Jennifer Oglesby (501)
324-5943
July 29, 2005
Press Release |
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Final Interior Spending Bill Passes Congress
Measure Contains More Than $14 million for Arkansas Projects
Washington - U.S. Senators Blanche Lincoln and
Mark Pryor, and U.S. Representatives Marion Berry (AR 01), Vic Snyder
(AR 02), John Boozman (AR 03), and Mike Ross (AR 04) today announced
that Congress has finalized the Interior Appropriations Conference
Report which includes $14.018 million for various Arkansas projects.
The spending bill is now primed to be signed into law by President Bush.
The Interior Bill also includes an additional $1.5 billion in funding
for the Veterans Administration in fiscal year 2005 to ensure veterans
in Arkansas and the nation continue to receive the medical care and
benefits they have earned.
The following is a list of Arkansas projects in this year's Interior
Appropriations Bill:
| $6,059,000 |
Rehabilitation of the Superior, Maurice and Lamar Bathhouses
in Hot Springs National Park.
The restoration effort is intended to make the bathhouses suitable
for leasing to a private developer as part of a long term project
to use public and private resources to rehabilitate and redevelop
Bathhouse Row for future use. |
| $5,100,000 |
Construction of Little Rock Central High School Visitor's
Center.
Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site was designated as a unit
of the National Park Service in 1998. Since that time, the current visitor's
center has seen visitation numbers more than double. The structure's 1,700 square
feet can only accommodate 35 people at one time, forcing visitors to wait outside,
at times in inclement weather. Over 28,000 people enjoyed the historic site in
2004, and it is estimated that annual use will grow to more than 56,000 people
by 2007. This year's funding, coupled with last year's funding level of $733,000,
will enable the new facility's completion for the 50th anniversary of the Little
Rock Central High School desegregation crisis in 2007. |
| $809,000 |
Acquisition of Land Tract in the Cache River National Wildlife
Refuge.
This land acquisition will expand the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge to
preserve and protect wintering areas vital to the long term conservation of migratory
waterfowl. The Refuge is located along the Mississippi Flyway, an important travel
corridor for migratory birds. Earlier this year, the ivory billed woodpecker,
long thought to be extinct, was discovered in the Refuge. This land tract, which
was previously farmed, has been enrolled in the Wetlands Reserve Program and
will contribute to the overall reforestation efforts ongoing in the Delta. |
| $1,000,000 |
Acquisition of the Lake Ouachita North Tract, Ouachita National
Forest.
This funding will enable the purchase of land surrounded by Forest Service property.
This tract of land is located 20 miles northwest of Hot Springs and two miles
north of Lake Ouachita's Irons Fork Recreation Area. |
| $500,000 |
Improvements for Little Maumelle Wastewater Treatment Plant. |
| $500,000 |
Improvements for Fayetteville Regional Wastewater System. |
| $50,000 |
Funding for the St. Charles Drainage Planning and Improvements
project. |
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