Oregon forestry, water infrastructure funds advance

Senator Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., announced late last week that key provisions that will help Oregon’s rural communities are included in the U.S. Department of Interior Appropriations bill.

“This bill does a lot for rural Oregon’s resources, including forest health, firefighting, water and wildlife,” Merkley said. “Fighting for Oregon’s priorities is my top responsibility as a member of the Appropriations Committee. This legislation will create jobs in rural Oregon, while also making important investments in collaborative efforts that improve our environment, help wildlife, and strengthen rural economies.”

“Oregonians tell me at my town halls and other meetings how much our state needs real, long-term solutions to protect clean drinking water, sustainably manage our natural resources and solve land conservation challenges,” Wyden said.

“This legislation provides much-needed federal funding to help Oregonians improve the health of our forests, combat wildfires, clean up air and water pollution and preserve our natural resources while strengthening economic growth and creating good-paying jobs. This bill contains some significant wins for our state and preserves a critical fire borrowing fix I secured that will allow agencies to access funds to fight wildfires like the natural disasters they are.”

Merkley is the only Oregon member of Congress from either chamber since Senator Mark Hatfield to serve on the Appropriations Committee, considered to be one of the most powerful on Capitol Hill. He joined the committee in 2013 so that Oregon would have a strong voice in decisions about the investments our nation should be making.

Key elements of the appropriations bill that will impact Oregon include:

Forest Health Restoration and Collaboration: Merkley secured funding increases for several programs that reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires on public and private lands. The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management received an additional $5 million and $8 million, respectively, for hazardous fuels reduction bringing the total funding level to $623 million. In addition, Merkley fought to maintain funding for the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program at $40 million. Oregon has three active CFLR projects: Southern Blues Restoration Coalition Collaborative Landscape Restoration Project, Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project, and Lakeview Collaborative Landscape Restoration Project.

Wildfire Management: In 2017, federal agencies spent $2.9 billion on wildfire suppression, making it the most expensive on record. In anticipation of the coming fire season, Merkley secured $2.454 billion for fire suppression at the Forest Service and Department of the Interior, which is $508 million above last fiscal year, and will help minimize “fire borrowing.”

In the 2018 spending bill, Merkley and Wyden fought to include a fix to address “fire borrowing,” allowing federal agencies to use disaster money to fund fire suppression efforts rather than taking funds from fire prevention and other forest management programs to fight wildfires. However, in a compromise with the House Republicans, the provision will not come into effect until 2020.

Columbia River Basin Restoration Program: The EPA received $1 million to begin the planning process to implement the Columbia River Basin Restoration Program. Merkley authored the bill creating the program to provide grants to business owners, farmers, ranchers, local governments, and others in the Columbia Basin to clean up and reduce toxics for a cleaner, healthier basin.

Klamath Basin Water and Wildlife Conservation: Merkley continued his support toward a long-term solution in the Klamath Basin, including $4 million to support strategies to restore fish habitat and scale up ongoing efforts to restore healthy populations of shortnose and Lost River sucker fish.

Sage Grouse: Merkley was able to preserve funding for on-the-ground activities to improve sage grouse habitat, and also secured $5 million in additional planning money. This will support the collaborative effort in Eastern Oregon that in continuing to address the loss of sage grouse habitat, working to prevent the species from being listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT): Merkley secured $500 million for the PILT program to fund vital services for rural communities, including public safety, social services, transportation and housing. This funding goes to Oregon counties that have large tracts of federal land, which doesn’t pay property taxes.

Clean Air and Water Funding: Merkley successfully led Senate Democrats in protecting funding for the Environmental Protection Agency. President Trump’s budget proposed cutting the agency, which is responsible for reducing pollution and safeguarding public health, by nearly a quarter — 23 percent. Merkley organized 37 of his colleagues in urging opposition to those cuts, which were ultimately rejected by the Appropriations Committee. The proposed cut would have led to a 20 percent reduction in the EPA workforce, which includes nearly 1,200 veterans.

Water Infrastructure: Critical water infrastructure loan programs under the Water Infrastructure Financing Innovation Authority (WIFIA) Act received $63 million. Combined with previous appropriations, WIFIA can now issue over $6 billion in low-interest loans for critical water infrastructure projects across. Merkley authored the WIFIA program in 2012, working to ensure public drinking water and wastewater infrastructure are well-maintained — critical for public health and safety, strong local businesses, population growth, and clean rivers and aquifers. WIFIA was passed into law as part of the 2014 Water Resources Development Act.

Tribal Programs: The Indian Health Service, which provides health care to thousands of Oregon Tribal members, received $5.772 billion, a $234 million increase. The Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education received an additional $11 million.

Land and Water Conservation Fund: The program received level funding at $425 million. For over 50 years the program has been the main source of funding for federal land and water acquisitions. Acquiring and protecting public lands not only provides environmental and recreational benefits, but also creates jobs in the tourism, recreation, timber, fishing, and other natural resource sectors.

The bill was voted out of the Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday. The next step for the bill is a full Senate vote, and eventually merging with a counterpart bill from the U.S. House of Representatives in order to be passed by both houses and signed into law.