For Immediate Release

December 17, 2007

CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS BILL
INCLUDES FUNDS FOR STATE PROJECTS

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The multi-agency appropriations bill approved by the House of Representatives today contains a substantial boost in funding for the Puget Sound cleanup program within the Environmental Protection Agency budget as well as numerous other federal programs that are important to Washington State, Rep. Norm Dicks said Monday.

                    The bill, approved today by a vote of 214-to-189, directs $20 million in the current fiscal year to the EPA's research and remedial program addressing the overall health of the Puget Sound ecosystem, Rep. Dicks noted, up from only $1 million appropriated in the current year.  Rep. Dicks serves as the chairman of the appropriations subcommittee on Interior and the Environment, which oversees the budgets of the EPA as well as the various Interior Department land management agencies, the U.S. Forest Service, the Smithsonian and the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities.

                    In remarks to the House today, Rep. Dicks noted that he worked with members of both parties in the House to assemble a compromise version of the appropriations bill that was consistent with the priorities included by the House when it approved the bill June 28th, including a broad expansion of federal efforts to address global warming, a major restoration effort for the nation's wildlife refuges and an effort to restore funds for the National Parks around the country.

                    In addition to funding the Interior and Environment programs, the appropriations bill approved today funds all of the other federal agencies with the exception of the Defense Department, which was funded by a separate measure approved by Congress in mid-November.  It provides funds for many of the state's transportation priorities, $672 million for construction at the state's military bases this year, the hazardous and nuclear waste cleanup project at the Hanford Reservation, numerous educational improvements, health care facilities and crime control initiatives, as well as benefit programs and health care expenditures in the Veterans Administration.

                    Among the specific Washington State projects funded by the bill are the following:

        INTERIOR AND ENVIRONMENT APPROPRIATIONS

        EPA
        Puget Sound Cleanup Program -- $20 million
        Wastewater Treatment Program - City of Belfair - $1.9688 million
        Wastewater Treatment Program - Skokomish Indian Reservation - $984,400
        National Estuary Program ongoing West Coast initiative will fund $4.922 million for projects in Puget Sound.

        U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE
        Spartina eradication for Willapa National Wildlife Refuge -- $984,400, completing the agency's work to eradicate the noxious weed infestation in Willapa Bay

        U.S. FOREST SERVICE
        Repairing and Decommissioning Legacy Roads -- $39 million (national account, however a large portion is expected to be spent in Washington State.

        Tacoma-Seattle urban forestry project -- $492,200 from the federal program that promotes tree planting and encourages urban parks, street trees, landscaped boulevards, public gardens, river and coastal promenades, greenways, river corridors, wetlands, nature preserves.

        NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
        Elwha River Restoration Project -- $19.688 million, representing the 8th annual increment of federal funding for the project that will remove the two dams on the Elwha River and opens up the 70-mile stretch of the largely protected fishery habitat on the Olympic Peninsula

        Mt. Rainier National Park construction -- $1.78 million to continue work on the Jackson Visitor Center
        Mt. Rainier National Park Carbon River land acquisition – $1.18 million

        Bremerton Public Library -- $246,100 toward the restoration of the of the 1948 art deco facility through the "Save America's Treasures" program

        U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
        Hood Canal Dissolved Oxygen Study -- $196,880 for continuation of the ongoing study of the low levels of dissolved oxygen in Hood Canal, affecting fishery health.

        

        TRANSPORTATION APPROPRIATIONS / HUD APPROPRIATIONS

        Fast Ferry Boat Purchase --$980,000 for Kitsap Transit toward the purchase of two passenger-only fast ferries to service the Bremerton/Seattle route.  The funds will be applied to the continuation of the ongoing passenger ferry research project.

        Peninsula Park and Ride Facility -- $1.029 million.   With the opening of the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge last summer, Pierce Transit has developed a new park and ride facility in Gig Harbor that includes parking for more than 500 vehicles and a pedestrian bridge to the transit center.

        Bremerton Waterfront Public Access Infrastructure Project --$392,000 for a key component of the City of Bremerton’s Waterfront Redevelopment Project, which includes an ADA-compatible stair-ramp, waterfront promenade, public walkway, permanent outdoor furniture, lighting and sprinkler systems, and necessary environmental remediation along the city's downtown waterfront.

        Olympic Theatre Arts Center in Sequim  -- $98,000 for the renovation of the former Boys and Girls Club to create a 159-seat live theatre and additional gathering hall for community uses.
        

        COMMERCE JUSTICE SCIENCE APPROPRIATIONS

        West Coast Salmon Recovery Program -- $67 million for the four west coast states, including an estimated $25 million for the State of Washington to address the decline of salmon species that have been listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

        Washington State Methamphetamine Initiative -- $1,41 million for the program, managed by the Pierce County Alliance. In addition, the bill provides another $714,000 secured by Sen. Patty Murray for a National Meth Center project, also managed by the Pierce County Alliance, and $517,000 for the Methamphetamine Research Center at Washington State University.

        Pierce County Automated Finger Imaging System Upgrade -- $1,198,500 to facilitate the upgrade and interoperability of the City of Tacoma’s finger imaging system with the state's automated fingerprint system.

        Rainier Communications Commission (RCC) Wireless Broadband Network -- $235,000 was provided to the RCC, which represents Pierce County and 14 municipalities, to acquire and install wireless routers for approximately 60 sheriff squad cars and other emergency vehicles.

        Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs 30-Day DNA Stranger Rape Program --  $491,140 (COPS Technology) + $470,000 (Byrne Grants).  These are follow-on grants to continue work in Washington State on a database of DNA samples related to rapes and other crimes, as well as development of a methodology to test and check new samples within 30 days of the crime.


        LABOR-HHS-EDUCATION APPROPRIATIONS

        Eastside Clinic/Community Health Care, Tacoma -- $406,767 for the expansion of the clinic in the Salishan community, which is being rebuilt under the HOPE VI program.  The expansion will result in a boost from 9 to 24 exam rooms and from 3.5 providers to 7 providers.

        WSU Center for Community Education, Enrichment, and Urban Studies at Salishan -- $238,755 for the new center in the Salishan community, which will offer a comprehensive venue of education and training opportunities to a diverse community of adults and youth.

        University of Puget Sound James R. Slater Museum of Natural History -- $238,755 for the relocation and expansion of the Slater Museum of Natural History on the UPS campus to enhance displays and to expand community-based education and outreach efforts targeted at K-12 students.

        Olympic Community Action Program Oral Health Center -- $47,161 for purchase of equipment to improve service delivery at the OlyCAP Oral Health Center. which provides dental services for low-income, uninsured people and serves as the site of clinical education for students in a fully accredited dental hygiene program offered through Pierce and Peninsula Colleges.

        College Success Foundation’s Leadership 1000 Scholarship Program -- $478,492 for the Washington-based foundation's Leadership 1000 Scholarship Program, provide four-year college scholarships to 1,000 economically disadvantaged students on an ongoing basis.

        Seattle Cancer Care Alliance -- $1.436 million  toward the effort to build a Proton Therapy Center. The Center and its parent institutions, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, University of Washington Medical Center and Children’s Hospital Regional Medical Center, are developing an external beam radiation treatment delivering proton ions within the body for cancer treatment with less toxicity and higher cure rates.

        Pierce College Center of Excellence for Homeland Security -- $177,838  for the Center, established two years ago, representing a coalition of all 34 Washington State community and technical colleges, plus public agencies and private sector organizations involved in delivering Homeland Security training statewide in Washington.

        

        VETERANS ADMIN / MILITARY CONSTRUCTION APPROPRIATIONS

        PORT ANGELES VA OUTPATIENT CLINIC -- The bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to report on the feasibility and/or plan for a Community-Based Outpatient Clinic in Port Angeles, Washington.

        MILITARY CONSTRUCTION APPROPRIATIONS -- The bill provides a total of $672 million for construction activities at Washington State military bases as follows:

        ARMY -- FORT LEWIS
        $102 million for another Stryker Brigade complex (2nd of 4 increments)
        $5 million for an indoor range
        $21 million for a Medical/Dental Clinic
        $47 million for a Special Operations Command Battalion Operations Complex
        $30 million for a Special Operations Command Battalion Support Complex
        $14.6 million for a Railroad Yard Upgrade
        $32 million for a Barracks
        $62 million for Unit Operations Facilities
        $51 million for additional Unit Operations Facilities
        $10.6 million for a Child Development Center
        $3.3 million for a Fueling Facility

        ARMY -- YAKIMA FIRING CENTER
        $29 million for a Digital Multipurpose Range Complex

        NAVAL BASE KITSAP
        $47.24 million for a Bachelor Enlisted Quarters (2nd Increment)
        $91.07 million for the replacement of Pier B at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
        $6.13 million for an Ocean Engineering Support Facility

        NAVAL STATION EVERETT
        $10.94 million for a Regional Fleet Readiness Center

        NAVAL SUBMARINE BASE BANGOR
        $39.75 million for a Limited Area Production & Storage Complex (Increment 4)
        $28.69 million for a Missile Assembly Building

        WHIDBEY ISLAND NAVAL AIR STATION
        $23.91 million for EA-18G Facility Improvements
        $10.61 million for an indoor aircraft washrack

        AIR FORCE - FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE
        $6.2 million for a Physiological Training Facility



        HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS

        PACIFIC NORTHWEST NATIONAL LABORATORY (BATTELLE)  -- $15,000,000  toward the Capability Replacement Laboratory Project to replace mission critical RDT&E capabilities that will be otherwise lost as a result of the Department of Energy Environmental Management Office’s accelerated cleanup of Hanford’s 300 Area.

        Washington National Guard-- $1,000,000 for the Pacific Northwest Regional Risk Reduction Joint Capabilities Assessment and Contingency Initiative, an effort coordinated with the Emergency Management Directors of the other FEMA Region 10 states (Alaska, Oregon and Idaho) to improve regional contingency planning.

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