Mr. Chairman, it is obvious from an assessment of the current inventory of priority 1 and 2 sites that there will not be enough money in the AML Trust Fund to address all of these sites before fee collection is set to expire in June. It is even more obvious that, regardless of what the unappropriated balance in the Fund is (currently $1.6 billion) and what future fee collections will add to that balance over the next year (approximately $300 million), recent Congressional appropriations for state and tribal AML program grants have been woefully inadequate and have not kept pace with our ability and desire to address the backlog of old as well as continually developing high priority AML problems. We are therefore faced with a significant challenge over the next few months and that is to reconcile all of the various interests and concerns attending the administration of the AML program under Title IV of SMCRA in a way that assures the continuing integrity, credibility and effectiveness of this successful and meaningful program under SMCRA. We welcome the opportunity to work with your committee, Mr. Chairman, and with other affected parties to address the myriad issues that attend the future ability of the AML program to address the needs of coalfield citizens. We also urge the Subcommittee to support adequate funding for OSM's training program, including moneys for state travel. These programs are central to the effective implementation of state regulatory programs as they provide necessary training and continuing education for state agency personnel. Additionally, the states are key players in OSM's training program, providing instructors for many of the courses. IMCC also urges the Subcommittee to support adequate funding for TIPS, a program that directly benefit the states by providing needed upgrades to computer software and hardware. In this regard, we strongly support the proposed increase of $1.5 million for the training program and TIPS. Finally, IMCC requests continuing support for the Acid Draining Technology Initiative (ADTI), a nationwide technology development program with a guiding principle of building consensus among Federal and State regulatory agencies, universities and the coal industry to predict and remediate acid drainage from active and inactive coal and metal mines. This collaborative effort receives funding and other support from industry and several federal agencies for specific projects. OSM has provided ADTI $200,000 for the last four fiscal years, which has been a consistent source of funding for activities related to acid mine drainage from coal mines and has been instrumental in accomplishing ADTI's goals. We support continued funding for this vital initiative. In conclusion, we want to reiterate that adequate Title V grants are the lifeblood of effective state regulatory programs. Should states be unable to operate these programs due to funding constraints, the federal government will be faced with the burden of operating regulatory programs at a substantially increased cost (generally 30 to 50 percent more). Further, without Title V programs in place, states are unable to access Title IV funds. In the final analysis, it behooves everyone - OSM, the Congress and the states - to commit the resources necessary to assure strong and effective state programs that will achieve the purposes and objectives of SMCRA, thereby protecting the environment where active mining operations occur and enhancing the environment through remediation of past problems associated with abandoned mines. We are writing to request a $3 million appropriation be given to the Department of the Interior's National Park Service Chesapeake Bay Gateways Program for the continuation of the Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network Program. This program has been extremely helpful to our County. St. Mary's County is proud to contain five exceptional Gateways sites to include St. Clement's Island and Potomac River Museum, Piney Point Lighthouse Park and Museum, Point Lookout State Park, Sotterley Plantation and Greenwell State Park. Gateways participation has provided numerous tangible benefits such as grant funds to enhance interpretation and appreciation of our individual Gateways sites, creation of partnerships with related sites, means to increase visitation, and access to exceptional technical assistance from the program staff. The Network also has served to strengthen the quality and professionalism of our sites and has encouraged each to raise its standards of stewardship of our collective heritage and heritage resources to the benefit of all of our citizens. Please continue funding of this vital program by including the $3 million needed for this good work. P.O. Box 653 GOVERNMENTAL CENTER ⚫ 23115 LEONARD HALL DRIVE, LEONARDTOWN, MD 20650 SENT BY: 3-18-5; 16:17 U OF I GEOLOGY LIB. 2022259069;# 1/ 1 304 Ridge Rd. Representative Charles Taylor, Chairman House Committce on Appropriations Interior and Environment Subcommittec 13-308 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Fax: (202) 225-9069 Dear Representatives Taylor and Dicks: I confess that most of the following was drafted by somconc else, but I agree with every word of it, and could not say it any better myself. This is an extremely important maller to our nation. As a librarian, as a geologist, and as a citizen, I am writing to ask that you support a strong, balanced investment in science in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 budget request. Specifically, I urge you to support a robust budget request for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Nation's premier geoscience organization, and restore funding to the Mineral Resources Program. The central mission of the USGS is to provide reliable, objective earth science data and analysis from a national perspective. As an information professional at a major university, I can verify that the survey is widely recognized for providing unbiased data to better manage the nation's resources, especially its mineral resources. The Mineral Resources Program is the sole federal provider of scientific information for objcctive mineral resource assessments and unbiased research results on mineral potential, production, consumption and environmental effects and is slated to receive a 53% cut in Fiscal Year (FY) 2006. This reduction would terminate the collection of nation-wide basic geologic and mineral deposit data, the internationally coordinated global mineral resource assessment, and many mineral commodity reports. Additionally, this cut would eliminate approximately 240 full time positions within the USGS at facilities in Reston, Reno, Tucson, Denver and Menlo Park, among others. Please support a strong budget request so that this agency can fulfill its important mission. The data and analyses of the MRP are used by the Department of the Interior, Department of Defense, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of State, the Federal Reserve, other federal, state and local government entities, foreign governments, private companies and the general public. Analyscs based on the MRP data are essential for guiding economic and environmental policy and for providing options for land usc decisions posed by industry. government and private land owners. Thank you for your consideration of this letter. If you would like additional information un the Mineral Resources Program and its value to our Nation, I would be happy to be of assistance. Sincerely, Lura Joseph Assistant Professor of Library Administration and Geology Librarian University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign Mar 18 05 08:06p p.1 Representative Charles Taylor, Chairman Interior and Environment Subcommittee B-308 Rayburn House Office Building Fax: (202) 225-9069 March 18, 2005 Dear Representatives Taylor and Dicks: I am writing to ask that you support a strong, balanced investment in science in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 budget request. In particular I urge you to fully support the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Nation's premier geoscience organization, and restore funding to the Mineral Resources Program. The central mission of the USGS is to provide reliable, objective, and unbiased earth science data and analysis from a national perspective. The efforts of the USG are necessary to better manage the nation's earth and mineral resources. The Mineral Resources Program is the sole federal provider of scientific information for mineral resource assessments, mineral potential, production, consumption and environmental effects. The 53% cut in Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 that is planned for the Mineral Resources Group will be devastating, as it would terminate the collection of nation-wide geologic and mineral deposit data, the internationally coordinated global mineral resource assessment, and many mineral commodity reports. Additionally, this cut would eliminate approximately 240 full time positions within the USGS at facilities in Reston, Reno, Tucson, Denver and Menlo Park, among others. Personally I have worked with many USGS scientists at the Denver and Menlo Park facilities. Their efforts go far beyond their basic tasks and missions described above. At my own university, the Colorado School of Mines, we have developed close ties with many of the Geologists in the Mineral Resources Group in Denver (Drs. Johnson, Rye, Shanks, Wanty, Goldhaber, to name a few). Many of our undergraduate and graduate students conduct their research projects in close collaboration with the USGS scientists. Facilities are often shared between the institutions in order to foster healthy exchange of ideas and promote additional scientific inquiry. I have had three graduate students in the past three years whose research was strongly supported by the USGS, either directly through student appointments, or indirectly by use of their unparalleled facilities and expertise of their scientists. In my department alone, there have been at least 25 graduate students in the past five years whose research was supported heavily by the USGS. I don't think most people are aware how important USGS scientists are to the general community and their generous contributions to many universities nation wide. The USGS and the Mineral Sciences Program are an invaluable resource, and I am shocked that such drastic funding cuts are being proposed. Please support a strong budget request so that this agency can fulfill all of its important tasks and missions. On behalf of the County of Riverside, please support full funding for the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program in FY 2006. PILT funding provides important compensation to local communities that have significant amounts of Federal land in their counties. There are over 2.5 million acres of Federal land within the borders of the County of Riverside. PILT partially offsets the costs of supplying many valuable services such as search and rescue, law enforcement, and road maintenance. With your assistance, Congress provided $227 million for PILT in FY 2005. The County of Riverside strongly supports full funding for this program. The authorization for PILT would provide funding at approximately $340 million annually, which is warranted by the fiscal pressures felt by counties, particularly in California. Please continue to work to increase the funding necessary for this program. Sincerely, Thomas Walter Thomas P. Walters Washington Representative TPW:dwg 440 First Street, N.W., Suite 430, Washington, D.C. 20001 202-737-7523 |