Volume 157, No. 94 covering the 1st Session of the 112th Congress (2011 - 2012) was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS” mentioning the Environmental Protection Agency was published in the Senate section on pages S4155-S4156 on June 28, 2011.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS
The following petitions and memorials were laid before the Senate and were referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:
POM-48. A joint memorial adopted by the Legislature of the State of New Mexico requesting Congress allow for payments from both the survivor benefit plan and the dependency and indemnity compensation; to the Committee on Armed Services.
House Joint Memorial No. 1
Whereas, the legislature recognizes the pain and suffering of military widows and widowers whose spouses have died on the battlefield or through other service to the United States of America; and
Whereas, this nation has an obligation to care for its military widows and widowers; and
Whereas, military widows and widowers are unfairly deprived of monetary benefits from the survivor benefit plan, which their military spouses purchased and earned, when they receive dependency and indemnity compensation payments from the federal department of veterans affairs; and
Whereas, survivor benefit plan payments are reduced by the amount of the payments received from the dependency and indemnity compensation; and
Whereas, that reduction does not apply to veterans or military retirees employed as federal government civil servants enrolled in the civil service survivor benefit plan; and
Whereas, often the dependency and indemnity compensation payment completely offsets the survivor benefit plan payment; and
Whereas, many military widows and widowers are elderly and live on a fixed income and are in need of payments from both the survivor benefit plan and the dependency and indemnity compensation; and
Whereas, a federal court of appeals decision will require the department of defense to eliminate the dependency and indemnity compensation offset for widows and widowers who remarry at or after the age of fifty-seven; and
Whereas, President Abraham Lincoln committed this nation
``to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan'': Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of the State of New Mexico, That the United States congress be requested to allow for payments from both the survivor benefit plan and the dependency and indemnity compensation; and be it further
Resolved, That copies of this memorial be transmitted to the president of the United States, the speaker of the United States house of representatives, the president of the United States Senate and the New Mexico congressional delegation.
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POM-49. A joint memorial adopted by the Legislature of the State of New Mexico requesting Congress expedite the passage of legislation and appropriations to enact the necessary funding for the reclamation of abandoned uranium mines and the remediation of uranium mill tailings; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
House Memorial
Whereas, the Grants mineral belt, situated between Gallup and the Pueblo of Laguna in New Mexico, contains one of the world's richest uranium deposits; and
Whereas, dating back to the 1940s, states such as New Mexico mined uranium for the benefit of the atomic energy commission and the federal government's nuclear weapons program; and
Whereas, beginning in the 1950s and 1960s, private companies began extensive exploration, mining and milling activities related to the uranium deposits located in the Grants mineral belt on private, state, federal and tribal lands; and
Whereas, these activities continued through the 1990s, resulting in the mining and milling of more than one hundred seventy-five thousand tons of uranium ore from lands located in New Mexico; and
Whereas, unremediated contamination resulting from past uranium exploration, mining and milling activities constitutes a continuing threat to the health and well-being of residents of northwestern New Mexico; and
Whereas, state and federal studies have repeatedly shown that surface water, ground water and soils were and remain contaminated by past uranium mining and milling activities; and
Whereas, the federal government and others have direct responsibility to provide funding, both for the initial surveying of these mines and for potential subsequent reclamation and remediation where warranted; and
Whereas, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 is a federal law that mandates a reclamation fee on each ton of coal produced in the country, and Title IV of that act provides for abandoned mine reclamation; and
Whereas, in 2006, the United States congress passed amendments to Title IV of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, providing that the funds collected from the reclamation fees will now go directly to the states rather than be appropriated by congress, and those amendments limit uncertified states, such as New Mexico, from using the funds available through the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 for non-coal mine reclamation; and
Whereas, H.R. 785, introduced in the United States House of Representatives, would address the need for uncertified states to use Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 funding for non-coal mine reclamation; and
Whereas, under the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978, which established two programs, the United States department of energy is charged with completing surface reclamation at inactive uranium mill tailings piles; and
Whereas, various federal agencies were made aware of the tremendous need for the uranium legacy cleanup in the Grants mineral belt by the uranium mining and tailings task force established by the New Mexico legislative council in 2009, and the agencies have since made the uranium legacy cleanup in the Grants mineral belt a high priority; and
Whereas, as a result of the activities of the uranium mining and tailings task force, the United States environmental protection agency, specifically region six, took the lead to coordinate various federal, state and tribal agencies to be responsible for the uranium legacy cleanup and for publishing a multi-agency, five-year plan to address the uranium legacy cleanup; and
Whereas, New Mexico regulates uranium mining and milling activities through the department of environment and the energy, minerals and natural resources department; and
Whereas, the department of environment and the mining and minerals division of the energy, minerals and natural resources department have entered into cooperative agreements with various federal agencies to address the uranium legacy cleanup; and
Whereas, funding is a major limitation to completing the reclamation of abandoned uranium mines and the remediation of uranium mill tailings in the Grants mineral belt: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of New Mexico, That congress be requested to expedite the passage of legislation and appropriations to enact the necessary funding for the reclamation of abandoned uranium mines and the remediation of uranium mill tailings; and be it further
Resolved, That the department of environment and the energy, minerals and natural resources department report on any funding received from the federal government and other sources since 2009 that may be used for the uranium legacy cleanup and that the departments provide a detailed presentation on the specific standards used to determine the expenditures of federal funds by November 1, 2011 to the appropriate interim legislative committee; and be it further
Resolved, That copies of this memorial be transmitted to the director of the superfund division of region six of the United States environmental protection agency, the secretary of environment, the secretary of energy, minerals and natural resources, the speaker of the United States house of representatives, the president pro tempore of the United States senate and the New Mexico congressional delegation.
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POM-50. A memorial adopted by the Legislature of the State of New Mexico urging the President to consult with state and local interests, tribes and other interested parties when designating national monuments; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
House Memorial
Whereas, the federal Antiquities Act of 1906 authorizes the president of the United States to designate as national monuments ``historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures and other objects of historic or scientific interest that are situated upon the lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States'' in the state of New Mexico and elsewhere; and
Whereas, the president has previously exercised this authority to protect some of New Mexico's most cherished and significant places, including Chaco canyon, Carlsbad caverns and White Sands national monument; and
Whereas, the state probably contains additional sites on federal land that meet the criteria for national monument designation; and
Whereas, the residents of New Mexico have a clear and compelling interest in how federal lands in the state are managed; and
Whereas, the federal Antiquities Act of 1906 requires national monument lands to be ``confined to the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the objects to be protected'' and necessary to preserve and protect the historical sites or objects; and
Whereas, the residents of New Mexico wholeheartedly embrace the opportunity to engage constructively and participate in identifying and recommending sites and boundaries of potential national monument designations; and
Whereas, the president of the United States should recognize and take steps to ensure the interests of the residents of New Mexico in the process of designation of national monuments in the state; and
Whereas, sustainable land management and conservation policies are best developed and administered with local government and community support and commitment to those policies: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of New Mexico, That it request formal consultation and coordination among the president of the United States, the governor of New Mexico, the New Mexico congressional delegation, the New Mexico legislature, local officials and interested conservation, industry, Indian nations, tribes or pueblos and user groups ensuring transparency and open public participation prior to any designation of national monuments in New Mexico; and, be it further
Resolved, That copies of this memorial be transmitted to the president of the United States, the secretary of the interior, the president pro tempore of the United States senate, the speaker of the United States house of representatives and members of the New Mexico congressional delegation.
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POM-51. A memorial adopted by the Legislature of the State of New Mexico urging Congress to reauthorize the Water Resources Development Act of 2007, Section 5065, and to appropriate sufficient funds to investigate and address salinity sources affecting water quality in the Pecos River; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
House Memorial
Whereas, the Pecos river is a tributary of the Rio Grande that flows between New Mexico and Texas; and
Whereas, the Pecos river is known for its naturally high salinity, but as human needs and environmental concerns relating to the river continue to increase, the adverse economic and environmental impacts of the river's naturally high salinity have become a much greater issue; and
Whereas, much of the natural salinity in the Pecos river enters the river in localized areas where geologic brines from ancient salt-bearing formations naturally discharge to the surface, which presents an opportunity for engineered solutions to intercept such brines before they enter the Pecos river; and
Whereas, the Pecos River Compact between Texas and New Mexico provides that ``New Mexico and Texas shall cooperate with agencies of the United States to devise and effectuate means of alleviating the salinity conditions of the Pecos river''; and
Whereas, congress began that process by enacting Section 729 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 and by developing a program in Section 5056 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 that directs the secretary of the army to rehabilitate and enhance fish and wildlife habitats and to implement long-term monitoring, data collection and analysis, applied research and adaptive management within the Rio Grande basin; and
Whereas, a successful technical program to identify salinity sources and potential remedies on the Rio Grande in the New Mexico-Texas border region has been underway since 2008, under Section 729 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986; and
Whereas, it is imperative that funding and continuing authority for Section 5056 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007, which is set to expire in 2011, be reenacted so that efforts to address salinity issues in the Rio Grande and its tributaries can continue: Now therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of New Mexico, That congress be requested to reauthorize Section 5056 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 and to appropriate sufficient funds to carry out work related to that legislation; and be it further
Resolved, That copies of this memorial be transmitted to the president of the United States, the speaker of the United States house of representatives, the president of the United States senate and the members of the New Mexico congressional delegation.
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