Purchase, Protection of Coastal Ecosystems on Senate Commerce Agenda
By Manu Raju
Congressional Quarterly
April 25, 2007
A Senate panel is expected Wednesday to revive legislation that would create a federally funded program to purchase and protect coastal ecosystems from destruction during development.
The Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will vote on a measure (S 1142) by Judd Gregg, R-N.H., and Frank R. Lautenberg, D-N.J., that would direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to award grants to states to purchase ecologically sensitive land near coastal areas and estuaries.
Supporters say the bill would help restore habitat for sea life, maintain water quality, provide nesting for coastal birds and make it easier to implement flood-control measures. They argue that watershed areas are under intense pressure from development, so more resources are needed to protect sensitive areas.
Gregg said Congress has been repeatedly funding NOAA activities to purchase and protect coastal land, and legislation is needed to officially create the program. “It’s got very broad support, and it’s going to be funded either way,” he said.
In NOAA’s fiscal 2008 budget request, the Bush administration proposed $15 million to preserve “high priority” coastal lands with historical, ecological or aesthetic value.
The bill would authorize $60 million annually from fiscal 2008-12, and the federal government would be responsible for providing 75 percent of the total cost of each state grant.
In the last Congress, the committee approved a similar measure, but it stalled on the floor when fiscal conservative Tom Coburn, R-Okla., objected to the matching requirements, aides said. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that last year’s measure would cost the federal government $210 million over five years.
John Hart, a spokesman for Coburn, would not rule out the possibility of the senator placing a hold on the legislation this year. Coburn will block the bill if he considers it duplicative of ongoing programs or if it unnecessarily increases the role of the federal government, Hart suggested.
