The Week Ahead (April 7-11)

On Tuesday, April 8, the Subcommittee on Water and Power will receive testimony on: S.2259/H.R. 813, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the Prado Basin Natural Treatment System Project and the Lower Chino Dairy Area desalination demonstration and reclamation project; H.R. 31, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District Wildomar Service Area Recycled Water Distribution Facilities and Alberhill Wastewater Treatment and Reclamation Facility Projects; H.R. 716, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the Santa Rosa Urban Water Reuse Plan; H.R. 786, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the Los Angeles County Water Supply Augmentation Demonstration Project; H.R. 1140, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with the City of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., to participate in the design, planning and construction of an advanced water treatment plant and recycled water system; H.R. 1503, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the Avra/Black Wash Reclamation and Riparian Restoration Project; H.R. 1725, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the Rancho California Water District Southern Riverside County Recycled/ Non-Potable Distribution Facilities and Demineralization/Desalination Recycled Water Treatment and Reclamation Facility Project; H.R. 1737, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the design, planning and construction of permanent facilities for the GREAT project to reclaim, reuse and treat impaired waters in the area of Oxnard, Calif.; and H.R. 2614, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in certain water projects in California. There will be a single witness: Kris Polly, deputy commissioner for External & Intergovernmental Affairs, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of the Interior. (Dirksen 366 at 2:30 p.m.)

On Wednesday, April 9, the Subcommittee on National Parks will receive testimony on: S. 1633, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine the suitability and feasibility of including the battlefield and related sites of the Battle of Shepherdstown in Shepherdstown, WV, as part of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park or Antietam National Battlefield; S. 1993 and H.R. 2197, to modify the boundary of the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park in Ohio; S. 2207, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating Green McAdoo School in Clinton, Tenn., as a unit of the National Park System; S. 2254, to establish the Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area in Mississippi; S. 2262, to authorize the Preserve America Program and Save America's Treasures Program; S. 2329/H.R. 2627, to establish the Thomas Edison National Historical Park in New Jersey as the successor to the Edison National Historic Site; S. 2502/H.R. 3332, to provide for the establishment of a memorial within Kalaupapa National Historical Park located on the island of Molokai in Hawaii, to honor and perpetuate the memory of those individuals who were forcibly relocated to the Kalaupapa Peninsula from 1866 to 1969; S. 2512, to establish the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area in Mississippi; H. R. 3998, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct special resources studies of certain lands and structures to determine the appropriate means for preservation, use and management of the resources associated with such lands and structures. Witnesses will include Lynn Scarlett, deputy secretary, Department of the Interior; Katherine Stevenson, associate director of cultural resources, stewardship and partnerships, National Park Service; Richard Moe, president, National Trust for Historic Preservation; and Jim Surkamp, commissioner, Jefferson County Commission, Charles Town, WV. (Dirksen 366 at 2:30 p.m.)

Bonus …

Today, Leader Reid filed for cloture on the motion to proceed to the new omnibus public lands bill -- the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (S. 2739). For a summary and background on this bipartisan collection of 62 individual bills, click here. We expect this legislation to come to the floor as soon as the Senate finishes the housing bill.

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