Chenoweth Attacks Funding For River Cleanups American Heritage Plan Called An Infringement On Property Rights

Rep. Helen Chenoweth wants to drown President Clinton’s plan to clean up some of the nation’s rivers.

Under Clinton’s American Heritage Rivers Initiative, announced in February, the president would pick 10 rivers from a list of nominations submitted by communities along the streams.

The initiative, in Chenoweth’s view, is an attack on “private property rights, water rights and the American taxpayers.” So the Idaho Republican wrote a single-sentence bill that would cut off future funding for the program.

A House committee approved Chenoweth’s bill Wednesday, but Democrats wondered what the fuss was about.

“I’m still baffled by the opposition” to the plan, Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., said two weeks ago when the panel considered the proposal.

“It’s designed to help citizens who asked to have their rivers designated.”

In their application, communities must lay out a plan for a river - whether they want to clean it up, facilitate economic development along its banks or continue to preserve the river for its historic significance. A plan could encompass the entire stretch or a portion of a river.

If a river is selected, the federal government will pump expertise and money into the local efforts for five years. Additionally, each of the 10 rivers will have a river navigator, a person who acts as liaison between federal agencies and the river community.

But Chenoweth and her GOP colleagues contend the plan gives federal bureaucrats jurisdiction over local water. Furthermore, they said, environmental groups could use the designation to shut down activities they don’t like on or along the river.

Supporters, however, say the initiative does not place new restrictions on land or water use. A nomination also requires broad support from local people, otherwise it would “probably not” receive the designation, program spokeswomen Karen Hobbs said.

“Probably not” is cold comfort to Republicans who say more federal involvement would undermine local decision-making.

Chenoweth’s bill is expected to the pass the House when it comes to the floor next session. But it will have a tough sell in the Senate, which in September voted down similar legislation.

In another fund-slashing move, Chenoweth and Rep. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., inserted language in two spending bills that stipulates no money appropriated for the Interior or Defense departments can be used to nominate lands to the Biosphere Reserve program, administered by United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization or UNESCO.

The biosphere reserve program, established in 1968, recognizes natural areas for biological research and education.

There now are 339 biosphere reserves in the world. Of these, 47 are in the United States, including Glacier and Olympic national parks.

Chenoweth, who co-sponsored another bill that would scale back U.S. participation in this and other UNESCO programs, said the designations give a foreign body - the United Nations - a say in how these lands are managed.

“That’s an infringement on U.S. sovereignty,” Chenoweth has said.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: WHAT’S NEXT Chenoweth’s bill is expected to the pass the House when it comes to the floor next session. But it will have a tough sell in the Senate, which in September voted down similar legislation.