Environment and Outdoor Recreation

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    Dyke Marsh                                 An Egret at Dyke Marsh

Legislation affecting our environment and natural resources ranks among the top concerns of my constituents. I am proud of my environmental record as confirmed by my high ratings with national environmental organizations including an 100 percent rating by the League of Conservation Voters.

Unfortunately, the legislative agenda set by the Bush administration and the House leadership has afforded few opportunities to improve the environment and address long-term environmental concerns. Much of my work in the 109th Congress has been focused on blocking actions by the Bush administration and the leadership of the House to weaken existing environmental laws and policies and abandon the enforcement of others.

In the meantime, I have fought for tougher enforcement of the New Source Review provisions of the Clean Air Act and pressured Virginia to take enforcement action against Mirant’s Potomac River Power Plant for its 2003 NOx emission violations. 

During the Clinton administration, I led the effort to close the federal prison at Lorton, transfering the property to Fairfax County for public use.  The legislation set aside more than 2,100 acres for open green space and facilitated a second land exchange that protects approximately 800 acres on ecologically sensitive Mason Neck, maintained by the Bureau of Land Management.  The success of these land exchanges encouraged efforts to secure a grant for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government to undertake an inventory of “green infrastructure” and identify additional land in the region worth conserving.

As the second ranking member on the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, I am a major supporter of biking, hiking and walking trails and have worked to spearheade regional efforts in Congress to improve and expand the local network of non-motorized trails, including the allocation of federal funds to study the extension of the George Washington Memorial Parkway trail from Roosevelt Island to the Capital Beltway. Other efforts I have undertaken include raising funds to improve the crossing over the Humpback Bridge near Colombia Island Marina, securing federal funds to complete the Fairfax County cross-county trail and extend the Mount Vernon Trail through Fort Belvoir to Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge and expand a network of trails that will be built on the former Lorton property.

Recent Actions:

• Received 100 percent rating from the League of Conservation Voters.
• Fought against attempts by the administration and Congress to weaken existing environmental laws including Clean Air, Clean Water, Endangered Species, National Environmental Policy Act.
• Opposed administration and House-passed version of legislation (H.R. 6) to establish a National Energy Policy and administration’s forest policies.
• Fought to increase federal funding for conservation programs.
• Led efforts to secure several federal grants totaling more than $3.6 million to restore Four Mile Run.
• In addition to the Four Mile Run restoration project, I have used the federal appropriations process to initiate a number of local environmental and conservation projects including restoration projects for Holmes Run, the Potomac River, Audubon Outdoors, Mason Neck Wildlife Refuge, and the Chesapeake Bay.
• Secured close to $5 million in federal funding to expand the network of regional recreational trails for biking, hiking and walking.

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