S. 25 - The Conservation and Reinvestment Act of 1999 S. 25 would address conservation and coastal impact assistance funding needs using Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas leasing revenues. The legislation would: 1) provide funds to coastal states to offset impacts caused by offshore drilling, 2) fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund without further appropriation, and 3) fund state-based wildlife conservation programs. Key sponsors of the legislation are: Sens. Frank Murkowski (R-AK), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), John Breaux (D-LA), and Trent Lott (R-MS). *The above chart is based on annual OCS revenue of $4.59 billion projected by the Minerals Management Service for the year 2000. As the chart indicates, half of the OCS revenue would go to the Federal Treasury to meet budget obligations unrelated to conservation. Wildlife: 7% of OCS revenues ($321 million) to state fish and wildlife agencies for wildlife conservation, recreation and education projects. Land & Water Conservation Fund: 16% of OCS revenues ($734 million). Permanent, automatic appropriation, requires Congressional approval of federal land acquisitions in excess of $5 million. Federal-side LWCF - approximately $330 million. State-side LWCF - approximately $330 million. Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery Program (UPARR) - $74 million. Coastal Conservation: 27% of OCS revenues ($1.24 billion annually) to 35 coastal states and territories, including Great Lakes states. Funds could be used by states and local governments for: air and water quality; fish and wildlife, wetlands and coastal restoration; onshore infrastructure and public service needs. National Wildlife Federation Concerns: S. 25 would allow the use of impact assistance funds to subsidize potentially damaging infrastructure activities. Any new outer continental shelf impact assistance program should prioritize funding to projects that will ameliorate environmental impacts of OCS oil and gas development. Additionally, no funds should be used for environmentally destructive projects. The proposal would create financial and political incentives for coastal states to accept inappropriate offshore oil and gas development. State allocations of revenue are based on a state's proximity to oil and gas drilling, and the amount of drilling occurring off their shores. To ensure that this allocation formula does not create incentives for increased drilling, allocation of funds to coastal states should not be tied to new leasing, exploration, production, or geographic proximity to such activities. The legislation needs to provide for full funding for both federal and state programs under the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Although current law authorizes $900 million annually for LWCF from OCS revenues, Congress has historically appropriated only about one-third of that amount. While S. 25 includes automatic appropriation of funds for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Program, it does not fund these programs at their fully authorized level ($450 million each for state and federal). In addition, S. 25 includes restrictions on federal land acquisition that would greatly hinder the ability to acquire new lands. The legislation should prioritize use of funds for nongame wildlife conservation. Nongame wildlife are those species that are neither hunted or fished, nor threatened or endangered. Conserving nongame wildlife species before they become threatened or endangered will allow managers to be more pro-active in managing our wildlife resources. S. 25 allocates only 7% of OCS leasing revenues for wildlife conservation. Nongame wildlife conservation has been seriously underfunded for decades. Many states rely on revenue sources such as tax check-offs or conservation license plate revenues that are unable to match the growing need. A substantial infusion of funds is critical to address the conservation needs of wildlife species.