WSP03203 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

I)lJ155': . WESTERN STATES WATER aVED 2 5 1995 Colorado Water Conservation Board CYJ4 I\..Q!R I sc ; ASC \ F I L E September 22. 1995 ~_ri'4}114 -. I recycled Paper conserves water THE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER OF THE WESTERN STATES WATER COUNCIL Creekview Plaza, Suite A-201/942 East 7145 So. / Midvale, Utah 84047 / (801) 561-5300 / FAX (801) 255-9642 Chairman - Larry Anderson; Executive Director - Craig Bell; Editor - Craig Bell; Typist - Alona Banks CONGRESSIONAL UPDATE Reconciliation/Spending Bills . Congress is making budget decisions which will have profound effects on the way the country manages and develops its rangeiands, waterways, energy resources, and fish and wildlife. Both the Senate Energy and House Resources Committees plan to include reforms in budget reconciliation legislation. Reconciliation is a powerful legislative vehicle that cannot be filibustered in the Senate. Floor amendments must be budget neutral. Elements of mining law reform are in the reconciliation omnibus bill and both committees are expected to add language raising fees for grazing livestock on public lands and freezing the recently issued grazing regulations. The House Resources Committee is also expected to include the sale of the Alaskan and Southeast Power Administration, and Bonneville Power Administration's refinancing. Both committees are expected to authorize oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wiidiife Refuge (ANWR), which they estimate will raise $1.3B in revenues. Different environmental protection provisions would have to be reconciled. The President says he will veto legislation opening ANWR. . Other issues include reversing Congress' decision last year to give millions of acres of California desert protection under the National Park Service and the selling off of part of the Central Valley Project irrigation system in California. Further, a comprehensive scientific study of the Columbia River Basin and the Northern Rocky Mountain region could reportedly be short- circuited out of concerns that its findings would hobble the livestock, mining and timber industries. These and many other policy decisions may be included in the 1996 appropriation bill covering the Interior Department and related agencies, as well as the reconciliation legislation. They represent an important debate over appropriate federal stewardship for public lands and resources. ENVIRONMENT Endangered Species Act The Clinton Administration has attacked Republican plans to rewrite the Endangered Species Act, suggesting that the President will veto the plan, which he says would "effectively repeal" the Act. Assistant Interior Secretary George Frampton, Jr. told the House Resources Committee in a hearing on September 20th that he would recommend a veto as the plan "abandons this country's support for the conservation of endangered plants and animals... providing virtually no protection for wildlife." Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA), a chief sponsor, said that the law "must be comprehensively rewritten to restore [it] to its original intent." He added that scientific experts agree, "There are some species that should not be listed and some species that simply cannot be saved." If the votes seem to fall in line, mark-up of H.R. 2275 could be as soon as Wednesday, September 27th (see WSW #1113). WA1'ER RESOURCES Coastal Zone Management Act In contrast to many other programs, the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) reauthorization is enjoying broad support. In a September 12 hearing before the House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Oceans, witnesses (including representatives from ihe Administration and states) gave strong support to the CZMA reauthorization bill proposed by Chairman Jim Saxton (R-NJ). It is a fairly straight forward bill that would reauthorize grants to states for development of coastal zone management programs at a level of $64M in fiscal year 1996, $65.5M in FY97, $70.5M in FY98, $73.3M in FY99, and $76.2M in FY 2000. The Senate approved a similar CZMA reauthorization bill as part of a broader Department of Commerce and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reauthorization bill (S. 1142).