VIEW THIS ON THE AMERICAN RIVERS WEBPAGE WITH DIRECT LINKS TO THE ACTUAL BILLS!!
(Select the following to go to:) http://www.amrivers.org/policynew.html
Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New
The clock is running on the three-week stopgap funding measure (H.J. Res. 68) passed by Congress to give members more time to iron out differences over a number of annual appropriations bills. The last of the 13 regular appropriations bills for FY 00 cleared committee last week just hours before the new fiscal year began on October 1, but there are many bumps still ahead. The stopgap funding measure lasts through October 21, and many bills either face veto threats from President Clinton or significant disagreements between the House and Senate. Congressional leaders are doing their best to avoid having to negotiate with the Clinton Administration on a huge omnibus measure that rolls several of the funding bills together into one. As of October 1, the start of the new fiscal year, President Clinton had signed only four of the 13 regular appropriations bills into law and had vetoed a fifth.
Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New
On Thursday, President Clinton signed the FY 00 funding bill for Energy and Water. The final version as approved by the House-Senate conferees adopted the higher Senate figure of $21.3 billion for the bill, which funds the Department of Energy, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Bureau of Reclamation. The bill provides the Army Corps of Engineers with $4.14 billion for civil works programs such as flood control, shoreline protection, and navigation -- $246.5 million more than the figure requested by the Clinton Administration and $45 million more than FY 99 spending. The Bureau of Reclamation will receive $769.4 million, $12.7 million below FY 99 spending and $87.3 million below the Administration s request. The Energy Department will receive $16.7 billion, $390 million below FY 99 and $441.5 million below President Clinton s request.
Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New
This week, the Senate will take up the conference report on agriculture funding for FY 00. Senate-House conferees approved the conference report last Thursday, and the House passed the bill the following day.
Discretionary spending in the bill totals $14 billion (not including farm emergency funds), $0.5 billion below the Clinton Administration s requested level. Most of the $661 million appropriated to Department of Agriculture s Natural Resources Conservation Service a figure very close to that requested by the White House will go to conservation programs. Of the NRCS total, $10 million is for watershed surveys and planning, $99 million for watershed and flood prevention, $35 million for resources conservation and development, and $6 million for forestry incentives. The conference report (H. Rpt. 106-354) also includes a limit of 150,000 acres for the Wetlands Reserve Program and a cap of $174 million for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. For more information on EQIP, see
Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New
Congressional leaders are struggling to resolve their differences and finally push through the FY 00 appropriations measure for VA-HUD-Independent Agencies. Meeting as early as Wednesday this week, House-Senate conferees will attempt to clear up disputes over House report language on climate change. President Clinton has threatened to veto both the House and Senate versions of the funding measure, which includes $7.3 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency, because of restrictions on or inadequate funding for climate change, ozone depletion, superfund cleanup, and a Clean Air Partnership Fund. The Senate bill has a number of environmental provisions not included in the House version. One provision would extend a comment period on proposed changes to the total maximum daily load (TMDL) program. The TMDL program calls for states to complete comprehensive assessments their waterways, identify those that do not meet state water quality standards, and develop and implement a clean up program for impaired waters.
A day and time has not yet been set for the House-Senate conference. Senate Appropriations contacts are Carolyn Apostolou, majority, 202-224-7238 and Paul Carliner, minority, 202-224-7231. For the House, contacts are Frank Cushing, majority, 202-225-3241 and Del Davis, minority, 202-225-3481.
Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New
House-Senate conferees on FY 00 funding for the Department of Interior and Related Agencies have yet to set a time to begin closing the wide gap between the House and Senate versions of the appropriations bill. Among the controversial issues needing to be resolved by the conferees are language to continue a ban on the Clinton Administration s efforts to change how the government determines royalties on oil extracted from federal lands, to grant the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management broad discretion on whether to conduct wildlife population surveys before making management decisions, extend certain grazing permits indefinitely while the Bureau of Land Management conducts court-ordered environmental assessments, and bar the Department of Interior from issuing a prospecting permit for lead mining in the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri or withdrawing the land from potential mining.
House Appropriations contacts are Deborah Weatherly, majority, 202-225-3081 and Del Davis, minority, 202-225-3481. Senate Appropriations contacts are Bruce Evans, majority, 202-224-7233 and Curt Dodd, minority, 202-224-5271.
Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New
Senate to Hold Clean Water Hearing:
On Thursday, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing on legislation to reduce combined sewer overflows and to fund clean water infrastructure needs. Superfund Subcommittee Chair Bob Smith (I-NH) introduced S. 914 to authorize the Environmental Protection Agency to mandate that sewage systems conform to the combined sewer overflow control (CSO) policy signed by President Clinton in 1994. The 1994 policy called for communities to take immediate and long-term actions to address CSO problems, which usually requires communities to completely rebuild their sewer systems. Senator Smith, upon introducing his bill, estimated that the process would carry a price tag of $50 to $100 billion. Representative James Barcia (D-MI) introduced similar legislation (H.R. 828).
Introduced by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), S. 188 would authorize the use of state water pollution control revolving funds for water conservation and water quality improvements. Senator Wyden hopes that the conservation practices outlined in the bill would leave more water for residential and agricultural use and wildlife.
S. 968, introduced by Senator Bob Graham (D-FL), would establish a federal grant program at EPA for developing alternative water sources. The program would provide federal matching funds for design and construction of water reclamation, reuse, and conservation projects with the goal of expanding water supplies by encouraging better use of existing supplies.
The hearing will be held in 406 Dirksen Senate Office Building at 10 a.m. on Thursday, October 7.
Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New
On Wednesday, the House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife, and Oceans will mark up legislation a bill to reauthorize the 1972 Coastal Zone Management Act (H.R. 2669), introduced by Representative Jim Saxton (R-NJ). The bill revises an earlier bill introduced by Representative Saxton. The new version scaled back language restricting the speed of personal watercraft in shallow water and calls for a study rather than directing states to develop restrictions regarding personal watercraft. H.R.
2669 would allow states with approved nonpoint source pollution plans to use as much as $10 million of the on-the-ground project grant money they receive for technical assistance and public education regarding nonpoint source pollution. If passed, the bill will reauthorize the Coastal Zone Management Act through FY 03.
The markup will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, October 6 in 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New
On October 1, American Rivers released a new report by a former high-ranking Army Corps of Engineers official that shows investing in highway and rail infrastructure will keep grain transportation rates affordable if the four lower Snake River dams are removed. Authored by Dr. G. Edward Dickey, Grain Transportation After Partial Removal of the Four Lower Snake River Dams: an affordable and efficient transition plan, concludes that prudent, timely investments in rail and highway infrastructure could provide an affordable transportation alternative to the lower Snake River waterway. Dickey served as the Chief of the Planning Division for the Army Corps of Engineers and the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) during the Bush Administration.
The number of salmon returning to spawn in the Snake River and its tributaries has plunged since the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed the four dams between 1962 and 1975. The dams kill salmon by delaying the migration of young salmon to the sea - exposing them to predators and disease - and creating obstacles to adult salmon returning to spawn. All runs of Snake River salmon and steelhead trout have been listed as threatened or endangered by the federal government. Removing the earthen portions of the four dams to restore the natural river is one option being considered by federal scientists and policymakers. More than 200 scientists and nearly 450 businesses and organizations have endorsed dam removal.
Another study, looking at the full economic impacts of removing the four dams from the Snake River will be released in late October. That analysis, sponsored by Trout Unlimited and Earthjustice with assistance from American Rivers and other groups, weighs the economic gains and losses of dam removal including impacts on irrigated agriculture, power and water users, tribes, recreation, transportation, and construction and places those changes in the context of evolving local and regional economies. The study was conducted by ECONorthwest of Eugene, Oregon, a prominent and respected economic analysis firm.
To read the Dickey report or get more information on the Snake River dams, visit
Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New
The House Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power will hold a hearing on several water reclamation bills. The bills include:
H.R. 1696 directing the Bureau of Reclamation to turn over the Griffith Project to the Southern Nevada Water Authority. The project can supply up to 299,000 acre-feet of supplemental municipal and industrial water annually from Lake Mead to Las Vegas and the surrounding area.
H.R. 2674 to provide for the conveyance of the Palmetto Bend Project to Texas, to be operated by the Texas Water Development Board or the Lavaca-Navidad River Authority, or both.
H.R. 2974 to transfer the Lower Yellowstone Project in east-central Montana and western North Dakota to local irrigation districts. The project which includes the Lower Yellowstone Diversion Dam, Thomas Point Pumping Plant, the main canal, 225 miles of lateral canals, and 118 miles of drains was built to provide dependable irrigation water for approximately 54,000 acres along the west bank of the Yellowstone.
H.R. 2984 would direct the Bureau of Reclamation to convey a portion of the massive Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin flood control and irrigation project to the Loup Basin Reclamation District, the Sargent River Irrigation District, and the Farwell Irrigation District in Nebraska. The project provides flood control, recreation, and fish and wildlife conservation and enhancement; controls sediment; and irrigates 13,363 acres north of the river.
H.R. 2994 is the Sugar Pine Dam and Reservoir Conveyance Act. The dam and reservoir are part of the Auburn-Folsom South Unit of the Central Valley Project in California.
H.R. 2889 would permit the use of savings achieved in certain areas of the Central Utah Project to be used for other projects and programs as needed.
H.R. 1235 would allow the city of Vallejo, California, to contract with the Bureau of Reclamation to impound, store, and move city-owned drinking water through part of the canal serving the state s Solano Project and permit water trades among Solano Project contractors.
The hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. on October 7 in 1334 Longworth House Office Building.
To view the bills, visit the Thomas website at
Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New
The following bills could come to the Senate floor at any time:
S. 501 to require the National Park Service to allow subsistence fishing and gathering and commercial marine fishing (regulated by the state) 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. 244 to authorize the construction of the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System.
S. 109 to improve protection and management of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area in Georgia.
S. 953 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain land in South Dakota to the Terry Peak Ski Area.
S. 1088 to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to convey some land in Arizona to the city of Sedona for a wastewater treatment facility.
S. 1287, Nuclear Waste Policy Act Amendments.
S. 1100 to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to provide that the designation of critical habitat for endangered and threatened species be required as part of the development of recovery plans for those species.
The Senate may also consider Major General Phillip Anderson, US Army, as president of the Mississippi River Commission, and Sam Epstein Angel and Brigadier General Robert Griffin, US Army, as members of the Mississippi River Commission. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved the nominations last Wednesday, but Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) may raise objections to the nominations in protest over federal inaction on relieving flooding from the rising waters of Devils Lake in North Dakota. Senator Conrad has stated he will block any legislation related to the Army Corps of Engineers until the Corps responds to his requests regarding the Devils Lake flooding situation.
To view the bills, visit the Thomas website at
Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New
The following bills were approved by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee:
S. 835 to enhance efforts to restore estuaries.
S. 1144 to allow states to use State Infrastructure Bank, which are revolving funds that make loans for transportation projects.
S. 2454 directing the Secretary of Interior to implement rules to reduce the overabundant population of mid-continent light geese that is destroying the arctic tundra.
S. 492 to amend the Federal Water Pollution Act to help restore the Chesapeake Bay estuary.
S. 1119 to continue funding of the 1950 Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act.
S. 1398 to clarify the Cape Hatteras areas on maps of the coastal barrier resource system.
H.R. 2742 to make technical corrections to the Water Resources Development Act of 1999.
S. 1632 to reauthorize funding of Long Island Sound programs.
To view the bills, visit the Thomas website at
Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New
Oct. 5, 10 a.m.: House Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power hearing on comprehensive legislation for restructuring the electric industry. Location:
2123 Rayburn House Office Building. (Also at 10 a.m. on October 6)
Oct. 5, 2:30 p.m.: Senate Energy Subcommittee on Forests and Public Land Management hearing on legislation (S. 1608) to stabilize the level of revenue-sharing payments from natural resources development receipts to rural counties across the nation. Location: 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Oct 6, 11 a.m.: House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife, and Oceans markup of legislation to reauthorize the Coastal Zone Management Act. Location: 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
Oct. 7, 10 a.m.: House Commerce Subcommittee on Finance and Hazardous Materials hearing on the Public Utility Holding Company Act and whether it should be repealed. Location: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building.
Oct. 7, 10 a.m.: Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on bills to fund clean water infrastructure needs and reduce combined sewer overflows. Location: 406 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Oct. 7, 10 a.m.: House Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power hearing on several water reclamation bills. Location: 1334 Longworth House Office Building.
Oct. 12, 2:30 p.m.: Senate Energy Subcommittee on National Parks, Historic Preservation, and Recreation hearing on numerous bills, including legislation to designate portions of the Lower Delaware Valley River and associated tributaries as part of the Wild and Scenic Rivers System (S. 1296) and to designate segments of the Taunton River in Massachusetts for study as a potential addition to the system (S. 1589). Location: 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Oct. 28, 11 a.m.: House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife, and Oceans hearing on the Pacific salmon treaty. Location: 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
Back to top or back to home page or back to Whats New
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.
This page created and maintained by Chehalis River Council
Send comments or questions to the: Chehalis River Council