...the Senate bill, S. 1436 (pdf), would provide $27.4 billion to the Energy Department, $5.4 billion to the Army Corps of Engineers and $1.1 billion to the Interior Department's Bureau of Reclamation.
The amendment picture was not clear at press time, however a coalition of environmental groups was pressing for changes they say are necessary to protect fish and wetlands near the Mississippi River in Missouri.
In a July 23 letter (pdf), the groups urged Senate leaders to remove two bill riders that would shift $3.9 million from a fish restoration project in southern Missouri to the Mississippi River and Tributaries Project, a flood control program.
OUCH...
Other funding levels include $4.9 billion for the Office of Science, $761 million for nuclear energy programs, about $700 million for fossil energy programs, and $5.76 billion for cleanup of DOE nuclear sites.
The bill's report language (pdf) also includes language that says lawmakers expect DOE to suspend a fee the nuclear industry pays to the federal government to remove and permanently store nuclear waste (E&E Daily, July 21).
