SENATE APPROPRIATIONS PANEL APPROVES FY2010 FUNDING
FOR DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR & EPA PROJECTS IN MISSISSIPPI
Cochran Announces Funding Directed to Mississippi
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today announced Senate Appropriations Committee approval of the FY2010 Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, and outlined a number of projects and programs funded in the legislation for Mississippi.
“I am pleased the Appropriations Committee has acted in a timely manner to report the Interior appropriations legislation to the full Senate,” Cochran said. “The measure will provide funding necessary to ensure that communities in Mississippi have adequate wastewater treatment facilities. It will also fund fisheries and wildlife research in our state and ensure preservation of some of Mississippi’s historic buildings.”
The following are items of interest to Mississippi included in the Interior spending measure:
Public Lands and Natural Resources Agencies
- $800,000 for the Center for Bottomlands Hardwood Research to continue Forest Service scientific research focused on wetland forests and associated stream ecosystems
- $350,000 for the Natural Resources Economic Enterprises Program to continue university activities promoting sustainable conservation practices
- $250,000 for the Advanced Housing Consortium to continue research to determine the strength and durability of certain forest product structures
- $2,000,000 for the Holt Collier Visitors Center at the Teddy Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge
- $900,000 for the Center for Marine Resources and Environmental Technology at the University of Mississippi
Environmental Protection Agency
Funding through the EPA State and Tribal Assistance Grants program to provide water and sewer infrastructure upgrades was approved for the following communities:
- $143, 000 for Leflore County
- $380,000 for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
- $275,000 for the city of Batesville
- $400,000 for Tunica County
- $300,000 for Hinds County
- $277,000 for the city of Pearl
- $200,000 for the city of Ridgeland
- $275,000 for the city of Carthage
Save Americas Treasures
- $250,000 to the city of Jackson for the rehabilitation of the office used by civil rights leader Medgar Evers for use as a library and museum
- $500,000 for restoration of the historic Madison County Courthouse
Funding was also included in the bill for national programs such as the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Land and Water Conservation Fund, National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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