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Welcome to the Water Resources Coalition's October newsletter. This Water Resources Coalition newsletter will once again focus on all of the progress being made as we try to achieve the development, implementation, and funding of a comprehensive, national water resources policy to ensure a sustainable, productive economy; a healthy aquatic ecology; and public health and safety. |
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FY 2010 Energy and Water Appropriations
On September 30th the House and Senate Energy and Water Conferees agreed to a $33.5 billion FY10 appropriations bill. The final bill (H.R. 3183) splits the difference between the House's $33.3 billion bill and the Senate's $33.8 billion version and provides $200 million more than FY09 levels. The House adopted the conference report by a vote of 308 - 114 and the Senate is expected to vote on it next week.
The Army Corps of Engineers will be provided $5.4 billion and the Bureau of Reclamation will receive $1.1 billion. The breakdown for both can be seen below.
On September 29, 2009 WRC sent a letter to House and Senate Energy and Water Appropriators calling for a minimum of $5.5 billion to be appropriated for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Civil Works Program and $1.3 billion for construction of water resource facilities through the Bureau of Reclamation. The Coalition requested that funding be increased to meet our nation's water resources development needs and urged Congress to allow for new construction. The letter sent to House and Senate Conferees can be seen here.
ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS: $5.4 billion, $43 million above 2009 and $320 million above the requested amount, to address the nation's water resource investment needs.
- Operations and Maintenance: $2.4 billion, $198 million above 2009, to address the over $1 billion backlog of operations and maintenance needs of navigation infrastructure critical to the U.S. economy.
- Construction: $2.0 billion, $313 million above the request for projects including on-going flood protection efforts.
- Investigations: $160 million, $60 million above the request, to plan and design America's next generation of water resource infrastructure.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR: $1.13 billion, $67 million above the request and $12 million above 2009 funding levels, to continue to support and improve the nation's water infrastructure, including $1.1 billion for the Bureau of Reclamation for dams, canals, water treatment and conservation, and rural water projects. |
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Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Soliciting Projects for WRDA 2010
In August, House leaders began the lengthy process of putting together a new Water Resources Development Act ("WRDA") for consideration in 2010. WRDA a is biennial comprehensive water resources law that authorizes studies and projects within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers mission areas, including navigation, flood damage reduction, hurricane and storm damage reduction, shoreline protection and environmental restoration. On November 8, 2007, the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-114) was last enacted into law. This law addressed a backlog of project authorizations, modifications and studies that had accumulated since the law's previous authorization in 2000. WRC has long advocated for timely passage of new WRDA bills to address new project studies and authorizations that have come up over the past two years.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has issued a letter kicking off the solicitation process for the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2010.
Any projects submitted to the 110th Congress will have to be resubmitted and it is recommended that you contact your local US Army Corps of Engineers office regarding any potential requests.
The information necessary to submit a completed and valid WRDA project request includes:
- Local Corps District name
- Corps contact with phone number
- City in which project will be carried out
- County in which project will be carried out
- Project purpose
- Project description
- Non-federal project sponsor
- A letter of support from the non-federal sponsor
- 2 Congressional Earmark Certification Forms with original Member signature for each project
For any questions about the process please contact the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment Majority staff at 202-225-0060, or Minority staff at 202-225-4360. | |
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Bureau of Reclamation Unveils Basin Study Program
On September 17, Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Michael L. Connor announced the implementation of a new Basin Study Program that will better define options for future water management of Western river basins where climate change, record drought, population increases and environmental needs have increased competition for water supplies. Each study will include state of the art projections of future water supply and demand on a basin-wide scale, including an assessment of the impacts of climate change on water resources; analysis of how the basin's existing water and power operations and infrastructure will perform in the face of changing water realities; and recommendations on how to optimize operations and infrastructure to supply adequate water and power in the future while accounting for environmental values. Reclamation will provide a 50% cost share contribution to state, local and tribal partners to implement the studies.
The first three basin studies announced by Connor today include:
- The Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study ($1 million Reclamation, $1 million matching) covering portions of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming;
- Yakima River Basin Study and Associated Basin Restoration Implementation Plan, covering south central Washington ($1.3 million Reclamation, $1.3 million matching); and
- Modeling for the Future of the Milk and St. Mary River Systems in north central and southern Montana ($350,000 Reclamation, $350,000 matching). The Program announcement follows Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar's signing of a Secretarial Order earlier this week which details Interior's coordinated strategy to address the current and future impacts of climate change on America's diverse natural resources, including water.
The Program is part of the Water Conservation Initiative (WCI) and a key element of Reclamation's implementation of the SECURE Water Act, which was enacted into law as part of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. Components of the WCI include providing competitive financial assistance for water conservation, efficiency and marketing projects and other activities that enhance water management; conducting basin-wide planning studies that will address the impacts of climate change; and continued funding of water reuse and recycling projects. |
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Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force Submits Interim Recommendations
On September 10, the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force submitted an interim report to the President addressing recommendations on a national policy for our oceans, coasts, and the Great Lakes; a framework for policy coordination of efforts to improve our oceans, coasts, and the Great Lakes; and an implemenatation strategy that identifies and prioritizes a set of objectives that the US should pursue to meet objectives of a national policy.
To allow for additional public engagement and comment before
the President makes any final decision on the interim report, the Task Force is issuing it for a 30-day public comment
period.
DATES: Comments should be submitted on or before October 17, 2009.
Comments on the Task Force Interim Report should be submitted electronically to http://www.whitehouse.gov/oceans or in writing to the Council on Environmental Quality, Attn: Michael Weiss, 722 Jackson Place, NW., Washington, DC 20503. |
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Releases Climate Change Plan
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released a strategic plan that will direct the agency's efforts to respond to the threats posed by climate change.
The proposed strategic plan contains three key elements:
- Adaption - helping to reduce the impacts of climate change on fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats;
- Mitigation - reducing levels of heat - trapping greenhouse gas pollution in the Earth's atmosphere; and
- Engagement - reaching out to Service employees, local, national, and international partners in the public and private sectors, key constituencies and stakeholders and the broader citizenry of the country to come together and develop solutions for the challenges to fish and wildlife conservation posed by climate change.
The strategic plan is available for public review and comment during the next 60 days. The plan can be found on the web at http://www.fws.gov/home/climatechange/ |
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AGC of America Unveils Construction Recovery Plan
While the nation continues to suffer through a recession, the construction industry is experiencing depression-like conditions. According to virtually every economic measure, construction businesses and their employees have been disproportionately affected by the economic downturn. In response to this crisis, the Associated General Contractors, a WRC co-founder, has developed a comprehensive recovery plan for the industry, titled "Build Now for the Future: A Blueprint for Economic Change." This plan outlines a series of commonsense incentives, tax credits and policy changes designed to stimulate new private- and public-sector demand for construction. While these changes are critical to reversing the current crisis in the construction industry, they are also essential to rebuilding, expanding and sustaining the broader U.S. economy by raising tax revenue and creating a more efficient national infrastructure for the movement of goods and services.
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ASCE Develops Speakers Network for Guiding Principles for the Nation's Critical Infrastructure
When a critical infrastructure system fails, as was the case in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and in Minneapolis during the collapse of the bridge carrying Interstate 35W over the Mississippi River, it can severely endanger public safety, health, and welfare, as well as, the economy of a region or nation. We often discover that underlying the failure of these systems are fundamental problems having to do with planning, funding, design, construction, or operation.
The American Society of Civil Engineers, a co-founder of the Water Resouces Coalition, recently developed report, Guiding Principles for the Nation's Critical Infrastructure, establishes a framework for assessing the effectiveness, adaptability, and resilience of critical infrastructure systems. As the stewards of infrastructure, civil engineers can play a vital leadership role by embracing, adopting, and promoting the principles to all stakeholders and working to implement the necessary changes.
Both the report and accompanying summary brochure are available for free download at www.asce.org/summit. |
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State Floodplain Managers Holding Their Annual Conference
The Association of State Floodplain Managers will have their annual meeting May 16 - 21, 2010 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Throughout the week, over 200 of the industry's experts will conduct educational sessions and share the state of the art techniques, programs, and resources available to reduce flood risk and accomplish flood mitigation, watershed management, and other community goals.
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Upcoming Symposium on Water and Economics
The Water Policy Institute and the University of California, Berkley, are sponsoring a Symposium on Water and Economics on Monday, October 19th, between 12pm and 4pm. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, Lisa Jackson, has been invited to speak at the event, while former NJ Governor and former EPA Administrator, Christine Todd Whitman, will moderate. The Symposium will be held at the UC Washington Center and for further information, please contact kshea@hunton.com. | |
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Sincerely,
Brian Pallasch and Marco Giamberardino
Co-Chairs
Water Resources Coalition |
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