chair of the House Resources Committee, will hold a hearing on his Endangered Species Act (ESA) bill, H.R. 1142 - the "Landowners Equal Treatment Act of 1999." Similar in to the failed 1995-96 Contract with American ESA and wetlands takings bill, H.R.
1142 would require agencies to make every possible effort to "avoid, minimize, or mitigate" even extremely minor impacts on property and would prohibit a wide variety of emergency actions essential to saving species unless and until federal agencies have "given 30 days notice to each of the property directly affected."
Conservation groups are urging Congress to provide the debate with more balance by scheduling hearings on Representative George Miller's (D-CA) Endangered Species Recovery Act of 1999 (H.R. 960). Representative Miller's bill would amend the ESA of 1973 to ensure the recovery of our Nation's declining biological diversity, reaffirm and strengthen commitment to protect wildlife, safeguard the nation's economic and ecological future, and provide assurances to local governments, communities, and individuals in their planning and economic development efforts.
Among those invited to testify before the House Resources Committee are:
the Clinton Administration, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the ESA Grassroots Coalition, the National Wildlife Federation, the National Association of Home Builders, Defenders of Property Rights, the attorney general of Oregon, the American Forest & Paper Association, and Taxpayers for Common Sense.
The hearing will be held in 1324 Longworth House Office Building at 11:00 a.m. on April 14. House Resources contacts are: Elizabeth Megginson, majority, 202-225-7800; Jean Flemma, minority, 202-226-2311.
To see the text of these two bills, visit the Thomas webpage at and enter the bill numbers
To contact your member of Congress in support of H.R. 960 and against H.R.
1142, please visit the action alert section of the Endangered Species Coalition webpage at www.stopextinction.org.
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The Senate Energy Subcommittee on National Parks, Historic Preservation, and Recreation will hold a hearing this Thursday on legislation aimed at creating a 48-mile greenway along the Chattahoochee River in the suburban Atlanta, Georgia, and two bills directing the National Park Service to study the Loess Hills in western Iowa as a potential addition to the national park system.
The Chattahoochee park bill, S. 109 introduced by Senators Paul Coverdell (R-GA) and Max Cleland (D-GA), would enlarge the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area by allowing the National Park Service to purchase a 2,000-foot corridor along both sides of the river, bringing the total size of the park to 10,000 acres. The greenway would help protect the river by creating a buffer between private development and the waterway to reduce polluted runoff entering the river; providing additional flood and erosion control; improving water quality for drinking water, fish, and wildlife; and expanding recreational opportunities. If passed, the bill would authorize as much as $25 million in federal funds to be matched by private money.
Both Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) have introduced bills (S. 591 and S. 589) calling upon the NPS to consider the Loess Hills area along the Missouri River in Iowa for possible inclusion in the national park system. The 600,000-acre area is characterized by undisturbed mixed prairie and unique geological formations and looks much as it did when the famed explorers Lewis and Clark journeyed along the Missouri River almost 200 years ago.
The hearing will be held at 2:00 p.m. on April 15 in 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building. House resources contacts are: Jim O'Toole, majority, 202-224-4971; David Brooks, minority, 202-224-4103.
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Senate Energy Chair Frank Murkowski (R-AK) has scheduled a hearing on two Alaska lands bills he introduced, both of which may be opposed by the Clinton Administration. S. 744 would grant up to 500,000 acres of federal land to the University of Alaska. S. 501 would require the National Park Service to allow subsistence fishing and gathering, as well as commercial marine fishing regulated by the state, in Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park. The legislation would also authorize up to $2 million per year to pay damages to fishermen harmed by National Park Service Regulations.
Conservation groups in southeast Alaska have come out strongly against the University land grant bill, stating the measure will lead to logging in currently protected portions of the Tongass National Forest and that the University has already received more land per capita than Rhode Island, Washington, New York, Texas, or California. Opponents of the Glacier Bay bill argue the legislation language is too broad and could be used to bar the NPS from regulating fishing in any way in the park.
The hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on April 15 in 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
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According to Sacramento Flood Control Agency sources, the Water Resources Development Act of 1999 markups have been scheduled by Committee staff for April 21 and 22. The overdue biennial package of authorizations for new water projects by the US Army Corps of Engineers and adjustments in flood control policy includes updated funding authorizations for 42 new projects and modifications to 45 projects already underway.
Conservation groups hope members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will make a number of changes to the legislation, including: expanded funds for relocation and river restoration; blocked authorization of projects which have not been thoroughly reviewed by the Corps; and limit federal subsidies for deep harbor dredging.
If your organization would like to send a letter to the House committee supporting these initiatives, please contact Suzy McDowell at smcdowell@amrivers.org for copies of the letters.
To view the Senate version of WRDA visit http://thomas.loc.gov and type in S. 507.Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New
On Thursday, the House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Resource Conservation, and Credit will hear testimony on plans to improve water conservation in three counties in Texas and on legislation developed to deal with the general problem of aging watershed projects nationwide.
The Texas projects, located in Bexar, Media, and Atascosa counties, seek to stem water losses at a cost of $48 million, $26 million of which would be paid by federal funds. The projects, aimed at cutting water losses responsible for lowering farm irrigation efficiency to 55 percent, involves installation of underground pipes, reduction of canal breach damage, rehabilitation of canals, and other works.
The subcommittee will also discuss Representative Frank Lucas' (R-OK) bill, H.R. 728, which would provide funds to examine aging small watershed projects around the country.
The Thursday hearing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. in 1300 Longworth House Office Building. Danny Sells, Associate Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, is scheduled to testify. House Agriculture contacts are: Hunter Moorhead, majority, 202-225-4916; Anne Simmons, minority, 202-225-1494.
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Senators Robert Torricelli (D-NJ) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) have introduced legislation rejecting the proposed $1.8 billion Passaic River Flood Tunnel in favor of a $979 million relocation and land acquisition project. The measure is being touted as the ultimate answer to the recurring floods that have caused deaths and cost millions in property damage over the years for those living in the Passaic River Basin. The bill is now under committee review.
If passed by Congress, the legislation would: direct the Secretary of the Army to acquire, demolish, and remove structures in the floodway of the Central Passaic River basin where excessive damage has occurred in at least two floods, including the flood of 1984 and any subsequent flood; 2) mandate that the costs of the project be paid in cooperation with state, county, and local governments at a ratio of 75 percent federal to 25 percent non-federal; and 3) require that the floodway land in the Central Passaic River basin be stabilized as part of an ecological restoration program under the Water Resources Development Act of 1990. After the land is vacated, the land would be held in perpetuity by the most appropriate federal or state agency, as determined in consultation with the Oversight Committee, and would be managed as open space.
.For more information on the proposal, see http://www.amrivers.org/corpscase1.html.Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New
On April 9, President Clinton signed the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Wild and Scenic River Act, designating the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord rivers as National Wild and Scenic Rivers. Representative Martin Meehan's (D-MA) bill, H.R. 193, cleared the House on February 23, the Senate on March 25, and was delivered to President Clinton on March 31.
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Tuesday, April 13 9:30 a.m.: House Appropriations Committee hearing on EPA FY'00 budget request. Location: 2359 Rayburn House Office Building. Also at 1:30 p.m.
11:00 a.m.: House Resources Committee hearing on the Environmental Policy Act. Location: 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
Wednesday, April 14 11:00 a.m.: House Resources Committee hearing on Representative Don Young's (R-AK) species compensation proposal, the Landowners Equal Treatment Act of 1999 (H.R. 1142). Location: 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
Thursday, April 15 9:30 a.m.: Senate Energy Committee hearing on Alaska lands bills. Location:
366 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
10:30 a.m.: House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Resource Conservation, and Credit hearing on plans to improve water conservation in three Texas counties and on legislation focused on the status of aging small watershed projects across the nation. Location: 1300 Longworth House Office Building.
11:00 a.m.: House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife, and Oceans hearing on snow geese hunting rules. In February, the US Fish and Wildlife Service relaxed hunting rules in the Midwest in an effort to protect fragile arctic marshes in Canada from an exploding population of snow geese. Location: 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
2:00 p.m.: Senate Energy Subcommittee on National Parks, Historic Preservation, and Recreation hearing on Georgia and Iowa parkland proposals.
Location: 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
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American Rivers, 1025 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 720 Washington, DC 20005, (202) 347-7550
CHECK OUT OUR HOMEPAGE!! American Rivers 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 Thomas, Congressional Greensheets, Greenwire, and Roll Call.
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