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House Committee to Hold Hearing in Clarkston, WA on June 6th by Glenn Vanselow PNWA Nor'wester, May 24, 2005

The Subcommittee on Water and Power of the U.S. House Resources Committee will hold a field hearing on "Keeping the Columbia/Snake a Working River". The hearing will be led by Subcommittee Chairman George Radanovich (R-CA, 19) and attended by Reps. Butch Otter (R-ID, 1) and Cathy McMorris (R-WA, 5). It will begin at 9:30 am, Monday, June 6, at the Quality Inn in Clarkston, 700 Port Drive.

The hearing will be preceded by a rally supporting the economic benefits of the Columbia Snake River System. It will begin at 8:00 am outside the Quality Inn. PNWA encourages all of its members in the area to show their support by attending both the rally and the hearing.

Rep. McMorris is Chair of the Resource Committee's Task Force on Improving NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act). Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR, 2) also serves on both the Water and Power Subcommittee and the NEPA Task Force. He is not expected to attend the hearing but is working closely with Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo (R-CA, 11) on ESA reform.

Task Force on Improving the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
April 5, 2005

House Resources Committee Chairman Richard W. Pombo (R-CA) will hold a press conference tomorrow to announce the creation of the Task Force on Improving the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) tomorrow. Rep. Cathy McMorris (R-WA) will Chair the NEPA Taskforce.

Republican members of the Task Force will be: Chairman Richard Pombo (R-CA), Taskforce Chair Rep. Cathy McMorris (R-WA) and Taskforce Members: Rep. Ken Calvert (CA), Rep. George Radanovich (CA), Rep. Chris Cannon (UT), Rep. Jim Gibbons (NV), Rep. Greg Walden (OR), Rep. Stevan Pearce (NM), Rep. Devin Nunes (CA), Rep. Henry Brown (SC), Rep. Thelma Drake (VA), Rep. Louie Gohmert (TX). Democratic members of the Task Force have not yet been announced.

The press conference will be held Wednesday, April 6, 2005 11:00 AM (eastern time) in 1334 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C.

NEPA was signed into law on the first day of 1970. NEPA directs federal agencies, when planning projects or issuing permits, to conduct environmental reviews to consider the potential impacts their proposed actions might have on the environment. While much good has come from the way government addresses environmental issues, in some instances NEPA's requirements have gone far beyond what the authors had envisioned.

Rep. McMorris' office has informed PNWA that a field hearing will be held in Spokane and other locations across the country. They want to hear about the impacts of NEPA directly from the interested and affected parties. At the conclusion of the hearings, the NEPA Task Force will issue a report to the Chairman that will discuss their findings and contain appropriate recommendations. The press conference audio will be available at the NEPA Taskforce Website: resourcescommittee.house.gov/nepataskforce

Lunch with Rep. Cathy McMorris

On Tuesday, March 29th, PNWA staff was pleased to attend a get-to-know you lunch with Rep. Cathy McMorris (R, WA-5), sponsored by PNWA member Ball Janik LLP. Rep. McMorris informed the group about the NEPA task force and discussed a wide range of issues including Snake River dredging, WRDA deed restrictions, and Northwest salmon.