Congress Acts on Water-Related Legislation

Its appropriations work done, Congress has adjourned for winter recess until January. Following is a review of various water-related legislation from the first session of the 106th Congress.

Agriculture-Rural Development-Related Agencies Appropriations Bill: In early October, Congress passed the FY'00 funding bill for Agriculture and Related Agencies, with President Clinton signing it into law on October 22 (PL 106-78). For discretionary spending, not including emergency spending, the bill includes $14 billion, $0.5 billion below the Administration's request. The Natural Resources Conservation Service received $813 million, including $661 for conservation operations, $10 million for watershed planning, $99 million for watershed and flood prevention operations, $35 million for resource conservation and development, and $6 million for a forestry incentives program. The measure limited the Wetlands Reserve Program to 150,000 acres and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program to $174 million. The House and Senate bills were H.R. 1906 and S. 1233 respectively.

VA-HUD-Independent Agencies Appropriations Bill: President Clinton signed the VA-HUD-Independent Agencies funding bill for FY'00 on October 20 (PL 106-74). The bill includes $7.6 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency, up from $7.5 billion in FY'99. Of the total, $3.5 billion is for EPA's operating budget, $1.4 billion for superfund programs, $5 million for the Office of Science and Technology, and $3 million for the Office of Environmental Quality. The measure provides $1.35 billion for the clean water state revolving loan fund and $820 million for the safe drinking water revolving loan fund.

Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill: On September 29, President Clinton signed the FY'00 appropriations bill for Energy and Water Development (PL 106-60). In conference, Congressional negotiators agreed to a total funding level of $21.3 billion for the bill, including $4.14 billion for civil works programs by the Army Corps of Engineers — flood control, shoreline protection and navigation. The figure, $246.5 million more than requested by the Administration, includes $309 million for flood control on the Mississippi River and its tributaries. The Bureau of Reclamation received $769.4 million, $87.3 million below the Administration's recommendation, and the Energy Department received $16.7 billion, $441.4 million below the Administration's request. Of the total, power-marketing administrations received $262 million. The final version also includes $608 million for water and related resources under the Bureau of Reclamation, $60 million for California Bay-Delta ecosystem restoration and $42 million for the Central Valley project restoration fund.

Interior-Related Agencies Appropriations Bill: Largely due to disputes over mining and oil royalty riders and low funding levels for Administration priority programs, the FY'01 funding bill did not pass as a stand-alone bill but had to be rolled into the $390 billion consolidated funding package (H.R. 3194) signed by President Clinton on November 29. The $14.9 billion measure added to the consolidated package included an additional $220 million for land acquisition, grants to states for conservation and planning, urban parks, the cooperative endangered species fund, urban and community forestry, and the forest legacy program, as well as another $30 million for energy conservation programs.

Of the $1.24 billion for the Bureau of Land Management, $37 million is for wildlife habitat and fisheries, $19 million for threatened and endangered species, $34 million for resource protection and maintenance, and $16 million for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Of the $878 million for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, $190 is for fish, wildlife and ecological services. Of that $190 million, $109 is for endangered species, $72 million is for habitat conservation, and $86 is for fisheries. The National Park Service received $1.81 billion, including $54 million for national recreation and preservation and $121 million for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Conservation grants for planning assistance and the Urban Park and Recreation Fund did not receive any funding for FY'00. The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement received $196 million for the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund. The US Forest Service received $2.83 billion, including $109 million for wildlife and fisheries habitat management, $40 million for land management planning, and $80 million for the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Water Resources Development Act: On August 17, President Clinton signed the Water Resources Development Act of 1999, which authorizes new projects and sets policy for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. WRDA, traditionally a biennial package, had been held up since 1998 largely due to conflicts over flood protection measures for Sacramento and a water supply project for Representative John Doolittle's (R-CA) nearby district. WRDA 1999, which will provide $4.3 billion in federal funds for $6.3 billion worth of projects, includes a new flood program and 45 other projects. Under Challenge 21, the new flood control program, the Corps will receive $200 million over five years for a watershed-based flood protection program focused on nonstructural and riverine ecosystem projects.

Specifically, WRDA 1999 authorizes 30 new projects, 15 projects pending favorable reports by the Corps by the end of the year, and more than 200 project modifications and other provisions.

Arizona Water Resource, November-December 1999, Volume 8, No. 3