WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Senate yesterday passed 47 Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee bills and two resolutions by unanimous consent. Included in this large block of bills was, S. 2439, sponsored by Chairman Frank H. Murkowski. The bill would authorize the appropriation of funds for the construction of a Southeastern Alaska Intertie system which would connect communities throughout Southeast Alaska with a power grid that would provide reliable electricity. Currently, many villages throughout Southeastern Alaska rely on diesel power generation. This requires purchasing, transporting and storing expensive fossil fuels. This lack of power connection among many villages creates an unreliable power source. The intertie would add many economic, environmental benefits to the region and would give Southeast Alaska residents access to clean and reliable electric power. Murkowski also won Senate approval for a House version, HR 4613/S. 2343 (Rep. Souder), of his bill to preserve historic lighthouses nationwide. The measure amends the National Historic Preservation Act so that a national historic lighthouse preservation program may be established. To ensure the maintenance and preservation of these historic structures, the measure allows lighthouse preservation groups to receive surplus historic lighthouses at no cost. Additionally, the bill would allow for the sale of surplus lighthouses when no entity steps forward to preserve the structure and earmarks any profits from such sale by the General Service Administration to the National Maritime Heritage Grant Program. Among the bills passed was, HR 1509 - (Rep. Johnson), which would authorize the Disabled Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation to establish a memorial in the District of Columbia or its environs to honor veterans who became disabled while serving in the Armed Forces of the United States. The memorial, to be funded by private contributions, will be the first national monument dedicated to disabled veterans who are still living. A public, non-profit corporation, the Disabled Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation, Inc., has been established to conduct a national fund-raising campaign. The bill has more than 70 co-sponsors and now moves on to the White House. Legislation that would create a new national park also passed the Senate. The bill, S 2547 - (Allard), would provide for the establishment of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and the Great Sand Dunes National Preserve in the State of Colorado. If approved by the House and signed by the President, the Great Sand Dunes National Park would be the 380th park in the United States, and would join eleven other national parks in Colorado. Originally the area was established as the Great Sand Dunes National Monument by Presidential proclamation in 1932 to preserve federal land containing spectacular and unique sand dunes and additional features of scenic, scientific, and educational interest. The area is known for the unique pulse flow characteristics of Sand Creek and Medano Creek, which are integral to the existence of the dunes system. The Senate also passed the following bills: H.R. 1725 (Rep. DeFazio) To provide for the conveyance by the Bureau of Land Management to Douglas County, Oregon,of a county park and certain adjacent land. S. 1367 - (Murkowski) To amend the Act which established the Saint-Gaudens Historic Site, in the State of New Hampshire, by modifying the boundary. S. 2478 - (Akaka) To require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a theme study on the peopling of America. S. 2485 - (Collins) To direct the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance in planning and constructing a regional heritage center in Calais, Maine. HR 3201 - (Del. Norton) To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating the Carter G. Woodson Home in the District of Columbia as a National Historic Site. S. 1670 - (Graham/Mack) To revise the boundary of Fort Matanzas National Monument. H.R. 2879 - (Rep. Northup) To provide for the placement at the Lincoln Memorial of a plaque commemorating the speech of Martin Luther King, Jr., known as the "I Have A Dream" speech. HR 2833 - (Rep. Pastor) To establish the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area. S. 134 - (Feingold/Kohl) To direct the Secretary of the Interior to study whether the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore should be protected as a wilderness area. S. 1972 - (Allard) To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to the town of Dolores, Colorado, the current site of the Joe Rowell Park. S. 2300 - (Thomas) To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to increase the maximum acreage of Federal leases for coal that may be held by an entity in any 1 State. S. 2499 - (Specter) To extend the deadline for commencement of construction of a hydroelectric project in the State of Pennsylvania. H.R. 468 - (Rep. Kildee) To establish the Saint Helena Island National Scenic Area. H.R. 1695 - (Rep. Gibbons) To provide for the conveyance of certain Federal public lands in the Ivanpah Valley, Nevada, to Clark County, Nevada, for the development of an airport facility. S. 1925 - (Feinstein) To promote environmental restoration around the Lake Tahoe basin. S. 2069 - (Enzi) To permit the conveyance of certain land in Powell, Wyoming. HR 3632 - (Rep. Lantos) To revise the boundaries of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. HR 4226 - (Rep. Thune) To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to sell or exchange all or part of certain administrative sites and other land in the Black Hills National Forest and to use funds derived from the sale or exchange to acquire replacement sites and to acquire or construct administrative improvements in connection with the Black Hills National Forest. S 2950 - (Campbell) To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Sand Creek Massacre Historic Site in the State of Colorado. HR 3745 - (Rep. Nussle) To authorize the addition of certain parcels to the Effigy Mounds National Monument, Iowa. S 2691 - (Wyden/Smith) To provide further protections for the watershed of the Little Sandy River as part of the Bull Run Watershed Management Unit, Oregon. S 2942 - (Byrd) To extend the deadline for commencement of construction of certain hydroelectric projects in the State of West Virginia. S 3000 - (Robb) To authorize the exchange of land between the Secretary of the Interior and the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency at the George Washington Memorial Parkway in McLean, Virginia. S 2345 - (Schumer) T direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study concerning the preservation and public use of sites associated with Harriet Tubman located in Auburn, New York. S 2749 - (Reid) To establish the California Trail Interpretive Center in Elko, Nevada, to facilitate the interpretation of the history of development and use of trails in the setting of the western portion of the United States. S 2865 - (Robb/Warner) To designate certain land of the National Forest System located in the State of Virginia as wilderness. HR 4285 - (Rep. Turner) To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain administrative sites for National Forest System lands in the State of Texas, to convey certain National Forest System land to the New Waverly Gulf Coast Trades Center. S 2757 - (Domenici) To provide for the transfer or other disposition of certain lands at Melrose Air Force Range, New Mexico, and Yakima Training Center, Washington. S 2977 - (Feinstein) To assist in the establishment of an interpretive center and museum in the vicinity of the Diamond Valley Lake in southern California to ensure the protection and interpretation of the paleontology discoveries made at the lake and to develop a trail system for the lake for use by pedestrians and nonmotorized vehicles. S 2885 - (Warner) To establish the Jamestown 400th Commemoration Commission. HR 4275 - (Rep. McInnis) To establish the Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area and the Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness. S 2111 - (Feinstein) To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey for fair market value 1.06 acres of land in the San Bernardino National Forest, California, to KATY 101.3 FM, a California corporation. S 2331 - (Hollings) To direct the Secretary of the Interior to recalculate the franchise fee owed by Fort Sumter Tours, Inc., a concessioner providing service to Fort Sumter National Monument, South Carolina. H Con Res 89 - (Rep. Minge) Recognizing the Hermann Monument and Hermann Heights Park in New Ulm, Minnesota, as a national symbol of the contributions of Americans of German heritage. S 1756 - (Bingaman) To enhance the ability of the National Laboratories to meet Department of Energy missions. S 1236 - (Craig) To extend the deadline under the Federal Power Act for commencement of the construction of the Arrowrock Dam Hydroelectric Project in the State of Idaho. S 1849 - (Biden) To extend the deadline under the Federal Power Act for commencement of the construction of the Arrowrock Dam Hydroelectric Project in the State of Idaho. HR 2641 - (Rep. Cubin) Amends the Energy Policy Act 1992 with respect to Secretary of Energy reimbursement of licensees for any of the costs of decontamination, decommissioning, reclamation, and other remedial action at an activeuranium or thorium processing site which are attributable to byproduct material generated as an incident of sales to the United States. Extends the mandate for such reimbursements through December 31, 2007.Repeals the alternative circumstance that costs be placed into escrow no later than December 31, 2002, and replaces it with the requirement for a plan for subsequent decontamination, decommissioning, reclamation, and other remedial action in the case of costs incurred by a licensee after December 31,2007. Extends from 2005 to 2008 the dateline by which the Secretary must determine whether certain authorized appropriations exceed amounts reimbursable to licensees. HR 2778 - (Rep. Moakley) To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate segments of the Taunton River in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for study for potential addition to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. S 2273 - (Bryan/Reid) To establish the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area. HR 3676 - (Rep. Bono) To establish the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument in the State of California. HR 3817 - (Rep. Trancredo) To redesignate the Big South Trail in the Comanche Peak Wilderness Area of Roosevelt National Forest in Colorado as the “Jaryd Atadero Legacy Trail.” S RES 326 (Bryan) - A resolution designating the Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada, as the "National Cowboy Poetry Gathering". HR 4063 - (Rep. Miller) To establish the Rosie the Riveter-World War II Home Front National Historical Park in the State of California. HR 5036 (Rep. Hall), which amends the Dayton Aviation Heritage Preservation Act of 1992. ###