    [Budget of the United States Government]
    [III. Creating a Better Government]
    [6. Natural Resources and Environment]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                      6.  NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT

      ----------------------------------------------------------------------

                      Table 6-1.  Federal Resources in Support of Natural Resources and Environment
                                                (In millions of dollars)
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                   Estimate
                   Function 300                   2000   -----------------------------------------------------------
                                                 Actual     2001      2002      2003      2004      2005      2006
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Spending:
      Discretionary Budget Authority..........    24,646    28,687    26,401    27,020    27,587    27,630    27,418
      Mandatory Outlays:
        Existing law..........................        37      -213       -83       107       249       123       136
        Proposed legislation..................  ........  ........       -10       -69       -20        42        78
    Credit Activity:
      Direct loan disbursements...............        21        33        29        27        28        28        29
      Guaranteed loans........................  ........  ........        50       100        50  ........  ........
    Tax Expenditures:
      Existing law............................     1,520     1,550     1,630     1,710     1,820     1,920     2,020
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

      ----------------------------------------------------------------------
      The Federal Government plans to spend over $26 billion in 2002 to
    protect the environment, manage Federal land, conserve resources,
    provide recreational opportunities, and construct and operate water
    projects. The Federal Government manages about 700 million acres--a
    third of the U.S. continental land area.
      The Natural Resources and Environment function reflects most Federal
    support for natural resources and the environment, but does not include
    certain large-scale environmental programs, such as the environmental
    clean-up programs at the Departments of Energy and Defense. (See Chapter
    2, ``National Defense'' and Chapter 5, ``Energy.'') This function does
    not include many other initiatives that help protect the environment,
    including energy conservation and tax credits for using non-conventional
    energy sources. (See Chapter 5, ``Energy,'' for more details.)
      Within the Natural Resources and Environment function, Federal efforts
    focus on providing cleaner air and water, conserving natural resources,
    and cleaning up environmental contamination. The major purposes of this
    function include:
              protecting human health and safeguarding the natural
              environment;
              restoring and maintaining the health of federally-managed
              lands, waters, and renewable resources; and
              providing recreational opportunities for the public to enjoy
              natural and cultural resources.
      Federal lands include the 384 units of the National Park System; the
    156 National Forests; the 530 refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge
    System; and the 264 million acres of public lands managed by the Bureau
    of Land Management (BLM), mainly in Alaska and 11 Western States.

    Land and Water Conservation Fund

      The budget allocates $900 million from the Land and Water Conservation
    Fund (LWCF) to acquire and conserve lands in national parks, forests,
    refuges, and public lands, and provide grants to States for broad
    conservation and outdoor recreation purposes.

    [[Page 46]]

      The National Park Service will provide $450 million in 2002 for LWCF
    matching grants to States in support of State and local conservation,
    wildlife protection, and outdoor recreation efforts. In 2002, two new
    programs aim to establish positive incentives for private landowners and
    local communities to protect imperiled species and restore habitat: $50
    million in matching grants will help States establish Landowner
    Incentive Programs to help private landowners protect imperiled species,
    and $10 million will establish a Private Stewardship Grant Program to
    provide funding for private conservation activities.
      In 2002, the Department of the Interior's (DOI's) and U.S.
              Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Federal LWCF program will
              increase the number of easement acquisitions, rather than just
              fee simple acquisitions, and increase the involvement of
              communities as DOI and USDA consider acquiring lands or
              interests in lands for national parks, forests, refuges, and
              public lands.

    National Parks

      The Federal Government spends over $2 billion a year to maintain a
    system of national parks that covers over 83 million acres in 49 States,
    the District of Columbia, and various territories. Discretionary funding
    for the National Park Service (NPS) has steadily increased (almost five
    percent a year since 1986) and recreation demonstration and concession
    fee receipts have grown to about $150 million in 2000. Yet, the
    popularity of national parks has also generated growth in the number of
    visitors, new parks, and additional NPS responsibilities. Over the past
    30 years, the number of national park units has grown by 50 percent and
    the number of national park visits has increased from 164 million a year
    to almost 287 million a year.
      With growing demands on park facilities and resources, NPS is taking
    new, creative, and more efficient approaches to managing parks and has
    developed performance measures against which to gauge progress. NPS is
    systematically addressing facility maintenance and construction needs
    through various management reforms, such as establishing five-year lists
    of priority projects, conducting condition assessments, implementing new
    information systems, and using business plans at parks to achieve
    strategic plan goals and resolve management challenges. NPS will use
    these business plans and other reforms to clearly communicate
    priorities, hold superintendents accountable, and influence how funding
    for individual parks is allocated. By next year's budget, NPS expects to
    establish better measures for addressing the backlog of deferred
    maintenance and resource protection needs. These reforms, coupled with
    increased appropriations and targeted fee receipts, will allow NPS to
    eliminate its backlog after five years.
      In 2002, NPS plans to:
      maintain the percentage of park visitors responding to surveys
              that summarize their experience as good or very good at 95
              percent; and
      as part of the National Resource Challenge, improve science-
              based management in parks, and complete 1,121 data sets for
              natural resource inventories in 2002 out of 2,527 required,
              compared to 455 completed through 2000.

    Conservation and Land Management

      The 75 percent of Federal land that makes up the National Forests,
    National Grasslands, National Wildlife Refuges, and BLM-administered
    public lands also provides significant opportunities for public
    recreation. BLM provides for nearly 75 million recreational visits a
    year, while over 36 million visitors enjoy wildlife each year at
    National Wildlife Refuges. With its approximately 192 million acres,
    USDA's U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is the largest single supplier of
    public outdoor recreation. USFS estimates that in 1996 it provided 341
    million recreational visitor days. In 2001, USFS will be releasing a new
    scientific based statistical sample measure for recreation use that it
    has been developing.
      Federal lands also provide other benefits. With combined annual
    budgets of almost $6 billion, BLM and USFS manage lands for multiple
    purposes, including outdoor recreation, fish and wildlife conservation,
    energy

    [[Page 47]]

    and mineral production, timber production, livestock grazing, and
    wilderness preservation. As part of the efforts to cut red tape and
    streamline processes, these agencies will upgrade an integrated
    nationwide outdoor recreation information system that gives the American
    public quick and easy electronic access to information about recreation
    use, permits, and reservations on Federal lands (www.recreation.gov).
      In addition to managing the land for recreation and conservation
    purposes, in 2002:
       BLM will improve domestic energy supplies by increasing
              leasing of oil and gas from 2,900 leases in 2000 to 3,400
              leases; and
       BLM plans to increase processing of applications for permits
              to drill from 3,600 in 2000 to 4,400.
      BLM will continue to emphasize accountability as well as verification
    for royalty production through inspection and enforcement on both
    Federal and Indian leases. The budget initiates planning and studies on
    potential oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in
    northern Alaska in 2004. Beginning in 2004, the budget would dedicate
    one-half of the bonus bids--the cash paid to the United States by
    successful bidders for oil and gas leases--to fund increased research on
    solar and renewable energy technology research and development, to be
    conducted by the Department of Energy over a seven-year period. The
    budget assumes that $1.2 billion would be available in 2004 to increase
    the funding for the solar and renewable technology program.
      Some high-priority projects include:

      Service First: USFS and BLM are working together to deliver seamless
    service to customers and ``boundaryless'' care for the land. The goal is
    to: improve customer service with one-stop shopping; achieve
    efficiencies in operations to reduce or avoid costs; and take better
    care of the land by taking a landscape approach to stewardship rather
    than stopping at the traditional jurisdictional boundaries. USFS and BLM
    are also looking to streamline major business processes to make them
    work better for both employees and customers.
      USFS Administrative Reforms: The Administration is committed to
    enhancing USFS accountability and ensuring that more resources are
    available for ``on-the-ground'' activities. Over the next year, USDA
    will review and begin implementation of streamlining and efficiency
    enhancing measures for USFS administrative operations. Centralized
    servicing and enterprise teams will be evaluated as ways to provide
    additional efficiency savings. National forest units may be able to
    contract with the private sector for these services where appropriate,
    or rely on coordinated cost pools. In addition, streamlined decision-
    making and an emphasis on forest-level activities will help establish
    increased accountability and improved decision-making for the agency.
    USFS will also improve its financial accounting system in support of
    fire suppression efforts to provide more accurate and timely information
    on fire suppression costs.
      The risk of wildfires increasingly threatens communities and the
    environment. Last year, USFS and DOI jointly released a report, Managing
    the Impact of Wildfires on Communities and the Environment. The report
    outlined a national strategy (known as the National Fire Plan) to reduce
    risks to communities from catastrophic wildfires, and to increase fire
    preparedness. The report made clear the importance of restoring
    landscapes and rebuilding communities devastated by fire; the need to
    invest in projects to reduce fire risk; and the importance of working
    closely with local communities to reduce risks. In 2002, the land
    management agencies plan to:
      perform hazardous fuels treatments on 1.4 million acres of
              Federal land to reduce the risk of loss of life, property, and
              natural resources from catastrophic wildfire; and
      assist over 5,300 communities and volunteer fire departments,
              more than double the number assisted in 1999.
      The agencies will also be working to improve the fuels reduction
    program by integrating the best available fire science in fuels
    treatment planning for 2002 and by developing performance measures to
    better target and then gauge the effectiveness of fuels treatments on
    reducing fire risks. These perform

    [[Page 48]]

    ance measures are expected to be developed and in place by 2002.
      BLM and USFS concentrate on the long-term goal of providing
    sustainable levels of multiple uses while ensuring and enhancing
    ecological integrity. In 2002:
      USFS will target funding to needed watershed restoration work
              (25,000 acres) and noxious weed control (85,000 acres); and
      BLM plans to improve the condition of 800 priority watersheds
              and increase the number of acres treated to control noxious
              weeds to 245,000 acres.
      DOI's Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), with a budget of $1.091
    billion, manages roughly 94 million acres of refuges and, with the
    Commerce Department's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), protects
    species on Federal and non-Federal lands.
      In 2002, FWS will again ensure that the refuge acreage is
              protected, of which 3.4 million acres will be enhanced or
              restored.
      FWS expects the status of 347 species listed under the
              Endangered Species Act as endangered or threatened a decade or
              more to stabilize or improve in 2002, compared to 309 in 2000;
              and anticipates recovery efforts will result in the delisting
              of three species.
      NMFS will implement programs in 2002 to reduce from 95 to 74
              the number of fisheries where overfishing is occurring out of
              the 286 major fish stocks.
      The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
              plans to support an increase in the number of restored acres
              of coastal habitat by 10,000 acres in 2002 to a total of
              80,000.
      Half of the continental United States is crop, pasture, and rangeland.
    Two percent of Americans manage this land--farmers and ranchers. USDA's
    Natural Resources Conservation Service provides technical and financial
    assistance to them to improve land management practices.
      Through several programs, USDA will implement conservation and
              resource management systems to control erosion, reduce
              nutrient runoff, improve pest management and improve habitat
              on 32 million acres of cropland.
      USDA intends also to help livestock producers reduce
              agricultural runoff and protect water quality through the
              development and implementation of 4,315 comprehensive nutrient
              management plans.
      In addition, in 2002, USDA will explore alternative methods of
    delivering technical assistance to farmers and ranchers. As part of this
    effort, USDA has authority to implement a small pilot program through
    which Conservation Reserve Program participants receive USDA-funded
    private-sector technical assistance, instead of the technical assistance
    traditionally provided by USDA. This pilot would allow USDA to determine
    if contracting out some services improves program delivery or reduces
    costs, and whether contracting should be explored for similar programs.

    Everglades and California Bay-Delta Restoration

      Federal and non-Federal agencies are carrying out long-term
    restoration plans for several nationally significant ecosystems, such as
    those in South Florida and California's Bay-Delta. The South Florida
    ecosystem is a national treasure that includes the Everglades and
    Florida Bay. Its long-term viability is critical to the health of scores
    of endangered plants and animals, important tourism and fishing
    industries, the economy of the State, and the quality of life for South
    Florida's six million people who depend on the ecosystem for its water
    and natural resources. Economic development and water uses in
    California's San Francisco Bay-San Joaquin Delta watershed have
    diminished water quality, degraded wildlife habitat, endangered several
    species, and reduced the estuary's reliability as a water source for
    two-thirds of Californians and seven million acres of highly productive
    agricultural land.
      The total proposed in the 2002 Budget for the implementation of the
    Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), authorized by the
    Water Resources Development Act of 2000, is $37 million. This includes
    $28 million for the Army Corps of Engineers and $9 million for DOI for
    research,

    [[Page 49]]

    monitoring, and planning studies to support CERP implementation.
      In addition to CERP, the budget proposes $183 million to continue
    ongoing construction, research, and land acquisition activities
    associated with the restoration of the South Florida ecosystem,
    including the Everglades. For example, the budget continues important
    restoration efforts on the Kissimmee River and funds the project to
    provide additional water to Everglades National Park.
      By September 30, 2002, five of the 68 currently known
              federally-endangered and threatened species in South Florida
              will be able to be ``down-listed'' or removed from the list.
      In August 2000, Federal and State of California officials agreed upon
    a long-term, $8.7 billion plan for the California Bay-Delta that would
    improve water quality, habitat and ecological functions, and water
    supply reliability, while reducing the risk of catastrophic breaching of
    Delta levees. The Congress is likely to consider legislation to
    authorize the Bay-Delta program early in 2001. The budget contains funds
    for Bay-Delta activities that can be undertaken within existing
    statutory authorities, including $20 million of new funds in a dedicated
    DOI account.
      In 2002, as part of implementing that plan, participating
              agencies expect to make up to 60,000 acre-feet of water
              available to Federal water project contractors that would not
              otherwise have been available.

    Scientific Support for Natural Resources

      The management of lands, the availability and quality of water, and
    improvements in the protection of resources are based on sound and
    objective natural resources science. DOI's U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
    provides research and information to land managers and the public to
    better understand ecosystems and species habitat, land and water
    resources, and natural hazards. In 2002, USGS will streamline its
    activities to better focus on providing sound and objective scientific
    information to land managers and the public.
      The Department of Commerce's NOAA manages ocean and coastal resources
    in the 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone and in 13 National Marine
    Sanctuaries. Its NMFS manages 891 fish stocks and approximately 200
    marine mammal populations, and along with NOAA's National Ocean Service
    seeks to conserve coastal and marine habitats. NOAA's National Weather
    Service (NWS), using data collected by NOAA's National Environmental
    Satellite and Data Information Service, provides weather forecasts and
    flood warnings. Its Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research provides
    science for policy decisions in areas such as climate change, air
    quality and ozone depletion.
      In 2002, the modernized NWS expects to increase the lead time
              of tornado warnings to 13 minutes and the accuracy of
              tornadoes warning to 72 percent; increase the lead time of
              flash flood warnings to 50 minutes and the accuracy to 87
              percent; and increase the accuracy of winter storm warnings to
              88 percent. Since 1986, lead times for tornado warnings and
              flash flood warnings have improved significantly. For example,
              in 1986 the lead time for tornado warnings was less than five
              minutes versus the expected 13 minutes lead time in 2002.

    Pollution Control and Abatement

      The Federal Government helps achieve the Nation's pollution control
    and abatement goals by: (1) taking direct action; (2) funding actions by
    State, local, and Tribal governments; and (3) implementing an
    environmental regulatory system. The Environmental Protection Agency's
    (EPA) $7.3 billion in discretionary funds and the Coast Guard's $138
    million Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (which funds oil spill prevention
    and cleanup) finance these pollution control and abatement activities.
    EPA's discretionary funds have three major components--the operating
    program, Superfund, and water infrastructure financing.
      EPA's $3.7 billion operating program provides the Federal funding to
    implement most Federal pollution control laws, including the Clean Air,
    Clean Water, Resource Conservation and Recovery, Safe Drinking Water,
    and Toxic Substances Control Acts. The

    [[Page 50]]

    Operating Program is funded at the second highest level in history and
    is higher than 2001 if unrequested projects are excluded. EPA protects
    human health and the environment by developing national pollution
    control standards, supported by sound science, largely enforced by the
    States under EPA-delegated authority. In 2002, the States and Tribes
    will receive $1.1 billion in grants, the highest level ever, to
    administer delegated programs and other responsibilities pursuant to EPA
    statutes. Included in this total is $25 million in new funding for State
    enforcement programs, reflecting a shift in enforcement responsibilities
    in delegated States from Federal enforcement to expanded State
    enforcement. The budget also includes $25 million for information
    exchange network State grants, which will develop environmental
    information standards, practices and design in accord with existing
    efforts in several States.
      Under the Clean Air Act, EPA works to make the air clean and healthy
    to breathe by setting standards for ambient air quality, toxic air
    pollutant emissions, new pollution sources, and mobile sources. In 2002:
      EPA plans to certify that three areas of the remaining 55
              nonattainment areas have attained the one-hour National
              Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone, thereby increasing the
              number of people living in areas with healthy air quality by
              2.9 million; and
      air toxic emissions nationwide from stationary and mobile
              sources combined will be reduced by five percent from 2001
              (for a cumulative reduction of 40 percent from the 1993 annual
              level of 4.3 million tons).
      Under the Clean Water Act, EPA works to conserve and enhance the
    ecological health of the Nation's waters through regulation of point
    source discharges, support for programs and projects to address polluted
    runoff, and through other multi-agency cooperative endeavors.
      In 2003, water quality will improve on a watershed basis such
              that 600 of the Nation's 2,262 watersheds will have greater
              than 80 percent of assessed waters meeting all water quality
              standards. (Water quality is surveyed biennially.)
      Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and the
    Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, EPA regulates pesticide use,
    grants product registrations, and sets tolerances (standards for
    pesticide residue on food) to reduce risk and promote safer means of
    pest control. EPA also seeks to reduce environmental risks where
    Americans reside, work, and enjoy life, through pollution prevention and
    risk management strategies.
      By the end of 2002, EPA plans to reassess a cumulative 66
              percent of the 9,721 pesticide tolerances required to be
              reassessed over ten years. This includes 70 percent of the 893
              tolerances having the greatest potential impact on dietary
              risks to children. This will be a major improvement given that
              only 121 reassessments were completed in 2000.
      The quantity of Toxic Release Inventory pollutants released,
              disposed of, treated, or combusted for energy recovery in
              2002, (normalized for changes in industrial production) is
              expected to be reduced by 200 million pounds, or two percent,
              from 2001 reporting levels. These data will be reported in
              2004.
      In 2002, EPA will make publicly available screening level
              hazard data and assessments for eight percent of the 2,800
              High Production Volume chemicals (industrial chemicals which
              are manufactured in or imported into the United States at one
              million pounds or greater), as part of the Agency's
              implementation of a comprehensive strategy for screening,
              testing, classifying, and managing the potential risks posed
              by commercial chemicals.
      Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, EPA and authorized
    States prevent dangerous releases to the environment of hazardous,
    industrial nonhazardous, and municipal solid wastes by requiring proper
    facility management and cleanup of environmental contamination at those
    sites.
      In 2002, 82 more hazardous waste management facilities are
              expected to have approved controls in place to prevent
              dangerous releases to air, soil, and groundwater, for an
              approximate total of 71 percent of 2,750 facilities.

    [[Page 51]]

      EPA's underground storage tank (UST) program seeks to prevent, detect,
    and correct leaks from USTs containing petroleum and hazardous
    substances. Regulations issued in 1988 required that substandard USTs
    (lacking spill, overfill and/or corrosion protection) be upgraded,
    replaced or closed by December 22, 1998. EPA's leaking underground
    storage tank program (LUST) promotes and implements rapid and effective
    responses to UST releases. In 2002:
       EPA and its State and Tribal partners aim to achieve 96
              percent compliance of active USTs with the 1998 requirements
              and 75 percent compliance of active USTs will be in compliance
              with the leak detection requirements. (EPA is in the process
              of changing the way it measures compliance, including changing
              from a per tank to a per facility basis.)
       The performance goal is to complete 23,000 LUST cleanups.
      The $1.3 billion Superfund program pays to clean up hazardous spills
    and abandoned hazardous waste sites, and to compel responsible parties
    to clean up. The Coast Guard implements a smaller but similar program to
    clean up oil spills. Superfund also supports EPA's Brownfields program.
    The Administration's strategy on Brownfields (abandoned industrial
    sites) is to clean them in order to protect human health and the
    environment while allowing affordable cleanups and flexible approaches.
    The Administration intends to remove legal obstacles to cleanups, make
    the Brownfields tax incentive permanent, and make Federal financial
    assistance more effective by cutting red tape and reforming existing
    funding mechanisms. Brownfield cleanup and redevelopment is important
    because it revitalizes urban communities by improving public health and
    environmental conditions, boosting local property tax rolls, and
    providing jobs. In 2002:
       EPA and its partners intend to complete 65 Superfund cleanups
              (construction completions) for an overall total of 895
              construction completions by the end of 2002; and
       The Coast Guard expects to reduce the rate of oil spilled
              into the Nation's waters to 3.6 gallons per million gallons
              shipped, which will make good progress toward a goal of a 20-
              percent reduction from the 3.9 gallons per million five-year
              moving average.
      EPA water infrastructure funds provide grants to States for
    capitalizing revolving funds, which make low-interest loans, to help
    municipalities pay for wastewater and drinking water treatment systems
    required by Federal Law. Also, EPA funds State sewer overflow control
    grant programs. The $1.3 billion requested in the 2002 Budget for EPA
    state wastewater grants fund the Clean Water State Revolving Funds
    (CWSRF) at $850 million and the newly authorized Sewer Overflow Control
    Grant program at $450 million. This request is consistent with EPA's
    plan to capitalize the CWSRF to the point where it provides $2 billion
    in average annual assistance and further addresses Federal mandates to
    control the biggest remaining municipal wastewater problem, sewer
    overflows. The $76 billion in Federal wastewater assistance since
    passage of the 1972 Clean Water Act has dramatically increased the
    number of Americans enjoying better quality water; nearly all of the
    Nation's wastewater treatment systems have been upgraded to secondary
    treatment or better. Also, the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund
    (DWSRF) is funded at $823 million to provide capitalization grants to
    State DWSRFs, to provide $500 million in long-term average annual
    assistance. Ensuring that community water systems meet health-based
    drinking water standards is supported by both the DWSRF and operating
    program resources. In 2002:
      700 CWSRF projects are intended to initiate operations,
              including 400 projects providing secondary treatment, advanced
              treatment, combined sewer overflow correction (treatment) and,
              or/or storm water treatment. Cumulatively, 7,900 CWSRF-funded
              projects will have initiated operations since program
              inception.
       91 percent of the population served by community water
              systems is expected to receive drinking water meeting all
              health based standards in effect as of 1994, up from 83
              percent in 1994.

    [[Page 52]]

      USDA gives financial assistance to rural communities to provide safe
    drinking water and adequate wastewater treatment facilities to under-
    served rural communities (less than 10,000 people). USDA offers this
    loan assistance at subsidized interest rates based on the community's
    income. The budget proposes $1.4 billion in combined grant, loan, and
    loan guarantees for this assistance, equal to the 2001 enacted levels.
      USDA expects to provide 1.4 million rural residents access to
              clean, safe drinking water and/or quality waste disposal
              service by funding 900 water/waste treatment projects in 2002.

    Water Resources

      The Federal Government builds and manages water projects for
    navigation, flood-damage reduction, environmental purposes, irrigation,
    and hydropower generation. The Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) operates
    nationwide, while DOI's Bureau of Reclamation operates in the 17 western
    States. The budget proposes $4.7 billion for these agencies in 2002--
    $3.9 billion for the Corps, $0.8 billion for the Bureau of Reclamation.
    The budget targets Corps funds at completing the backlog of ongoing
    projects, rather than starting new ones. It gives priority for funding
    to activities in the Corps' primary missions areas--commercial
    navigation, flood damage reduction, and environmental restoration.
      In 2002, the Corps plans to:
      maintain high-use commercial navigation facilities in a fully
              operational state at least 90 percent of the time;
      maintain flood damage-reduction facilities in a fully
              operational state at least 95 percent of the time;
      achieve ``no net loss'' of wetlands by creating, enhancing,
              and restoring wetlands functions and values that are
              comparable to those lost; and
      address concerns regarding the assessment of construction
              projects.
      The Bureau of Reclamation manages, develops, and protects water and
    related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in
    the interest of the American public.
      In 2002, the Bureau of Reclamation intends to deliver or
              release the amount of water contracted for from Reclamation-
              owned and operated facilities, expected to be no less than 28
              million acre-feet, and generate power needed to meet
              contractual commitments and other requirements 100 percent of
              the time, depending upon water availability.

    Tax Expenditures

      Conservation Tax Credit: To provide an incentive for private,
    voluntary land protection, the budget includes a 50-percent capital
    gains tax exclusion for private landowners who voluntarily sell land or
    water to a Government agency or qualified conservation organization for
    conservation purposes. This incentive is a cost effective, non-
    regulatory, market-based approach to conservation.
      Brownfields: To spur more cleanups across the country, the budget
    includes a permanent extension of favorable tax treatment of the costs
    of cleaning up contamination at abandoned waste sites. Taxpayers may
    elect to treat certain environmental remediation expenditures as
    deductible in the year paid or incurred. Under current law, the
    Brownfields tax incentive expires at the end of 2003.