Washington, D.C. – The Senate last night passed twenty-six Energy and Natural Resources Committee bills. All twenty-six bills were reported out of the Committee on September 28.

The 26 bills are:

S. 206 – Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail Designation Act of 2005 - Designates the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail, a trail from Missoula, Montana to the Pacific Ocean, to provide for the public appreciation, understanding, and enjoyment of the nationally significant natural and cultural features of the Ice Age Floods and to promote efforts to interpret and educate along the pathways of the floods.

Requires the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park Service, to administer the Trail and to prepare a cooperative management and interpretation plan for the Trail. Allows the Secretary to establish and operate a Trail management office within the vicinity of the Trail and allows the Secretary to acquire not more than 25 acres of land for public information and administrative purposes to facilitate the geographic diversity of the Trail.

S. 242 – Columbia Space Shuttle Memorials Act of 2005 - Establishes a study to determine the suitability and feasibility of establishing four memorials to the Space Shuttle Columbia as part of the National Parks System, to be located on the four specified parcels of land in Texas on which large debris from the Space Shuttle was recovered.

S. 584 – Requires the Secretary of the Interior to permit continued occupancy and use of certain lands and improvements within Rocky Mountain National Park, and gives the public access to an area along the Colorado river that was previously closed. 

S. 652 –  Benjamin Franklin National Memorial Commemoration Act of 2005 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to provide a grant to the Franklin Institute to rehabilitate the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial (including the Franklin statue) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and develop an interpretive exhibit to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Franklin, to be displayed at a museum adjacent to the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial.

S. 895 –  Rural Water Supply Act of 2005 - Reclamation Rural Water Supply Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a rural water supply program in reclamation states to: investigate and identify opportunities to ensure safe and adequate rural water supply projects for municipal and industrial use in small communities and rural areas; and plan the design and construction, through the conduct of appraisal investigations and feasibility studies, of such projects. Requires activities to be carried out in cooperation with a qualifying non-federal project entity.

Directs the Secretary to: develop and publish in the Federal Register criteria for determining the eligibility of a rural community for assistance and prioritizing assistance requests under the program; and develop an assessment of the status of all rural water supply projects under the Secretary's jurisdiction authorized but not completed prior to this Act's enactment.

Sets forth provisions regarding feasibility studies and the financial capability of any non-federal entities participating in the project to pay the capital construction costs. Delineates cost-sharing requirements.

Twenty-First Century Water Works Act - Directs the Secretary to develop and publish in the Federal Register criteria for determining the eligibility of a rural water supply project for financial assistance. Authorizes the Secretary to make available loan guarantees to lenders for a project meeting the eligibility criteria. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into a memorandum of agreement providing for Department of Agriculture financial appraisal functions and loan guarantee administration for activities.

S. 955 –  Franklin National Battlefield Study Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of sites in the cities of Brentwood, Franklin, Triune, Thompson's Station, and Spring Hill, Tennessee, relating to the Battle of Franklin to determine the national significance of the sites and the suitability and feasibility of including the sites in the National Park System. Requires such study to include the analysis and recommendations of the Secretary on: the effect on the study area of including the sites in the National Park System; and whether the sites could be included in an existing unit of the National Park System or other federally designated unit in the State of Tennessee.

S. 958 – To amend the National Trails System Act to designate the Star-Spangled Banner Trail in the States of Maryland and Virginia and the District of Columbia as a National Historic Trail.

S. 1154 – Acadia National Park Improvement Act of 2005 - Extends the Acadia Park Advisory Commission. Increases the ceiling on the amount of appropriations for the acquisition of lands and interests with respect to the Acadia National Park.

Directs the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance in the planning, construction, and operation of an intermodal transportation center located outside the Park's boundary, in the town of Trenton, Maine, to improve the management, interpretation, and visitor enjoyment of the Park.

S. 1238 –  To amend the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 to provide for the conduct of projects that protect forests, with a joint staff amendment that expands which funds may be used to pay for Corps activities related to disaster prevention or disaster relief projects. 

Public Lands Corps Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 to:  allow the Secretaries of Agriculture or Interior to give preference to qualified youth or conservation corps located in a specific area that have a substantial portion of members who are economically, physically, or educationally disadvantaged to carry out projects within the area; require the Secretary, in carrying out priority projects in a specific area, to give preference to qualified youth or conservation corps located in that specific area that have a substantial portion of such members; allow the Secretary to authorize appropriate conservation projects and other appropriate projects to be carried out on federal, state, local, or private land as part of a federal disaster prevention or relief effort; modify requirements for the establishment and use of conservation centers; authorize the Secretary to provide any appropriate services, facilities, equipment, supplies, technical assistance, oversight, monitoring, or evaluations; require the Secretary to provide each participant in the Public Lands Corps and each resource assistant with a living allowance as established by the Secretary; and permit the Secretary to grant members of the Public Lands Corps credit for time served with the Corps and to provide to a former member of the Corps noncompetitive hiring status for a specified period after the date on which such member's service with the Corps is complete.  

S. 1627 –  To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resources study to evaluate resources along the coastal region of the State of Delaware and to determine the suitability and feasibility of establishing a unit of the National Park System in Delaware. 

Delaware National Coastal Special Resources Study Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resources study of the national significance, suitability, and feasibility of including sites in the coastal region of Delaware in the National Park System. Requires such study to include an analysis and any recommendations concerning the suitability and feasibility of designating one or more sites along the Delaware coast.  Requires a report from the Secretary to specified congressional committees on study findings, conclusions, and recommendations.

H.R. 126 –  To amend Public Law 89-366 to allow for an adjustment in the number of free roaming horses permitted in Cape Lookout National Seashore. Increases the minimum of horses from 100 to 110, with a target population of between 120 and 130. Prohibits the Secretary from removing, assisting in, or permitting the removal of any free roaming horses from Federal lands, within the boundaries of the seashore unless removal is carried out as part of a plan to maintain the viability of the herd. Prohibits anything in such law from being construed to require the Secretary to replace horses or otherwise increase the number of horses within such boundaries where the herd numbers fall below 110 (currently, 100) as a result of natural causes, including, but not limited to, disease or natural disasters.

H.R. 539 – Caribbean National Forest Act of 2005 - Designates the El Toro Wilderness in the Caribbean National Forest/Luquillo Experimental Forest in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System.

Prohibits anything in this Act from precluding the installation and maintenance of hydrologic, meteorological, climatological, or atmospheric data collection and remote transmission facilities that are essential to the scientific research purposes of the Luquillo Experimental Forest.

H.R. 584 – Department of the Interior Volunteer Recruitment Act of 2005 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to recruit, train, and accept, without regard to the civil service classification laws, rules, or regulations, the services of individuals, contributed without compensation as volunteers, for aiding in or facilitating the activities administered by the Secretary through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Office of the Secretary.

H.R. 606 – Angel Island Immigration Station Restoration and Preservation Act - Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of the Interior for restoring the Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco Bay, in coordination with the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation and the California Department of Parks and Recreation.

Requires  funds appropriated by this Act to be used first for restoration of the Immigration Station Hospital on Angel Island; and any remaining funds to be used solely for the restoration of the Angel Island Immigration Station.

S. 485 – National Geologic Mapping Reauthorization Act of 2005 - Amends the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992 to extend deadlines for development of a five-year strategic plan for the geologic mapping program and for appointment of the advisory committee.

Removes from program objectives the development of a geophysical- and geochemical- map database. Directs that mapping priorities be based in part on the needs of the Department of the Interior land management agencies.

Modifies the composition of the advisory committee. Requires the advisory committee to provide a scientific overview of geologic maps (including maps of geologic-based hazards) used or disseminated by Federal agencies for regulation or land-use planning. Directs that the national geologic map database include all maps developed with funding provided by the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, including under the Federal, State, and education components.

Authorizes appropriations for each of FY 2006 through 2010. Increases the percentages allocated for the State and education components.

S. 761 – Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area Act - Renames the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area in Idaho as the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area in honor of the late Morley Nelson, an international authority on birds of prey, who was instrumental in the establishment of this National Conservation Area.

S. 1170 – Fort Stanton-Snowy River National Cave Conservation Area Act - Establishes the Fort Stanton-Snowy River National Cave Conservation Area in Lincoln county, New Mexico, to secure protect, and conserve subterranean natural and unique features and environs for scientific, educational, and other appropriate public uses.

Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, to establish facilities for  the conduct of scientific research and the interpretation of the historical, cultural, scientific, archaeological, natural, and educational resources of the Conservation Area.      

S. 166 – Deschutes River Conservancy Reauthorization Act of 2005 - Amends the Oregon Resource Conservation Act of 1996 to replace references to the Deschutes River Basin Working Group with the Deschutes River Conservancy Working Group; redefine "quorum" to mean eight of those qualified Working Group members appointed and eligible to serve; and reauthorize appropriations at a level of $2 million for each fiscal year through FY2015.

S. 251 – Little Butte/Bear Creek Subbasins Water Feasibility Act - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, to conduct the Water for Irrigation, Streams and the Economy Project water management feasibility study and environmental impact statement in accordance with the Memorandum of Agreement Between City of Medford and Bureau of Reclamation for the Water for Irrigation, Streams and the Economy Project, dated July 2, 2004.

S. 213 – Rio Arriba County Land Conveyance Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the County of Rio Arriba in New Mexico all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to specified land (including any improvements to such land) located on the Sebastian Martin Land Grant in the vicinity of Alcalde.

S. 592 – Glendo Unit of the Missouri River Basin Project Contract Extension Act of 2005 - Amends the Irrigation Project Contract Extension Act of 1998 to extend each of the water service or repayment contracts identified in the Act for the Glendo Unit of the Missouri River Basin Project, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado, until December 31, 2007.

S. 819 – Pactola Reservoir Reallocation Authorization Act of 2005 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to reallocate, in a manner consistent with specified federal reclamation law, the construction costs of Pactola Dam and Reservoir, Rapid Valley Unit, Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, South Dakota, from irrigation purposes to municipal, industrial, and fish and wildlife purposes.

S. 891 – Directs the Secretary of the Interior to extend the water service contract for the Ainsworth Unit, Sandhills Division, Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, Nebraska, for four years.

S. 1338 – Alaska Water Resources Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation and the Director of the United States Geological Survey, to conduct a study that includes: a survey of accessible water supplies, including aquifers, on the Kenai Peninsula in the municipality of Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna borough;  a survey of water treatment needs and technologies applicable to the water resources of Alaska; and a review of the need for enhancement of the streamflow information collected by the Geological Survey in the state relating to critical water needs in areas such as infrastructure risks to state transportation, flood forecasting, resource extraction, and fire management. 

S. 777 – Catoctin Mountain National Recreation Area Designation Act - Designates Catoctin Mountain Park in Maryland as the Catoctin Mountain National Recreation Area.

H.R. 1101 – Revokes Public Land Order 3442, dated August 21, 1964, insofar as it applies to specified lands in Imperial County, California (lands included in Cibola National Wildlife Refuge).  Directs the Secretary of the Interior to resurvey and publish the new boundaries of the Refuge.