WASHINGTON, D.C., November 5, 2001 — In a new spending bill passed by the U.S. House and Senate, nearly $700 million will be spent on federal water resource projects.
The bill, titled the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act of 2002, will mostly be used for the development, management and restoration of water projects for state and local governments, tribes and other groups.
The bill was to fund the Department of Defense and the Department of the Interior and would prevent federal agencies from issuing permits for new oil drilling in the Great Lakes through Sept. 30, 2003, while the government studies the environmental effects.
In addition to authorizing the Army Corps of Engineers to carry out a number of water resources projects, the act would also give the Bureau of Reclamation more than $7 million for a loan account program.
