This monthly review goes out to members of the AGI Government Affairs Program (GAP) Advisory Committee, the leadership of AGI's member societies, and other interested geoscientists as part of a continuing effort to improve communications between GAP and the geoscience community that it serves.
Preview of the President's Science Funding Request
5th Annual Science-Engineering-Technology Congressional
Visits Day
Interior's Solicitor General Releases New Mining Opinion
Course and Name Change for National Institute for the
Environment Supporters
New Forest Service Rules for Special Permit Cost Recovery
Energy Department Announces Geothermal Initiative
Gore, McCain Win in Granite State
Looking for a Few Good Summer and Fall Interns
Tentative Schedule of Upcoming GAP Activities
New Material on Web Site
********************
Preview of the President's Science Funding Request
In a speech on January 20th at Caltech, President Clinton announced
that his budget will include several large funding increases for science,
technology, and engineering programs. Clinton stressed the importance of
supporting increased funding in all scientific and engineering fields because
"advances in one field are often dependent on breakthroughs in other disciplines."
The President's budget request will include a $675 million increase for
the National Science Foundation, the largest dollar increase in the agency's
history. Clinton also announced $500 million for a nanotechnology initiative
that will cut across several federal agencies. Although the President's
budget is not officially released until February 7th, indications are that
most geoscience-related agencies will see increases this year. The president's
budget, however, is just a request, and it will take a concerted effort
from the scientific community to convince Congress to turn the presidential
request into bipartisan reality.
5th Annual Science-Engineering-Technology Congressional
Visits Day
Please come to Washington on April 4-5, 2000 for Congressional Visits
Day (CVD). Over 200 scientists and engineers from academia and industry
are expected to participate in this fifth annual event to voice support
for increased federal investment in science and technology. Last year,
20 geoscientists participated, and we would again like to see a strong
contingent of geoscientists visiting their members of Congress and congressional
staff on Capitol Hill. We need your help to identify geoscientists who
would be interested in participating, and we particularly encourage the
leadership of AGI's member societies to come. CVD consists of an opening
day of briefings by key administration and congressional leaders followed
by a day of constituent meetings with senators, representatives, and their
staff. AGI will join with AGU to hold a pre-briefing for geoscience participants
on the first day, and we can help arrange the constituent visits. If this
event appeals to you or you know of someone who would be interested in
coming to Washington, please contact Margaret Baker by e-mail at mab@agiweb.org
or phone at (703) 379-2480 ext. 212.
Interior's Solicitor General Releases New Mining
Opinion
Interior Department Solicitor John Leshy, fresh from tangles with Congress
over his views on mill-site size under the Mining Law of 1872, issued another
controversial legal opinion earlier this month that sets a precedent by
which the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) can reject a mining permit application
due to environmental and cultural degradation. The legal opinion was in
response to a permit application for the Glamis Imperial Mine in southeastern
California. In Leshy's view, the mine is located in an area of important
religious, cultural, and historical resources for the Quechan people as
well as a delicate desert environment. First proposed in 1994, Glamis Imperial
mine would be an open-pit, cyanide heap-leach gold mine that is proposed
to extract up to 150 million tons of ore. Leshy's opinion endorses the
Federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's request that Secretary
Babbitt and the Department of the Interior help to protect cultural resources.
More information on the decision is available in AGI's mining law reform
update at http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis106/miningup99.html.
Course and Name Change for National Institute
for the Environment Supporters
On January 26th, the Committee for the National Institute for the Environment
(CNIE) announced that it was changing its name to the National Council
for Science and the Environment (NCSE), declaring victory in translating
its goals for improving science information for environmental decisionmaking
into National Science Foundation (NSF) initiatives. CNIE originally formed
in 1989 with the goal of establishing a new federal agency -- the National
Institute for the Environment -- but in recent years shifted toward a goal
of establishing a semi-autonomous NIE within NSF. The National Science
Board rejected the idea but undertook a study of environmental science
at NSF. The ensuing report called for a major increase in funding for environmental
research and, in CNIE's opinion, recommended implementation of "most of
the activities initially proposed for a National Institute for the Environment."
As a result, CNIE announced last October it fully supported implementation
of the report and was suspending its call for the creation of a NIE. The
newly named NCSE will work to "develop an online information dissemination
system through which users can find understandable, science-based information
about the environment." More at http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis106/nie99.html.
New Forest Service Rules for Special Permit Cost
Recovery
In November, the U.S. Forest Service proposed new rules to include
a fee for processing an application for special-use permits. Because many
geologic research and educational activities in the national forests require
such permits, the issue is of interest to our community. According to Forest
Service staff, such permits include paleontological permits issued on National
Forest System Lands. Processing fees range from $75 to $750, but can be
waived for institutions submitting evidence of an IRS exemption under Code
501(c)(3) -- a classification that most scientific societies and universities
fall under -- and that studies are of public benefit. Since most paleontological
permits are issued to institutions or organizations for scientific or educational
purposes, it is anticipated that they may qualify for a waiver of the processing
and monitoring fees. However, any waiver or exemption is not automatic
but subject to the required evidence being submitted with the permit application.
Where a third party contractor (subcontractor) is involved, that contractor
may require a permit and may have to pay associated fees. This will be
determined on a case-by-case basis. The complete proposed rule: "Recovery
of Costs for Processing Special Use Applications and Monitoring Compliance
with Special Use Authorization" was published in the Federal Register on
November 24, 1999. The comment period has been extended to February 24,
2000. Information can be obtained on the web at: http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/permits/.
DOE Announces Geothermal Initiative
On January 24th, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson and Senator Harry
Reid (D-NV) announced a new Department of Energy initiative to expand and
develop the use of geothermal energy in the western states. The program,
known as GeoPowering the West, aims to provide ten percent of the electrical
needs of the western states by 2020, to supply electric power to at least
7 million homes by 2010, and to double the number of states using geothermal
energy. GeoPowering the West will award nearly $5 million in grants to
geothermal activities in Nevada, California, Texas, Utah, Idaho, and North
Dakota. A draft action plan for the program is available at its website
-- http://www.eren.doe.gov/geopoweringthewest/
-- along with a list of the grants already approved by the program. In
a Las Vegas Review-Journal article, Reid said: "This modest investment
by the federal government has the potential to stimulate billions of dollars
in investment and tens of thousands of new jobs ."
Gore, McCain Win in Granite State
Alright, there is nothing particularly geologic about the presidential
campaign except for the time period over which the campaigns have been
waged. Nor have the geosciences been a hot topic in the debates, but New
Hampshire's nickname is a good enough hook to remind geoscientists that
campaigns are gearing up in all 50 states for the entire House of Representatives,
a third of the Senate, and innumerable state and local offices (at least
we can't enumerate them). In an earlier campaign season, the Nevada section
of the American Institute for Professional Geologists (AIPG) set a great
precedent by hosting a candidate's debate on issues important to geoscientists
in Nevada, asking questions about resource development, environmental protection,
and related topics. Non-profit societies cannot support or endorse candidates,
but they can encourage a healthy debate of the issues. It's all part of
being active citizen-scientists.
Looking for a Few Good Summer and Fall Interns
AGI is seeking outstanding geoscience students with a strong interest
in federal science policy for a twelve-week geoscience and public policy
internship in Summer 2000 and a fourteen-week internship in Fall 2000.
Interns will gain a first-hand understanding of the legislative process
and the operation of executive branch agencies. They will also hone both
their writing and Web publishing skills. Stipends for the summer interns
are funded jointly by AGI and the AIPG Foundation and for the fall interns
by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Applications must
be postmarked by March 1, 2000. For more information on application materials
and the internship, visit http://www.agiweb.org/gapac/intern.html.
Tentative Schedule of Upcoming GAP Activities
| March 19-21 | AGI Associates Meeting | Reston VA |
| April 2 | GAP Advisory Cmte Mtg. | Alexandria VA |
| April 4-5 | SET Congressional Visits Day | Washington DC |
New Material on Web Site
The following updates and reports were added to the Government Affairs
portion of AGI's web site http://www.agiweb.org
since the last monthly update:
Sources: Department of the Interior, U.S. Forest Service, Department of the Interior, Environment & Energy Update, Greenwire, Library of Congress.
Please send any comments or requests for information to AGI Government Affairs Program at govt@agiweb.org.
Posted February 2, 2000
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