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Anaerobic Treatment
In the absence of oxygen, many groups of anaerobic microorganisms work together to decompose organic matter. The microbiology behind the process is more complex and delicate than that of aerobic processes, where most bacteria "work" individually. It is the main reason why anaerobic systems require greater control and monitoring in order to perform efficiently.
This type of treatment is very effective in the removal of biodegradable organic compounds. It is especially suitable for organic wastes and wastewater streams which are highly-loaded with organic contaminants. It effectively converts them to mostly methane gas and carbon dioxide, with very little excess sludge generation. Although the process leaves some organic pollution unremoved and cannot provide the level of effluent quality achievable with aerobic treatment, the significantly lower excess sludge production and valuable renewable energy generation in the form of biogas, are the reasons why it has become the favored approach to many industrial wastes and wastewater applications.
Wastewaters streams from food and beverage production, biofuels production, pulp and paper mills, and from the chemical industry, are highly-loaded with organic pollutants and can be treated advantageously by the means of various anaerobic processes.
However, varying wastewater components, the wide range of possible Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) concentrations, and each client's local conditions require a careful selection from the different anaerobic reactor types. A single anaerobic technology is not the best solution to all applications.
GWE has one of the most extensive portfolios of anaerobic technologies of any vendors, with thirteen (13) different configurations and concepts.
The ANUBIX™ reactor family are Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) reactors, typically used for wastewaters from breweries, beverage production, sugar mills, starch factories, paper mills, and many other industries. Volumetric organic loading rates of up to 25 kg COD/m³.d are used in these types of systems.
The group consists of three different reactor configurations B, C, and T model. Each has its own individual features and is ideally suited to a different group of wastewater types.
The high rate system, the ANUBIX™ – B is used for low to medium-strength wastewaters that are low in solids and FOG, which promote good sludge growth in an UASB. The ANUBIX™ – B can utilize both granular and flocculent biomass, giving it the most flexibility of the UASB reactor configurations.
Technology: UASB bioreactor, secondary treatment, COD to biogas, three-phase separator.
The ultrahigh rate system, the ANUBIX™ – T is used for medium-strength wastewaters with easily-degradable organic matters, which promote excellent sludge growth in an Expanded Granular Sludge Bed (EGSB) configuration. The ANUBIX™ – T is exclusively a granular-sludge form of anaerobic technology.
Technology: EGSB reactor, high-rate bioreactor, secondary treatment, COD to biogas.
In contrast to the conventional UASB reactor ANUBIX™ – CES system, with a built-in three-phase separator at the top of the reactor which diverts the biogas and retains solids, in this reactor, sludge separation is performed externally in a special lamella type separator, the GWE SUPERSEP™ – CF. The effluent of the sludge separator flows by gravity into any post-treatment that might be required.
Technology: secondary treatment, anaerobic treatment, UASB, organic waste to biogas.
The ANAMIX™ reactor is a continuously stirred (CSTR), long residence time digester for very high strength or high-solids wastewaters and slurries. It is available in both mesophilic and thermophilic (ANAMIX™ – M/T) configurations, the choice of which is made based on wastewater characteristics. Mixing can be performed with various devices, depending on the type of wastewater or waste treated, but is most typically done with a large top-entry mixer or via external pump mixing.
Technology: high COD content treatment, continuously stirred reactor, organic waste and sludge to biogas.
The ANAFIX™ reactor is an 'anaerobic filter' type of anaerobic system containing floating biomass carrier material to enhance biomass concentrations and retain biomass within the reactor. It is typically utilized for wastewaters from the chemical industry, where suboptimal conditions prevail that promote poor-settling biomass with very low growth rates.
Technology: upflow anaerobic filter reactor, low TSS/COD wastewater streams.
The FLOTAMET™ system is a unique GWE technology, consisting of a fully-mixed ANAMIX™ reactor, followed by our SUPERFLOT™ – AIR or – BIOGAS (DBF) technology for solids/liquid separation by flotation, to capture and retain high biomass concentrations within the system. It is typically used for wastewaters that are rich in FOG, salts and/or fibers.
Technology: secondary treatment, demanding wastewater treatment (high COD, FOG, TSS, and salt content).
The COHRAL™ system is a near-zero pressure Covered High Rate Anaerobic Lagoon system, used for large flow, very high strength wastewaters (e.g. molasses distilleries, palm oil mills), where space is not an issue or open lagoons already exist. COHRAL™ consists of an earthen basin with concrete ring walls, a floating, insulated membrane cover for biogas collection, and a full reactor distribution system.
Technology: low loading rate anaerobic treatment, fully covered lagoon, concentrated wastewater treatment, low TSS/COD wastewater streams.


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Career Wins
Roominger - VP, Business Development
March 2019 - Present
Established villa & apartment rental management business in Asia.
Dotexit - General Partner
November 2018 - Present
I haves opened this boutique M&A advisory and Brokerage firm to help entrepreneurs to buy & sell SaaS and Content businesses.
TGE Marketing & Advisory Corp. - Business Developer / Account Manager
April 2018 - January 2019
WorkoutLabs - Head of Growth & Partnerships
July 2016 - May 2017
Beta-i - Startup Scouting
October 2015 - November 2016
Drivr - Business Developer
July 2014 - March 2015
See what others have to say about me
It has been awesome to have Laurynas on our team to lead our business development efforts.
He's able to work independently, efficiently and effectively and execute on the tasks at hand in a thorough deliberate manner that I was deeply impressed by.
Laurynas will unquestionably bring solid value to any dynamic team.
William Artamon
Laurynas was instrumental in building the Drivr sales department at our Copenhagen office as Sales Executive employee nr 1.
Laurynas represents a refreshing opportunistic approach to sales and business development. He thinks creative, is not afraid to go in the deep water and carries himself in a professional manner when needed in the corporate world.
On top of this he possesses a good business mind and interest for technology and starts ups that pours passion and motivation on his work.
For a company looking for a resource to kick down commercial doors I give Laurynas my recommendations.
Nikolaj Koster
Laurynas is fast catcher of new ideas and very open minded.
He is keen to find opportunities, make market research and dig in data for answers.
Donatas Mikalauskas
Let's work together.
I limit who I work with so I can do a better job of helping a handful of people.
Engagement options include:
one-on-one consulting
monthly retainer

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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December 2018 was a tough month for the stock market. In fact, the S&P 500 started falling in October of 2018. An aging bull market, a trade war that could be long term, higher interest rates, and falling profits are all indicators that the long run up in stock prices is over. When a bear market is on the horizon, one of the options for an investor is to take profits from stocks and look for some practical gold investments. The key here is the word "practical." There are inefficient and difficult ways to invest in gold and then there […]Read More...
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Absent Friends: Interviews with Alan AyckbournThis section includes interviews with Alan Ayckbourn on Absent Friends. All articles are copyright of Haydonning Ltd and can be accessed through the links in the right-hand column.
This interview with Alan Ayckbourn was published in the programme for the 1997 revival of Absent Friends by the playwright at his home theatre, the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough.
Absent Friends (1997)
What led you to write Absent Friends?
○ London Classic Theatre (2015)
○ Salisbury Playhouse (2007)
○ Scarborough Fare (1975)
Interviews with Alan Ayckbourn○ Simon Murgatroyd (1997)
○ London Classic Theatre (2015)
○ Salisbury Playhouse (2007)
○ Scarborough Fare (1975)
Alan Ayckbourn: Absent Friends was first produced in Scarborough in 1974. It followed The Norman Conquests, which to all intents and purposes was the end of my exploration of offstage action. Three plays, two of which were happening offstage simultaneously with the one onstage, were quite enough. Absent Friends was almost a drawing-in of forces. It was significant for me in several ways. Its use of time, for one. The stage action matches real time almost second for second. Most plays have their own time span where hours or months can pass quite happily in the space of minutes. Absent Friends' time-span, being what it is, had the intended consequence of making the play far more claustrophobic, almost oppressive. Its single set, its small detailed action, helped. It is a play for a small intimate theatre where one can hear the actors breathing and the silences ticking away. It was a terrifying risk when it was first produced. I'd never pitched anything in quite such a low key before. Happily, it worked. It has been produced all over the world and, on television, is possibly the most successful of my plays to have transferred into that medium.
Why did you decide to choose continuous time and the same setting in both acts?
Very early on in the plotting. In every play (certainly in the ones I've written) I make a very early decision as to the time span the piece will cover. This, you'll understand, affects so many other decisions.
Were you disappointed that the play received such a mixed reception when it was first performed? [1]
Actually, the first Scarborough production got almost universally good reviews both locally and from the nationals that covered it. The London production (which I didn't direct) did get a much more lukewarm reception. But then I didn't care for it either. Significantly, it was one of the last shows of mine to go into London directed by someone other than myself. (I think there were two more, subsequently).
In the first draft you wrote some dialogue between Colin and Paul which you later removed, why did you remove it? [2]
I can't remember the speech now. But I suspect that, like so many dramatists, (including Chekhov, so I'm in good company) I found that once the play was "on it's feet" the actor could often express twice as much by what he/she didn't say. The art of the unspoken.
Did you make any other significant changes to the text before performance / publication?
Can't remember any.
Is the character of Evelyn deliberately a 'trouble-maker', consciously aware of the effect of her cynical remarks on Diana and Marge - or is she just morose, tactless and unintelligent. Can the actress choose which way to play her? [3]
Evelyn is from another generation. She despises the conventional female attitudes expressed by Diana and Marge. She is, if you like, an early example of the 'new' woman. One who didn't automatically go along with the accepted subservient attitude to men. She's not stupid. She just has no interest in making an impression. It's probably a complete reaction to what she sees going on around her. I have a suspicion that she's going to be a very good mother.
The 1970s were a time of great career opportunities for women, so why is it only Evelyn who had a part-time job?
The seventies were the turning point. Women were still divided into those who worked and those who didn't. Diana doesn't work because she is married to a man who would see her working as a sign of weakness; that he was unable to provide adequately for his family. Marge is largely housebound because of her invalid husband. She probably, again, has a part-time job; it's just never mentioned.
Do you think that Diana's life has been wasted 'doing all the wrong things' as she says?
I think this was part of the seventies crossroads for women. Many of them were brought up by their mothers to believe that their responsibility was first and foremost to husband and family. I think they were only 'the wrong things' for Diana because they didn't work out. She'd have been perfectly happy to be a wife and a mother only she's not been allowed to pursue either function. Her children have been sent away and her husband is never there.
Most of the marriages in the play are unhappy; do you see the destruction of romance and love as inevitable?
Depends on your expectations. I think most marriages are doomed to be disappointing. The happy ones don't make very interesting theatre, either.
What do you think is the funniest moment in the play?
Couldn't say. Probably some of Colin's (well-meant) long speeches.
Did you intend the ending of the play to be predominantly hopeful or pessimistic?
It's an open ending. Love has finally died between Paul and Diana - or rather finally been declared dead. I think there hadn't been much life in it for some time but often we go on going through the motions of love, as if we still loved someone, because the truth is too painful. It takes a catalyst like Colin to force us to review our lives. On the other hand, life goes on. In the face of everything, we continue to live our lives and even look forward to tomorrow.
Have you ever met someone like Colin?
Yes. Several.
Is there play still relevant 25 years on?
I think a lot of it is still very relevant. Human nature doesn't change. We just adopt different hair styles.
Website Notes:
[1] It is a common mistake in interviews with Alan Ayckbourn for the interviewee to presume the West End production is a) the first production and b) the most significant production. In the vast majority of cases, this is incorrect. The majority of Alan Ayckbourn's plays are performed originally in Scarborough at the Stephen Joseph Theatre (or its previous homes) and the Scarborough productions are generally considered definitive productions and superior to the West End.
[2] The providence of this question is unknown as it seems unlikely the interviewee would have had access to the first draft of Absent Friends - which was not made publicly accessible until 2011 when the Ayckbourn Archive was placed in The Borthwick Institute For Archives.
[3] This is a fundamental mis-reading of the play as there is nothing within the script which suggests Evelyn is 'stupid.'
Copyright: Haydonning Ltd. Please do not reproduce without permission of the copyright holder.


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This is the message, writes Dalrymple, of modern French architects. Their work, he points out, is
some of the worst in the world.
Perhaps, he says,
the rejection of beauty as a goal by French architects accounts in part for the adoption as a style by so many of the young French of deliberate ugliness and self-mutilation. In a world of brutal ugliness over which you have no control, you might as well admit defeat and join in.
He notes that while the worst of modern culture originates in England, it has in the rest of Europe
spread rapidly.


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Great results from Dublin at schools international cross-country Scotland were 2nd in Under/15 girls –Katie Johnson was 3rd and Sorcha Shepherd was 3rd counter for team and Anise Macaulay-Orr was 4th Counter.
In U/17 boys Scotland was with Hugh Morrow in the Team were 3rd Scotland were also 2nd in U/15 boys and U/17 Girls.
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"Have dominion over…every living thing that moves upon the earth." Gen 1. 28
As I am writing in the middle of August I am struck, as I am sure you are by what our weather forecasters keep calling "unseasonal weather." The fact of the matter is that the seasons are changing and have been for the last few decades. We were told they would change and that our climate in this country would become both warmer and wetter and so it is doing. I write after a warm day yesterday during which is poured down much of the day (in August!) and after a weekend where we had to relocate our Silver Wedding celebrations from the garden party we had planned into church because the large tent we had borrowed to keep the sun off people had blown down in the gales we had! The bough of the tree in our driveway that fell down and narrowly missed my car is still to be cut up and dealt with and today I am wearing a fleece as in my study because I refuse to even contemplate putting the heating on in the house despite others saying they are feeling chilly.
It's all going horribly wrong! The climate is changing and we are the ones who are responsible for it getting worse. I don't think the words of God in Genesis above were meant to be taken in the way we have taken them. When we were told to have dominion over the earth it was to have some sort of control, yes, but it was, I think to be good stewards of it and to look after it. God left it in our care. The question we have to ask ourselves is, "How well are we doing that?"
As I write, Greta Thunberg, the 15 year-old school girl who spoke so well in front of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on climate change is crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a sailing boat to bring attention to climate change and to lobby President Donald Trump to do more to tackle an issue that he has denied even exists. But then we are all guilty of denying what is going on around us. We may believe in our heads that changing climate is a reality, but our hearts are taking a while to catch up. If they had, we would be thinking very hard about everything we do and how we live, from the transport we use, to what we eat, wear, how warm we keep our homes, the products we buy, the kinds of holidays we take. Everything we do has an environmental impact and it is up to us to do what we can to keep our footprint as small as we can. More than all that, we also have a voice and the power of the vote.
It is looking increasingly likely that there will be a General Election later this year. With so much arguing going on politically over Brexit it seems that the environment is being pushed to the back burner. Perhaps we seriously need to be thinking of voting for parties that have a clear environmental focus if the right kind of legislation is going to be put in place to accelerate the take up of renewal energy supplies, the use of electric vehicles etc. rather than the cut in incentives for those things that have happened in recent years.
For a nation that is obsessed by the weather and loves talking about it, we seem to have forgotten that it's our climate that drives the weather and where the climate is concerned we are now in the driving seat. So, if we are going to have the right kind of dominion that God gave us, a beneficent one over our climate, it will mean that we are going to have to change and not simply, like a rain cloud, hope that it just passes by…
With every blessing
A Song of the Weather
January brings the snow, Makes your feet and fingers glow.
February's ice and sleet, Freeze the toes right off your feet.
Welcome, March, with wint'ry wind, Would thou weren't not so unkind.
April brings the sweet spring showers, On and on for hours and hours.
Farmers fear unkindly May, Frost by night and hail by day.
June just rains and never stops, Thirty days and spoils the crops.
In July the sun is hot: Is it shining? No it's not!
August, cold and dank and wet, Brings more rain than any yet.
Bleak September's mist and mud, Is enough to chill the blood.
Then October adds a gale, Wind and slush and rain and hail.
Dark November brings the fog, Should not do it to a dog.
Freezing wet December, then... Bloody January again!
Flanders and Swann
|Word from the Clergy


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Terms Sorted Out- Arsene Wenger FINALLY Break Silence About Star Signing
Goonersden brings you news from top football news sites from the likes of ESPN, SkySport, Daily Mail, Daily Star and Metro… We also Analyse football, player, transfer and predict Arsenal starting line-up.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed that the Germany international playmaker Mesut Ozil has entered contract talks with the North London club over a possible fresh deal.
The FIFA World Cup winner's contract runs out at the conclusion of the current campaign and the German has thus far, shown no major commitment to signing the dotted lines at the club.
Premier League giants Manchester United are hoping to snap up the former Real Madrid attacking midfielder on a free transfer next summer if the Arsenal superstar doesn't pen a new contract with the Emirates club.
Arsenal's French tactician Arsene Wenger has always insisted that he and the club hierarchy are very much interested in keeping the World-Cup star.
The former AS Monaco manager spoke about the Germany international, saying that contract negotiations are always on-going with everyone, insisting the club's door is always open to everybody. He, however, said that for the rest, he cannot tell reporters much more.
Mesut Ozil can begin formal contract negotiations with any foreign suitor in the New Year so the Gunners will be hoping that he signs a contract before then.
Ozil has provided 50 assists in 129 English Premier League fixtures for Arsene Wenger's side.


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H. Rept. 115-643 - TO PROVIDE FOR OPERATIONS OF THE FEDERAL COLUMBIA RIVER POWER SYSTEM PURSUANT TO A CERTAIN OPERATION PLAN FOR A SPECIFIED PERIOD OF TIME, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES115th Congress (2017-2018)
Committee ReportHide Overview
|Report Type:
|House Report
|House Natural Resources Committee
Report text available as:
- PDF (PDF provides a complete and accurate display of this text.) Tip ?
115th Congress } { Rept. 115-643 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session } { Part 1 ====================================================================== TO PROVIDE FOR OPERATIONS OF THE FEDERAL COLUMBIA RIVER POWER SYSTEM PURSUANT TO A CERTAIN OPERATION PLAN FOR A SPECIFIED PERIOD OF TIME, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES _______ April 18, 2018.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed _______ Mr. Bishop of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the following R E P O R T together with DISSENTING VIEWS [To accompany H.R. 3144] [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the bill (H.R. 3144) to provide for operations of the Federal Columbia River Power System pursuant to a certain operation plan for a specified period of time, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. PURPOSE OF THE BILL The purpose of H.R. 3144 is to provide for operations of the Federal Columbia River Power System pursuant to a certain operation plan for a specified period of time. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION To provide certainty over the reliable management of the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS or System), H.R. 3144 requires federal agencies to operate the System in a manner that is consistent with the current operations plan, while also protecting existing hydropower resources in the Pacific Northwest. Hydropower accounts for seven percent of all domestic (overall renewable and non-renewable) electricity generation, divided equally between federal and non-federal output, and about 48 percent of all renewable generation.\1\ For generations, it has provided millions of Americans with clean and low-cost energy and has formed the backbone of regional economies. In Washington State, hydropower accounts for almost 70 percent of electricity generation, almost 60 percent each for Oregon and Idaho, and more than one-third for Montana.\2\ The Columbia Basin in the Pacific Northwest encompasses an area approximately the size of France, with 31 multi-purpose federally-owned dams along the Columbia and Snake Rivers, many of which are Bureau of Reclamation dams. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \1\https://www.ferc.gov/legal/staff-reports/2017/hydropower- primer.pdf. \2\http://www.hydro.org/why-hydro/available/hydro-in-the-states/ west/. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Under the Bureau of Reclamation's policy, hydropower generated from its dams is first used to provide electricity to operate irrigation pumps. Any remaining Reclamation hydropower is then primarily sold by either of two federal agencies, the Bonneville Power Administration (Bonneville) or the Western Area Power Administration, to wholesale customers. The wholesale electricity rates are designed to repay the federal capital investment--plus interest--in federal electricity generation and transmission facilities, annual operation and maintenance costs of such facilities, and federal staffing.\3\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \3\Id at 2. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Compliance with environmental mandates and replacement power services resulting from environmental regulation and litigation are also reflected in federal power rates. Federal court-mandated ``spills''--an operation when water is diverted around a hydropower-producing turbine to aid fish passage--have led to significant lost hydropower generation and associated replacement power purchases of mainly fossil-based, higher cost energy. At a Water, Power and Oceans Subcommittee hearing in 2016, Mr. Christopher Downen, Senior Policy Analyst at the Public Power Council, which represents consumer-owned utilities in the Pacific Northwest, testified ``[a]t $757 million last year alone, this single category of costs accounted for about 30 percent of Bonneville's costs charged in rates.''\4\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \4\Testimony of Mr. Christopher Downen, Senior Policy Analyst, Public Power Council, before the House Water, Power and Oceans Subcommittee, April 20, 2016. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In 1945, Congress authorized the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to construct four large dams along the lower Snake River--Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite--as part of the FCRPS to provide a number of benefits, including hydropower.\5\ Built in the 1960s and 1970s, the four dams on average produce enough energy to power a city the size of Seattle every year, with a total output capable of producing over 3,000 MW, enough energy to power 1.8 million homes.\6\ It would take two nuclear, three coal-fired, or six gas-fired power plants to replace the average annual power produced by the four lower Snake River dams.\7\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \5\Flood Control Act of 1945, P.L. 79-14. \6\http://nwriverpartners.org/value-of-snake-river-dams. \7\Id at 6. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hydropower not only provides power for baseload (full-time) needs and peak times, but also serves as a backup generation source for intermittent wind and solar power.\8\ It is generally low-cost compared to other generation sources.\9\ While some believe hydropower projects can have negative impacts on migratory fish, wildlife and their habitats as well as water quality,\10\ others point out that the survival rate of species that migrate through the four Snake River dams is 99.5 percent for certain species, with an average of 97 percent.\11\ In addition, the Snake River dams make possible an efficient transportation link that is one of the leading trade gateways in the United States, moving more than 50 tons of cargo in 2016 alone.\12\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \8\https://www.vox.com/2015/6/19/8808545/wind-solar-grid- integration. \9\http://www.hydro.org/why-hydro/affordable/. \10\https://www.nwcouncil.org/history/DamsImpacts. \11\http://nwriverpartners.org/value-of-snake-river-dams. \12\http://www.pnwa.net/factsheets/Corps-ELC-Accomplishments.pdf. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Despite these benefits, some litigious groups have focused on removing these four dams. According to Bonneville, replacing the dams would increase power costs by $274 million to $372 million per year.\13\ In addition, replacing this power with natural gas generation would still increase the region's carbon dioxide emissions by 2 to 2.6 million metric tons annually and force transportation of agriculture and other commodities through much less environmentally-friendly modes, such as diesel trucks.\14\ Conservatively, this would be the equivalent of adding 421,000 passenger cars to the region's roads each year.\15\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \13\https://www.bpa.gov/news/pubs/FactSheets/fs-201603-A-Northwest- energy-solution-Regional-power-benefits-of-the-lower-Snake-River- dams.pdf. \14\Id at 12. \15\Id at 12. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- For decades, there has been uncertainty over the operations of existing hydropower in the Pacific Northwest due to federal regulations, court orders and other administrative decisions. Long-standing litigation surrounding the FCRPS has caused major uncertainty concerning future power generation, rates, and reliability in the region. The litigation alone has cost taxpayers and Northwest ratepayers millions of dollars. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA, 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) requires the Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, and Bonneville--the federal operators of the FCRPS (Action Agencies)--to consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on how project operations may impact ESA-protected species. Following this consultation, NMFS issues a biological opinion (BiOp) specifying with either a jeopardy or no-jeopardy finding for the 13 separate species of salmon and steelhead that NMFS listed for protection under the ESA beginning in 1991.\16\ A finding of jeopardy requires NMFS to develop Reasonable and Prudent Alternatives (RPAs) to the proposed action. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \16\http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/protected_species/ salmon_steelhead/recovery_planning_and_implementation/. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- NMFS issued the first of three ``no jeopardy'' BiOps for FCRPS beginning in April 1992. The District Court of Oregon in Idaho Department of Fish and Game v. National Marine Fisheries Service\17\ found the 1993 and 1994 BiOps to be flawed, and ordered NMFS and the Action Agencies to revise the 1994 BiOp. In 1995, NMFS issued the first BiOp that concluded that FCRPS operations jeopardized the continued existence of ESA-listed species, and proposed RPAs to avoid this finding. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \17\850 F. Supp. 886 (D. OR. 1994). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- NMFS issued a new BiOp in December 2000, which again found that the operations of the FCRPS dams were likely to jeopardize the existence of certain ESA-listed species, and proposed RPAs to mitigate these impacts. It was determined that jeopardy would not be avoided even after implementing the RPAs. Eventually, the cumulative effect of the RPA, coupled with off- site measures including hatchery and habitat initiatives, was determined to be sufficient to warrant a ``no-jeopardy'' opinion.\18\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \18\National Wildlife Federation v. NMFS. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In 2001, the National Wildlife Federation and others sued the federal government, challenging whether the 2000 BiOp complied with the ESA.\19\ In 2003, then-Judge James A. Redden ruled that the 2000 BiOp failed to provide reasonable certainty that the off-site mitigation measures were reasonably certain to occur, and ordered NMFS to issue a new BiOp by 2004.\20\ In addition, the district court required the modification of the FCRPS dam operations during the spring and summer of 2006, requiring certain dams to bypass hydroelectric turbines and spill water during this period. Environmental organizations and others believe that spills aid in fish passage, while others (including water and power users) counter that spills, costing tens of millions of dollars, decrease hydropower production and provide little benefit to the few salmon that may be in the Columbia River system during the hottest months of the year. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \19\National Wildlife Federation v. NMFS, 254 F. Supp. 2d 1196. \20\National Wildlife Federation v. NMFS, 254 F. Supp. 2d at 1216. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Judge Redden would eventually go on to reject the 2004, 2008 and the 2010 Supplemental BiOps issued by NMFS.\21\ In a 2011 decision, Judge Redden wrote: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \21\https://www.salmonrecovery.gov/BiologicalOpinions/ FCRPSBiOp.aspx. No later than January 1, 2014, [NMFS] shall produce a new biological opinion that reevaluates the efficacy of the RPAs in avoiding jeopardy . . . and considers whether more aggressive actions, such as dam removal and/or additional flow augmentation and reservoir modifications are necessary to avoid jeopardy.\22\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \22\National Wildlife Federation v. NMFS, 839 F. Supp. 2d 1117, 1131. In addition, Judge Redden ordered the spills at the dams to continue during the spring and summer months, consistent with the court's annual spill orders. After Judge Redden retired in late 2011, the case was assigned to Judge Michael Simon who found the 2014 Supplemental BiOp flawed, but allowed it to stay in place until a new BiOp can be completed. The 2014 Supplemental BiOp supplements, without replacing, the 2008 and 2010 BiOps. In addition, the court found that the Action Agencies had relied on an environmental impact statement (EIS) required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) that was ``too stale'' or too ``narrowly focused,'' and the Action Agencies were granted an extension to complete a new EIS by March 26, 2021.\23\ As part of this order, though not specifically mandating dam breaching, the judge charged that the federal government had avoided taking a ``hard look'' at breaching, bypassing and removal of the dams.\24\ This is contrary to the more than $22 million spent for extensive studies by the Army Corps in 1999 and again in 2010 on the impacts of removing dams in the Snake River.\25\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \23\Nat'l Wildlife Fed'n v. Nat'l Marine Fisheries Serv., No. 3:01- cv-00640, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59195, at *24-25, *235-36. \24\http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/files/ 1404%202065%20Opinion%20and%20Order.pdf. \25\http://www.nww.usace.army.mil/portals/28/docs/environmental/ drew/social.pdf. From 1999 to 2002, the Army Corps spent $20.69 million on the impacts of alternatives relating to breaching the Snake River dams. In 2010, the Army Corps spent $274,254 on a study regarding lower Snake River dam breaching. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Following arguments on environmental plaintiffs' motions to block capital and maintenance expenditures at the dams and force substantially more spills, Judge Simon on March 27, 2017, ordered ``tailored injunctive relief'' including additional spills, but ordered the federal agencies to test the impacts of these spills before deciding how much would be mandated at each dam in 2018. In addition, the judge ordered the federal agencies to disclose planned projects at the Snake River dams to the environmental plaintiffs in a ``reasonable process and schedule.'' In response to the court's order, four Members of Congress sent a bipartisan letter (See Appendix I) to Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke raising concerns over the impacts that additional spill requirements in the spring 2018 would cause, including increased power costs and actual harm to endangered fish species. Under the Obama administration, the Action Agencies concluded, ``the 2008 BiOp [is] biologically and legally sound, is based on the best scientific information, and satisfies the ESA jeopardy standard.''\26\ Furthermore, the letter states that the 2008 BiOp ``achieved consensus on a plan that has demonstrated for several years that it is working to improve salmon recovery while still allowing operation of the federal dams.''\27\ The current BiOp was defended in court, not just by the federal agencies, but also the States of Idaho, Montana, and Washington, several major utility customers of Bonneville, inland port associations, irrigation districts, and several Northwest tribes. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \26\Obama Administration Review and Guidance for the FCRPS BiOp, September 11, 2009. Link: https://www.salmonrecovery.gov/Files/ BiologicalOpinions/Appendix%201_09_10_09%20.pdf. \27\Letter from Rep. McMorris Rodgers to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, May 2, 2017. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Despite this, a court-ordered spill in the FCRPS began on April 3, 2018, after the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an appeal by the defendants to halt the order.\28\ This action will continue to drastically increase power rates for ratepayers across the Pacific Northwest, while failing to provide the additional benefits of safe fish passage argued by the plaintiffs. Federal agencies estimate the spill will cost ratepayers in the Northwest $40 million in higher rates in 2018 alone.\29\. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \28\http://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/article207769934.html. \29\https://newhouse.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/ newhouse-secures-support-energy-secretary-perry-work-together- safeguard. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- To that end, H.R. 3144 brings certainty to the operations of the FCRPS by requiring the System to be operated according to the 2014 Supplemental BiOp issued by NMFS until 2022, or until certain conditions are met. In addition, the bill prohibits any structural modification or removal of the FCRPS hydropower dams, unless specifically and expressly authorized by an Act of Congress. H.R. 3144 is supported by: The Washington Farm Bureau, United Power Trades Organization, PNGC Power, Public Power Council, National Rural Electric Co-Op Association, Northwest RiverPartners, Inland Ports and Navigation Group, Cowlitz Power Utility District, Association of Washington Businesses, Tri- City Development Council, Port of Clarkston, Washington, Washington Power Utility Districts Association, Port of Morrow, Clatskanie People's Utility District, Port of Whitman County, Port of Pasco, Clearwater Power Company, Tidewater Transportation and Terminals, Washington State Potato Commission, Idaho Water Users and Blachly-Lane Electric Co-Op. COMMITTEE ACTION H.R. 3144 was introduced on June 29, 2017, by Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA). The bill was referred primarily to the Committee on Natural Resources, and additionally to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Within the Natural Resources Committee, the bill was referred to the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans. On October 12, 2017, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the legislation. On April 11, 2018, the Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous consent. Congressman Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ) offered an amendment designated 003. It was not adopted by a bipartisan roll call vote of 17 ayes to 23 noes, as follows: No additional amendments were offered, and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by a bipartisan roll call vote of 23 ayes to 17 noes, as follows: COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the body of this report. COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT 1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act. With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received the following estimate for the bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office: U.S. Congress, Congressional Budget Office, Washington, DC, April 18, 2018. Hon. Rob Bishop, Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3144, a bill to provide for the operations of the Federal Columbia River Power System pursuant to a certain operation plan for a specified period of time, and for other purposes. If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Aurora Swanson. Sincerely, Keith Hall, Director. Enclosure. H.R. 3144--A bill to provide for operations of the Federal Columbia River Power System pursuant to a certain operation plan for a specified period of time, and for other purposes Summary: H.R. 3144 would require certain federally owned hydropower facilities within the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) in the Pacific Northwest to be operated according to the salmon management plan adopted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 2014. The operations of those facilities are financed by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), which is required by law to set electricity prices sufficient to cover nearly all costs. CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would reduce net direct spending by $16 million over the 2019-2028 period; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. Enacting the legislation would not affect revenues. Implementing the bill would have no significant effect on spending subject to appropriation. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3144 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029. H.R. 3144 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated budgetary effect of H.R. 3144 is shown in the following table. The costs of the legislation fall within budget functions 270 (energy) and 300 (natural resources). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By fiscal year, in millions of dollars-- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2019-2023 2019-2028 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DECREASES IN DIRECT SPENDING Estimated Budget Authority....................... 0 -4 -4 -4 -4 0 0 0 0 0 0 -16 -16 Estimated Outlays................................ 0 -4 -4 -4 -4 0 0 0 0 0 0 -16 -16 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Basis of estimate: In response to recent judicial actions, the Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers will release additional water over the spillways of certain FCRPS dams to allow for safe passage of fish during the migration season. Under current law, those prescribed spills will continue until federal agencies can implement alternative methods for reducing harm to endangered salmon. Releasing the additional water reduces the amount of hydroelectricity available for sale, resulting in lower receipts and higher costs for the BPA system. On the basis of information from BPA, CBO estimates that BPA's net costs will increase by about 1 percent, or by about $35 million a year, as a result of those releases. H.R. 3144 would reverse that requirement by directing the agencies to operate dams in the FCRPS under the terms of the 2014 salmon management plan. The result would be a decline in the amount of water in the spillways, an increase in electricity generated and sold, and a reduction in BPA's costs, which are classified as fisheries-related expenses. Under the bill, the 2014 plan would remain in effect through the later of 2022 or until alternative measures are in place with no pending judicial review. CBO estimates that enacting the bill would reduce BPA's net direct spending by $4 million a year through 2022, or by a total of $16 million over the 2019-2028 period. By law, BPA's expenses for fisheries are allocated between its customers and the federal government. CBO estimates that reducing costs otherwise payable by customers would have no significant net effect on direct spending because those savings would be passed on to customers to the form of lower electricity prices. Based on historical trends, CB0 estimates that customers' share of the estimated $35 million annual cost to BPA for the additional spills will total $31 million, or about 88 percent. For this estimate, CBO assumes that alternative mitigation measures for the fisheries will be adopted by the end of 2022. Pay-As-You-Go considerations: The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or revenues. The net changes in outlays that are subject to those pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in the following table. CBO ESTIMATE OF PAY-AS-YOU-GO EFFECTS FOR H.R. 3144 AS ORDERED REPORTED BY THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By fiscal year, in millions of dollars-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2018-2023 2018-2028 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NET DECREASE IN THE DEFICIT Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Impact.................... 0 -4 -4 -4 -4 0 0 0 0 0 0 -16 -16 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Increase in long-term direct spending and deficits: CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3144 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029. Mandates: H.R. 3144 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA. Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Kathleen Gramp (Bonneville Power Administration) and Aurora Swanson (Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers); Mandates: Zach Byrum. Estimate reviewed by: Kim P. Cawley, Chief, Natural and Physical Resources Cost Estimates Unit; H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or objective of this bill is to provide for operations of the Federal Columbia River Power System pursuant to a certain operation plan for a specified period of time. EARMARK STATEMENT This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4 This bill contains no unfunded mandates. COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5 Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any directed rule makings. Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was not included in any report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139 or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law 98-169) as relating to other programs. PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or tribal law. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW This bill makes no changes to existing law. APPENDIX I Congress of the United States, Washington, DC, May 2, 2017. Secretary Ryan Zinke, Department of the Interior, Washington, DC. Dear Secretary Zinke, We are writing to express our deep concern regarding the management of the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) following Judge Michael Simon's March 27, 2017 court order on motions for injunctive relief in the FCRPS biological opinion. As you know, Judge Simon is ordering a significant increase in mandatory spill in the spring of 2018. Not only is additional spill a new policy affecting many congressionally-authorized projects in the Pacific Northwest, there will likely be unintended consequences that will hurt fish recovery while also greatly increasing power costs. The three FCRPS Action Agencies are the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which have the knowledge and expertise to manage FCRPS. According to the Adaptive Management Implementation Plan, ``the Obama Administration undertook an extensive effort to review the 2008 FCRPS Biological Opinion (BiOp)'' and found ``the 2008 BiOp is biologically and legally sound, is based on the best available scientific information, and satisfies the ESA jeopardy standard.'' This BiOp has been supported by states, tribal entities, utilities, ports, irrigation districts, and other Pacific Northwest water users. As such, the 9th Circuit Court continues to disagree with the best available science and continues to mandate new policies along the river system. Our constituents deserve to understand the proposed measures, as well as the expected impacts they will have on the region. To provide more clarity regarding the current and ongoing efforts BPA has taken to mitigate damage to fish and wildlife and the cost to the ratepayers in the Pacific Northwest, we would like the following information from the BPA by June 2, 2017: 1. How much does BPA annually spend on fish and wildlife mitigation? 2. If these payments were reflective in a ratepayer's monthly bill, can you estimate this percentage in the statement? 3. Between the three Action Agencies referenced above, how much has the federal government spent on fish recovery and mitigation in the FCRPS? 4. What are fish survival percentages through each of the four lower Snake River Dams (Ice Harbor Dam, Lower Monumental Dam, Little Goose Dam, and Lower Granite Dam) and how do those compare to estimated survival of the fish before these dams were constructed? 5. What is the percentage of juvenile and adult fish lost to pinniped, predator fish, and bird predation? 6. What are the adverse consequences to increased spill? 7. By increasing spill, what would be the quantifiable benefit for fish recovery given the cost of increasing spill and all of the other current actions to increase fry passage? 8. How much are BPA, the Army Corps, and the Bureau of Reclamation budgeting for the National Environmental Policy Act review for the FCRPS in relation to the Court's 2016 order? The Court ordered the plaintiffs and federal defendants ``to consider an appropriate protocol and methodology for spill at each dam, incorporating the most beneficial spill patterns,'' and the Court ``expects the parties, amici, and other regional experts to work together to reach consensus.'' We believe that the 2008 BiOp achieved consensus on a plan that has demonstrated for several years that it is working to improve salmon recovery while still allowing operation of the federal dams. We are concerned that plaintiffs' continued advocacy for additional spill or preventing needed maintenance of the dams (as requested in the injunctions) is not only unscientifically based, but is also likely to be counterproductive. Prior to any future status conferences or filings with the Court, we respectfully request that you inform us in advance of your discussions and any decisions regarding the appropriate protocol and methodology for spill at each dam. Thank you for your attention to this request and please do not hesitate to contact our congressional offices with any questions. Sincerely, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Member of Congress. Dan Newhouse, Member of Congress. Peter DeFazio, Member of Congress. Kurt Schrader, Member of Congress. ---------- House of Representatives, Committee on Natural Resources, Washington, DC, April 12, 2018. Hon. Bill Shuster, Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: I write regarding H.R. 3144, to provide for operations of the Federal Columbia River Power System pursuant to a certain operation plan for a specified period of time, and for other purposes. The bill was referred primarily to the Committee on Natural Resources, with an additional referral to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. I ask that you allow the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to be discharged from further consideration of the bill so that it may be scheduled by the Majority Leader. This discharge in no way affects your jurisdiction over the subject matter of the bill, and it will not serve as precedent for future referrals. In addition, should a conference on the bill be necessary, I would support your request to have the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure represented on the conference committee. Finally, I would be pleased to include this letter and any response in the bill report filed by the Committee on Natural Resources to memorialize our understanding. Thank you for your consideration of my request and for the extraordinary cooperation shown by you and your staff over matters of shared jurisdiction. I look forward to further opportunities to work with you this Congress. Sincerely, Rob Bishop, Chairman. ---------- House of Representatives, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Washington, DC, April 16, 2018. Hon. Rob Bishop, Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Bishop: Thank you for your letter concerning H.R. 3144, to provide for operations of the Federal Columbia River Power System pursuant to a certain operation plan for a specified period of time, and for other purposes. As noted, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure received an additional referral on this legislation. In order to expedite floor consideration of H.R. 3144, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure agrees to forgo action on this bill. However, as you noted, this is conditional on our mutual understanding that forgoing consideration of the bill would not prejudice the Committee with respect to the appointment of conferees or to any future jurisdictional claim over the subject matters contained in the bill or similar legislation that fall within the Committee's Rule X jurisdiction. Further, it is our understanding that mutually agreed upon changes to the legislation will be incorporated into the bill via an amendment. Should a conference on the bill be necessary, I appreciate your agreement to support my request to have the Committee represented on the conference committee. Thank you for your cooperation on this matter and for agreeing to place a copy of this letter and your response acknowledging our jurisdictional interest into the bill report and the Congressional Record during consideration of the measure on the House floor. Sincerely, Bill Shuster, Chairman. DISSENTING VIEWS H.R. 3144 would mandate the use of an illegal operation plan for the Federal Columbia River Power System. The operation plan in question violates our nation's bedrock environmental laws, threatens the existence of several endangered salmon and steelhead populations, jeopardizes thousands of jobs in the commercial and recreational fishing industries and the outdoor recreation economy, contradicts judicial rulings, and harms tribal fishing interests throughout the Pacific Northwest. For these reasons, we oppose H.R. 3144. H.R. 3144 fundamentally violates our nation's bedrock environmental laws, including the Endangered Species Act. Federal agencies and courts have concluded that the Federal Columbia River Power System causes significant harm to the Columbia River's native fisheries. The National Marine Fisheries Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce has found that the estimated ``current annual salmon and steelhead production in the Columbia River Basin is more than 10 million fish below historical levels, with 8 million of this annual loss attributable to hydropower development and operation.''\1\ As a result, there are thirteen species or populations of Columbia or Snake River salmon and steelhead that are listed as either endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Instead of allowing responsive, science-based fisheries management that will recover these listed species, H.R. 3144 locks in a failing status quo operation plan that unquestionably harms some of our nation's most iconic fisheries. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \1\U.S. Congressional Research Service. Endangered Species Act Litigation Regarding Columbia Basin Salmon and Steelhead (R40169; August 8, 2016), by Stephen P. Mulligan and Harold F. Upton. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The status quo operation plan for the Federal Columbia River Power System--which H.R. 3144 mandates the use of until 2022--also does not work for hydropower consumers. The status quo operation plan is enormously expensive and has cost taxpayers and regional energy consumers billions over the past two decades. For two decades, federal agencies have focused on essentially the same approach to saving listed species-- modest hydro-mitigation efforts with a predominant focus on habitat restoration. These efforts have cost billions of dollars, yet they are failing. If enacted, H.R. 3144 will also cause untold harm to Pacific Northwest tribes and tribal trust resources. Native peoples of the Pacific Northwest ceded most of their ancestral homeland to the United States in exchange for the right to catch salmon and steelhead at their accustomed places. The federal government has a long history of failing to protect these fishing rights. If enacted, H.R. 3144 would extend this failure and further harm tribal fisheries, which are a critically important source of food and are of great cultural and religious significance. During the Committee markup of H.R. 3144, Ranking Member Grijalva offered a modest amendment requiring the protection of tribal trust resources and meaningful tribal consultation. The amendment was voted down by Committee Republicans. Furthermore, H.R. 3144 will harm numerous ecosystem-based businesses by blocking court-ordered water releases from federal dams, which have been shown by several scientific studies to significantly increase salmon survival. The Committee has received numerous letters from businesses and trade groups opposed to H.R. 3144 due to the harm it will cause to businesses dependent on Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead, including the commercial and recreational fishing industry, guiding and outdoor retail businesses, and restaurants and food industries based in the Pacific Northwest. H.R. 3144 also represents a troubling attack on the legal process. If enacted, the bill would overturn lawfully-rendered court decisions--by both the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and Oregon U.S. District Court--simply because the bill's sponsors don't like them. Given the significant harm that H.R. 3144 will cause, the bill is also opposed by the Governors of both Washington and Oregon who have indicated that the bill will thwart ongoing efforts to improve future salmon and dam management. Additionally, numerous conservation, business, and tribal interests oppose this bill, including the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, Northwest Guides and Anglers Association, American Whitewater, NW Energy Coalition, Trout Unlimited, American Rivers, the Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Defenders of Wildlife, Oceana, the Coastal Trollers Association, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Nez Perce Tribe. If enacted, H.R. 3144 will cause unacceptable harm to the tribes, environment, legal process, and Pacific Northwest businesses that support thousands of jobs. For these reasons, we oppose H.R. 3144 as written. Raul M. Grijalva, Ranking Member, Committee on Natural Resources. Jared Huffman. Darren Soto. Grace F. Napolitano. Donald S. Beyer, Jr. A. Donald McEachin. [all]


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BARRY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Residents along a Barry County lake have spent the last several months having a lot more lake than they like.
The waters of Crooked Lake in Delton have been flooding basements, washing away roads and threatening homes. But starting Thursday evening, a massive pump has been carrying at least some of the water away.
For many Crooked Lake neighbors, this is what they've been wanting all along since the flooding began this spring. Just pump the water somewhere else.
But officials with the county and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality say it wasn't that easy.
For Deb and Gary Englehardt, who have had their little home by the lake flooded for far too long, the sound of thousands of gallons of water being sucked out of the lake is music to their ears.
"I am absolutely thrilled, I have been over watching the water gush," said Deb Englehardt
For reasons still not completely clear, Crooked Lake has been overflowing its banks since the snow melted.
"Just a lot of factors that go into it," said Barry County Drain Commissioner Jim Dull. He said development, changes in drainage in other parts of the county and the building of roads are among the factors that impact the lake level. "One and one and one and one and suddenly you're at 12 too many."
Last month, the Barry County Commission approved $500,000 to fix the problem, part of which went to put in this diesel pumping system that is pouring some 6,000 gallons per minute from Crooked Lake under M-43 into the Glasby Lake wetlands that were dry because of the lack of rain.
"We're hoping to get 12 inches back into the wetland and with a little luck that'll take six inches off the lake and that'll get it down so people can stop pumping off their yards," Dull said.
This is no permanent solution, that will take a lot more time and study and more money.
"It's just the beginning, we need to go beyond what we're doing," Engelhardt said.
One possible scenario is creating a 5-acre gravel pit that can absorb the water from a gravity drain, but first they have to find the drain. But for now, the lake is going down and the drain commissioner says he is grateful for the patience of residents.
"They've really kept an upbeat attitude," Dull said. "You gotta hand it to them, they could be crying in their beer, but they're just 'hey, we know you're working on it, we're there for you, anything we can help."
One of the main factors here is making sure that moving water from Crooked Lake does not cause issues elsewhere.
It's a puzzle still a long way from being solved.


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When: Saturday, September 24, 2016
Venue: Royal Theatre
The Vibe: A lot of Indian people, naturally.
Previously On: The Daily Show, a Pizza Hut commercial and recently a guest on Chelsea.
How Was It? So Good.
A lot more Indo-Canadian/Indo-American comedians being noticed in recent years thanks to YouTube. Some fund them absolutely hilarious but I've become bored of them. Their shtick pretty much involves them dress in drag as an auntie or uncle and pick out one thing for each video that second or third generation Indo-Canadians will find annoying about their culture. What's the joke? Something in our culture that the mainstream (ahem, non-brown) audience won't get. They never really move past that.
Then there's a comic like Minhaj who is so beyond that cliche. He's appealing to the mainstream audience. Homecoming King is about some of the racism that Minhaj experienced in a post-9/11 America. While I'm not Muslim or American, there were shades of these experiences that I've had myself and could definitely understand. Then there were other struggles that were also relatable (being the eldest kid in a family, "What will people say?" and having an "untraditional" career).
Going into Homecoming King, I was worried that I already knew the outcome to his central story as Minhaj had recently shared his prom story when he was a guest on Chelsea Handler's Netflix series. While it was a still a spoiler, there were so many more layers to that story. That's where Minhaj's talent lies. He's able to weave these layers on his experiences that make them completely reliable. Not just that, you're laughing one second and then have a tear in your eye the next.
Relatability Score: Very high. It finally happened: I was able to relate to another person of Indian heritage.


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Parton & Midler On the Miley Cyrus Thing
You know, we thought the Hannah Montana fever thing ended a hell of a long time ago (and yes, she did indeed beat Bieber to the punch of giving teenage girls mild fevers), but it appears the world really cannot stop theorizing on Miley Cyrus. Is she the downfall of all the feminism has worked for or is she next coming of Gloria Steinem? Should she put on her clothes or take them off more? Did she actually invent twerking? Dolly Parton and Bette Midler have both now voiced their Miley Cyrus opinions, and we should listen to them because they are sage and wizened and really damn fabulous.
Here's what Bette Midler said when Katie Couric raised "the Miley Question" in her direction:
I think there's a difference between pushing the envelope sexually and pushing the envelope creatively. I think you can be as creative as you want to be and as inventive as you want to be…you can roll out old ideas and old thoughts and give them a new coat of paint. But the idea of whipping out the girls, I don't know, there's a grossness to it that I think is not flattering…to the women themselves.
Which is a good point — in that distinction between being sexually "edgy" and actually creative — but also kind of feels like we've been-there-done-that/heard it before.
Moving on! Dolly Parton — who is also Cyrus' godmother, which makes us jealous every day of our lives — recently spoke out on the little tyke in an interview with the London Evening Standard, and it's kind of my favorite things that's been said about Cyrus and her Cyrus-y antics as of yet:
I know that she has thought this all through. We'll let her go and do her own thing....If she needs my opinion on something I will surely give it and there have been times we've talked. But I would never dream of calling her and saying, 'Well why are you doing this?' or, 'You shouldn't do this or that.'
"I don't think people really realize yet what a great singer and writer she really is." Parton insisted she did not need to give Cyrus career advice, saying: "She's just trying to find her own place and wings and learn to fly."
We love ourselves some Midler and we agree with big parts of what she said re: Cyrus's idea of creativity. But we are inclined to agree even more with Ms. Dolly Parton on this matter, and not just because she is Dolly Motherf***ing Parton.
People seem incredibly eager to paint Cyrus as a pop star in crisis, but what seems much more accurate is that she's a quite-young (not even of drinking age yet) girl who grew up in the limelight and is actually probably only at the very beginnings of her career. As a result of that aforementioned limelight as a young'un thing she is also experiencing "creative" freedom for one of the first times in her life — just so happens that freedom is being expressed through us seeing "the girls" pretty frequently.
There's a reason both Midler and Parton have been around as long as they have, and it's because they are both incredibly awesome. As such, they both make very valid points that we — and Miley Cyrus — should listen to.
And yes, I am 100 percent going to use this as another excuse to post this video:


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This past summer, Shop Til You Rock had a country-wide tour across the US where you could listen to a free concert preformed by a famous band, play the new Just Dance game for free, get your hair colored and pose in front of the screen, spin a prize wheel, and enter to meet Demi Lovato. It sounds like great fun, and it is, if people know things. It was very unorganized, the preformers preformed an hour earlier then all the signes, people, and onlines said, and no one even knew where the event was to be held! It was truly a disappointment.
Though some seems like it was tons of fun, just not the one I went to. I plan on going next year, and you should too. Then we can see if it's really worth all the fuss.
For more info, check out http://www.shoptilyourock.com/


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D-backs' Blake Swihart delivers meal to veterans at MANA House
When Blake Swihart was acquired by the Arizona Diamondbacks, the team expected him to serve the team as a solid bat who could fill multiple positions if need be.
They probably didn't expect him to serve up lunch and pies to veterans at Catholic Charities MANA House, but he did.
Yesterday, @BLAKESWIHART_1 – whose brother is an Army vet – visited MANA House to serve lunch and chat with homeless veterans. #DbacksGiveBack pic.twitter.com/OH4BcmXjt4
— D-backs Give Back (@DbacksGiveBack) July 6, 2019
The lunch included barbecue, mac and cheese and other dishes supplied by Fry's.
Swihart also signed hats and cards, according to the Catholic Charities Arizona Twitter page.
Swihart's brother Jace is an Army veteran, which made the event even more important for him.
"Helping veterans, whether they come back home or whether they fall on hard times, and what they do to get them back into the community is awesome," Swihart said about the MANA house.
Cathoic Charitites MANA House was founded in May 2008. Their mission is to provide a peer-run organization to provide basic resources for homeless and formerly homeless veterans.


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Explore the sleepy coastal towns in South-West France. Whether you want to ride the waves in Biarritz or wander through the streets of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, you will be won over by the Basque charm.
Charlotte H - Original Traveller
Original Travel Expert
I have extensive travel experience throughout Central America, Europe, The Far East and Africa.
There's no denying that wellness is having a moment and in travel, people are increasingly seeking out holidays with a healthy twist. Whilst meandering through the limestone peaks of the Dolomites and coasting along the shores of Lake Garda and Lake Como, our Italy expert, Charlotte,…
With European travel becoming increasingly easy (meaning more destinations to tick off every year), why not put the beautifully scenic Balkans at the top of your list for your next venture with Original Travel? Mountainous, medieval and immensely stunning, Montenegro and Croatia make for the…
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Rame Head
6 miles (9 km)
This circular walk explores the beautiful Rame Peninsula on the Cornish Coast. It's a fantastic place for a walk with wonderful views across Cawsand Bay to Plymouth Sound and the city of Plymouth. There's some nice coastal woodland and a visit to the mediaevel Rame Chapel. It's a great place for wildlife spotting with lots of sea birds and Dartmoor Ponies to look out for. The entire area of the peninsula is designated an�Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The walk starts from the car park at Kingsand and follows the South West Coast Path to Penlee Point, before heading to Rame Head and the mediaevel chapel. You then head north along the coast before crossing the peninsula to return to Kingsand.


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Women's empowerment and security have always been important for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government. After assuming power, the Modi government has taken so many steps to enhance the position of women in the society. Moving forward in this direction, the Modi government has now taken the decision of inducting women as Jawans in corps Of Military Police in the army
Women will be inducted in the army in a phased manner and eventually their number in the Army Police will be up to 20 percent. This news has been confirmed by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. She announced the news on her official Twitter handle.
To improve representation of women in our armed forces Smt @nsitharaman takes a historic decision to induct women for the first time in PBOR role in Corps of Military Police 1/2 pic.twitter.com/PmEVEZ9h03
— Raksha Mantri (@DefenceMinIndia) January 18, 2019
Earlier, women were allowed to recruit as an officer in the army and even for them the branches were already fixed. But now women can be recruited as a Jawan in the military police. On the basis of the grade, the women will be given place in the military military police.
Army chief Bipin Rawat had said last year that the process of sanctioning fighter roles for women is progressing fast and women will be soon admitted to Army Police. For this, the army has prepared a plan to include at least 800 women in the Army Police. Under this, 52 female Jawans will be recruited every year. Presently women have an option to go to the branches of medical, law, education, signals and engineering.
Women involved in Army Police will investigate cases of rape and molestation, will assist civil police/administration for evacuation in forward villages during hostilities, will control crowd of refugees comprising women and children among other tasks.Military police rolls have to maintain the Cantonment areas with military installations. Army Police will operate the movement of soldiers and equipment at times of peace and war.
This is a historic decision of the Modi Government. The Modi Government has constantly taken steps to empower women. This year on Army Day, women led the men's army detachment for the first time in history, in which 144 men were involved. The lady, Lieutenant Prakash Kasturi, led the contingent of the men.
In another first, a lady officer saluted the guests while leading the army's 'Daredevils motorcycle display' team. Captain Shikha Surabhi led the team of 33 men, the team that is famous for performing stunts.Opposition only makes huge claims of empowerment of women but has done nothing for it. It is the Modi Government which is empowering women in all fields and giving them a respectful life. In the Government itself i. e. in the cabinet PM Modi has given leading positions to women.
The decision of Modi Government is really applauded one. If you want to see such big changes happening in the nation then choose Prime Minister Modi led BJP Government in the upcoming elections. Don't waste your vote on opposition which will do nothing than looting you
Source : Republic World


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The best time to refinance is now! We are at the last wave of this period of time where rates are at the lowest that they will be in very long time! Chances are that interest rates will keep going up (as they have already started) slowly, but surely. Here are some of the options to refinance and get not only the best rates but also help change your life for the better with some help from your home equity.
Debt Consolidation
Debt Consolidation is another great opportunity available through refinancing. There is really no end to the items that can be consolidated, and the benefits in doing so. To keep it simple let's look at some of the most common uses of debt consolidation.
Credit Card Debt: Consolidating Credit Card Debt is one of the most frequently used options in a refinance. We all know credit cards have notoriously high interest rates and the interest isn't tax deductible. By utilizing the equity in your home to pay off these debts you have not only dramatically dropped the monthly payments, but the interest you pay is now attached to your mortgage. Mortgage interest is tax deductible. DOUBLE BONUS!! Paying off these credit card accounts also generally boosts your credit scores. Dare we say that consolidating credit card debt is a triple threat? If it suits you, than we would say "YES".
Wrapping a Second: If you currently have a first and a second mortgage, and would like to lump them together into one loan, this would be a form of consolidating often referred to as wrapping. Wrapping a first and second mortgage together into one great low rate mortgage can be a fantastic way to not only reduce your monthly payment, but to also decrease the amount of interest you pay over the term of the loan.
Loan Consolidation: Loan Consolidation can be another great alternative when considering refinancing. You can consolidate:
- Student Loans
- Auto Loans
- Personal Loans
- Medical Loans
All of these options, plus many more, can be accomplished through a debt consolidation refinance. At Loan Simple we are unswerving in our mission to get you the BEST products, in the Simplest way possible.
Cash Out
If it's a Cash-Out Refinance you're looking to do then you've come to the right place. A cash out refinance can be a remarkable tool for access to cash (for all kinds of reasons) as well as for growing your wealth.
What can the cash, in a cash-out refinance, be used for?
The list is really unlimited, but here are some of the most common uses:
- Home Improvement
- Purchasing an Auto
- Paying for School
- As money down on a Second Home or Vacation Property
- For Vacation
- As money down on an investment property (For Rent or to Fix and Sell)
- Home Improvement on an Investment Property
- Retirement
- (Fill in the Blank)
One of the incredible aspects of owning a home is the ability to access the equity in the home. It's like your own little savings account that can be utilized for any number of needs. Another added benefit of pulling cash out of your house, as opposed to pulling cash out against credit cards, is that the interest is tax deductible. This little added bonus adds up over time.
Call me and I help you with your refinance process. 305-206-5144
Categories: Mortgage News, Mortgage Programs, Real Estate and Mortgage News


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COLUMN: Thank you for reading and running with me
We made it. And when I say "we," I mean it. I couldn't have done it without you. I really didn't know what to expect when I signed on to write this column. I love running, of course, but there are plenty of things I love that I cannot put into 700 words every week. I usually write features and profiles for that very reason; it's difficult to write about something you love. That's why my sorry excuse of an essay for the New York Times' Modern Love column will remain buried deep within a forgotten folder on my computer.
This column is different, though. I didn't write an ode to running for myself. I wrote it for you. Perhaps you're bored of running or perhaps you've never really given it a fair shot. Perhaps you needed a little extra encouragement from a friend. I wanted to be the friend that could set you up so that you can fall in love with running the same way I did.
It wasn't always easy to explain the things I wrote about. Love and running are both so irrational that it was hard to capture them on paper. Anyone who has ever been in love understands. The little reasons you fall in love never seem to fully add up to why you feel so strongly.
This column was a semester-long challenge to find the little reasons, and I hope at least one meant something to you. It gave me a whole new approach to running, like my own version of 50 First Dates. Every single time I went on a run, I was looking for a new thing to love — wthe shorts tan, the community, the burn in my legs after five miles. It was amazing how many I noticed once I kept my eyes open for them. So yes, it was you who made every time I laced up my shoes feel like the first time.
We've been through a lot together. Maybe you remember my struggle to find time to run during spring break or how I got sick the day before my half marathon. You were there when I had to admit to myself that I may not ever be fast enough to qualify for Boston, but you were also there when I broke my personal record. There's ups and downs in every relationship, and running is no exception. What matters is every Tuesday, you were there, and I have to thank you for keeping me accountable.
You told me how impressed you were that I could come up with something to write about every week. Even though it was hard sometimes, I feel the same way now as I do at the end of the race. I could do it all over again right now. Because right now with you feels really good. Whether you made it to the end of a 5K or simply the end of the semester, you should be very proud of yourself, too. There's no accomplishment too small. We make a good team.
From here on out, the rest is on you. I've done my part. For this to work out, you need to put in the effort. The weather is getting nicer. If you have a few minutes, grab your running shoes and get outside. Go somewhere together. Get to know each other a little better. I can almost guarantee that it'll make your heart race.
Meghan Coyle is a senior majoring in print and digital journalism. She was also the online managing editor of the Daily Trojan. Her column, "Chasing Pavements," ran Tuesdays.


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The coastal town of Baytown, Texas offers an escape from the nearby big cities of Galveston and Houston and a chance to enjoy the outdoors. The idyllic town along the Gulf Coast offers a variety of things for both visitors and locals alike of all ages to do and see, such as delicious food, outdoor adventures, nature centers, bayside parks, art classes, and theater productions all along the banks of a number of bays. CDC information for travelers. Hours/availability may have changed.
1.Lynchburg Ferry
2.Eddie V. Gray Wetlands Center
3.Baytown Nature Center
4.Fred Hartman Bridge
5.Baytown Little Theater
6.The Art League of Baytown
7.Amaravati Indian Cuisine
7 Best Things to Do in Baytown, TX
- Lynchburg Ferry, Photo: Lynchburg Ferry
- Eddie V. Gray Wetlands Center, Photo: Eddie V. Gray Wetlands Center
- Baytown Nature Center, Photo: Baytown Nature Center
- Fred Hartman Bridge, Photo: brueckenweb/stock.adobe.com
- Baytown Little Theater, Photo: rangizzz/stock.adobe.com
- The Art League of Baytown, Photo: The Art League of Baytown
- Amaravati Indian Cuisine, Photo: Amaravati Indian Cuisine
- Cover Photo: brueckenweb/stock.adobe.com
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