President Clinton's fiscal 2000 budget, released February 1, 1999, proposes a mixed
bag for programs addressing the Upper Mississippi River basin. The president requests
level funding for the Environmental Management Program (EMP), yet he proposes
reductions for other Army Corps of Engineer (Corps) initiatives. Although the
administration's budget provides increases to the major divisions of the Fish and
Wildlife Service (FWS), it remains to be seen whether a higher allocation will go to
Region 3, which serves the Upper Mississippi River basin and historically has received
a lower level of funding than other regions.

Army Corps of Engineers

The president's fiscal 2000 budget for the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) proposes
several funding reductions for environmental programs relevant to the Upper
Mississippi River. The EMP would receive level funding of $18.9 million, slightly less
than the authorized $19.455 million. EMP's Long-Term Resource Monitoring (LTRM)
component includes a data base of more than ten years of information on several
different pools up and down the Upper Mississippi River. The Habitat Restoration and
Enhancement Program (HREP) component constructs habitat projects in order to
mitigate the environmental impacts from the navigation infrastructure. Last year, the
administration proposed only $18.4 million for the EMP, but thanks to the efforts of
several delegation members the program recovered an extra $0.5 million, for a final
appropriation of $18.9 million.

The administration's fiscal 2000 budget request for Section 113 5, Project Modifications
for Improvement of the Environment, is $8.5 million, a 23 percent reduction from the
$11.0 million appropriated for fiscal 1999. Section 1135 program authority was
expanded in the Water Resources Development Act of 1996 to permit the Corps to
undertake restoration of environmental quality on any land where the harm was caused
by a Corps project. Previously, this program was limited to projects only on Corps
property.

Section 206, Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration, receives a $4.2-million fiscal 2000 budget
request, a 62 percent decline from the $11.2 million obtained for fiscal 1999. The
program has an authorized level of $25.0 million. The president's budget, however,
proposes an increase of $0.6 million, to $1 million, for Section 204 - Beneficial Use of
Dredge Material. This useful initiative pays for a project's incremental cost above what
regular operations and maintenance dredging and disposal would have cost. This
program could benefit several areas in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.

The president's budget again includes $25.0 million for the Challenge 21 Program:
Riverine Ecosystem and Flood Hazard Mitigation. Challenge 21 was proposed in the
administration's Water Resources Development Act of 1998, but that law was not
reauthorized in the 105th Congress. Challenge 21, part of the president's Clean Water
Action Plan, is designed to restore watersheds while providing flood hazard mitigation
for communities. The program encourages greater use of non-structural flood control
measures.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

The administration proposes several increases for the FWS, which is the main
environmental watchdog for the Upper Mississippi River Basin, through its
responsibilities for fisheries, wildlife refuges, and ecological services. The president
requests $198.8 million for Ecological Services, an 8 percent (or $14.9 million) increase
from fiscal 1999. Ecological Services has a wide range of responsibilities, including
activities to prevent or minimize adverse environmental impacts of development
projects, to monitor contaminants, and to protect endangered species.

The fiscal 2000 request for Refuges and Wildlife also is increased to $327.1 million, up
11 percent from $294.3 million. Although the budget doesn't highlight amounts for
specific refuges, five National Wildlife Refuges are in the Upper Mississippi River
Basin, encompassing 297,000 acres. These refuges and the Upper Mississippi River
are the flyway for 40 percent of the migratory waterfowl on the North American
continent.

FWS's Fisheries program also is increased in the fiscal 2000 request to $79.8 million,
up from $73.6 million in fiscal 1999. In the Upper Mississippi River basin, the program
is responsible for fish habitat improvement projects; determining critical habitats for
interjurisdictional species such as sturgeon and paddlefish; reducing sedimentation
loading through collaborative work with upland partners; and preventing the
introduction and spread of nonindigenous species, including the exotic carps and round
gobi.

The president requests $0.8 million for the Wildlife Conservation and Appreciation
Program, equal to the fiscal 1999 appropriation. The North American Wetlands
Conservation Fund would receive an increase to $15.0 million, up from $9.8 million.
The president's budget also includes $1.4 million for the FWS's Mississippi River Basin
Partnership Initiative. This initiative encompasses four FWS regions and is designed to
enhance the agency's ability to work collaboratively with existing partnerships as well
as to form coalitions with federal, state, and local governments, landowners, citizens,
and industries in order to more effectively protect the river basin and it's resources.

WRDA 1999 TO FINISH UNCOMPLETED BUSINESS

Both the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Senate
Environment and Public Works Committee are preparing a Water Resources
Development Act (WRDA) of 1999 in an effort to complete the unfinished work resulting
from the failed WRDA 1998. Senator John Chaffee (R-RI), chairman of the Senate
panel, expects to introduce the bill during the first week of March. The House
legislation is moving more slowly because of ongoing debates over the American River
project, a California flood control initiative. Controversy surrounding the American River
project stalled WRDA 1998 in the House last year.

Both House and Senate versions of WRDA 1999 contain provisions for the
reauthorization of the Upper Mississippi River System Environmental Management
Program (EMP). Efforts are being made to work out the differences. Senators Russ
Feingold (D-WI) and Christopher Bond (R-MO) continue to lead the Senate effort for
EMP's reauthorization. Senate provisions include a ten-year reauthorization and
increased funding levels from $19.455 million to $33.2 million. Additionally, the bill
directs the Corps to complete the ongoing Habitat Needs Assessment within three
years of enactment, and it requires the creation of an Independent Technical Review
Committee, comprised of national experts, to review proposed habitat restoration
projects. The Senate provisions also change the cost-share provisions to require a
65:35 federal to non-federal rate on projects off of federal lands; however, the bill also
changes permissible "in-kind" contributions from the non-federal participant to be as
high as 80 percent of the non-federal cost-share.

The House EMP provisions will be the same as were introduced last year in H.R. 4322
by Representative James Oberstar (D-MN), along with 17 co-sponsors from the Upper
Mississippi River region. While similar to the Senate proposals, the House bill includes
some significant differences, including a permanent authority, no mention of the
Independent Technical Review Committee, and maintenance of the current 75:25
federalmon-federal cost-share.

Last year's House and Senate WRDAs also included provisions for reauthorizing the
Challenge 21 Program: Riverine Ecosystem and Flood Hazard Mitigation. Challenge 21
is designed to provide the Corps with another tool to work with communities and other
federal and state agencies in order to reduce damages and restore floodplain
ecosystems. Challenge 21 expands the use of non-structural flood damage reduction
measures and allows for more effective coordination of federal programs on a
watershed basis. Last year, the administration-introduced Vv`RDA bill authorized $325
million over six years for the Challenge 21 Program, with a limit of up to $75 million on
any one project The House and Senate Challenge 21 proposals are more limited than
the administration's, providing authorization for $ 100 million over four years.

Upper Mississippi River Congressional Report, Northeast-Midwest Institute, February
1999