Washington, D.C. – The Senate today passed, by unanimous consent, 44 Energy Committee bills. The bills were filed earlier this year in substantially the same form and cleared by the committee. The 44 bills are: S. 1307 - Authorizes the Secretary of Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, to assist in the implementation of fish passage and screening facilities at non-federal water projects. S. 1355 - Authorizes the Bureau of Reclamation to participate in the rehabilitation of the Wallowa Lake Dam in Oregon. S. 1421 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to provide supplemental funding and other services that are necessary to assist the State of California or local educational agencies in California in providing educational services for students attending school located within the park. H.R. 2696 - Establishes institutes to demonstrate and promote the use of adaptive ecosystem management to reduce the risk of wildfires, and restore the health of fire-adapted and woodland ecosystems of the interior West. S. 1071 - A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior, through the Bureau of Reclamation, to conduct a feasibility study on a water conservation project within the Arch Hurley Conservancy District in the State of New Mexico, and for other purposes. S. 1582 - A bill to amend the Valles Caldera Preservation Act to improve the preservation of the Valles Caldera, and for other purposes. The bill directs the Secretary of Agriculture to negotiate a price for buying the remaining mineral interests at the Preserve. If negotiations are unsuccessful, the matter would be directed to federal court. The Department of Agriculture would use available funds to acquire the mineral interests, unless the court set a higher price, in which case the difference would be paid from the judgment fund. S. 1687 - A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study on the preservation and interpretation of the historic sites of the Manhattan Project for potential inclusion in the National Park System. The bill adjusts the specific sites being studied. S. 1778 - A bill to authorize a land conveyance between the United State and the City of Craig, Alaska, and for other purposes. S. 1791 - A bill to amend the Lease Lot Conveyance Act of 2002 to provide that the amounts received by the United States under that Act shall be deposited in the reclamation fund, and for other purposes. H.R. 1521 - To provide for additional lands to be included within the boundary of the Johnstown Flood National Memorial in the State of Pennsylvania, and for other purposes. H.R. 3249 - To extend the term of the Forest Counties Payments Committee. S. 2180 - A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to exchange certain lands in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests in the State of Colorado. The bill extends the deadline for completion of the exchange from 120 days to 180 days and to require the Forest Service to provide the City of Golden with a special- use permit to facilitate the construction of 140 feet of pipeline, within 45 days after S. 2180 is signed into law, while the exchange is being completed. Additionally, technical corrections were made including correcting the number of acres to be added to the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest as a result of the expansion of the boundary of the forest. S. 2243 - A bill to extend the deadline for commencement of construction of a hydroelectric project in the State of Alaska. H.R. 1648 - To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain water distribution systems of the Cachuma Project, California, to the Carpinteria Valley Water District and the Montecito Water District. H.R. 1732 - To amend the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the Williamson County, Texas, Water Recycling and Reuse Project, and for other purposes. H.R. 3209 - To amend the Reclamation Project Authorization Act of 1972 to clarify the acreage for which the North Loup division is authorized to provide irrigation water under the Missouri River Basin project. S. 180- A bill to establish the National Aviation Heritage Area in Ohio. S. 211 - A bill to establish the Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area in the State of New Mexico, and for other purposes. S. 323- A bill to establish the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area in Louisiana. S. 1241 - A bill to establish the Kate Mullany National Historic Site in the State of New York. The bill designates the Kate Mullany National Historic Site as an affiliated area of the National Park System. The original language designated the site as a unit of the National Park System. Affiliated areas comprise a variety of locations in the United States and Canada that preserve significant properties outside the National Park System. Some of these have been recognized by Acts of Congress, others have been designated national historic sites by the Secretary of the Interior under authority of the Historic Sites Act of 1935. Affiliated areas may draw on technical or financial assistance at the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, are subject to and remain in private or state ownership. S. 1727- A bill to authorize additional appropriations for the Reclamation Safety of Dams Act of 1978. The bill provides project beneficiaries a seat at the table when Department of Interior determines that a construction modification is necessary. The project beneficiaries have an opportunity to consult with the Bureau on a proposed dam modification. The project beneficiaries may offer modification alternatives for the Secretary to consider and the Secretary will respond in writing to the proposal. The Secretary can waive these consultation requirements for safety and/or security reasons. S. 1957 - A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to cooperate with the States on the border with Mexico and other appropriate entities in conducting a hydrogeologic characterization, mapping, and modeling program for priority transboundary aquifers, and for other purposes. The bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to establish a 10-year United States- Mexico transboundary aquifer assessment program to characterize, map, and model priority transboundary aquifers through a partnership with the Water Resources Research Institutes in the four border states. Aquifers to be characterized are prioritized based on the extent of fresh and saline resources, proximity to population centers, and extent of threat of contamination. Existing data and new data collection would be utilized. Partnerships with States, local water authorities and other groups including Mexican partners are required. S. 1957 authorizes $50 million to be appropriated for fiscal years 2005 through 2014. In addition, the Secretary is required to submit an interim and final report to the border states’ water resource agencies. S. 2046 - A bill to authorize the exchange of certain land in Everglades National Park in Florida. S. 2319 - A bill to authorize and facilitate hydroelectric power licensing of the Tapoco Project in Tennessee.. S. 155 - A bill to convey to the town of Frannie, Wyoming, certain land withdrawn by the Commissioner of Reclamation. S. 1467 - A bill to establish the Rio Grande Outstanding Natural Area in the State of Colorado, and for other purposes. S. 1521 - A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain land to the Edward H. McDaniel American Legion Post No. 22 in Pahrump, Nevada, for the construction of a post building and memorial park for use by the American Legion, other veterans' groups, and the local community. H.R. 1658 - To amend the Railroad Right-of-Way Conveyance Validation Act to validate additional conveyances of certain lands in the State of California that form part of the right-of-way granted by the United States to facilitate the construction of the transcontinental railway, and for other purposes. S. 1097 - A bill sponsored by Senator Dianne Feinstein and amended by the Energy Committee to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to implement the Calfed Bay-Delta Program. The bill authorizes $389 million for the Program for Fiscal Years 2005 - 2010. (See below.) H.R. 2828 - A companion bill sponsored by Rep. Ken Calvert, et al and amended by the Senate to authorize $389 million for the Calfed program for FYs 2005 through 2010. The legislation uses the August 2000 Record of Decision as a general framework. The bill ensures that the various components of the Calfed program – protecting drinking water quality, restoring ecological health, improving water supply reliability (including additional storage, conveyance, and new firm yield), and protecting Delta levees – will progress in a balanced manner. While the bill does not preauthorize any storage projects, it does highlight the need for storage project authorization as part of a balanced Calfed program. The legislation requires annual ecosystem program plans to be in place and calls for detailed project reports for each ecosystem restoration program or project funded by federal funds. The bill also allows the use of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act Restoration Fund – up to $10 million – in order to implement the Environmental Water Account (as long as those actions are consistent with the fish and wildlife restoration and improvements purposes of the CVPIA). The bill calls for a cross-cut budget and specifies that the federal share of the cost of implementing the Calfed program shall not exceed 33.3% of the aggregate. Title II, the Salt Sea Feasibility Study, authorizes $3 million for Alder Creek Water Storage and Conservation Project. The study increased authorization, from $3.5 million to $6.5 million, for a Folsom Reservoir Temperature Control Device. S. 203 - A bill to open certain withdrawn land in Big Horn County, Wyoming, to locatable mineral development for bentonite mining and directs the Secretary of the Interior to negotiate a sole source contract for the mining of benonite on certain military lands. The bill establishes a fee of $1 per ton and stipulates terms and conditions for mining and reclamation consistent with those required for the adjoining mining operation. S. 931 - A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to undertake a program to reduce the risks from and mitigate the effects of avalanches on visitors to units of the National Park System and on other recreational users of public land. S. 2052 - A bill to amend the National Trails System Act to designate El Camino Real de los Tejas in Texas as a National Historic Trail. S. 2167 - A bill to establish the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park in the States of Washington and Oregon and clarifies disposition of land at the Cape Disappointment site and role of state in managing the property. S. 2173 - A bill to further the purposes of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site Establishment Act of 2000. The national historic site is located near Kiowa County, Colorado but involves Indian Tribes in Oklahoma as well. S. 2285 - A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey a parcel of real property to Beaver County, Utah, and directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain federal lands to Beaver County, Utah that have been used under lease as a State Park. It also authorizes the sale of a portion of the land on the condition the revenue is used to cover cost of maintenance and operation of the park. S. 2287 - A bill to adjust the boundary of the Barataria Preserve Unit of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve in the State of Louisiana. S. 2460 - A bill to provide assistance to the State of New Mexico for the development of comprehensive State water plans, and adjusts non-federal cost share to 50% and designated that in-kind services shall be credited to non-federal contribution. S. 2508- A bill to redesignate the Ridges Basin Reservoir, Colorado, as Lake Nighthorse. S. 2511 - A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a feasibility study of a Chimayo water supply system, to provide for the planning, design, and construction of a water supply, reclamation, and filtration facility for Espanola, New Mexico. S. 2543 - A bill to establish a program and criteria for National Heritage Areas in the United States. H.R. 265 - A bill to expand the boundary of the Mount Rainier National Park in Washington. H.R. 1284 - A bill to amend the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992 to increase the federal share of the costs of the San Gabriel Basin demonstration project in California. H.R. 1616 - A bill to authorize the exchange of certain lands within the Martin Luther King, Junior, National Historic Site for lands owned by the City of Atlanta, Georgia, and for other purposes. H.R. 3768 - A bill to expand the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, Florida.