President Obama will meet with hundreds of tribal leaders in Washington, D.C. November 5th, 2009.  The President had committed to an annual meeting with tribal leaders during his 2008 campaign and is fulfilling his promise. This historic meeting will coincide with the National Congress of American Indians’ Grand Opening of the Embassy of Tribal Nations on November 3rd and a tribal leaders meeting on November 4th.

NWIFC Chairman Billy Frank encouraged tribal leaders to go to Washington as a united Indian Country to begin and carry on a meaningful government-to-government consultation process with the President and his Administration.” Representatives of 564 federally recognized American Indian tribes have been invited to the summit. According to the White House, the Nov. 5 session is part of the president’s sustained outreach efforts.  ”I look forward to hearing directly from the leaders in Indian Country about what my Administration can do to not only meet their needs, but help improve their lives and the lives of their peoples,” Obama said in a written statement.  ”This conference will serve as part of the ongoing and important consultation process that I value, and further strengthen the nation-to-nation relationship.”  Obama’s session will not be the first White House meeting with all of the tribes. In 1994, then-President Bill Clinton held what was billed as a “listening conference” for leaders of all of the tribes. Held at the suggestion of Wilma Mankiller, who was then principal chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, the session was believed to be unprecedented.  “I hope and trust that natural resources and the environment will factor in as one of the top discussion items at this summit,” said Frank. “It would be very appropriate for the tribes to continue to present themselves as good stewards and natural resource managers with never-ending connections with the land.”

Download the entire Federal Update as a PDF, including Priority Bills: November 2009 Federal Update (138)

The President will deliver opening and closing remarks and participate in an interactive discussion with tribal leaders. Other interactive discussions in the areas of economic development and natural resources; public safety and housing; and education, health and labor will be led by representatives from the highest levels of the Administration.  Expected Administration officials include: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Deputy Attorney General David Ogden, HUD Deputy Secretary Ronald Sims, DHS Deputy Secretary Jane Lute, Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli, and Indian Health Service Director Dr. Yvette Robideaux. The White House Tribal Nations Conference will also be streamed live at www.whitehouse.gov/live.  Please check back on the day of the event for the final schedule.

NATIONAL NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH, 2009
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION

The indigenous peoples of North America — the First Americans — have woven rich and diverse threads into the tapestry of our Nation’s heritage. Throughout their long history on this great land, they have faced moments of profound triumph and tragedy alike. During National Native American Heritage Month, we recognize their many accomplishments, contributions, and sacrifices, and we pay tribute to their participation in all aspects of American society. This month, we celebrate the ancestry and time-honored traditions of American Indians and Alaska Natives in North America. They have guided our land stewardship policies, added immeasurably to our cultural heritage, and demonstrated courage in the face of adversity. From the American Revolution to combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, they have fought valiantly in defense of our Nation as dedicated servicemen and women. Their native languages have also played a pivotal role on the battlefield. During World Wars I and II, Native American code talkers developed unbreakable codes to communicate military messages that saved countless lives. Native Americans have distinguished themselves as inventors, entrepreneurs, spiritual leaders, and scholars. Our debt to our First Americans is immense, as is our responsibility to ensure their fair, equal treatment and honor the commitments we made to their forbears. The Native American community today faces huge challenges that have been ignored by our Government for too long. To help address this disparity, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allocates more than $3 billion to help these communities deal with their most pressing needs. In the Fiscal Year 2010 budget, my Administration has proposed over $17 billion for programs carried out by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Health Service, and other Federal agencies that have a critical role to play in improving the lives of Native Americans. These programs will increase educational opportunities, address the scourge of alcohol abuse and domestic violence, promote economic development, and provide access to comprehensive, accessible, and affordable health care. While funding increases do not make up for past deficiencies, they do reflect our determination to honor tribal sovereignty and ensure continued progress on reservations across America. As we seek to build on and strengthen our nation-to-nation relationship, my Administration is committed to ensuring tribal communities have a meaningful voice in our national policy debates as we confront the challenges facing all Americans. We will continue this constructive dialogue at the White House Tribal Nations Conference held in Washington, D.C., this month. Native American voices have echoed through the mountains, valleys, and plains of our country for thousands of years, and it is now our time to listen.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 2009 as National Native American Heritage Month. I call upon all Americans to commemorate this month with appropriate programs and activities, and to celebrate November 27, 2009, as Native American Heritage Day.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

-BARACK OBAMA

APPROPRIATIONS

Congress has cleared for the President’s signature the fiscal 2010 Interior-Environment spending bill and its extension of current stopgap funding. In an unusual display of coordinated bicameral action, both chambers have just approved the conference agreement — the House by a 247-178 vote and the Senate in the same day by a 72-28 vote. The measure carries an extension of current stopgap funding for those government agencies whose spending bills haven’t yet been enacted into law. With the current CR expiring midnight on October 31, the agreement extends that stopgap funding until December 18. The Interior-Environment bill is the fifth of 12 fiscal 2010 spending bills to be enacted into law. Two bills, Defense and Transportation-HUD, are pending formal conference action, and five others have yet to be passed by the Senate. This is good news to Northwest tribes as the bill contains the full $12 million increase in the BIA Rights Protection Account that Congressman Norm Dicks originally inserted in the House Bill.  It also contains the significant increase to BIA’s Hatchery Maintenance Account.  In addition it contains the $50 million mark for the restoration of Puget Sound.

House debate on the Interior-Environment agreement largely focused on the bill’s $32.2 billion discretionary cost. Republicans called the bill’s 17 percent increase excessive, with top GOP appropriator Jerry Lewis of California deeming it “irresponsible, especially in light of the fact that Congress must soon consider legislation to increase our national debt limit — this time to over $13 trillion.” Ranking subcommittee Republican Mike Simpson of Idaho said that “while this conference agreement tackles many challenging issues, it also assumes that more money is the answer to every problem we face.” Noting that the bill received a 13 percent increase last year as well as $11 billion from February’s economic stimulus package, he said, “I just don’t believe that a $4.7 billion, or 17 percent increase, over last year makes sense.” Rep. Norm Dicks, who chairs the Interior-Environment Appropriations Committee, countered that the increase was needed as “a catch-up” after years of being underfunded during the Bush Administration. Dicks said that from 2001 to 2008, when inflation is factored in, funding had decreased by 16 percent for the Interior Department, by 29 percent for the EPA and by 35 percent for non-firefighting activities of the Forest Service. “So this bill had been hammered,” Dicks said. “So I felt this was a restoration budget by the Obama Administration, and this is their first budget on Interior, and I think it was justified in every sense of the word.”

To clear the measure in the Senate, Democrats had to once again garner 60 votes to waive a Senate point of order against the CR extension being added in conference. Republicans in both chambers objected to the Democrats’ inclusion of the CR in the measure, saying it should be considered as a stand-alone measure. Such a point of order was raised and narrowly waived by a 61-39 vote during floor consideration of the Legislative Branch spending bill conference report, which included the original CR. On that vote, Republican appropriators Thad Cochran, R-MS, and George V. Voinovich, R-OH, joined with the Democrats (who lost the vote of Wisconsin’s Russ Feingold) to keep the CR in the legislation. However, after Arizona Republican John McCain raised the Rule 28 point of order against the Interior-Environment conference report for containing the CR, no Republicans came to the aid of Democrats — forcing Democrats to generate all 60 votes on their own. The vote to waive the point of order, and thereby keep the CR in the agreement, was successful via a straight party line 60-40 vote.

The overall FY 2010 Appropriations Process is slowly winding down (although we’ve heard the Senate has scheduled to resume consideration of the CJS bill this week). White not exactly on schedule, it still has the potential to be finished much sooner than in the recent past. Time will tell. The Senate has reordered its work and brought the Energy and Water Appropriation bill to the floor, due in part to a failure to invoke cloture on Senate debate over the Commerce, Justice and Science bill. Congress has now cleared just five of the 12 regular appropriations bills — Interior-Environment, Agriculture, Energy-Water, Homeland Security, and Legislative Branch. Senate Appropriations Chairman Daniel K. Inouye, D-HA, earlier this week said he believed that this year’s appropriations process, which is likely to include a year-end omnibus of those bills that couldn’t be enacted individually, would be wrapped up by early December. As mentioned, the CJS bill was pulled back. Once it is resolved on the floor it will go through the conference process. The Senate version will be about $600 million higher than the House version. The Commerce, Justice and Science bill will contain new funding for the PST Annex and funding to restore the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund Account, but the current House and Senate numbers vary. The Administration has requested, and the House has included $16.5 million for the PST Annex work, including $7.5 million for the Puget Sound critical stocks work as identified through the Annex negotiations. The House has also included about $10 million for Mitchell Act hatcheries, which benefit tribes through Columbia River fish production. The Senate, however, has only included about $10 million for the PST Annex, far short of the President’s request, and none for the Mitchell Act needs. They will have to sort this out in conference. The Senate has included $80 million for the PCSRF account and retained the past language that guides the fund distribution. The House, however, included only $50 million for salmon (and $10 million for stocks at risk) and clarifying language. Tribes have made their preference for the Senate amount and language well known so now it’s a matter of waiting to see the conference outcome.

JEFFERSON KEEL ELECTED NCAI PRESIDENT

During the NCAI’s 66^th Annual Session in Palm Springs in October, Jefferson Keel, Lt. Governor of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma, was elected President. Keel has served as NCAI’s First Vice-President since 2005.”Unity is the only way we will make progress, and I pledge to work together to seize the opportunities that are before all of the Tribal Nations,” Keel said upon being elected. Keel is a retired U.S. Army officer with over 20 years of active service. He earned a bachelor’s degree from East Central University and completed his Master of Science degree at Troy University. He has background experience in social services and tribal health programs. Keel is in his third elected term as Lt. Governor of the Chickasaw Nation. In addition, Juana Majel-Dixon, Councilwoman for the Pauma Band of Mission Indians was elected First Vice-President; Theresa Two Bulls, President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, was elected Recording Secretary; and W. Ron Allen, Chairman of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe was elected Treasurer. NCAI will also conduct the opening blessing of the new Tribal Embassy on Saturday, Nov. 3, 6:30-10 a.m. at 1516 P Street NW in Washington DC (open to tribal member only).  A host of other events is available at www.ncai.org.

ENERGY-WATER AGREEMENT

With the Energy-Water agreement, the hydrogen industry stands to benefit. The conference report would restore $106 million to a hydrogen fuel cell research program that the President Obama tried to slash. And industry backers know just who to thank — Byron L. Dorgan, D-ND, Chairman of Senate Energy-Water Appropriations. He has championed hydrogen fuel cell technology for years, especially since he began earmarking millions of dollars over the past five years for construction of a National Center of Hydrogen Technology at the University of North Dakota. Federal spending on hydrogen fuel cell research soared under Bush. Many scientists — including President Obama’s Energy secretary, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Chu — question the value of investing in hydrogen fuel cells. They say the expensive, unproven technology would require such a transformation of U.S. energy infrastructure that it is unlikely ever to have an impact on the U.S. auto market.

GET OUT THE RED PEN

The U.S. government has made it official—the cost of change and recovery from the recession is adding more zeroes to the federal deficit. CBO is expected to set the 2009 deficit at about $1.4 trillion and at $9.1 trillion over the next decade, in line with estimates that were made in early October. This is not only the first time the annual deficit has spilled into 13-digit territory, but the number also marks a threefold increase over last year’s then-record deficit of $459 billion. Administration officials pin much of the increase on a recession-driven drop in tax collections, the Wall Street bailout, the government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the economic stimulus plan.

INOUYE JOINS BYRD AS ONE OF THREE LONGEST-SERVING SENATORS

Senate Appropriations Chairman Daniel K. Inouye, D-HA, has joined Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., and the late Strom Thurmond, R-SC, in the trio of longest-serving U.S. senators. A senator since 1963, Inouye won praise for his work in the chamber and for what Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, called a “remarkable American story.” “Daniel Inouye may be the only American who saw with his own eyes the smoke from Pearl Harbor and the black smoke that rose from the Pentagon on” the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, said Senate Minority Whip Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill. Several senators touched on Inouye’s early life — teenage volunteer helping out after the Pearl Harbor attack, war service in Europe that cost him an arm. Inouye “fought for our country while fellow Japanese-Americans were being interned in our country,” said Daniel K. Akaka, D-HA. Frank R. Lautenberg, D-NJ, said he, Akaka and Inouye are the Senate’s three remaining veterans of World War II. Senators also noted Inouye’s work over the years as a lawmaker on behalf of the military. He is a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor as well as many other distinguished citations. McConnell said that Inouye earlier this month traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan. “It was an arduous journey for anyone, let alone a senator who has served so long,” he said of Inouye, who is 85. Inouye’s term of Senate service on Thursday passed that of the late Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., who had served 46 years, nine months and 19 days. Senator Inouye has, of course, also had a highly distinguished career from the perspective of the tribes, have spoken on behalf of the tribes on hundreds of occasions in committees and the Senate floor. He has visited tribes throughout the country and stood with them through thick and thin, earning tribal honors far exceeding those of any other American politician in history.

WARMING UP

The Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee is holding its first hearing today on a global warming bill, with a witness list that includes Energy Secretary Chu, Interior Secretary Salazar and Transportation Secretary LaHood. Sen. John Kerry, D-MA, said the legislation he sponsored would lead to higher energy costs in the short run but will create jobs and help protect national security. Among the critics Kerry will have to try to appease is Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, who said this morning that while climate change was a serious issue, “we also can’t afford the unmitigated effects of climate-change legislation.”

CRUISE SHIP ACT INTRODUCED

Congressman Sam Farr, D-CA has introduced the “Clean Cruise Ship Act,” a bill aimed at limiting damage caused by cruise ship pollution. The legislation will strengthen the Clean Water Act to create coastal zones where cruise ships are prohibited from dumping waste, strengthen current waste treatment standards and increase surveillance to ensure compliance by the industry. The bill was also introduced in the Senate by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-IL. “Big cruise ships make for big pollution, it’s an unavoidable truth,” Rep. Farr said following the bill’s introduction. “Unfortunately, responsible disposal of that waste hasn’t always been a given. The cruise ship industry is way overdue to take responsibility for its actions. It’s ironic that the cruise industry relies on a clean ocean and pristine coastlines for its livelihood, but doesn’t put in the effort to sustain them. This carelessness must not be allowed to continue.” Laws currently allow cruise ships to dump untreated sewage three miles from shore, a danger to health, environment and economy. Rep. Farr’s legislation would increase the anti-dumping zone to 12 miles from shore and would require waste treatment beyond 12 miles. The bill also creates an observation and monitoring program.

“A recent report on the cruise industry’s environmental performance clearly shows that not all companies are making an equal effort to safeguard the ocean waters on which they depend,” Rep. Farr said. That report card, issued by Friends of the Earth, ranks the major cruise companies according to their efforts to reduce their environmental footprint. It is available online at http://www.foe.org/cruisereportcard. “If the whole industry followed the positive lead of some of the higher-scoring cruise companies, this law wouldn’t be necessary. Since they haven’t, Congress must take action to protect our waters.”  NWIFC Chairman Billy Frank, Jr. said, “Hopefully this act will help protect our ocean and coastal waters and the communities that use them by the cruise industry’s irresponsible dumping. Of course, we’d prefer that any waste being dumped into the ocean be fully treated. But, by introducing this bill, Congressman Farr may continue his long and substantial legacy as a champion for our oceans.”

MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT HEARD

The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife, chaired by Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo, D-GU, has conducted an oversight hearing on the implementation of the Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 2006 (PL 109-479). The Subcommittee explored the progress made by the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Regional Fishery Management Councils in setting annual catch limits and accountability measures to end overfishing and rebuild overfished fish stocks, as required by the MSFCMA.  The hearing focused on how annual catch limits are set, efforts to improve the type and quality of information that informs management decisions, and successes and challenges of implementing annual catch limits and accountability measures. Visit the Committee’s Web site at http://resourcescommittee.house.gov to access witness testimony.

SUBCOMMITTEE ON WATER AND POWER

The Subcommittee on Water and Power held an oversight hearing on “Water Management and Climate Variability: Information Support at the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and Bureau of Reclamation.”  The USGS and the Bureau of Reclamation are responsible for the collection and management of water resource data.  The National Research Council recently completed their review of the USGS water management program and has identified specific recommendations for ensuring data integrity and accessibility.  The oversight hearing focused on whether the agencies are collecting the right information and whether it is adequate for use by water managers and the general public.  Visit the Committee’s Web site to access witness testimony.

SENATE STILL APOLOGIZING

The Senate has voted, again, to apologize to Native Americans for historical injustices. The Native American Apology Resolution has been attached to a defense appropriations bill, extending a formal apology from the US to tribal people nationwide. It aims to make amends for years of “ill-conceived policies” and acts of violence against Native Americans by U.S. citizens. It also asks President Obama to “acknowledge the wrongs of the US against Indian tribes” to encourage healing. The President was asked earlier this year by grassroots groups to apologize specifically for atrocities carried out on Indians who attended boarding schools, often forcibly. Obama has not yet said if he will take such action. The Senate resolution does not authorize or serve as a settlement of any claim against the U.S., and it does not resolve many challenges still facing Native Americans. Comparable legislation has been introduced in previous sessions of Congress, even passing the Senate in 2008, but no bills have been signed into law.

HOPI’s/NAVAJO’s vs. ENVIRONMENTALISTS

The battle waged against a major coal company by Hopi and Navajo activists and against large environmental groups by tribal officials has intensified the conflict playing out in northern Arizona over the control and use of cultural and natural resources.  The Hopi tribal council, challenged in political infighting, said the Sierra Club, National Resources Defense Council, National Parks Conservation Association, Grand Canyon Trust, and “on-reservation organizations sponsored by or affiliated with the groups, are no longer welcome on the reservation.” The announcement triggered sharp prepared responses from opponents of wider strip mining atop Black Mesa, an area sacred to traditionalists. The ousted organizations were singled out for reportedly asking EPA to study Navajo Generating Station’s possible contribution to smog over the Grand Canyon, raising red flags about economic loss if the plant were to close. A controversial expanded mining permit approved last year ensures a coal supply for the plant’s continued operation. The Hopis are trying to clear the hurdles blocking a life-of-mine permit to continue the destructive surface mining activities which have already destroyed an untold number of archaeological sites, burial grounds, rock art, and cultural resources.”

Tribal efforts were successful in the restoration of the Pacific Salmon Treaty funding for FY09 in its entirety ($1.772m)–a significant accomplishment with a coordinated effort from the NWIFC delegation, Columbia River Inter-tribal Fish Commission and Chairman Ron Allen.  A lot of credit for this success goes to Mary Jane Miller of the BIA Central Office who was able to secure these funds and OMB support, a challenging task. With the restoration of these funds, the FY ’09 BIA Fish and Wildlife Fund is at the FY ’08 level, with the exception of a $500,000 increase for hatchery maintenance.

NOAA’s approved spending plan included an increase to $80 million for the PCSRF in FY09, (the previous amount was $67 million), which will likely result in an increased tribal allocation. The State of Nevada is now being added to the mix to get salmon into the Owyhee watershed.  Bringing Nevada into the picture, which should have little impact on funding in other states, was essentially a result of a deal between Sen. Patty Murray, D-WA and Sen. Harry Reid, D-NV. The original authorizing language has also changed. Previously the language provided funds to support salmon habitat restoration, salmon stock enhancement, salmon research and supplementation activities.  New language is more directed toward providing funds to support ESA, tribal treaty fishing rights and habitat restoration.  This will probably affect Alaska more than other states.

FISH AND WILDLIFE AND THE STIMULUS BILLS The following additions, among others, are currently included: Department of Agriculture: $50 million for watershed rehabilitation programs; NOAA: $400 million for habitat restoration and mitigation activities; Fish and Wildlife Service: Additional $300 million for projects on National Wildlife Refuges, National Fish Hatcheries, etc.; BIA: $500 million for critical deferred maintenance projects: EPA: An additional $8.4 billion for State and Tribal Assistance Grants for Clean Water State Revolving Funds under title VI of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, etc.; Forest Service: Additional $650 million  for reconstruction, capital improvement, decommissioning, and maintenance of forest roads, bridges and trails; alternative energy technologies, removal of fish passage barriers, watershed projects, etc.

OBAMA’S FY ’10 PRIORITIES One of President Obama’s priorities in his FY ’10 budget is, as he says, to “lay the foundation for a secure and lasting prosperity.” To help achieve that, he is proposing major investments in clean energy (as well as education and health care). “We invest in the renewable sources of energy that will lead to new jobs, new businesses, and less dependence on foreign oil,” he said recently. “And that’s what clean energy jobs and businesses will do all across America.” For more information, click on this link to his March 24 news conference:         http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51253&id=15806-5461912-f7ucBJx&t=4

With Congress pushing back against his proposals for energy and other matters, President Obama is taking a bend-but-don’t-break posture. He will compromise on certain details if he must, but not on the heart of his key initiatives. His strategic retreats are a nod to political reality. He is angling to avoid confrontations he probably can’t win, but to sacrifice no more than is absolutely necessary. On energy, for instance, influential Democratic lawmakers have joined Republicans in opposing Obama’s bid to reduce greenhouse gases through a program that would let companies buy and sell a limited number of permits to pollute. “When it comes to cap and trade,” the president said, using the proposal’s nickname, “the broader principle is that we’ve got to move to a new energy era. And that means moving away from polluting energy sources towards cleaner energy sources. I think cap and trade is the best way,” Obama said, but he stopped well short of insisting on it.

OCEANS 21, (H.R.21) Five years after the Pew Environmental Group and the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy issued reports saying the oceans are sick-enough time for significant hypoxia and toxic problems, massive fish kills and runaway acidification to compound, it appears to some that Congress may finally be poised to take some definitive action.–a statement made by Chris Mann, Director of the Campaign for Healthy Oceans for Pew’s Ocean 21 program a year ago. It was then that the U.S. House Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Oceans marked up the Ocean Conservation, Education, and National Strategy for the 21st Century Act (OCEANS 21). “To date, this bill represents the most comprehensive package of ocean conservation reforms recommended by two blue-ribbon panels. OCEANS 21 establishes a national policy to protect, maintain and restore the health of our marine ecosystems. It creates a process by which federal, state and local government (did not mention tribal) agencies can better coordinate their activities to achieve goals and milestones for improving ocean health.” He said the bill also gives NOAA, for the first time, a clear, statutory mission to carry out ocean observation, research and conservation.

“For too long, decisions affecting our oceans have been made with little regard for the health and productivity of the broader marine ecosystem. OCEANS 21 will change that,” Mann said that in April, 2008. More recently he said, “Oceans provide us the beaches and waves that Americans flock to all year round. But they also feed the world, regulate our climate, provide jobs and transportation, produce oxygen and shelter half of the world’s species. Most of us never even see below their surface, but our oceans are in a silent state of collapse. We drill them for oil and pollute them with waste. We change their temperature and chemistry through global warming and ocean acidification. We’ve pushed 75 percent of the world’s fisheries to or beyond the limits of sustainability, and 90 percent of large ocean predators have simply disappeared. Marine scientists have called the changes we are seeing in our oceans “the rise of slime”-where jellyfish, algae and bacteria take over ocean areas that no longer contain and can no longer support other forms of life. But although our oceans are in trouble, right now we have no comprehensive, national law to protect and restore them. Instead, they are managed by 140 different laws and 20 different agencies, each with diverging goals and conflicting mandates.  To save our seas, we need a Healthy Oceans Act similar to the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act.” Not long ago, Pew commenced a national campaign to encourage people to get their congressional representatives to sign on as co-sponsors of the bill, and as a result, Oceans 21 currently has 40 co-sponsors. (Although 15 of them are from California and three are from Oregon, none are from Washington.)

Now a word of some caution–Oceans-21-the Oceans Conservation, Education and National Strategy for the 21st Century Act, may be legislation in many ways long past due, but it does have some particular focus on fishing and it does propose a national network of marine protected areas. Tribal participation in the legislation may be advisable and/or needed, to assure protection of tribal fisheries management interests as well as assure tribal participation in research, monitoring and other aspects of both contemporary and traditional science related to the protection and restoration of ocean health.

ENERGY DEVELOPMENT ON THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF The fight to protect marine habitat goes on. The Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources and the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife has held a joint oversight hearing on “Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf and the Future of our Oceans.”  The purpose of the hearing was to examine how offshore energy development can co-exist with healthy, productive oceans.  Witnesses discussed efforts to plan and site future offshore oil and gas and renewable energy installations within the larger context of ocean planning (often referred to as Marine Spatial Planning).  Ironically, the hearing coincided with the 20th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill of March 24, 1989.  Witnesses did discuss the lingering effects of that disaster, as well as other environmental concerns associated with offshore oil and gas production. Visit the Committee’s Web site to access witness testimony.

CHARGES AGAINST TED STEVENS DROPPED

The government has dropped corruption charges against former Sen. Ted Stevens, R-AK, because prosecutors withheld potentially exculpatory evidence from his lawyers. Stevens, who was convicted in late October on charges of failing to report more than $250,000 in gifts and favors on Senate financial disclosure forms, had not yet been sentenced. “I always knew that there would be a day when the cloud that surrounded me would be removed,” Stevens said. “That day has finally come.” Defense lawyer Brendan Sullivan said the case provided “a warning to everyone. Any citizen can be convicted if prosecutors are hell bent on ignoring the Constitution and willing to present false evidence.”

PUBLIC LANDS SERVICE CORPS ACT

Chairman Rep. Nick Rahall, D-WV and National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-AZ, have introduced the “Public Lands Service Corps Act of 2009″ (H.R. 1612), legislation intended to help repair and restore public lands, while employing and training thousands of young Americans and promoting a culture of public service.  The legislation would expand and reinvigorate an existing program, the Public Lands Corps, by modernizing the scope of corps projects to reflect new challenges – such as climate change – adding incentives to attract new participants, and paving the way for increased funding.  Visit Congressman Grijalva’s Web site to view the press release with additional information.

REP. DICKS: JUST PAYING HIS DUES?

Congressman Norm Dicks, D-WA, was in the news recently for getting questionable campaign checks from two supporters in Florida, a golf-club marketer and a wine steward. Details weren’t clear but the Floridians may have posed as lobbyists. Or they may have been conduits for too much campaign cash. The FBI’s on the case. Although it’s doubtful he did anything illegal, accepting funds from contributors so far away might raise a few eyebrows. But, as many know, that’s the way Congress works. It’s a fundraising machine. The heads of influential committees are expected, almost required, to raise as much money as possible from people they scarcely know. He’s literally got to pay his dues. As the chairman of a congressional subcommittee, Dicks is supposed to pay at least $250,000 in biennial dues to the group charged with electing Democrats to the U.S. House, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Last election Dicks paid $300,000-as much as on his own re-election. Higher-ranking leaders, such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, owe dues up to $800,000. The fee for backbenchers starts at $125,000. (It ain’t cheap being a Congressman, especially when you start climbing the leadership ladder.)

LUBECHENCO CONFIRMED TO HEAD NOAA Oregon State University professor Jane Lubchenco, one of the nation’s most prominent marine biologists, has been confirmed as the head of NOAA. Lubchenco, a conservationist who has devoted much of her career to encouraging scientists to become more engaged in public policy debates, is also a vocal proponent of curbing greenhouse gases linked to global warming. The appointment marks a shift for NOAA, which oversees marine issues as well as much of government’s climate work. She has criticized the agency in the past for not doing enough to curb overfishing.

DORGAN SEES NO QUICK FIX FOR LAND-TO-TRUST RULING Don’t expect Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-ND to rush through a fix to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar.  Dorgan, the chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, plans to hold a hearing on the decision, which restricts the land-into-trust process to tribes that were “under federal jurisdiction” in 1934. But a spokesperson said a solution won’t be coming soon. Tribes want Congress to amend the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 so that all tribes can benefit. But opponents could use a fix to try and limit tribal rights.

NATIVE WOMAN UP FOR TOP POST AT INTERIOR President Obama plans to name a Native woman to serve as the top legal official for the Interior Department, says Secretary Ken Salazar. Speaking to tribal leaders in Washington, D.C., Salazar said the expected nominee is a member of the Navajo Nation. He didn’t mention her name but sources identified her as Hilary Tompkins, a prominent attorney from New Mexico. “We are just now in the process of getting her vetted,” Salazar said at a summit held by the Council of Energy Resource Tribes. Salazar described Tompkins, who was adopted at birth, as someone Indian Country “can be very proud of.” If nominated and confirmed as Solicitor General of the Interior, Tompkins would be making history as the first woman and the first Native American to serve in the post. Tompkins currently serves as an adjunct professor at the University of New Mexico School of Law, where she is sharing her experience in tribal-state relations. It’s an area she knows well, having served as chief counsel to Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico from 2005 to 2008 and as his deputy counsel from 2003 to 2005.

EPA: TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS WILL HELP SHAPE POLICIES The new EPA head is reassuring tribes that their voices will help shape environmental policies in the Obama Administration as she announced plans for a fall summit that will bring tribal leaders to Washington. Lisa Jackson, new EPA Administrator, has told NCAI that “the EPA is back on the job” and fully aware of the challenges that affect tribal communities. “Right now, hazardous waste sites and open dumps are rampant in tribal lands exposing their residents to dangerous toxins and possible contamination of land and water,” she said. “Many tribal lands, economies and cultures are being threatened by climate change, from the loss of fish habitats in our rivers and streams.” In the face of these needs, less than 5% of tribes actually implement federal environmental programs.” In urging tribal representatives to join federal efforts, Jackson said she is determined to reach out to the Native community as part of an “EPA-Tribal partnership” that will include a Tribal Leaders Summit in the fall to go with additional funding for drinking water and wastewater facilities and more “green jobs” in Indian Country. To start, she may  move the American Indian Environmental Office from the EPA’s Office of Water, where it has historically resided, to a more prominent place in the head office or as an independent program.

THE SUPREMES RULES AGAINST NATIVE HAWAIIANS The U.S. Supreme Court ruled March 31 in State of Hawaii v Office of Hawaiian Affairs that Congress’ apology for overthrowing the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893 bears no moral, political or legal weight in stopping the state from selling 1.2 million acres of land seized during the illegal regime change before resolving land claims by Native Hawaiians. The state petitioned the case last year after the Hawaii Supreme Court issued an injunction prohibiting the state from selling “ceded lands” held in trust until Native Hawaiians’ claims to the land have been resolved. The Hawaiian court based its decision on the Apology Resolution, passed by Congress in 1993 on the 100th anniversary of the destruction of the Hawaiian Nation. The apology acknowledged the illegality of U.S. actions in overthrowing Hawaii’s sovereign government, creating a “provisional government” and 5 years later passing the Newlands Resolution, annexing Hawaii as a territory. The apology recognized that the Hawaiian people never directly relinquished their claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people or over their national lands to the US.

OCEAN ACIDIFICATION-IT’S A HUGE PROBLEM Ask a scientist what Ocean Acidification is and he might tell you it’s the name given to the ongoing decrease in pH of the Earth’s oceans, caused by their uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Ask a fisherman and he’ll tell you it means dead shellfish and fish. Lots of them, everywhere. It’s a problem that’s been compounding for a long time, and now it’s compounding far more quickly and vastly than anyone ever thought possible-everywhere-from every ocean in the world all the way up to alpine lakes. There are bills in Congress intended to deal with this huge issue (namely HR 14 and S 173-please see the bills list), or at least to form a research and monitoring plan, to develop strategies to deal with it. However, neither of these bills, intended to plan a  plan to deal with a problem already so prevalent, have moved since January.

PRIORITY BILLS

111th CONGRESS, APRIL, 2009

(Bills are “linked”…however, if links fail, you can also find them and related information at http://thomas.loc.gov/.  High priority bills are in red. Bills marked with an * are old or Public Lawand will not be included in future editions of Federal Update unless there is further action. All input on recommended positions, etc. is welcome.  Bills in italics were in transition plan. For more information, contact Steve Robinson at 360 528-4347,  Srobinson@nwifc.org. )

Bill-Lnk/Brief             Sponsor/Status              Description

As Federal Update reported last month, the FY-2009 just passed Tuesday, but now that the main stimulus has been passed and signed, an outline of the Obama FY ’10 budget has been released with details yet to come.

PRESIDENT OBAMA’S FIRST BUDGET (FY ’10)

A spate of testimony from Administration officials has hit the hill regarding President Obama’s FY 2010 budget, with OMB Director Peter Orszag leading the charge on the House and Senate Budget Committees.  The $410 billion Omnibus consists of 9 bills, and Republicans are predictably grumbling that the spending’s too high, the taxes are too high, etc. Enactment will complete the regular appropriations process. Orszag appeared alone before four panels – including each chamber’s budget committee, House Ways and Means, and Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs, where he revealed how the Administration will monitor the money being dispersed through the economic recovery law. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, meanwhile, testified before House Ways and Means and Senate Finance, as well as House Budget. Sen. John McCain, R-AR, and even Obama himself said there were too many earmarks, but called it this year’s business and pledged to get more control of those in years to come. He will sign the Omnibus, despite the earmarks, calling it “last year’s business.”  He said “We want to make sure that earmarks are reduced and they’re also transparent,” he said. Meanwhile, back home, we appear to be getting a whopping $1.8 million cut in Pacific Salmon Treaty dollars and we find ourselves hustling about trying to make ourselves whole through other avenues.

THE OBAMA BUDGET AND THE TRIBES

President Obama’s first proposed budget promises FY ’10 increases for Indian education, law enforcement and health care. Although it may again seem to fall well short on natural resources and environmental management, with the exception of energy re-development it does propose $12 billion for the Interior Department as well as other agencies supposed to coordinate natural resource programs. Also, as indicated below, the Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee commended its contribution to natural resource management. In Obama’s own words, his budget seeks to reverse what he called the “misplaced priorities” of the prior administration. He cited “loosened oversight and weak enforcement” of the financial markets amid tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.  ”This is the legacy we inherit–of mismanagement and misplaced priorities, missed opportunities and deep, structural problems ignored for too long. It’s a legacy of irresponsibility, and it is our duty to change it,” said the new President. Rahall said this budget helps get us there.

BUDGET RENEWS PROMISE FOR NATURAL RESOURCES, SAYS RAHALL

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick J. Rahall, D-WV, commended President Obama’s FY 2010 budget proposal for natural resources programs, as the White House embarks on a “New Era of Responsibility” for all Americans. The President’s submitted budget for the Interior Department incorporates principles that have long been advocated by Chairman Rahall. Read more…

Following are some select links from the Presidents Budget message:

President’s Message, Inheriting a Legacy of Misplaced Priorities

Jumpstarting the Economy and Investing for the Future, Conclusion

Department of Commerce, Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency

For more information, please see: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/

THAT SINKING FEELING

Still, though, the hits just keep on coming. The Commerce Department reports the economy sank even deeper into recession at the end of 2008 as consumers sharply cut spending. The economy contracted at an annual rate of 6.2%–the biggest drop in a quarter-century. Consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of the nation’s economic activity, and it nose-dived in the last three months of 2008. Spending was down nearly across the board, with Americans cutting back on buying cars, clothes and appliances. Businesses pulled back, too, especially on construction, equipment and computer software. (There weren’t many fish in the rivers either!)

SENATE INDIAN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE LEADERSHIP

Even as the Dow keeps dropping, the jobless lines get longer and the new President fills the new Administration and Cabinet as it hits the road running, the new Congress is shifting some name plates around, too. The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs elected its leadership for the 111th Congress February 5. Although Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-ND was chosen to return for another term as chairman,  Sen. John Barrasso, R-WY, was chosen to replace Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-AK, as vice chair. Murkowski recently stepped down from her vice chair post, but she remains a member of the committee. New members of the committee include Sens. Tom Udall, D-NM, and Mike Johanns, R-NB, Sen. Mike Crapo, R-ID, returned to the committee after a brief hiatus.

After the election of chair and vice chair, Dorgan outlined the committee’s priorities for this session: Indian health care, law enforcement, tribal recognition reform, housing, education and prevention of Indian youth suicides. “Too often, the First Americans find themselves getting second class health care, housing, education and other services,” Dorgan said in a statement. “We intend to change that.” Following the business meeting, the committee conducted a hearing called “Advancing Indian Health Care.” Testimony was presented from tribal leaders, Indian health experts and advocates who presented ideas on how to develop a plan to improve access to, and the quality of, Indian health care. Many participants called for passage of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, which expired in 2000. Reauthorization cleared the Senate in 2008, but the House failed to take action. The Committee’s calendar, information on members and other information can be found on the committee’s website at www.indian.senate.gov/public . Chief of staff is Allison Binney, 202-224-2251.

BIA ANNOUNCES NEW NATURAL RESOURCES LEADERSHIP TRAINING Apparently not wanting DC, or rather tribes, to be devoid of natural resource/environmental knowledge, the BIA’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Economic Development George T. Skibine has announced a new effort to recruit and train American Indian and Alaska Native post-secondary students to become Indian Country’s next generation of tribal energy and natural resource management professionals. The Energy Resource Development Tribal Internship Program has been developed through a partnership between the Indian Affairs Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED), the Council of Energy Resource Tribes (CERT) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) to help increase the number of American Indians and Alaska Natives who can effectively manage a tribe’s energy and natural resources. “This internship program will offer an exciting opportunity for American Indians and Alaska Natives interested in the science and engineering professions, two fields where they are traditionally under-represented,” Skibine said. “It will also help tribes by developing a cadre of professionals who have the training and expertise to aid them in managing the development of their energy and natural resources.”

“Tribes are being severely impacted by the inadequate number of available American Indian and Alaska Native energy resource professionals,” said CERT Executive Director A. David Lester. “We anticipate that the Native youth of today will play a critical role in Indian Country’s, and the nation’s energy future as they inherit the responsibility for prudently managing tribal resources. Unless deliberate measures such as this internship program are undertaken to prepare them for such a role, however, we fear that many will be lost to other fields of work unrelated to their major fields of study.”  The program, which will be held annually, is slated to begin this summer and run for 10 weeks. For more information about the internship program, contact  ANL at  630-252-4114 or visit ANL’s website at http://www.dep.anl.gov and click on “Tribal Internships.” Information also can be found on CERT’s website at http://www.certredearth.com.  Deadline for applications is April 3, 2009.

SUPREME COURT UPENDS TRIBAL UNDERSTANDING OF LAND INTO TRUST The Supreme Court has ruled in Carcieri v. Salazar that tribes not under federal jurisdiction as of 1934 cannot follow a longstanding land into trust process administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior. The ruling, which results from a suit involving the Narragansett Indian Tribe of Rhode Island, is at odds with many tribal, federal and legal understandings of the Indian Reorganization Act. Tribal and federal lawyers said the decision will likely lead to legal questions over the validity of tribal lands taken into trust since the IRA was passed in 1934. Tribes not acknowledged until after 1934 with pending or future fee-to-trust applications will now have to prove they were under federal jurisdiction in 1934. The decision could result in several states filing lawsuits trying to gain lands that have been taken into trust for dozens of tribes recognized after 1934. Attempts would likely prove unsuccessful, as lawyers have noted that the federal Quiet Title Act does not allow challenges to federal land acquisitions after the fact, except in limited circumstances that do not appear applicable in this case.

PROPOSED GATHERING POLICY WOULD REQUIRE PERMITS IN U.S. FORESTS When tribal ancestors signed treaties with the US, gathering rights were clearly protected under the law. A policy that could affect that gathering in federal forests is now under consideration by the U.S. Forest Service-which has received 140 comments on its most recent version of the national policy on Special Forest Products. Comments requiring permits for all but tribal gatherers should be encouraged, even though the deadline for comments has passed. Comments from individuals, as well as tribes and tribal organizations, should remind agency officials of the importance of gathering rights to tribal traditions. The new Chief of the Forest Service will be the ultimate decision maker on whether to change the policy to address tribal members’ concerns. Comments should be sent to: Chief Abigail Kimbell,  USDA Forest Service, 1400 Independence Ave. SW,  Washington, D.C. 20250. Comments can also be submitted by e-mail to akimbell@fs.fed.us.  For more information on the proposed policy, visit www.ciba.org or contact Jennifer Kalt at jkalt@ciba.org.  For tips on writing effective comment letters, visit the National Network of Forest Practitioners website.

OBAMA NAMES LOCKE COMMERCE SECRETARY President Barack Obama has named former Washington Governor Gary Locke as Commerce Secretary, a third try to fill the critical Cabinet position as he battles to put the brakes on one of the country’s worst economic recessions. Obama tapped Locke, praising him as a public servant who shares the president’s economic vision and who had grown to political prominence from humble, immigrant beginnings. “I’m sure it’s not lost on anyone that we’ve tried this a couple of times. But I’m a big believer in keeping at something until you get it right,” Obama said. His two earlier choices for the post dropped out – New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson in the face of questions about a donor and Republican Sen. Judd Gregg after a change of heart about working for a president from the opposition party – well before the Senate had a chance to confirm them. Among other assets named in Locke’s appointment to head the 40,000 employee agency are his great trade familiarity with China as well as other countries of the Pacific Rim, as well as his familiarity with the fishing industry.

HOUSE NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE AND OFFSHORE DRILLING Rep. Nick J. Rahall, Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, opened a series of oversight hearings on offshore drilling in February by saying, “Two weeks ago, Ted Danson, Philippe Cousteau and others provided testimony to the Committee predominantly in opposition to expanded drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf. Yesterday, representatives of coastal States reminded us that there are more than simply pro and con sides to this issue.  Today, rounding out the debate, we will hear from some of the titans of America’s oil and gas industry. As I have stated repeatedly, I am not opposed to new drilling.  There were no invitations to Northwest tribes to provide testimony to the February hearings. Washington Delegation Member Rep. Jay Inslee is on the committee. For more information, click on:  www.resourcescommittee.house.gov .

CANTWELL CALLS FOR NEAH BAY RESCUE TUG A catastrophic oil spill in Puget Sound would deal a crippling blow to both the environment and the economy of Washington state, according to Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-WA. Joining State Rep. Keven Van De Wege in a recent press conference in Olympia, the senator took the time to participate in a press conference emphasizing the need for a rescue tug at Neah Bay year-round. Van De Wege (D- Sequim) is sponsoring HB 1409, counterpart to Senate Bill 5344 (sponsored by Senator Kevin Ranker, D-San Juan)-both have passed their houses. The bills would require certain vessels, such as oil tankers, cargo vessels, and cruise ships, to fund a rescue tug that would be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to respond to incidents. Senator Cantwell, who is pursuing rescue tug legislation in the U.S. Congress, praised legislators for taking action this session to protect Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Hood Canal and the Coast from a devastating oil spill. Others who attended the press conference agreed that Washington’s maritime economy makes a permanent rescue tug a necessity. Each year, more than 15 billion gallons of oil pass through the Strait of Juan de Fuca- on tankers, barges, freighters, Navy vessels and cruise ships.

BILLY FRANK TESTIFIES ON CLIMATE CHANGE NWIFC Chairman testified to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, chaired by Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-AR on climate change on March 3 regarding “How Climate Change is Affecting Tribes and What Can Be Done About It.” Frank told members of the committee tribes are hit first and hardest by the impacts of climate change because their cultural resources, foods, water, medicines-”everything that makes us who we are-is hit first and hardest. We live on the oceans and on the rivers. We work hard to protect our people and our resources: But tribes still too often find themselves ignored by their federal trustee, and the states and counties allow people to move in on our lands and overharvest our cultural resources.” Now we fear the impacts of the poisons that fill our  rivers and seas. He said effects of climate change vary from storms to low summer river flows, and called for Congress to uphold the Secretarial Order on the Endangered Species Act, implement salmon recovery plans and support treaty-protected rights, work with tribes on a national energy policy to address climate change, involve tribes in climate change solutions such as carbon offsets and habitat protection and reach out to tribes as governmental partners in addressing the climate change challenge.

PRIORITY BILLS

111^th CONGRESS, MARCH, 2009

(Bills are “linked”…however, you can also find them and related information at http://thomas.loc.gov/. Old bills in 8 pt Italics were identified in transition plan. High priority bills are in red.)

Bill-Lnk/Brief             Sponsor/Status              Description

Negotiators for Congress and the White House worked to narrow differences on an economic stimulus bill on Wednesday in hopes of clearing a bill for President Barack Obama’s signature by week’s end.

After unofficial talks stretching into the late evening on Tuesday, officials announced a formal meeting of negotiators for mid-afternoon in the Capitol.

Democratic aides said that Obama’s negotiating team had prevailed in restoring some lost funding for school construction projects during talks Tuesday, and had also increased aid to state governments above the $39 billion approved in a compromise with a handful of Senate GOP moderates.

Obama’s “Making Work Pay” tax credit would be reduced from $500 per worker to $400, with couples eligible for an $800 credit, instead of $1,000, a Democratic aide close to the talks said. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because the negotiations are private.

Earlier Tuesday, the Senate sailed to approval of its $838 billion economic stimulus bill, but with only three moderate Republicans signing on and then demanding the bill’s cost go down when the final version emerges from negotiations.

Negotiators were working with a target of about $800 billion for the final bill, lawmakers said.

“That’s in the ballpark,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said of the $800 billion figure late Tuesday.

APPROPRIATIONS

The FY-2009 bill is still outstanding and will likely/hopefully be taken up after the stimulus issue is resolved.  The bottom line is that government is still operating on the six month Continuing Resolution that is due to expire in early March. Northwest tribes have some things riding in the Omnibus Bill that hopefully will come through.  If not the Omnibus fails, then a year long CR will be needed to enable us to use FY-08 enacted funds for the budget scheme for the year. As it is, there are three issues in play: the FY ’09 appropriations, the Administration’s FY ’10 budget and our FY ’10 strategy. Natural resource issues have not been addressed in the stimulus package to date, though there might still be some hope in conference for some dramatic change-so far, the honest analysis for tribal natural resources is not positive, although it has been a bit of a zoo in the halls of Congress, which the following articles help describe. The Obama Administration has sent positive vibes to Indian Country, but whether the rubber will meet the road in the tribal natural resource arena definitely remains to be seen.

OBAMA OPPORTUNITIES

This year, unlike many in the past, some very significant opportunities exist due in large part to the election of President Obama and a new and more democratic leaning 111^th Congress, though the republicans have made it clear that they intend to be heard. The “up” changes have transformed government from being the “problem” into being a big part of the solution, although partisanship has reared its ugly head, along with an ugly economy and some unfortunate circumstances, e.g, back tax problems with some of the chosen cabinet members, to possibly create a short “honeymoon” for the Obama Administration. Nonetheless, hopes continue to run high that tribes may finally have an Administration smart enough to have the words tribe, natural resources and environment in its vocabulary. (One of the challenges that could materialize, in fact, is that the word “environment” and those who swing it around may do so without much focus on the fact that treaties are by Constitutional law, the supreme law of the land. President Obama has made it clear that reconstruction of the American economy will emphasize “green” technology-which is a good thing-as long as those advising him remember that he also promised to respect the sovereign rights of the indigenous people, and that these rights are based on the right to fish, hunt and gather.

In concert with the many changes in the nation’s capitol, Northwest tribes (in concert with Great Lakes tribes) have moved natural resource budget and policy issues forward in a coordinated way. As a result, Northwest tribal issues have moved front and center as the new year has begun. Northwest federal transition efforts have dovetailed neatly with the annual budget and appropriation process. Identifying problems is one thing, however; making them a reality is another. Thus, a strong, ongoing strategy is needed. Four foundation elements exist from which to build the Northwest tribal FY 2010 federal appropriation strategy: 1) A good list of funding needs developed for the FY ’09 funding cycle-likely to be similar in FY’10; 2) A coordinated NWIFC/CRITFC tribal budget paper has been constructed which supports new funding for the BIA tribal rights protection account; 3) Information has been provided to BIA and others regarding possible tribal natural resource spending under the economic stimulus program package being considered by the administration and congress and 4) A professionally published transition document that helps tell the tribal story.

Principle objectives include: Enhancing the Western Washington Fisheries Management base by $12 million; building earmarks for TFW of $1.74 million, PST of $1.8 million and Mass Marking of $2.4 million into the FY ’10 President’s budget; seek new tribal shellfish management funds of $4 million and new tribal groundfish management funds of $1.5 million; support the PST Chinook Annex funding request of $97 million; seek new wildlife management funds of $5 million; support the PCSRF fund to the highest achieved level of $110 million; seek$1.5 million for hatchery maintenance/rehabilitation and $3.34 for hatchery reform; seek $62.9 million for EPA gap funding; seek $500,000 in new tribal EPA funding in FY ’10 and $3 million in FY ’11; seek $3.2 million for water resource planning; seek $2 million for tribal participation in the Puget Sound Partnership and $2.57 million in the Coastal Ecosystem Initiative. All of this means a number of trips to Washington DC, coalition building, etc.

THE NEED FOR STIMULUS

“Let’s not make the perfect the enemy of the essential.”

-President Obama comment to Senate Republican critics of his stimulus legislation.

(Democratic leaders have pledged to have legislation ready for Obama’s signature by the end of next week.)

Each time economic numbers come out, the bull whose horns President Obama has eagerly snagged seems to get bigger and bigger and the idea of a presidential honeymoon seems more and more distant. A Commerce Department report just issued reports the economy shrank at a 3.8 percent pace in the final quarter of 2008, the worst showing since the early 1980s-but it wasn’t the worst of the news. Economists said they expect the current quarter, which ends March 31, will turn out to be the worst quarter for this recession. Some economists say they think the economy is shrinking by about 5 percent. Cutbacks in spending were evident across the land, as personal and commercial consumers kept their hands on their wallets. Spending on everything from cars to clothes dipped and overseas sales of U.S. goods seemed to dry into dust. House Minority Leader Boehner was quick to spot an opportunity, using the report to bash congressional Democrats for their handling of the economic stimulus package. “Democrats have taken a go-it-alone approach and produced a trillion-dollar package heavy on government spending but light on jobs,” he said. The question echoes in the minds and hearts of many. Is this a time for party politics?

In the Senate, there are plans for a make-or-break vote on its $820 billion stimulus plan. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the events provide “another chance for the president to talk directly to the American people” about why the stimulus plan is necessary. The two parties demonstrated some wide philosophical gaps on how to address an economic downturn that worsens by the week. Many say the focus needs to be on addressing what they say are the root causes of the recession: housing and financial services. Many have worried that the Senate’s economic stimulus bill fails to adequately address those and other “root causes of the economic slowdown.” Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, defended the Obama proposals in their entirety but added that if republicans have amendments to improve the bill democrats would support them. “The unemployment claims reached 4.8 million . . . the highest on record, and the claims were 588,000 last week,” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA. “This underscores the need for us to pass, and pass quickly, boldly the recovery package that passed the House.” Whether heads and hearts can come together remains to be seen, as does the true value of the stimulus package itself.

Those chatting outside of Congress often say Obama’s economic stimulus plan is in trouble. Conservative talking points are dominating the media’s coverage and it’s clear that there’s lots of misinformation around. All this, despite the fact that, as The Nation writes, “If enacted, the economic recovery plan will be one of the biggest and boldest pieces of progressive legislation in the past forty years.” According to advocates, the bill: Creates or saves 3 million to 4 million jobs in the next two years; averts “literally hundreds of thousands of teacher layoffs (doubling funding for the Department of Education); creates 500,000 green jobs and doubles clean energy production and immediately helps the unemployed get affordable health insurance. Underscoring the all-too-often political nature of some critics is their tendency to single out tiny fractions of the bill, such anti-smoking programs (less than one-ten-thousandth of the spending) and make it appear to be the centerpiece of the bill. And so, partisanship does go on. Yet many experts, even John McCain’s economic adviser, estimates that without the stimulus, unemployment would top 11% by 2010, the highest level since the Great Depression-outside of Indian Country that is.

TRIBES GET SOME ATTENTION, GENERALLY SPEAKING

The U.S. House of Representatives approved an $819 billion economic stimulus package along party lines that included nearly $3 billion for Indian Country programs. H.R. 1 will now go to the Senate, where a similar amount has already been approved for inclusion in the stimulus package. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., has announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee had approved $2.8 billion in funding for improvements for Indian health services, education, roads and bridges, water, public safety, and housing. (Included in the appropriation is about $274 million in Bureau of Reclamation tribal water projects; $40 million in Bureau of Indian Affairs irrigation construction and repair; $25 million in BIA dams improvement; and $120 million in Safe Drinking and Clean Water Revolving Funds (the Secretary to fund the tribal set-aside under these revolving funds). Could this be a sign of things to come?

THE OBAMA BUDGET

Unfortunately the new Obama budget will not be submitted as early as promised. Obama’s budget officials say their budget for 2010 won’t be submitted until late March or April.  Rather like President Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, Obama intends to release a broad budget framework in mid-to late- February with his full blown detailed budget to come later.

TROUBLE IN RIVER CITY

Faced with questions over non-payment of back taxes, Thomas Daschle, President Obama’s pick for Health and Human Services, has withdrawn his name from consideration. Daschle’s nomination drew praise from Indian Country leaders who felt he would have a better understanding of the health issues facing tribal governments. As a senator from South Dakota and as someone who had served on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, Daschle had advocated for more health spending in Indian Country. He was with Obama throughout the campaign, and was a strong advocate for acknowledgement of tribal sovereignty.

Daschle wasn’t the first sign of trouble in President Obama’s cabinet appointments. Unfortunately, another proven friend of the tribes, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson had withdrawn from his pending appointment as Commerce Secretary even before the Obama Inauguration, citing the distraction of a federal investigation into ties to a company that has done business with his state. Richardson stated unequivocally that he and his administration had acted properly in all matters, but that he had concluded the investigation would delay the confirmation process. President Obama’s Treasury Secretary nominee Timothy Geithner was approved, but not without a controversial hearing during which he apologized for what he called “careless mistakes” in failing to pay $34,000 in taxes earlier in the decade when he worked at the International Monetary Fund. More recently, the White House accepted the withdrawal of Nancy Killefer’s nomination to be deputy OMB director and the executive branch’s first chief performance officer. When she was nominated, the AP reported that the District of Columbia government had filed a $946.69 tax lien on her home for failure to pay unemployment tax on household help. She paid the lien five months after it was filed. The administration and Killefer had not answered questions about the tax error. There was even controversy over the selection of Larry Echohawk to head BIA, though Senator Daniel K. Inouye, D-HA, himself rose to Echohawk’s defense. “To those who have expressed these doubts, I would suggest that you might consider the personal qualities that a man or woman brings to public service, rather than placing too much emphasis on what he or she has had to do or say in their former official capacities.”

STOCKING THE CABINET

It’s official. President Obama has announced that Republican Sen. Judd Gregg, R-NH is his choice for Commerce secretary. (Food and Water Watch, a fringe environmental organization objected to the choice, calling Gregg a strong supporter of offshore aquaculture which it claims threatens marine ecosystems.) The announcement presumably means Democratic Gov. John Lynch has agreed to nominate a Republican to fill the Senate seat, since Gregg apparently said he wouldn’t take the job if it would give Democrats a filibuster-proof 60th vote in the Senate.

KING COUNTY EXEC TO HUD

King County Executive Ron Sims is going to D.C. to take a job as deputy secretary, No. 2, at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sims is going to Washington, D.C. intending to take a job as deputy secretary, No. 2, at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He needs Senate confirmation. Rumors of his departure have been swirling for months. Sims, a big picture guy, is a passionate booster of mass transit and environmental policies, and has not been shy about supporting many tribal policies. The son of a preacher from Spokane, many have considered him one of the most articulate public officials to serve in the Northwest in recent history.

HOH TRIBE: MOVING TO HIGHER GROUND?

The Hoh Tribe is making a bid to move – not just a few houses but their entire village – to higher ground. If passed as expected, a bill scheduled to be introduced in Congress will award 37 acres of nearby Olympic National Park to the Hoh tribe and allow members to consolidate and place into permanent trusteeship other new lands they have purchased. The move would double the size of the reservation and place its inhabited areas well out of the way of damaging tides, floods and tsunamis.

THE HOUSE NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE-IN REVIEW

So who’s taking charge of natural resource committees in Congress these days. On the House side, the House Committee on Natural Resources is being chaired by Rep. Nick Rahall, D-WV, chairing 49 member committee with quite a few familiar names on it, such as Rep. George Miller from California and Neil Abercrombie from Hawaii. The Washingtonians onboard include a democrat, Jay Inslee, and a republican, Cathy McMorris (Rodgers). Chairman Rahall has expressed delight at the makeup of the new committee, and he’s been keeping them busy. When it came to conducting hearings on offshore drilling, for example, the effort to make up for the shenanigans of yore resulted in a number of all-night commitments and the hearings are just getting started….groups invited to testify so far have been comprised largely of tourism, environmental and fishing groups-no tribes. However, they’re expected to go well into March. In January, Chairman Rahall introduced a joint resolution invoking the Congressional Review Act to overturn the highly controversial gutting of ESA, pushed through by the Bush Administration during its waning days in office.  H.J. Res. 18 seeks to overturn the last-minute action by the Bush Administration to do away with the ESA’s cornerstone Section 7 consultation process, a move that essentially gives federal agencies an unacceptable degree of discretion to decide on their own whether or not to comply with the law. He has also called for the replacement of the current U.S. Commissioner to the International Whaling, amid growing criticisms that holdover political appointees of the Bush Administration were  proposing to dismantle the current worldwide ban on commercial whaling.  To stay connected with committee  live and archived video and audio webcasts, consult:  http://resourcescommittee.house.gov.

On the Senate side, a primary committee of interest to tribes, including natural resource-related issues, is the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, chaired by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D, ND. He, and other such members as Sens. Daniel Inouye, Daniel Akaka, Tim Johnson, Tom Udall and John McCain have all championed various tribal issues through the years. The only Washingtonian on the committee is Sen. Maria Cantwell, a senator whose accolades in Indian Country may have been in somewhat short supply overall, but who does have some related credentials, such as her current fight to keep a year ’round rescue tugboat at Neah Bay.  The Committee, while still getting organized, should proved to be a good focal point for tribal natural resource business, although it will be necessary to assure that treaty harvest rights and protection are fully considered as important environmental issues are considered.  Tribes have history of opposing offshore drilling because they realize the destruction that can be caused by an uncontrolled drilling industry. Thus, it is no doubt good news that the committee will continue its full oversight hearings on the issue well into March. The next hearings will be Feb. 24 and 25, both at 10 a.m., in the committee’s hearing room  1324 Longworth Office Building (witnesses are still TBA). For more information, stay tuned to Federal Update, or check into http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/index.php.

IT DOESN’T HURT TO REVIEW

To view Obama’s pledge on tribal sovereignty, the trust responsibility and other principles in his tribal platform, click here: Preserve Sovereignty and the Trust Responsibility.

PRIORITY BILLS

111^th CONGRESS, FEBRUARY, 200

Bill-Lnk/Brief             Sponsor/Status              Initial Recomm./Description

The election of a new president, the appointment of a new cabinet and the changing face of Congress are all good news to the tribes, and to everyone else who cares about a healthy environment and sustainable economies. But, for FY 2009, the tribes still face a funding crisis that threatens their ability to support their basic fisheries management responsibilities, and thus threatens their treaty and indigenous rights and sovereignty. They are experiencing a serious erosion of their base natural resource management funding, which since 1975 has been included in the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Resources Management, Wildlife & Parks, Rights Protection Implementation account and in the Self-Governance Compacts account.

With the level of base funding now being provided, tribes can no longer effectively manage their treaty protected resources

The base fisheries management funding now being provided to the tribes, adjusted for inflation, is less than it was 30 years ago. Yet their management responsibilities have greatly increased. The initial base contract funding under P.L. 93-638 to implement relevant federal court cases and to protect trust resources was established at a level to cover the minimal responsibilities initially identified by the courts as necessary management functions. Since 1975, the management responsibilities required of the tribes have increased exponentially. Also, tribes have taken on collaborative conservation initiatives working with all governments and citizens in the region to address many difficult resource management problems.

Yet, base funding has stagnated and inflationary costs have eaten away at the buying power of existing funds, so tribes have had to cobble together funding from other sources to meet their basic management responsibilities. These sources are inadequate as they are usually program and project-specific and not sustainable from year to year. The funds have not been built into the base, so tribal programs have been forced to rely on annual funding commitments—an ever difficult task in tough budget times.

THE SOLUTION

The solution is to increase the annual funding amounts provided by BIA through the Resources Management, Wildlife & Parks, Rights Protection Implementation account and the Self-Governance Compacts account to restore buying power to a level commensurate with management responsibilities. This means an annual increase of $12 million for NWIFC and its member tribes and $4.5 million for CRITFC and its member tribes. It also means the amounts now being provided to tribes for reoccurring programs (but not included in the base) should now be included in base line items. Examples are the Washington Timber-Fish-Wildlife, Mass Marking and Salmon and Steelhead Habitat Inventory and Assessment Programs.

HEAL NATURAL RESOURCES, HEAL THE ECONOMY

Northwest fisheries resources are in trouble and it is clear that this hurts the economy. As more species are listed under ESA more businesses fail and more jobs are lost. It’s time to do business differently. The co-management relationship between the tribal, state and federal governments is critical to success in this region. The tribes have recognized the value of working collaboratively with everyone who lives and works here to craft solutions that will strengthen both natural resources and the economy. But without adequate funding support for the tribal management infrastructure this vision can not be realized. “The policies of the Bush Administration have driven the tribes’ ability to continue to be effective co-managers to the brink of collapse. Reinvesting in this infrastructure means more jobs will be created that will allow the tribes to reinvigorate their collaborative efforts, and that will once again help move this region’s natural resources and economy towards recovery. In preparing for his presidency, all the signs are that Barack Obama understands this, and is ready to do something about it. He is listening to tribal requests during his transition, and Northwest tribes have been working through their commissions to present their requests in a united fashion,” said NWIFC Chairman Billy Frank, Jr.

ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT TEAM NAMED

President-Elect Barack Obama has named his Energy and Environment team, saying, “The future of our economy and national security is inextricably linked to one challenge: energy. The team that I have assembled here today is uniquely suited to meet the great challenges of this defining moment. They are leading experts and accomplished managers, and they are ready to reform government and help transform our economy so that our people are more prosperous, our nation is more secure, and our planet is protected.”

Obama’s choice for Interior Secretary will be Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar.
The appointment will round out Obama’s environment and energy team, which includes Dr. Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy; Lisa Jackson, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator; Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality; Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change; and Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change. Obama said he is not the first leader to promise dramatic efforts on climate change and American energy independence, but “this time must be different,” he said. “This is not a challenge for government alone – it is a challenge for all of us. The pursuit of a new energy economy requires a sustained, all-hands-on-deck effort because the foundation of our energy independence is right here, in America.”

The following link provides an ongoing update of Obama appointments, with background information, plans and programs, courtesy of The Seattle Times:

Obama builds a new administration

TRANSITION/TRIBAL REQUESTS

Like Obama, Northwest tribes have been getting the ball rolling for the next administration before it begins. Tribal leaders have conducted meetings with NWIFC & CRITFC staff to develop plans to share regarding natural resource priorities and issues. On November 26, a list of such issues was presented to the Obama transition team. Following is a brief glimpse of those issues.

Tribal Sovereignty/Trust Responsibility: Brief background statements were provided and it was pointed out that the Bush Administration has done nothing to help Northwest tribes recover from cuts in TPA funding, flattening of the base, etc. Actions called for include restoration of the BIA funding base, prompt appointment of good Assistant Secretaries of Indian Affairs and Policy Management and Budget, adoption of policies supporting tribal leadership in salmon management and support for a tribal fish and wildlife act.

Federal/Tribal Infrastructure: Funding cutbacks have been seriously problematic under the Bush Administration, even as tribal fisheries management responsibilities have grown, e.g., Northwest tribes have supported efforts to reform hatcheries for over 30 years, yet capital funding for reform has been limited or non-existent. Funding attrition is crippling salmon restoration efforts. Since 2002, funding for Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery has dropped 40% from $110 million annually to $66.5 million. Bush’s FY 2009 budget recommends a further reduction to $35 million. It also contains about a 25% cut ($3.8 million) in the Mitchell Act hatchery programs, and eliminates other critically needed programs to protect and enhance northwest fisheries. Many federal agencies depend on tribal collaboration to protect treaty resources and restore fish and wildlife. Tribal fishing boats have been docked or sold off because the resource can no longer provide a reliable living. Actions called for by tribes include development of a cross-department budget approach to salmon restoration in collaboration with tribes to increase effectiveness of federal investment and reduce delays; restoration of funding BIA Rights Protection, PCSRF, Mitchell Act and other key salmon programs; full funding of hatchery reform and capital infrastructure needs; funding of harvest management and emergency response programs; and incorporation of budget funding for the Timber, Fish and Wildlife program.

Water: Degraded water quality and quantity in Northwest rivers and streams are among the greatest threats to tribal natural resources. Climate change exacerbates these issues. Protection and restoration of tribes’ water rights continue to be a critical policy priority. The Obama administration is being asked to establish dedicated staff/funding for tribes to continue or begin negotiations for water right settlements; provide direction and leadership in the region to support necessary water quantity and quality needed to properly implement ESA salmon recovery; coordinate water and watershed conservation; fully implement TMDLs for the Columbia River, Puget Sound, and tributaries, and establish water quality standards to protect Indian health.

Climate Change: Natural resources management, climate change and energy independence are linked in the Northwest as we manage hydro power and energy demands to safeguard salmon and other species. A national fish-compatible energy policy should be developed to address climate change. Tribes must be involved in climate change solutions, as governmental partners.

Endangered Species: Under Bush, the ESA Secretarial Order of 1997, intended to harmonize federal treaty duties, trust responsibility and ESA has fallen by the wayside. Tribes are asking Obama to reinstate the terms of that Secretarial Order.

Pacific Salmon Treaty Implementation: The 2008 PST negotiations of trans-boundary, Chinook, coho, and southern chum agreements are completed and the US and Canada are conducting domestic consultation processes on the agreements. The proposed Chinook Agreement requires both countries to secure funding for implementation. State and tribal PSC Commissioners are working to secure additional funds. The Northwest Congressional Delegation is committed to the agreement and has recommended additional funding in the FY 2010 budget for the State and Commerce departments.

PRIORITY BILLS

DECEMBER, 2008

EXECUTIVE POLICY ON LEGISLATION AFFECTING FISHERIES:

Legislation affecting fisheries likely to resurface in the 111^th Congress. Among others, proposals may include these or similar bills:

FY2009 Appropriations (Continuing Resolution is through March 6, 2009)

S.1870 The Clean Water Restoration Act of 2007. This bill, sponsored by Sen. Russell D. Feingold of Wisconsin, would amend the Clean Water Act to, among other things, replace the term “navigable waters” with the term “waters of the United States,” defined to mean all waters subject to the ebb and flow of the tide, the territorial seas and all interstate and intrastate waters and their tributaries, including lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, natural ponds, and all impoundments of the foregoing, to the fullest extent that these waters, or activities affecting them, are subject to the legislative power of Congress under the Constitution.

S.3036 The Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act. This bill, sponsored by Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, would direct EPA to establish a program to decrease emissions of greenhouse gases by, among other things, establishing a federal greenhouse gas registry, for which certain facilities must report information regarding fossil fuels and GHGs produced and consumed; and specified quantities of GHG emission allowances, which must decline for each year 2012 to 2050. Latest Major Action: 7/8/2008 Senate floor actions. Status: Returned to the Calendar.

S.3552 The National Fish Habitat Conservation Act. This bill, sponsored by Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, is intended to treat the causes of fish habitat decline by restoring healthy waterways by leveraging the efforts and funds of Federal Government agencies, state and local governments, conservation groups,fishing industry groups, and businesses and building partnerships aimed at addressing the nation’s biggest fisheries problems and fostering fish habitat conservation efforts , using a bottom-up multi-state approach of habitat improvement. The Act authorizes $75 million annually to be directed toward fish habitat projects supported by regional Fish Habitat Partnerships, based on the North American Wetlands Conservation Act model, and establishing a multi-stakeholder National Fish Habitat Board charged with recommending projects to the Secretary of Interior for funding.

S.3608, The Salmon Stronghold bill. This bill, sponsored by Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, would establish a volunteer Salmon Stronghold Partnership program intended to complement the PCSR Fund in protecting wild Pacific salmon by proactively maintaining rivers (or salmon strongholds) by enhancing federal, tribal, state and local governments, public and land managers, fisheries managers, power authorities and NGO organizations. (In introducing the legislation, Sen. Cantwell said, “It is time to increase funding to recovery efforts, but also focus on prevention. It is time to adopt the kind of comprehensive solution that can solidify wild Pacific salmon’s place in American culture for generations to come.”) Latest Major Action: 9/26/2008. Referred to Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

H.R. 1907 The Coastal and Estuarine Land Protection Act, sponsored by Jim Saxton of New Jersey. This bill would direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a program to protect the environmental integrity of undeveloped coastal and estuarine areas. It would authorize the Secretary to make grants to coastal states with approved coastal zone management plans or National Estuarine Research Reserve units for the purpose of acquiring property that will further the goals of an approved Coastal Zone Management Plan or Program, a National Estuarine Research Reserve management plan, or a regional or state watershed protection plan. It would prohibit any more than 75% of the funding for any project under this Act from being derived from federal sources. It would reserve 15% of program funds for acquisitions benefiting the National Estuarine Research Reserve and authorize the acquisition of land and interests in land from willing sellers to improve the conservation of, and to enhance the ecological values and functions of, coastal and estuarine areas to benefit both the environment and the economies of coastal communities, and for other purposes. Latest Major Action: 10/2/2008 Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar.

H.R. 2421 The Clean Water Restoration Act, sponsored by Rep. James Oberstar of Minnesota, would clarify the original intent of Congress to protect all waters of the United States under the Clean Water Act. Current Status: The House Committee on Oversight and Government. Latest Major Action: 4/16/2008, House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee Hearings Held.

H.R. 5263 The Encouraging Collaborative Restoration of Federal Forests Act, sponsored by Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, would encourage collaborative, science-based ecosystem restoration of priority forest landscapes on federal lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service through a joint Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program. Forest Landscape Restoration Act – Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program to select and fund ecological restoration treatments for priority forest landscapes. It sets forth provisions concerning the eligibility criteria for, and nomination and selection of, collaborative forest landscape restoration proposals for carrying out such treatments. It requires the Secretary to establish a scientific advisory panel to evaluate, and provide recommendations on, any proposal with respect to the strength of the ecological case of the proposal for landscape restoration and the proposed restoration strategies; and whether the proposal is likely to achieve reductions in long-term wildfire management costs. It authorizes the Secretary to establish a technical advisory panel to evaluate, and provide recommendations on any proposal with respect to whether the proposal is likely to reduce the relative costs of carrying out treatments resulting from the use of woody biomass and small-diameter trees and to provide local economic benefit. It establishes the Collaborative Forest Landscape Fund, to be used for paying up to 50% of the cost of carrying out ecological restoration treatments on National Forest System land for each proposal selected. It requires: (1) creation of implementation work plans and budgets to implement proposals; (2) submission of annual reports on the accomplishments of selected proposals; (3) use of a multiparty monitoring, evaluation, and accountability process to assess the ecological, social, and economic effects of projects implementing proposals; and (4) submission of reports every five years on the Program. Latest Major Action: 7/10/2008 House Subcommittee on Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry Hearings Held.

H.R.5451 The Reauthorizing Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, sponsored by Rep. Madeleine Bordallo of Guam, would amend the CZMA to authorize appropriations for grants under provisions relating to administration of a state’s coastal zone management program, resource management improvement, coastal zone enhancement, and national estuarine reserves. It would authorize the use of amounts in the Coastal Zone Management Fund for expenses incidental to the administration of the Act and, beginning in FY2009, the portion of amounts appropriated to carry out provisions relating to administration of a state’s coastal zone management program and resource management improvement to be retained for use in implementing coastal zone enhancement grant provisions. Latest Major Action: 6/4/2008 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by Voice Vote.

H.R.5741/( S.3231), The High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act, sponsored by Rep. Madeleine Bordallo of Guam, would amend the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to improve the conservation of sharks. House Natural Resources; Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Latest Major Action: 7/9/2008 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

[H.R.6186.IH], The Investing in Climate Action and Protection Act, sponsored by Rep Edward Markey of Massachusetts, would among other things direct EPA to establish a program to decrease emissions of greenhouse gases by amending the Clean Air Act and establishing a federal greenhouse gas registry, for which affected entities must report information regarding fossil fuels and the gases produced, consumed, or sequestered (including specific quantities of emission allowances, which must decline for each year 2012 to 2050 and an emission allowance transfer system for specific covered facilities that emit more than 10,000 carbon dioxide equivalents in a year). Latest Major Action: 6/12/2008 Referred to House subcommittee on Energy and Environment.

H.R.6537, The Sanctuary Enhancement Act of 2008, sponsored by Rep. Madeleine Bordallo of Guam, would amend the National Marine Sanctuaries Act to require that the sanctuary system consist of national marine sanctuaries authorized or established by an Act of Congress (in addition to sanctuaries currently designated by the Secretary of Commerce) and marine national monuments. It sets forth the system’s mission and requires the Secretary to prepare, maintain, and update an ecological classification of the nation’s marine environment and an identification of maritime heritage resources as a national inventory of marine eco-regions and maritime heritage resources under U.S. jurisdiction. It also requires the Secretary to strive to include in the system by 2030 sites that will incorporate a full range of the nation’s marine eco-regions and rare and unique marine habitats, and a full range of maritime heritage resource areas. It modifies various requirements regarding the designation and implementation of marine sanctuaries and it expands the list of prohibited activities. Latest Action: 7/24/2008 Hearings Held by the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Oceans.

H.R.6689, The Chinook Nation Restoration Act, sponsored by Rep. Brian Baird of Washington, would restore Federal recognition to the Chinook Nation and makes the Chinook Tribe and its members eligible for all services and benefits provided by the government to federally recognized tribes regardless of the existence of a reservation or the location of residence of any member on or near any Indian reservation. Provides that, for purposes of the delivery of federal services to enrolled members, the Tribe’s service area shall consist of specified counties in Washington and Oregon. Latest Major Action: 7/31/2008 Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources.

[S.2301.IS ] The Native American Fish and Wildlife Management Act, solely sponsored by Sen. Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii (introduced 4/7/2004) was intended to improve the management of Indian fish and wildlife and gathering resources. Among numerous other things, it would have required the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Tribal Fish and Wildlife Resource Management Program and the Alaska Native Fish and Wildlife Resource Management Program to conduct specified activities in support of the tribal administration of resources. It would have directed the Secretary, upon the request of an Indian tribal government, to conduct a survey of the reservation or traditional use area of that tribal government to assess actual needs regarding management of fish and wildlife resources and the development of Fish and Wildlife Resource Management Plans by Indian tribal governments and Alaska Native fish and wildlife organizations (or alternatively, by the Secretary) and for plans to cooperatively govern the management and administration of tribal or Indian fish and wildlife resources by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the tribal government. It would have required the Secretaries of the Interior, Commerce, and Agriculture to review the management of resources in regional resource management and traditional use areas and called for augmentation of resources to meet needs as appropriate. Latest Major Action: 7/21/2004 Senate committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee on Indian Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.

Notes: The bills described above are those which have been discussed to date in tribal leadership transition meetings, and are by no means the only bills of concern that may (or may not) be considered in the next Congress. The needed action is for both the Congress and the new Administration to consult with tribes in developing positions on legislative and policy proposals. Priority bills will continue to be highlighted in Federal Update. For more information online, please consult www.thomas.loc.gov or contact Steve Robinson at srobinson@nwifc.org or (360) 528-4347.

House subcommittees have approved appropriations bills that would provide $27.9 billion in discretionary funding. That would top the current level by 4.9 percent increase, or $1.3 billion and Bush’s request by 8.2 percent, or $2.1 billion. The full committee is set to take up the bill on June 18. Programs that benefit tribes would receive the “single largest increase” in the bill, according to Congressman Norm Dicks, chairman of the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies subcommittee. Among other increases, the Dicks bill would allocate $2.4 billion to the BIA, an increase of 5.2 percent. It would also provide: $7.8 billion for EPA, a 5 percent increase over FY 2008; $850 million for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (pays for improvements at sewage treatment plants), a 23.4 percent increase; $2.6 billion for the Forest Service, not including firefighting programs, a 4.3 percent increase; $3 billion for fire accounts at the Forest Service and Interior. House Republicans expressed reservations about moving ahead on this year’s appropriations process before finishing the fiscal 2008 war supplemental. They also used the opportunity to debate the rising costs of gas and oil, saying their votes are all going to be energy-related this year. The panel rejected an amendment to allow exploration between 50 and 200 miles off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and in the Gulf of Mexico. There likely will be more energy amendments at the full committee markup, scheduled for June 18. Outside of the drilling debate, Republicans agreed with Democrats on the need to spend more than Bush has requested. Ranking Member Todd Tiahrt, R-KS, said he was grateful to Dicks for the attention paid to the critical needs of Indian Country.

WAR FUNDING

This past month, the U.S. House voted to cut off Iraq war funding, calling on a strict timeline to end the war and covering a few other issues. Then the bill got to the Senate, where there was a strong vote for blank-check war funding. But, in the end, the Senate stripped out all the readiness restrictions and timelines and voted to continue funding a war without end. There are efforts to get these measures restored. If that doesn’t happen, war funding may again be a major hurdle standing in the way of more adequate funding for discretionary domestic spending. The House will have to take up this bill when representatives get back from Memorial Day recess.

BIA SEARCH GOES ON…..MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE AGENCY

With just eight months left in the Bush administration, the Interior Department continues to search for a new leader of the BIA. But in the meantime, Deputy Secretary P. Lynn Scarlett, the second-in-command at Interior, assigned the duties of the assistant secretary for Indian Affairs to a longtime employee. George Skibine, a member of the Osage Nation of Oklahoma, who took over the post when former BIA head Carl Artman left office. The move means Skibine holds yet another title at the BIA. In addition to his normal job as head of the Office of Indian Gaming Management, he has been acting as the agency’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Economic Development since 2004. For several months during the Bush administration, Skibine even served as acting principal deputy assistant secretary, the second-highest post at the BIA. The never-ending changes — which at one point left the BIA without a leader for more than two years – has continued to disappoint Sen. Byron Dorgan, S-ND, chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. "Mr. Artman was the third assistant secretary under this administration and the third to resign. And for two years during this administration, there was no assistant secretary. Now I wonder how long it will take to get another assistant secretary. I think this is undermining the interests of Indian tribes across this country and I’m very upset about it."

JUDGE GIVES INTERIOR APPROVAL TO GET BACK ONLINE

More than six years after being knocked offline as part of the contentious Indian trust fund lawsuit, the Interior Department has been given approval to reconnect all of its systems to the Internet. Judge Royce Lamberth, who has been removed from the case, ordered the disconnect in December 2001. A court investigator found that billions of dollars in Indian trust funds were at risk to computer hacking. Since then, most of Interior’s agencies, offices and bureaus were given permission to get back online after they demonstrated their systems were secure. But there were some key holdouts — namely the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Office of Special Trustee, the two agencies that deal most with Indian Country. Judge James Robertson, who inherited the case in December 2006, was initially reluctant to order the systems back online. As he considered the Bush administration’s request to reconnect, he was concerned that Interior hadn’t shown that the BIA, OST and the remaining entities were secure. He denied the motion most recently in May of last year. But he now says it was "clear" that a ruling from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals limited judicial oversight of information technology matters. Concluding that it wasn’t his role to "weigh IT security risks" at the department, he now says sworn declarations submitted by government officials indicate Interior has complied with federal law.

FARM BILL PERSPECTIVES

The 2008 Farm Bill conference report has been passed by significant majority. The conference report authorizes nearly $300 billion worth of USDA programs over the next 5 years. After nearly two years of work on the bill, it will likely become law despite an expected veto by Bush. He disagrees with the overall cost of the bill and the methods of crop payments, arguing that too much money is spent on farm subsidies for rich farmers. The conference negotiators lowered the income ceiling at which payments cease, but not to the $200k level Bush wanted. Nevertheless, both chambers strongly supported the bill, and voted accordingly. House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson, D-MN, hopes the bill will become law by the end of the month. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, R-AR, has blasted both parties in Congress for showing "incredible disregard for the public treasury and for the public interest" by voting for the farm bill. McCain says he would veto the bill if he were president, even though lawmakers have votes to overturn that action. As president, he said, "I will seek an end to all agricultural tariffs, and to all farm subsidies that are not based on clear need. I will veto any bill containing special-interest favors and corporate welfare in any form."

On the other hand, Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota and chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs touts Indian provisions in the farm bill. He says Indian Country will benefit from provisions in the farm bill recently passed by the Senate. Dorgan said his committee worked on several of these provisions in H.R.2419. Among others, he says it will help tribes improve and expand their conservation efforts. Tribes have been included as eligible entities or partners and tribal lands are given special status in the Wetlands Reserve Program, the Wetlands Reserve Enhancement and Reserved Rights Pilot Program, the new Conservation Stewardship Program, Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), and the Agricultural Water Enhancement Program.

Dorgan also says the bill addresses dietary problems in Indian Country by promoting food assistance programs that purchase traditional and locally-grown foods, such as bison meat (“The Secretary is authorized to purchase bison meat for the distribution program and, where practicable, purchase at least 50 percent of the distributed food from traditional and locally-grown foods produced by Native producers”). The Senate version of the bill expands tribal access and use of national forest lands and products for cultural and burial purposes. It also reauthorizes tribally-controlled c
olleges and universities and expands extension services at these institutions. It helps tribes reduce fractionated farmland for individual tribal farmers, and authorizes the Secretary to make and insure loans to eligible purchasers to purchase unencumbered fractionated, non-trust land.

STATE DOE CHALLENGES FERC

The Washington Department of Ecology has filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to protect the state’s role in federal licensing procedures for energy projects. The petition asks the court to clarify federal law regarding a recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) decision. In December, FERC sidestepped the established licensing procedure by granting a conditioned license to Finavera Renewables, superseding decisions from other federal and state agencies with authority in the federal licensing process. Finavera proposes a wave energy project at Makah Bay off the Washington coast. FERC denied Ecology’s initial appeal of the Finavera conditioned license in March. Ecology argues that federal law does not allow FERC to offer a conditioned license in advance of obtaining input and consideration from the other agencies with a regulatory role in the licensing process. Today’s petition would permit the federal court to determine if FERC’s action is consistent with federal law. Ecology requests the court confirm the existing requirements of federal law by declaring that FERC does not have authority to issue conditioned licenses.

Ecology claims responsibility under the federal Clean Water Act and Coastal Zone Management Act to authorize that project proposals can be undertaken without harming water quality or sensitive shoreline areas. The agency reviews applications and can write conditions into the approvals to ensure any potential impacts are avoided or minimized. Historically, agencies with responsibility for protecting water quality, shorelines, fish and other environmental resources review and decide upon applications before FERC issues a final license. That did not happen in this instance.

S 2191, THE LIEBERMAN-WARNER BILL

Climate Change is now being referred to by many as perhaps the most pressing environmental issue of our time, affecting all regions, nations and tribes in current and future generations. To date, federal legislation related to climate change has failed to address tribal interests and concerns, even though the impact of climate change on tribes is and will likely be more severe than to other governments and people due to their location and their direct dependency on natural resources to sustain their health, culture and economies. The Lieberman-Warner bill, or the National Climate Security Act was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar on May 20. It appears that it’s too late to expect passage this year. However, there are substantial efforts already being applied by bill sponsors, tribes across the nation and environmental organizations to pass it next year. Essentially, the bill as written requires EPA to establish a greenhouse gas registry, and an emission allowance transfer system for facilities that import petroleum or coal-based transportation fuel or chemicals. It sets emission allowances for 2012-2050, with a declining cap on allowable greenhouse gases.

The U.S. Climate Action Partnership formed last year didn’t take a position on the bill, although nine of its members – including General Electric, Alcoa and four star utility companies – signed a letter to senators backing the legislation. The letter, also signed by big environmental groups, says: "Prompt action on climate change is essential to protect America’s economy, security, quality of life and natural environment." But other members of the coalition known as U.S. Cap, most visibly Duke Energy, a coal-burning utility, are strongly opposed. They point to the fact that it’s going to translate into significant electricity price increases. President Bush remains opposed to any meaningful climate change legislation, of course, and House Democrats have been slow to act. Add to that a backdrop of rising gasoline prices and a sluggish economy, and it’s easy to conclude that things will have to change before the legislation will stand much of a chance. As for corporate support, it is significant that a key purpose of the bill is to put a price on the emissions of greenhouse gases, as a way to speed the transition to a clean-energy economy and slow down global warming.

Tribal set aside provisions that were proposed do constitute a promising work in progress. The two tribal set-aside provisions that Senators Lieberman and Warner had written into S 2191 would provide direct tribal access to resources provided without requiring “treatment-as-a-state” status. The bill would have enhanced the direct relationship of tribes to the federal government on climate change-related issues. These issues played strongly in climate change sessions held at the recent NCAI Mid-year Session in Reno.

Federal Priority Bills List for June, 2008

Bills seeing recent action, along with brief descriptions, dates of action and status Please address thoughts and/or questions to Steve Robinson at srobinson@nwifc.org (360 528-4347).

S.1578.RS Title: A bill to amend the Non-indigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 to establish vessel ballast water management requirements, etc. Sponsor: Sen Inouye, Daniel K., D-HA (introduced 6/7/2007) Cosponsors (1) Latest Major Action: 3/3/2008 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 589.

S.1620 Title: A bill to provide the Coast Guard and NOAA with additional authorities under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, to strengthen the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, etc. Sponsor: Sen Cantwell, Maria, D-WA (introduced 6/14/2007)  Cosponsors (1) Latest Major Action: 6/14/2007 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

H.R.1769 Title: To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to reduce predation on endangered Columbia River salmon, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Baird, Brian, D-WA (introduced 3/29/2007) Cosponsors (5) Latest Major Action: 8/2/2007 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Subcommittee Hearings Held.

H.R. 1771 (Baldwin): To assist in the conservation of cranes by supporting and providing, through projects of persons and organizations with expertise in crane conservation, financial resources for the conservation programs of countries the activities of which directly or indirectly affect cranes and the ecosystems of cranes. “Crane Conservation Act of 2007” Latest Major Action: 5/22/2008 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Ordered to be reported (Amended) to the Environment and Public Works Committee.

S.1892.RS A bill to reauthorize the Coast Guard for fiscal year 2008. Sponsor: Sen Cantwell, Maria, D-WA (introduced 7/26/2007) Cosponsors (5) Committees: Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Senate Reports: 110-261 Latest Major Action: 2/5/2008 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 568.

S.2284 Title: An original bill to amend the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, to restore the financial solvency of the flood insurance fund, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Sen Dodd, Christopher J. [CT] (introduced 11/1/2007) Cosponsors (None) Related Bills: H.R.3121
Latest Major Action: 5/13/2008- Returned to Senate Calendar.

H.R.2400 : To direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish an integrated Federal ocean and coastal mapping plan for the Great Lakes and coastal state waters, the territorial sea, the exclusive economic zone, and the Continental Shelf of the United States, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [GU] (introduced 5/21/2007)      Cosponsors (5) Committees: House Natural Resources; House Science and Technology; Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Latest Major Action: 7/24/2007 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

H.R. 2419

Title: To provide for the ntinuation of agricultural programs through fiscal year 2012 purposes. Sponsor: Rep Peterson, Collin C. [MN-7] Cosponsors: None. Related Bills: H.RES.574, H.RES.1189, H.R.5957, H.R.6124, S.163, S.2302
Latest Major Action: Became Public Law No: 110-234 [GPO: Text, PDF]
House Reports: 110-256 Part 1; Latest Conference Report: 110-627 (in Congressional Record H3409-3700) Note: The House and Senate passed H.R. 2419 over veto, enacting 14 of 15 farm bill titles into law. On 5/22/2008 the House passed H.R. 6124, a new bill containing 15 farm bill titles.

S.2670 Title: A bill to amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to ensure adequate funding for conservation and restoration of wildlife, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Sen Johnson, Tim, D-SD (introduced /27/2008) Cosponsors (1) Latest Major Action: 2/27/2008 Referred to Senate Committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment

S.2739 (Sen. Bingaman) – Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008.

Title: Related Bills: S.2179, S.2180, S.2483, S.2616 Latest Major Action: 5/1/2008 Presented to President. Makes amendments to various public laws, including the National Trails System Act, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1998, the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996, the Oregon Resource Conservation Act of 1996, the Reclamation and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Steel and Aluminum Energy Conservation and Technology Competitiveness Act of 1988, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the Compacts of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003. Status: This bill became Public Law No: 110-229.

H.R.2830, the Coast Guard Authorization bill. This legislation provides for a study of “regional response vessel and salvage capability for Olympic Peninsula Coast, Washington.”  It also contains a provision prohibiting the discharge of ballast water in national marine sanctuaries.

Title: To authorize appropriations for the Coast Guard for fiscal year 2008, to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act and title 18, United States Code, to combat the crime of alien smuggling and related activities, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Oberstar, James L. [MN-8] (introduced 6/22/2007)      Cosponsors (2) Related Bills: H.RES.1126, H.R.2399, S.1892
Latest Major Action: 4/28/2008 Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar.

H.AMDT.969 to H.R.2857 Amendment to add an Energy Conservation Corps, which would seek to address the nation’s energy and transportation infrastructure needs while providing work and service opportunities. Sponsor: Rep Inslee, Jay . D-WA, (introduced 3/6/2008)
Latest Major Action: 3/6/2008 House amendment agreed to. Status

H.R.3891 Title: To amend the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act to increase the number of Directors on the Board of Directors of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Sponsor: Rep Brown, Henry E., Jr. [SC-1] (introduced 10/18/2007) Cosponsors (1) Latest Major Action: 5/21/08, Passed Committee on Environment and Public Works.

H.R. 3981 Title: To authorize the Preserve America Program and Save America’s Treasures Program, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Miller, Brad [NC-13] (introduced 10/29/2007) Cosponsors (56) Related Bills: S.2262 Latest Major Action: 4/24/2008 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Subcommittee Hearings Held. Among other things, this bill would establishes the Preserve America Program, under which the Secretary of the Interior, in partnership with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, shall provide competitive grants to specified entities to support preservation efforts through heritage tourism, education, and historic preservation planning activities. It sets forth provisions regarding the designation of communities, tribal areas, and neighborhoods as Preserve America Communities.

H.R.5171 (S.240 ) Title: To reauthorize and amend the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992. Sponsor: Rep Costa, Jim [CA-20] (introduced 1/29/2008) Cosponsors (6) Latest Major Action: 2/15/2008- Placed on Legislative Calendar.

H.R.5451 : To reauthorize the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [GU] (introduced 2/14/2008) Cosponsors (14) Committees: House Natural Resources Latest Major Action: 6/4/2008- Passed by Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife & Oceans to Committee on Natural Resources.

H.R.5469 Title: To provide grants for the revitalization of waterfront brownfields. Sponsor: Rep Slaughter, Louise McIntosh [NY-28] (introduced 2/14/2008)  Cosponsors (20) Latest Major Action: 2/15/2008 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.

H.R.5608 Title: Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments Act. Sponsor: Rep Rahall, Nick J., II [WV-3] (introduced 3/13/2008)      Cosponsors (1) . Latest Major Action: 4/9/2008- Hearing held by the House Committee on Natural Resources. To establish regular and meaningful consultation and collaboration with tribal officials in the development of Federal policies that have tribal implications, to strengthen the United States government-to-government relationships with Indian tribes, and to reduce the imposition of unfunded mandates upon Indian tribes.

H.R.5618 : To reauthorize and amend the National Sea Grant College Program Act, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [GU] (introduced 3/13/2008)    Cosponsors (10) Committees: House Natural Resources Latest Major Action: 5/21/08- Heard by Subcommittee on Energy & Environment.

H.R.5741 : To amend the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to improve the conservation of sharks. Sponsor: Rep Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [GU] (introduced 4/9/2008)      Cosponsors (9) Committees: House Natural Resources. Latest Major Action: 6/4/2008- Passed Subcommittee by Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife & Oceans to Committee on Natural Resources.

The blame game is raging between Bush and Congress as various budget deadlines are essentially ignored. Bush and Congress are accusing each other regularly of failing to listen to proposals and fixes for everything from failing to respond adequately to the energy crisis to the slumping economy. There’s a cut of about $1.8 in the Pacific Salmon Treaty appropriation, similar to last year, and the budget still fails to include Timber-Fish-Wildlife/Forests and Fish funding.

House/Senate budget talks continue and budget leaders hope to reach agreement on a fiscal 2009 budget resolution soon. There are no consequences for having failed to meet the April 15 deadline. But most everyone would rather avoid having to resort to a “deeming resolution” to set a limit — something the two chambers have done in the past when Congress was unable to agree on a final budget. Under the Budget Act, the House may consider spending bills on the floor starting May 15, even if a final budget hasn’t been adopted. If lawmakers do not reach a budget agreement and must “deem” discretionary spending limits for the year, don’t be surprised if each chamber handles it differently. Under the 1974 Budget Act, the annual budget resolution sets an overall level of discretionary appropriations for the year which appropriators then split up among the 12 individual bills. These allocations help facilitate the appropriations process by creating limits on discretionary spending that can be enforced on the House and Senate floors through budget points of order. In the absence of a final budget, lawmakers use deeming resolutions to create those budget enforcement parameters. In the past, the House has preferred to deem its entire budget resolution, while the Senate has focused mostly on setting a discretionary spending limit.

ARTMAN RESIGNS, SENATOR DORGAN DISAPPOINTED

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-ND, the chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, says he’s disappointed by the recent resignation of Interior Assistant Secretary Carl Artman. Dorgan helped push Artman's nomination through the Senate. But after a little over a year on the job, Artman says he will be leaving his post as head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs on May 23. "The position was vacant for two years, now it's filled for one year. Now it's going to be vacant again," Dorgan said at a hearing on energy development in Indian Country. "The BIA is not a well-run organization in any event. I had high hopes that Mr. Artman would come in and be very helpful … but this is a huge disappointment." Artman, a member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, has not given a reason for leaving. Prior to being nominated for the assistant secretary post, Artman served as associate solicitor for Indian Affairs at Interior.

The next in line for the post, at least in an acting capacity, would appear to be Majel Russell, a member of the Crow Tribe of Montana who serves as the principal deputy assistant secretary at the BIA. But she has not kept a permanent office in Washington, D.C., preferring instead to travel back and forth from Montana. So it’s possible that Jim Cason, associate deputy secretary at Interior, could get the nod. He was delegated all of the duties of the assistant secretary after the resignation of entrepreneur Dave Anderson, a member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Ojibwe Indians from Wisconsin, in February 2005.

LIEBERMAN-WARNER GLOBAL WARMING ACT

In mid October, Senators Joseph Lieberman, I-CT, and John Warner, R-VA, introduced America’s Climate Security Act of 2007, S 2191. After years of ignoring global warming, the U.S. Senate seemed to finally be considering legislation to cap greenhouse gas pollution. However, national environmental organizations quickly tagged the bill as “Pork for Polluters.” Friends of the Earth says the bill lavishes up to $1 trillion on industries responsible for global warming in the first place, and in return asks for reduction targets well below what scientists say are necessary. FOE says that although some positive changes have been made since the introduction of the bill, it continues to give up to a trillion dollars to the fossil fuel industry. Other entities have said the bill is better than nothing, which is what the federal lawmakers have delivered so far.

The bill creates a regulatory system that caps the amount of global warming emissions covered entities can emit. The cap is gradually reduced over a period of time leading into 2050. Under a cap, emitters must obtain permits, or allowances, from the federal government that are equal to their global warming emissions. The total amount of pollution allowances available to polluters is equal to the total amount of global warming emissions permitted under the cap. Any unused permits may be traded, or sold, to entities requiring more permits. One natural effect of limiting the supply of emission rights through permits, according to FOE, is that it turns them into a vehicle for buying and selling the right to pollute. With current United States global warming emissions totaling more than 7.3 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases annually, the total economic value of these permits could be tremendous.

A recent survey of economic literature by the Congressional Budget Office suggests that global warming emissions permits could be worth between $5 to $65 per metric ton. FOE uses estimates calculated by Duke University, which indicates that by 2050, the price of one of these permits will increase from $18 to $100 per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas emissions. The Lieberman-Warner bill caps global warming emissions from about 86 percent of the economy, potentially reaching a reduction target of emission to 60 to 65 percent of U.S. emissions below current levels. A cap initially set at this emissions level would create permits worth over $5 trillion throughout the program’s lifetime, using the average value per ton of carbon, as identified by EPA and Duke University.

DEVELOP IN HIGH RISK ZONES?

The full U.S. Senate has considered legislation, S.2284, that would offer subsidies for development in the very environmentally-sensitive areas that face the most dramatic impacts from global warming. Debate centered on the Flood Insurance and Modernization Act of was at least temporarily halted on May 2 when a motion to consider the bill, sponsored by Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-CT. This legislation would clearly have a significant impact on how development decisions are made in coastal areas and natural floodplains, and that would have a significant impact on fish and wildlife. It’s anticipated that these areas will feel the worst impacts of global warming with sea level rise, intensified hurricanes, and increased flooding. Several controversial amendments were debated, including schemes that would: 1) Subsidize insurance in high risk and environmentally sensitive areas; 2) Waive requirements for participation in the flood insurance program for people living behind unsafe Army Corps of Engineer’s levees, etc., and 3) Add wind damage insurance that provides incentives to build in catastrophe prone and environmentally sensitive zones. The original bill was intended to amend the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, to restore financial solvency.

The concept of subsidizing construction in areas such as New Orleans post Hurricane Katrina and, for that matter, along the Chehalis River in the aftermath of the December floods, is worrisome. Obviously, displaced homeowners need help; however, rebuilding in the same areas demonstrates a lack of regard for their safety in the future, as well as the health of watersheds and the fish and wildlife they sustain. The fact is that it is important to discourage development in high-risk areas to avoid such impacts as sea level rise, intensified storms, increased floo
ding, etc. Actions in Congress (as well as the state legislature) do not indicate that much has been learned from the horrific experiences of intensified storms which scientists say are linked to climate change.

PATHWAYS UPDATE

For the past 3 state legislative sessions, seed money has been granted to support the Tribal Water “Pathways” Project, which is a tribal initiative to explore alternatives to water adjudication. Working with the US Institute on Environmental Conflict Resolution and the Department of Ecology, the funding has been used to facilitate related planning processes, work with the state Department of Ecology and clear the path for supportive federal legislation. The three pilot tribes include Tulalip, Quinault and Jamestown-S’Klallam.

The Clark Group, a DC-based facilitator supporting tribal water interests in Washington D.C. via a contract with the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission funded with the Pathways state seed money, has advised the coordination team to secure congressional introduction of a related bill by this summer. This schedule would boost the chances of securing a committee hearing later this year or early in 2009. Being introduced in the 110th Congress and achieving a committee hearing by the first quarter of 2009 could boost the possibility of passing legislation during the 2009-2010 congressional session. The Pathways project, which has been supported by NWIFC Commissioners, could help keep a foot in the door in cooperative water management as the resource dwindles due to overuse by out-of-stream interests. Strictly a volunteer process for participants, Pathway’s flexible NEPA-like approach must gain support of all participants for any water management agreements developed, and would have the force of law upon being adopted.

WILD SKY WILDERNESS BILL PASSES CONGRESS

After a very long wait, and a yeoman effort, Sen. Patty Murray, D-WA, and Rep. Rick Larsen, D-WA have seen Washington's Wild Sky Wilderness Area become reality through H.R.886. Sen. Murray’s count of the days since the effort began reached 3,405. The 106,000-acre wilderness is in the front range of the Cascades, north of the U.S. 2 Stevens Pass highway. It reaches from the north fork of the Skykomish River, a few hundred feet above sea level, to the 6,200-foot summits of Mounts Merchant and Gunn above Index.

Wild Sky sets precedents for protection. The 1984 Washington Wilderness bill omitted lowland virgin forests in such places as the west fork of Cady Creek. The Henry M. Jackson Wilderness Area protected peaks above Monte Cristo, the Columbia Glacier and alpine meadows and along the Cascade Crest. But its boundaries featured big dents for big trees. Wild Sky fills in those dents. The goal was to achieve a wilderness where salmon spawn and families can wander through the ancient forest. The debate over Wild Sky featured none of the past wilderness battles during which, for instance, lines of logging trucks showed up in Wenatchee to oppose the then-proposed Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area. "We not only passed a wilderness bill, we created a new model of how to create a wilderness bill," Larsen said.

An original proposal for 132,000 acres of wilderness was cut to 106,000 acres. Land used by snowmobiles was deleted from the bill. Yet, a powerful opponent did appear — Congress. Twice, the Senate gave unanimous approval to Wild Sky, only to see the legislation blocked by former House Resources Committee Chair Richard Pombo who proposed a "compromise" to excise low valleys and big trees. Murray and Larsen didn’t buy it. When Pombo was defeated for re-election in 2006, the House promptly passed Wild Sky. But the bill ran into another foe, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-OK, who put a hold on it. After months of delay, Murray succeeded in dislodging it.

INTERFERING WITH THE SCIENTISTS

More than 800 U.S. EPA scientists reported some form of political interference in their work in the last five years, according to a survey of EPA staff by the Union of Concerned Scientists. UCS sent out some 5,500 questionnaires to EPA scientists and received some 1,580 responses. More than half the respondents asserted they had experienced political meddling of one kind or another in their work. Those most likely to report interference worked in offices involved in writing regulations or conducting risk assessments. Industry groups and the White House Office of Management and Budget were cited repeatedly by the EPA scientists as sources of pressure. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-CA, chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent a letter to EPA Director Stephen Johnson recently warning of a hearing on the UCS survey results next month. "These survey results suggest a pattern of ignoring and manipulating science in EPA's decision making," Waxman wrote.

REVERSING PROTECTIONS AGAINST DIRTY FUELS?

The 2007 energy bill includes a provision that prevents federal agencies from contracting to purchase liquid coal and other "dirty fuels," such as tar sands and oil shale, that produce more global warming pollution than conventional gasoline. But now dirty fuel supporters in Congress have introduced legislation that would repeal this provision that will help fight global warming, and energy companies are poised to market dirty fuels to the government at the first opportunity. The Air Force, for instance, is already pushing for a new liquid coal plant on its Malmstrom base in Montana. Liquid coal produces twice the global warming pollution of conventional gasoline. Relying on liquid coal fuel also would increase the harmful effects of coal mining, which means more mining in the Rockies and more mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia. Investing in liquid coal is also financially unsound: while even under the most optimistic scenarios liquid coal could replace no more than 10 percent of our oil use, these plants would cost over four billion dollars each to build. It may be timely to encourage members of Congress to oppose legislation such as HR 5656 or any other legislation intended to repeal the dirty fuels provision of Section 526 of the 2007 energy bill.

FARM BILL, H.R.2419: To Veto or Not to Veto, That is the Question

Farm bill negotiators have released conference details of the Farm Bill they plan to bring to the House and Senate and urged President Bush to change his mind about vetoing it. Most funding would go for domestic and internal food assistance. The bill does address two key Bush requirements: Stay within a negotiated $10 billion increase over the baseline and use an extension of customs user fees as an offset, thus avoiding a tax increase. Among other items, the bill sets a $1 million cap on the adjusted gross income of conservation payment recipients. Bush wants stricter caps on commodity payments, but has not proposed a stricter cap on the incomes of conservation payments recipients. The bill will likely top $300 billion over 5 years. Bush faces a tough fight to sustain his veto, with key senators campaigning to convince him to change his mind.

Federal Priority Bills List for May, 2008

Bills seeing recent action, along with brief descriptions, dates of action and status Please address thoughts and/or questions to Steve Robinson at srobinson@nwifc.org (360 528-4347).

S.1578.RS Title: A bill to amend the Non-indigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 to establish vessel ballast water management requirements, etc. Sponsor: Sen Inouye,
Daniel K., D-HA (introduced 6/7/2007) Cosponsors (1) Latest Major Action: 3/3/2008 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 589.

S.1620 Title: A bill to provide the Coast Guard and NOAA with additional authorities under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, to strengthen the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, etc. Sponsor: Sen Cantwell, Maria, D-WA (introduced 6/14/2007) Cosponsors (1) Latest Major Action: 6/14/2007 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

H.R.1769 Title: To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to reduce predation on endangered Columbia River salmon, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Baird, Brian, D-WA (introduced 3/29/2007) Cosponsors (5) Latest Major Action: 8/2/2007 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Subcommittee Hearings Held.

H.R. 1771 (Baldwin): To assist in the conservation of cranes by supporting and providing, through projects of persons and organizations with expertise in crane conservation, financial resources for the conservation programs of countries the activities of which directly or indirectly affect cranes and the ecosystems of cranes. “Crane Conservation Act of 2007“ Latest Major Action: 4/30/2008 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by Unanimous Consent.

S.1892.RS A bill to reauthorize the Coast Guard for fiscal year 2008. Sponsor: Sen Cantwell, Maria, D-WA (introduced 7/26/2007) Cosponsors (5) Committees: Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Senate Reports: 110-261 Latest Major Action: 2/5/2008 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 568.

S.2284 Title: An original bill to amend the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, to restore the financial solvency of the flood insurance fund, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Sen Dodd, Christopher J. [CT] (introduced 11/1/2007) Cosponsors (None) Related Bills: H.R.3121
Latest Major Action: 5/7/2008 Senate floor actions. Status: Measure laid before Senate by motion. Senate Reports: 110-214.

H.R.2400 : To direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish an integrated Federal ocean and coastal mapping plan for the Great Lakes and coastal state waters, the territorial sea, the exclusive economic zone, and the Continental Shelf of the United States, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [GU] (introduced 5/21/2007) Cosponsors (5) Committees: House Natural Resources; House Science and Technology; Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Latest Major Action: 7/24/2007 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

S.2670 Title: A bill to amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to ensure adequate funding for conservation and restoration of wildlife, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Sen Johnson, Tim, D-SD (introduced /27/2008) Cosponsors (1) Latest Major Action: 2/27/2008 Referred to Senate Committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment

S.2739 (Sen. Bingaman) – Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008.

Title: Related Bills: S.2179, S.2180, S.2483, S.2616 Latest Major Action: 5/1/2008 Presented to President. Makes amendments to various public laws, including the National Trails System Act, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1998, the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996, the Oregon Resource Conservation Act of 1996, the Reclamation and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Steel and Aluminum Energy Conservation and Technology Competitiveness Act of 1988, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the Compacts of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003.

H.R.2830, the Coast Guard Authorization bill. This legislation provides for a study of “regional response vessel and salvage capability for Olympic Peninsula Coast, Washington.” It also contains a provision prohibiting the discharge of ballast water in national marine sanctuaries.

Title: To authorize appropriations for the Coast Guard for fiscal year 2008, to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act and title 18, United States Code, to combat the crime of
alien smuggling and related activities, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Oberstar, James L. [MN-8] (introduced 6/22/2007) Cosponsors (2) Related Bills: H.RES.1126, H.R.2399, S.1892
Latest Major Action: 4/28/2008 Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar.

H.AMDT.969 to H.R.2857 Amendment to add an Energy Conservation Corps, which would seek to address the nation's energy and transportation infrastructure needs while providing work and service opportunities. Sponsor: Rep Inslee, Jay . D-WA, (introduced 3/6/2008)
Latest Major Action: 3/6/2008 House amendment agreed to. Status

H.R.3891 Title: To amend the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act to increase the number of Directors on the Board of Directors of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Sponsor: Rep Brown, Henry E., Jr. [SC-1] (introduced 10/18/2007) Cosponsors (1) Latest Major Action: 4/1/2008. To Committee on Environment and Public Works.

H.R. 3981 Title: To authorize the Preserve America Program and Save America's Treasures Program, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Miller, Brad [NC-13] (introduced 10/29/2007) Cosponsors (56) Related Bills: S.2262 Latest Major Action: 4/24/2008 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Subcommittee Hearings Held. Among other things, this bill would establishes the Preserve America Program, under which the Secretary of the Interior, in partnership with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, shall provide competitive grants to specified entities to support preservation efforts through heritage tourism, education, and historic preservation planning activities. It sets forth provisions regarding the designation of communities, tribal areas, and neighborhoods as Preserve America Communities.

H.R.5171 (S.240 ) Title: To reauthorize and amend the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992. Sponsor: Rep Costa, Jim [CA-20] (introduced 1/29/2008) Cosponsors (6) Latest Major Action: 2/1/2008 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.

H.R.5451 : To reauthorize the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [GU] (introduced 2/14/2008) Cosponsors (14) Committees: House Natural Resources Latest Major Action: 2/28/2008 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Subcommittee Hearings Held.

H.R.5469 Title: To provide grants for the revitalization of waterfront brownfields. Sponsor: Rep Slaughter, Louise McIntosh [NY-28] (introduced 2/14/2008) Cosponsors (20) Latest Major Action: 2/15/2008 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.

H.R.5608 Title: Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments Act. Sponsor: Rep Rahall, Nick J., II[WV-3] (introduced 3/13/2008) Cosponsors (1) . Latest Major Action: 4/9/2008- Hearing held by the House Committee on Natural Resources. To establish regular and meaningful consultation and collaboration with tribal officials in the development of Federal policies that have tribal implications, to strengthen the United States government-to-government relationships with Indian tribes, and to reduce the imposition of unfunded mandates upon Indian tribes.

H.R.5618 : To reauthorize and amend the National Sea Grant College Program Act, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [GU] (introduced 3/13/2008) Cosponsors (10) Committees: House Natural Resources Latest Major Action: 4/30/2008 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Ordered to be reported.

H.R.5741 : To amend the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to improve the conservation of sharks. Sponsor: Rep Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [GU] (
introduced 4/9/2008) Cosponsors(9) Committees: House Natural Resources. Latest Major Action: 4/16/2008 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Subcommittee Hearings Held.

Note: This is a “short” 60-day Session, scheduled to end on March 14 (although there has already been significant discussion on “The Hill” about trying to wrap things up early. The first bill cutoff deadline is February 8. Between now and then you can expect hundreds of bills to be introduced, many of which should prove interesting. A copy of the Session Cutoff schedule is attached to the email version of this newsletter, and reminders of cutoffs will be provided during Session.

PRIORITY BILLS
Once again, NWIFC will distribute Priority Bills Lists, intended to help keep tribes informed of specific bills being introduced. Note that hearings on many of these bills are already being conducted. Now is the time to contact your legislators to weigh-in on these bills. Remember that the fate of most is essentially decided before public hearings are held. See the end of this newsletter for the current Priority Bills List. As Session continues, our intent is to provide recommendations on the top priority bills, based on our analyses and on directions we receive from member tribes. If at any time there is unforeseen disagreement with any such position, please notify Steve Robinson immediately. (Thanks!)

HOT SHEETS
Legislative Hot Sheets will also be issued to NWIFC member tribes each week, to help make it easier to identify hearings and work sessions key to tribal natural resource management and related issues. The Hot Sheet for this week has already been distributed to tribes.

CONFERENCE CALLS SCHEDULED
Once again this year, NWIFC will host weekly “Fridays at 3” conference calls between tribes and the Department of Ecology. These will commence on January 25 (not this week, but next) and will continue as long as there is interest. Also, feel free to touch bases with Steve Robinson before or after that call for briefings sans DOE. If there is enough interest, additional conference calls will be scheduled as required. Note: State Representative Brian Blake, D-Aberdeen, Chairman of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, has requested an opportunity to “meet” with the tribes each week. Efforts are currently underway to determine the best way to achieve that.

“LOBBYISTS”
Many tribes employ their own lobbyists, many of whom are geared toward issues other than natural resources and the environment. However, in many cases they also take an interest in natural resource-related issues. For the tribes to put their best, united, foot forward in the Legislature, it’s important to coordinate our efforts. If you haven’t already done so, please contact Steve Robinson to inform him of the name and contact information for such representatives. (Thanks!)

LEGISLATIVE BACKGROUND/ROSTER, ETC.
Attached to the email version of this newsletter, please find a link to the Olympian’s Legislative Special Section. This section includes some valuable tools, including a full roster of the members of the Legislature, a list of committees with membership, information on parking at the Legislature, a State Capitol map, etc. We hope you find this useful. We can also provide information about the passage of a bill, legislative leadership or anything else you request. A copy of “How A Bill Becomes A Law” is attached to the email version of this newsletter, fyi.

BACKGROUNDING THE LEGISLATORS—JANUARY 21, 2008
In addition to other information provided to legislators during Session, NWIFC always provides a lunch or dinner session intended to provide members of the Legislature some special background information about the tribes related to natural resource management. This year the approach is a little different. NWIFC is teaming up with Salmon Defense to present the new docu-drama “Shadow of the Salmon” in the interest of providing a primer/reminder to the state’s lawmakers about tribal perspectives on the environment. The film will show in House Hearing Room B of the John O’Brien Building, at noon on January 21 (Martin Luther King Day). All legislators, staffers and members of the Capitol Press Corps are being invited. All tribes are also encouraged to attend. Lunch will be provided.

SOME BILLS AND ISSUES
One primary concern going into this year’s session stems from the flood damage in several Washington counties this past month. Already a few legislators have asked what’s more important—people or salmon. While there are obvious needs for relief, support and reconstruction related to the flood, there will be an ongoing need to be wary of those taking advantage of the “opportunity” to reduce protections for fish and wildlife habitat. One bill pertaining directly to such concerns is HB 2525, “ Allowing for the mitigation of flood damage without obtaining a permit.” This bill, sponsored by Rep. Kirk Pearson, R-Monroe, would among other things add a new chapter to RCW 77.55 which would exempt reparation activities in any area declared an emergency by the Governor from HPA permits. The Department of Fish and Wildlife would be permitted to “publish nonbinding best management practices related to mitigating flood damage in a manner most beneficial to fish life.”

The question we must concern ourselves with is whether such projects, e.g., dikes, dams, bridges, might go too far. Please view the bill here: HB 2525. Comments on this issue will be appreciated.

In another arena is SB 5938, “Providing a unified means for handling both Indian and non-Indian graves and cemeteries,” will apparently be heard on January 22 (watch for next week’s Legislative Hot Sheet for final confirmation of time and location). Some tribes are gearing up to testify on this important legislation already. More details to follow. (This bill really only gives requirements for reporting but that’s more than currently exists.)

In their current forms, both the House and Senate proposals top Bush’s request for BIA. They both include $7 million for the shellfish settlement, but from there they differ. The House figure is $4 million over the President’s request, but still short of restoring budget cuts. There will have to be a compromise on this amount with the Senate, as well as earmark strategies. The Senate bill includes an earmark for TFW/FFR of $1.74 million and $1.8 million to restore the Pacific Salmon Treaty Implementation dollars cut in Bush’s request. Neither bill includes mass marking monies, but Rep. Norm Dicks says he will see that the BIA provides funding to the tribes for this project. The bill doesn’t add funding for hatchery maintenance/rehabilitation. It reduces the forestry account that supports SSHIAP, but tribes have been assured by the BIA that SSHIAP will continue to be funded. The House bill includes $15 million for the Puget Sound Partnership in EPA’s budget, but the Senate only has $1 million. The Senate has included $90 million in the Commerce bill for the PCSRF, while the House bill has only $65 million.

To view the status of appropriations bills, click on http://thomas.loc.gov/home/approp/app08.html.

BUSH PROCLAIMS AMERICAN INDIAN HERITAGE MONTH
Even if Bush’s proposed budgets fall well short of meeting tribal natural resources management needs, he apparently thinks of tribes in November. On Halloween Day, he issued a proclamation declaring November as National American Indian Heritage Month. "American Indians and Alaska Natives continue to shape our nation by preserving the heritage of their ancestors and by contributing to the rich diversity that is our country’s strength. Their dedicated efforts to honor their proud heritage have helped others gain a deeper understanding of the vibrant and ancient customs of the Native American community. We also express our gratitude to the American Indians and Alaska Natives who serve in our Nation’s military and work to extend the blessings of liberty around the world," the proclamation states. Bush said his administration is "committed to supporting the American Indian and Alaska Native cultures." He also said he is committed to the government-to-government relationship.

PRESIDENT CLINTON: SEE GLOBAL WARMING AS AN OPPORTUNITY
Over the past several months, the U.S. House and Senate have considered numerous pieces of energy legislation, some of which were filled with landmark energy and vehicle efficiency provisions designed to reduce global warming pollution. But right now, passage of final legislation is at a standstill. Nonetheless, in a recent speech to the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Seattle, former President Bill Clinton urged that the fight against global warming be viewed as an economic opportunity. He told the mayors that fighting global warming is a chance to create good jobs and give an economic boost to the middle class, to save cities and residents money with improved energy-efficiency. "It is a godsend," he said. "It is not castor oil that we have to drink. It is in my view, for the United States, the greatest economic opportunity that we’ve had since we mobilized for World War II. And if we do it right, it will produce job gains and income gains substantially greater than those produced in the 1990s when I had the privilege to be president."

GLOBAL WARMING LEGISLATION
Presidential Candidate John Edwards set the pace in global warming for his competitors recently when he came out against the current version of the global warming legislation being pushed by Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-CT (S.280) and John Warner, R-VA (H.R.620). Edwards pointed out that this is the major global warming legislation moving in Congress and it is deeply flawed. The legislation gives away $436 billion worth of pollution permits to corporate polluters in the coal and fossil fuels industries. It gives away 76 percent of carbon credits in the first year. It also sends hundreds of billions of dollars worth of auction revenue back to the coal industry over the years. Instead of rewarding polluters, environmentalists say auction revenues should be used for things like energy efficiency, clean transportation, offsetting the bill’s costs for the poor, and adaptation for a warming planet. They also say the bill fails to adequately address global warming. Scientists say that to avoid catastrophe, we must launch an immediate effort to cut global warming pollution to 80 to 90 percent of 1990 levels by 2050. This bill takes a long time to get started and undershoots the 2050 goal by 20 percent. 

BUSH VETO ON WATER BILL OVERRIDDEN
By a 79-14 vote, the Senate has overridden a veto by Bush, enacting a $23 billion Water Resources Development Act bill into law over his objections. The override had long been expected, since the Senate approved the conference report on the bill by an 81-12 vote in late September. The House voted 361-54 to override the veto, setting the stage for the Senate vote. The WRDA package, H.R.1495, includes Army Corps of Engineers water infrastructure projects from around the country (including the Green/Duwamish and projects in eastern Washington and hundreds of other critical projects throughout the country resulting from hurricane damage, floods and deteriorated wetlands). The incident is reflective of an increasingly confrontational Bush and it may be a sign of things to come from Congress. Bush has used the veto five times. Four of those have been since the democrats took control of Congress in January. Hypocritically, his rationale in vetoing the legislation was fiscal irresponsibility. Rather than admitting to being a pot calling a kettle black, he made the bill part of a broader effort to take on Democratic leaders frequently and more pointedly. The water project legislation originally approved by the Senate would have cost $14 billion and the House version would have totaled $15 billion. Bush and a few Republicans complained that the final version was larded with unneeded pet projects pushed by individual lawmakers – sending the overall cost of the bill much higher. "Only in Washington could the House take a $14 billion bill into a conference with the Senate’s $15 billion bill and emerge with a compromise that costs taxpayers over $23 billion," said White House press secretary Dana Perino.

A.G. APPOINTEE BE CONFIRMED?
The Senate has confirmed Bush appointee Michael Mukasey for U.S. Attorney General. Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy, D-VT, and other members of the committee had expressed grave concerns about the candidate, though Senators Charles Schumer, D- NY and Dianne Feinstein, D-CA followed through on their decision to confirm him. Joined by the republican members of the committee, the two democrats’ votes put Mukasey over the top. The focal issue on the nomination was water boarding—an interrogation technique that human rights groups describe as torture. Mukasey, a former federal judge, had responded to questions about the technique in a vague and non-committal manner. Research conducted by Federal Update revealed very few indicators of how the candidate might approach any tribal issues, beyond some priority placed on intellectual property protection by his current law. A recent editorial by the New York Times held that the Constitution and federal statute are the supreme law of the land—the same supreme law intended to enforce treaties—and that the president is not above this law.

OCEAN AGREEMENT AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW
The West Coast Agreement on Ocean Health, a tri-state governor-to-governor level agreement developed in response to the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and Pew Ocean reports, is finally available for review. See the agreement by clicking on the following website link: <http://westcoastoceans.gov/images/clear.gif>. From initial glance, it appears that the interaction with tribes on this agreement has been less than stellar. Although there are apparently good things happening with this agreement, tribal inclusion is almost nil. Tribes are mentioned a few times in the agreement, but they are omitted in several instances where they could be specifically acknowledged, e.g., in science/data sharing, government-to-government relations and direct tribal funding. The agreement is under more intensive review and a response being drafted (the deadline is December 1). NWIFC will share its analysis with tribes in the near future.

NATIVE HAWAIIAN BILL
Some Native Hawaiians have come out against the Native Hawaiian Recognition Act, H.R. 505, which has passed the House by a vote of 261 – 153. The bill is designed to afford Native Hawaiians the same self-governance rights held by American Indians and Alaska Natives. Opponents say it will place Hawaiian governance under the U.S. Department of the Interior.

WEIGHING IN ON THE VALDEZ
The Supreme Court today said it would consider whether Exxon Mobil Corp. should pay punitive damages for one of the costliest oil spills in history. The company was originally ordered to pay $5 billion after the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground and spilled 11 million gallons of oil in Alaska’s Prince William Sound. A federal appeals court cut the amount in half. In the case it took today, the high court will determine whether the company should pay any punitive damages. The case will be heard next spring.

ON THE FARM FRONT
Schaefer Nominated Agriculture Secretary
Bush has announced his nomination of former North Dakota Gov. Edward Schafer to be his next Agriculture Secretary. Schafer, who served two terms as governor but chose not to run again in 2000, will replace Mike Johanns, who resigned as secretary last month to run for the seat of retiring GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska. USDA has been led in the interim by acting Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner.

Investing in Washington’s Farmers
Senator Maria Cantwell has announced that the 2007 Farm Bill was approved by the Senate Agriculture Committee—a bill that includes strong provisions to benefit Washington state farmers.  Washington farmers grow more than 250 varieties of fruits, vegetables, and specialty crops such as apples, cherries, and asparagus.  The state is ranked first in the nation in the production of these specialty crops which are huge economic drivers, providing for over 50 percent of the state’s agriculture economy. Senator Cantwell said her top priority in this year’s Farm Bill was working through the Finance Committee to make sure that local farmers got “the help they need.”  

HASTINGS BILL: PROTECT KENNEWICK MAN
Recently introduced legislation in the House, sponsored by Rep. Doc Hastings, would protect the opportunity for scientific study of ancient remains such as Kennewick Man. He proposed the legislation in response to a bill quietly approved by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs last month that Hastings said would effectively block the scientific study of ancient skeletal remains discovered on federal lands. "This change, tucked into what is being called a technical corrections bill, is very far from a minor ‘technical correction,’" Hastings said of the Senate bill. "It is a fundamental shift in existing law and would overturn a decision in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals." In 2004, eight years after the 9,300-year-old bones of Kennewick Man were found on the banks of the Columbia River, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the bones would not be turned over to the tribes. Instead, scientists were allowed to study them. The ruling found that Congress had intended the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, or NAGPRA, to apply to remains only if a significant relationship could be shown to present-day tribes.

DOI TRIBAL SELF GOVERNANCE ACT
Jamestown S’Klallam Chair Ron Allen was among those who testified on H.R. 3994 on November 8 before the House Resources Committee. This bill, sponsored by Rep. Dan Boren, D-OK, would amend the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to provide further self-governance by tribes. The bill authorizes Interior to enter into compacts with tribes to manage federal programs. The Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Office of Special Trustee and other Interior bureaus, offices and agencies are covered. Chairman Allen supported the legislation, and described the major benefits Self-Governance has brought to participating tribes. Access his and other testimony at this link: http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/index.php?option=com_jcalpro&Itemid=54&extmode=view&extid=124 (Click on the names of the individual panel members.) Click on the following link to access the bill itself: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.r.03994:   

THE NATIVE HAWAIIAN SOVEREIGNTY BILL

The Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act, H.R.505 by Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-HA passed committee and was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar on October 26. (The Senate version of the bill, S.310 by Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-HA, was ordered reported from the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in May.) This legislation addresses the policy of the United States with Native Hawaiians and seeks to provide a recognition process for a Native Hawaiian governing entity. The bills are generating a lot of attention in the nation’s capitol as this is farther than they have ever progressed. The legislation establishes the U.S. Office for Native Hawaiian Relations within the Office of the Secretary of the Interior establishes the Native Hawaiian Interagency Coordinating Group and recognizes the right of the Native Hawaiian people to provide for their common welfare and adopt appropriate organic governing documents.

Download Priority Bills List

Both the House and Senate bills include $7 million for the shellfish settlement, but from there they differ.  The House figure is $4 million over the President’s request, but still short of restoring budget cuts. There will have to be a compromise on this amount with the Senate, as well as earmark strategies.

The Senate bill includes an earmark for TFW/FFR of $1.74 million and $1.8 million to restore the Pacific Salmon Treaty Implementation dollars cut in the President’s request.  Neither bill includes mass marking monies, but Congressman Dicks has said he will see that the BIA provides funding to the tribes for this project. The bill doesn’t add funding for hatchery maintenance/rehabilitation. It reduces the forestry account that supports SSHIAP, but tribes have been assured by the BIA that SSHIAP will continue to be funded.

The House bill includes $15 million for the Puget Sound Partnership in EPA’s budget, but the Senate only has $1 million. The Senate has included $90 million in the Commerce bill for the PCSRF, while the House bill has only $65 million.

The House-Senate Conference for both the Interior bill and the Commerce bill will likely occur in November or early December.  In the meantime, we are operating under a continuing resolution extending monies until November 16. Depending on the veto situation, a budget could be in place soon, at least for Interior. The alternative may be another CR situation, like FY 2007. To view the status of appropriations bills, click on http://thomas.loc.gov/home/approp/app08.html.

BUSH TO PROPOSE BALANCED BUDGET PROPOSAL
President Bush has announced that he will present a five-year budget proposal on February 5, 2008, which will show reducing budget deficits and a balanced budget by 2012. He said the budget will achieve balance while addressing critical needs. He also called for earmark reform and said that his tax relief program has spurred robust economic growth and rising wages. For more information, visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/budget/2008/index.html.

OIL SPILL LEGISLATION
Early in the 2007 U.S. Senate Session, Sen. Maria Cantwell introduced legislation to help provide the level of protection needed to avert disastrous oil spills on the coast and in Puget Sound. One Valdez-like spill could prove catastrophic to fisheries throughout the region, and a tug at Neah Bay has kept many such disasters from occurring. Cantwell’s bill, which would provide needed funding for an adequate year ‘round tug, was subsequently folded into the Coast Guard Reauthorization Bill. The Coast Guard reauthorization bill has passed the Commerce Committee and the committee report is nearly done. Once it is done, the report will be sent to the Senate floor for a vote.  But, according to Cantwell aid Jeffrey Waters, there are obstacles to overcome. One of the strongest of these may be opposition from Senator James Inhofe, R-OK.  Senator Cantwell’s main concern is figuring how to deal with this obstacle without compromising too much (or at all) on the bill’s original intent.  Generally, one senator can block a bill, because most things pass the Senate by unanimous consent and do not have to be set for floor time, which is a precious commodity and difficult to get.  If the opposing senator does block the bill’s path to unanimous consent, and the Senate doesn’t give the bill floor time for a floor discussion and vote, the bill may die. Another challenge is that the companion bill in the House apparently has no oil spill provisions.  Rep. Norm Dicks has made efforts, and says he will continue to make efforts to add the oil spill provisions to the House version of the bill—but, so far, to no avail.

INTERIOR COMPUTER SYSTEM INVESTIGATED
DOI’s Inspector General has launched an investigation into a $149 million computer system that could be considered a "profound failure."  In a 131-page report, Inspector General Earl E. Devaney said he became aware of the problems associated with the system while investigating the Minerals Management Service. The agency commissioned the system in 1999 to handle over $8 billion in oil and gas payments on federal and Indian lands. But eight years and $149 million later, the Minerals Revenue Management Support System doesn’t appear to be living up to its goals. Interior employees have complained the federal government, tribal governments and individual Indians have lost millions of dollars because the system doesn’t work as promised.

Some typical employees’ complaints about the system have been that it takes twice as long to complete common tasks and it failed to bill and collect interest from energy companies who drill on federal and Indian lands. MMS managers had a scapegoat though—the Cobell trust fund litigation. In December 2001, a federal judge ordered Interior to remove its Indian trust systems from the Internet due to inadequate security. The disconnect kept the MRM Support System offline for three months. But in interview with the Inspector General, MMS managers repeatedly blamed the litigation for creating a "backlog" of interest bills owed by energy companies. Even after MMS got back on the Internet in March 2002, the Bush administration waited more than four years to address the backlog. The Interior Department has a troubled history with computer systems. In the 1990s, the Bureau of Land Management scrapped a $400 million records system because it never worked properly. BIA has spent more than $40 million on the Trust Asset Accounting and Management System but it’s not working well either. The department’s overall computer system has been rated one of the worst in the government due to lax security. The Bush administration says it has spent over $100 million to improve the Indian trust systems but they remain off the Internet to this day.

ENDANGERED SPECIES TASK CREDIT APPROVED BY FINANCE COMMITTEE
The Senate Finance Committee has approved a new tax credit for property owners who help protect endangered species, marking a rare agreement between property-rights advocates and environmentalists. The credit would offer landowners an incentive to donate conservation easements or take more active steps to restore a species’ habitat. It would fill a gap in the Endangered Species Act by helping to protect critical habitat on private land, said Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-AR, who worked on the bill with Sen. Michael D. Crapo, R-ID. She said it provides a dedicated stream of funding “to the very people who are in the best position to address these challenges, and that’s the owners of private land.”

Chairman Max Baucus, D-MT., said he does not know when the bill will reach the floor. It could be a unanimous-consent candidate because of its broad support, he said. The bill would prevent property owners from claiming tax benefits for actions they were required to take under existing law. It also would make permanent a deduction for conservation easements and extend a deduction for rehabilitating contaminated sites. The only major opposition to the bill had nothing to do with endangered species. It came in response to the committee’s decision on how to pay for the $3.2 billion bill. The entire amount would come from a change in the tax treatment of so-called sale-in, lease-out deals. A 2004 tax law changed the rules for such transactions completed after March 12, 2004. The Senate Finance bill would remove that date and apply the new rules retroactively to all such deals.

The bill also includes a provision sponsored by Ken Salazar, D-CO, designed to help farmers avoid capital gains taxes on water rights, e.g., those who choose to relocate from one part of the state to another and sell one set of water rights to buy another.

MOVES AND CHANGES
Domenici To Retire: Republican Sen. Pete Domenici, 75, has announced that he will not seek re-election to a seventh term. Domenici’s decision is related to his health and not the controversy that followed his acknowledgement that he had contacted former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias about a prosecution and then urged the Bush Administration to fire him, part of a controversy that led to the eventual departure of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Domenici would be the fifth Republican senator to pass on re-election in 2008, joining Sens. John Warner of Virginia, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, Larry Craig of Idaho and Wayne Allard of Colorado.

BUT Craig Changes Mind: Sen. Larry Craig, R-ID, says he’s not quitting after all, and that he will stay in the Senate and finish his term despite a Minnesota judge’s ruling that he could not withdraw his guilty plea to a disorderly conduct charge in an airport sex sting.
Secretary Johanns: Bush has accepted the resignation of Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, a step expected to be followed soon by Johanns’ announcement that he will seek the seat of retiring GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel in Nebraska. Bush named Deputy Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner to serve as acting Agriculture secretary.
Rep. Udall:  Tom Udall, D-NM says he will seek another term in the House rather than run for the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Pete Domenici. Udall says that while he thinks he could win the Senate election, he could better serve New Mexico by gaining seniority and taking more of the leadership role in "the people’s House." He also said staying in the House would allow him to "assert my authority on the Appropriations Committee."

Gover Selected to Head NMAI: Kevin Gover, Pawnee and former head of the BIA, has been named to direct the National Museum of the American Indian upon the retirement of Rick West. The appointment is not without controversy. Gover fought the Cobell v. Babbitt Trust Case for years in court, contributing mightily to a contempt citation and a $600,000 fine. In his capacity as deputy secretary in charge of BIA, he was the trustee for Indian lands and in charge of responding to an order from Federal Judge Royce Lamberth to produce records and documents of the mineral, timber, and energy earnings of the Indian trust lands. The court was told by the agency that it was diligently gathering the records—at the same time that Interior employees were destroying 162 boxes of pertinent documents in a Maryland warehouse. Also, only two NMAI trustees were part of the Smithsonian’s search that led to Gover’s appointment. The rest of the museum’s board members, including Eloise Cobell, were never informed of Gover’s candidacy, much less his selection until it was publicly announced. Cobell has complained loudly and publicly, saying the Smithsonian had treated the NMAI board (statutorily established as an advisory board) as “wooden Indians,” on display for show but without a voice in the most important administrative decision affecting the museum.

THE POWER OF CONGRESS TO PROTECT WATER RESOURCES
The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS) has distributed a brief  by Jay Austin and D. Bruce Myers, Jr., Senior Attorneys at the Environmental Law Institute, entitled, "Anchoring the Clean Water Act: Congress’s Constitutional Sources of Power to Protect the Nation’s Water". It says Supreme Court rulings have left serious questions about the breadth of the Clean Water Act’s coverage, prompting Congress to consider legislation (such as the Clean Water Restoration Act of 2007) to clarify the Act’s intended scope. Such legislation has raised questions about the bounds and sources of Congress’s power to protect the nation’s waters. This brief identifies the constitutional powers Congress can draw upon to protect waters nationwide—the Commerce Clause and the treaty power, as well as the powers of the Necessary and Proper Clause, combine to give Congress broad constitutional authority to regulate the nation’s waters in a comprehensive fashion. ACS is a rapidly growing network of lawyers, law students, scholars, judges, policymakers and other concerned individuals.  The issue brief is available online at http://www.acslaw.org/node/5456.

UN ADOPTS DECLARATION OF RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted on September 13 by the United Nations General Assembly. The vote was 143 to 4 with 11 abstentions. The United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia voted against the Declaration. The declaration makes a unique and much-needed contribution to international human rights standards. While human rights documents generally arise from a tradition that addresses individual rights, the UN Declaration both affirms individual rights and focuses on Indigenous Peoples’ collective rights, such as the rights to traditional lands and resources, the right to be free from genocide and forced relocation and the right to maintain languages, cultures and spiritual beliefs. The declaration emphasizes the rights of Indigenous People to cultivate and strengthen their own institutions, cultures and traditions in keeping with their own needs and aspirations. The Declaration underwent a 25 year debate—longer than any other international agreement in UN history.

Many of the 400 million Indigenous people in the world are amongst the most impoverished and marginalized of people anywhere. Conditions of First Peoples’ lives and cultures frequently go unaddressed. The declaration could create a strong platform and powerful inspiration to address Indigenous Peoples’ longstanding concerns and help ensure the flourishing of indigenous health and economies.

The $27.2 billion Interior-Environment measure would cut the EPA’s clean water state revolving fund by 18 percent while boosting funding for most other activities. It would provide $887 million for the clean water fund, $197 million below current levels but $199 million more than Bush requested. House appropriators provided $1.1 billion in their committee-reported bill. That $238 million difference accounts for more than half the additional $448 million the House bill would provide. The draft would meet Bush’s request of $2 billion for National Park System operations. Smaller increases would be provided for other priorities, including the Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management. Subcommittee chairwoman Feinstein said $1.1 billion would be provided for wildfire suppression, the 10-year average of actual expenditures. Highlights from the draft Senate bill and report will follow subsequent to the full committee markup.

The total discretionary funding for the Department of Interior is $26.41 billion, compared with Bush’s Request of $25.65 billion. For the National Park Service, it’s $2.46 billion, $98 million over Bush’s request. For USFWS, it’s $1.38 billion, $94 million over Bush’s request. A $9 million increase has been penciled for endangered species over FY 2007 and a $6.5 million increase for habitat conservation. The National Wildlife Refuge System is increased $19 million in the bill. Law enforcement: Increase of $3.5 million over FY 2007 to restore funding for international and domestic illegal wildlife trade investigations. The National Fish Hatchery System and Aquatic Habitats are pegged for an increase of $5.25 million over FY 2007 for Hatchery operations & maintenance and for marine mammals. The BIA proposed budget is $2.27 billion, $42.6 million below FY 2007 enacted level, but $36.8 million above Bush’s budget request. The U.S. Geological Survey would receive $1.01 billion, $27.2 million above the FY2007 enacted level and $35 million above Bush’s request to restore proposed major reductions to base scientific research programs, including the Minerals Resources program, the Water Resources Research Institutes program and Geographic Research.

NORTHWEST APPROPRIATIONS
NWIFC FY08 requests have been submitted to Congress and testimony provided to the appropriations committees. Chairman Norm Dicks’ first major spending bill passed on June 27 after two intensive days of debate. It tops Bush’s request for the BIA budget but because without earmark language it’s unclear how much is included for Northwest accounts. It includes $7 million for the shellfish settlement and $20.6 million for rights protection implementation. But it’s unclear if the amount in rights protection includes all previous earmarks such as TFW and mass marking, or whether it means an increase or decrease from FY07. Clarification has been requested. The bill doesn’t add funding for hatchery maintenance/rehabilitation. It reduces the forestry account that supports SSHIAP, but includes $15 million for the Puget Sound Partnership in EPA’s budget. It’s important to watch these issues as the bills move into conference. The Senate Appropriations Committee has marked both the Interior and Commerce bills. Sen. Murray was able to include earmarks of $1.74 million for TFW and $90 million for the PCSRF. This $90 million mark contrasts with a $67 million mark in the House bill and Bush’s request. The House-Senate Conference for the Interior bill will likely occur in September. If there is no veto a budget could be in place on October 1, at least for Interior. If there is a veto and it’s not overcome, it would jeopardize the budget and possibly result in another CR situation like FY07.

BILLS SEEING ACTION
The following bills, listed on the Federal Bills List, have seen action in the past month: S 1, Transparency In The Legislative Process, by Sen. Harry Reid, D-NV; HR 407, the Columbia-Pacific National Heritage Area Study Act sponsored by Rep. Brian Baird, D-WA ; HR 1285, the Snoqualmie Pass Land Conveyance Act, by Rep. Doc Hastings, R- WA; S 278, the Heritage Areas Partnership Act, by Sen. Craig Thomas, R-WY; S 280, Reducing Greenhouse Emissions, by Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-CT; S 817, the National Heritage Areas, HR and National Heritage Corridors Act, by Sen. George Voinovich, R-OH; S 1258, the Dam Security Act, by Sen. Maria Cantwell and Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s energy bills, HR 3220 and 3221. Brief articles on a few of these bills follow. For additional information, please call Steve Robinson at (360) 528-4347 or email srobinson@nwifc.org or visit the Library of Congress website, http://thomas.loc.gov/.

S 280, GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS
The Reducing Greenhouse Emissions bill would establish a program to accelerate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States by establishing a market-driven system of greenhouse gas tradeable allowances. It would support the deployment of new climate change-related technologies, and ensure benefits to consumers from the trading in such allowances. The latest action on the bill was July 24, when a hearing was conducted by the Committee on Environment and Public Works’ Subcommittee on Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming and Wildlife Protection.

S 1, TRANSPARENCY
The Transparency bill, which has been sent to the White House for signature, would make it far more difficult for any given senator to push consideration of any bill without submittal to either House or Senate conferees. In more technical terms, a three-fifths vote (60 Senators) would be needed to waive the action and the same number of votes to sustain an appeal of a chairman’s decision regarding on a point of order raised under the bill. It also requires, if appropriate, a statement for the Internet, or if the legislation was not reported by a committee, publication in the Congressional Record, that the legislation contains no congressional earmarks or limited tax or tariff benefits. It is a strike against “midnight riders” or other such actions intended to sneak or bully through legislation.

PELOSI ENERGY BILL PASSES HOUSE
The House has passed one of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s energy bill which includes a renewable electricity standard of 15 percent by 2020, strong lighting efficiency standards, increased incentives for investment in renewable energy, and safeguards to protect sensitive public lands from oil and gas drilling. The House failed to vote on fuel economy improvements. The RES requires utilities to obtain at least 15 percent of their power from a combination of energy efficiency and renewable sources such as wind, solar and biomass energy by 2020.  

“By passing the renewable electricity standard the House of Representatives has taken a real step forward in enacting the clean energy policies we need to reduce global warming pollution. This shows the House is ready to take strong action on global warming in the fall,” said Karen Wayland, legislative director at the Natural Resources Defense Council.  “We need this same leadership in the conference committee. By combining a strong renewable energy standard with the Senate’s fuel economy improvements, this Congress can make a serious down payment on preventing the worst impacts of global warming.”

Measures that were not included in the House bill but must be addressed in the conference committee with the Senate to make meaningful reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and protect the environment are: Matching the Senate’s fuel economy improvement provision of 35 miles per gallon by 2020; adequate safeguards to ensure that intensive biofuels production does not result in water pollution, habitat destruction, or loss of forests and a greenhouse gas standard that would require advance biofuels to emit 50% less global warming pollution than gasoline. Unfortunately, Bush has already threatened a veto. He criticized the bill, saying it’s "not a serious attempt to increase our energy security or address high energy costs," but that it would reduce domestic oil and gas production, make the nation more dependent on foreign energy sources and “unfairly” target the oil and gas industries with higher taxes.
Speaker Pelosi, D-CA, has strongly promoted strong action toward curing the nation’s energy glut and says she’ll continue to do so. The House must reconcile the legislation with the Senate, upon returning to D.C. after the August recess, although many of the provisions are similar. Pelosi has made it one of her top priorities to help move the U.S. toward greater energy independence and security as well as develop new technologies, reduced carbon emissions, the creation of “green” jobs, consumer protection, increased clean energy production and modernization of the energy infrastructure. Here legislation also provides a framework to address impacts of global warming on wildlife, lands and coastal areas, and begin to "decarbonize" the tax code by cutting subsidies to oil and gas companies and redirecting the revenue to better use. In total, the bills cut more than $15 billion from oil and gas companies and closes down a tax break for the purchase of SUVs, and then reinvests the funding in renewable energy and energy conservation. At this juncture H.R.3221 is a primary vehicle for these efforts.
OIL SPILL SAFETY
S 2440, a bill introduced by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-WA, would take strong steps to reduce the risk of catastrophic oil spills in Northwest waters, and would help limit the number of small spills that leak oil into those waters every year. The Oil Pollution Prevention and Response Act would build on the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, passed by Congress in response to the devastating 1989 Exxon Valdez spill (a spill that is still a mess, nearly two decades later). A single incident from a large vessel could devastate increasingly fragile marine ecosystems, and smaller spills continue to degrade the coastal environment. Specifically, the proposal would encourage the use of safer vessels, direct the Coast Guard to route vessels around environmentally sensitive areas, and reduce the risk of spills resulting from human error. Locally, it would reduce traffic in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary and require a year-round response tug at the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. To improve spill response, the legislation would make sure adequate response vessels and equipment are stationed at strategic locations across the country, including along the entire Strait of Juan de Fuca. Since 1964, vessels have spilled approximately 4.8 million gallons of oil in Northwest waters. Of this total, 184,000 gallons were spilled after the Oil Pollution Act. Fifteen billion gallons of oil pass through Northwest waters every year.

YOUNG, STEVENS FACE INQUIRY
Rep. Don Young, R-AK, and Sen. Ted Stevens, R-AK, are under investigation in a continuing criminal probe of alleged political favors for an Alaskan company. Federal investigators are examining whether they accepted bribes or unreported gifts from Alaska’s largest oil-field engineering firm, VECO Corp. They are among the highest-ranking members of either party to come under scrutiny in the wave of public-corruption probes that has swept Washington. In the past year, two congressmen have been sent to prison, a third has been indicted for bribery, and 6 others are under investigation in separate cases. It isn’t known what VECO allegedly may have received in return. The company has been awarded a series of federal contracts since 2000, including contracts to provide logistics support for arctic research. For a decade, former VECO Chief Executive Bill Allen has held fund-raisers for Young in Anchorage every August, known as "The Pig Roast" and records show contributions of at least $157,000 from VECO employees and its political-action committee between 1996 and 2006, the last year the event was held. Young has also faced questions about campaign donations received from convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The burly, bearded congressman has been Alaska’s sole House member for 36 years, and is perhaps best known as the architect of the "bridge to nowhere"—a project in a $286 billion 2005 transportation bill he named after his wife, Lu. The proposed bridge to a sparsely populated island off Ketchikan, Alaska, came to symbolize out-of-control congressional spending to fund pet projects by lawmakers in both parties. VECO was acquired in June by CH2M Hill, a closely held Colorado engineering firm, after Mr. Allen, VECO’s former CEO, agreed in May to plead guilty to charges of bribery, conspiracy and extortion. Stevens has publicly said he was asked to retain documents related to the federal investigation of his son, Ben Stevens, and other members of the state legislature, and related to VECO’s role in the remodeling of a family home in Alaska in 2000. Sen. Stevens recently hired a criminal-defense lawyer. He has said he isn’t a target of the Alaska probe and hasn’t violated any law. VECO executives, including Mr. Allen, have been big Stevens supporters as well. Stevens was directly involved in funding contracts with the National Science Foundation, for example, which went to support arctic research. But there is no evidence he sought to influence the award of contracts to VECO, officials at the NSF said. Congressional records show that Stevens on several occasions added extra funding to the budget for arctic research above what the agency sought.

ESA: USFWS MAY RE-EXAMINE DECISIONS
The Fish and Wildlife Service may re-examine the status of animals and plants under the Endangered Species Act affected by decisions by former Interior Department official Julie MacDonald. Director H. Dale Hall is reviewing decisions affecting the status of numerous species. The re-review list includes bulltrout, though it remains to be seen if the effort will affect other Northwest species. There are signs the list will expand, and that the problem runs far deeper than has been indicated to date. MacDonald resigned in May as Deputy Assistant Secretary for fish, wildlife and parks after Interior Inspector General Earl Devaney issued a scathing report saying she had violated ethics rules, edited scientific decisions on endangered species issues, and passed internal agency information to outside parties. Stay tuned.

SENATE WILL STAY UNTIL NOVEMBER, BUT TAKE OCTOBER RECESS
The Senate will not wrap up work this session until mid-November at the earliest, but as a concession, members will get a week-long recess starting Oct. 8, Columbus Day, according to Majority Leader Harry Reid. He has told senators he hopes the body can finish its work for the year by Nov. 16, but if that is not possible, he would reconvene the Senate Dec. 3. Reid also said the Senate would not be in session Sept. 13-14 for Rosh Hashana.

SENATOR LISA MURKOWSKI MAKES HISTORY
Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-AK, has been confirmed as the new Vice-Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, making her the first woman and first Alaskan to be appointed to the post. Alaska Natives make up 20% of her state’s population. Murkowski recently spoke at the NCAI Mid-Year Session in Anchorage, reaffirming her support in protecting the rights of Indians and Alaska Natives. "On behalf of NCAI, I congratulate Sen. Murkowski on her appointment and look forward to our continued working relationship on behalf of Native people," said NCAI President Joe A.Garcia. "She has proven to be a good friend to Native people and will be an essential component to bi-partisan work on the Committee." Senator John Barrasso, R-WY, who was appointed to replace the late Senator Craig Thomas, R-WY, has also been appointed to the committee.

WORLD CLOCK
Ever wondered how fast population is growing, how fast the Earth’s temperature is rising, how fast oil is being produced, or how many species are disappearing? Click here and check it out: http://www.poodwaddle.com/worldclock.swf. Click on “now” to start some categories from 0 (if only it were that easy) and click the “?” to check the information sources.)

After decades of congressional service, Congressman Norm Dicks, D-WA, has submitted his first major spending bill to the House of Representatives as chairman of Interior Appropriations. The bill would hike spending for the environment, national parks and global warming research. In leading floor debate, Rep Dicks said, “Mr. Chairman, I have waited 30 years for the honor of presenting an Interior and Environment bill to the House of Representatives as subcommittee chairman, and I am very proud to present H.R. 2643 as my first Interior Appropriations bill.”

The measure would allocate $27.6 billion for the Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, Forest Service and other agencies, a 4.3 percent increase over current spending. While Bush’s budget office and some GOP lawmakers have criticized the bill as overly generous, Dicks said spending for national parks and other environmental priorities has been shortchanged for years. “I do not know of one increase in this package which can’t be fully justified based on need or on the ability to spend the money wisely,” Dicks said. Between 2001 and 2007, funding for the Interior Department fell by 16 percent, EPA by 29 percent and the Forest Service non-fire budget by 35 percent.

Rep. Todd Tiahrt of Kansas, the ranking Republican on the Interior Appropriations subcommittee, praised Dicks’ handling of the bill. “Norm Dicks has led the committee with a firm and steady hand, and I appreciate the bipartisan approach he has taken as chairman,” Tiahrt said. Rep. Doc Hastings, R-WA, also saluted Dicks, although the two men disagreed on some of the specifics. Hastings said he was concerned that – at a time when federal land agencies are struggling to manage land they currently own – the House bill would provide tens of millions of dollars for the federal government to buy up more land. “This takes private property off of local tax rolls and leaves county governments with a heavier burden to pay for emergency services, roads, and schools,” he said, adding that Congress should reauthorize a program to reimburse rural counties hurt by cutbacks in federal logging before buying more federal land.

Dicks said he was especially proud the bill provides a $223 million increase for national parks, as part of a 10-year, $3 billion effort to restore parks for the 100th anniversary of the Park Service in 2016. The additional spending will support 3,000 new seasonal employees and 590 year-round staff. It would also increase spending for national wildlife refuges by $56 million, or 14 percent. The funding would allow the Fish and Wildlife Service to reverse staffing shortages on hundreds of wildlife refuges nationwide, where nearly 600 jobs have been lost since 2004.

The Senate Side

Sen. Patty Murray, D-WA, says she’s included $2.4 million in a Senate appropriations bill to help tribes support natural resource management and safety. If the bill is passed, tribes statewide would get $1.74 million for TFW, the Spokane and Colville tribes would get $350,000 for Lake Roosevelt management and Upper Columbia United Tribes would receive $315,000 for fish and wildlife management. The money is included in the Senate Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, which passed the appropriations committee. Murray, who is on the Senate Appropriations Committee, is standing up to Bush’s recent budget proposals. Murray said she stepped forward to restore the funding so tribes can continue to play a key role as partners in protecting Washington’s natural resource management. More specific highlights will be distributed following the full committee markup, but initial highlights of the Interior bill as marked by the subcommittee include $27.15 billion (chairman’s mark) for DOI overall, approximately $1.5 billion more than Bush’s request; $2.46 for National Parks, $98 million more than Bush; $1.38 billion, up $94 million over Bush; $2.27 for BIA, up $36.8 over Bush; $1.01 billion for USGS, $35 million over Bush (for base scientific research programs) and $1.89 billion for BLM, topping Bush by $76 million.

NOTE: PORTMAN OUT, NUSSLE IN AS WHITE HOUSE BUDGET DIRECTOR

White House Budget Director Portman is resigning and will be replaced by former Rep. Jim Nussle of Iowa, who chaired the House Budget Committee. Nussle lost his last bid for re-election. He lost the Iowa governor’s race in November. Portman, an Ohio Republican, left Congress in 2005 to become U.S. Trade Representative. He took over as Bush’s budget director last year.

OIL SPILL PREVENTION

Senator Cantwell has joined Senator John Kerry, D-MA, in introducing the comprehensive Oil Pollution Prevention and Response Act of 2007 (S.1620.IS) to help protect Puget Sound and the outer coast from the threat of a major oil spill. The state legislature and Governor Gregoire chose not to provide funding for a permanent, year-round Neah Bay rescue tug or increased oil spill prevention efforts this past session. Yet a catastrophic oil spill in Puget Sound or on the coast could spell the end of many species already on the verge of extinction. It could also undo many years of hard work to restore habitat. Cantwell’s bill is intended to prevent such an event and safeguard orca whales, salmon, seabirds and other species. Section 111 of the bill codifies and provides funding for the state Oil Spill Advisory Council and Section 206 concerns response tugs. The bill was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on June 14.
SUPREMES SAY ENDANGERED SPECIES NO FACTOR IN CLEAN WATER

A closely divided U.S. Supreme Court has held, 5-4, that the Endangered Species Act does not require EPA to consider listed species when transferring Clean Water Act permitting authority to states. In National Association of Home Builders v. Defenders of Wildlife , the court reversed the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on grounds that transferring CWA authority is non-discretionary, and federal agencies need not consider ESA-listed species when taking non-discretionary actions under statutes, such as the CWA, that do not independently require such consideration.

JUDGE SAYS BUSH ADMINISTRATION ERRS ON SPECIES PROTECTION

A federal judge in Seattle recently overturned a Bush policy under which federal agencies considered the numbers of hatchery-bred salmon and steelhead when weighing whether to extend species protections. District Judge John Coughenour ruled that the National Marine Fisheries Service erred when it listed upper Columbia River steelhead as threatened instead of endangered. The “threatened” listing was based on a decision by the government to count millions of hatchery fish alongside wild salmon when determining what protections to place on several Washington state runs. Coughenour maintained there is a difference between hatchery and wild fish, and said government policy must be focused on preserving natural life cycles. “Though it scarcely seems open to debate, the Court concludes that in evaluating any policy or listing determination under ESA, its pole star must be the viability of naturally self-sustaining populations in their naturally-occurring habitat,” Coughenour wrote. “To be sure, the inclusion of hatchery fish alongside natural fish … strikes the Court as odd.”

Environmentalists heralded the decision, while a property-rights group vowed to file an appeal.

Against the advice of many scientists, NMFS published its proposed policy for considering hatchery-bred fish in endangered-species listings in 2004, then received more than 27,000 critical comments. Environmental and recreational groups, such as Trout Unlimited, the Sierra Club and Federation of Fly Fishers, filed a lawsuit to reverse the administration’s decision. Sonya Jones, an attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation, a property-rights group that repeatedly has sued to overturn Endangered Species Act listings, said the group was “quite surprised” by the judge’s ruling. “If this decision stands, it opens up a floodgate of listing decisions,” she said. “One more time, the ESA is used to regulate the use of private property.”

FAMILY FORESTRY CRISIS

Nearly 60 percent of the nation’s forests are privately owned, the majority by families and individuals and most of these owners are 55 or older. A huge swath of forest land is about to change hands as aging landowners pass the land to heirs or buyers. It’s the largest inter-generational transfer of forest land in the history of the U.S. and there are serious concerns about the forest land conversion, subdividing and new development that will result. Forestland is already disappearing at a nationwide rate of four acres a minute. A survey of “next generation family forest owners” recently conducted by the Pinchot Institute for Conservation found that heirs who will inherit the land are often professionals living far away in cities, with weak bonds to the land, and little if any involvement in forest management. High taxes were a top reason heirs cited as deterrents to keeping the land.
GLOBAL WARMING AND ENERGY
Passing The Buck?

Friends of The Earth, a national environmental organization, says Congress is trying to pass the buck on global warming and energy issues. As currently written, says FOE, legislation coming to the floor in the Senate and developing in the House not only comes up short, it will likely go backwards. FOE called a biofuels bill that Sens. Jeff Bingaman, D-NM, and Pete Domenici, R-NM, moved out of committee earlier this session “misguided.” That bill has apparently formed the basis of the major Democratic energy package in the Senate. FOE adds that under pressure from industry, this Senate package is getting worse. Among other FOE objections are inadequate fuel efficiency standards, stripping of EPA’s power to regulate greenhouse emissions, and inclusion of highly polluting liquid coal as an alternate energy source. (Coal-burning power plants emit the most U.S. carbon dioxide at about 40 percent, and cars emit about a third of the total.)
Dozens of Bills Introduced

Will Rogers once joked that everyone complains about the weather but no one does anything about it. With impacts of global warming heating up, the concept of doing something about the weather isn’t a joke anymore. Dozens of bills have been introduced by 110th Congress that, in one way or another, take the issue to task—ranging from bills to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions and make big oil companies more accountable to bills focused on the development of alternative energies and gearing up the federal infrastructure to deal with the problem. One bill, aiming to end frustrating debates by once and for all officially acknowledging the existence of the problem, just passed the House by a vote of 272-155. The House also approved an environmental funding bill that would increase federal investments in basic research on climate change and establish a new commission to review scientific questions that need to be addressed. That bill would also beef up EPA funding by $8 billion next year, mainly for water cleanup and clean air programs. Bush has threatened a veto of the $27.6 billion bill, which the Senate has not yet debated. Meanwhile, some stubborn politicos, such as Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Inhofe, still refer to global warming as a “hoax.”

A few of the many bills introduced include HR 2338, by Rep. Norm Dicks (referred to the House Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry on June 26) which would establish a federal policy to “use all practicable means and measures to assist wildlife populations in adapting to and surviving the effects of global warming”; S 485 by Sen. John Kerry, D-MA (referred to the Committee on Finance on Feb. 2) to establish an economy-wide global warming emission cap and trade program; S 1389, by Sen. Barack Obama, D-IL (referred to the Committee on Health on May 14) to authorize the National Science Foundation to establish the Climate Change Education Program and HR 620 by Rep. John Olver (referred to the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans on Feb. 7) to reduce greenhouse emissions through market-driven trade-able allowances. There is discussion in both the house and senate about distilling the intentions of a number of these bills into more manageable legislation. The Senate Environment Committee, chaired by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-CA, is moving on one such effort—a bill that would place caps on emissions of heat-trapping gases from power plants, cars and factories, a first for the country. Bush opposes mandatory limits on any emissions, saying they would harm the economy. Instead, he has set a goal of reducing the intensity of emissions – as measured against economic growth – by 18 percent by 2012.
CHAIRMAN FRANK WOWS CROWD AT NCAI MID-YEAR

With a record 1,200 tribal delegates in attendance, NWIFC Chairman Billy Frank, Jr. drew a rousing standing ovation at the National Congress of American Indians Mid-Year Session in Anchorage recently and for three days tribal leaders praised his “frank” comments about the environment and tribal rights.

“It’s good that the federal government is paying attention to the needs of tribes in Iraq. But it should first keep its promises to tribes here in this country. The credibility of the nation is at stake. We’ve been ignored far too long, and we’re still being ignored today. Our lands, waters and natural resources are being poisoned. Here in Alaska, 30 percent of the Native people live without running water and electricity. Their villages are being washed away because of global warming. Their natural resources are dying as the permafrost melts and the glaciers disappear. Pollution and habitat destruction are killing our treaty-protected natural resources throughout the country, and the federal government has got to do more to work with tribes to stop it,” said Chairman Frank.

The session, themed “Strengthening Economies and Culture Under the Midnight Sun,” centered around agenda items considered to be of highest priority in Indian Country. In reference to comments by Frank and others, NCAI President Joe Garcia commented, “Tribal leaders are talking and NCAI is listening.” NCAI will convene again in Denver for its 64th Annual Convention November 11-16. At NCAI’s mid-year session next year, a special fund raising event will be held for the Billy Frank Jr. Endowment. That part of the session will be held June 1 in Reno, and will feature an exhibition, dinner and program on global warming. The Billy Frank, Jr. Endowment is a scholarship program to support students seeking bachelor degrees in natural resource management through the Northwest Indian College.

Download Priority Bills

For those interested, please find the FINAL WEEKLY LEG-COM NEWS for the 2007 State Legislative Session attached. Also attached is the FINAL PRIORITY BILLS LIST for this session. This is your wrap up edition, although Leg-Com News may be published occasionally during the interim as needs arise. Additional communications to this list may also be forthcoming, as budget issues get sorted out, new state laws are implemented, etc. We hope we have served you well during this session. And, as always, all comments are welcome. Thank you.

WRAP UP

The Washington StateLegislature wrapped up its 2007 session Sunday and the state’s lawmakers madetheir way home to various parts of the state for a well-deserved rest. Betweennow and the 2008 session, which will convene in January, there will likely beoccasional committee hearings and work sessions, a legislative week this summerand one in the fall. Rep. John McCoy, D-Tulalip, has scheduled a series ofmeetings on water, as depicted below, to which tribes and various stakeholdersare invited. The purpose of the meetings, according to McCoy, is to exploreoptions and potential solutions in water management, generally keying in onsuch issues as rural villages, rain barrels, relinquishment, and the municipalwater bill (1338, which tribes and environmental organizations are seeking tooverturn through the State Supreme Court). It is anticipated that there will beexpanded focus on water issues in the 2008 session, and, to some degree, themeetings are intended to help prepare for that session.

Note from Lacy Holmchick, Assistant toRepresentative John McCoy: “Rep. McCoy would like to invite you to participate in a discussion series on various issues dealing with Water. These meetings will take place monthlyat the Dept. of Labor & Industries bldg in Tukwila”

• Wednesday, May 9 at 2:30-4:00 p.m.
• Tuesday June 5th at 2:30-4:00pm
• Friday July 13th at 2:30-4:00pm
• Monday August 13th at 2:30-4:00pm
• Monday September 10th at 2:30-4:00pm
• Wednesday October 10th at 2:30-4:00pm
• Monday November 5^th at 2:30-4:00pm

DURING THE INTERIM

During thenon-session months, tribes are advised to contact their state representativesto further inform and educate them about tribal perspectives, rights andprograms and ideally to seek enhanced coordination and cooperation with them innatural resource and environmental matters. In addition to improving relations,building alliances and increasing the capacity to influence state bills tocome, it is not a bad idea to consider the state legislature a mechanism forproactive efforts, e.g., to secure state funding and legislation to supporttribal efforts in environmental protection, salmon recovery, etc. As always,NWIFC asks to be kept “in the loop” with such efforts so we can help broadenthe united front and provide support services. For more information about yourlegislators, please contact

Steve Robinson,(360) 528-4347 or srobinson@nwifc.org or consult www.leg.wa.gov.

WHAT LIVED

Pleaseconsult the Priority Bills List for a more complete list of bills that survivedthe session. A complete list of all bills is provided on the legislative website (address above). Following are some of the priority naturalresource/environmental bills that survived the session and are either on theGovernor’s desk or already signed into law.

SB 5248, THE AG EXEMPTION BILL (View Bill as Passed Legislature)

Ultimately, the only natural resource bill opposed by tribesthat passed is SB 5248, the Agricultural Lands bill. Tribal response has beenthat this is bad news for the environment, particularly in view of majoragricultural impacts on water quality and the apparent disregard for endangeredspecies in passing this legislation. NWIFC and the tribes urged legislators tooppose the bill, saying that there is no justification for exemptingagriculture from CAO’s or buffers, particularly withESA-listed salmon in our waters. The version of the bill that did pass gave a4.5 year exemption to the agriculture industry and sent the issue forresolution to the Ruckelshaus Center. The Ruckelshaus Center advocates collaborative problemsolving as oppose to regulation. The agriculture community, which made manyoutlandish claims during session, such as saying it has negligible impact onsalmon, passionately rejected any form of regulation, and is already receivinginequitable regulatory passes. Early in session, legislators huddled withagriculture and environmental organizations, e.g., The Farm Bureau along with Futurewise, Audubon, etc., to negotiate the provisions ofthe bill. Tribes were not invited to those meetings, and tribal input on thelegislation was essentially disregarded. The bill went from a one-yearexemption from new regulations at the beginning of session to the 4.5-yearexemption that passed. The bill, which has been characterized by legislators asa compromise, or a “time out” to determine what if any actions should be takento balance the needs of agriculture with the needs for a healthy environment,will likely be signed by the Governor, although veto letters are being sent toher from the tribes. The reasons given by the environmental community forcaving on this legislation were the need to preserve open land, and a deal thatwas apparently struck between them and the agriculture community during thefight against I-933. Tribes were not party to any agreements regarding anymoratorium or in any way concurred with any such exemption.  Tribes haveconcurred that it’s preferable to have properly managed agriculture lands thanto open the door to more and more development, but they have also stated thatthis does not mean they in any way condone further pollution and habitatdegradation, or exemptions from federal or state regulation. Legislators weretold that passage of 5248 would be a major step backward in the protection of fishand wildlife resources and in state-tribal relations prior to their vote. Butthey passed the bill anyway. Assuming that the Governor does sign the bill,options now available to tribes appear to include participation in theRuckelshaus process or overturning SB 5248 through new legislation, federalaction or litigation.

SB 5372, THE

PUGET SOUNDPARTNERSHIP: (Bill as Passed Legislature)

The bill establishing the Puget Sound Partnership passed andwill no doubt be signed by the Governor. This policy will was the subject of alot of “tweaking” during session, which is certainly to be expected, given thegreat significance and complexity of starting a new agency. Some debatecentered around the need for the agency to havevarying levels of accountability, “teeth” and independence from the Governor’sOffice. Debate also focused on funding levels for salmon restoration(inadequate) and for watershed/tribal participation, which was zeroed out fromthe Operating Budget. The new agency is being formed as a major part of theeffort to restore the environment of

Puget Sound,which has become greatly polluted through the years. Ironically, legislatorsreported that the reason the salmon recovery funding was not appropriated atthe request level of $100 million was because of the $100 million that wasgranted to the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program, which funds stateand local parks, trails, fish and wildlife habitat and farmlandpreservation projects. Generally speaking, WWRP provides grants to protect


Washington’snatural places. To learn more about WWRP, click on: Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition’s website.

HB 1024, PBDE’S (Bill as Passed Legislature)

Despite heavy opposition from the chemical industry and some firefighter unions, the bill to phase out PBDE’s, aDepartment of Health request bill, has been signed into law. There wasextensive controversy about the actual impacts of PBDE’s on humans, fish, wildlife and the environment. But there was no controversyabout the incredible expansion of the chemicals, used to fire proof computers,televisions, clothes, furniture, rugs, etc. in the environment. Some firefighting entities found their way clear to support to the bill, realizing PBDE’s will only be phased out as suitable alternatives aredeveloped. The bill makes Washington the first state to start phasing out fire-retarding chemicals used in consumerproducts. The sale and manufacture of products containing the chemicals, knownas PDBEs, or polybrominated diphenyl ethers, is prohibited if safer alternatives are available.

SB 5923, AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES/BALLAST WATER: (View Bill as Passed Legislature)

Supporting the effort to remedy the appalling aquaticinvasive problem in Washington waters, tribes supported passage of this bill, and its predecessors. Theimportance of controlling these challenges goes without question, and yet it has been common for ships to take on ballast from waters from around the worldand dump them into our waters, with inadequate. The result has all too oftenbeen the introduction of plant and animal species that can take over the marinehabitats of our region.

SB 6117, RECLAIMED WATER: (View Bill as Passed Legislature)

The Reclaimed Water Bill passed and has been sent to theGovernor. NWIFC maintained a “no consensus” position on this bill due todiffering perspectives among member tribes. Ultimately, much of the bill wasrelegated to “study” status and is to include tribes. The general intent of thebill is to encourage the use of reclaimed water for various uses such as golfcourse irrigation. One of the most controversial considerations related to thislegislation during session pertained to use to augment streams. The study taskforce is to be convened by the Department of Ecology and a report is due to thelegislature by December 31, 2007.

HB 1646, FISH SAMPLING, (View Bill as Passed Legislature)

This bill, which has been sent to the Governor, supports theability of state agents to take various samples from harvested salmon, etc., toaid investigations related to poaching, etc. A request to clarify that tribalharvesters are exempt from such inspections by state agents did not make thefinal cut. Achieving exemption language, in an effort to clarify enforcement inthe field, proved to be illusive in other bills as well. Nonetheless, tribalharvesters operating under tribal regulations are exempt from stateprosecution—whether it’s clarified in state law or not.

SB 6001, LIMITED GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS (View Bill as Passed Legislature)

This Climate Change-related bill limits greenhouse-gasemissions from new power plants and bars utilities from entering new long-termpower contracts with coal-fired power plants.

HB 2220 —SHELLFISH AQUACULTURE (View Bill as Passed Legislature)

Tribes worked in concert with the shellfish growers’industry on this bill throughout session. The ultimate result—after survivingextensive efforts by some legislators to cater to “Nimbies”whose primary interest was aesthetic (but posed as environmental)—was passageof a mutually acceptable bill.

FUNDING

The Operating, Capitol and Transportation budgets are stillunder review, and some detailed information will be distributed as implicationsclarify. However, the final budgets are available at the links on the PriorityBills List, and PDF copies of the natural resources sections are beingdistributed to tribes Lawmakersapproved a big $33.4 billion two-year operating budget that uses a large shareof the state’s $2.2 billion tax windfall to plow more than $1 billion intoschools, expand college enrollment by 9,700 students, cover 39,000 more kids inhealth care, and begin the $8 billion task of cleaning up Puget Soundpollution.

WWRP

The Capital Budget included a record $100 million forWashington Wildlife Recreation Program projects. WWRP, which has included someminimal tribal participation, funds habitat restoration programs and purchasesof lands with prime habitat, with a bent toward the provision of recreationopportunities and farmland preservation. During session NWIFC was informed bysome legislators that this $100 million item cut into

salmon restoration funding.

PILOT TRIBAL WATER PROJECT

This is an effort that has been on the mid-burner for several years. Itinvolves a government-to-government-to-government (tribal/state/federal) mediation process that is voluntary to participating tribes, NEPA-like and analternative to water adjudication. Current participating tribes includeQuinault and Tulalip. The Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution is afederal agency being contracted with to do the mediation and the Department ofEcology and participating tribes are at the table. It became evident that anextension of $150,000 appropriated by the 2006 State Legislature was needed,however. As it currently appears, $200,000 in new funding has been appropriatedin the Operating Budget now on the Governor’s desk.

OIL SPILLPREVENTION AND RESPONSE

A deal was struck between the two houses and the Governorregarding oil spill funding. Even though the Oil Spill Advisory Committee andthe Ocean Policy Work Group recommended that the state step up to provide itsshare of funding for a year around tug at Neah Bay,the heads of the two houses and the Governor determined not to take a (barrel)“tax vote” this year. The Governor, who has focused heavilyon federal funding for this purpose. She’s convinced that SenatorCantwell’s S 2440, which would fund the construction of an enhanced tug, willpass and thus she was inclined to only provide piecemeal funding for the nextfew years. A part time tug will be funded for 2008 and a full time tug for 2009through the supplemental budget. If the federal government has not taken actionby that time, other funding sources will be discussed. The OSAC will be fundedat the existing level for the biennium (+ $200,000 for studies), even thoughthe Governor had leaned toward sunsetting it earlierthis session. Shortfalls in funds for oil spill work at DOE may be a problem.There will be a JLARC review of that in the interim. Tribal testimony hasemphasized the critical nature of the oil spill danger and pushed for statesupport of Cantwell’s bill.

A FEW OF THE BILLS THAT FAILED

Generally speaking, there was a positive relationshipbetween tribes/NWIFC and legislators this session. There was a stronginclination on the part of lawmakers to listen to tribal input, and a number ofunfavorable bills went by the wayside as a result. Some of these include:

SB5733, HPA PERMITS AND PREVENTION OF FLOOD DAMAGE

This bill, which tribes consistently opposed, was intendedto force the Department of Fish and Wildlife to issue hydraulic permits, at thedirection of counties that determine there has been chronic damage (2 years) toproperty by flooding. Initially, such permits were to be exempt from SEPA andthe agency was to consider private property on an equal basis with fish.Several of these concerns were alleviated by amendments, but the emphasis oncounty authorities remained.

HB 1727, GROWTH MANAGEMENT—RURAL VILLAGES

Rural Villages, backed by the Cascade Land Conservancy, cameinto the legislature, apparently on a greased skid toward passage. The troublewas that tribes had never been consulted. Meetings early in session resulted ina tribal position that never wavered—that a study on urban sprawl would beokay, as long as it involved tribes and as long as it did not focus exclusivelyon urban villages, but rather on the broader topic of solutions to urbansprawl. Urban villages, essentially satellite communities in somewhat isolatedareas, were held up as a great alternative to carte blanche sprawl. Tribesdidn’t buy it, feeling that these villages are harmful to the environment inmany ways and that no such process is legitimate without full tribalparticipation. The first bill was killed, but the concept resurrected in HB1727, and realtors/builders commenced a major television advertising campaignto support it. Their effort failed.

HB 1453/SB 5519, POINTS OF WATER DIVERSION BILL

This legislation proposed to exempt water users who changethe point source of their water, within the same “pool” of water. Tribesopposed it, saying it would result in larger takes of water, particularlyinchoate water—and it failed to pass.

HB 1748/SB 5733, HPA PERMITS AND PREVENTION OF FLOOD DAMAGE

This legislation would have directed counties to identifychronic flood-damaged properties (chronic being defined as two years) and enablethe counties to order the WDFW to issue an HPA permit to correct the situation.Trouble was, fixing the situation could have entailedgravel mining, bank hardening or other efforts that would affect fish andwildlife habitat. Tribes opposed the bills throughout session and they failed.

SB 6011, CREATING THE MAURY ISLANDRESERVE

This bill was largely intended to permit expanded gravelmining on Maury Island,which is in Puyallup tribal U&A. As a last ditch effort to salvage the bill, it was engrossed tothe Puget Sound Partnership bill, and hotly debated on the floor, but it failed.

HB 1076, ROCKFISH RESEARCH

This would have supported rockfish research and stock assessment. Tribal testimony supported the concept and asked for tribes to be included, but the legislation failed.

SB 5129, UNLAWFULLY HUNTING UPON THE PROPERTY OF ANOTHER

This bill, which also failed, addressed a problem manylandowners have when hunters go onto their property to hunt or retrieve game.From the tribal perspective the bill was okay, except it needed to clarify thefact that such laws do not apply to tribal hunters. Neither the bill sponsornor WDFW were willing to concede that point—which might be indicative of evenlarger problems.

HB 1193, GOVERNOR APPOINT FISH AND WILDLIFE DIRECTOR

There was not a consensus on this bill, so NWIFC remained neutral on it, but it died from lack of momentum.

Download Federal Update

Congress and other components of the Federal Government. Also attached is the latest PRIORITY FEDERAL BILLS list which provides the titles and status, etc. of federal bills pertaining to natural resources, the environment and other tribal-related bills. All comments welcome.

Note: Congressman Jay Inslee will soon be introducing a bill on tidal power. I will distribute it to tribes as soon as possible. Also, below is a brief on the NOAA Undersea Research Program Act by Senator Ted Stevens, fyi. (This is just to whet your appetite. Wait till you see all the exciting bills in the attachment

APPROPRIATIONS
Overview of FY 2008 Funding Requests
House Interior, Environment & Related Agencies
Total request: $22.287 million for the following programs:
In testimony to be given on April 18, NWIFC Chairman Billy Frank, Jr. will provide the U.S House Subcommittee on Interior, Environment & Related Agencies, chaired by Rep. Norm Dicks, D-WA, a briefing on tribal programs and natural resource management funding needs. He will acknowledge the budget challenges Congress faces, given the obvious priorities of the current Administration. But he will urge that tribal natural resource funding be restored and increased, particularly in the Northwest, due to its great importance. Objectives of the effort are to 1) Secure and enhance Western Washington fisheries management base funding, restoring $1.8 million to BIA/Natural Resources Management/Rights Protection. (The reduction targeted the U.S.-Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty, the Northwest portion of which, 67%, amounted to $1.2 million); 2) Adequately fund Salmon Habitat Restoration, Hatchery Maintenance/Rehabilitation & Reform; 3) Maintain The Timber-Fish-Wildlife (TFW) Program; 4) Maintain the mass marking program; 5) Protect the marine resources of the Pacific Ocean and Puget Sound, co-management of natural resources; 6) Strengthen tribal wildlife management and assure treaty-protected hunting rights and 7) Ensure that the Puget Sound Regional Shellfish Settlement Commitment is met.

House Science, State, Justice and Commerce and Related Agencies
Total request: $9.5 million for the following programs:
On April 24, Chairman Frank will deliver testimony to the House Science, State, Justice and Commerce and Related Agencies Committee, making a request for $500,000 for coastal marine resource management, and $9 million for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund. The $500,000 amount would be intended to increase funding for sanctuary management discussion. The NOAA/Marine Sanctuary Program has provided tribes with nominal funding from their base of about $100,000 for the four tribes participating in sanctuary management discussions. This funding will allow Tribes to build their staffing expertise and support their policy involvement in the process. Also in this testimony, Frank will request $100 million per year for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund through NOAA/NMFS, with $9 million to be provided to NWIFC and its member tribes. The Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF) is a multi-state, multi-tribe program established by Congress in FY-2000 with a primary goal to help recover wild salmon throughout the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.

ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT PROTECTED
Rep. Norm Dicks, D-WA, and senior Democrats warned the Department of Interior recently against making major changes in the Endangered Species Act without involving Congress. The quick and unambiguous response came one day after reports that the Interior Department has been working for months to reinterpret the 1973 law in a way that environmentalists said would gut the primary tool for protecting plants and animals on the verge of extinction. The Bush administration and some Republicans have been working for years to change the act, which they say is onerous and overly expensive for landowners. At each step, however, Congress has blocked the changes. The new approach would change the law unilaterally by changing the way it is interpreted. Those changes surfaced in a 117-page document and in departmental memos that discuss ways to restrict the law without needing congressional approval. Dicks spoke recently with Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, and said he was especially concerned by a proposal that would require extra protection only in areas where endangered species are found. That would significantly narrow protections because current practice includes habitat that historically supported a species, even if that species no longer lives there. “If you’re only going to protect it in its current range, it’s an incentive to unscrupulous people to minimize the range,” Dicks said he told Kempthorne.

Any change in ESA would have significant consequences in the Pacific Northwest, especially for efforts to restore dwindling salmon populations. Environmentalists criticized the Interior proposals, saying they would allow the Army Corps of Engineers and the Bonneville Power Administration, among others, to sidestep a 2005 federal court ruling that limited the amount of water that could pour through Columbia River dams. Another proposed change would narrow when species can be considered in danger of extinction. Currently, that is interpreted as the statute directs some time “in the foreseeable future.” The draft papers suggest a more specific timetable of 20 years for some species and a specific number of generations for others. Other changes would allow logging, development and other projects even if those activities threaten a species but stop short of “hastening” its extinctions. The proposal also calls for states to have greater authority over protecting species. Dicks said he told Kempthorne that the changes being considered are major and shouldn’t be enacted without Congress’ imprint. “I told him we don’t want to see a lot of things changed by rule,” he said, adding that he told Kempthorne, “If you’re going to change the law send up a bill.” Many of the proposals were included in past legislation that was defeated.

THE BUSINESS “TAKE” ON THE ESA ISSUE
In a recent dispatch to businesses and industries across the country, Jim Sims, President and CEO of the Western Business Roundtable, said, “After three years of intense work both inside the Beltway and at the grassroots level by the Roundtable, the Partnership for America and our many allies, we may finally be on the cusp of securing very significant reforms of the Endangered Species Act. In recent months, we have been working intensely to encourage the Bush Administration to release a package of ESA reforms via various administrative processes.” In the dispatch, Sims said the reforms, such as regulatory reforms, new agency guidance, Secretarial directives, etc., may be close to releasing such a package of reforms. Sims indicated that the reform package (links provided below) was apparently linked to environmental organizations by the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The side-by-side analysis, he said, was performed by environmentalists, not the business roundtable.
• Side-By-Side Analysis
• DOI 114 page synthesis of draft regulations
• DOI draft transfer to state regulations
• DOI task list
Sims said the Business Roundtable is analyzing these documents now, and that if the Administration does proceed with a significant reform package the Roundtable can support, “we will need to launch an immediate and overwhelming grassroots and grasstops campaign to support these reforms. The focus of this effort must be to ensure that these reforms go forward and the Congress does not pass legislation to hobble or block their implementation.”

According to its letterhead, “The Roundtable is a non-profit, 501(c)(6) organization that unites a wide variety of business and industry leaders to work on a bipartisan basis for public policies that promote a common sense balance between economic growth and environmental conservation. Its website is:
www.westernroundtable.com.”

GOVERNMENT REPORT SAYS ADMINISTRATION VIOLATES ESA ETHICS RULES
A report just released by the Inspector General of the Department of Interior has found that Assistant Secretary of Fish, Wildlife and Parks Julie MacDonald, who has no biological training, rode roughshod over numerous decisions by agency scientists concerning protection of endangered species. The report also found that MacDonald violated federal ethics rules by sending what the IG’s office called “nonpublic information” to industry lobbyists with groups such as the Pacific Legal Foundation. This self-proclaimed “national leader” in the effort to reform ESA has successfully mounted a number of legal challenges to critical habitat reviews on behalf of their clients such as the California Farm Bureau, the Washington Farm Bureau, and the Arizona Cattle Growers’ Association. The report was conducted at the request of Congressman Nick Rahall, chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources. The IG was asked to investigate based on an anonymous report that MacDonald had “bullied, insulted, and harassed the professional staff of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to change documents and alter biological reporting regarding the Endangered Species program.”

“Through interviewing various sources, including FWS employees and senior officials, and reviewing pertinent documents and e-mails,” the IG wrote, “we confirmed that MacDonald has been heavily involved with editing, commenting on, and reshaping the Endangered Species Program’s scientific reports from the field,” according to the IG. MacDonald admitted that her degree is in civil engineering and that she has no formal educational background in natural sciences, such as biology. Nevertheless, the report found that MacDonald interfered with field reports such as the sage grouse risk analysis, a critical habitat decision for endangered bull trout, a designation of California’s northern and southern tiger salamanders as distinct populations, a decision about California’s delta smelt, and an analysis of California’s vernal pools as critical habitat. In a number of e-mails and comments on the bull trout critical habitat decision, an agent of the IG’s office wrote, “MacDonald forced a reduction in critical habitat miles in the Klamath River basin from 296 to 42 miles.” A former Endangered Species Director, not named in the IG’s report, said that overall, “MacDonald did not want to accept petitions to list species as endangered, and she did not want to designate critical habitats.” A former Interior Department assistant secretary, not named by the IG, who was interviewed for the report, said, “she had a fundamental suspicion of FWS employees because of her belief that they were close with the environmental groups.”

WASHINGTON CONGRESSMEN AIM BILL AT SEA LIONS (H.R.1769)
Congressmen Brian Baird and Doc Hastings of Washington State have introduced a bill to allow killing of the more aggressive sea lions who prey on Columbia River salmon, which just now are heading upriver to spawn. The sea lions, protected by the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act, gather at the base of Bonneville Dam to wait for and feed on the migrating salmon. Wildlife officials have tried harassing the sea lions with large firecrackers and rubber bullets, but with little effect.

Congressmen Norm Dicks and Greg Walden are co-sponsors of the bill, which would create a temporary fast-track process for Oregon, Washington and the four Columbia River treaty tribes to get permits to kill a limited number of the sea lions when nonlethal harassment has failed. In recent years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says, the sea lions have killed thousands of returning salmon, mostly at Bonneville Dam. The fish and the sea lions began entering the river in large numbers in the 1990s, and many sea lions return year after year. Oregon, Washington and Idaho applied last year for federal permission to kill some troublesome California sea lions. That approval process could take five years. In 1995, NOAA Fisheries gave Washington state permission kill sea lions eating endangered steelhead swimming through Ballard Locks in Seattle, but before the executions, Sea World in Florida took the three worst offenders. By some estimates, the sea lions eat about 3 percent of the fish that arrive at the dam, where the salmon school up and are most vulnerable to the sea lions. Eventually, the salmon climb fish ladders to get around the dam Animal rights activists say the sea lion issue takes attention from the larger problems of pollution, destruction of habitat and spawning areas, the dams themselves and other factors that reduce the size of the runs.

SEN. MURRAY PRESSES DOE ON HANFORD CLEAN UP
Senator Patty Murray, D-WA, has expressed concern about the lack of progress of the Hanford 300 Area replacement project. Questioning Department of Energy Undersecretary of Science Dr. Raymond Orbach, she focused on the need to use funding she secured for the project, including $10 million in the Office of Science for Fiscal Year 2007. Much of that funding is currently being held as a result of new and different Office of Management and Budget demands for third-party financing. Orbach told Murray he will be releasing a plan to meet the third-party financing requirement within days, and that OMB’s decision should be made within a month. Orbach responded to a series of pointed questions from Murray by saying he is taking it “one year at a time” and that he “hopes that some resolution will be found.” Murray was in no way satisfied with the response and pledged to keep pressing the issue. Some scientists believe nuclear waste from Hanford is affecting Columbia River ground waters and threatens major devastating effects on the Columbia and parts of the Pacific.

SUPREME COURT SETS BUSH ADMINISTRATION STRAIGHT ON GLOBAL WARMING
In a 5-4 April 2 decision (Massachusetts v. EPA), the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed with the Natural Resource Defense Council that carbon dioxide and other global warming emissions are “pollutants” under the Clean Air Act. It also ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to start curbing those pollutants and ordered EPA to stop relying on illegal excuses and to start getting serious about the problem of global warming pollution from new cars, SUVs and trucks. This obliterates the Bush Administration’s leading excuse for doing nothing about global warming, that it has no power to control carbon pollution.

$7 BILLION OFFER: A SLAP IN THE FACE
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs conducted a hearing on March 29, to check tribal reactions to a $7 billion offer from the Administration to settle outstanding Native property rights and land issues, including the landmark Cobell trust fund case. The committee had invited representatives of the Administration to lay out its concept of “acceptable” Indian trust reform and settlement legislation. Elouise Cobell and other Indian experts were asked to respond to the latest proposal to address 119 years of the U.S. government’s neglect and mismanagement of Indian trust accounts for which it is the trustee. Secretary Dirk Kempthorne testified at the hearing that the trust fund issue is of “crucial importance to the Department of Interior” and added that “it is time for the Federal Government and the Congress to tackle an issue that has been raised by commission after task force after commission for almost a hundred years.” His appearance and willingness to move forward brought praise from committee members.

However, the specifics of the Administration proposals and amounts were less favorably received. Committee Chair Byron Dorgan, D-ND, suggested that individual trust accounts and tribal trust accounts are distinctly different, implying that the Cobell case deserved a settlement of its own. He appeared skeptical about the Administration’s decision to group so many reforms in one package. A representative of the Justice Department also testified. Committee members expressed unhappiness that tribes had had no input into the Administration’s proposed legislative package. If passed, the proposal would mean a middling payment to each of the hundreds of thousands of individuals involved; the settlement amount would be paid out over 10 years–without any interest during that period. Elouise Cobell, the lead plaintiff, was clear in her testimony that she and hundreds of thousands other Indians view the Administration’s proposal as “a slap in the face of every Indian trust beneficiary.”

Download Priority Bills

CONFERENCE CALLS, THE HOT SHEET AND LEG-COM NEWS/VETOES

The final weekly legislative conference call for tribes was held Friday, April 6. These calls, held weekly all through session (in concert with the Department of Ecology) were intended to provide a regular opportunity to be briefed on current natural resource/environmental issues in the legislature, and provide additional opportunity to discuss those issues. The calls were not very well attended, but those who did participate emphasized their usefulness. Your continued comments on this will be welcomed. Leg-Com News and the Priority Bills List will continue to be published weekly during session, and as needed during the interim, as will individual calls, emails, etc. The final Hot Sheets, intended to provide an overview of priority hearings in the legislature, will be published in Leg-Com News as needed. As session ends, a final regular edition of the newsletter will be published to evaluate the up’s and down’s of this year’s Legislature. Also, the annual “veto letter” will be written, intended to provide Governor Gregoire tribal perspectives on bills that make it to her desk. As a matter of course, she has 30 days from the time of receipt to either sign, veto or partially veto these bills. With partial vetoes, she has the authority to veto down to subsections in policy bills or to line items in the budget. Tribes are encouraged to continue providing input on any or all legislation, and to communicate with NWIFC as appropriate to maintain unity of message.

DEADLINES/POSSIBLE EARLY ADJOURNMENT?

The Legislative Calendar set this Friday, April 13, as the final day for the Senate and the House of Representatives to consider each other’s bills and Saturday, April 22 (Earth Day) as the final day of the 2007 Session. However, the “talk on the hill” in Olympia continues to indicate a strong possibility that this session will be wrapped up early, possibly as early as this week. It may be none too soon, either, as there are signs of frayed nerves on the part of some of the lawmakers, e.g., legislators were given this past week end off to try to cool down for the final stretch after a harsh shouting match erupted on the House floor between Rep. Dan Roach, R-Bonney Lake, and Rep. Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, the Majority Leader. Apologies have been made and accepted.

NEXT SESSION/THE INTERIM

Following Sine Die (adjournment) of the 2007 State Legislative Session, some legislative committees will meet, on occasion, during the interim, and they will again come to Olympia for a preparatory week in December, but the next regular session will not occur until January, 2008. However, the interim is not a time to forget about legislators. It is advisable for NWIFC and tribes to maintain and enhance communications with legislators—particularly those from your district—on a regular basis. This is the time when programs, funding and concepts for future legislation is truly developed. It’s a great time for education and backgrounding efforts and a time to improve relationships. It is also advisable, whenever possible, to pursue such objectives in a united way, so the overall tribal position can be strengthened.

SOME BILLS STILL ALIVE/SOME “KILLED”

HB 1727 —Growth Management Planning (Urban Villages)

It is important to remember that bills before the Legislature are never necessarily “dead.” Bills that fail to make deadlines can be resurrected (through exemptions, amendments, etc.) The Rural Villages legislation is an example. The previously “killed” bill that concerned numerous tribes earlier in session, which would move toward the establishment of satellite communities, has been engrossed into House Bill 1727, the “Growth Management Planning” bill, which is alive on the Senate floor. Simultaneously, the Realtors Association has been running television ads encouraging viewers to contact their legislators to support 1727 (and painting themselves as environmentally conscious). The Cascade Land Conservancy worked with Realtors in this process and, with realtors and developers, has been a primary promoter of the legislation. In fact, the number of Rural Village pilots was expanded from 200 to 350, in committee, in the process. Tribes participating in discussions on this issue earlier in session objected to the process used to develop the initial bill, which omitted them. There was concurrence with supporting a study in the interim, which would involve tribal participants and which would look at the broader issue of urban sprawl rather than focus exclusively on Rural Villages. Although the legislation being considered on the Senate floor goes well beyond that, CLC has indicated an interest in building an alliance with tribes over the long term.

SB5733 —HPA Permits and Prevention of Flood Damage

This bill, which tribes have consistently opposed, failed to make deadline and was left behind in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. It was intended to force the Department of Fish and Wildlife to issue hydraulic permits, at the direction of counties that determine there has been chronic damage (2 years) to property by flooding. Such permits were to be exempt from SEPA and the agency was to consider private property on an equal basis with fish. Several of these concerns were alleviated by amendments, but the emphasis on county authorities remained.

HB 2220 —Shellfish Aquaculture

This bill is an example of how complex the legislative process can be. Tribes determined to work with shellfish growers to get a reasonable alternative to an unfavorable bill early in session, and that alliance has held strong since. The bill is currently in Senate Rules and the unfavorable bill, which was largely intended to appease a handful of “nimbies”, was left behind. The bill made it through the House and is now in Senate Rules, with a lot of new appendages. As it now stands, the first preference (tribal and growers) is the House version of HB 2220, and the funding to implement it. The second preference is to “kill” the Senate version of HB 2220, but fund the activities found in the bill through the budget. The outcome to avoid is having the Senate version of HB 2220 enacted, with or without funding. Should the Senate pass its own version, it is hoped that the House not concur and instead ask the Senate to yield its amendments. If the Senate doesn’t yield, we have an impasse, and house-to-house negotiations would have to start again.

SB 5372—The Puget Sound Partnership

This bill is now in House Rules, and there is general concurrence on its content. Those who were hoping the new agency would have more “teeth” are now resting their hopes in the administration process. For now, the Governor has hired former DOE Director Linda Hoffman to assist in the recruitment for the Leadership Council and the executive Director for the new Partnership Agency. The Governor would like to appoint the Leadership Council chair and perhaps 1 or 2 other members, almost immediately after the Bill has passed. Those members would then provide input to Hoffman and the Governor about filling other positions. The Governor would like to have the Council appointments complete by May 31. Concurrently, the Governor’s office will conduct a broad solicitation for the Executive Director’s position. In June, the Leadership Council will provide input to Linda to narrow the list of candidates and provide recommendations to the Governor.

SB 5923—Aquatic Invasive Species (Ballast Water)

This bill is another example of one that some people thought was “dead” but which was brought back to life by coordinated efforts, spurred on by WDFW employee (former NWIFC employee) Allen Pleus. Throughout the session, tribes supported legislation to strengthen and fund efforts to fight the encroachment of invasive species and the dumping of untreated ballast water. The ballast water bill failed to make deadline, but was engrossed into the aquatic species bill. The engrossed bill has now been passed unanimously by the House and is on its way to the Senate for concurrence. The Aquatic Invasive Species committee has hoped to see some amendments to strip EIS requirements from the bill. But it’s alive.

OIL SPILL PREVENTION AND RESPONSE

A deal has been struck between the two houses and the Governor regarding oil spill funding. Even though the Oil Spill Advisory Committee and the Ocean Policy Work Group recommended that the state step up to provide its share of funding for a year around tug at Neah Bay, the heads of the two houses and the Governor determined not to take a (barrel) “tax vote” this year. The Governor, who has focused heavily on federal funding for this purpose. She’s convinced that Senator Cantwell’s S 2440, which would fund the construction of an enhanced tug, will fly and thus she was inclined to only provide piecemeal funding for the next few years. A part time tug will be funded for 2008 and a full time tug for 2009 through the supplemental budget. If the federal government has not taken action by that time, other funding sources will be discussed. The OSAC will be funded at the existing level for the biennium (+ $200,000 for studies), even though the Governor had leaned toward sunsetting it earlier this session. Shortfalls in funds for oil spill work at DOE may be a problem. There will be a JLARC review of that in the interim. Tribal testimony has emphasized the critical nature of the oil spill danger and pushed for state support of Cantwell’s bill.

HOT SHEET

Priority Hearings/Work Sessions of The State Legislature

For The Week of April 9, 2007

Notes: Most action this week will be on the House and Senate floors, caucuses, etc. In addition to the work sessions listed below, a number of committees will conduct interim planning work sessions. For more information, please contact Steve Robinson at (360) 528-4347 or srobinson@nwifc.org. or consult the Legislative Website at www.leg.wa.gov. This is the final regular weekly Hot Sheet for the 2007 Session.

Agriculture & Natural Resources
04/11/07 8:00 am

House Full Committee
House Hearing Rm B
John L. O’Brien Building
Olympia, WA

Work Session:

1. 25 x ’25 Agriculture and Forestry Renewable Energy Initiative.

2. Purse Seine Salmon Fisheries and the North of Falcon Process.

Select Committee on Environmental Health
04/10/07 8:00 am

House Full Committee
House Hearing Rm E
John L. O’Brien Building
Olympia, WA

Work Session: Environmental Health Issues: solid waste technologies, handling, and future vision.

Select Committee on Puget Sound
04/13/07 8:30 am

House Full Committee
House Hearing Rm E
John L. O’Brien Building
Olympia, WA

Work Session: Hood Canal: Environmental update.

Download Hotsheet

DEADLINES ZIPPING BY, ALMOST TIME FOR SINE DIE
Today is the last day for fiscal committees to hear bills from the opposite houses in the State Legislature. So after today, all the action is in caucus and on the floors. The few committee meetings there are will focus on plans for the interim, or on work sessions keyed to certain issues (However, please note on updated Hot Sheet, that there have been some cancellations). Each house will have until April 13 for final action on bills (except initiatives, budget bills, differences between the houses and matters incident to the interim and closing of session). April 22 is the last scheduled day of the session. But there is a lot of hope on the hill that the work can be completed early, enabling an early adjournment, or as the legislature refers to it, Sine Die.

Key above all else for legislators at this juncture is reconciling the House, Senate and Governor’s budgets into one with which most of the state’s lawmakers can concur. There are many differences to settle, and it is difficult to say if these issues will be wrapped up quickly, or if it will turn into a partisan battle. With the democrats in charge, however, early adjournment is a good possibility. To access the budgets, click on http://leap.leg.wa.gov/leap/budget/detail/proposals.asp. Other links include: SHB 1092 – Making appropriations and authorizing expenditures for capital improvements; SHB 1128 – Making operating appropriations for 2007-2009; SHB 1929 – Authorizing utilities to engage in environmental mitigation efforts.

PUGET SOUND PARTNERSHIP, POLICY BILL:PASSES APPROPRIATIONS (SB 5372)
SB 5372, the Senate version of the Puget Sound Partnership policy bill, was passed by the House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee late last week, moving forth a bill that had undergone substantial changes in both houses. The likely scenario now is that it will go through House Rules and onto the House floor. If all goes well there, any necessary reconciling (receding) will be done between the houses and the bill will be sent to the Governor for signing. The budget appropriated to the new agency is now key and is represented in the budgets. It appears that the Senate version of the Capital Budget possibly has $20 million more than the House version. Full analyses of this will be completed soon. It also appears that the ask for $6 million from the Operating Budget for watershed/tribal funding was zeroed out in both the House and Senate. Terry Wright, who has worked extensively on the policy bill this session, has reported to tribes that he believes tribes got most of what was being sought in SB 5372. He added, however, that one issue that remains in the policy bill is the concept of regional action areas. These are no longer new organizations but rather an individual that is designated by each region, to help incorporate local information into the plan (Sec 8 pages 8 through 10). Terry says that this provision in the bill appears to be written loosely enough that it should be workable. He has distributed a copy of the latest bill, along with an outline of its key components, to the tribes. Any tribe with any ongoing concerns about this or any other element of the bill should contact Terry at (360) 528-4336 or twright@nwifc.org.

THE RETURN OF THE RURAL VILLAGE
HB 1727, the Growth Management Planning bill, now in Senate Rules, has been engrossed to resurrect rural villages in the State legislature. Following is a link the striker language: http://www.leg.wa.gov/pub/billinfo/2007-08/Pdf/Amendments/Senate/1727-S.E%20AMS%20GO%20S3188.2.pdf
NWIFC had been informed that the Cascade Land Conservancy worked with realtors and have hung their Rural Villages language onto this existing house bill that is now in Senate Rules. Among other things, the bill expands rural village pilots to 350 (from a previous maximum of 200). Tribes/NWIFC had indicated earlier in session that the farthest we could go with RV’s this session would be a study bill that focuses on a variety of possible approaches to the management of urban sprawl. Tribes have responded to this issue with a resounding NO to this engrossed legislation.

BALLAST WATER BILLS ENGROSSED INTO SB 5923, BILL FAILS DEADLINE, BUT…
The ballast water bills, which have been supported by tribes, but failed to meet deadline due to heavy lobbying by cruise and other elements of the shipping industry, have been merged into SB 5923, the “Aquatic Invasive Species Bill.” Unfortunately, that bill failed to make deadlines also, but there are indications the bill could be exempted from deadline. Tribes able to weigh in on this legislation are encouraged to contact the following legislators. Some key points are provided below.

Rep. Lynn Kessler: 360 786-7904 kessler.lynn@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Kelli Linville: 360 786- 7854 linville.kelli@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Sam Hunt: 360 786-7992 hunt.sam@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Hans Dunshee 360 786-7804 dunshee.hans@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Dave Upthegrove 360 786-7868 upthegrove.dave@leg.wa.gov

Some Key Points Regarding SB 5923:
• This is the priority policy bill for WDFW Enforcement, WDFW aquatic Nuisance Species Unit, and the Ballast Water Work Group.
• It has no negative fiscal impact.
• The aquatic invasive species Enforcement portion of bill (Sec. 1-8) is critical for enhanced prevention of new, and spread of existing invasive species such as zebra/quagga mussels and milfoil. It addresses the primary pathway of introduction and spread – “hitchhiking” on watercraft being transported to and within the state.
• The ballast water portion of bill (Sec. 9-18) necessary to implement consensus recommendation of legislatively created Ballast Water Work Group. The group membership is composed of PSAT, WDFW, shipping industry, oil tanker industry, ports, and environmental stakeholders. This legislation represents 4 years of negotiating and is critical to enhanced capability to prevent invasive species introductions from ballast water.

OIL SPILL BILL SPREADS OUT
HB1488, the “Oil Spill Program” was moved along by the Senate Ways and Means Committee today. This is a stripped down version of the bill which calls for a year round tug at Neah Bay, but has no revenue. The bill is designed to become a vehicle for a compromise that the legislature is working on with the Governor and the state and Makah Tribe is working on with Senator Maria Cantwell. NWIFC and the Makah Tribe testified in favor of this bill—as a step toward federal support for construction of an “enhanced tug” over the next few years. An enhanced tug, similar to the one now based at Prince William Sound in Alaska, would be a newly built vessel capable of responding to any size ship in any kind of weather. It would also likely be used for rescue missions, etc.

INDUSTRY MAKES BIG PUSH AGAINST PBDE BILL (ESHB 1024)
Although the bromine chemical industry stepped up its campaign against the PBDE bill, intended to phase out toxic flame retardants, the bill has moved onto the Senate floor and appears to have “legs.” Tribal testimony supported the PBDE legislation, based on the fact that PBDE’s have become very prevalent in the environment.

For those interested, the Legislative Hotsheet for the week of March 19 is attached, providing a brief overview of the priority hearings in the State Legislative Session. This week’s Leg-Com News and Priority Bills List will follow as they are completed. Don’t forget the 3 p.m. weekly Legislative Conference Call today. (Dial 1 206 553-1454). Also, please be sure to RSVP for the Tribal/Legislative Lunch (The ABC’s of Indian Water Law) to be held noon-1:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 21, on the State Capitol Campus. You can RSVP and/or request directions from Bonita Cleveland at 360 438-1180 or Bcleveland@nwifc.org. All comments welcome.

BILL REQ. #: H-2983.3/07 3rd draft

Tribes: Here’s your “Leg-Com News” for this week. Please note that it includes the Legislative Hot Sheet and the Priority Bills List for this week as well. Also attached, incidentally, is a brand new oil-related bill coming out of the Governor’s Office—legislative deadlines can be exempted. (March 14 is the deadline for bills to be out of their originating house). This particular bill would strengthen the state’s oil spill prevention and response program, by following the legislative recommendations of the Ocean Policy Work Group. All comments welcome.

Leg-Com News

CONFERENCE CALLS
Be sure to call in at 3 p.m. on Fridays to participate in the weekly legislative conference calls. Dial 1-206-553-1454.

TRIBAL/LEGISLATIVE LUNCH
This year’s Tribal/Legislative Lunch, intended to help enhance understanding between the legislature and tribal governments, will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 21 (the first day of spring). This year the topic is “The ABC’s of Tribal Water Law.” Emcees will be Reps. John McCoy, D-Tulalip and Sam Hunt, D-Olympia (the chair of the House State Government and Tribal Affairs Committee) and speakers will include Tulalip Tribes’ Terry Williams, NWIFC’s John Hollowed and Professor Robert Anderson of the University of Washington. There will be a Q and A period and lunch will be provided. The location this year is the Washington Room, in the lower level of the Joel Pritchard Building on the State Capitol Campus. For directions, and to RSVP, please contact Bonita Cleveland at (360) 438-1180 or Bcleveland@nwifc.org.

HALF WAY
The 2007 State Legislative Session has passed the half way mark, and most bills still remaining are shaping up, leaving just a handful we recommend you oppose. Here they are:

SB 5519/HB 1453, The Points of Water Diversion (“Bath Tub”) bills.
This bill would enable water permit holders to change from one out-take source to another without requiring a new permit. This would result in more water take, even if the new out-take is from the same “pool” or “tub” of water.

SB 5733/HB 1748, The HPA Permits and Prevention of Flood Damage bills.
This bill has improved in substitute. It no longer calls for WDFW to consider out-of-stream properties, etc., equally with fish when issuing HPA permits, it no longer calls for SEPA exemption, etc., but it does still tell counties they must instruct WDFW to issue an HPA permit in the case of “chronic” (2 years) flood damage to a given property.

SB 5567, The Salmon and Watershed Planning Integration Group bill.
This bill sticks its nose in where watersheds should decide.

SB 5129, The Unlawfully Hunting Upon The Property of Another bill.
This bill is intended to help property owners keep hunters off their property if they so choose. The one amendment we have requested, which has not been heeded, is to clarify that the state law does not apply to treaty hunters.

SB 5248, The Growth Management/Viability of Agricultural Lands bill.
This bill would exempt agricultural lands from CAO’s and other important land management regulation. The better alternative would be to defer to the Ruckelshaus Policy Consensus Center, which is studying the issue.

Concerns do still remain with a number of the other priority bills still alive this session, such as SB 6117, the Reclaimed Water bill. The amended version of that bill appears to answer most of our concerns in western Washington, but the bill remains problematical for the Columbia River tribes. With most of the bills still alive (see the Priority Bills List), there will be additional opportunities to testify in opposite houses.

HALFWAY MARK

We have reached the halfway point of session and there are two significant deadlines that will impact the progress of legislation. Bills need to be out of fiscal committees today (Monday, March 5) or they’re likely dead for the session. The first deadline, February 28, was the deadline for bills to be out of their original policy committees. Any non-budget bill that is still in the policy committee at this point will likely not be considered for the remainder of the session. By March 14, bills have to be out of their original houses and April 13 is the last day to consider bills from opposite houses. The session is scheduled to adjourn on April 22.

PRIORITY BILLS LIST

With today being the fiscal committee deadline, updating of the Priority Bills List will be done Tuesday morning, to help make the list more up-to-date and meaningful. Some bills are already being dropped from the list due to lack of movement. Meanwhile, here are a few of the key bills still in play:

HB 1424 cisterns /rain barrels (two previous bills were combined; now a 3,000 gallon exemption is in the language). A number of, though not all tribes, have indicated that the substitute bill is okay. Some of the benefits of rain barrels include use of water on properties where it is captured, generally to be used in a manner that keeps it intact with the groundwater at that location, and it can help prevent some water quality damage from storm water runoff. However, overuse of rainwater can affect recharge and rain barrels/cisterns of this size actually comprise exempted storage.

SB 6117, the reclaimed water bill, sponsored by Senator Karen Fraser, D-Olympia, exempts reclaimed water from permitted use in an effort to encourage conservation, and proposed use of reclaimed water intended to augment potable water supplies must be considered in the development or regional water supply plans addressing potable water service by multiple purveyors. It is currently in Senate Ways and Means.

The “Phasing Out PBDE” bills (HB 1024/SB 5034) are still alive. In fact, the House bill has already passed the full house and is assigned to the Senate water committee. The bills would phase out the use of these harmful agents, if viable fire retardant alternatives are found. HB 1024 has passed the full house and has been assigned to the Senate Water Committee.

PUGET SOUND PARTNERSHIP

The Puget Sound Partnership Governance bills, HB 1374 and SB 5372, are both in their respective fiscal committees. HB 1374 was passed by the House Appropriations Committee on March 1 and SB 5372 is scheduled to be heard by Senate Ways & Means this afternoon. Efforts now are focused on getting final touches on the bills, working with the Governor’s Office to assure continuity and choose between the versions of the bill still alive in the legislature.

Here are some of the recommendations still being forwarded by partners: 1) That the Governor express strong support for a bottom up process in the development of the plan and be guided by the principles the partnership embraced in recommendations to the Governor (as contained in the PSP Report, e.g., inclusiveness, collaboration, decisiveness, transparency, bottom up decision making, etc.); 2) That accountability functions simply be realistic, both in terms of timing and cost of the implementation of the accountability system itself. (Too much detail could lead to a lot of paperwork and contentiousness that should be avoided.) 3) Be sure the cost of all of the requirements in both bills, as well as the FTE needs, be fully understood; 4) Recommend that the legislation make it explicit that all action, whether required by the legislation or not, be aimed at advancement of the priorities for restoration and maintenance of Puget Sound’s health; and 5) There should be explicit authority to create a non-for-profit if that appears to make sense in the judgment of the Leadership Council. Other comments and specific language change proposals have been forwarded to tribes.

Budget

Efforts are being made to increase funding for Puget Sound Recovery as recommended by the Puget Sound Partnership. Specifically, $6 million is being sought through the Operating Budget (HB 1127) for participation by tribes and watersheds and $100 million in the Capital Budget (HB 1092, the State Building Construction Account) for Salmon Recovery programs. These increases are critical for the Partnership effort to be assured of success, and for cooperative management to work well. Individual tribal support for this effort is encouraged.

MAKING CONTACT WITH LEGISLATORS AT THE HALF WAY POINT

Following are some recommended ways to make contact with your legislators at this time in order to encourage support or opposition for particular legislation. It is always good to make as personal contact as possible. Most legislators are extremely busy right now, so you might have to try to pull them off “the floor” during sessions. Notes can be sent in during caucuses and floor sessions and typically the particular legislator will come out to spend a few minutes with you (be sure to have specific, timely information available). It is always encouraged to coordinate with legislators’ staff members, and it is sometimes effective to reach them by email (the email formula is simple: Last name.First name @ leg.wa.gov). Brief and to-the-point letters or testimony statements are fine, but remember that there is typically very little time to waste. As always, legislators will tend to listen most carefully to their own constituents. For more tips, please call Steve Robinson at (360) 528-4347 or email srobinson@nwifc.org, or consult www.leg.wa.gov.

LEGISLATIVE HOT SHEET

Note: March 5 is the last day for fiscal committees to hears bills in the House of origin, and March 14 is the last day for Houses of origin to consider their own bills. Thus, most formal action will be taking place on House Floors between now and then, and committee hearings will be rare.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7

Agriculture & Natural Resources 8:00 am House Hearing Rm B O’Brien Building

Work Session: Developing flow management tools for watershed planning.
Work Session 2: Executive Order 07-02: Washington Climate Change Challenge.

THURSDAY, MARCH 8

Commerce & Labor 8:00 am Jt. w/ Senate Labor, Commerce, Research & Development Senate Hearing Room 4 Cherberg Building

Work Session: Tribal-State Compacts Appendix X2 – Rules Governing Tribal Lottery Systems.

• Leg-Com News newsletter which provides a brief overview of the State Legislature for the week;
• The Priority Bills List, which provides the updated status, and recommended positions, of bills related to tribal natural resource management/environmental protection, etc. in the Legislature;
• The Legislative Hot Sheet, providing an overview of related hearings for the week.

For more information, please consult www.leg.wa.gov. Note: I will be in “the other Washington” this week, but will monitor voice mails and emails and endeavor to continue working the state session remotely.

All comments welcome.

Download Priority Bills

Download HB 1239 Explanation

A LOT OF BILLS
So far, there have been more than 2,000 introduced this session. Most legislative committees are overwhelmed with bills and the pressure to have hearings and votes on all the bills is intense, particularly with the first bill cutoff on Feb. 28. The Priority Bills List, distributed to all tribes, provides a look at bills identified as priority natural resource/environment-related bills for you to consider. The list provides an initial recommendation of whether to support, oppose or remain neutral. Please remember to share any thoughts you have on these bills with Steve Robinson at srobinson@nwifc.org or (360) 528-4347. It’s always best to have a united front in the legislature. Those bills that do not have a consensus among the member tribes of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission will be earmarked as such on the list. If there is disagreement on any such listing, please let us know.

SOME PRIORITY BILLS TO BE CONSIDERED THE WEEK OF FEB. 19
Note: Please also check the Legislative Hot Sheet and the Priority Bills List for more complete information.
Monday:
The Senate Government Operations Committee heard SB 5810, a supportable bill that promotes preservation of open space for wildlife. The Senate Natural Resources Committee heard SB 5733, the HPA Flooding Bill. We have opposed the House counterpart of the bill, HB 1748, but the House bill, sponsored by B. Sullivan, is scheduled for executive action in House Agriculture on Feb. 21. Tribal testimony on the bill was definitely in the minority. The bill requires WDFW to consider fish and private property, etc. on an equal par, and also requires the agency to expedite permits if counties determine that chronic flood problems (2 years) exist. Tribes and environmental organizations oppose the bill as written. It is a good one for tribes to weigh in heavily on. That committee will also hear SB 5923 on aquatic invasive species—a favorable bill that strengthens enforcement to help prevent the introduction of damaging species from other waters. Another flood control bill, HB 1339, the “Emergency flood control/streambank restoration” bill, would also enable counties to surge forth with all kinds of projects intended to prevent flood damage. This bill, however, remains in the House Agriculture Committee.
Tuesday
The Senate Government Operations Committee will hear SB 5684 regarding major industrial growth within UGA’s. The primary concern with this one is the elimination of population limits.
The House Local Government Committee will hear HB’s 2091, which would require “reasonable” measures for growth management (okay) and 2092 on Buildable Lands. This bill requires DOE to communicate with counties about the specific expectations of growth management (okay with amendments).
Wednesday
The Senate Transportation Committee will conduct a work session on the Hwy. 520 EIS. Also, the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition will conduct a board meeting in the Columbia Room of the Legislative Building, commencing at 2:30 p.m., followed by a reception in the Governor’s Mansion at 5:30 p.m.
Thursday
The House Local Government Committee will hear HB 2212 and 2213, bills related to Critical Areas Ordinances. Opposition is recommended on these bills, which seek exemptions from CAO’s on the basis of farm plans, etc.
The House Agriculture Committee will hear HB 1241, a bill providing exemptions from the Shoreline Management Act for “normal maintenance” which should be opposed.
The Senate Government Operations Committee will hear SB 5852 on Rural Villages, a bill that has gone through extensive modification and which, as of yet, does not have a tribal consensus.
Friday
The House Puget Sound Committee will be briefed on the effects of upland activities on the water of Hood Canal.

FOCUS ON PUGET SOUND
HB 1374 has been approved by the Committee on Puget Sound on Feb. 13 and is on the House Floor. This bill would create the new Puget Sound Partnership, which would be tasked with restoring the health of the Puget Sound by 2020. The effort has an ambitious agenda that includes a greater emphasis on science-based results and which has generally been supported by tribes. Among other tasks carved out by the effort are the protection of native species, restoration of the health of marine and fresh water habitats, ensuring adequate groundwater levels in rivers and streams, and safeguarding clean water for both drinking and recreation.

PBDE BILLS MOVE
The “Phasing Out PBDE’s” bills, which tribes have supported (HB 1024/SB 5024) have moved along nicely. PBDEs are chemicals that commonly used for flame retardants, and also applied to many household appliances and furniture. PBDEs – an abbreviation for polybrominated diphenyl ethers – accumulate in the environment and can negatively impact brain development. Levels of PBDEs are increasing in people and in the environment, particularly in North America. It is important to phase out their use in common household products because these chemicals can break down and enter household dust and indoor air as well as food. The legisalation would only do so, however, if and when there are effective alternative flame retardants that are just as safe and feasible. HB 1024 is legislation that tries to curtail these toxins before they reach more hazardous levels. PBDE bills include SHB 1024 and SB 5034. The Senate bill, too, has passed its policy committee, and will probably go to full house debate soon. To check movement of other bills, please see the Priority Bills List.

BALLAST WATER
These bills include HB 1299, “Ballast water discharge requirements,” as well as HB 1738 and SB 5748. Tribes have opposed HB 1299, which would permit the dumping of untreated ballast water in cases deemed to be emergencies. The other bills are supportable. All have failed to move. Tribal testimony on HB 1738 and SB 5748 has essentially stated that no ballast water should be released in Northwest waters unless it is properly treated. If there is to be movement of any of these bills, it must come now.

RELINQUISHMENT OF WATER RIGHTS
Tribal testimony has opposed HB 1938 and SB 5849, the “Relinquishment of a Water Right” bills, on the basis that doing so will result in greater loss of water rather than less as proponents claim. Both bills remain in their original committees. Hopefully, they’ll die there. It’s the same old story. The farmers and other water users trek to Olympia in impressive numbers to say the “use it or lose it” laws are unworkable. They hang their story of woe on the position that the danger of losing their water right would logically coerce them to use more water than they need. The main thing wrong with such logic is that the facts prove them wrong. The relinquishment laws have typically resulted in less water used. Oppose. Also oppose SB 5877 on relinquishment, which is in the Senate Water Committee.

RURAL VILLAGES
The introduction of HB 1998/SB 5852, “Rural Villages/Growth Strategies in Rural Areas” bills, supposedly intended to help conserve land and water, failed to impress the tribes, especially when the study portion of the original bill included exemptions from water use restrictions. Conversion of agricultural or forest land and circumvention of the Growth Management Act also failed to impress. But replacement legislation being pondered now promises to manage water within existing water law and work within the confines of GMA. The likely outcome of this session is a state-funded study to determine the prospects of rural villages in managing urban sprawl. There is still no strong support for the process among most tribes, though there is a tendency among tribes that have weighed in on this to be more amenable to a study that looks at the broader picture of improved management of urban sprawl, especially in view of the skyrocketing population in western Washington.

BUILDING MORATORIUMS
HB 2002/ SB 5073: “Phasing Out Building Moratoriums in local areas where water rights have not been processed.” The title says it all. Local governments would not be able to declare building moratoriums in their regions, even if there is no water available to meet the needs of the development. The bills are in the House Agriculture and Senate Water committees. Recommended position: Oppose.

GREENHOUSE GASES
Governor Gregoire has declared war on climate change, in recognition of the severe challenges such change is already bringing to the Northwest, as well as other parts of the country and the world. HB 1210, “Greenhouse gases, emission levels/reduction objectives” is one of the weapons that will hopefully be available to fight that war. The bill is in the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee.

HB 1239 — Questions and Issues

It appears as though this bill modifes the review authority of counties, cities and towns with regard to water system plans of special purpose (water-sewer) districts, or water utility elements of comprehensive plans of those utilities. Those reviews would be limited to the “procedures and criteria” contained in the 2003 Municipal Water Law, Section 8 (as codified in RCW 43.20.260), or rules adopted by the state Department of Health. The legislation has several problems:

(1)It would appear to preempt authority and criteria established in local code or administrative rules for review of these plans. Existing authority in Title 57, requiring local government review of special purpose district plans, has existed for years, and criteria/processes are understood. Such criteria can include, for instance, consistency with elements of the GMA comp plan (land use, zoning, critical areas, aquifer recharge, utility service), or other applicable plans that Counties are obligated by state law to implement (e.g., Coordinated Water Supply; Groundwater Management).
(2)There are no “procedures and criteria” for water system plans in the statute. The change made in the 2003 MWL required that DOH “ensure” consistency between local government comprehensive plans. The implication is that local governments make such a determination, and the DOH role is to ensure that the water system plan tracks with the comp plan. DOH has developed guidance and checklists that adopt a very limited view of the scope of this review, largely so that DOH’s workload is limited where local governments are not staffed to perform the review. However, none of the guidance documents/checklists are based on any direction in the statute. Nearly four years after passage of the legislation, DOH has yet to develop any proposed rules for this issue. DOH has said it may initiate rulemaking in 2007.
(3)It appears to set up two different standards of review for special purpose district plans—one for water system plans, one for sewer plans. If contained in a single comprehensive plan, it will be difficult to sort out.

Proposed solution: Insert a statement similar to “Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing the department of health to establish criteria, standards, or procedures for local government review of plans as required under this chapter, nor shall this section be construed as limiting the separate and independent authority of any city, town or county to establish criteria and standards under chapter 36.70A, or other land use or planning authority, for review and approval of such plans.”

For those interested, the Legislative Hot Sheet for next week is attached, providing an overview of priority hearings and work sessions in the Washington State Legislature. All comments welcome.

Note: With few exceptions, the Hot Sheet does not list executive sessions on bills. However, as the first bill cutoff deadline approaches, many bills will be “exec’ed,” or voted on. The best way to have impact on bills that have been heard is directly with members of the key committees. Also, please note that this schedule, as always, is subject to change. We will send out key updates during the week as they become available.

Download Hotsheet Word Document

Attached please fine Leg-Com News and the Legislative Hot Sheet for the week of February 5, 2007, providing an overview of natural resource/environmental issues and hearings in the 2007 Session of the Washington State Legislature. All comments welcome. (Note: The new version of the Priority Bills List will be distributed soon.)

Leg-Com PDF

Hotsheet Word Document

For those interested, “LEG COM NEWS” for this week is attached, providing an overview of the Washington State Legislature specific to tribal natural resource and environmental issues. Also attached is this week’s verion of the “PRIORITY BILLS LIST” and, for your convenience, another copy of this week’s “LEGISLATIVE HOT SHEET” which was previously distributed is also attached. All comments are welcome.

For those interested, attached is the State Legislative Hotsheet for the week of January 29, providing an abbreviated schedule of priority natural resource/environmental hearings and work sessions. All comments welcome.

Steve Robinson
Policy Analyst
NW Indian Fisheries Commission
(360) 528-4347
cell: (360) 951-2494
fax: (360) 753-8659
email: srobinson@nwifc.org
web: www.nwifc.org

THE BEAT GOES ON

We’ve
made it through the first two weeks of the 105 day 2007 State
Legislative Session with flying colors, with testimony provided on
issues ranging from the recommendations of the Ocean Policy Work
Group and the Puget Sound Partnership to PBDE’s and stormwater.
So we’re out of the starting gate and speeding full steam ahead
toward the first cutoff date (see Session Cutoff Calendar below).
With this edition of “Leg-Com News,” you’ll find
two Priority Bills lists. One provides the current status of the
bills, with a brief description. (This will be updated regularly
during session.) The other list categorizes the priority bills by
subject, and provides a link to them on the legislative website,
which provides bill language, digests, history and reports.

STAY
IN TOUCH

Tribes
should be in regular contact with legislators, particularly those
from your district, to assure an open channel of communications,
develop rapport and help get the message across that legislation must
be supportive of tribes and treaty rights. It can be tough to nail
senators and representatives down sometimes, so it’s important
to plan ahead. But it’s also important to be able to respond
quickly to the various issues that arise. Good ways to keep
communicating, in addition to visits, include calls to staff members,
flagging legislators off the floor (notes can be sent in during floor
sessions and typically they will come out to meet with you), emails
and testimony at hearings and work sessions. It’s also
important for us to stay in touch with each other to help assure
continuity in our messages.

SOME
OF THE KEY BILLS IN PLAY

PUGET
SOUND PARTNERSHIP: Several hearings took place last week on
the Puget Sound Partnership, and they will continue as efforts are
made to get HB 1374 and SB 5372, the “governance bill,”
passed as fast as possible to enable passage of a budget to fund the
new agency. Key budget issues include: 1) Make the agency as
independent as possible; 2) Be sure the agency be adequately funded;
3) boost the proposed salmon recovery funding to $100 million and 4)
Be sure tribes are funded at $2 million peryear. Strong emphasis is
being placed on balanced budgets, but it’s clear that there
will be need for more funding both this biennium and in future years
for this effort to succeed. (Please watch the weekly “Hot
Sheet” for further information.)

SB
5145, “CONSERVATION OF AGRICULTURE LANDS”: A
number of serious problems have been reported in the language of SB
5145, which seeks to conserve agricultural lands. That, in itself,
may be admirable. But there are concerns that the approach may
jeopardize wetland mitigation banks in areas where they are critical
components of salmon restoration. Delta habitat is obviously needed
to recover salmon. Other areas important for salmon recovery may
also be affected. The bill also requires a hearing examiner process
to get any wetland banking in agricultural lands. Rather than a
regulatory approach, which is frequently needed to preserve lands,
the legislation is based on voluntary programs.

HB
1078/SB 5129, UNLAWFUL HUNTING BILLS: These bills create the
crime, “Unlawfully hunting on the property of another.”
Language in the bill, lifted directly from RCW 9A.52.010: “…A
person who enters or remains upon unimproved and apparently unused
land, which is neither fenced nor otherwise enclosed in a manner
designed to exclude intruders, does so with license and privilege
unless notice against trespass is personally communicated to him by
the owner of the land or some other authorized person, or unless
notice is given by posting in a conspicuous manner. Land that is used
for commercial aquaculture or for growing an agricultural crop or
crops, other than timber, is not unimproved and apparently unused
land if a crop or any other sign of cultivation is clearly visible or
if notice is given by posting in a conspicuous manner. Similarly, a
field fenced in any manner is not unimproved and apparently unused
land.” The legislation obviously cannot apply to tribes, and it
may be advantageous to secure amended language that so indicates.

RE:
HB 1250, “INDEPENDENT” BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION/FISH AND
WILDLIFE COMMISSION: The elk population of the St. Helen’s
herd is too high for the forage available to them. Thus, many of the
elk in that herd are starving. According to Intertribal Wildlife
Coordinator Todd Wilbur, the solution of establishing feed stations
is not as good as it may sound because it would very possibly cause a
domino effect of disease. A far better solution would be to transport
animals to other locations to augment populations where the counts
are down. There’s a higher cost for that approach, of course.
It’s cheaper and easier to feed the elk, but the longer term impacts
would likely be undesirable. He adds that the North Cascades herd is
in a lot better condition, as are herds in Eastern Washington. Ken
Currens of NWIFC says the bill is a bad idea because hiring outside
consultants to provide the Fish and Wildlife Commission with
“independent” data would “second guess” WDFW
and potentially the tribes’ work on elk.

HB
1226,
FIRST PEOPLES’ LANGUAGE/CULTURE/HISTORY TEACHER CERTIFICATION:
Since the passage of HB 1495, a great amount of work has been done by
tribal educators to follow through, and make the most of the spread
of education about the tribes through the public school system. This
bill is part of the result.

As
indicated by the long list of “priority” bills to follow,
there has been no shortage of legislation introduce so far this
session. With the first bill cutoff at the end of February, it’s
likely that there will be many more. As time goes on, however, many
will certainly be trimmed off the list. Also, commencing with the
list to be distributed later this week, recommended positions will be
included. Prioritization of bills is based on pertinence to natural
resource/environmental management and interest to the tribes. More
bills will be featured in upcoming editions of LEG-COM NEWS.

PRIORITY BILLS

UPDATED
JAN. 22, 2007

SHB
1037 Electrical transmission HOUSE RULES

HB
1045- Brd Nat Res Proceeds from DNR HOUSE/EXEC ACTION

HB
1075- Fish and Wildlife Department-Inspections HOUSE AG/NAT RES.

HB
1076- Rockfish Research HOUSE AG/NAT RES

HB
1077- Fish and Wildlife Data-Public Disclosure HS. SG/TRIBAL
AFFAIRS

HB
1078- Unlawful Hunting HOUSE AG

HB
1082- Shellfish/seaweed harvest license inspections HOUSE AG

HB
1122- Forest health/trust lands-Contract harvest/silvic. HOUSE AG

HB
1123- DNR authority/certain aquatic lands HOUSE AG

HB
1128- Making operating appropriations for 2007-2009 HOUSE APPROP

HB
1135- Cities designate aquifer conservation zones. HOUSE LOCAL
GOV

HB
1137- Creating the water quality capital account. HS CAPITAL
BUDGET

HB
1146- Wildlife damage claims HOUSE AG

HB
1147- Damage to livestock HOUSE AG

HB
1160- Green highways in the energy freedom program. HOUSE
TECH/EN

HB
1167- Preserving the viability of agricultural lands. HOUSE LOCAL
GOV

HB
1180- Business/Occ taxation of environmental remediation HOUSE
FINANCE

HB
1185- Timber purchases-Extending reporting requirements HOUSE AG

HB
1192- Gov appoint director of Parks and Recreation HOUSE AG

HB
1193- Gov appoint director of Fish and Wildlife Department HOUSE AG

HB
1195- Preserving regulatory assistance HS ST GOV/TRIBAL AFF

HB
1208- Carbon monoxide mitigation HOUSE AG

HB
1210- Reducing Greenhouse Emissions HOUSE AG

HB
1211- Solar hot water tax exemptions HOUSE TECH

HB
1226- First Peoples’ language/culture/history teacher
certif.. HS SG/TRIBAL AFFAIRS

HB
1238- Water-sewer districts HOUSE LOCAL GOV

HB
1239- Water supply comprehensive plans HOUSE LOCAL GOV

HB
1240- Small water systems HOUSE FINANCE

HB
1248- WDFW Funding HOUSE AG

HB
1249- One year deferral/hunter education HOUSE AG

HB
1250- F/W Commission-Independent biological Information HOUSE AG

HB
1258- Air pollution control agency HOUSE LOCAL GOV

HB
1293- Regulatory assessment fees HOUSE APPROPS

HB
1295- Water Resource Area 14 HOUSE PUGET SOUND

HB
1299- Ballast water management HOUSE AG

HB
1301- Air quality projects HOUSE TECH

HB
1303- Cleaner energy HOUSE AG

HB
1358- Growth Management HOUSE LOC GOV

HB
1374- Puget Sound Partnership HOUSE PUGET SOUND

HB
1402- “Private carriers” of solid waste HOUSE
TRANSPORT

HB
1408- Conversion of forest land to non-forest uses HOUSE AG

HB
1409- Local Jurisdiction/Conversion-related forest practices HOUSE AG

HB
1412- One year extension-Shoreline program updates HOUSE LOC GOV

HB
1413- Changing “floodway” in Shoreline Management
Act HOUSE LOC GOV

HB
1419- Ensuring clean up of hazardous waste sites HOUSE ENVIRON.

HB
1423- Small rainwater collection facilities HOUSE AG/NAT RES

HB
1424- Regulating certain rainwater collection facilities HOUSE AG/NR

HB
1453 DOE/Pts of water diversion HOUSE AG

HB
1459 Oil/gas regulatory cost reimbursements HOUSE TECH.

HB
1464 Reducing environmental impact/state facilities HOUSE ENV HEALTH

HJM
4002- NW Straits Marine Conservation Initiative HOUSE PUGET SOUND

SB
5003- State Prks/Rec Comm. SEN NAT RES

SB
5025- American Indian scholarships SEN HIGHER ED

SB
5034- Polybrominated diphenyl SEN WATER

SB
5035- Timber purchases SEN WAYS/MEANS

SB
5041- Regulatory assessment fees SEN WAYS/MEANS

SB
5073- Building permit moratoriums SEN WATER

SB
5074- Watershed planning SEN WATER

SB
5076- Increased protection for Agriculture SEN AG

SB
5099- Office of Regulatory Assistance SEN GOV OPS

SB
5108- Farmland preservation office SEN AG

SB
5110- Water Quality Capital Acct SEN WAYS/MEANS

SB
5117- Fish and Wildlife Commission SEN NAT RES

SB
5122 – Preserving regulatory assistance provisions. SEN GOV OPS

SB
5126- Fish and Wildlife Data SEN NAT RES

SB
5127- Rockfish Research SEN NAT RES

SB
5128- Commercial fish harvest SEN NAT RES

SB
5129- Unlawful hunting SEN NAT RES

SB
5130- Hunting Access SEN NAT RES

SB
5131- Fish and Wildlife Department SEN NAT RES

SB
5132- Fish and Wildlife Dept Funding SEN NAT RES

SB
5136 – Transportation appropriations for 2007-2009 SEN TRANSPORT

SB5138
- Supplemental transportation approps SEN TRANSP

SB
5139 – Operating supplement appropriations SEN WAYS/MEANS

SB
5140 – Operating appropriations for 2007-2009 SEN WAYS/MEANS

SB
5141 – Land use regulations/laws of descent SEN GOV OPS

SB
5145 - Requirements for conservation of agr lands SEN AG

SB
5156 – Appropriations for capital improvements SEN WAYS/MNS

SB
5186- Beneficial use of discarded vehicle tires SEN WATER

SB
5194- Joint Task Force on Siting of Essential Public Facilities SEN
GOV OPS

(SB’s
5209, 5259, 5260, 5163, 5043, 5219 + SJR 8204 all State Parks)
SEN NAT RES

SB
5213- Promoting Coordinated Ocean Management Policies SEN NAT RES

SB
5216- Maintaining Washington’s working forest land base SEN
NAT RES

SB
5224- Salmon Recovery Office SEN NAT RES

SB
5231- Water-sewer districts-Revising provisions SEN GOV OPS

SB
5232- Small water systems SEN WAYS/MEANS

SB
5236- Public lands management SEN NAT RES

SB
5257- IAC become Recreation & Conservation Funding Board SEN NAT
RES

SB
5294- Considering environmental effects/Corp. Directors SEN
JUDICIARY

SB
5315- Forest fires/property access SEN NAT RES

SB
5359- Greenhouse gas reporting SEN WATER

SB
5364- Fish and Wildlife Director SEN NAT RES

SB
5372- Puget Sound Partnership SEN WATER

SB
5386- B/O taxation of environmental remediation services SEN
WAYS/MEANS

SB
5393- Ensuring clean up of hazardous waste sites SEN WATER

SB
5416- Encouraging carbon dioxide mitigation SEN WATER/ENV

SB
5420- Req. state agencies post info on websites SEN GOV OPS

SB
5421- Environmental covenants SEN WATER/ENERGY

SB
5444 Notice to property owners/condemnation SEN JUDICIARY

SB
5445 Oil/gas regulatory cost reimbursements SEN WATER

SB
5449 Voluntary environmental management SEN GOV OPS

SB
5461 Improving forest health on state trust lands SEN NAT RES

SB
5473 Changing definition of floodway in shoreling mg act SEN WATER

SB
5474 One year extension for shoreline master program updates SEN
WATER

SB
5475 Underground storage tanks SEN WATER

SGA
9091 Allyson Brooks, Director Dept of Arch/Hist. Preservation SEN GOV
OPS

Z-0348.2- Forest
Health (not yet assigned)

SJM
8000 – Global atmospheric transport of pollution.

All
bills can be accessed on the legislative website at www.leg.wa.gov
or click on the following links:

PRIORITY
BILL LINKS, CATEGORIZED

(Please
call Steve Robinson, 360 528-4347 or email srobinson@nwifc.org
with any comments)

Download Hotsheet

D’s AT THE HELM
PELOSI FIRST WOMAN SPEAKER
When Democrats seized control of Congress for the first time in 12 years, they did so with a jubilant Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, becoming the first woman ever to rise to speaker of the House. Rep. Pelosi will exert vast influence over the congressional agenda and stands second in the line of succession to the presidency. In her first step as speaker, she orchestrated bipartisan passage of a measure banning lawmakers from accepting gifts and free trips from lobbyists and discounted trips on private planes. Under her leadership, the House has started off with an ambitious reform agenda that takes on some very powerful interests, including big oil companies. They and other right wing lobbying interests have been swarming Capital Hill. Big oil alone has launched a $100 million dollar PR campaign. How Congress can weather such forces remains to be seen, but so far the leadership of the 100th Congress has, in a word, been bold.

INITIAL AGENDA
Democratic leaders in both chambers plan to work for the first seven weeks of the year, foregoing the traditional break before the President’s annual State of the Union address (expected on January 23). As part of House Democrats’ initial agenda, they have been tied up considering legislation they consider priority, such as raising the minimum wage, implementing additional 9/11 commission recommendations and reducing student loan interest rates. They are also working to curtail some oil and gas subsidies. Democrats left in place, for now, a GOP rule limiting committee chairmen to three two-year terms. Another rule change, adopted 430-0, would curb past abuses in which GOP leaders held votes open for hours and excluded Democratic lawmakers from House-Senate negotiations on the language of final bills sent to the White House for enactment. House Republicans are accusing Democrats of reneging on their pledge to give minority Republicans a role in shaping legislation, as the initial agenda has not been going through committees.

D’s TALKING TOUGH ON THE BUDGET
The 110th Congress convened January 4, and immediately faced a lengthy to-do list, including the completion of last year’s spending bills, which have at least temporarily been wrapped up in a continuing resolution (status quo funding) and a “Paygo” (pay-as-you-go) package. Any efforts to acquire additional funding will require strong focus and enduring effort. Members of Congress who propose additions to the status quo budget for projects benefiting their home state will, in most cases, be required to propose new taxes or other means to pay for them. “Today, we are cutting our national credit card,” said Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., during floor debate. To underscore the point, he cut a credit card in half at a news conference populated by moderate-to-conservative “Blue Dog” Democrats who are most responsible for implementing the rule. Ranking Republican on House Budget Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin wrote incoming Chairman John M. Spratt Jr. of South Carolina yesterday to request a hearing and markup of the PAYGO package.

SETTLEMENT ON CONTINUING RESOLUTION PREDICTED
The top House Democratic appropriator says he expects lawmakers will agree on a continuing resolution to fund the government through the end of FY 2007 before the current resolution expires next month. But that task will not be easy because of the limited room to increase spending from FY 2006 levels and the many voices seeking additional money for favored programs. “In the end, we’ll make some mistakes,’’ says Appropriations Chairman David R. Obey, D-WI. “And in the end, whatever we do we’ll leave an absolute mess because you can’t correct it within the confines of the Republican budget resolution,” he added, referring to the $873 billion cap for fiscal 2007 discretionary spending. Obey and his Senate counterpart, Robert C. Byrd, D-WV, have said they plan to handle the outstanding FY 2007 spending bills in a single measure, rather than trying to pass them individually. Obey says he hopes lawmakers will finish the process by Feb. 15, the date the current resolution expires (PL 109-383). Still, he conceded that outside factors could slow their work. He said leaders are starting with the FY 2006 baseline, then examining which programs most need additional money. Obey confirmed that the committees have received many requests for exemptions from the previous year’s funding level.

REGARDING CONTINUING RESOLUTIONS AND EARMARKS
With the adoption of a continuing resolution on the federal budget pending, some federal budgets are likely to either receive the lowest funding level from the House-approved budget, the Senate-approved budget or the budget enacted by Congress in the most recent fiscal year (FY 2006). Supposedly, neither lobbyists, special interests, rank-and-file congressional members nor, for the most part, the White House could change the amounts. But 2006 and 2007 are unconventional years in the chronicle of government budgeting. Congress may settle on flat funding of all federal programs, at least until February 15, possibly followed by more of the same until October with the commencement of the next fiscal year, except for those programs to which special adjustments are made. Special adjustments could, in fact, make for the most detailed CR on the federal budget since Congress began to rely on them in 1994. The specter of special adjustments, of course, reopens the door to high-stakes lobbying from every direction, even though the Democratic budget leadership team has stated in strong terms that they contemplate only ”limited adjustments.” The focus on funding levels, in effect, places a moratorium on earmarks—at least until Congress can pass reforms on lobbying practices.

Earmarks are the special spending provisions that congressional members can insert, anonymously and without debate, into appropriations bills. They almost always favor projects in a lawmaker’s home state or constituency. They are fully constitutional, in that the Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse. And they are popular with lawmakers and the general public for obvious reasons. But they have ballooned from a few hundred in the 1970’s to more than 15,000 in the last session.

NORTHWEST
With only two of the eleven congressional budgets passed last session, and with the budget restraining policies being professed so far this year, the level of funding forthcoming from this year’s session still remains somewhat in question. Tribes had been assured by the Northwest congressional delegation that everything possible would be done to help secure tribal requests—particularly those connected with the House and Senate Science, State, Justice and Commerce committees. The largest issue of interest continues to be the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund. The House proposed funding is at a measly $20 million while the Senate proposal is at $90 million. One of those amounts could potentially prevail, although the status quo level may also continue to be in effect this year if a Continuing Resolution continues to be retained. (For information on other specific appropriations issues, please see prior editions.)

DISCLOSURE/SCANDALS
House lawmakers passed a Democratic proposal to require lawmakers to disclose publicly the pet projects — referred to as earmarks in legislative terms — they want for their districts or states, such as “Alaska’s bridge to nowhere” in the 109th Congress. The emphasis on earmark reform came in the wake of the Randy “Duke” Cunningham scandal, in which the former California GOP congressman pleaded guilty to corruption charges for channeling earmarks to defense contractors in exchange for $2.4 million in bribes.

CAMPAIGN DONATIONS
Nationwide, tribal contributions in 2005-06 elections dropped about 30% from 2003-04 levels—ending six years of sharp increases—apparently a backlash from the Jack Abramoff scandal. Abramoff, a lobbyist who admitted directing tribal clients to give lawmakers millions to sway legislation and policy, plead guilty in January of last year. The tribes were not implicated in the criminal probe but were stung by the scrutiny of their politicking. (Please see attached related article regarding a recent defeat in the Senate of an effort to single out tribes for campaign donation limitations.)

BUSH SIGNS MAGNUSON-STEVENS REAUTHORIZATION ACT
President Bush signed into law HR 5946, the “Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006″ on January 12. Upon signing, Bush said in a printed statement that the act “sets a firm deadline to end over-fishing in America; contributes to replenishing America’s fish stocks; strengthens enforcement of America’s fishing laws; and implements international agreements on fishery management and the protection of polar bears.” He also said the executive branch would implement the act consistently with his authority to conduct foreign affairs, and he specifically emphasized the significance of the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium, as well as Marine Mammal Protection as enacted by the act. He also specified the importance of the act as it relates to notifications/entry and transit of specified portions of the US Exclusive Economic Zone (in a manner consistent, to the maximum extent permissible, with treaties and other international obligations to which the US is a party.)

HR 5946, sponsored by former Congressman Richard Pombo, was passed on December 7, 2006.

TRIBAL LEADERS STRATEGY SESSION
The National Congress of American Indians will host a tribal leaders strategy session to work with Indian Country in setting a national tribal agenda for the 110th Congress on January 23-24. The special session will focus largely on tribal opportunities in government contracting, and will be conducted in the Holiday Inn on The Hill in Washington D.C. For more details on this or other NCAI programs and events, please consult www.ncai.org or NCAI Government Affairs Director Heather Dawn Thompson at (202) 466-7767 or hthompson@ncai.org.

STATE OF INDIAN NATIONS ADDRESS
NCAI President Joe Garcia will deliver the 5th annual State of Indian Nations Address on January 25 from the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The speech will be delivered two days after President Bush’s anticipated State of the Union Address. The speech will be featured in a live webcast at www.ncai.org and press from around the country will be able to teleconference into the event. For more information, please NCAI Press Director Adam McMullin at amcmullin@ncai.org, Elyse Sparks at esparks@ncai.org or Steve Robinson of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission at (360) 528-4347, srobinson@nwifc.org.

WILLIAM MYERS WITHDRAWS
William Myers, a controversial Bush nomination to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, has withdrawn from that nomination. NCAI and tribes from across the country had opposed the nomination, saying Myers has a documented disregard for federal law affecting Native sacred places and unwillingness to consider tribal government views.

TRIBES COMMEMORATE PRESIDENT FORD
As the tributes gathered around the reputation of President Gerald R. Ford following his death on Dec. 26, much of Indian country remembered that his signature is on some of the most important tribal-specific laws of modern times, the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 and the Indian Health Care Improvement Act of 1976. Many tribal nations have flown flags at half-mast. They also closed offices and issued statements in praise of the late president. (Shoshone-Bannock Mark Trahant, editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer editorial section, devoted a column to President Ford’s achievements for the tribes.) These two laws, taken together, made tribes more nearly the masters of their own programs than any federal action ever had since the advent of the reservation era.

Ford demonstrated his opposition to termination on Jan. 4, 1975, when he signed the self-determination act as Public Law 93-638, authorizing the federal government to sign the well-known ”638 contracts” with tribes. These enabled tribal governments to manage their own programs with federal funds. Previously, federal agencies had managed Indian-specific programs, delaying the day when tribes would implement their own solutions, expand the skills and capacities of their own members, reinvest federal funding into their own local economies and develop their own equivalent of a civil service. The law promoted an end to federal paternalism in conducting Indian programs and changed the relationship between tribes and federal agencies. ”I am strongly opposed to termination,” the president had said. ”In the last century, federal policy has vacillated between paternalism and the threat of terminating federal responsibility. I am opposed to both extremes. I believe in maintaining a stable policy so that Indians and Indian leaders can plan and work confidently for the future.”

NO HOUSE INDIAN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, YET
There will be no House Indian Affairs Committee in the foreseeable future. Rep. Dale Kildee, D-MI, and Rep. Tom Cole, R-OK, had advocated for the creation of such a committee. But Democrats have not wanted to take up the issue as they transition into power for the first time in 12 years. Also, the House Resources Committee has said no tribes approached its new chairman, Rep. Nick Rahall, D-WV, about the issue. Apparently, only Tex Hall, chairman of the Inter-Tribal Economic Alliance and former NCAI president, actively supported the idea. In the 110th Congress, the House Resources committee will remain the primary committee with jurisdiction over Indian issues.

WASHINGTON DELEGATION MEMBERS GET HIGH POSTS IN 110th CONGRESS
Senator Patty Murray, D-WA, has become the Senate’s highest-ranking woman and Rep. Norm Dicks, D-WA has inherited the coveted chairmanship of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee. Murray, in her third term, is secretary of the Democratic caucus, the party’s No. 4 leadership role, and is the only woman among the Senate’s top leaders. Murray, 56, of Seattle, is a former preschool teacher and state lawmaker who won an open seat in the Senate in 1992. She was re-elected in 1998 and 2004. The longest-serving senator from Oregon or Washington, Murray is expected to head an Appropriations subcommittee controlling billions of dollars in transportation spending, and move up to a senior post on the Veterans Affairs Committee. She also will serve on the Budget Committee and head a subcommittee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-WA., who was re-elected to a second term in November, will chair the vitally important Subcommittee on Oceans, Fisheries and the Coast Guard (a subcommittee to the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee) and will serve on the tax-writing Finance Committee, a key panel in everything from Social Security to health care to trade. Congressman Norm Dicks will head the powerful Interior Appropriations subcommittee, which oversees a vast swath of environmental spending, and Rep. Jim McDermott, D-WA, has the nod to head the Human Resources subcommittee of the tax-writing House Ways and Means panel. Rep. Adam Smith, D-WA, will chair the House Armed Services subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities.

NEW BILLS
As Congress moves along, the attached list of Priority Federal Bills list will obviously expand. Federal Update will be a tool to help tribes track the progress of these bills, which relate to natural resource management and environmental protection. One of the new bills is S 39, the Ocean and Coastal Exploration and NOAA Act (or Ocean Act), currently sponsored solely by Sen. Ted Stevens, R-AK. Among other things, it calls on NOAA, in consultation with the National Science Foundation, to establish an ocean exploration program to promote collaboration with other agency programs.

Another new bill is H.R.260, the Marine and Freshwater Research bill, sponsored by Rep. Vernon Ehlers, R-MI. This bill would establish marine and freshwater research, development, and demonstration programs to support efforts to prevent, control, and eradicate invasive species, as well as to educate citizens and stakeholders and restore ecosystems. Initial read of the bill is that it is favorable legislation, which covers many of the needs expressed by the various invasive species related committees. The bill addresses research needs, development of a national database, and technology development in the shipping industry (a major vector for invasive species). If this bill passes it will be interesting to see how much of this initial write-up stays intact. The bill does include language for eligible grantees such as other appropriate groups, diverse institutions, and Native American.

An apology resolution, with which Congress would acknowledge a long history of depredations and ill-conceived policies against the tribes, has surfaced again this session. HJR 3 was introduced in the House on January 4, 2007, and referred to the Committee on Resources. The resolution would recognize and honor: The special legal and political relationship tribes have with the federal government, the solemn covenant with the land we share, the thousands of years Native Peoples have stewarded and protected this land, and state governments that have begun reconciliation with recognized tribes. It also encourages all state governments to work toward reconciling relationships with tribes within their boundaries. HJR 3 was introduced by Rep. Jo Ann Davis, R-VA. (In former efforts to pass such apologies, tribes objected that making such an apology would be meaningless until federal policies that harm tribes, ranging from failure to reconcile trust obligations to failure to protect the environment.)

Download Hotsheet

Attached please find this week’s edition of LEG-COM NEWS, which includes a PRIORITY BILLS LIST and other information pertinent to tribal natural resource/environmental management in the Washington State Legislature. Also attached is the Legislative HOTSHEET for the week of January 15. All comments welcome.

WEEK ONE
PHASING OUT PBDE’S—BILL ON FAST TRACK
This week, NWIFC provided testimony on both HB 1024 and SB 5034, bills which make Washington the first state in the country to move toward a ban on Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) fire retardants. Found in mattresses, computers and furniture, as well as in fish, mother’s breast milk and throughout the environment with skyrocketing frequency, the new House Environment Committee quickly passed the bill. In the process of doing so, committee member Sam Hunt, D-Olympia, accused the industry that makes the stuff of putting up a smokescreen to stop the ban. “This bill is on fire,” said Sen. Erik Poulsen, D-West Seattle, chairman of the Senate Water, Energy and Environment Committee, which is also likely to pass the bill in quick order. The measure’s quick progress this year comes after two years of debate and opposition by chemical companies that spent more than $107,000 lobbying the Legislature last year.

By highlighting the fire-safety issues and downplaying the health risks, the chemical industry had successfully jammed the bill, even as those backing it — including some fire officials — insist safer alternatives could be used. The bill would ban three forms of PBDEs, commonly referred to as penta and octa, both of which already have been phased out, and deca, which is still in wide use. However, many companies already make PBDE-free products in order to comply with European trade laws. Levels of PBDEs in house dust are about 10 times higher in the U.S. than in Europe, and most of the PBDE in house dust is Deca. PBDEs have been found in a variety of foods and in breast milk. Studies show that children are more exposed to PBDEs than adults because of their contact with house dust and their intake from breast milk. And consumers have no way of knowing what products in their homes contain PBDEs.

WEEK TWO
THE PUGET SOUND PARTNERSHIP
The week of January 15 will be a busy one for the partnership. As indicated on the attached Hotsheet,, the week will commence with a work session by the House Select Committee on Puget Sound, 10 a.m. in House Hearing Room E. This session, entitled “Governance: What Structures Do We Have Now,” is essentially a backgrounder for the committee members, several of whom are new, about the role of the various governments, including tribes, in natural resource management and in the development of the Puget Sound Partnership plan. Terry Wright of the NWIFC staff has been dubbed by tribes to handle this task.

Then on Wednesday, Jan. 17, panel presentations by the co-chairs of the PSP (Jay Manning, Bill Ruckelshaus and Terry Williams standing in for Billy Frank) will provide briefings on the partnership report and the governance bill, which is expected to be available for review Monday. They will testify in front of a joint session of the Senate Natural Resources, Ocean and Recreation Committee at 10 a.m. (SHR 4), the House Select Committee on Puget Sound at 1:30 p.m. (HHR D), then back to the Senate Natural Resources, Ocean and Recreation Committee at 3:30 (SHR 4). Copies of the governance bill will be distributed to tribes as soon as they are available.

OCEAN POLICY
The Ocean Policy Work Group will report on “Washington’s Ocean Action Plan: Enhancing Management of Washington State’s Ocean and Outer Coasts to the Senate Natural Resources, Ocean and Recreation Committee, chaired by Sen. Ken Jacobsen, D-Seattle, at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 15 (SHR 2)….yes, the Legislature works on holidays, as well as many nights and week ends during session. Steve Robinson will testify at this hearing at the request of the ocean tribes, and will essentially express the ongoing need for state/tribal cooperation and emphasize the need for government-to-government relations through the Intergovernmental Policy Council proposed by the ocean tribes.

OTHER HEARINGS AND WORK SESSIONS
In addition to other sessions and hearings briefly described in the Hotsheet, the various committees of the Washington State Legislature will address subjects ranging from the effect of the environment on the health of children and budget reports from natural resource agencies to an update report from the state’s Biodiversity Council and the economic impacts of climate change on the state. Another session worthy of particular note is “An Introduction To Indian Law” being presented to the House State Government and Tribal Affairs Committee (8 a.m. Friday, HHR D) by University of Washington Law Professor Robert Anderson.

NATIVE LEGISLATORS
Four state legislators, the largest number ever, now claim American Indian or Alaska Native heritage. The increase parallels national growth, with 64 Native people serving in legislatures in 14 states, up from 50 people last year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Oklahoma has by far the most, with 18. Alaska and Montana are next with nine each, then New Mexico with six, and Washington with four. It’s the most ever in the history of the U.S., a result of a renaissance of political activism in Indian Country. Newly elected lawmakers include Don Barlow, an enrolled member of the Ottawa Nation of Oklahoma and Democratic representative from Spokane, and Claudia Kauffman, an enrolled member of the Nez Perce tribe and Democrat from Kent just elected to the Senate. The state’s other two Indian lawmakers are Reps. John McCoy, D-Tulalip, and Jeff Morris, D-Mount Vernon, who claims Tsimshian heritage. McCoy was first elected in 2002 and Morris in 1996.

GOVERNOR’S BUDGET AND PARKS AND WILDLIFE
Governor Christine Gregoire’s 2007-2009 budget proposal. It includes $70 million for the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program (WWRP) a state grant program that protects habitat and creates new local and state parks. WWRP has been funded at around $50 million a year since the program was created in 1990. Over the past 16 years the WWRP has funded nearly 800 projects throughout Washington State. The $70 million does fall short of the $100 million WWRP advocates, and some opportunities for important community park development, habitat acquisition and farmland preservation may be lost as a result. WWRP includes a broad range of organizations representing diverse interests from across the state, ranging from Priorities for a Healthy Washington and the Washington Realtors to the Washington State Association of Counties and the State Fish and Wildlife Commission. NWIFC staff monitors the entity. Please consult www.wildliferecreation.org for more information.

RALPH MUNRO INVITATION
Former Secretary of State and current Chairman of Citizens Committee for Shared Strategy Ralph Munro invites you to attend a discussion and update on salmon recovery efforts, Puget Sound cleanup and other related subjects Thursday morning, January 18, anytime between 7:15 am and 8 30 a.m. in the Secretary of State’s Office (2nd floor of the Capitol Building). Bill Ruckelshaus will speak, and a light breakfast will be served.

The 2007 Washington State Legislature, scheduled to be a 105-day session, commences Monday, January 8. Again, this year, NWIFC will endeavor to support your efforts to keep informed about the session, and to provide input to the legislative process. Leg-Com News, which has been published weekly during session for the past 11 years, will again be published at the end of each week in the interest of providing a brief overview of general “going’s on” on the “hill” in Olympia. Weekly “Hot Sheets” (priority hearing schedules) and Priority Bill lists and other information will also be distributed. You will also receive a directory of legislators and other information we hope you will find useful. Other communications will take place as needed, including briefings at Commission meetings, Environmental Policy Committee meetings and by conference call (see below). For more information, please contact Steve Robinson at (360) 528-4347 or email srobinson@nwifc.org. Note: This week’s Hot Sheet, and contact information for all legislators and their staff members, are attached.

CONFERENCE CALLS EVERY FRIDAY
NWIFC will host conference calls for tribes every Friday at 3 p.m., commencing January 12 and continuing throughout the session. These calls will normally include officials of the Department of Ecology (at least for part of the call). Discussions will focus on natural resource/environmental issues in the legislature, and provide a regular briefings as well as opportunities to brainstorm on issues. To access the calls, please dial (206) 553—1454.

LEGISLATIVE WEBSITE/HOTLINE
A great amount of information about the legislature can also be acquired at www.leg.wa.gov, ranging from bills and bill digests to schedules and calendars. The toll free hotline, 1-800-562-6000, is also available for general Q and A, and as one means to provide input to the legislative process.

STATE GOVERNMENT AND TRIBAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Tribal affairs has been added to the House State Government Committee this year, raising the visibility of tribes and tribal issues on the hill. The committee will be chaired by Rep. Sam Hunt, D-Olympia, The State Government Committee has historically considered issues relating to the processes of government, including state agency rule-making; state government reorganization; election laws; public disclosure, campaign reform, and ethics laws; various public employee laws; and certain state agencies and the offices of elected state officials that are not under the purview of another committee. Now it will also consider bills of significance to tribes.

THE PUGET SOUND PARTNERSHIP
One of the key issues this session will be the prospective establishment of a new state agency, “The Puget Sound Partnership” to work closely with existing governments, including tribes, and the public to protect and restore the health of Puget Sound and manage the Puget Sound Ecosystem as a whole, foster collaborative problem solving and create mutual and clear accountability. The bill to establish the new agency (temporary number Z-0369.1/07) is being drafted by the Governor’s Office. The draft bill should be available soon. Note: A number of initial work sessions have been scheduled by the new House Select Committee on Puget Sound, including one for Wednesday, Jan. 10, at 1:30 p.m. in House Hearing Room B of the John O’Brien Building in Olympia, to which the committee staff has requested that a tribal representative sit on a panel and provide a general briefing on tribal/NWIFC activities and programs in Puget Sound management.

PBDE’s
HB 1024, a bill to phase out the use of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers is on the fast track this session. A hearing on the bill has been scheduled by the House Select Committee on Environmental Health for 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 9 in House Hearing Room E of the John O’Brien Building in Olympia (with executive action scheduled for the 11th), and by the Senate Water, Energy & Telecommunications Committee on Wednesday, Jan. 10 at 3:30 p.m. in Senate Hearing Room 4 of the Cherberg Building (The Senate counterpart is not yet numbered. The temporary number is Z-0236.2). The Department of Health and the Department of Ecology have asked for tribal support of this DOE-request bill.

SHELLFISH AQUACULTURE
Legislation has been drafted by Rep. Patricia Lantz, D-Gig Harbor, which contains limitations on the Department of Health’s certification abilities pertaining to geoduck aquaculture. These limits could seriously impact DOH’s commitments in its Consent Decree with the tribes. Maryann Guichard, Director of the DOH Office of Shellfish has been informed of this, and has advised Rep. Lantz of this problem. Geoduck farmers have also expressed concern that the legislative effort could, in response to increased private landowner complaints about the industry, lead to applicability of several state environmental statutes, e.g., the Shoreline Management Act and the State Hydraulic Code, which have not historically been required. The growers are promoting substitute legislation, which largely focuses on streamlining the regulatory process affecting them. Their rationale for this is that the environmental benefits of geoduck aquaculture, like other shellfish aquaculture, far outweigh any detriments concerns.

PRIORITY BILLS LIST (Based on pre-filed bills—much more to come after the 2007 Session commences on January 8. Also, as the session progresses, “high” priority bills will be identified, categorized and recommended positions provided. Tribal comments on bills is always welcome.)

Bill Description Sponsor
HB 1024 Phasing our PBDE’s Hunter
HB 1025 Public Works Projects Rolfes
HB 1032 Sustainable Energy Trust Morris
HB 1033 Research/Science & Tech Morris
HB 1036 Renewable Energy Morris
HB 1039 DOE Permits/Mod Toxics Act Sullivan, B.
HB 1040 Specialized Forest Products Sullivan, B.
HB 1045 Brd Nat Res Proceeds from DNR Sullivan, B.
SB 5003 State Prks/Rec Comm. Pflug

These, and all bills, can be accessed on the legislative website at www.leg.wa.gov.
Note: TVW Television will again monitor all committee hearings, at least in audio form. For a list of stations, or to listen to hearings, go to www.tvw.org.

House of Reps. Roster

Hot Sheet

APPROPRIATIONS
The mid-term election could have some eventual impacts on the appropriations process, as members of Congress prepare to journey to the nation’s capitol for a brief lame duck congress on November 13. Appropriations will be the most critical issue at hand. The continuing resolution, sent to the White House attached to the FY 2007 defense appropriations bill (HR 5631) has been relied upon to fund all appropriations bills not enacted by October 1. The House Interior-Environment Appropriations Bill (HR 5386), which provides the majority of funding to Northwest tribal natural resource programs (principally through BIA Fish and Wildlife Program/Rights Protection category) made it to the Senate Calendar on June 29, where it stalled.

Challenges will continue no matter which party controls the House and/or Senate in 2007, but the election results are unlikely to solve the appropriations puzzle that will confront members of the 109th Congress during a post-election session. Challenges resulting from a $300 billion federal deficit will continue to plague Congress. In fact, neither side is yet talking about how the remaining FY 2007 spending bills will be completed. Some congressional representatives have said there is no realistic chance the Republican-controlled 109th will be able to pass all the remaining appropriations bills individually during the lame-duck session. Democrats have not settled on a plan for handling appropriations if they do win control. When Congress recessed last month, lawmakers had cleared two of 11 spending bills. History, and the short time available for additional appropriations work, suggests that an omnibus package wrapping together the outstanding bills is likely, no matter what happens at the polls.

In 2004, Congress cleared four bills prior to the election and ended up wrapping the remaining nine into the fiscal 2005 foreign operations spending law. Allen Schick, a University of Maryland professor specializing in the federal budget and Congress, predicts that if Republicans suffer big losses on Nov. 7, they will look to an omnibus or a yearlong continuing resolution. If Democrats win control of both chambers in the next Congress, Schick said, “The Republicans are going to be so demoralized and disoriented and leaderless” that it will be difficult for them to hold their lines on appropriations during a lame duck session. Schick predicted that after GOP election losses, Bush would be reluctant to veto an omnibus spending package — even one exceeding the administration’s zealously defended discretionary spending ceiling. “Spend a few billion dollars more, don’t worry about the president. . . . Bush will have to swallow it,” he said.

Northwest
Tribes have been assured by the Northwest congressional delegation that everything possible will be done to help secure tribal requests—particularly those connected with the House and Senate Science, State, Justice and Commerce committees. The largest issue of interest before these committees continues to be the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund. The House proposed funding for PCSR is at a measly $20 million while the Senate proposal is at $90 million. It remains to be seen, as with the Interior-Environment bill, what amounts will ultimately result. One possible scenario would be a “quick fix.” More likely there will be a series of Continuing Resolutions to guide FY 2007 funding until (and if) a larger package is completed in December. (For information on other specific appropriations issues, please see prior editions.)

A GRAVEYARD FOR TAX CUTS?
Senator George Voinovich, R-OH, a self-styled “deficit hawk” and opponent of recent tax cut legislation, is well positioned to join the Finance Committee in the 110th Congress. Depending on the outcome of the elections, Republican vacancies on the tax-writing panel could number as many as two or as few as zero. Voinovich is the most senior Senate Republican at this point who has openly expressed interest in joining the committee. Republican staff and tax-cut backers in the business community said they worry that a Finance Committee that includes Voinovich will become a graveyard for tax-cut legislation, and have begun speculating on possible strategies to thwart his bid. With Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-TN, retiring, and Senator Rick Santorum, R-PA, struggling to keep his seat, as many as two Finance GOP slots could be in play. Tax votes have been problematic for the GOP even with the panel’s two-seat Republican edge — largely because of moderate GOP Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine, who has prevented the committee from passing an extension of capital gains and dividend tax cuts as part of a tax-cut reconciliation package. Voinovich has been philosophically aligned with Snowe and at odds with most Senate Republicans on tax cuts, as a strong proponent of balanced budgets. The fate of the Bush tax cuts, which have a major impact on funding available through other avenues, remains to be seen.

OTHER POSSIBLE CHANGES
In addition to other changes that could be brought on by the November 7 election, Congressman Norm Dicks, D-WA, stands to take over the House Appropriations Committee and Senator Daniel K. Inouye, D-HA, stands to become the Senate Commerce Committee Chair—if the democrats assume leadership of their respective houses. Also of substantial significance, in the event of a democratic victory in the House, would be the probable replacement of Rep. Richard Pombo, R-CA, by Rep. Nick Rahall, D-WV, as chair of House Resources and the replacement of Rep. William Thomas, R-CA, by Rep. Charles Rangel, D-NY, as chair of the Ways and Means Committee. Some additional probable key changes in the Senate, if the democrats win the majority, would be Senator Byron Dorgan, D-ND, for Senator John McCain, R-AZ, as chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and Senator Robert Byrd, D-WV, for Senator Thad Cochran, R-MS, as chair of the Appropriations Committee. Additional information on possible changes, in the event of victories by democrats, can be found at this website: www.nationaljournal.com .

BUSH SEES OPPORTUNITY TO RESOLVE TRIBAL WATER CLAIMS
With two Western water rights agreements already in hand, the Bush administration sees an opportunity to resolve more tribal claims within the next year, according to Michael Bogert, counselor to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne. Bogert, speaking to a tribal water conference at the University of Oregon in Eugene last week, said negotiations over water disputes in New Mexico, Montana and California involving 11 tribes, bands or pueblos are nearing fruition. He said those talks could lead to agreements resulting in federal legislation — such as a 2004 agreement involving the Nez Perce of Idaho and the Gila River Indian Community of Arizona. Tribal claims represent some of the thorniest, most persistent disputes among Western water fights. Sometimes, the prospect of decades in court prompts the parties to compromise, giving up some part of their claims to gain certainty about future supplies for farming, municipal growth and tribal economic development.

Settlements generally require not only approval of tribal and state officials, but also federal legislation, which can provide money that allows tribes to develop the water guaranteed by an agreement or, as in the case of the Gila agreement, reduce a portion of the local debt to the federal government for a water project. After Kempthorne became Interior secretary, he hired Bogert, who was the Region 10 EPA Administrator, and who was his legal adviser as governor of Idaho during negotiatons over the Nez Perce settlement, in which tribes gave up claims to most Snake River Basin water in exchange for cash, land, environmental improvements and water cutbacks.

Because of his experience as governor, Kempthorne supports “local, on-the-ground solutions … he is not a fan of top-down, dictated outcomes from the federal government,” Bogert said. He said the negotiations that appear ripest are among a total of 19 “looming on the horizon” in the West. Some of the negotiations involve multiple tribes or tribal units. All, he said, are in various stages of progress.

UPDATE ON PILOT WATER PROJECT
An effort to establish a pilot tribal/state/federal pilot process to pursue water rights settlements in western Washington was the recipient of $150,000 in seed funding from the 2006 state legislature. The effort would provide opportunities to seek agreement in water management in pilot watersheds. Ultimately, the negotiations could take one of several possible paths toward conciliation, e.g., an MOA, adjudication, quantification, etc., but the effort would give the agreement the force of law. The Udall Institute for Environmental Dispute Resolution (a federal agency) is willing to participate in a mediation role, and to serve as the entity through which tribes would volunteer to participate. Criteria for that participation and a scope of work for the institute is being drafted. Governor Gregoire has written a letter of support for the effort, which would work similarly to a NEPA process. A portion of the funding would enable NWIFC to work with the institute and DOE to help facilitate the process and pave the way for passage of a federal bill, which Senator Maria Cantwell has agreed to introduce, to codify the process and open the door for federal appropriations. Cantwell’s sponsorship was based on state/tribal concurrence to participate, which has been established through the Governor’s letter and the legislative budget proviso language. Tribal participation will be on a voluntary basis.

INTERIOR DELAYS TRUST REFORM REGULATIONS
The Bush administration has delayed action on its trust reform regulations amid a controversial proposal to end the federal government’s management responsibilities. The regulations were first published in the Federal Register in August. They focus on probate, land title, land conveyances and other issues related to the management of the 55-million acre Indian estate. But those duties would effectively be wiped away under a Bush plan that would dramatically alter the Indian trust relationship. The administration has proposed to end the federal government’s management duties within 10 years. Tribes and individual Indians have long sought more control over decisions affecting their trust assets. But since the proposal would take the federal government off the hook for past and future mismanagement claims, it has been met with resistance in Indian Country.

“The most profoundly unfair part of this proposal is that the government would actually attempt to end all potential liability for mismanagement on the date of enactment, not only for past conduct, but all future malfeasance,” said Elouise Cobell, the lead plaintiff in the landmark trust fund lawsuit. “In essence, the government would like to provide themselves a blank check to commit fraud or theft and have no liability.” Cobell’s lawsuit, filed in 1996, covers the Individual Indian Money (IIM) trust. About $13 billion has passed through the trust since the early 1900s but the federal government has failed to account for the money as required of a trustee. The Bush administration is pushing Congress to settle all tribal and individual claims. A “briefing paper” released by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee last week outlines proposals to phase out the government’s responsibilities and force consolidation of Indian lands.

Senate staffers have held field meetings to solicit input on the proposed changes. A November 9 Washington, D.C. hearing has been cancelled and replaced with a “tribal leaders” discussion on November 16. Comments can be submitted until January 2, 2007. The period was extended to “ensure that all interested parties, including tribes and individual Indians, have the opportunity to review the proposed rule and prepare their comments.

EDITORIAL FROM DENVER POST: INTERIOR’S IN TROUBLE
The U.S. Interior Department has much to worry about, and perhaps much to answer for, on key questions about how it’s doing its job. Two weeks ago, Interior’s Inspector General, Earl Devaney, told a congressional committee, “Simply stated, short of a crime, anything goes at the highest levels of the Department of the Interior.” Devaney was particularly concerned about handling of oil and gas leasing, going back to the Clinton administration in the 1990s, and by the activities of former deputy secretary J. Steven Griles, who was suspected of favoring former lobbying clients. Flawed Gulf of Mexico oil and gas leases signed during the late 1990s may have lost the government more than $1 billion in royalties. And lawsuits pending in Oklahoma City claim the department’s Minerals Management Service has failed to collect full payment of other royalties. In Wyoming, both outside critics and internal memos say the department’s Bureau of Land Management is failing to enforce environmental standards on energy development. Such problems will require a strong response from new Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, a former Idaho governor, if the department is to repair its credibility and properly fulfill its mission of both conservation and recovering appropriate value from development. Kempthorne has yet to signal broad policy directions for Interior, but in one area his decisions have been encouraging.

Kempthorne and Bomar face major challenges, including an estimated $5 billion backlog of park maintenance projects. And as the service looks forward to its centennial in 2016, managers will have to face the issue of what the parks mean to the American people in the 21st century. As reported in Monday’s Denver Post, overnight stays in the national parks have been declining for a decade. The Interior Department should commit itself to maintaining and improving the parks in such a way that they will remain an attractive destination for vacationing families and outdoor enthusiasts.

NCAI LAUNCHES WEB CAMPAIGN ON TRUST SETTLEMENT
The National Congress of American Indians has launched a grassroots web campaign on its website, www.ncai.org/indianfairness, to give a voice to thousands of supporters and to increase awareness of their effort to support a resolution to the Indian Trust Settlement issue. The launch of this web campaign, titled “Indian Fairness,” was originally timed to coincide with the pending markup on Senate Bill 1439, which was taken off the Senate agenda recently. NCAI is asking Congress to move forward with “The Indian Trust Reform Act of 2006,” which would end years of litigation and create an $8 billion settlement to return funds that rightfully belong to Indian account holders.

HOUSE ENERGY COMMITTEE MOVES PIPELINE SAFETY BILL
The House Energy and Commerce Committee recently approved a bill strengthening safety regulations governing oil and gas pipelines in October, partially in response to leaks in BP’s Prudhoe Bay, Alaska pipeline earlier this year, and its subsequent shutdown of the largest producing oil field in the nation. The bill, HR 5782, authorizes $329 million over the next four fiscal years to enhance the inspection and safety programs. It also would strengthen state “one-call” programs, which are aimed at avoiding construction and excavation accidents involving pipelines. Legislation to improve pipeline safety was already working its way through Congress when low-pressure petroleum pipelines owned by BP leaked in Alaska. The leaks gave new impetus to the bill and prompted additions to the legislation requiring tighter inspection standards on the low-pressure pipelines. Low pressure pipelines are defined as a pipe which carries liquid held at less than five times the pressure level that the pipe is rated to accept. Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton, R-TX, said the pipeline failures in Alaska were “inexcusable.”

SENATE DROUGHT MEASURE PASSES COMMERCE COMMITTEE
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee recently moved to combat drought by moving to approve S 2751, a bill that would create a broad-based national plan to better forecast and track bouts of the natural disaster. The legislation would create an $11 million National Integrated Drought Information System, which would include an internet portal, for farmers and meteorologists to exchange information and analysis of how to prevent major damage to industries ranging from agriculture to tourism. The newly created information system will be administered by NOAA.

CONGRESSMEN TO ENLIST HELP TO KILL SEA LIONS
For many years, fishery officials have tried everything to keep California sea lions from munching on threatened salmon, from yelling at them to setting off firecrackers. Nothing has worked. Two Washington state congressmen recently announced that they are going to enlist Congress for help. Sea lions are protected by federal law. But Republican Doc Hastings and Democrat Brian Baird said they will introduce a bill that would let officials from the two states, as well as Indians, quickly obtain permits to kill a limited number of sea lions that are going after salmon, specifically in the Columbia River. “These sea lions have bellied up to an endangered salmon buffet and they will be eating thousands and thousands of fish right here this spring if we don’t do something about it,” Hastings said. When the Marine Mammal Protection Act was passed in 1972, there were about 50,000 California sea lions. Oregon officials say their numbers have grown to 300,000 in the Columbia River alone. The bill proposed by Baird and Hastings could allow the states to kill some of the sea lions as early as next spring. Michael Garrity, associate director of American Rivers, objects to the bill, saying dams and the degradation of salmon species’ habitat is more to blame for their decline in numbers.

APPROPRIATIONS
With the start of the 2007 fiscal year just hours away, the Senate has cleared a continuing resolution to keep funds for most government programs flowing through November 17. The stopgap measure will fund programs covered by all appropriations bills that are not enacted by the October 1 start of fiscal 2007, a list expected to include everything but the Defense (HR 5631) and Homeland Security (HR 5441) spending measures.

The continuing resolution was attached to the final fiscal 2007 Defense appropriations bill (HR 5631), the first that Congress has sent to President Bush for the coming year. The Senate cleared the package by 100-0.The stopgap spending measure will set funding at the lowest of the House-passed, Senate-passed or fiscal 2006 levels. But because the Senate has passed only the Defense and Homeland Security bills , the actual funding level will be the lowest of the House-passed or fiscal 2006 level for most of the measures. The House has not passed the Labor-HHS-Education spending measure (HR 5647), leaving funding for the broad array of domestic programs covered by that bill at the fiscal 2006 level. Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-WV, ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, denounced the Republican leadership for delaying action on the domestic spending bills prior to the start of the fiscal year. “When it comes to domestic priorities, the majority leadership is apparently satisfied with a mindless continuing resolution,” Byrd said. Congress is set to return November 13. Unless lawmakers are able to clear the remaining measures by Nov. 17 — an unlikely prospect — another continuing resolution will be needed. While the Appropriations chairmen, Representative Jerry Lewis, R-CA, and Senator Thad Cochran, R-MS, have reiterated their desire to avoid a year-end omnibus package of appropriations bills, they face many obstacles given the limited number of legislative days remaining this year.

So, challenges resulting from a $300 billion federal deficit continue in Congress. The House Interior-Environment Appropriations Bill (HR 5386), which provides the majority of funding to Northwest tribal natural resource programs (principally through BIA Fish and Wildlife Program/Rights Protection category) made it to the Senate Calendar on June 29, but hasn’t moved since. Northwest tribal representatives have met with members of the Northwest delegation on the appropriations committees, and have been assured they will do all they can to help secure tribal requests. HR 5386 was the first of the Fiscal Year 2007 spending bills to advance to the opposite house. However, the House and Senate Science, State, Justice and Commerce committees have worked up their bills. The largest issue of interest before these committees is the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund. The House has low-balled that funding at $20 million while the Senate, due largely to the efforts of Senator Patty Murray, has secured $90 million. It remains to be seen, as with the Interior-Environment bill, what amounts will ultimately result. One possible scenario would be a “quick fix.” More likely there will be a series of Continuing Resolutions to guide Fiscal Year 2007 funding until (and if) a larger package is completed in December.

PARTNERS FOR FISH AND WILDLIFE
S.260, the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Act, has passed both the House and Senate and was sent to the President on September 15. The bill, which authorizes $75 million a year through FY 2011, requires the Department of Interior to carry out a program within the US Fish and Wildlife Service to assist “private landowners” in voluntary projects to benefit trust species by improving/restoring/enhancing/establishing habitat for fish and wildlife. “Private Landowners,” as defined in this bill, includes tribes. The bill’s primary sponsor is Sen. James Inhofe, R-OK.

WRDA
On August 19, the Senate took action on the Water Resource Development Act, replacing language in the House version with the language in its own version, S 728. The current form of this “striker,” comprises a new version of HR 2864. The bill was returned to the Senate Calendar and is headed to conference. This bill funds the U.S. Army to carry out various water development projects, and includes a flood damage reduction project on the Chehalis River. The Chehalis River Valley has a broad meandering channel and a mile-wide floodplain. The average annual rainfall is about 42 inches. Major floods occur during the October to March period from heavy rainfall augmented by snowmelt runoff. The cities of Centralia and Chehalis have been subject to repeated flooding for many years. This flooding has caused extensive damage to private and public property and periodic closure of critical transportation routes resulting in significant economic losses. The plan consists of construction of a levee system along the Chehalis River and along most of the lower 2 miles of both Dillenbaugh Creek and Salzer Creek. A levee would also be constructed along the lower 2 miles of Skookumchuck River to the confluence with Coffee Creek. Skookumchuck Dam will be modified with a short gated outlet tunnel to create flood control storage; and structures that would be damaged from inundation as a result of the project will be raised. “Unavoidable” environmental impacts will include wetland and riparian habitat degradation and loss of habitat. Mitigation would be through a combination of wetland creation, re-vegetation of riparian habitat, and reconnection of an isolated oxbow with the mainstem Chehalis River. Total cost approximately $109 million.

MODIFYING THE TOXICS SUBSTANCE CONTROL ACT
A bill to authorize temporary exemptions to the TSCA has been moving in the House. The bill, HR 5863, sponsored by Rep. Joe Barton, R-TX, has made it to the Union Calendar. It would authorize EPA to exempt polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s) for 30 day emergency periods in order to allow “safe, effective and efficient” shipment of foreign manufactured PCB’s into the United States. The Department of Defense and its services and supplies adjunct, the Defense Logistics Agency, have been stockpiling PCB laden equipment in its warehouses overseas, particularly in Japan. This equipment, in part consisting of electric transformers, capacitors, voltage regulators, circuit breakers, and electric cable, which were manufactured both in the United States and abroad, is nearing the point of completely filling existing warehouse space. DOD and DLA are currently seeking ways to properly remove and dispose of this equipment to help alleviate storage capacity concerns.

NOAA ENABLING LEGISLATION
Strange though it may seem, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has never had “enabling” legislation, which is normally required to legally provide purpose and scope to a federal agency. If passed, NOAA would, in effect, be formally authorized for the first time in its 36 year history. H.R.5450, sponsored by Rep. Vernon Ehlers, R-MI, would authorize NOAA as an agency within the Department of Commerce. The House has passed the bill and it was referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on September 21. Under the bill, NOAA would be restructured around four areas: the National Weather Service, research and education, operations and services, and resources management. The bill would create a deputy assistant secretary for science and technology to coordinate science activities across the agency and a chief operating officer to manage the agency’s day-to-day operations. Since the agency was created by executive order in 1970, it has operated under a series of narrow, issue-based laws, and has never had its mission and function legislatively defined.

SPLIT THE NINTH CIRCUIT???
The Senate Judiciary Committee recently revived the long-running fight over splitting the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The issue — an important one for cultural conservatives — has been largely dormant for much of the year, though House Republicans did make one attempt this past spring to split up the court through the budget reconciliation bill. Yet conservatives sense some new momentum behind the proposed split following comments earlier this summer from Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, R-PA, that he would favor the split and would like to move the legislation this year. A Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing was held on the issue last year, but Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, the leading opponent of efforts to divide the court, asked Specter for a hearing in full committee before any action is taken. With the 109th Congress winding down, it remains unclear whether the Senate will, in fact, take up the issue. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-TN, has not laid out a specific schedule for the remaining two weeks of the session, but he has indicated there is a possibility the Senate will still take up some ideological issues — such as the the confirmation of judges. While several different court-splitting bills have been introduced, the bill that has so far received the most attention is S 1301, a measure sponsored by Sens. John Ensign, R-NV, and Lisa Murkowski, R-AK. That bill would split the 9th Circuit into two new circuits — a 9th that includes California, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands and a new 12th Circuit that contains Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Arizona.

The House approved a similar court-splitting measure late last year as part of the budget reconciliation bill, but Specter and others objected to using the reconciliation process as a vehicle for the bill. The House has approved court-splitting legislation several times in the last few years but it has been repeatedly blocked in the Senate. The proposal has drawn strong opposition from environmentalists who see it is an effort by Western Republicans to remove the more liberal California judges from a court that routinely deals with public lands and other environmental matters. Proponents of the split have long argued that the 9th Circuit has become much too large to operate efficiently, as demonstrated by the fact that it takes an average of about 15.4 months for the court to hear and rule on an appeal — about 40 percent longer than the average for all other circuit courts.

PARTNERING IN ENERGY PRODUCTION?
The National Congress of American Indians and the Council of Energy Resource Tribes gave congressional staff a chance to consider tribes as the nation’s partners in energy production at a briefing session Sept. 13. Jacqueline Johnson, executive director of NCAI, said the goal of the briefing session and related visits to Capitol Hill was to show Congress the sheer volume of tribal energy production and to emphasize the extensive impact rights of way decisions can have in Indian Country.

SCIA FREEZES TRUST REFORM ACT
Sen. John McCain, R-AR, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, has postponed consideration of S 1439, the Trust Reform Act, due to lack of response on the issue from the Administration. McCain noted that at the first hearing the Indian Affairs Committee held on this issue last March, he made it very clear that all parties had to be committed to reaching a settlement. At that time there were strong commitments from the Interior Secretary and the Attorney General, who claimed there is both an atmosphere and positive attitude in the Administration to find a settlement solution, and that we have an historic opportunity to embrace constructive solutions to long-standing trust management concerns held by the tribes. McCain said he and Vice-Chairman Byron Dorgan, D-ND, have decided that the best approach to advancing this initiative now is to continue discussions with the parties to the Cobell litigation, rather than mark up S 1439 at this time. McCain said, “We must have that kind of commitment from (the Administration), the plaintiffs and the rest of Indian country to achieve a full and complete resolution to the entire issue of trust management that has plagued the Department and Indian Country for so many generations.” He committed his staff on the Committee to work with the plaintiffs’ representatives, the designated contacts of the Departments of Interior, Justice and Treasury, as well as the tribes, tribal organizations and individual Indian organizations to craft legislation.

Elouise Cobell, the namesake plaintiff in the case, issued a statement dismissing the Administration’s concerns as bad-faith negotiation designed to torpedo the bill. She acknowledged the short time frame, but insisted that legislation can still be passed if McCain brings all of his political skill and influence to bear on pushing it through the current 109th Congress. Any bill not passed into law by the end of the Congress becomes null until it is introduced from scratch in another Congress. Dorgan noted that if the bill cannot be passed, the lawsuit could stay in the courts for another 10 years. Cobell v. Kempthorne is a lawsuit on behalf of Native American against the United States government. It argues that the government has incorrectly accounted for Indian trust assets revealing mismanagement, ineptness, dishonesty, and delay by federal officials. Based on the research of committee staff, McCain and Dorgan had agreed on $8 billion as a fair settlement figure.

FORMER SKEPTICS CALL FOR ACTION ON GLOBAL WARMING—BUSH SILENT
Thanks to former Vice President Al Gore’s movie, An Inconvenient Truth, along with Hurricane Katrina and this summer’s blistering heat waves, the threats posed by global warming have morphed from a far-fetched possibility to a clear and present danger in the minds of people ranging from voters and scientists to theologians and members of Congress. Many of those who previously scoffed at the notion are true believers now.

“It is getting hotter, and the icecaps are melting and there is a build-up of carbon dioxide in the air. We really need to address the burning of fossil fuels. If we are contributing to the destruction of this planet, we need to do something about it,” said Rev. Pat Robertson on a recent broadcast of the “700 Club.” He added that the recent heat waves had made a “convert” out of him on the issue.

“…science has changed from ambiguous to near-unanimous. As an environmental commentator, I have a long record of opposing alarmism. But based on the data, I’m now switching sides regarding global warming, from skeptic to convert,” says Gregg Easterbrook of the Brookings Institution and senior editor of The New Republic.

Representative Bob Inglis, R-NC, chairman of the House Science Research Subcommittee, says he “pooh-poohed” global warming until a trip to the South Pole in January convinced him otherwise. “I think we should all be concerned. There are more and more Republicans willing to stop laughing at climate change who are ready to get serious about reclaiming their heritage as conservationists.”

“I was a certified global warming skeptic…but I eventually came to the judgment that I was wrong and global warming was real, largely caused by human activities and profoundly changing the planet on which we live,” admitted Stu Ostro, senior meteorologist and director of weather communications for The Weather Channel.

“I used to be skeptical…but now I’m absolutely convinced that the world is spiraling out of control. CO2 is like a brushfire that gets bigger and bigger every year,” says Richard Branson, founder of The Virgin Group.

A national LA Times/Bloomberg poll conducted in July found that 74 percent of Americans consider “global warming a serious problem” and want the government to do more to solve it. The Bush Administration’s response? Silence. President Bush remains resolutely incurious while the planet heats.

LOBBYING REFORM
The House has adopted what will likely be the 109th Congress’ only substantive response to the lobbying and ethics scandals that have embarrassed Capitol Hill during the past two years — a narrow rule change that will affect only one chamber for a few months. Republican leaders insisted they were just getting started and that they would seek to keep the rule, which requires disclosure of the sponsors of earmarks in appropriations bills and certain other kinds of legislation, alive in subsequent sessions of Congress. House Majority Leader John A. Boehner, R-OH, says the new rule, House Resolution 1000, demonstrates Republican efforts to boost congressional accountability. But David R. Obey of Wisconsin, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said the resolution provided an inadequate solution to a large problem. Obey said, “It is a joke, it is a fraud, it plays Trivial Pursuit, it focuses on the minutiae instead of the big problems.” House action came as Rep. Bob Ney, R-OH, informed congressional leaders that he was ready to enter into a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, according to a House GOP aide. Ney has been the subject of a criminal probe into allegations that he accepted gifts from convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff in exchange for legislative favors.
Congress has suffered a number of other ethical troubles recently. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, R-CA, the lawmaker whose extravagant lifestyle and relationship with defense contractors helped start the focus on congressional wrongdoing, is in prison after pleading guilty to bribery. A handful of other lawmakers also are under investigation for allegations of trading influence for gifts. Critics of congressional earmarks, which often have very narrowly targeted beneficiaries, say they help foster a climate of corruption. Both the House and Senate passed broader lobbying and ethics overhaul bills (HR 4975, S 2349) earlier this year, but lawmakers made little progress in working out differences between the two chambers.

SELF-GOVERNANCE
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs recently held an Oversight Hearing on Self-Governance Obstacles and Impediments to Expansion of Self-Governance. Department of Interior representatives were questioned by Senators McCain, Murkowski and Dorgan about the lack of expansion of Self-Governance within DOI. The spokespersons said the reason Self-Governance has reached a “plateau” is that tribes are not seeking to compact with the same zeal they had in the past. Tribal witnesses, including Jamestown S’Klallam Chair Ron Allen, told a different story—about DOI impediments that have impacted the expansion of Self-Governance. They resonated a consistent message that Self-Governance within the Department has digressed tremendously. McCain sought answers to allegations in the tribal testimony about the lack of full funding. DOI officials said these shortfalls occurred due to appropriations and rescissions. McCain asked how this happens to the tribal budget but not the Defense budget. There was no comment from the DOI witnesses.

APPROPRIATIONS
The mood among Congressional appropriators (known on Capitol Hill as the third party after the R’s and D’s) has not exactly been triumphant as they have been forced to pull in purse strings by a $300 billion federal deficit. The House Interior-Environment Appropriations Bill (HR 5386), which provides the majority of funding to Northwest tribal natural resource programs (principally through BIA Fish and Wildlife Program/Rights Protection category) was picked up by the Senate in late June, being the first of the FY 2007 spending bills to advance to the opposite house.

Base level funding for Western Washington Boldt Implementation and the Pacific Salmon Treaty still seems ensured, but across the board recessions remain possible. The House bill included $1 million for mass marking and $6 million for the Puget Sound Partnership. The Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Bill (SR 109-245) includes additional funding of $1 million for TFW, but concerns continue that this amount might be seen as an alternative to the House mass marking monies. The Senate did not increase the national Hatchery Rehabilitation account, leaving the funding level at the $500,000 status quo level. Efforts to achieve a base funding increase have not fared well to date, with no new monies added by the Senate. The shellfish consent decree settlement is back in play, with funding this year expected to be $2 million, to be identified within the Conference from already allocated monies.

WATER SHORTAGES AND DESALINATION
A recent water shortage emergency at Neah Bay could be a sign of things to come in Washington as populations surge and rivers and ground water dwindle, particularly during drought-ridden summers. The Makah Tribal Council declared a state of emergency and put strict water restrictions in place on August 29 after its public works department reported that it had less than two days worth of drinking water left in the Tribe’s treatment facility. The drought, heavy visitor traffic and critically low levels in the Waatch River the Educkett Reservoir caused the shortage. In answer to that emergency a 15,000-pound desalination system has been dispatched to Neah Bay from a Navy facility in California. The system, powered by diesel generators, can purify up to 100,000 gallons of salt water per day, and 200,000 gallons of fresh water.

This kind of situation is indicative of important considerations throughout the state, ranging from strict conservation to additional storage capacity. It is also indicative of the growing likelihood that desalination will have to play an expanding role in the future. Bills in the U.S. House, H.R.1071, and in the Senate, S.1016, were intended to help tribes, states and corporations directed by these governments offset the cost of operating desalination facilities. The bills, which very clearly included tribes, contained appropriations for $200 million for 10 years, primarily to offset electrical costs associated with desalination plant operation, and $10 million for research in desalination processes and techniques. The House bill’s primary sponsor is Rep. Jim Davis, D-FL. It passed committee and has been on the Union Calendar since May 26. Rep. Jay Inslee is a co-sponsor. The Senate bill’s primary sponsor was Senator Mel Martinez, D-FL. Co-sponsors include Senators Bill Nelson of Florida and Dianne Feinstein of California. That bill is in the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

BIG OIL’S ROYALTY RIP OFF
As consumers go broke at the gas pump big oil companies are making out like bandits—not just from the high price of gas, but from lucrative “royalty relief.” Royalties, fees oil companies pay for oil and gas they extract from public lands and offshore areas, account for at least 25% of all oil and gas produced in the U.S. They range from 12 to 16% of the revenue the oil companies generate and are used to fund federal programs that support historic preservation, recreation and natural resource conservation; the treasuries of the oil-producing states and the federal treasury. When prices hit an all-time low in 1995, oil and gas companies cut back on exploration. Congress then passed the Deep Water Royalty Relief Act (DWRR), relieving companies of their obligation to pay royalties on offshore drilling leases sold between 1996 and 2000, but pegged to specific price thresholds, i.e., when prices rose above $35 a barrel for oil and $4 per thousand cubic feet of natural gas, companies would again pay royalties. In 1998 and 1999, Interior awarded leases that did not include these price triggers. These leases are now coming due and the cost to taxpayers-and benefit to the oil companies-is staggering. Within five years, they will likely yield $65 billion in royalty-free earnings. Over ten years, taxpayers will lose out on $10 billion in royalty payments. Also, in a “test case,” Kerr-McGee is suing Interior under DWRR, challenging limits placed on royalty relief pursuant to the law in leases awarded in 1996, 1997 and 2000. Should the company prevail, GAO estimates this precedent would cost taxpayers an additional $60 billion over 25 years. Congressional opposition to this is growing though, and its efforts appear to be paying off. Recently, companies like Shell Oil have indicated a willingness to renegotiate leases and begin paying royalties, and Kerr-McGee announced plans to temporarily back off its lawsuit, seeking mediation instead.

STILL AFTER ANWR—A GWICH’IN COMMENTARY
Proponents ‘drooling’ to open Arctic Refuge Once again, the oil industry’s one-trick spin ponies began chompin’ at the Arctic Refuge bit as soon as there was trouble a-brewing at Prudhoe Bay. ”Drill in the Arctic Refuge” is the mantra they live by and repeat at every opportunity. Never mind that the mess in Prudhoe Bay is just that – a mess. So they want to bring the same scenario to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge? They consistently return to the table with empty baggage – devoid of visionary thinking and redundantly full of their perennial misconceived Arctic Refuge ”solution.” But there are no real solutions from these supposed conservatives in terms of conservation or even marginally-improved CAFE (corporate automobile fuel efficiency) standards. Elementary school children understand that if you only have 3 cents (3 percent of the world’s oil supply) and spend 25 cents (25 percent of the world’s oil supply), it does not add up. Yet the oil proponents keep coming up with the same ”nonsolution” to drill in the Arctic Refuge, and they keep saying it over and over as if they are praying to some god that will magically fill up the genie’s lamp – and the taxpayers’ supersized gas tanks. Knee-jerk tactics and tedious, inflammatory words are like worn-out tunes used incessantly against those with valid concerns for environmental health and basic human rights of the peoples of the Gwich’in Nation. Protecting the Sacred Place Where Life Begins – the calving and nursery grounds of the porcupine caribou herd – is the unified stand the people of the Gwich’in Nation have stood by and reaffirmed since 1988. The porcupine caribou herd provides the basis of the cultural context for life in the Gwich’in Nation, which has stewarded and shared its history and stories with the herd for hundreds of uninterrupted generations. Drilling in the Arctic Refuge will threaten the entire context of the life of the caribou and the Gwich’in Nation. Drilling activity in the Prudhoe Bay oil fields has repeatedly demonstrated that natural areas are at risk – an average of 504 spills annually, mismanagement of safety regulations and insufficient monitoring. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation has documented 4,352 spills between 1996 and 2004, totaling more than 1.9 million gallons of toxic substances. Vast areas of the North Slope of Alaska are already available to development, whereas the ANWR is virtually the last 5 percent of the North Slope that is off-limits to development. In June, 40,000 – 50,000 caribou calves were born in the biological heart of the Arctic Refuge, right where the proponents of drilling are drooling to drill. The feeding frenzy salivates around Section 1002 – the one section of public land that was set aside for further study of its development potential AND for its wilderness values. The 1002 area cannot be developed without the consent of Congress. So far, sound science and good sense have prevailed; but the news of British Petroleum’s mismanagement and resultant shutdown on the North Slope has raised oil fever to a feverish pitch. Let us not rush to judgment and ruin what is left in America’s Arctic, or sacrifice the culture and human rights of the Gwich’in Nation for a penny at the pump 10 years from now. -Luci Beach, Gwich’in

Editor’s note: Ditto the sentiments above on behalf of the Outer Continental Shelf

NCAI TO CONVENE IN SACRAMENTO
The National Congress of American Indians will conduct its annual convention in Sacramento October 1-6 in the Sacramento Convention Center. A special pre-meeting will be conducted on Tribal Environmental Issues at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 1, featuring briefings and discussions on such topics as ESA, renewable energy and the impacts of climate change on Indian Country. NWIFC Chairman Billy Frank, Jr. is slated to make a presentation at this breakout session, and to the NCAI plenary session on Wednesday morning. Also, NWIFC Commissioner Terry Williams is slated to present at the Sunday break out session. The objective of such participation is to elevate and maintain tribal natural resources and environmental issues to a high priority level on a national scale. For more information about the conference, please consult www.ncai.org.

TRUST REFORM
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs has released a new discussion draft of S. 1439, the Indian Trust Reform Act of 2006. The bill would settle all claims of Individual Indian Money account holders for $8 billion. The bill also creates a voluntary process for Indian tribes to take over greater control of the trust assets on their reservations. The bill would phase out the Office of Special Trustee, and create a single line of authority under an Under Secretary for Indian Affairs. The bill would give the Secretary new authority to consolidate fractionated Indian lands, and add incentives for sale of fractionated lands. The Committee delayed the mark up of the new legislation after Chairman John McCain and Vice Chairman Byron Dirk Dorgan met with Secretary of Interior Kempthorne and Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez. It is clear that the Administration has ongoing concerns with the legislation that the Committee will need to address. In addition to the settlement figure, the Secretary of Interior and the Attorney General appear to have concerns about the future of Indian trust management. The heavy fractionation of Indian land is a significant factor. With over 3.2 million ownership interests in existence and the number continuing to grow, the Administration is concerned about investing in a settlement if the trust management problems for Individual land and accounts are likely to reoccur. Senators McCain and Dorgan are seeking “a full and complete resolution to the entire issue of trust management that has plagued the Department and Indian Country, including resolution of the fractionation of land ownership-a problem at the root of much of the problems that gave rise to the litigation.”

OLD GROWTH
The USForest Service and the Bureau of Land Management have issued a draft supplemental environmental impact statement potentially allowing over 140 timber projects that have been enjoined since January, 2006, to proceed. The EIS sets out measures the agencies are taking to manage old-growth habitat in Washington, Oregon, and California under the Northwest Forest Plan. It responds to deficiencies identified by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington and supports the Agencies’ controversial decision to eliminate the Northwest Forest Plan’s “Survey and Manage Standards,” which require the Agencies to monitor certain species that inhabit old-growth forest. In a related matter, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire has joined governors from other western states in a suit against the Administration for backing off on the closure of thousands of acres of roadless areas along the Cascades. Work shops to follow up on this action are being planned by the Governor’s office and Senior Adviser John Menkowski will address the NWIFC Environmental Policy Committee on September 12 in an effort to engage tribes in the effort. NWIFC Chairman Billy Frank, Jr. joined the Governor in a press conference earlier this year to announce the legal action.

HASTINGS GOES AFTER INDIAN REMAINS
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, governing protection of American Indian graves would be amended to allow scientific study of ancient remains discovered on federal lands if the remains have not been tied to a current tribe, under a bill proposed by Rep. Doc Hastings, R-WA. The bill marks the latest step in a dispute sparked by the discovery of Kennewick Man, one of the oldest and most complete skeletons ever found in North America. Indian tribes and researchers battled over rights to the 9,300-year-old remains for nine years before a federal court sided with the scientists, allowing them to study the bones. Hastings says his bill counters efforts in the Senate that would prevent ancient remains from being studied in the future. He cited a case in Nevada where tribal leaders have filed suit against the government to rebury the Spirit Cave Man remains, believed to be more than 10,000 years old. “My proposal protects the rights of present day Native Americans to claim the remains of their ancestors when found on federal lands. At the same time, it reiterates that in cases of truly ancient human remains — such as Kennewick Man — Congress does not intend to block scientific study,” said Hastings. Matthew Tomaskin, legislative liaison for the Yakama Nation, said he was familiar with the proposal, but added that he wished Hastings had consulted the tribes. He stressed that Indian culture dictates it would be improper to dig up or study the remains of someone who was placed somewhere for a reason.

CONSERVATIONISTS GO THUMBS DOWN ON MAGNUSON PROPOSAL
Marine conservation groups are pushing House members to reject a compromise rewrite of the Magnuson-Stevens Act brokered by House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo, R-CA, and key moderate Republicans on his committee. Opposition from the group — a coalition of over 190 environmental organizations, commercial and recreational fishing associations and marine science groups — comes despite an agreement between Pombo and Reps. Wayne Gilchrest, R-MD, and Jim Saxton, R-NJ that hoped to bring oceans advocates and more members on board. Gilchrest had been one of the most vocal critics of the original committee bill. The environmentalists have referred to the rewrite as an inadequate fix that makes the bill worse and fails to address over-fishing and rebuilding stocks.

ENERGY RIGHTS OF WAY
A worrisomely awaited draft report to Congress on energy rights of way across tribal lands was the subject of public meetings being held in key cities around the country in August. The departments of Energy and the Interior, which drafted the report as a charge of Section 1813 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, are collecting responses and the final report is scheduled for submission to Congress by September 30. Tribes that derive significant revenue from leasing rights of way to energy companies that construct oil and gas pipelines, power wires and other energy transport infrastructure across tribal lands, generally oppose any change in their current authority to negotiate energy rights of way. Pursuant to a 1948 act of Congress, tribal consent is required for the secretary of the Interior to authorize rights of way leases across tribal trust land.

TRIBAL ENERGY REGULATIONS
Tribes will be able to take greater control of their energy resources under new regulations recently announced by BIA. The National Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorized a voluntary program to speed up development on Indian lands. Participating tribes can submit resource plans to the Interior Department in order to gain quick approval of business deals, leases, rights-of-way and other types of energy agreements. Currently, each individual agreement must be reviewed by the department. A federally-approved tribal energy resource agreement, or TERA, will enable tribes to skip that process, but only after following an application process that takes at least one year to complete.

WHERE THE WIRES COME FROM
Tribes are working successfully with public and private utilities to deliver energy to millions of families throughout the country, according to a joint report just released by the federal Departments of Energy and the Interior. “Indian reservations are no longer the places where the wires go through,” says former U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell. “Today Indian reservations are the places where the wires come from. Tribal governments are taking a significant and growing role as energy producers in this country.” The six-month study performed by the DOE and DOI, with assistance from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, was conducted in consultation with Indian tribes, the energy industry, governmental agencies, and businesses and consumers. The report drew three conclusions: 1) It supported tribal consent over Indian lands concerning energy rights-of-way; 2) It found no evidence to support claims that the tribes’ exercise of consent poses any threat to national security or that tribal right of consent might drive up the cost of energy for consumers. It noted, in fact, that the costs of transmitting energy across tribal lands are a tiny fraction of the price that energy consumers pay and 3) It found that the present process for rights-of-way negotiations is working fine. The report’s bottom line for Congress is that there is no need for changing the law. In the report, the DOI and DOE conclude a tribe’s determination of whether to consent to an energy access across its land is an exercise of its sovereignty and an expression of self-determination.

APPROPRIATIONS
Appropriations bills, riddled with earmarks, are a “loaded gun” for House and Senate GOP incumbents heading to the November election. The House plan was to help incumbent Republican lawmakers facing tough reelection showdowns introduce and propel more legislation during the five weeks prior to the election and to have something to “dangle” in the faces of the voters before the election.

The Interior Appropriations Chairs are examples of what’s at stake in this election, as well as what’s in jeopardy if these bills are on the floor prior to the election. Both Interior Appropriation Chairs are feeling the pressure that accompanies the need to “show me the money” at home. Chairman Conrad Burns, Senate Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee has earmarked $60 Million in the Senate spending bill that includes $7.5 million for the Rocky Boy water settlement payment in addition to other big and small projects. Senate Leadership is concerned that there will be some backlash for Burns in trying to manage the bill on the floor when Democrats are scrambling for political points before the election.

The full Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal 2007 Defense, Military Construction-VA, Labor-HHS and Transportation-Treasury bills recently. This marks the first time the committee has finished its work before the August recess in 18 years. Only the Defense and Military Construction-VA bills, however, had a chance to see floor consideration before the recess.

A Senate Appropriations subcommittee has approved a Commerce-Justice-Science bill that, like the House bill, would significantly alter Bush’s budget request. The measure would provide dramatically more for NOAA than either the House or Bush wants. The proposed funding for NOAA is a significant increase over the amount requested by Bush and exceeds the level approved by the House by more than $1 billion. The Senate funding includes $50 million for the National Marine Sanctuaries Program, and an additional $3.8 million for research and management in the newly designated Northwest Hawaiian Islands National Monument. The bill also includes $90 million for Pacific Coast Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF), with $10 million targeted to aid the recovery of salmon populations in the Klamath River basin. Pacific Coastal Tribes, including those members of the NWIFC, would stand to receive $7 million under the $90 million scenario, with the Columbia River Tribes in line for $2.0 million. However, the House included $20 million for PCSR which would certainly affect the amounts available to the tribes. Our delegation has also identified the PCSRF as a vehicle for Hatchery Reform Implementation, and without the additional funding provided by the Senate, this necessary program would go unfunded. At $4.4 billion, the amount provided for NOAA would exceed Bush’s request by $753 million and the House level by $1 billion. The National Weather Service would receive $824 million, $40 million more than requested. The draft also would fully fund Bush’s Competitiveness Initiative through the National Science Foundation and Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology. NASA would be funded at roughly Bush’s request of $16.8 billion; the House bill would provide $16.7 billion for the space agency. Ranking Democrat Barbara A. Mikulski of Maryland said she would offer an amendment at full committee to provide another $1 billion in emergency funding to help offset NASA’s costs in returning the space shuttle to flight.

The House Interior-Environment Appropriations Bill (HR 5386), which provides the majority of funding to Northwest tribal natural resource programs (principally through BIA Fish and Wildlife Program/Rights Protection category) passed the House on May 18 and was picked up by the Senate in late June, being the first of the FY 2007 spending bills to advance to the opposite house. Base level funding for Western Washington Boldt Implementation and the Pacific Salmon Treaty seems ensured within it, but across the board recessions remain possible, which could affect these numbers slightly. New successes of note in the House bill include $1 million for mass marking implementation (less than the $1.7 request) and the $6 million for the Puget Sound Partnership (a portion of which may still go to tribes).

The Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Bill (SR 109-245) includes additional funding of $1 million for the Timber-Fish-Wildlife Program, but concerns exist that this amount might be viewed as an alternative to the House mass marking monies, which were once again nestled by the House within the Timber-Fish-Wildlife account. The Senate did not increase the national Hatchery Rehabilitation account, leaving the funding level at the $500,000 status quo level. Efforts to achieve a base funding increase have not fared well to date, with no new monies added by the Senate. We hope that somehow Senators Inouye, Cantwell and Murray, along with Congressman Dicks can find a way to adjust the Senate Bill or deal with this need in Conference. The shellfish consent decree settlement is back in play, with funding this year expected to be $2 million, to be identified within the Conference from already allocated monies. This would start the payment schedule by the federal government as they address their overall amount of $23.5 million in federal funds (up from $22 million should additional tribes prevail on their treaty fishing rights claim

A FEW BRIEF COMMENTS FROM SENATOR PATTY MURRAY
A healthy, sustainable salmon population means a healthy economy. Salmon are critical to the livelihood of so many Washingtonians as well as an icon of the Northwest. However, over the past decade several species of salmon have been listed as endangered or threatened. That is why I am very excited that I was able to secure $25 million in funding for Washington state salmon restoration. The funding will go towards restoring endangered and listed stocks of Pacific salmon. The funding comes as part of the Senate Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS) bill. The $25 million directed to Washington state is the largest portion of salmon restoration funding given to any state. The bill also provides $10 million to assist fisherman, fish processors, and related businesses who were impacted by the Klamath River basin disaster. All of this funding will help support our state’s coordinated effort to restore salmon runs and preserve our way of life in the Pacific Northwest. This bill will soon move to the Senate floor.

In 1998, I helped found the Northwest Straits Commission in an effort to restore the marine resources of northwest Washington state. I have been able to include $1.6 million in funding for the program as part of the Senate Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS) Appropriations bill. The funding will go towards the Commission’s innovative grassroots approach to protecting the vital waterways in the northwest part of Washington from the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Northern Puget Sound to the Canadian border. I helped to form the Northwest Straits Commission because of my belief that there is no substitute for local expertise and experience in conservation efforts. This funding will allow communities to use their own unique ideas to protect the resources they know best. To read more: http://murray.senate.gov/news.cfm?id=258660.

“IT’S NO FUN TO BE AN APPROPRIATOR THESE DAYS”
In outlining the FY 2007 Labor, Health and Human Services/Education bill recently, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-PA, bemoaned his position as chair of the HHS-Education Subcommittee, saying it’s not much fun to be an appropriator these days: “We don’t have money to appropriate anymore.” And he said he would suggest that the committee reject the bill, except that “there’s no where else to go.” One anonymous commentary suggested that the legislators and the president take up residence in Iraq, where it’s evident that funding that should be invested in such critical issues as education and the environment is being blown up in misguided armaments today.

CONGRESS VOTES TO DIRTY THE WATERS
The Senate has passed a bill (S 3711) that would open eight million acres of Gulf Coast waters to offshore drilling rigs and remove longstanding protections for other coastal areas. The bill now has to be reconciled with a coastal drilling bill the House passed a month ago which would lift the 25-year moratorium on oil and gas drilling off some of the country’s most fragile coasts. The final reconciled bill will almost certainly lift the drilling moratorium nationwide, so the upcoming Senate vote will therefore decide the fate of the entire U.S. coastline, from Maine to Florida in the east and from Washington to California in the west. Environmental scientists consider offshore drilling the slowest, dirtiest and most expensive way to produce energy. Ironically, opening the coasts to destructive oil and gas drilling would do little, if anything, to reduce gasoline prices while threatening waters and beaches with pollution and potential oil spills. Tourism, property, and commercial and sport fishing wrecked in the wake of a huge oil slick could even cost millions of jobs and severely weaken coastal economies.

HOUSE APPROVES “DO-LITTLE” ENERGY BILLS
The House recently approved two limited energy bills. HR 2730 would establish a $20 billion grant program to fund joint American-Israeli research projects in energy, energy efficiency and renewable energy. H.R. 5611 would require the Department of Energy to partner with industry groups, including the auto and oil industries, to establish a national campaign to educate consumers on how to ensure that their vehicles are operating efficiently. The second bill was widely criticized for simply repackaging information already available to consumers and for sidestepping the need for legislation mandating real improvements in energy efficiency. Both measures were criticized for doing little to address America’s very serious energy crisis and dependence on fossil fuels.

IMPORTING PCB’S
The House Energy and Commerce Committee has approved HR 5863, which would restrict the import of waste contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) into the U.S. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Joe Barton, R-TX and Rep. John Dingell, D-MI, responds to language in the Senate version of the 2007 National Defense Authorization bill that would weaken the current ban on PCBs. The Senate bill would allow the military to petition EPA to waive the ban on imports of PCBs for up to three years. Because the Toxic Substances Control Act currently allows EPA to grant one-year waivers, environmentalists questioned the need for a longer extension of the temporary waiver. The Department of Defense says it asked for the waiver so it could import PCB- contaminated waste from overseas military bases.

WRDA BILLS PASSES SENATE
The Senate passed S 728 recently, a bill to reauthorize the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 1986. The $12 billion measure would authorize funding for hundreds of Army Corps of Engineers projects, for flood protection, navigation, environmental restoration, etc. Environmentalists applauded the measure for including needed review of hundreds of Army Corps projects that have been criticized for including biased economic and environmental analyses. The provision calling for independent review of Army Corps projects was part of an amendment sponsored by Sen. John McCain, R-AZ, and Sen. Russ Feingold, D-WI, and narrowly passed by a vote of 54-46. The major hurdle standing in the way of final reauthorization of the act is a House-Senate conference committee that must resolve major differences in the two versions of the bill. In addition to an almost $2 billion funding gap, the House bill was passed more than a year ago, before the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Intended to be updated every two years, the act has not been reauthorized in six years. HR 2864, another WRDA bill sponsored by Rep. Don Young, R-AK, has passed the Senate. The legislation is intended to provide for the conservation and development of water and related resources and to authorize the Secretary of the Army to construct various projects for improvements to rivers and harbors of the US. The bill would authorize projects for flood damage in several states.

HOUSE MAGNUSON BILL MOVES INTO SENATE
HR 5018, THE Magnuson-Stevens Reauthorization bill sponsored by Rep Richard Pombo, R-CA, who chairs the House Resources Committee, has moved to the Union Calendar in the Senate. Rep. Don Young, R-AK, has said the bill offers a sustainable yield concept with the understanding of the ecosystems of Alaska waters. He says the bill will provide an economic base for the fishing communities in Alaska and for those that fish in the most dangerous waters in the United States. He added that HR 5018 represents compromise legislation from all involved parties, including ideas from earlier bills, recommendations of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and many suggestions received by the Resources Committee during public hearings. It is modeled after the management framework of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. As Congress works to update the Magnuson-Stevens Act, Sen. Maria Cantwell says she will continue working with Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens to secure provisions important to Washington that improve safety at sea and ensure productive, sustainable fish stocks for our state’s 3,000-vessels-strong fishing fleet.

When Marc Korman of Rep. Brian Baird’s staff asked for input on the Pombo bill, NWIFC Chair Billy Frank, Jr., replied, “there is nothing in the Pombo bill for the tribes.” The bill’s sponsors failed to address the issues submitted by tribes during the D.C. hearing on HR 5018 and HR 1431. Frank’s April 28 testimony on this issue clearly stated that in its totality, this legislation does not add much to the advancement of sound fishery management in federal waters. In it, he reminded Congress that tribes co-manage the fisheries resource in the Pacific Northwest. “Given this fact, and the facts that tribes have depended on the resource for thousands of years, and have proved to be exceptional managers, it is highly inappropriate for their testimony to be so overlooked.”

TRUST REFORM? NOT HAPPENING
Despite earlier optimism, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs has not moved forward with the Indian Trust Reform Act of 2005. Committee Chair Senator John McCain, R-AR, has in fact announced that there would be no mark-up of the bill (S 1439), which means it cannot yet be considered by the entire Senate. Sen. McCain withdrew any consideration of S 1439, at least until Congress returns from its August recess. At that point, the trust reform bill will be in competition with top priority legislation to be completed before the fall elections. Apparently, the administration expressed concern about the multi-billion dollar cost of returning the money owed to Individual Indian Money account holders, even though the money would come from a special Judgment Fund. Sen. McCain and Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-ND, held a meeting with Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and Attorney General Albert Gonzales on August. Government officials and Native American representatives will work during the August recess to agree on a settlement for individual trust monies that were mismanaged, as has been documented in the Cobell class-action federal court case. The further delay is disappointing turn of events for many tribes and tribal members, particularly since the Indian trust problems have already lasted for 118 years.

TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT PASSED BY COMMITTEE
The House Energy and Commerce Committee has approved HR 4591, sponsored by Rep. Paul Gillmor, R-OH, a bill to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to bring the US in line with the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Committee Democrats criticized the bill for creating a cost-benefit regulatory standard not found in any current federal environmental regulations, preempting states’ authority to independently regulate POPs and allowing the federal government to ignore a recent decision by treaty parties to list additional pollutants. The committee rejected an amendment sponsored by Rep. Hilda Solis, D-CA, and supported by environmental groups to replace the Gillmor bill with text from her own bill (HR 4800), which does not include the damaging provisions.

MMPA ACT PASSES HOUSE
The House has passed HR 4075, a bill to reauthorize the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The bill includes a number of changes to the landmark statute. Originally passed in 1972, the act prohibits the killing of whales, dolphins and other marine mammals and regulates the trade of marine mammals and marine mammal products. Sponsored by the chair of the House Resources Committee, Rep. Richard Pombo, R-CA, the measure was widely opposed by environmentalists before several improvements were agreed to prior to the final House floor vote. The most significant change made to the bill before the final vote was the addition of a provision that would require commercial fishing operations to reduce their bycatch of marine mammals to nearly zero within seven years. The Senate is not expected to consider the House bill or its own version of an MMPA reauthorization bill this year.

BUSH TO NOMINATE ARTMAN AS ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INDIAN AFFAIRS
Bush will nominate Carl Joseph Artman (Oneida Nation) as the next Assistant Secretary of Interior for Indian Affairs. Bush says filling the long vacated position will provide a direct link and close working relationship between Indian Country and the Administration. “I look forward to supporting Mr. Artman in representing Native people at the highest levels of the federal government,” said NCAI President Joe Garcia. “This appointment reaffirms the Department of Interior’s commitment to work closely and productively with Indian Country during the remaining years of the current Administration.” Artman currently serves as Associate Solicitor for Indian Affairs at the DOI. He previously served as Chief Counsel of the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin and has extensive experience in Indian affairs, including land-to-trust, land claims, taxation, gaming and education.
The following pages provide update status on priority federal legislation. Bills seeing action in 2006 are highlighted in bold. Additional information on bills available at http://thomas.loc.gov

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COLUMBIA RIVER INITIATIVE
In the natural resource/environmental arena, one of the most contentious issues dealt with the Columbia River Initiative, a major agreement on water storage for Eastern Washington. The Governor did decide to sign HB 2860 into law, just a few days after it was passed, even though it excludes tribes from the table. Both she and DOE Director Jay Manning have expressed apologies for doing so, but said the benefits provided through the legislation were so far-reaching and positive that it needed to be signed. They also said the exclusion of the tribes was the work of legislators and not the Administration and that every effort will be made to incorporate tribal interests and concerns into the implementation of the bill. But tribes on both sides of the mountains have consistently expressed deep concern about this situation, and termed it a violation of trust.
EXAMPLES OF BILLS PASSED
Septic Systems
The bill to require repair of failing septic systems (HB 1458) passed with strong bipartisan support. The bill, part of the Governor’s legislative package to implement early actions under her Puget Sound Initiative, requires local health authorities in areas like Hood Canal to identify and correct failing septic systems by 2012. Time extensions are allowed if local governments demonstrate substantial progress to meet deadline. A grant and loan program is authorized to assist low-income homeowners.
Oil Spill Bill
SB 6244, the Oil Spill Prevention bill, sponsored by Sen. Phil Rockefeller, D-Bainbridge Island, and a part of the Executive Request Package, passed and thus strengthened the ability of the Department of Ecology to determine the adequacy of oil spill response contingency plans. It is one of the bills DOE wants to work on with tribes, to assure that tribal interests and resources are used, where possible, to help prevent oil spills. The key contact on this legislation at the agency is Jon Neel, (360) 407-6905, jnee461@ecy.wa.gov.
Energy Bills
There were numerous energy-related bills considered this session. Among those that passed were HB 2402, the Expediting Energy Facilities bill and SB 6508, Minimum Renewable Fuel Regulations (biodiesel) bill.
Reclaimed Water
HB 2884, sponsored by Rep. Kelli Linville, D-Bellingham, calls on DOE to adopt new reclaimed water rules in coordination with the Department of Health. The reclaimed water will come from a variety of sources and the plan will include stream augmentation.
Aquifers
Sponsored by Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, SB 6151 calls for the relief of distressed aquifers in Eastern Washington, specifically the Odessa area, by permitting relief from the relinquishment statute. A Linville amendment attached to the bill requires water right holders to notify DOE in
writing within 180 days of the decision to suspend water use, requires notification for the choice to discontinue nonuse, and specifies that the act not exclude other laws relating to non-use of water.
Water Services
Numerous bills were considered pertaining to water services. Among those that passed was SB 6369, the Excise Tax Exemptions bill, which exempts certain small systems to help enable them to do infrastructure improvements and meet Safe Drinking Water Act requirements.
Other Environmental Bills
Several environmental bills passed, in addition to those already mentioned, including:
SB 6428, creating a first of its kind electronic waste recycling system; HB 2322, phasing in a statewide ban on phosphorous-containing dishwasher detergent (improves dissolved oxygen levels in fresh and marine waters) and SB 5385, creating a new Invasive Species Council.
SOME BILLS THAT DIED
“Best Available Science”
HB 2815, the Best Available Science bill, which was opposed by tribes due to inadequate provisions for tribal participation and adaptive management.
Pilot Water Process
Although HB 3002, the Pilot Water Process bill, did not succeed this session, a tribal requested budget proviso for $150,000 did succeed, providing funding to the DOE. The funding is intended to support the initiation of tribal-request government-to-government-to-government NEPA-like process (tribal/state/federal) intended to facilitate the development of positive solutions to ongoing water management challenges. The state process is intended to support an anticipated related federal bill. In addition to the proviso, a support letter from the Governor is expected.
Cruise Ship
HB 1415 did not move this session. This legislation, sponsored by Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, D-Seattle, was intended to help expand control over the sewage ejection problem created by a massive increase in the cruise ship industry. Tribal concerns that the bill does not go far enough, particularly to protect tribal shellfish interests, led to its postponement until a major virus impact study is completed in 2007.
Small Scale Mining
The Small Prospectors bill, HB 2588, would have had major impacts on water quality due to the cumulative effects of increased beach mining operations. Tribes opposed it for this reason.
Specialized Forest Products (The “Huckleberry” bill)
HB 2749, sponsored by Reps. Brian Sullivan, D-Mikilteo, John McCoy, D-Tulalip and others, would have protected tribal interests, particularly as related to the gathering of huckleberries.
STATE BUDGET
The House and Senate have agreed to a $1.3 billion supplemental budget and sent it to the Governor desk. She has 20 days after adjournment to act on the bills. everal budget provisos in the adopted supplementary operating, capital and transportation budgets affect tribes and tribal interests. Among these are the $11 million for the tribal/growers’ shellfish agreement (progress has also been made on the federal $22 million); the Governor’s requested $2.5 million for tribal participation in the Forests and Fish process, $150,000 for initiation of the pilot water process (described above), $200,000 for continuation of the TPEAC trial liaison positions and numerous funding provisos for habitat restoration projects.
DOE Director Jay Manning said, in an internal memo, “We just got through what was one of the best legislative sessions in this Agency’s history. We are still analyzing the budget, but it looks extraordinary.” Among other achievements, he pointed out that the agency has received 57 new FTEs, 69 million new dollars (including $36 million for Puget Sound, 17 FTEs for Puget Sound, 15 FTEs, $20 million this year and $200 million over the next 10 years to identify and develop new
water supply/stream restoration and conservation projects under the new Columbia River Water Management Act and 6 FTEs to implement the new Oil Spill bill. Other natural resource agencies also received substantial increases
As part of a package of $50 million in business tax cuts, the Timber Tax Incentives bill, SB 6874, has passed and been sent to the Governor. This bill also establishes the Forest and Fish Support Account through a surcharge to the timber industry. The account, which is sanctioned until 2024, supports the participation of federally recognized tribes in the Forests and Fish process. The surcharge is suspended if the receipts from it total $8 million during any biennium or if the federal government appropriates at least $2 million for tribal FF participation for any federal fiscal year. In addition to providing tax relief to the timber industry, the bill is in effect intended to fill gaps that might occur, at least in the amounts specified, in federal funding for tribal FF. To access this bill, click on: SB 6874

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(Bills that have seen recent action in bold)