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American RiversOn Monday (or later this week), the Senate is scheduled to bring its FY'00 funding bill for energy and water to the floor. The bill, approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on May 27, would provide less money for water development, science, and renewable energy programs than requested by the Clinton Administration. In total, the bill would provide $21.7 billion in new budget authority, $279 million below the Clinton Administration's proposed amount and $440 million less than the amount appropriated in FY'99.
The following are funding levels in the Senate bill for some environmental programs, with the Clinton Administration's FY'00 request in parentheses:
$715 million for energy supply programs ($836 million); $328 million for non-defense environmental management ($331 million); $4.6 billion for water resources development, including $3.8 billion for the US Army Corps of Engineers ($3.9 billion), $761 million for the Bureau of Reclamation ($856 million), $50 million for the California Bay-Delta Ecosystem Restoration project ($95 million), and $39 million for the Central Utah Project ($39 million); $292 million for federal power marketing administrations ($200 million); and $7 million for the Tennessee Valley Authority for the Land Between the Lakes recreation area ($7 million).
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On Tuesday, the Senate Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee plans to mark up its FY'00 funding bill for the Department of Agriculture. The subcommittee is working with a funding allocation of $13.1 billion in budget authority for discretionary spending. The House passed its $60.8 billion agriculture funding bill last week, having cut $102.5 million from its $13.9 billion in discretionary spending.
Like the Senate bill, the House bill did not meet most of the funding requests for environmental and resource programs included in the Clinton Administration's bill. The bill would maintain current levels of funding for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program at $174 million, $126 million below the Administration request. The bill would provide $654 million for conservation operations by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, compared to the Administration request of $681 million. The House bill would provide an additional $16 million over the $83 million request for watershed and flood prevention operations.
The markup is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 15 in 124 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
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Senate Subcommittee to Examine Questions Regarding Mining Law Ruling:
On Tuesday, a Senate Energy and Natural Resources subcommittee will hear from a variety of witnesses about the Department of Interior's recent decision to change how the 1872 General Mining Law is interpreted. The decision focuses on the ration of mill sites to lode claims and resulted in the DOI's rejection of an operating plan for Battle Mountain Gold's proposal for the Crown Jewel Mine on mostly federal lands in Washington near the Canadian border.
Under the DOI's new interpretation of the General Mining Law, according to Interior Solicitor John Leshy, each mining claim cannot use more than five acres for mill sites on which to dump waste rock. The company's proposal, in which they would use cyanide to extract gold from crushed rocks, would exceed the ratio by almost 500 acres. If the DOI decision holds, mining companies would be required to obtain a permit under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act for a site to dispose of waste rock. Such a request could be refused under the law if the site were located in an environmentally sensitive area and miners would be required to avoid undue degradation.
Congress moved to salvage the mining proposal via the Kosovo emergency spending bill by approving language offered by Representative Ralph Regula (R-OH) to allow the Crown Jewel mine to go forward and to grandfather other applications for milling operations that were submitted before the enactment of the bill.
Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt has long been trying to reform the General Mining Law, which many claim is outdated and gives away public resources without adequate reclamation requirements.
The hearing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on June 15 in 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
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Army Corps of Engineers Says Eastern Virginia Proposed Reservoir Not Needed:
Last week, the US Army Corps of Engineers released a preliminary finding regarding the 12.1 billion-gallon King William Reservoir proposal by the Newport News Waterworks. The analysis states that the region will have adequate water supply well into the 21st century without the proposed reservoir. Newport News Waterworks has until June 25 to respond to the preliminary findings regarding the reservoir, which it has been planning for twelve years.
The Corps found that that the proposed reservoir was not necessary because Newport News Waterworks overestimated by a factor of two the water consumption needs, because of the cumulative impacts including environmental justice considerations relating to the Mattaponi Indian Tribe, and because the reservoir would inundate more than 400 acres of forested wetlands.
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For more information or to see the text of any of the bills listed below, go to the Thomas website at http://thomas.loc.gov/ and enter the bill number.
S. 1148: Introduced by Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD), the Yankton Sioux Tribe and Santee Sioux Tribe of Nebraska Development Trust Fund Act would provide for the Yankton Sioux Tribe and the Santee Sioux Tribe of Nebraska certain benefits of the Missouri River Basin Pick-Sloan project. The Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin program, passed as part of the Flood Control Act of 1944, impounded waters for the Fort Randall and Gavins Point projects and inundated fertile, wooded bottom lands along the Missouri River that constituted the most productive agricultural and pastoral lands, as well as the homelands of, the members of the Yankton Sioux and Santee Sioux Tribes.
The US Army Corps of Engineers took the Indian lands used for the Fort Randall and Gavins Point projects by condemnation proceedings, and the federal government did not provide the tribes with an opportunity to receive compensation for direct damages from the Pick-Sloan program. If passed, S.
1148 would provide the tribes with compensation for increases in property values over the years between the date of taking and the date of the condemnation settlement, as well as $34,323,743 for the Yankton Sioux Tribe for the loss value of more than 3,200 acres and $8,132,838 for the Santee Sioux Tribe for the loss value of more than 1,400 acres. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
S. 1167: Introduced by Senator Slade Gorton (R-WA), S. 1167 would amend the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act to expand the scope of the Independent Scientific Review Panel. The bill directs the Panel to review and comment on Columbia Basin fish and wildlife projects, programs, or measures proposed in a federal agency budget that would be reimbursed by the Bonneville Power Administration or paid through a direct finding agreement with BPA. The bill calls upon the Council to fully consider the recommendations of the Panel when making its final recommendations, which would then be submitted to Congress. The annual cost of the provision is limited to $750,000 in 1997 dollars. S. 1167 was referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
S.1178: Introduced by Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD), the Blunt Reservoir and Pierre Canal Land Conveyance Act of 1999 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain parcels of land acquired for the Blunt Reservoir and Pierre Canal features of the Oahe Irrigation Project, South Dakota, to the Commission of Schools and Public Lands of the State of South Dakota for the purpose of mitigating lost wildlife habitat, on the condition that the current preferential leaseholders (original landowners or their descendants) shall have an option to purchase the parcels from the Commission. The bill would also deauthorize the Blunt Reservoir. The Oahe Irrigation Project was passed as part of the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin program (see S. 1148 above) to provide irrigation above Sioux City, Iowa. The land to establish the Pierre Canal and Blunt Reservoir (included in the Pick-Sloan program) was purchased from willing sellers between 1972 and 1977, when construction on the Oahe Irrigation Project was halted. The two largest reservoirs created by the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Program, Lake Oahe and Lake Sharpe, caused the loss of approximately 221,000 acres of fertile, wooded bottomland in South Dakota that constituted some of the most productive, unique, and irreplaceable wildlife habitat in the state. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
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Floor action is possible in the Senate at any time on the following bills:
S. 109: To improve protection and management of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area in Georgia.
S. 323: To elevate the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument to national park status and create several other conservation areas near Montrose, Colorado.
S. 416: To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to the city of Sisters, Oregon, 160-240 acres of land for use in connection with a sewage treatment facility.
S. 766: To authorize the National Park Service to conduct a feasibility study for the preservation of the Loess Hills in western Iowa. The bill would authorize $275,000 for a one-year study of the 600,000-acre area.
Tuesday, June 15
11:00 a.m.: Senate Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee markup of its FY'00 funding bill for the Department of Agriculture. Location: 124 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
2:30 p.m.: Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee hearing on the Department of Interior's decision to change interpretation of the 1872 General Mining Law's regulations regarding the ratio of lode claims to mill sites. Location: 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Wednesday, June 16
9:30 a.m.: Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee mark up a number of lands bills, including: S. 734: To create a new category of trail and authorize the 6,000-mile American Discovery Trail as the first route in the new category; S. 762: To direct the National Park Service to consider the feasibility of adding a pre-historic site discovered in downtown Miami to the Biscayne National Park; H.R. 938: To allow the National Park Service to buy or exchange land to add to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Location: 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Thursday, June 17
10:00 a.m.: House Resources Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands hearing on procedures required before designation of national monuments under the 1906 Antiquities Act. Location: 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
10:00 a.m.: House Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power hearing on the Clinton Administration's plan for deregulating the electric power industry.
Location: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building.
Saturday, June 19
11:00 a.m.: Field hearing regarding how Bureau of Land Management decisions affect ranchers, property owners, environmentalists, and recreationalists in Owyhee County, Idaho. Location: Nampa City Hall, Nampa, Idaho.
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 Thomas, Congressional Greensheets, Greenwire, and Roll Call.
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