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House Passes 2010 Interior & Environment Appropriations Conference Report

October 29, 2009

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) announced today that the House of Representatives voted to approve the Fiscal Year 2010 Interior & Environment Appropriations conference report. The bill includes $6.3 million in funding for projects in Georgia’s Second Congressional District.

“The future of our country and our planet depends on the investments we make today,” Bishop said. “This bill makes real progress to clean up our water sources and restore the splendor of our lakes, forests and parks.”

The following Second District projects were included in the FY 2010 Interior & Environment Appropriations conference report approved today by the House of Representatives:

• $500,000 –Fort Valley Utility Commission’s wastewater reclamation facility
• $3,100,000 – Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
• $1,200,000 – Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest
• $500,000 – Georgia Streambank Restoration
• $1,000,000 – Consortium for Plant Biotechnology Research (Albany State University)

“One of the greatest challenges our rural communities face in southwest Georgia is a declining infrastructure,” Bishop said. “While I am particularly pleased that the House approved $500,000 for Fort Valley – funding that will aid tremendously in renovating and improving the city’s water and sewer systems – I am hopeful that in subsequent years we can steer additional resources to Southwest Georgia to meet the overwhelming demands for funding for drinking and wastewater projects.”

Additionally, the conference agreement prohibits funds in the measure from being used to implement any regulation requiring the issuance of permits under the Clean Air Act for carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, water vapor, or methane emissions resulting from biological processes associated with livestock production. It also prohibits funds from being used to implement any rules that would require mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from manure management systems.

“I have heard from ranchers and farmers both in my district and around the country regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s rules on livestock emissions,” Bishop said. “As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I worked feverishly to ensure that the EPA’s rules didn’t have a grossly negative impact on our farming communities. These rules could potentially cost our farmers and ranchers a significant amount and, given the state of the economy, they could be a burden on their revenues.”

In total, the conference agreement appropriates $32.3 billion, which is $6.5 billion less than the current level. This amount includes $11.2 billion in emergency appropriations and is $87 million less than the administration's request.

Once the conference report is approved by the Senate, it will go to the President’s desk for his signature.