Water Development FY98 Appropriations bill

(On June 25, 1998, the Supreme Court ruled that the Line Item Veto Act (Public Law 104-130) is unconstitutional, thus restoring provisions that had been cancelled as summarized below.)

(On October 17, 1997, the President exercised the line-item veto to cancel the dollar amounts of discretionary budget authority in connection with the following projects contained in the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 1998: (1) dredging of Lake George, Hobart, Indiana; (2) removal of debris and sediment from the channel of Neabsco Creek, Prince William County, Virginia; (3) dredging of Sardis Lake, Mississippi; (4) dredging of Chena River, Fairbanks, Alaska; (5) dredging of Allegheny River, Pennsylvania; (6) In-situ Copper Mining Research Project, Applied Science and Technology Program, Bureau of Reclamation; (7) Department of Energy, Bureau of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy program for a research and development partnership to manufacture electric transmission lines using aluminum matrix composite materials; and (8) Nuclear Regulatory Commission multi-purpose canister licensing.) (Note: The high degree of the items cancelled precluded their inclusion in the original law's summary. As a result, the original law's summary and the summary of the law after the item vetoes are identical. For more information on the specific items vetoed, see the text of the conference report for H.R. 2203, H.Rept. 105-271, and Presidential Cancellation Numbers 97-57 through 97-64.)

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Title I: Department of Defense--Civil

Title II: Department of the Interior

Title III: Department of Energy

Title IV: Independent Agencies

Title V: General Provisions

Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 1998 - Title I: Department of Defense - Civil - Makes appropriations to the Department of the Army and its Corps of Engineers for FY 1998 for: (1) authorized civil functions of the Department of the Army relating to rivers and harbors, flood control, beach erosion, and related purposes; (2) expenses necessary for the collection and study of information related to such purposes; (3) the prosecution of authorized water development and related projects; (4) certain flood control projects on the Mississippi River and its tributaries; (5) water development projects operation and maintenance; (6) the navigable waters and wetlands regulatory program; (7) flood control and coastal emergencies; (8) Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program; and (9) general expenses.

Authorizes use of the Revolving Fund to construct an addition to the United States Army Corps of Engineers Alaska District main office building on Elmendorf Air Force Base.

(Sec. 101) Prescribes guidelines under which the Secretary of the Army shall provide planning, design and construction assistance to non-Federal interests in implementing water-related environmental infrastructure and environmental resources development projects in Alaska.

(Sec. 102) Prohibits the Secretary of the Army from using any funds to carry out any plan for, or otherwise construct, the Oak Way or the Sky Top detention structures in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, as part of the flood control project, Green Brook Sub-basin, Raritan River Basin, New Jersey.

Title II: Department of the Interior - Makes FY 1998 appropriations to the Department of the Interior for: (1) the Central Utah Project; (2) the Bureau of Reclamation; (3) water and related resources; (4) Bureau of Reclamation Loan Program Account; (5) the Central Valley Project Restoration Fund; (6) California Bay-Delta Ecosystem Restoration; and (7) general administrative expenses.

Title III: Department of Energy - Makes appropriations to the Department of Energy (DOE) for FY 1998 for: (1) energy supply and uranium supply and enrichment activities; (2) non-defense environmental management; (3) the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund; (4) science activities; (5) the Nuclear Waste Disposal Fund; (6) DOE administration; (7) Office of the Inspector General; (8) atomic energy defense weapons activities; (9) defense environmental restoration and waste management; (10) defense facilities closure projects; (11) other DOE defense activities; (12) defense nuclear waste disposal; (13) the various geographical power marketing administrations of DOE (including specified costs for the hydroelectric facilities at the Falcon and Amistad Dams under the Western Area Power Administration); and (14) the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

(Sec. 301) Prohibits the use of appropriations under this Act or any other Act to award a management and operating contract unless the contract award uses competitive procedures, or award or modify a contract in an manner that deviates from the Federal Acquisition Regulation, unless the Secretary of Energy grants a waiver on a case-by-case basis.

(Sec. 303) Prohibits the use of appropriations under this Act or any other Act to: (1) develop or implement a workforce restructuring plan that covers DOE employees, or provides enhanced severance payments or other benefits for such employees pursuant to specified statute; or (2) prepare or initiate Requests for Proposals for a program that has not been funded by the Congress.

(Sec. 306) Permits the transfer of unexpended balances from prior appropriations for activities in this Act to appropriation accounts established under this Act. Permits such transfers to be: (1) merged with funds in established accounts; and (2) accounted for thereafter as one fund for the same period as originally enacted.

Title IV: Independent Agencies - Makes appropriations for FY 1998 for: (1) the Appalachian Regional Commission; (2) the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board; (3) the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC); (4) the NRC Office of the Inspector General; (5) the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board; and (6) the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Title V: General Provisions - Prohibits the use of appropriations under this Act in any way, directly or indirectly, to influence congressional action on any legislation or appropriation matters pending before the Congress, other than for specified communications.

(Sec. 502) Declares the sense of the Congress that all equipment and products bought with funds under this Act should be American-made. Requires each Federal agency to give notice of this policy to any entity to which it provides financial assistance or contracts. Prohibits contracts with persons falsely labeling products as "Made in America."

(Sec. 503) Prohibits the use of appropriations under this Act: (1) for contracts or grants to any institution of higher education that is currently ineligible for contracts and grants under specified law; (2) for any contract with a contractor who has not submitted the most recent mandatory report under specified law; or (3) for the Animas-La Plata Project in Colorado and New Mexico, except for specified activities.

(Sec. 506) Amends the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the planning, design, and construction of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Area Water Reclamation and Reuse Project, including the reclamation and use of nonpotable surface water.

(Sec. 507) Amends the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Treaty Settlement Act of 1994 to increase authorizations for construction determined at 1997 prices.

(Sec. 508) Grants the State of West Virginia credit towards a specified contractual contribution for the cost of recreational facilities (except golf course development) to be constructed by a joint venture of the State in cooperation with private interests for recreation development at Stonewall Jackson Lake. Directs the Corps of Engineers to revise both the 1977 recreation cost-sharing agreement and a specified lease to remove the requirement that such recreation facilities are to be owned by the Government at the time of their completion.

(Sec. 509) Mandates that funds transferred by the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) to the Department of Energy be specifically retained and used for research and demonstration of Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) technology for uranium enrichment.

(Sec. 510) Prohibits the use of any funds under this Act to determine the final discharge point for the San Luis Unit interceptor drain until development by the Secretary of the Interior and the State of California of a plan which complies with federally approved State water quality standards.

Mandates repayment of the costs of the Kesterson Reservoir Cleanup Program and the San Joaquin Valley Drainage Program pursuant to specified Repayment Plans prepared by the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation.

(Sec. 511) Amends the USEC Privatization Act to provide that statutory guidelines governing the authority of DOE contractors to carry firearms and make arrests in providing security at Federal installations, shall also require the presence of an adequate number of security guards carrying sidearms at all times at the Gaseous Diffusion Plants in Paducah, Kentucky, and Portsmouth, Ohio.

(Sec. 512) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to restart the High Flux Beam Reactor.