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	Press Releases April 10, 2003   LIEBERMAN CONDEMNS INTERIOR-UTAH DEAL ON PUBLIC LAND CLAIMS Deal Skirts Law, Endangers Precious Roadless Areas   WASHINGTON - Governmental Affairs Committee Ranking Member Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., Wednesday said the agreement reached between the Interior Department and the state of Utah on the ownership of roads on public lands amounted to a “back room” deal that skirts the law, was reached without the benefit of public scrutiny, and therefore is not in the public’s best interest. The Interior Department announced that it had reached an agreement with Utah to resolve disputes over existing rights of way claims on federal land. The deal involved Revised Statute 2477, a law passed in 1866 at a time when the West was first being settled, and which gave states rights of way over federal lands for the purpose of highway construction. It was repealed in 1976, but valid existing claims continue to be recognized. Utah has made over 10,000 claims. “I’m afraid some people are using a 137-year-old law - enacted at a time when the West was primarily wilderness and repealed over 20 years ago - to serve narrow interests,” Lieberman said. “What is presented as a common-sense agreement is actually a circumvention of the spirit of the law.” Existing law prohibits the department from issuing rules regarding the recognition of existing claims without Congressional approval. To get around those requirements, the Department Wednesday issued a so-called Memorandum of Understanding, which outlines the responsibilities of both the state and the department, but avoids public scrutiny. “The impact of the agreement,” Lieberman said, “will be to threaten priceless natural resources in the wilds of Utah, including the Grand Staircase National Monument. Further, the agreement sets an undesirable precedent that other states are likely to follow, placing millions of acres of additional public lands in danger of development.”   ###   Printable Version   « previous Press Release next Press Release »   1998 - 1999 - 2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 April 2003 Press Releases March   |  May   --   2002   |  2004     April 29 - Lieberman Pursues Aggressive Homeland Security Oversight, Appeals to Bush to Better Manage Intelligance Information   April 29 - Lieberman, Cantwell: DOE Inspector General Conducting a Preliminary Investigation into FERC's Wall Street Contacts   April 28 - Campaign Finance China Connection Re-emerges   April 23 - Lieberman, Cantwell Seek Investigation of Federal Energy Regulators’ Wall Street Contacts   April 21 - Postal Workers Deprived of Significant Information Concerning Anthrax Contamination at Wallingford   April 16 - Lieberman Seeks More Answers on USAID Bidding Process for Post-War Construction Contracts   April 14 - Lieberman Questions Animal Feedlot Rule   April 10 - Lieberman Calls for Justification of Closed Bidding on Iraq Reconstruction, Legislation Would Require USAID to Publicly Explain How and Why it Selected Contractors   April 10 current Press Release   April 9 - Lieberman: Investing in Homeland Security, Challenges on the Front Line   April 8 - Administration Policies Reduce First Responder Force, 60 Percent of the Largest Police Forces are Pulling Back from War on Terrorism   April 7 - Lieberman Seeks Probe of Deputy Secretary Griles' Adherence to Ethics Agreements   April 4 - Lieberman Heeds Lessons of SARS Outbreak   April 3 - Lieberman Raises New Questions About Handling of Suspicious Mail at Hartford Facility Despite Assurances by Postmaster General   April 1 - Lieberman Seeks Information on USAID’s Selection of Companies Allowed to Bid on Iraqi Construction Contracts
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