Subcommittee Tackles FY2013 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill
The U.S. House Appropriations Energy and Water Development (E&W) Subcommittee met on Wednesday, April 18th to mark up its FY2013 energy and water appropriations bill.
The E&W Subcommittee provided a slight increase over the President's budget for the Army Corps' civil works program of $4.8 billion (the President's request was $4.731 billion). The breakdown of Corps programs is as follows:
|
Corps Program |
President's FY2013 Budget |
House FY2013 E&W Appropriations Bill | |
Operations and Maintenance (O&M) |
$2.398 billion |
$2.507 billion | |
Construction |
$1.471 billion |
$1.477 billion | |
Regulatory |
$205 million |
$190 million | |
Investigations |
$102 million |
$102 million |
The bill provides more than $1.89 billion for navigation projects and studies, including $1 billion in funding from the HMTF, a substantial increase from previous years.
The subcommittee stated that the bill adheres to the Congressional ban on earmarks, and therefore does not include any specific project funding.
The Senate energy and water bill is expected to be ready next week, according to Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). |
Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) Provision included in House Transportation Reauthorization Bill
Also on Wednesday, April 18th the U.S. House passed its version of the Transportation Reauthorization Bill. The bill included an amendment offered by Congressman Boustany (R-LA), which was essentially the language of H.R.104, the RAMP Act, minus the "Point of Order" provision.
As PNWA reported in previous Nor'westers we strongly support the RAMP Act, which would require the full expenditure of revenues collected for the HMTF. It is projected by the end of FY2012, there will be a $7 billion surplus in the Trust Fund. We thank the many Members of our NW Congressional Delegation who co-sponsored H.R.104 and supported the Boustany amendment in the Transportation Reauthorization. We will continue to support this provision as the House version of the Transportation Reauthorization Bill goes to conference with the Senate bill that passed in the middle of March. |
Letters Submitted to the Maritime Administration (MarAd) and Institute for Water Resources (IWR)
In the last week, PNWA submitted comments to two federal agencies: (1) to MarAdregarding its Programmatic Environmental Assessment as required by the National Environmental Policy Act for its Marine Highway program; and (2) to IWR regarding its Draft Report : U.S. Port and Inland Waterways Modernization Strategy: Options for the Future. |
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PNWA Headquarters is moving
The PNWA office is moving! As of May 1, 2012 our new mailing address will be:
Pacific Northwest Waterways Association (PNWA)
516 SE Morrison Street, Suite 1000
Portland OR 97214
Please note that we will be in the process of moving Friday, April 27 and Monday, April 30, and may have limited access to email at that time. We appreciate your patience and ask that you update your records accordingly. |
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National Association of Flood and Stormwater Management Agencies requests submissions for 2012 Communications Awards
The National Association of Flood and Stormwater Management Agencies (NAFSMA) "Excellence in Communications Awards" competition is officially underway for 2012! This is the fifth year that NAFSMA has undertaken this program to recognize and share outstanding flood risk and water quality improvement outreach and education initiatives from both the public and private sectors.
The two main categories in this year's Awards Programs include:
1) Public Awareness of Flooding Risk , and/or Flood Prevention, and/or Emergency Preparedness
2) improving Water Quality
In addition to awarding the top programs throughout the country, NAFSMA produces a DVD to share these successful initiatives with others in the field. Awards submissions are due at the National Office by June 15, 2012, to be considered in this year's competition. A submission may include any, or all, of the following: television (public service announcements and special broadcasts); printed materials (including brochures and printed advertisements) and outdoor advertising. Media has to have been aired between January 2010 and April 30, 2012. Printed and media materials will be judged and receive awards in separate categories.
Additional details are available here. For questions, please contact SusanGilson at 202-289-8625 or sgilson@nafsma.org or Betty Hollister at 702-254-6133 or bettyh2@cox.net. |
