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The lengthy battle between Congress and the Clinton Administration over funding levels for federal agencies for FY 00 is not over yet, and the second stopgap funding measure expires on Friday at midnight. Of the thirteen annual appropriations bills, Congress has approved twelve and President Clinton has signed seven and vetoed three Commerce, State, and Justice; Foreign Operations; and the District of Columbia. President Clinton signed the FY 00 funding measure for the Department of Agriculture-Rural Development-Related Agencies on Friday.
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Last week, Congress also cleared the conference report for FY 00 appropriations for the Departments of Commerce, State, and Justice. On Tuesday, President Clinton vetoed the bill because it does not meet his goal for hiring more police officers. The $39 billion bill includes $2.3 billion for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, $200 million below the White House request, and only $50 million of the $160 million the Administration requested for Pacific salmon restoration programs. Of the $50 million, the bill would have provided $18 million to Washington state, $14 million to Alaska, $7 million each to Oregon and California, and $4 million to Pacific Northwest Indian tribes. (For more on the salmon funding issue, see ENDANGERED SPECIES, US-Canada Salmon Treaty Under Discussion below).
The bill also includes an amendment offered by Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) to exempt incidental take of salmon in Alaska from the Endangered Species Act.
The House and Senate adopted the conference report for FY 00 appropriations for the Department of Interior and Related Agencies on October 21 (H.R.
2466, H. Rpt. 106-406). The $14.53 billion bill funds the Department of Interior, the US Forest Service, certain Energy Department programs, and other related agencies for FY 00.
President Clinton has stated he intends to veto the FY 00 Interior spending bill. His administration opposes a number of riders and provisions of the bill, including the low level of funding for acquisition of park land and other conservation areas, a 180-day delay on a Minerals Management Service rule to assess royalties to be paid by companies producing oil on federal lands; a two-year exemption for working hardrock mines on federal lands from a ruling restricting the amount of federal lands available for disposal of mining waste, and a provision to give the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management discretion over whether to conduct wildlife population surveys when making land management decisions.
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On Wednesday, the House Agriculture Committee will mark up Representative Frank Lucas' (R-OK) bill to authorize $600 million over ten years for financial and technical assistance to repair and rehabilitate small watershed dams across the country. More than 11,000 dams have been built around the nation, some as long ago as 1948.
The Department of Agriculture supports the bill (H.R. 728), introduced by Representative Lucas in February. The aid would cover 65 percent of the total rehabilitation costs and 100 percent of the actual construction costs involved. H.R. 728 also includes $5 million to finance a two-year study of the magnitude of the problem of aging dams.
American Rivers has stated that the bill needs to be strengthened by giving local dam owners the choice to either to fix the obsolete or failing dams or remove them.
The mark up is scheduled for 10 a.m. in 1300 Longworth House Office Building on Wednesday, October 27.
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The relicensing of hydroelectric dams will be the focus of a Senate Energy Subcommittee on Water and Power hearing on Thursday. The process received significant attention earlier in the summer when the Edwards Dam on the Kennebec River in Maine was removed to allow the river to flow freely. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the agency charged with licensing private dams on the nation s rivers, refused to relicense the Edwards Dam, and called for its removal, because the environmental impacts of blocking fish migration up and down the river outweighed the economic benefit of the small amount of power produced by the dam.
Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) and Representative Edolphus Towns (D-NY) have each introduced similar bills aimed at speeding up the relicensing process by limiting the role of resource agencies. The bills S. 740 and H.R.
2335 would amend the Federal Power Act, which now requires federal authorities to consider environmental and energy concerns when licensing hydropower dams.
The Federal Power Act grants authority to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and several other federal and state agencies to regulate the operation of mostly private hydropower dams on public waterways. Every 30 to 50 years, a dam owner must apply to FERC for a new operating license.
This relicensing process requires consideration of ecological health, water quality, and recreation so that operation of the dam continues to be in the public interest.
Hydropower producers and suppliers support S. 740, stating it will streamline the relicensing process. Many environmental groups, including the Hydropower Reform Coalition headed by American Rivers, oppose Senator Craig and Representative Towns bills, asserting that FERC has brought balance to the relicensing process and that environmental factors must be adequately considered in the relicensing process.
The hearing is scheduled for Thursday, October 28 at 2:30 p.m. in 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
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On Thursday, the House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife, and Oceans will hold a hearing on the US-Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty signed last June in hopes of reversing the precipitous decline of Pacific salmon runs.
The ten-year agreement follows years of disagreement and strife between the two nations over salmon fishing, ownership, and conservation efforts in northwest coastal waters. The bi-national agreement would replace current fixed harvest quotas with abundance-based systems that adjust the harvest levels for salmon stocks based on the relative abundance. The hearing will focus on what Congress must do to implement the treaty and how the agreement was reached.
The FY 00 appropriations bill for Commerce, State, and the Judiciary, which cleared Congress last week and President Clinton vetoed on Tuesday, included $50 million for salmon recovery and treaty implementation, far below the $160 million requested by the Clinton Administration. The bill would have authorized two Pacific salmon restoration funds -- $5 million for northern boundary and transboundary river programs and $5 million for southern boundary and transboundary river programs. The treaty, however, called for $75 million for northern boundary programs and $65 million for southern boundary programs over four years. The US and Canada would jointly administer the programs.
The hearing is set for 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 28 in 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
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On Wednesday, the Senate Energy Committee will mark up a number of bills, including two related to endangered salmon runs in the Pacific Northwest.
The Committee will take up S. 1167, introduced May 27 by Senators Slade Gorton (R-WA), Gordon Smith (R-OR), and Larry Craig (R-ID). The bill would expand the scope of the Independent Scientific Review Panel, which currently reviews proposed fish and wildlife programs funded by the Bonneville Power Administration. The purpose of the scientific review is to ensure that BPA projects in the Columbia River Basin are scientifically sound, benefit fish and wildlife, and have clearly defined objectives and provisions for monitoring and evaluation of results. S. 1167 would expand the scope of the panel s review responsibilities to include all federal fish and wildlife projects in the Columbia River Basin. Salmon conservation groups have stated that although they fully support the incorporation of better science into the decision process for endangered salmon in the Columbia River Basin, the are concerned that it will be used as a tool for delaying difficult choices.
The committee will also mark up S. 1723, introduced in October by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Gordon Smith (R-OR). The bill would direct the Bureau of Reclamation to develop and implement projects for fish screens, fish passage devices, and other similar measures aimed at helping salmon and other fish harmed by irrigation activities in Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho. The bill offers a chance for agencies to work with farmers to pay for screening irrigation diversions through the Bureau of Reclamation. The Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition has stated the intent of the bill will be good for salmon, but that the funding should be prioritized based on biological need and opportunity.
The markup is set for 9:30 a.m. in 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building on October 27.
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The House Resources Subcommittee on Parks and Public Lands will discuss a bill (H.R. 1500) aimed at terminating wilderness study area status for lands that Congress has not acted on within ten years. Representatives Jim Hansen (R-UT) and Don Young (R-AK) introduced the bill in April with the support of a number of other Western legislators.
The Bureau of Land Management and US Forest Service own many tracts of lands throughout the West that are currently protected from many forms of development by designation as wilderness study areas. Imposed either by law or administrative action, wilderness designation is intended to protect and preserve the wilderness characteristics of an area until Congress can decide whether to grant the area permanent wilderness status.
H.R. 1500 would terminate wilderness study area (WSA) status and protection for existing areas ten years after the enactment of the bill. If Congress had not designated them as official wilderness areas, those tracts of land would be released for other management regimes and could be made available for logging, mining, motorized recreation, and other activities not allowed in wilderness areas.
The hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. on October 28 in 1334 Longworth House Office Building.
To view the bills, visit
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House Looks At EPA s Clean Water Rules:
The Environmental Protection Agency will appear before the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Oversight, Nutrition, and Forestry to defend the agency s proposed regulations to strengthen regulations to identify and clean up impaired waters across the country. The proposal called for the creation of a total maximum daily load (TMDL) program under the Clean Water Act. Such a program would require states to identify impaired waters, the amount of pollution those rivers and streams can tolerate and remain healthy, and develop and implement clean up plans for impaired waters.
The House Agriculture hearing comes in the wake of extensive environmental damage caused by flooding of intensive hog and chicken farms in North Carolina. The Agriculture Committee panel will examine how EPA planned to integrate new rules and move ahead with the agency s unified strategy for cleaning up the nation s waterways.
The hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 28 in 1300 Longworth House Office Building.
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Wild and Scenic Bills Approved by Senate Committee:
Last week, the Senate Energy Committee approved two wild and scenic river bills. S. 1296 would protect 65.6 miles of the Lower Delaware River between New Jersey and Pennsylvania as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. S. 1569 would authorize a study of the Taunton River in Massachusetts for possible designation as a wild and scenic river. For more information on these bills, see
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The following bills could come to the House floor at any time:
S. 970 to authorize the Secretary of Interior to provide assistance to the Perkins County Rural Water System Inc., for construction of water supply facilities in Perkins County, South Dakota (floor action scheduled for Tuesday).
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. 492 to amend the Federal Water Pollution Act to assist in the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay.
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. 624 to authorize construction of the Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System in Montana. The bill would authorize $103 million for water delivery to the reservation and $60 million for the Dry Prairie system.
S. 744 to grant up to 500,000 acres of federal land to the University of Alaska.
S. 835, the Estuary Habitat Restoration Partnership Act.
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. 1119 to amend the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act of 1950 to continue funding for the Act.
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.
S. 1632 to extend the authorization of appropriations for activities to protect Long Island Sound.
S. 1730 to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide that submission of certain environmental reports shall continue to be required.
S. 1744 to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to provide that submission of certain species conservation reports shall continue to be required.
H.R. 2454, the Arctic Tundra Habitat Emergency Conservation Act.
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.
To view the bills, visit
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Oct. 26, 9:30 a.m.: Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on the Department of Interior s recently released regulations expanding federal subsistence fisheries management in Alaska. Location: 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Oct. 26, 2:00 p.m.: House Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources hearing on the Department of Interior s recent ruling affecting modern, heap-leach mines for gold and other hardrock minerals under the 1872 General Mining Law. Location: 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
Oct. 27, 9:30 a.m.: Senate Energy markup of bills to designate 18,000 acres of wilderness in the San Isabel National Forest in Colorado (S. 503); give the Forest Service authority to make land grants for educational purposes (H.R. 150); sell 40 acres of land in South Dakota to a ski resort (H.R.
2079); convey two acres of land to Elko County, Nevada for use as a cemetery (S. 1343); expand the scope of a scientific panel studying fish and wildlife projects in the Columbia River Basin (S. 1167); direct the Bureau of Reclamation to report on the status of irrigation systems in Hawaii (S.
1694); allow the Bureau of Reclamation to undertake projects to help salmon and other fish harmed by irrigation activities in Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Idaho (S. 1723); convey certain parcels of land acquired for the Blunt Reservoir and Pierre Canal features of the Oahe Irrigation Project in South Dakota to the state school commission (S. 1178); convey the assets of the Middle Loup Division of the Missouri River Basin Project in Nebraska to three local irrigation districts (S. 1612); and turn over the Palmetto Bend Project to Texas (S. 1474). Location: 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Oct. 27, 10 a.m.: House Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power markup of legislation to restructure the electric power industry to foster competition at the retail level (H.R. 2944). Location: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building.
Oct. 27, 10 a.m.: House Agriculture Committee markup of a bill (H.R. 728) to deal with the problem of aging, substandard small watershed dams around the country. Location: 1300 Longworth House Office Building.
Oct. 27, 10 a.m.: House Resources Subcommittee hearing on a bill to establish a National Academy of Sciences panel to study the feasibility and social value of a coordinated international oceanography program (H.R.
2090). Location: 1334 Longworth House Office Building.
Oct. 27, 11:00 a.m.: House Resources Committee markup of several lands bills, including: H.R. 2903 to authorize $10 million a year for five years for financial grants for coral reef conservation projects; H.R. 3077 to allow Central Valley Project water users to use federally owned water storage and delivery systems to wheel (transfer) water purchased from the California state water project to their customers; H.R. 1235 to allow the city of Vallejo to wheel some of its drinking water through part of the canal serving California s Solano Project; H.R. 2541 to add the 2,100-acre Cat Island to the Gulf Island National Seashore; H.R. 3063 to allow the Department of Interior to increase leases for sodium mining from 15,360 to 30,720 acres. Location: 1324 Longworth House Office Building. Immediately following the markup, the committee will hold a hearing on H.R. 2958 to grant up to 500,000 acres of federal land to the University of Alaska.
Oct. 28, 9:30 a.m.: House Agriculture Subcommittee on Oversight, Nutrition, and Forestry hearing on EPA s proposal to strengthen regulations clean up the nation s waterways. Location: 1300 Longworth House Office Building.
Oct. 28, 10:00 a.m.: House Resources Subcommittee on Parks and Public Lands hearing on a bill to terminate wilderness study area status after ten years.
Location: 1334 Longworth House Office Building.
Oct 28, 11:00 a.m.: House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife, and Oceans hearing on the recent US-Canada treaty aimed at reversing the decline of Pacific salmon runs. Location: 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
Oct. 28, 1:30 p.m.: House Science Subcommittee on Energy and Environment hearing on two bills to promote conversion of biomass into fuel (H.R. 2827 and H.R. 2819). Location: 2318 Rayburn House Office Building.
Oct. 28, 2:00 p.m.: House Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources hearing on a proposal by the World Heritage Committee to seek restrictions on mining in areas around designated World Heritage sites.
Location: 1334 Longworth House Office Building.
Oct 28, 2:30 p.m.: Senate Energy Subcommittee on Water and Power hearing on the hydropower relicensing process. Location: 366 Dirksen Senate 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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