[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 176 (Tuesday, December 9, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2486-E2487]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SEC. 115 OF THE ENERGY & WATER APPROPRIATIONS BILL--KING COVE ACCESS 
                                PROJECT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, December 8, 2003

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, the Republicans have 
done it again: a nefarious rider was slipped onto the fiscal year 2004 
Energy & Water Appropriations Bill. The Republicans have, once again, 
shut

[[Page E2487]]

Democrats out of the legislative process and provided neither an 
opportunity to debate the amendment, nor the chance to show this 
amendment for what it really is: an unacceptable invasion of our 
Nation's public lands and an assault on our public process. I oppose 
this clandestine.
  The King Cove Access Project rider is an affront to our nation's 
environmental laws. Section 115 of the Energy & Water Appropriations 
Bill directs the construction of a road from the village of King Cove, 
Alaska through the sensitive Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and right 
to the boundary of the fragile and internationally significant Izembek 
Wilderness Area. The provision waives all environmental laws governing 
construction of such a road in the process. The amendment was not 
included in either the House or Senate bills.
  Other government agencies have raised concerns about this project as 
part of the mandated inter-governmental coordinate. Congress dealt with 
this issue five years ago when I was the ranking member of the 
Resources Committee in the 105th Congress. The King Cove Access Project 
was defeated then and should have been defeated now.
  In 1998, proponents attempted to add the provision to an 
appropriations bill but were not successful. A compromise was later 
reached with the King Cove Health and Safety Act which was included as 
Section 353 of Public Law 105-277, the Department of Transportation and 
Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The measure appropriated $40 
million to address the access needs of the communities of King Cove and 
Cold Bay; however, the Act did not approve a road through the Izembek 
refuge or the Izembek Wilderness. In fact, the legislation specifically 
required that expenditure of the funds allocated in the bill ``must be 
in accordance with all other applicable laws.''
  It is outrageous that five years after a satisfactory compromise was 
agreed upon, we must return to this issue.
  The Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, on the Alaska Peninsula, is 
internationally recognized as one of the most important wetland 
reserves in the Northern Hemisphere. Home to threatened and endangered 
species, as well as millions of migratory birds, the Izembek National 
Wildlife Refuge and Izembek Wilderness are keys in the fight to 
conserve the natural diversity of wildlife populations and habitats.
  The King Cove Access Project rider inappropriately short-circuits the 
public process. An administrative decision on a project to enhance 
marine-road access for the community of King Cove is proceeding in a 
timely manner and does not require intervention by Congress. However, 
the King Cove Access Project mandates one alternative in the EIS, 
thereby effectively ignoring the advice of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife 
Service, other federal agencies and the American public.
  The King Cove Access Project ignores environmental laws, threatens 
important wildlife habitat and sets a dangerous anti-wilderness 
precedent. It is shameful that it was part of this legislation.

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