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After much debate, Members of Congress are finally pushing ahead with the funding bill (H.R. 2684) that covers the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Last Thursday, House and Senate conferees approved a FY 00 VA-HUD-Independent Agencies appropriations bill and will file the report either Tuesday or Wednesday this week. After the report is filed, both the House and Senate will bring the measure to the floor. The House-Senate conference report includes $90.8 billion in discretionary and mandatory spending, with EPA receiving $7.6 billion. In FY 99, EPA received $7.5 billion. The Clinton Administration had threatened to veto both the House and Senate versions of the legislation. According to Representative James Walsh (R-NY), House-Senate conferees were able to make enough changes to satisfy the demands of the White House.
Similar to last year s legislation, the final bill includes language to prohibit federal agencies from using funds from the measure to implement the 1997 Kyoto greenhouse gas emissions reduction treaty. But the report accompanying the bill does not mention the Kyoto treaty, much to the relief of a number of environmental groups and the White House. The conference report also restored $12 million for the EPA portion of the Montreal Protocol. H.R. 2684 cuts President Clinton s superfund request by $100 million to $1.4 billion, provides the clean water state revolving loan fund with $1.35 billion, and funds the safe drinking water revolving loan fund at $820 million. The bill also extends by 90 days the comment period on proposed changes to the Total Maximum Daily Load water quality 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.
Sometime this week, as early as Tuesday, House and Senate conferees hope to begin their negotiations aimed at resolving the significant differences between the House and Senate FY 00 funding bills for the Department of Interior and Related Agencies. House conferees have been instructed to insist on House language backing implementation of a Department of Interior ruling to limit the amount of land available for mining waste on public lands, object to language in the Senate version that would undermine efforts to protect and restore our cultural and natural resources, and support the higher level of funding the Senate bill provides for the national endowments for the arts and humanities.
Among the controversial provisions needing to be resolved are the mining waste issue, continuing a ban on the Administration s efforts to change the system for royalty assessments on oil removed from federal lands, granting the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management broad discretion on whether to conduct wildlife population studies before making management decisions, extending certain grazing permits indefinitely while the Bureau of Land Management conducts court-ordered environmental analyses, and banning the Department of Interior from either issuing a prospecting permit for lead mining in the Mark Twain National Forests in Missouri or withdrawing the land from potential mining. For more information on controversial issues, see
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The conference time has not yet been scheduled. 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.
This week, House-Senate conferees are set to meet with the goal of bridging the gaps between their respective versions of legislation to fund the departments of Commerce, Justice, and State and the Judiciary for FY 00 S.
1217 and H.R. 2670. The Clinton Administration has been critical of the two bills for providing low funding levels for a number of programs. The Senate bill would provide $100 million for restoration of endangered Pacific salmon and $140 million for implementation of this year s salmon treaty between the US and Canada, but the House version would not provide money for either initiative. The House bill would fund the National Marine Fisheries Service at $351 million and the Senate version would fund the agency at $442 million.
At the request of Alaska Governor Knowles, Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) may try to attach a rider to the Commerce Appropriations bill. The rider would waive the Endangered Species Act for salmon that migrate into Alaska waters.
If passed, the amendment would subvert the ESA and eliminate citizen access to the courts. The Administration opposes the Stevens' Salmon Rider. Most of the salmon caught in Alaska waters are not endangered or threatened. But most salmon from Washington and Oregon are listed under the Endangered Species Act (or have gone extinct). Some endangered and threatened salmon from the Puget Sound and Columbia/Snake River areas in Washington and Oregon migrate north and are incidentally caught by Alaska fishermen.
The conference is set for Wednesday or Thursday. Senate Appropriations contacts are Jim Morhard, majority, 202-224-7277 and Lila Helms, minority, 202-224-7270. House Appropriations contacts are Jim Kulikowski, majority, 202-225-3351 and Sally Chadbourne, minority, 202-225-3481.
To view the bills, visit the Thomas website at
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Last week, American Rivers released a salmon migration report card for federal dam managers who failed to meet salmon recovery goals required by the federal Endangered Species Act. According to the scorecard, federal dam managers failed to meet legally mandated salmon recovery goals for water quantity and water temperature in the Snake and Columbia Rivers. All stocks of Snake River salmon and steelhead are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act.
In order to satisfy the federal Endangered Species Act, dam managers must meet certain requirements -- established in Biological Opinions by the National Marine Fisheries Service -- for water quantity and water temperature. For example, dam managers must ensure that 100,000 cubic feet per second is released into the Snake River in the spring, and that Snake River water temperatures must not exceed 58 degrees. By keeping flows sufficiently high in the Snake and Columbia rivers, dam managers help flush juvenile salmon downstream to the ocean and keep water temperature low, preventing fish from becoming physically stressed or being killed.
Federal managers failed to meet spring water quantity targets for the Snake River on 34 days, and failed to meet summer water quantity targets on 47 days -- earning an F from American Rivers. Federal dam managers received two failing grades for allowing summer water temperatures to reach lethal levels in the Snake and Columbia rivers. They also received a C for Columbia River water quantity targets in the spring, a C+ for Columbia River water quantity targets in the summer, and a C+ for Columbia River water temperature targets in the spring.
Dam managers received an A+ for meeting Snake River water temperature targets in the spring - thanks to melting snow that kept water temperatures low.
To see the report card, visit
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On Wednesday, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hear from representatives from the Clinton Administration, state governments, and environmental and other non-governmental organizations on proposals to amend the 1972 Clean Water Act. S. 1706, introduced by Senators Kay Bailey (R-TX) and Phil Gramm (R-TX) would limit the liability of local governments if a stormwater discharger failed to implement controls required under a permit.
The bill would also exclude from stormwater discharge regulations above-ground vegetated drainage ditches, a drainage way operated or owned in connection with a locally controlled road, construction activities that disturb up to five acres of land, and routine road maintenance.
The second bill, S. 188 introduced by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), would authorize states pay water users for conservation measures or runoff controls with money from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund program. The goal of S. 188 is to reduce the amount of irrigation water lost to evaporation and seepage before reaching the fields. Irrigated agriculture is the larges user of water in the western United States.
Lastly, the committee will discuss S. 669, introduced by Senators Paul Coverdell (R-GA), John Breaux (D-LA), Mike De Wine (R-OH), and Rod Grams (R-MN). The bill would allow a state to file criminal charges against a federal agency for violating water pollution laws. Such charges could result in a fine or imprisonment. Currently, the federal government has immunity to federal water pollution laws. S. 669 would require federal departments, agencies, and facilities to comply with all federal, state, and local water pollution abatement regulations that apply to private entities, states, and localities.
The hearing is set for 10:00 a.m. on October 13 in 406 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
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Three bills to designate or extend designated rivers in the Wild and Scenic Rivers System are moving in Congress. This Wednesday, the Senate Energy Subcommittee on National Parks, Historic Preservation, and Recreation will hold a hearing on legislation to designate 66 miles of the Lower Delaware River between New Jersey and Pennsylvania as a wild and scenic river. The bill S. 1296 was introduced in June by Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Robert Torricelli (D-NJ), and Rick Santorum (R-PA). The river corridor, which forms the natural border between New Jersey and Pennsylvania, has 29 national historic districts and 8 national historic landmarks and is used by thousands for canoeing, kayaking, tubing, bird watching, and fishing.
Twenty-four municipalities along the river have passed resolutions supporting the designation. S. 1296 does not include the portions of the river flowing through the few townships that did not pass such resolutions.
The subcommittee will also discuss S. 1569, introduced in September by Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) to direct the National Park Service to study the Taunton River, south of Boston, for possible inclusion in the Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
The hearing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 13 in 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
A third Wild and Scenic Rivers bill H.R. 1615 could come to the House floor as early as Tuesday. Approved by the House Resources Committee on September 22, Representative John Sununu s (R-NH) bill would add another 12 miles to the already protect portion of the Lamprey River near Portsmouth.
The reach of the river already protected under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act flows through the towns of Lee, Durham, and Newmarket. The new portion would flow south to Epping.
To view the bills, visit the Thomas website at
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The following bills could come to the House floor at any time:
H.R. 1615 to add a twelve-mile segment to the reach of the Lamprey River in New Hampshire protected as a recreational river under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The already protected portion of the river flows through the towns of Lee, Durham, and Newmarket. The additional reach of river flows south to Epping.
H.R. 2140 to improve protection and management of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area in Georgia.
The following bills could come to the Senate floor at any time:
S. 109 to improve protection and management of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area in Georgia.
S. 244 to authorize the construction of the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System.
S. 438 to provide for the settlement of the water rights claims of the Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy s Reservation.
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. 953 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain land in South Dakota to the Terry Peak Ski Area.
S. 986 to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey the Griffith Project to the Southern Nevada Water Authority.
S. 1030 to provide that the conveyance by the Bureau of Land Management of the surface estate to certain land in Wyoming in exchange for certain private land will not result in the removal of the land from operation of the mining laws.
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. 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.
S. 1211 to amend the Colorado River Basin Salinity control Act to authorize additional measures to carry out the control of salinity upstream of the Imperial Dam in a cost-effective manner. The bill would increase the authorized ceiling for the project from $75 million to $175 million annually.
S. 1287, Nuclear Waste Policy Act Amendments.
S. 1288 to provide incentives for collaborative forest restoration projects on national forest system and other public lands in New Mexico.
S. 1377 to amend the Central Utah Project Completion Act to allow the Bureau of Reclamation to shift funds among the programs as needed.
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
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October 13, 10:00 a.m.: Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on proposals to amend the 1972 Clean Water Act (S. 1706, S. 188, and S. 669). Location: 406 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
October 13, 10:00 a.m.: House Commerce Committee markup of superfund reform legislation (S. 2580). Location: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building.
Oct. 13, 11:00 a.m.: House Resources Committee hearing on several controversial Alaska lands bills (S. 1683, H.R. 3013, S. 1686, H.R. 2804).
Location: 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
October 13, 2:30 p.m.: Senate Energy Subcommittee on National Parks, Historic Preservation, and Recreation hearing on legislation to designate 66 miles of the Lower Delaware River as a wild and scenic river and legislation to direct the National Park Service to study the Taunton River in Massachusetts for possible inclusion in the Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
Location: 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
October 14, 2:30 p.m.: Senate Energy Subcommittee on Forests and Public Land Management hearing on several land transfer and exchange bills (S. 1629, S.
610, S. 1218, S. 1343, S. 1599). Location: 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
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American Rivers, 1025 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 720 Washington, DC 20005, (202) 347-7550
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Contact Suzy McDowell, Conservation Outreach Coordinator, at smcdowell@amrivers.org OR send online mail right now to: Suzy McDowell or 202-347-7550x3040.
Legislative information taken from many sources including Thomas, Congressional Greensheets, Greenwire, and Roll Call.
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