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<br />r: <br /> <br />Dorgan was expected to become chairman ofthe Senate Appropriations subcommittee that doles out <br />federal dollars for the Interior Department and other environmental programs. But he will head the energy <br />and water subcommittee instead. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Raball To Lead House Resources Committee After waiting 30 years to lead the House Resources <br />Committee, on Dec 9 Rep. Nick Rahall waste9 no time Friday in publicly outlining his agenda for the <br />panel. <br /> <br />Among the West Virginia Democrat's top priorities is renewing the Abandoned Mine Reclamation <br />Program and the fees on the coal industry that help pay to clean up dangerous mine sites. The program <br />could get a $5 billion boost over 10 years if Congress approves a catchall bill before it adjourns for the <br />year this weekend. <br /> <br />He also wants to protect federal lands from increased oil exploration because he thinks alternative fuel <br />sources are needed to reduce U.S. dependence on oil, especially foreign oil. <br /> <br />Water Bill Talks Fail: Democrats Add It to Long 110'b To-Do- List: On Dec. 5 House and Senate <br />negotiators gave up efforts to reach a compromise on a water resources bill, leaving the task of writing a <br />new multibillion-dollar reauthorization to the 110th Congress. <br /> <br />The collapse of the talks put an end to several months of concerted efforts to resolve differences between <br />the House and Senate versions of the Water Resources Development Act (HR 2864). Negotiations had <br />intensified in the past two weeks, but neither side could agree on a series of offers that were floated in the <br />final days of the legislative session. <br /> <br />~e main sticking points were over which water resources projects to include in a final bill, lawmakers <br />said. The $10 billion House bill would have authorized about 700 projects, while the Senate had about . <br />~OO more expensive projects estimated to cost $13 billion. The White House had strong concerns about <br />both price tags. <br /> <br />le of the main differences was over funding for water supply and other environmental infrastructure <br />~rojects, with the House bill eannarking $1.2 billion and the Senate providing no money. Another <br />Uifference was over how strict new rules concerning independent peer reviews of Army Corps of <br />I <br />Engineers' projects should be, although lawmakers believed that they were close to settling that <br />aifference. <br /> <br />hitcb Bill Update and Worksbop Agenda- In our continuing effort to keep the Board and public <br />~pprised of the progress by the U.S. Forest Service on the processing and issuance of Ditch Bill <br />Easements and issues surrounding this task the following information was provided by Jeffery Ulrich, R-2 <br />I <br />Ditch Bill Coordinator. If you have questions regarding this information or other Ditch Bill related items, <br />please contact Jeffery Ulrich at: <br />Jeffery L. Ulrich <br />R-2 Ditch Bill Coordinator <br />740 Simms Street <br />Golden, CO 80401 <br />303-275-5091 <br />iulrich@fs.fed.us <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />10 <br />