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Last Tuesday, the House passed its $20.2 billion FY 00 funding bill for Energy and Water Development (H.R. 2605) by a vote of 420-8. The Senate passed its version of the bill which included $21.7 billion in funding on June 16. A date for House and Senate conferees to reconcile the gap between the two bills has not been scheduled.
H.R. 2605 would provide the US Army Corps of Engineers with $4.19 billion for its civil works program, which includes flood control, shoreline protection, and navigation. This is $91.2 million more than FY 99 funding and $282.6 million more than the Clinton Administration s FY 00 request. The Senate bill includes $3.76 billion for the Corps civil works projects.
Although overall funding for the Corps would increase in the House and Senate bills, they would both cut funding for habitat restoration programs by the Corps. For example, the House bill would provide $18.945 million the Corps Environmental Management Program, and the Senate would fund the program at just $16.2 million. Through EMP, the Corps restores and enhances fish and wildlife habitat and conducts long-term monitoring of the ecological health of the Upper Mississippi River.
During floor debate, members of the House defeated an amendment offered by Representative Peter Visclosky (D-IN). Visclosky s amendment would have struck wetlands provisions in the bill that direct the Army Corps of Engineers to report to Congress prior to implementing a proposal to replace the Nationwide Permit 26 (NWP 26) Program (which allows the filling of wetlands smaller than three acres) with a system of activities-based permits. As approved by the House, the bill also cites the results of jurisdictional decision appeals by the Army Corps to be final agency actions, which are subject to appeal in court. The House adopted an amendment by Representative Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) to ensure that the report on NWP 26 does not hold up implementation of the new permit system.
For more information on the House and Senate FY 00 funding bills for Energy and Water, see
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Sometime this week, the full Senate will continue floor debate on S. 1292, the FY 01 funding bill for the Department of Interior and Related Agencies.
The bill would provide $13.98 billion in FY'00 for natural resource agencies funded by the bill, including the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Minerals Management Service, the Forest Service, and the Office of Surface Mining. The Senate measure would provide the agencies included in the bill with far less than the $15.048 billion requested the Clinton Administration, but $19 million more than FY 99 funding levels. The House passed its $14.1 billion FY 00 funding bill for Interior and Related Agencies (H.R. 2466) by a vote of 377-47. Even though the dollar figure for the bill was higher than the original allocation of $11.341 billion, it still came up $200 million short of current funding levels and about $1 billion below the Clinton Administration s request.
The Senate still must resolve a number of major issues, including funding for the Forest Service s logging program, language giving the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management broad discretion in deciding whether to conduct wildlife population surveys before making management decisions, a proposed extension on certain grazing permits, an administration rule on oil valuation, and a large number of amendments. Last week, the Senate voted to keep language offered by Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) to reverse the Interior Solicitor s decision regarding the general mining law. (For more information on this issue, see
In its official Statement of Administration Policy on the Senate funding bill, the Clinton Administration s Office of Management and Budget reiterated a veto threat issued by Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt on June 30. During negotiations last Tuesday, the Senate dropped a number of provisions highlighted by the Administration as objectionable, including provisions to continue a moratorium on a Minerals Management Service regulation about royalty valuation assessment of oil or gas produced on federal lands, prohibit reintroduction of grizzly bears in Idaho or Montana without written consent of the state s governor, and freeze mining permits or withdrawals by the Interior Secretary in the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri. Eight other objectionable provisions remain, including language to make permanent automatic extensions for certain grazing permits for which environmental assessments have not been completed, extend expiring grazing permits in the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area in Washington, delay revisions to individual forest plans until the Forest Service finishes its system-wide planning regulations, and require a new 120-day comment period for the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project and move up the date of a report on the cost and impacts of the project.
Some new amendments may surface this week. Among them are amendments to provide $30 million for Land and Water Conservation Fund grants to states; cut the Forest Service s logging and timber road budget by $33 million and put the money into road maintenance and removal, inland fish habitat management, threatened and endangered species habitat management, wildlife habitat management, anadromous fish habitat management, and deficit reduction; provide $4 million for urban parks and recreation grant programs; increase funding for payments in lieu of taxes to states by $10 million, with the money coming from the land acquisition accounts of the Forest Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service; and direct the National Park Service to conduct environmental studies of a proposal to improve access to Denali National Park along the Stampede Trail via railroad.
For more information on the House and Senate bills, see
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As early as Monday, the full Senate will begin floor debate on S. 1233, the FY 00 funding bill for agriculture, rural development, the Food and Drug Administration, and related agencies. The Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously approved the $60.7 billion bill on June 17. Only $14 billion of the total is available for discretionary appropriations such as funding for the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Conservation services under the NRCS would receive $656 million, $24 million below the amount requested by the Clinton Administration.
The bill provides $10 million for watershed surveys and planning ($1 million less than the Administration s request), $99 million for watershed and flood prevention operations (in addition to the $95 million from the recent emergency supplemental appropriations bill), and $35 million for resources conservation and development (equal to Administration s request). S. 1233 would limit the Environmental Quality Incentives Program to $174 million, far below the Administration s request of $300 million. The measure would provide no funds to stem conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural uses, a program for which the Administration requested $50 million.
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The House plans to have floor debate on its FY 00 funding bill for VA-HUD-Independent Agencies late this week. The House Appropriations Committee approved the $91.27 billion bill on Friday, including $68.63 billion in discretionary funding. The bill would provide the Environmental Protection Agency with about $73 billion, $278 below the FY 99 level and $106 million more than the Clinton Administration s request. The House bill would appropriate $775 million for safe drinking water state revolving funds ($25 million below the Clinton Administration s request), $1.175 billion for clean water state revolving funds, a $3 million reduction in Tennessee Valley Authority borrowing authority, and $300 million for disaster relief to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on VA-HUD-Independent Agencies hopes to mark up its version of the FY 00 funding bill before the August recess.
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Members of the House Appropriations Committee approved its $35.8 billion FY 00 funding bill for the departments of Commerce, Justice, and State and the Judiciary on Friday, and the bill now moves to the House floor, possibly this week. The bill would provide NOAA with $1.96 billion, $208 million below FY 99 funding levels and $547 million below the Clinton Administration request.
The House bill would not provide any funding for the Clinton Administration s new Pacific coast salmon recovery initiative or a new salmon agreement with Canada. The White House had requested $100 million for a salmon recovery effort in the Pacific Northwest, announced last January. The National Marine Fisheries Service has listed 15 salmon populations as threatened or endangered since 1991. The Administration had also requested $60 million for implementation of programs related to the June 3 Pacific salmon agreement signed with Canada. In its version of the appropriations bill, the Senate would provide $100 million for the salmon recovery efforts, but require that the money be paid as direct grants to the states of California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska.
The House bill also does not include any money for the Administration s Lands Legacy proposal. President Clinton s advisors will recommend he veto the bill because of the funding cuts and failure to fund the Lands Legacy and other important initiatives.
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The Environmental Protection Agency is soliciting proposals for the combined FY 1999/2000 Sustainable Development Challenge Grant (SDCG) Program. The SDCG program challenges communities to invest in a sustainable future that links environmental protection, economic prosperity, and community well-being. The SDCG program strongly encourages community and business leaders, government entities, and non-profits to work cooperatively to develop flexible, locally-orientated approaches that link environmental management and quality of life activities with sustainable development and revitalization.
Project proposals must be postmarked by September 29, 1999. The following list of potential project categories is not exhaustive and some projects may fit into several categories: comprehensive planning for sustainable growth comprehensive resource management and restoration community revitalization and redevelopment sustainable agriculture sustainable forestry local government tools for sustainability green business incentives For more information contact: Dr. Lynn Desautels, Director, SDCG Program, US EPA (MC 1306), Washington, DC 20460, (202) 260-6812, desautels.lynn@epa.gov.
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The Senate Energy Committee postponed last Wednesday s markup of the Conservation and Reinvestment Act of 1999 (S. 25), introduced by Senators Frank Murkowski (R-AK) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA). The bill calls for the federal government to use half of its annual receipts from oil and gas development on the outer continental shelf (OCS) currently $3.5 billion a year to aid impacted coastal states and to increase funds for federal land acquisition and state fish and game programs in all fifty states.
Representative Don Young (R-AK) introduced a companion bill (H.R. 701) in the House. For more information on open space initiatives, see
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On August 10, the Senate Energy Committee will hold a field hearing in Anchorage, Alaska, on the implementation of the 1980 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). ANILCA, passed in hopes of settling years of controversy regarding the use of several hundred acres of federal lands in Alaska, set aside about 105 million acres in conservation units. Controversy about the act has surfaced again, with members of the Alaska delegation contending that the federal land management agencies have cut away at the concessions and special conditions to protect traditional activities and lifestyles they believed Alaskans had gained in the 1980 legislation.
The field hearing will be held at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, August 10 in the Federal Building at 7th and C Streets in Anchorage, Alaska.
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Last Thursday, Congressional conferees on the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) met in an effort to settle numerous differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. Conferee will meet again sometime this week in hopes of resolving lingering issues. The biggest roadblock focuses on flood control needs of the Sacramento, California area, the issue that doomed the legislation last year. Thus far, conferees have approved 23 projects eligible to begin as soon as appropriations are available, 15 projects subject to completion of environmental and feasibility studies, 14 small aquatic ecosystem restoration projects, 9 small bank stabilization projects, 19 small navigation projects, and 3 environmental quality projects.
The Senate's WRDA (S. 507) includes $3 billion in funding compared to $4.3 billion in the House version (H.R. 1480). For more information on projects included in the bills, see
To view the bills, visit
House contacts are Ben Brumbles, majority, 202-225-4360 and Ken Kopocis, minority, 202-225-0060.
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This week, the House Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources will discuss legislation aimed restricting the lease of outer continental shelf lands off the coast of Florida for oil and gas exploration and production. Representative Porter Goss (R-FL) introduced the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (H.R. 33) in January. The bill would direct the Interior Department s Minerals Management Service to conduct environmental studies and meet environmental requirements prior to allowing oil and gas development activities along the state s coast. The entire Florida delegation has give its support to the bill, citing the importance of the Gulf of Mexico to Florida s ecology and important tourism economy. H.R. 33 would impose a five-year moratorium on gas and oil exploration and development off the Gulf Coast of Florida until 2002 and set up a federal-state task force to seek additional studies as needed regarding the impacts of preleasing, leasing, and exploration activities.
The hearing will be held at 2:00 p.m. on August 5 in 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
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Citing increased groundwater contamination, an Environmental Protection Agency panel is recommending a reduction in the use of a gasoline additive aimed at reducing air pollution. Although the use of the oxygenate methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) has been successful in combating air pollution, some groundwater supplies have been contaminated by the additive, largely due to leaking underground storage tanks.
The panel recommended accelerating efforts to replace existing storage tanks and improve monitoring for groundwater contamination, to strengthen protection of drinking water sources under the Safe Drinking Water Act, increasing resources for cleaning up groundwater contamination by MTBE, and developing a program to reduce MTBE use in gasoline without compromising progress made in combating air pollution through the federal requirement for reformulated gasoline.
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Senate floor action is possible at any time on the following bills:
S. 244 to authorize the construction of the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System to provide safe drinking water for communities in the tri-state area around Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
S. 501 to address resource management issues in Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska.
S. 744 to grant up to 500,000 acres of federal land to the University of Alaska.
S. 109 to allow the National Park Service to buy land within a 2,000-foot corridor on either side of the Chattahoochee River
Tuesday, August 3 2:00 p.m.: House Resources Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health hearing on bills to establish the 9,200-acre Dugger Mountain Wilderness in the Talladega National Forest in Alabama (H.R. 2632), protect the 23.3 miles of Wilson Creek from its headwaters in Grandfather Mountain under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (H.R. 1749), and transfer 160 to 240 acres of Forest Service land to the city of Sisters, Oregon for a sewage treatment facility and for the disposal of treated effluent. Location: 1334 Longworth House Office Building.
2:00 p.m.: House Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources oversight hearing on proposals to charge a royalty for hardrock minerals produced on federal lands and the Interior Department s recent decisions affecting modern, heap-leach mines for hardrock minerals under the 1872 General Mining Law and approving prospecting on acquired federal lands.
Location: 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
Wednesday, August 4 11:00 a.m.: House Resources Committee markup of legislation to ratify a water rights settlement for the Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy s Reservation in Montana (H.R. 795), allow the Army Corps of Engineers to undertake projects to help salmon and other fish harmed by irrigation activities in Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Oregon (H.R. 1444), authorize construction of a rural water system to serve approximately 2,500 people in Perkins County, South Dakota (H.R. 970), and convey a small parcel of Forest Service land to Elko County, Nevada (H.R. 1231). Location: 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
Thursday, August 5 10:00 a.m.: House Resources Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands markup of a bill to create a new category of trail and authorize the 6,000-mile Discovery Trail as the first trail in the category (H.R. 2339); allow the National Park Service to buy land within a 2,000-foot corridor on either side of the Chattahoochee River to create a buffer between the river and private development (H.R. 2140); and to add another 12 miles to the segment of the Lamprey River already protected under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (H.R. 1615). Location: 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
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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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This page created and maintained by Chehalis River Council
Send comments or questions to the: Chehalis River Council