[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 34 (Thursday, February 26, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E496-E499]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          EARMARK DECLARATION

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JEFF FORTENBERRY

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 26, 2009

  Mr. FORTENBERRY. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership 
standards on member requests, I am submitting the following information 
regarding the earmarks I received as part of H.R. 1105, the FY09 
Omnibus Appropriations Bill:
  Requesting Member: Congressman Jeff Fortenberry
  Bill Number: H.R. 1105, FY09 Omnibus Appropriations Bill
  Account: Special Research Grants
  Project Name: Drought Mitigation
  Amount: $469,000
  Name and Address of Requesting Entity: University of Nebraska-Lincoln 
located at 202 Agricultural Hall, Lincoln, Nebraska 68583
  Description: This funding is for the National Drought Mitigation 
Center (NDMC) which conducts research and educational programs on 
drought mitigation and planning for drought. The project has assisted 
numerous states and municipalities in developing drought plans and 
implementing drought response action teams. The Center has received 
national visibility for providing information on the severity of 
drought throughout the United States. Both print and electronic mass 
media routinely use Center produced materials in their news stories on 
the drought.
  The NDMC's program is directed at lessening societal vulnerability to 
drought through a risk-based management approach. The NDMC works with 
local, state, and tribal governments, federal agencies, and non-
governmental organizations. The objectives of the NDMC are: (1) to 
develop and evaluate existing drought policies and plans in the United 
States and elsewhere with the goal of improving drought-coping capacity 
and (2) to develop and evaluate new techniques and methodologies for 
monitoring drought severity and its impacts, identifying and 
classifying users in the United States and elsewhere.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Jeff Fortenberry
  Bill Number: H.R. 1105, FY09 Omnibus Appropriations Bill
  Account: Buildings and facilities
  Project Name: Systems Biology Research Facility
  Amount: $1,088,000
  Name and Address of Requesting Entity: University of Nebraska-Lincoln 
located at 202 Agricultural Hall, Lincoln, Nebraska 68583
  Description: This funding will be used toward construction of a 
University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL)/Agricultural Research Service 
(ARS) Research Facility. This facility would provide critically needed 
space for UNL and ARS research addressing two areas of national 
concern: renewable energy and water resource conservation and 
management. Agriculture is expected to provide almost 40 percent of the 
nation's liquid fuels within 30 years. This will further intensify 
demands on our soil and water resources. UNL and ARS scientists have 
been collaborating at UNL since the 1930s. Very strong collaborative 
programs continue today, including the ARS program at UNL that has been 
developing improved switchgrass varieties for 30 years and

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is the leading program in the world on the use of switchgrass for 
cellulosic ethanol. These scientists are scattered across the UNL 
campus and the proposed building will enable them to share 
collaborative, cutting-edge research space that will move this 
important research forward more rapidly. This project would advance 
major research focused on essential national efforts.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Jeff Fortenberry
  Bill Number: H.R. 1105, FY09 Omnibus Appropriations Bill
  Account: COPS Law Enforcement Technology
  Project Name: Lincoln Police Department Security Upgrades
  Amount: $132,000
  Name and Address of Requesting Entity: City of Lincoln located at 555 
S. 10th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska 68508
  Description: The Lincoln Police Department wants to take its first 
steps into the emerging technology of digital recording systems for 
police patrol cars. The proposal would equip 20 police patrol vehicles 
with digital video systems integrated with the Department's existing 
mobile data computers. These systems will capture video from car-
mounted cameras onto flash memory media that can be downloaded for 
archiving. These systems will replace older analog video tape recorders 
and cameras. This would integrate digital content into our extensive 
Intranet resources, so digital video can be used by police and 
prosecutors. Although many departments are beginning to make the 
transition to digital recording equipment, this integration is the key 
component of this project that differentiates it from most. The 
equipment will allow for greater efficiencies within the Department and 
accelerate information-sharing with neighboring jurisdictions.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Jeff Fortenberry
  Bill Number: H.R. 1105, FY09 Omnibus Appropriations Bill
  Account: Corps of Engineers--Construction
  Project Name: Antelope Creek Flood Damage Reduction Project:
  Amount: $400,000
  Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Lower Platte North Natural 
Resources District located at 511 Commercial Park Road, Wahoo, Nebraska 
68066.
  Description: The Antelope Creek Flood Damage Reduction Project is a 
critical element of a flood control, transportation and community 
revitalization project known as the Antelope Valley Project. The 
project is being constructed in central Lincoln adjacent to the 
University of Nebraska Lincoln main campus to improve flood control, 
transportation networks and community well-being in the city's down-
town area.
  Essential to progress on the entire Antelope Valley Project is the 
completion of the flood damage reduction component. This multi-purpose 
project is a partnership of the City of Lincoln, the University of 
Nebraska Lincoln, and the Lower Platte South Natural Resources 
District, along with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the federal 
Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development. The 
project reduces flooding threats to over 800 dwellings and businesses 
and 1,200 floodplain residents and removes 100-year floodplain 
restrictions on 400 acres.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Jeff Fortenberry
  Bill Number: H.R. 1105, FY09 Omnibus Appropriations Bill
  Account: Corps of Engineers--Construction
  Project: Sand Creek Environmental Restoration Project
  Amount: $400,000
  Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Lower Platte North Natural 
Resources District located at 511 Commercial Park Road, Wahoo, Nebraska 
68066.
  Description: The Sand Creek Project will restore several types of 
historic wetlands and add to the national wetlands inventory in support 
of the Administration's ``net gain'' national wetlands policy. A 
quantitative analysis of all environmental outputs by the Corps of 
Engineers in addition to the Feasibility Study demonstrated a 
significant level of benefits for this wetland restoration project for 
the Lower Platte River watershed which serves the North American 
Central Flyway.
  The Sand Creek Project supports the national goal of a net gain in 
American wetlands. Active pursuit of this goal also provides for 
improvements in water quality and water supply to achieve watershed 
improvement. Flooding in Wahoo along the U.S. 77 Expressway corridor 
occurred twice during 2006. Completion of the wetlands restoration 
structure will also provide flood damage reduction benefits and the 
roadway allowing completion of this expressway between Lincoln and 
Sioux City. This is a key segment of the expressway.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Jeff Fortenberry
  Bill Number: H.R. 1105, FY09 Omnibus Appropriations Bill
  Account: Corps of Engineers--Construction
  Project: Western Sarpy-Clear Creek Flood Damage Reduction Project 
Amount: $2,775,000
  Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Papio-Missouri River Natural 
Resources District located at 8901 S. 154th Street, Omaha, NE 68138.
  Description: The Western Sarpy-Clear Creek Flood Damage Reduction 
Project is vital to the health and well-being of a large number of 
Nebraskans. It is planned to protect vital drinking water resources 
that supply up to 50% of Nebraska's population in the eastern part of 
the state from flooding due to potential ice jams on the Platte River. 
Elected officials at local, regional and state levels in Nebraska have 
been long committed to this project's construction because of risk to 
water supplies and other infrastructure.
  Significant construction progress towards completion is vital to 
Nebraska in the year ahead. The Congress has provided construction 
funding for the past four years in the Energy and Water Development 
Appropriations Act.
  In 1993, flooding in the Lower Platte severed one-half of the City of 
Lincoln's water supply and catastrophe was again threatened in 1997 
from ice-jam induced flooding. That portion of the new Omaha 
Metropolitan Utilities District well field on the western side of the 
Platte River now under development south of U.S. Highway 92 will also 
receive vital protection from this project. Treatment facilities for 
water from this well-field will be completed in the months ahead.
  Additionally, this project is needed to provide protection to: I-80 
and U.S. Highway 6; The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, an 
Amtrak line; Military facilities at the National Guard Camp at Ashland; 
National telecommunication lines; and Other public infrastructure.
  Construction of a separate but companion levee at the Nebraska 
National Guard Camp at Ashland was fully funded by the Congress in the 
FY '04 Military Construction Appropriations Bill and is completed. 
Neither of these adjoining levees is effective without the other. Ice 
jams with the potential for flooding in the area around Camp Ashland 
and the 1-80 Bridge where it crosses the Lower Platte River occurred 
again as recently as 2001 and will continue to be a significant threat 
until both of these projects are completed.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Jeff Fortenberry
  Bill Number: H.R. 1105, FY09 Omnibus Appropriations Bill
  Account: Corps of Engineers--Construction
  Project Name: Missouri National Recreational River
  Amount: $335,000
  Name and Address of Requesting Entity: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 
located at 106 S. 15th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68102
  Description: This funding is for the Missouri National Recreational 
River (MNRR), located on the Missouri River from Gavins Point Dam 
downstream to Ponca, Nebraska. Federal activities pursued within the 
MNRR must protect and enhance the values for which it was designated--
scenic, recreational, fish and wildlife, historic, and cultural. The 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' FY09 capability of $9 million would be 
used for bank stabilization, easement acquisition, and fee title 
purchase.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Jeff Fortenberry
  Bill Number: H.R. 1105, FY09 Omnibus Appropriations Bill
  Account: Section 205
  Project Name: Fremont Section Sec. 205 Flood Control Study
  Amount: No specific dollar amount
  Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Lower Platte North Natural 
Resources District located at 511 Commercial Park Road, Wahoo, Nebraska 
68066
  Description: This funding is for the federal share to complete the 
Fremont South Section 205 Flood Control Study. Funding for this Section 
205 project will continue urgent feasibility planning to strengthen an 
existing flood control levee in order to remove a portion of South 
Fremont from the threat of flooding in the 100 year flood plain. This 
Fremont South area will be soon identified by the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency (``FEMA'') as within the designated flood plain. The 
total cost of the project is $1,086,000 split equally between the Corps 
of Engineers and the nonfederal sponsor.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Jeff Fortenberry
  Bill Number: H.R. 1105, FY09 Omnibus Appropriations Bill
  Account: Section 205
  Project Name: Schuyler Section 205 Flood Control Study
  Amount: No specific dollar amount
  Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Lower Platte North Natural 
Resources District located at 511 Commercial Park Road, Wahoo, Nebraska 
68066
  Description: This funding under the Section 205 authority is for the 
federal share to continue the Schuyler, Nebraska Flood Control

[[Page E498]]

Study. The amount requested will continue the Schuyler, Nebraska 
Sec. 205 Flood Control Study. The purpose of the study is to plan for 
mitigation of flooding in 40% of the city which is anticipated to be 
placed in the flood plain for the first time when designated by FEMA. 
The total cost of the study is $772,000 split equally between the Corps 
of Engineers and the non-federal sponsor.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Jeff Fortenberry
  Bill Number: H.R. 1105, FY09 Omnibus Appropriations Bill
  Account: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
  Project Name: Bioenergy Demonstration Project: Value-Added Products 
from Renewable Fuels
  Amount: $1,903,000
  Name and Address of Requesting Entity: University of Nebraska-Lincoln 
located at 302 Canfield Administration Building, Lincoln, Nebraska 
68588
  Description: The funding will be used by the University of Nebraska-
Lincoln to establish a pilot-scale corn-ethanol bioenergy facility and 
research program. Research will focus on developing new fractionation 
processes for removing value-added components from corn before and 
after fermentation to biofuel and on exploring new commercial uses for 
these products. Establishment of a research facility and program will 
help ensure the economic viability of the rapidly expanding biofuel 
industry during periods of commodity price uncertainty for grain and 
ethanol. The ability to test feed formulations with greater amounts of 
biofuel co-products will be critical to the livestock industry as corn 
and soybean prices rise in response to expanded biofuel production. 
This research facility's goals align with the U.S. Department of 
Energy's goal of displacing 30 percent of 2004 gasoline demand with 
biofuels, primarily ethanol, by 2030. Achieving this ambitious goal 
requires a rapid expansion of the fuel ethanol industry and research on 
the most efficient and cost-effective means of producing ethanol and of 
utilizing the byproducts of that process.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Jeff Fortenberry
  Bill Number: H.R. 1105, FY09 Omnibus Appropriations Bill
  Account: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
  Project Name: Intelligent Controls for Net-Zero Energy Buildings
  Amount: $475,750
  Name and Address of Requesting Entity: University of Nebraska-Lincoln 
located at 302 Canfield Administration Building, Lincoln, Nebraska 
68588
  Description: The funding will be used by the University of Nebraska-
Lincoln to develop intelligent real-time controls for buildings using 
distributed electrical generation systems. The U.S. Department of 
Energy has set a goal of marketable net zero energy buildings buildings 
with annual net energy consumption of zero by 2025. Because residential 
and commercial buildings consume almost 70% of U.S. electricity, 
reducing energy use in existing and new buildings is critical to 
achieving zero energy buildings. Many large buildings needing an 
uninterrupted power supply, such as hospitals, schools, manufacturing 
facilities, hotels, and retail buildings, use distributed generation 
systems that include diesel generators and steam and gas turbines and 
could include solar, wind, and fuel cells. The intelligent controls 
developed by this project will decide in real time which energy source 
to employ and how much to charge and discharge storage systems to 
balance energy use and emissions over a year. These controls will 
enable operators to determine the optimal mix of on-site power 
generation and utility grid-supplied power needed for large buildings 
to maximize energy consumption and carbon emission credits. This 
research will lead to improved distributed generation applications in 
retrofit and new construction that reduce the energy use and carbon 
footprint of buildings.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Jeff Fortenberry
  Bill Number: H.R. 1105, FY09 Omnibus Appropriations Bill
  Account: STAG Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Project
  Project Name: City of Lincoln Wastewater Treatment Upgrades
  Amount: $550,000
  Name and Address of Requesting Entity: City of Lincoln located at 555 
S. 10th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska 68508
  Description: New and stricter wastewater treatment NPDES effluent 
discharge permit limits were issued in January 2004 to the City of 
Lincoln for both the Theresa and Northeast Wastewater Treatment 
Facilities. Over the last five years, more than $61 million in 
improvements have been made to these facilities to meet the new NPDES 
permits. The last of these improvements is nearing completion. The City 
continues to make improvements to the treatment facilities and 
collection system pipelines and pumping systems to be more cost 
efficient; reduce overall energy use; control and reduce odor 
emissions; reduce greenhouse gas emissions by further utilizing biogas 
generated by the treatment processes, and minimize the overall carbon 
footprint of facility operations. The City's six-year Capital 
Improvement Program (CIP) identifies $17.7 million in treatment 
facility improvement projects and $84.9 million for maintenance and 
improvement projects to the collection system. These improvement 
projects are essential for assuring air and water quality, protection 
of the environment, public health and safety of the community. The City 
expects to incur the majority of the costs to make improvements to the 
collection and treatment facilities through a capital construction 
program funded by user fees and federal assistance.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Jeff Fortenberry
  Bill Number: H.R. 1105, FY09 Omnibus Appropriations Bill
  Account: Higher Education (includes FIPSE)
  Project Name: Northeast Community College
  Amount: $761,000
  Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Northeast Community College 
located at 801 E. Benjamin Avenue, Norfolk, Nebraska 68702
  Description: This funding is for a new collaborative education center 
in South Sioux City, Nebraska. Northeast Community College (a 
comprehensive community college), Wayne State College (a regional 
comprehensive public state college), and South Sioux City, Nebraska, 
are partnering in this project. The new College Center will serve the 
area by creating a ``one-stop'' consolidated service center offering 
community and economic development resources in addition to providing 
educational opportunity for area residents at an affordable price. The 
primary purposes of the joint center are:

  to improve access to higher education in an underserved area of 
Nebraska with special focus on the large number of minority and first-
generation students in the region
  to offer comprehensive ``start-to-finish'' degree programs that will 
allow place-bound students to earn associate's, bachelor's, and 
master's degrees in focus areas without having to relocate
  to support economic and community development in the region through 
workforce training and consolidation of services
  The vision for the Center is to meet the educational demands of the 
region, provide a combination of classroom and lab instructional space 
adapted to the customized needs of regional employers, as well as to 
collaborate with area high schools to provide academic transfer, career 
and technical instruction for secondary students. This project will 
serve regional needs of Northeast Nebraska and the greater Siouxland 
area, including the southeast portion of South Dakota, and the west 
central to northwest portion of Iowa.
  The new College Center facility will be designed to serve 500 full-
time students by providing space for general classrooms, specialized 
instructional spaces for distance learning, science labs, computer 
labs, nursing labs, and a multi-purpose conference area that can be 
used as training classrooms for business and industry and learning 
community activities. It will also include areas for support services 
and academic support spaces for testing, tutoring, library services, 
study commons, and conference spaces. The South Sioux City Community 
Development Agency has donated 57 acres of centrally located land to 
Northeast Community College. The College Center will be located at this 
site.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Jeff Fortenberry
  Bill Number: H.R. 1105, FY09 Omnibus Appropriations Bill
  Account: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  Project Name: Environmental Health Informatics Database
  Amount: $238,000
  Name and Address of Requesting Entity: University of Nebraska Medical 
Center located at 986380 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198
  Description: This funding is for the University of Nebraska Medical 
Center to create a Midwest Health Informatics database to assess 
environmental influences on the development of diseases by collecting 
health information from 50,000 Midwesterners. Currently most 
information about the relationship between disease and the environment 
is generated by major databases located in large urban areas on the 
east and west coasts which tend to be regionally specific and generally 
not applicable to rural areas. This database would be the first 
research cohort in the Midwest to study the relationship between rural 
populations, the environment, and disease development. This project 
could reveal environmental factors responsible for birth defects or 
lymphoma, a cancer with high incidence in Nebraska. The data will 
provide valuable information on the factors influencing development of 
deadly diseases like cancer and

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position UNMC Eppley Cancer Institute to be designated a National 
Cancer Institute (NCI) Comprehensive Cancer Center. This high 
distinction will allow for the most advanced patient care and research 
to be available in Nebraska. UNMC is the ideal institution to spearhead 
this database with its numerous resources, well-established statewide 
hospital network to collect data, a state-of-the art cancer research 
team and facilities, and comprehensive database capabilities to collect 
and assess acquired data from this project.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Jeff Fortenberry 
  Bill Number: H.R. 1105, FY09 Omnibus Appropriations Bill
  Account: Transportation, Community, and System Preservation
  Project Name: Antelope Valley Transportation Improvements
  Amount: $570,000
  Name and Address of Requesting Entity: City of Lincoln located at 555 
S. 10th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska 68508
  Description: The City of Lincoln is committing significant resources 
for road and pedestrian improvements associated with Antelope Valley. 
Some of the important projects that remain in the $125 million 
transportation component of Antelope Valley Project include: 
construction of 5 miles of roadway (including the Antelope Valley 
Parkway from 17th & Y Streets to Capital Parkway) to improve traffic in 
the City's central core and Northeast Lincoln; reducing through traffic 
congestion on the University campus and on downtown streets; 
eliminating two dangerous mainline at-grade rail crossings, and 
providing a new overpass (16th Street Overpass) to the State Fair Park, 
Devaney Sports Center, state military areas, and surrounding 
neighborhoods. The federal assistance would be used in FY 2009 on 
Construction of P and Q Street bridges and roadways that are over the 
flood control channel that is to be constructed concurrently by the 
Corps of Engineers.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Jeff Fortenberry
  Bill Number: H.R. 1105, FY09 Omnibus Appropriations Bill
  Account: Transportation, Community, and System Preservation
  Project Name: Nebraska Highway 35
  Amount: $380,000
  Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Nebraska Department of Roads 
located at 1500 Highway 2, Lincoln, Nebraska 68502
  Description: The intent of this project in northeast Nebraska is to 
develop the most efficient route from Norfolk to South Sioux City. 
Currently, the route is comprised of several short segments of highway 
winding its way to the northeast. This project has significant regional 
and national importance. It would provide substantial safety and 
economic development benefits. The Nebraska Department of Roads has 
classified the Highway 35 project as a planned expressway.
  Requesting Member: Congressman Jeff Fortenberry
  Bill Number: H.R. 1105, FY09 Omnibus Appropriations Bill
  Account: Transportation, Community, and System Preservation
  Project Name: Rulo Bridge Replacement Project
  Amount: $95,000
  Name and Address of Requesting Entity: Nebraska Department of Roads 
located at 1500 Highway 2, Lincoln, Nebraska 68502
  Description: This funding is for the Rulo Bridge project between 
Nebraska and Missouri. The funding would be used for the initial 
planning and design of a replacement bridge. The current Rulo Bridge 
was built in 1939 and is too narrow to handle modern-day traffic. It 
also has dangerous curves in both of its approaches, limiting 
visibility and making it difficult for safe passage of vehicles meeting 
each other.

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