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For example, the bill embodies the Administration's focus on eco- 

 system-based management. Streams and rivers do not recognize 

 political boundaries. Their health is dependent on restoring both 

 their urban and rural components. As you know, Mr. Chairman, all 

 of us live downstream from somewhere. Urban creeks and streams 

 have also been the most frequent victims of pollution, channeliza- 

 tion and other degradation, but when restored and protected, they 

 can provide havens of beauty within inner-city neighborhoods. 



Waterway restoration, as encouraged under this legislation, could 

 provide a cost-effective alternative to structural projects and also 

 enhance such important attributes as fish and wildlife habitat and 

 recreation opportunities. By giving priority for funding to stream 

 restoration projects that benefit low income and minority commu- 

 nities, areas that are deserving of much greater attention from the 

 Federal Government, the Waterways Restoration Act would also 

 assist implementation of President Clinton's recent executive order 

 on environmental justice by assisting low-income, disadvantaged 

 communities in resolving environmental problems. 



Additionally, under this bill, priority would be placed on funding 

 projects that train and employ at-risk youth in community service, 

 as the President called for in encouraging the enactment of the 

 1993 National and Community Service Trust Act. 



The Waterways Restoration Act would amend the Soil Conserva- 

 tion Service's existing authority for the Small Watershed Program. 

 In the last 10 to 15 years, the Small Watershed Program has gone 

 through a metamorphosis and shifted emphasis to more environ- 

 mentally sensitive ways to address flood control and watershed pro- 

 tection needs in an ecological manner. However, the original per- 

 ception of the program's high impact on the environment remains, 

 and I can assure you, Mr. Chairman, that this is a perception that 

 we seek to correct. 



The Small Watershed Program currently requires that at least 

 20 percent of the total benefits of each project relate directly to ag- 

 riculture, including rural communities. With this restriction re- 

 moved, the Small Watershed Program can serve as a tool for solv- 

 ing local urban and rural waterway restoration problems. 



The Waterways Restoration Act also proposes to broaden the 

 focus of the Soil Conservation Service's Small Watershed Program 

 by adding a grant program to fund community-based environ- 

 mental restoration projects. If Congress chooses to continue to ap- 

 propriate resources to the Small Watershed Program, riparian 

 habitat restoration, wetland restoration, water quality, and Water- 

 shed Management Act are all activities that should and could be 

 funded. 



I would point out, Mr. Chairman, unfortunately, the current agri- 

 culture mark in the House and Senate would provide for a 65 per- 

 cent cut in the Small Watershed Program in fiscal year 1995 and 

 would severely impact our act to implement this authority. 



The Soil Conservation Service has over a half century of experi- 

 ence working with private landowners in promoting conservation 

 treatment on uplands, which is critical to the overall water quality 

 of the waterway ecosystem. It has a long history of working with 

 local sponsors in achieving local objectives in solving natural re- 

 source problems. With this agency's delivery system of providing 



