The Chronicle, 9/29/99
WASHINGTON (AP) - The $21 billion energy and water appropriations bill that has gained final Senate approval contains millions of dollars in projects for the Pacific Northwest, including an allocation for the Chehalis River Basin.
The House approved the bill Monday and President Clinton was expected to sign it after Republicans removed some controversial language that had prompted an earlier veto threat.
The final bill, approved Tuesday by the Senate, includes $67.5 million for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects to try to restore salmon populations in the Columbia River system.
It sets aside $250,000 for studies to prevent flood damage and restore ecosystems in the Chehalis River Basin.
Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash., inserted language in the bill saying none of the money can be used to study the possibility of drawing down the reservoirs behind the John Day or McNary dams to help salmon.
Other language inserted by Gorton prohibits the Bonneville Power Administration from raising rates to pay for the removal of any dams and extends for another year the tenure of an Independent Scientific Review Panel that is helping guide salmon decisions in the region.
The bill also includes funds for several projects at the Hanford nuclear reservation, including $106 million for the tank waste remediation system, $24.5 million for the worker and community transition program and $28 million to continue the Fast Flux Test Facility on standby until a final decision is made on restart or shutdown of FFTF.
OTHER PROJECTS in the bill include:
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