Laserfiche WebLink
<br />. <br /> <br />Detailed information about these projects and the Targeted Watersheds Grant Program is available at: <br />http://www.epa.!!ov/twg. <br /> <br />Bill Introduced to Create New National Water Program: On July 14, Senate Energy & Natural <br />Resources Chairman Pete V. Domenici led a bipartisan group of senators and two House members in <br />introducing legislation to create a federal water technology program aimed at expanding and <br />coordinating water technology research around the country to improve water quality and quantity. <br /> <br />The bill, The Department of Energy National Laboratory Water Technology Research and <br />Development Act of 2004, will involve the Department of Energy national lab system in partnership <br />with universities around the country to design and deploy technologies aimed at providing rnore clean <br />water for residential, commercial, industrial and natural resource use around the country. The bill <br />authorizes $200 million annually for basic and applied research and development in water supply <br />technologies. <br /> <br />Snow Survey Money: The House has passed nine of thirteen appropriations bills, but the Senate has <br />completed only one, the Defense bill. The Senate has yet to come to agreement on a budget, and rnost, <br />ifnot all, of the remaining bills may be wrapped up in an omnibus package. H.R. 4766, the Agriculture <br />appropriations bill, passed the House on July 13. <br /> <br />As approved by the House, H.R. 4766 earmarks $9.25 million for the snow survey and water supply <br />forecasting program -- the same as last year. However, the Administration has determined it will <br />charge all program costs to the FY200S earmark, effectively reducing funding by some $3 million. The <br />Western States Water Council has asked the Congress to increase the FY2005 earmark by $3 million in <br />order to off-set the Administration's action. <br /> <br />In a June 21 letter to Senator Robert Bennett (R-UT), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations <br />Committee's Subcommittee on Agriculture, which was copied to other western Senators, seventeen <br />senior western state water officials urged the Senate to raise the earmark for the snow survey program <br />to $12 million. <br /> <br />WGA Workshop: The Western Governors' Association and Western States Water Council will <br />cosponsor a Western Water Supply Challenges Workshop: "How Do Western States Plan to Meet <br />Expected Water Shortages?" It will be held on September 28-29, in Salt Lake City. <br /> <br />State officials will describe water use projections and planning efforts, water conservation, water <br />development and financing programs, water transfers, interstate issues and other topics. Key federal <br />officials have been invited to address federalfstate coordinating and cooperation. A facilitated <br />discussion will highlight issues and develop recommendations. <br /> <br />More information and a registration form is available at www.westgov.ondwswc/meetings. <br /> <br />ESA Reform Bill Passes House Committee: The House Resources Committee voted on July <br />21 in favor of revamping key provisions of the Endangered Species Act, narrowing some terms of the <br />law and adding new research requirements before a species can be listed or receive habitat <br />designations. <br /> <br />The committee approved two ESA reform bills -- a critical habitat reform measure from Rep. Dennis <br />Cardoza (D-CA) and a "sound science" measure from Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR). Supporters of the <br />legislation said the bills would streamline and modernize a broken act that has been characterized more <br />by litigation than by actually recovering species. Critics of the reform measures claimed the bills <br />would weaken ESA, potentially placing species at greater risk, and could further thicken the legal <br />quagmire that has surrounded the act. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />3 <br />