Clinton expands river grab

By Sarah Foster

President Clinton — with another stroke of his pen — rewrote his own game plan for federalizing American rivers. By an executive order signed yesterday, the president increased the number of potential “heritage river” designees from 10 to 20. Then at a press conference, Vice President Al Gore announced the names of 14 rivers the president had selected — four more than expected. Clinton can now add up to six more at whim.

As originally laid out in earlier executive orders, the American Heritage Rivers Initiative called for a special blue-ribbon advisory committee of presidential appointees to select 20 rivers — from a list of over 120 — which it deemed especially in need of federal grants and services. From these the president was to choose 10.

The committee met in Washington in May to finalize its list of recommendations. Unable to decide on 20, they met again for a six-hour session in June — this time, in St. Louis. At the second meeting they chose 10 rivers and sent the names to the president. These were:

Connecticut River (Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts)
Detroit River (Michigan)
Hanalei River (Hawaii)
Hudson River (New York)
New River (North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia)
Upper Mississippi (Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin)
Rio Grande (Texas)
Potomac River (District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia,
West Virginia)
St. Johns River (Louisiana, Tennessee)
Willamette River (Oregon)

To this group the president took it upon himself to add the Blackstone/Woonasquatucket Rivers in Massachusetts and Rhode Island (as
requested by Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-MA), the Cuyahoga River in Ohio, the Lower Mississippi River through Tennessee and Louisiana; and the Susquehanna/Lackawanna Rivers in Pennsylvania.

Although the Heritage Rivers Initiative had been lobbied strongly by some local governments, eager for the largesse that’s promised, many local governments are adamantly against it. So, too, are grass-roots organizations that foresee the dangers of bringing a strong federal presence into their communities — which the initiative would
necessitate.

Opposition reached such a crescendo last year that Congress had to respond, as did the President’s Council on Environmental Quality — the agency charged with supervising and managing the river selection process. Council chairwoman Katie McGinty promised Rep. Helen Chenoweth, R-ID, that members of Congress would have “absolute authority” over whether or not a community or state participates in the program — and that they could take out any segment of a nominated river that runs through their districts.

“It’s a veto authority that any member of Congress would retain throughout the existence of the program,” McGinty told the House Committee on Resources last September.

It didn’t work that way.

For example, Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-TX, at the urging of county governments up and down the Rio Grande, opted out all sections where there was formal opposition — which was most of the river. He was backed in this action by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-TX. Nonetheless, the Rio Grande was recommended by the advisory committee.

So, too, was the Upper Mississippi, despite opting out by congressmen on both the Illinois and Missouri sides. Support for the designation came largely from the mayors of cities who, according to sources, were heavily lobbied by members of the Council on Environmental Quality.

The St. Johns River in Florida was taken out by Republican representatives Cliff Stearns and David Weldon. Katie McGinty herself announced that the St. Johns was “eliminated from consideration.” But the mayor of Fort Lauderdale attended the meeting in St. Louis where he successfully pressured the committee for the river’s inclusion.

The Lower Mississippi didn’t make the final cut as far as the advisory committee was concerned. According to Karen Hobbs, of the Council on Environmental Quality, most of the group wanted to include it, but “there was a small part that thought it was overreaching and trying to do to much on such a long river.” The others eventually agreed.

The president, despite the committee’s rejection of the designation, went ahead anyway with designating the Lower Mississippi.

The additional designations — particularly when they fly in the face of his own committee — recall an earlier statement by Chad Hyslop, press secretary for Helen Chenoweth. “Clinton’s writing the rules as he goes along,” he said. “If the committee doesn’t give him the recommendations he wants he’ll appoint others. Eventually, he’ll get the ones he wants.”

The list will be formally announced this Thursday, when both Gore and Clinton travel to the New River in North Carolina for a photo op.

RELATED ITEMS:

Is heritage rivers plan a done deal? (6/16/98)

Federal river designations still up-in-air (5/19/98)

Executive order on federalizing rivers (4/13/98)

‘Heritage’ initiative to give U.S. more land control (1/21/98)

Rivers next target for federalization? (6/5/97)