(South Bend, IN) Today, Congressman Joe Donnelly met with members of the Nature Conservancy to discuss his legislative activities of interest to the organization and learn more about their legislative priorities.

Also at the meeting, Donnelly announced that as part of the 2008 Appropriations Bills passed by the US House of Representatives, funding was approved for three environmental-related initiatives in the South Bend area.

As part of the Energy and Environment Appropriations Bill, the committee appropriated and the House approved $500,000 in Fiscal Year 2008 (FY08) for the City of South Bend to implement an embedded sewer overflow sensory control network to reduce pollution within the St. Joseph River watershed. 

“The St. Joseph River is one of our most valuable natural resources in South Bend,” Donnelly said. “However, our overtaxed sewer system threatens this important source of water and recreation. The funding appropriated for this project will enable the city to implement an innovative nanotechnology to help store and convey water and sewage during periods of overflow.”

As part of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill, the committee appropriated and the House approved $400,000 in FY08 for the construction of the TRANSPO Bus Operation Center.

“More and more people are discovering the convenience of TRANSPO, in addition to the environmental benefits.” Donnelly said. “With the increase in demand, the current bus maintenance and administrative facility is no longer sufficient to meet the service needs of the city’s public transportation system.  A new facility will enable the agency to service vehicles more efficiently and allow the introduction of alternatively fueled buses into its fleet.”

Also as part of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill, at the request of Congressman Donnelly and Congressman Pete Visclosky, the committee appropriated and the House approved $5,000,000 for the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) to continue the design and construction of new centralized traffic control and power distribution systems for the South Shore Commuter Rail Line. The signal network will provide full, centralized traffic control of the passenger line using state-of-the-art microprocessor-based systems.  The signal network will provide full reverse running capability on all tracks, reducing the travel time when trains are diverted around construction projects.

“As the demand for commuter rail service between South Bend and Chicago continues to rise, we need to improve track capacity so we can accommodate the growing number of commuters,” Donnelly said.  “By reducing travel time and the getting cars off the road, more Hoosiers can go about their lives in a less-stressful, environmentally-friendly way.” 

The House of Representatives has finished its initial consideration of each of the 12 appropriations bills that would fund the agencies and operations of the federal government for Fiscal Year 2008.  The spending bills are now pending before the Senate.  In order for them to become law, the Senate and House must pass identical bills, and if that does not happen, a compromise negotiated between the House and Senate called a “conference report” must be voted on by both bodies.  Each appropriations bill must then be signed into law by the president.

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