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A $1.4 trillion year-end spending package released last night includes increased spending for environmental agencies. However, the package only partially funds the popular Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) for next year. The program has funded conservation and recreation projects in every county of the United States through offshore oil and gas royalty fees rather than taxpayer dollars. Earlier this year LWCF was made permanent, but wasn't allocated full and permanent funding. Since Congress' promise to the American people through the creation of LWCF over 50 years ago, less than half of the money authorized by Congress has been appropriated for the program. LWCF is an extremely popular program with broad bipartisan support and 78% of the western public in support of full funding.
A bill to create full, permanent appropriations of $900 million per year advanced out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on November 17th. However, lawmakers now seek to allocate only $495 million to the fund, which is about half of the amount originally intended by Congress. Although LWCF is not to be fully nor permanently funded this year, the package will receive its highest appropriation since 2004.
Other boosted environmental spending includes funding for wildfire and forestry programs, a $500 million increase for the Interior-EPA, a $1.8 billion increase for the Energy-Water bill, and an Energy Department budget increase of $2.9 billion primarily designated for renewable energy research. On the other hand, no money was allocated for the transfer of the BLM's headquarters to the West. The spending package is expected to pass the House today and clear the Senate later this week.
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This mad rush to lease huge chunks of Nevada to oil and gas prospectors is all the more bizarre given the fact that Nevada’s geology is mostly devoid of oil and gas."
