The Senate Approves Large Package of Energy Committee Bills

Washington, D.C. – The Senate today passed by unanimous consent 21 bills under the jurisdiction of the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee, including Chairman Domenici’s Salt Cedar bill. By agreement of the New Mexico delegation, the House and now the Senate passed the companion bill, H.R. 2720, sponsored by Rep. Steve Pearce, R-NM.

Chairman Domenici issued the following statement on the passage of his bill:

“Drought conditions have certainly kindled interest in finding more successful ways to rid ourselves of salt cedar and other nonnative species that ultimately damage our river systems and sap available water supplies. Parts of the Rio Grande and Pecos River are inundated with salt cedar, resulting in reduced stream flow and increased salinity. I think this bill will prove very important to the entire West.”

The package of bills includes:

S. 203. This bill includes a reduction of the soda ash royalty (the original text of the bill) but was amended to include a package of bills passed by the Senate earlier this year. The package was later amended by the House to include additional bills. S. 203 as passed by the Senate today includes the following bills: S. 63, the establishment of the Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area; S. 204, the establishment of the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area; S. 200, the establishment of the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area, S. 163, the establishment of the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area; S. 175, the establishment of the Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area; S. 429/H.R. 533, the Establishment of the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area; S. 322, the establishment of the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership, S. 249, the establishment of the National Heritage Route; H.R. 694, the establishment of the Gullah/Geechee Heritage Corridor; H.R. 412, a study to consider the proposed Western Reserve Heritage Area; H.R. 61, a study to consider the St. Croix National Heritage Area; S. 1121, a study to consider the Southern Campaign of the Revolution Heritage Area; H.R. 3812, a study of the Mokelumne River Area to determine the feasibility of constructing a project to provide additional water supply and improve water management reliability through the development of new water storage and conjunctive use programs; S. 1627, the Delaware National Coastal Special Resources Study of the national significance, suitability, and feasibility of including sites in the coastal region of Delaware in the National Park System; S. 1387, the reauthorization of the John Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor; H.R. 186, the California Reclamation Groundwater Remediation Initiative; and S. 1721, which amends the Amends the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 to extend to September 30, 2027, the authorization for making grants or providing assistance on a number of heritage areas including the national Coal Heritage Area. S. 203 will now go to the President for his signature.

S. 476: Authorizes the Utah National Parks Council of the Boy Scouts of America (the Boy Scouts) to convey to Brian Head Resort certain public land in Utah. This bill goes to the House for consideration.

S. 1131: Directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior, if the State of Idaho offers to convey specified state land to the United States, to accept the offer, and on receipt of title to such land, simultaneously convey to the State specified Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and National Forest System land (the federal land). This bill goes to the House for consideration.

S. 1288: Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to enter into cooperative agreements with State, local, or tribal governments, other federal agencies, other public entities, educational institutions, private nonprofit organizations, or willing private landowners to protect natural resources of units of the National Park System (NPS) through collaborative efforts on land inside and outside of NPS units. This bill goes to the House for consideration.

S. 1346: Michigan Lighthouse and Maritime Heritage Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct and report on a special resource study of resources related to the maritime heritage of Michigan to determine: (1) suitable and feasible options for the long-term protection of significant maritime heritage resources in Michigan; and (2) the manner in which the public can best learn about and experience such resources. This bill goes to the House for consideration.

S. 1378: National Historic Preservation Act Amendments Act of 2006 - Amends the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) to: (1) continue providing for the coverage of funds into the Historic Preservation Fund through FY2015 pursuant to such Act; (2) modify membership and quorum requirements for the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; (3) allow agencies or private entities, other than the Department of the Interior, to provide financial and administrative services to the Council by agreement; (4) authorize the Council to enter into cooperative agreements with any federal agency that administers an NHPA grant or assistance program to improve program administration; and (5) authorize the Council to evaluate the effectiveness of such programs and make recommendations for improvement to agency heads, the President, and Congress. This bill goes to the House for consideration.

S. 1829: Repeals specified provisions of the Act of May 26, 1936 pertaining to real property taxation in the U.S. Virgin Islands, effective July 22, 1954. This bill goes to the House for consideration.

S. 1820: Compacts of Free Association Amendments Act of 2005 - Amends the Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003 with respect to the provision of emergency and disaster assistance through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. This bill goes to the House for consideration.

S. 1913: Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to enter into a specified memorandum of understanding with the Porter County Convention, Recreation and Visitor Commission to establish a joint partnership with respect to the management of the Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center and, after entering into such a memorandum, lease space in such Memorial Center for use as a visitor center for the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (the Lakeshore Center). This bill goes to the House for consideration.

H.R. 233: Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act - Designates specified areas in Mendocino and Six Rivers National Forests and in Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, and Napa Counties in the State of California as wilderness areas and as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System. This bill goes to the President for his signature.

H.R. 318: Directs the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a study regarding the suitability and feasibility of designating Castle Nugent Farms, located on the southeastern shore of St. Croix, Virgin Islands, as a unit of the National Park System. This bill goes to the President for his signature.

H.R. 326: Amends the Yuma National Heritage Area Act of 2000 to adjust the boundaries of the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area to comprise the lands generally depicted on the map entitled "Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area Boundary Adjustment," numbered 903-80071, and dated October 16, 2005. This bill goes to the President for his signature.

H.R. 409: Sierra National Forest Land Exchange Act of 2006 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to convey specified federal land in Mt. Diablo Meridian, California, in exchange for certain non-federal land in Mt. Diablo Meridian and a payment of $50,000, if the owner of such land offers to make such exchange during the year following enactment of this Act. This bill was amended by the Senate and goes to the House for further consideration.

H.R. 562: Authorizes the Government of Ukraine to establish a memorial on federal land in the District of Columbia to honor the victims of the Ukrainian famine-genocide of 1932-1933. This bill goes to the President for his signature.

H.R. 1129: Pitkin County Land Exchange Act of 2006 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior, upon receipt of title to certain lands located in Pitkin County, Colorado, and certain lands located on Smuggler Mountain in the County (the non-federal lands), to convey to the County or to the Aspen Valley Land Trust, if the County so requests, all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to certain National Forest and Bureau of Land Management lands located in the County (the federal lands). This bill was amended by the Senate and goes back to the House for further consideration.

H.R. 1728: Ste. Genevieve County National Historic Site Study Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to study and report to specified congressional committees on the suitability and feasibility of designating an area comprising Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri, which includes the Bequette-Ribault, St. Gemme-Amoureaux, and Wilhauk homes and the related and supporting historical assets located in the County, as a unit of the National Park System. This bill goes to the President for his signature.

H.R. 2107: Amends the United States Commemorative Coin Act of 1996 to direct the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the National Park Service, to: (1) enter into a cooperative agreement with the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Inc. (Corporation), to carry out the Fund's purposes (generally, maintaining and repairing the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., and periodically adding to it the names of law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty); and (2) transfer all amounts in the Fund to the Corporation, in accordance with the terms of such agreement. This bill goes to the President for his signature.

H.R. 3443: Directs the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary) to convey the St. Vrain Supply Canal, the Boulder Creek Supply Canal that extends from the St. Vrain River to Boulder Creek, and the South Platte Supply Canal, all of which are facilities of the Colorado-Big Thompson Project located in the counties of Larimer, Boulder, and Weld, Colorado, to the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District. This bill goes to the President for his signature.

H.R. 2720: Salt Cedar and Russian Olive Control Demonstration Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary), acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation and the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey, to carry out a salt cedar and Russian olive assessment and demonstration program to: (1) assess the extent of the infestation by salt cedar and Russian olive trees in the western United States; (2) demonstrate strategic solutions for the long-term management of such trees and the reestablishment of native vegetation; and (3) assess economic means to dispose of biomass created as a result of removal of those trees. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into a memorandum of understanding for the administration of such program. This bill goes to the President for his signature.

H.R. 3085: Amends the National Trails System Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to complete the remaining criteria and submit to Congress a study regarding the feasibility and suitability of designating as additional components of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail the following routes and land components by which the Cherokee Nation was removed to Oklahoma: (1) the Benge and Belle routes; (2) the land components of the designated water routes in Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee; (3) the routes from the collection forts in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee to the emigration depots; and (4) related campgrounds located along such routes and in such land components. This was amended by the Senate and goes back to the House for consideration.

H.R. 4841: Amends the Ojito Wilderness Act to change the date of the Ojito Wilderness map from October 1, 2004, to January 24, 2006. This bill goes to the President for his signature.

H.Con.Res. 456: Corrects the enrollment of S. 203 to include reauthorization of New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route.

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