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- -----..- -- . -- - r----- -. --r-r-,,-.o ..... . .........t'.~ .... Guidelines. Modiflalions to existing projcas should be conside= by the appropriate agency and Congress only after &he existina project has been =valuaaed in light of new needs and wiler c:onservadon objecdvcs. Rea1locadoo of existing supplies should be preferred as an alternative to new storage. (31) The Secretaries of the Interior and Energy should review existing power contracts on a co-equal basis wilh water conuaas. Federal hydropower pricing should reflea the full economic and environmental COst of producing power, and revenues should be used to assist in financing water conservation and ecosys- Iem protection and resIOration. EcoloJical Inre~tv and Restoration (32) The President should order the EPA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and National Oceanic and AbDOspberic Administration (NOAA) to prepare a repast identifying critically imponant or representative ecosystems and specifying major ecosystem restora- lion oppommities in watersheds throughout the nation. Identified restOration actions should include a feasibil- ity assessment containing prospective economic benefits and costs and appropriate incentive mecha- nisms. (33) The Administration should establish a National Restoration Trust Fund in the United States Treasury to assist the USFWS and NOAA in cffons to proteCt and restore aquatic ecosystems. Initial funding sbluld be derived from unspent income in lhe Land and Water Conservation Fund. Future revenues should be provided from federal water and hydropower sur- charges. reductions in water-use subsidies. and establishment of broad-based user fees and assess- ments. Annual appropriations for ecosystem protection and restoration purposes should not be less than the armual income to the N aliona! Restoration Trust Fund. (34) The new Administration. worldng through the Depart- mem oflhe !merior. EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. and in COnsultation with the states and tribes, should encourage and facilitate lhe fonnation of new watershed management organizations for the purpose of integrating water management at &he "problemshed" level. A federal statute setting fonh the essential elements of compacts 10 implement watershed management for interstate basins is advis,:" able. (35) Federal agencies should suppon nongovemmenral and community-based approaches to the restoration of aquatic ecosystems. including watershed-based Community ReslOration Trusts supponed by the HAUUUGI AQW.alUll J IUSL (36) The l)epartmau of the Interior and Apiculture should assert rights to insueam flows for federal lands and encowqe states 10 IdopIIDd IIIaIIIben insIream Oow programs by using audIoril)' to PIIIl or witbbold federal funds and federal permit approvals. (37) The AdminiSU'ation should support legisJadm rhar allows staleS and tribes to proteCt their most outstand- ing river segments against hydropower developmem.. (38) The Administration should seck to amend the Federal Flood Insurance Act to ~1imi~ allsubsidics for insurance premiums for new 01' posl-SlDrm 1'eCOD- sttucted fJtvVlplsin dcvelopmed. mI to IIraJgthcn compliance wilb die Act. (39) The EPA and J)epartmentoftbe Interiorsbould establisb comprebcnsive, publicly ICCCSSible. water- shed-oriented monitoring programs. iJiformation bases geographic information systems, computer models. and decision-support systems to assist public participa- tion in developing water policy. (40) Resowce management agencies should be directed to establish quantifiable measures of ecological iJUegril)' which should then be incorporated inIo agency goals. objectives. and performance evaluation criteria. (41) The Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioo (FERC) should condition hydropower licenses to include provisions requiring licensees to develop end use electric and water efficiency programs and to prolCCl and restore watershed ecosystemS. incbutin, restoring Dows for fish and wildlife. fERC and the Administra- tion should support the establisbment of a dam decommissioning fund from lictnsefees to cover the costs of dam removal or decommissioning. (42) fERC licensing and nilicensing should neat the ecological and nonpower values of rivers as ~a1 with power gcneratim and should ~ that licensees implement environmental and energy efficiency programs. Clean Water (43) The EPA should work with the states to develop models by which water quality and quantity concerns will be addressed in an integrated fashion. (44) The Administration should support and wort wilh Congress to reauthorize and strengthen the Clean Water Act to: (a) Require enfo~le polluted JUOOff controls for agriculture, limber harvesting and mining in noncompliance areas. II