Salazar Underscores Energy Transmission Technology, Lauds Houston Utilities’ Smart Grid |
Visiting the Energy Capital of the World, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar lauded the advanced power transmission and distribution technology adopted by CenterPoint Energy Houston, a regional utility that received a $200 million federal grant to spur its deployment of a Smart Grid that will improve efficiency and help area consumers manage and control their electricity usage. more |
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Salazar Testifies on “The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act” |
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar testified on “The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act” before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. more |
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Salazar Reforms U.S. Oil Shale Program |
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today took steps to help the country develop technologies that could potentially unlock the nation’s oil shale reserves while protecting taxpayers, water resources, the environment, and local communities. more
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Introducing the GreenGov Challenge - A Bottom-Up Approach to Greening Government |
On Monday, October 5th, 2009, President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order on Federal Sustainability – and in doing so, committed the Federal government to lead by example, practice what we preach and help build a clean energy economy through how we operate. To harness the collective wisdom of the more than 1.8 million civilian employees and our men and women in uniform, we’re launching the GreenGov Challenge, an online participatory way for Federal employees to suggest clean energy ideas and vote on others. more
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 Secretary Salazar and the National Museum of the American Latino on Capitol Hill. Actress Eva Longoria- Parker (in red dress to the right) is a member from Texas.[Photo Credit: Tami A. Heilemann DOI] Hi-Res |
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Secretaries Salazar and Chu and Sen. Hagan Tour Solar Farm in North Carolina
Underscores Commitment to Green Jobs, Clean Energy Economy |
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and U.S. Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC) today toured one of the largest solar array energy systems in the Southeast. The project is run by Southern Energy Management, a home-grown sustainable energy management company. It features two 1-megawatt solar arrays. It includes a 24-collector solar water heating system and a 1-megawatt photovoltaic (PV) system of 5,040 solar panels on five acres of land. more
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Secretary Salazar Addresses CEO Summit |
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today addressed the annual CEO summit of The Business Council, an association of more than 100 CEOs from America's largest companies. In his remarks, Secretary Salazar discussed the need for comprehensive energy legislation and the Department of the Interior's role in moving forward with a new energy frontier. The theme of the Council's summit meeting in Cary, NC is energy and climate.
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U.S. Dept of the Interior Employees Winner, Finalist for Prestigious Service to America Medal |
The Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit organization, honored an Office of Surface Mining program analyst on Sept. 23 with one of its 2009 Service to America medals. PPS also named a U.S. Geological Survey scientist and her international science team as finalists for the same award. more
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Interior Launches Work Plan for BLM Western Oregon Forests |
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today launched a Fiscal Year 2010 work plan for Bureau of Land Management (BLM) forests in western Oregon that will add economic certainty for local communities while protecting endangered species. more
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Cape Lookout Lighthouse in North Carolina to be Repaired and Re-Opened |
To celebrate the ongoing commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Cape Lookout Lighthouse in North Carolina, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced that project funds with be provided for repairs enabling the National Park Service to re-open the lighthouse to the public. more
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![Cape Lookout Lighthouse at Cape Lookout National Seashore in North Carolina. [Photo Credit: NPS Photo by Russ Wilson]](../images/10142009-home.jpg) Secretary Salazar and the National Museum of the American Latino on Capitol Hill. Actress Eva Longoria- Parker (in red dress to the right) is a member from Texas.[Photo Credit: Tami A. Heilemann DOI] Hi-Res |
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National Museum of the American Latino Commissioners Announce Leadership of Commission |
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar joined Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, bipartisan members of the National Museum of the American Latino Commission, activist/actor Eva Longoria Parker, producer Emilio Estefan, Henry R. Muñoz III and bipartisan Members of Congress to announce the leadership of the Commission and discuss future activities related to the study of the potential national museum in Washington, D.C. more
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Secretary Salazar and the National Museum of the American Latino on Capitol Hill. Actress Eva Longoria- Parker (in red dress to the right) is a member from Texas.[Photo Credit: Tami A. Heilemann DOI] Hi-Res |
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Secretary Salazar Keynotes Arizona’s First Commercial Scale Wind Energy Development |
Calling it a reflection of growing energy concerns across the nation, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar lauded the public-private partnership that developed the Dry Lake Wind Power Project that now feeds clean, renewable energy to homes and businesses in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. more
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Martin Mugica, Executive Vice President, Renewables, Iberdrola Renewables, Kevin Devlin, Iberdrola Renewables, Secretary Salazar and Rich Glick, Iberdrola Renewables. The project now supplies clean renewable energy to the Phoenix metropolitan area. [Photo Credit: Tami A. Heilemann DOI] Hi-Res |
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Secretary Salazar, Gov. Schwarzenegger Sign Initiative to Expedite Renewable Energy Development |
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today signed what they called “a model of federal-state initiative and cooperation” to use expedited review and processing and Recovery Act funding to spur the development of environmentally appropriate renewable energy on U.S. lands in California. more
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The Governor and Interior Secretary shake on the agreement as Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa looks on. [Photo Credit: Tami A. Heilemann DOI] Hi-Res |
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Renewable Energy Coordination Office in California Opened to Speed Project Processing |
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Bureau of Land Management Director Bob Abbey today officially opened a California Renewable Energy Coordination Office, one of several Interior initiatives to expedite the leasing and production of renewable energy resources on public lands in the West. more |
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BLM Releases Report on Utah Oil and Gas Leases |
A special Bureau of Land Management report on a controversial 2008 oil and gas lease sale in Utah, delivered today to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, recommends that the BLM lead the development of a comprehensive interagency strategy to address energy leasing, development, and related air quality concerns for Utah and other western states. more
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Salazar Seeks Congressional Support for Sustainable National Program to Manage Iconic Wild Horses |
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today proposed a national solution to restore the health of America’s wild horse herds and the rangelands that support them by creating a cost-efficient, sustainable management program that includes the possible creation of wild horse preserves on the productive grasslands of the Midwest and East. more
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Onaqui Herd wild horse herd outside Dugway, Utah. Photo courtesy Bureau of Land Management Hi-Res |
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Interior Enters YouTube, Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter Age |
In a continuing effort to improve transparency and openness at the Department of the Interior is launching four new web tools that will help Americans connect with the nation’s heritage, natural resources, and cultures. Check us out YouTube, Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter.
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Decision on Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project Clears the Way for Historic Water Rights Settlement |
Secretary Salazar joined New Mexico’s congressional delegation to advance a vital water supply project that will provide clean, safe and reliable water to a quarter of a million people in the Navajo Nation, the City of Gallup and the Jicarilla Apache Nation. The action clears the way for resolving the Navajo Nation’s long-standing water rights claims in the state. more |
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Salazar Details Administration’s Policy Push to Build 21st Century Power Transmission Grid |
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar told energy industry officials today that the federal government’s past electric transmission policy has been as fragmented and disjointed as the nation’s outdated power grid and that one of President Obama’s top energy priorities is to speed the development of a 21st Century network to move American energy more cleanly, efficiently and safely around the nation. more
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Secretary Salazar, Chair Sutley, Obama Officials Announce Expanded Federal Response to California Water Crisis |
The Obama Administration is fully engaged in a coordinated response to California’s ongoing water crisis. At a public meeting in Washington, D.C. Secretary Salazar and Chair of the White House Council of Environmental Quality Nancy Sutley announced a series of actions the federal government is taking to deal with the devastating water shortages. more
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Secretary Salazar listens to a question from the audience. Left to right are Nancy Sutley, Chair of the President's Council on Environmental Quality, Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes, Secretary Salazar, Senator Dianne Feinstein and Congressman Jim Costa. (Photo; Tami A. Heilemann-DOI) Hi-Res |
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Secretary Salazar Announces Draft Agreement on Klamath Dam Removal Proposal |
PacificCorp, local, state, tribal and federal partners have reached a draft agreement on a proposal to remove four dams on the Klamath River in Oregon and California. more
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Secretary Salazar and Assistant Secretary Babauta’s Statements on Earthquake and Tsunami Surges in American Samoa |
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Assistant Secretary for Insular Areas Tony Babauta expressed their deepest sympathies to the Governor and people of American Samoa following an earthquake and tsunami surges that have hit the U.S. Pacific Territory. more
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Secretary Salazar Participates in USDA Rural Tour |
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar joined Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a visit to the Scottsbluff National Monument Monday and held a 'Rural Tour' community forum to discuss production agriculture as well as efforts by the Obama Administration to rebuild and revitalize rural America, listen to local residents talk about how the federal government can assist them, and discuss solutions to challenges facing their communities. Secretary Salazar noted that the Department of the Interior is investing $2.6 million in Nebraska through the Recovery Act.
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Interior Secretary Ken Salazar addresses the community forum hosted by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. (Photo by Tami A. Heilemann-DOI) Hi-Res |
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Agriculture, Interior Mobilizing Employees, Volunteers for Saturday’s National Public Lands Day |
In honor of Public Lands Day, this Saturday, September 26, 2009, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack are pleased to announce a variety of planned activities, including: cleaning up rivers, lakes and wetlands; mulching the Lincoln Memorial; restoring fish and wildlife habitat; a wild horse auction, and free entrance at hundreds of federal recreation sites on public lands nationwide. more
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Second Century Commission Releases Report on Future of National Park System |
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today commended the members of the National Parks Second Century Commission for their report on the future of the National Park System, which includes a wide range of recommendations for enhancing all aspects of our national parks. more
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Salazar Launches Partnership with All-American Rhodes Scholar Myron Rolle for Innovative Health Program at Indian Schools |
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today was joined by college football All-American and Rhodes Scholar Myron Rolle to announce a new partnership that will introduce an innovative physical fitness and health program into Interior-funded American Indian schools. more |
Football All-American and Rhodes Scholar Myron Rolle, center, discusses his Foundation's Our Way to Health program which will be launched in five Bureau of Indian Education schools this year. From left, Kevin Skenandore, Acting Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs; Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar; Myron Rolle; Rep. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico; and Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo-Hawk. Photo by Rick Lewis, NPS Hi-Res |
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Unprecedented Public Outreach for Comprehensive Offshore Energy Plan Generates More Than 450,000 Comments |
The federal government has received more than 450,000 comments from the public regarding the development of a comprehensive offshore energy strategy for the Outer Continental Shelf. The Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) received the comments during an extended public comment period that Secretary Salazar established for the Draft Proposed Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program in February. more
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Secretary Salazar accepts a stack of letters from local fisherman at a town hall event in Dillingham, AK on April 13, 2009. These were just some of the hundreds of thousands of comments submitted. [Photo Credit: Tami A. Heilemann DOI] Hi-Res |
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Interior Strengthens Employee Ethics Program |
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced new steps to strengthen the Department’s ethics program, providing more financial and personnel resources, increasing the authority of ethics officers, and requiring greater employee involvement in evaluating performance, accountability and compliance. more |
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Interior Recovery Funds to Help Historically Black Colleges and Universities Repair Historic Buildings |
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today that 20 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) will be the beneficiaries of $14.25 million for historic preservation grants aimed at providing assistance in the repair of historic buildings on their campuses. more
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Minor Normal School at Howard University will receive $800,000 in Recovery funds for historic preservation.Hi-Res |
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Reality Check: California's Water Crisis |
From California’s Bay Delta and the farms of the Central Valley to the fisheries of northern California and cities in the south, a third year of severe drought is affecting the lives of all Californians. The Department of the Interior is providing clear, accurate responses to questions about the state’s water crisis so that Californians can make informed decisions about water use and help build a sustainable water future for themselves and their communities.
Download the Reality Check Factsheet 
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$52.5 Million Recovery Project Gets Underway to Replace Rough Rock Community School |
Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk joined Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley and other Indian Affairs and Navajo tribal officials September 16 in a ceremonial groundbreaking event for Phase II of a major school replacement and improvement project at the historic Rough Rock Community School on the Navajo Reservation in northeastern Arizona. more
Photos of Event 
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Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk and officials from the Interior Department, Navajo Nation and Rough Rock Community School with students from the school's Navajo Language Immersion class. (BIE photo) Hi-Res |
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Secretary Cites Progress on New Energy Frontier in Hill Speech |
The Interior Department is making swift progress on President Obama’s clean energy agenda, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said today at the Alliance to Save Energy’s Summit held in the Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. more
Podcast 
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Salazar Ends Controversial Royalty in Kind Program |
In testimony to the House Natural Resources Committee, Secretary Salazar today announced he is reforming and restructuring the Department’s management of U.S. energy resources, starting with the termination of the Minerals Management Service’s (MMS) controversial Royalty in Kind program that accepts oil and natural gas from producers in lieu of cash royalties. more
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Secretary Salazar testified before the House Natural Resources committee. He was joined by Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Wilma Lewis, Minerals Management Service Director Liz Birnbaum and Bureau of Land Management Director Bob Abbey. Hi-Res |
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Interior Invests $20 Million in Recovery Act Funding for Rural Water in North Central Montana |
The $20 million investment in the Rocky Boys North Central Montana Regional Water System will treat water at Lake Elwell, south of Chester, and transmit it to approximately 43,000 users on Rocky Boys Indian Reservation and other communities in the region, including Big Sandy, Box Elder, Havre, the North Havre County Water District, the Hill County Water District and Chester, as well as communities farther west. This ARRA project will assist in implementing the Chippewa Cree Tribe’s water right settlement. more |
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Secretary Salazar Launches Interior Climate Change Response Strategy |
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar launched the Department of the Interior's first-ever coordinated strategy to address current and future impacts of climate change on America's land, water, ocean, fish, wildlife, and cultural resources. Secretary Salazar signed a secretarial order establishing a framework through which Interior bureaus will coordinate climate change and resource management strategies. more
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Secretary Salazar signs a secretarial order launching the Department of the Interior's coordinated strategy to address climate change. The Secretary is joined by Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes, Science Advisor Kit Batten, Director of the Minerals Management Service Liz Birnbaum, Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Anne Castle and other senior officials. Hi-Res |
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Secretary Salazar Addresses 9/11
Flight 93 Commemoration |
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today joined former Secretary of State State General Colin Powell, former Pennsylvania Governor and Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge and retired General Tommy Franks at the Eighth Annual Commemoration in honor of the heroic passengers of Flight 93 at the site were it crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001.
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Secretary Salazar addresses the memorial commemoration service for Flight 93 near the crash site in Shanksville, PA. (photo credit: Tami A. Heilemann-DOI) Hi-Res |
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Interior Requests Comments on Revised Departmental Strategic Plan |
The Department of the Interior is asking for public comment on the revision of its Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2010-2015. A Federal Register notice requesting comments on the plan's framework and performance goals was published on September 11, 2009 and provides for a 60-day comment period ending November 10, 2009. more |
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Interior Invests $2.5 Million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Funding in Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program |
With the ARRA funding, eight projects will support ESA compliance for Reclamation’s operation and maintenance activities on the lower Colorado River and establish more than 8,100 acres of riparian, marsh and backwater habitat and provide the capacity for growing more than 1.2 million endangered fish to the target size for introduction to the river system’s existing population. more |
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Grants under North American Wetlands Conservation Act Pass $1 Billion Threshold |
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today that the federal government has now made more than $1 billion in grants under the North American Wetlands Conservation Act of 1989, helping to conserve or restore more than 25.4 million acres of wetlands and associated habitat across the continent over the past two decades. more
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The American Black Duck is one of hundreds of species to benefit from wetlands conservation grants under the North American Wetlands Conservation Act. (photo credit: Steve Maslowski-FWS)Hi-Res |
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New Quarters to Feature National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges |
Hot Springs, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Grand Canyon National Parks will be the first sites commemorated in a new quarter-dollar program announced today by the U.S. Mint. Starting in April of 2010, the America the Beautiful Quarters Program will begin producing quarters with reverse (tails side) designs showcasing a national park or other federally preserved area from each state, U.S. territory, and the District of Columbia. more |
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Assistant Secretary Echo Hawk Underscores President Obama’s Education Message to BIE Students in Bismarck, N.D. |
Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk joined fourth through eighth grade students at the Theodore Jamerson Elementary School in Bismarck, N.D. to view President Obama’s Back-to-School message and share the importance of education in his own life. more
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Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk speaks to students at the Bureau of Indian Education's Theodore Jamerson Elementary School in Bismarck, N.D., following President Obama's national address to students on working hard and setting educational goals. (BIA photo)Hi-Res |
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Salazar, Reid, Abbey Approve $135 Million for Nevada and Lake Tahoe Projects |
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Bureau of Land Management Director Bob Abbey today approved more than $135 million for a variety of restoration and improvement projects throughout Nevada and Lake Tahoe under the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act. more
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At Cottonwood Cove on Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Secretary Salazar signs the document to approve more than $135 million for restoration and improvements through the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act (SNPLMA). Left to right are Senator Harry Reid, Lake Mead NRA Superintendent Bill Dickinson, and BLM Director Bob Abbey. (photo credit: Tami A. Heilemann-DOI)Hi-Res |
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Secretary Salazar Cites Progress of Recovery Act in Arkansas and Nationwide |
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar reported today that “at the 200-day mark for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the stimulus program is creating jobs and providing lasting value to our economy and our environment in every state of the nation including Arkansas.”
The Secretary noted the pace of recovery projects is accelerating. As of August 28, the Department of the Interior has started more than 1,000 of Recovery Act projects. more
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