May 18, 1998 -- Volume II, Issue 9

CEQ Blasts Liberty Matters

On May 11 & 12 the American Heritage Rivers Initiative (AHRI) Advisory Committee met at the White House to choose 20 to 30 rivers to present to the President. The meeting was facilitated by Jerry DelliPriscoli, an employee of the Army Corps of Engineers, who has interesting connections including UNESCO (Faxback Doc. 289). Rep. Helen Chenoweth (R-ID) requested to address the Advisory Committee about their legality under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, but was denied to speak on record and was ushered into a private meeting. Although announced as a public hearing, no verbal statements were permitted and any written testimony required prior notification. Then, the committee announced the selection of the rivers would be closed to the public. It was clear that the CEQ was not pleased with the attention being shed on the Initiative when a former elected official from Maryland attempted to speak about the proceedings. He was approached by a high-ranking CEQ staffer who noisily proclaimed that LM was not telling the truth about the Initiative. When the gentleman demanded to know what information was false, the CEQ staffer refused to answer and stormed out of the room. 

Speaking of Lies

Kathleen McGinty of CEQ was severely chastised by Congressman Henry Bonilla (R-TX) when it was discovered that she "misrepresented" the Congressman’s position on AHRI to Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX). Bonilla had requested that the Rio Grand be opted out. In a letter written March 30, 1998, McGinty confirmed his request writing: "[P]er your request, the portion of the Rio Grande River in your district will not be considered for designation." Two months later, McGinty wrote to Hutchinson stating that, "…Representative Bonilla has written in support for the nomination of the Rio Grand River." Upon learning of the misrepresentation, Bonilla fired a letter to McGinty demanding that she correct the misstatement and that his "position remains the same" in opposition. You need to contact both your U.S. Senators and Congressman to see if this same type of situation might have occurred. Faxback Doc. 284 

Raising the Bar - Again

The chosen rivers were to be named last week by the President, but they are now saying it won’t be for another 30 days. On May 8 (Faxback Doc. 286), a notice appeared in the Federal Register requiring not only a Congressman’s letter to opt-out, but also the approval of both U.S. Senators should a "conflict" occur. This is the third time CEQ has raised the bar for opting out of the Initiative. They obviously feel the need to keep changing the ground rules because of the overwhelming public opposition.

You have less than 30 days to contact your U.S. Senators and Congressmen demanding they write a letter to CEQ to opt out of this program. Find out if your elected officials have made any written statements and, if not, why not. Congress is the only elected body that has the authority to stop AHRI. Faxback Doc. 287

Fish Control Land

The National Marine Fisheries (NMF) has a big surprise for property owners in its Pacific Coast Salmon Plan for Essential Fish Habitat. Draft Amendment 14 of the plan proposes restrictions on virtually every form of activity in the watershed of fish habitat. Because the watershed of an area can be defined so broadly, these restrictions would not just affect the Northwest, but could reach into every corner of America. In fact, at a congressional staff meeting last December, a top NMF official stated that the plan would be held to a higher standard than the ESA. The comment period has been extended only 14 days and will close May 22, 1998. Call NMF and your Congressman to ask for at least a 60 day extension. We cannot let NMF sneak this one through. Faxback Doc. 285 

Babbitt Attempts to Justify ESA... and Fails        Faxback Doc. 288