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NRDC legislative review
``` [NRDC is probably not my favorite environmental organization, but this summary of outcomes is useful in any case. It is also the sort of thing that the net is good for.]
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Date: Mon, 7 Oct 1996 12:18:43 +0000 From: nrdcinfo@nrdc.org Organization: Natural Resources Defense Council Reply-to: nrdcinfo@igc.apc.org Subject: State of Nature, 10/07/96 To: nrdc-news@igc.apc.org
Natural Resources Defense Council's
STATE OF NATURE Legislative Watch
October 7, 1996
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Contents:
1)LEGISLATIVE WATCH - (Wrap-up of the 104th Congress) 2)ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION
The Information in this bulletin -- and more -- is also available at our World Wide Web site -- http://www.nrdc.org. The web version links to the text of bills and Congressional web pages.
This was the status of Legislation on Thursday, October 3, 1996, when the 104th Congress adjourned. The new, 105th Congress, will convene in January. In the interval there will be no regular mailings of Legislative Watch, but you can expect special mailings analyzing the political scene.
1)LEGISLATIVE WATCH
The 104th Congress has, at last, adjourned. Although some damage was done, environmental issues fared far better than expected against the most sweeping and dangerous legislative attacks in our nation's history.
Before leaving, Congress passed both an Omnibus Spending Bill (H.R. 4278) and an Omnibus Parks Bill (H.R. 4236). The spending bill, which funds the government through September 30, 1997, generally reflects the President's spending priorities and was relatively clean of anti-environmental riders. On the other hand, while most of the high-profile controversial items were deleted from the parks bill, it still contains some real losses for the environment. These include the exemption of certain coastal areas in Florida from existing protections and the waiver of environmental review and public participation requirements to allow the development of a large ski resort in Utah's Snowbasin.
The details follow of how some specific issues fared in this Congress:
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Ancient Forests
Funding for the Department of Interior was provided in the Omnibus Spending Bill (H.R. 4278). The Alaska delegation was unsuccessful in its efforts to use this bill to promote clearcutting in the Tongass National Forest. The final bill does not contain earlier proposals to extend the Ketchikan Pulp Company's contract to log in the Tongass or to delay implementation of a new management plan for the forest. Sen. Murkowski (R-AK) tried unsuccessfully to insert similar provisions into the Omnibus Parks Bill (H.R. 4236).
Sen. Craig, (R-ID) was also ultimately unsuccessful in his efforts to pass a bill (S. 391) that would have increased logging in public forests in the name of improving forest health.
Unfortunately, environmental champions on the Hill, including Rep. Elizabeth Furse (D-OR) did not succeed in repealing the "timber salvage" rider that has wreaked havoc in the nation's forests for more than a year. The rider will expire on January 1, 1997.
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Clean Air
While efforts to weaken the Clean Air Act did not get very far in this Congress, various interests are likely to pursue rolling back existing protections more aggressively in the next Congress. The authorization of funds to implement and enforce the Clean Air Act runs out in the fall of next year.
Unfortunately, without amending the Clean Air Act, the conference report accompanying the spending bill for the Environmental Protection Agency may impede EPA's efforts to set a tighter health standard for particulate pollution. The report declares that there is insufficient data to justify making changes to the standard. While report language is not legally binding, the Agency has almost always followed report instructions in the past.
On a positive note, the Omnibus Spending Bill (H.R. 4278) provides $570 million to the Department of Energy for energy conservation programs. Although the amount is $165 million less than the President's request, it is almost $20 million more than provided in FY96. The bill does not contain the controversial rider that last year blocked implementation of the Department's appliance efficiency standards program.
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Clean Water
President Clinton signed the spending bill for the Environmental Protection Agency (Pub. Law 104-204) on 9/26. The bill provides EPA with about $6.7 billion overall. While below the President's request for this year, this funding exceeds FY96 levels by more than $170 million. States receive $625 million under the bill for water quality improvement projects.
On 9/27, Congress passed a bill (S. 1505) deregulating the oil and gas pipeline industry that sets the troubling precedent of designating "critical" wetlands. This kind of hierarchy, where some wetlands are more worthy of protection than others, was one of the controversial pieces of industry's efforts to rewrite the Clean Water Act in the spring of 1995. The President must now decide whether or not to sign the bill.
The Senate never approved Rep. Condit's (D-CA) bill (H.R. 2567) to weaken water quality standards for agricultural canals and other man-made conveyances. Although many of these canals are used for fishing and swimming, the bill would have exempted states from setting standards protecting recreational, fish and wildlife uses.
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Endangered Species
The immigration reform bill signed into law by President Clinton as part of the Omnibus Spending Bill (H.R. 4278) on 9/30 exempts certain border-enforcement measures from compliance not only with the Endangered Species Act, but also with public participation and environmental review requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The provision does, however, limit such waiver to circumstances where the Attorney General determines such waiver is "necessary to ensure expeditious construction of the barriers and roads" along the U.S. borders.
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Grazing
As a result of widespread opposition throughout the country, Congress did not pass legislation (S. 1459) to promote taxpayer subsidies for environmentally destructive grazing of livestock on public lands. Not all Western Republicans were willing to accept the so-called compromise put forward by Rep. Boehlert (R-NY), and as a result no grazing legislation was brought to the House floor.
Obviously, more needs to be done to ensure that grazing on public lands is done in an environmentally and fiscally responsible way. Fees remain well below market value and no process exists to evaluate which public lands are suitable for grazing in the first place.
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Mining
Fiscal conservatives teamed up with environmentalists this Congress to preserve a ban on the issuance of new mining patents giving away public land to private corporations for well below market value. Little real reform of taxpayer subsidies to mining corporations will be likely next Congress, however, unless the make-up of the resources committees in the House and Senate changes dramatically.
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National Parks and Refuges
In its final hours, Congress passed an Omnibus Parks bill (H.R. 4236) that, among other things, provides protection for the Sterling Forest on the New York / New Jersey border, San Francisco's Presidio, and the Tallgrass Prairie in Kansas. Many of the high-profile, controversial items -- such as the proposal to sell Corporate Sponsorships for the National Park System -- were deleted from the bill.
Nevertheless, several damaging provisions did pass affecting public land protections across the country. These include: (1) limits on the authority of the Dept. of Interior to control air and water pollution from cruise ships operating in Alaska's Glacier Bay; (2) a land exchange near Zion National Park that would allow the construction of a new reservoir without environmental review; and (3) the expansion of subsistence fishing into currently protected areas within Alaska's Katmai National Park.
Although it passed the House in April, the bill (H.R. 1675), to open all National Wildlife Refuges to hunting and fishing was never approved by the Senate.
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Oceans
Congress finally passed the bill (S. 39) to reform the Magnuson Act and ensure better protection for the nation's offshore fisheries. The bill includes provisions to minimize incidental catch, protect fish habitat and reduce overfishing. While not perfect - Rep. Miller (D-CA) opposed it because he felt it was not protective enough - the bill represents an important step forward. President Clinton is expected to sign the bill.
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Oil Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
The provision that could have resulted in oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was deleted by the House from the Omnibus Parks Bill (H.R. 4236). This provision, known as the Gates of the Arctic Land Exchange, would have allowed the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation to exchange land they now own that has little oil potential for other land with greater development potential. One interpretation of the provision would have allowed the corporation to select land within ANWR.
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Pesticides
On 8/3, President Clinton signed a bipartisan pesticide bill (Pub. Law 104-170). The bill provides new protections for children and infants and would toughen protections for raw foods, which today are only lightly regulated with respect to pesticides.
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Regulatory Repeal
While Congressional leaders did not succeed in passing a comprehensive regulatory "reform" bill, several changes to the rulemaking process have become law that could seriously undermine the ability of agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency to protect public health and the environment.
On 9/27, Congress passed a so-called pipeline safety bill (S. 1505), (which will, in fact, reduce public safety and environmental protection, not enhance it. The bill requires new, unworkable cost-benefit analyses before new standards can be put in place. It also sets an extremely troubling precedent by allowing an agency's determination of whether costs outweigh benefits to be challenged by industry in court. President Clinton must now decide whether or not to sign the bill.
In addition, Congress passed legislation that -- while aimed at reducing the regulatory burden on small businesses -- actually waives existing environmental laws under some circumstances and allows secret complaints to be filed against agency officials for "excessive enforcement." President Clinton signed this legislation on 3/96 (known as SBREFA or the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act) into law as part of the debt limit extension bill (Pub. Law 104-121).
Despite industry efforts, none of the following bills were enacted: H.R. 3307 -- Rep. Gekas's bill to shield companies who violate the law from penalties; S.582 -- Sen. Hatfield's bill to allow companies to conceal evidence of their violations by labeling the information an "environmental audit"; and H.R. 2086/S.88, -- a bill aimed at giving local governments more flexibility in complying with federal laws, but that could have led to the waiver of environmental protections.
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Safe Drinking Water
The EPA spending bill (H.R. 3666) signed by President Clinton on 9/26 restores the $725 million for local water system improvements that was lost when Congress failed to reauthorize the Safe Drinking Water Act by the August 1 deadline. Although late, Congress did pass revisions to the Safe Drinking Water Act (Pub. Law 104-182) that represent a significant step forward in protecting the public's drinking water supply. In particular, the bill includes right-to-know language that would require community water systems to notify customers annually of the levels of federally regulated contaminants and some unregulated ones.
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Superfund
Congress was unsuccessful in its attempts to reform the law governing the cleanup of hazardous waste disposal sites. Bills to rewrite the Superfund Act (H.R. 2500/S. 1285) became bogged down in controversy over who was to pay cleanup costs if those who created or handled the waste were freed from responsibility.
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Takings
Efforts to enact private property legislation this Congress failed as a result of the opposition of a broad coalition including environmental and historic preservation groups as well as state and local governments. Although the House passed a takings bill (H.R. 925) in the spring of 1995, the Senate never approved former Sen. Dole's bill (S. 605) or Sen. Hatch's more recent version (S. 1954). These bills would have required federal taxpayers to compensate property owners for compliance with Clean Water, Endangered Species and other protections.
Recognizing the importance of environmental protections in protecting property values, Senator Wyden introduced a bill (S. 2070) on 9/12 that would give homeowners more information about nearby sources of pollution and other activities that could adversely affect their property. The bill allows homeowners to sue developers for activities that damage the property value of their homes. While the Senator had little expectation that his bill would pass this Congress, it is an issue he plans to pursue next session.
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Utah Wilderness Giveaway
Unfortunately, Congress could not refrain from giving at least some special deals away to developers. The Omnibus Parks Bill (H.R. 4236) contains a provision providing for the development of a large ski resort in Snowbasin near Ogden. The Forest Service has found repeatedly that transferring this land to private hands is not in the public interest. The provision dictates such transfer while waiving environmental review and public participation requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Congress failed to pass another bill (S. 884) that would have opened up millions of acres of Utah's canyonlands to mining and other development. The issue of how public lands in Utah will be managed, however, will clearly carry over into the next Congress. In the wake of these attacks, President Clinton on 9/18 designated a new national monument protecting the Grand Staircase-Escalante area, including the Kaiparowits plateau, on which a Dutch company had threatened to open a large coal mine.
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Ward Valley
The final Omnibus Spending Bill (H.R. 4278) did not contain the provision that was considered to expedite the construction of a low level radioactive waste dump in California's Ward Valley. The provision would have exempted the Ward Valley project from the protection of federal environmental laws, overruling a decision by the Clinton Administration to require further safety studies as well as the preparation of a supplemental environmental impact statement.
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Western Water
As part of the Omnibus Spending Bill (H.R. 4278), President Clinton signed into law provisions to help restore water quality and fish/wildlife resources in the San Francisco Bay and San Joaquin River estuary.
While Congress considered several bills to transfer federal water projects to private interests at well below their value, none of these proposals passed. These bills included: (1) H.R. 3903 to transfer the Sly Park unit of California's Central Valley Project; (2) S. 1921 to transfer part of the Burley water project in Idaho to private interests; (3) S. 1719 to transfer water projects in Texas to private hands; and (4) S. 2015 to give away oil-producing lands near Carlsbad, New Mexico to private interests. The bills would have made it more difficult to allocate adequate amounts of the West's scarce water resources for valuable fish and wildlife resources or for recreational uses. While the bills were never approved by either the House or Senate, similar transfers -- at the expense of both the taxpayer and the environment -- are likely to be considered during the next Congress.
2)ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION
"State of Nature" is a bulletin from the front lines of the environmental protection movement, published by the Natural Resources Defense Council. Our focus is anti-environmental legislation in Congress.
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For more information about NRDC our how to become a Member of NRDC, please contact us.
Natural Resources Defense Council 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011 212-727-4511 (voice) / 212-727-1773 (fax) nrdcinfo@nrdc.org ```
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