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Lawmakers Blast Reclamation’s Lack of Urgency
On Thursday March 11, before the House Water and Power Subcommittee, California Representatives George Miller (D-17), Grace Napolitano (D-38), Jim Costa (D-20) and Tom McClintock (R-4) took turns blasting the Bureau of Reclamation for having a lack of urgency in dealing with water shortages caused by California’s drought. While the hearing was called to review the Obama Administration’s proposed Fiscal Year 2011 budget request for Reclamation, the lawmakers used the occasion to severely criticize the agency.
Expressing frustration over Reclamation’s uneven management of the drought Rep. Miller said "I don't get that sense that we have a plan. We need some sense of urgency and project completion about how we do this. Because we can't just do it all in one year in the valley and one year in the delta. ... I don't get that sense of management."
Describing drought conditions in the Central Valley, Rep. Costa said "This is a Katrina-like crisis, my district is ground zero for the drought. It should be treated in every aspect like we did after the hurricane devastated New Orleans." Costa was particularly outraged at the Interior Department's slow pace in awarding some $260 million in funds from the stimulus meant to address the California drought. While his district had been allocated $32 million, he noted none of that has been spent yet.
Senate Energy Subcommittee Questions Reclamation on the Secure Water Act Implementation and the WaterSMART Program
On March 16, the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water & Power held a hearing to hear from the Bureau of Reclamation on their implementation of the Secure Water Act and the new WaterSMART program.
Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Michael Connor testified on Reclamation’s need for federal coordinated action to mitigate the effects of climate change. “The science is quite clear,” he said, “that climate change will add to the challenges we face today in managing our water supply, water quality, flood risks, wastewater, aquatic ecosystems, and energy production.” The Secure Water Act provides authority for Federal water and science agencies to work together and with the States and local water managers to plan for climate change.
The WaterSMART (Sustain and Manage America’s Resources for Tomorrow) program at the Department of Interior is part of Interior’s implementation of the Secure Water Act and includes WaterSMART grants, the Basin Studies Program, and the Title XVI Water Recycling and Reuse Program.
Anthony J. Pack, General Manager of Eastern Municipal Water District testified to the importance of the federal government’s ability and responsibility “to undertake or coordinate interstate and regional water development and energy projects.” He emphasized California’s water crisis and Eastern’s strategic goal of supply self sufficiency as a result of variable water reliability from the California Delta and Colorado River.
Pack also highlighted Eastern’s participation in WaterSMART’s Title XVI Water Recycling program. Eastern has received approximately $21.5 million dollars from the program through prior appropriations and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to provide system reliability and pressurization with the byproduct of 3,175 acre-feet of new usage resulting.
Additionally, after Eastern calculated the energy usage and emissions of each of their five water sources, Eastern found that water recycling is the lowest in each category with even the desalination plants using less energy and having fewer emissions than their two imported water sources. The Title XVI program, he said, is “vital to meeting water supply needs” but continually underfunded. “We urge you to adequately fund the program to eliminate the backlog of authorized projects,” he said.
Ms. Melinda Kassen, Trout Unlimited, Mr. Dan Keppen, Family Farm Alliance, and Mr. John Entsminger, Representing the Colorado River Basin states also testified.
To view the archived webcast, please click here.
Home Star Energy Efficiency Program Being Developed
President Obama proposed a Home Star program to offer rebates for efficient appliances and incentives for home retrofits in his State of the Union address. Members of the House and Senate are busy translating the President’s proposal into bill language and the first hearings on this concept were held this week.
Draft House and Senate bills contain approximately $6 billion worth of incentives for the installation of energy efficient improvements to homes. According to House and Senate staffers, the basic design of the program is modeled after “cash for clunkers”. As it is currently drafted, water efficiency improvements are not included in either draft bill, although water agencies are eligible to serve as rebate aggregates and administer programs created in the bill.
ACWA has teamed with a broad coalition that includes, among others, the Alliance for Water Efficiency, American Rivers, Irrigation Association, and Plumbing Contractors of American to work for the incorporation of water efficiency appliances and retrofits into the Home Star bill.
Reclamation: Draft Funding Criteria for Title XVI Program Available for Comment
The Bureau of Reclamation is seeking public comment on its draft funding criteria for the Title XVI water recycling program. These funding criteria will be used to identify Title XVI projects to receive available funding in FY 2011 and as part of future funding allocations.
The proposed criteria is a 175-point system awarding points for water supply considerations (50), project completion (30), environment and water quality (25), renewable energy and energy efficiency (20), net positive economic benefits (20), legal and contractual water supply obligations (20), and watershed perspective (10).
Comments are due April 16, 2010.
To read Reclamation’s press release and link to the full report, please click here.
The Obama Administration Releases Climate Change Adaptation Task Force Progress Report
The Climate Change Adaptation Task Force, composed of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), released an interim progress report March 15. The report outlines the Task Force’s progress to date and recommends key components to include in a national strategy on climate change adaptation. The components include: integration of science into adaptation decisions and policy; communications and capacity building; coordination and collaboration; prioritization; a flexible framework for Agencies; and evaluation.
To read the full press release, please click here.
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ACWA's 2010 Spring Conference & Exhibition
ACWA's 2010 Spring Conference & Exhibition
May 4-7, 2010
Portola & Marriott Hotels, Monterey, CA
To register, please click here.
World Water Day – March 22, 2010
The international observance of World Water Day is next Monday, March 22. This year, the campaign goal of World Water Day is to raise the profile of water quality at the political level so that water quality considerations are made alongside those of water quantity.
For more information, please click here.
Perchlorate Plume Assessment Bill Passes House
The House passed H.R. 4252, the Inland Empire Perchlorate Ground Water Plume Assessment Act of 2010, by voice vote Thursday, March 18. The legislation authorizes the Department of Interior to conduct a water resources assessment study of the Rialto-Colton Basin.
Newly Bills Introduced
• H.R. 4782/S. 3063, The Invasive Species Emergency Response Fund Act
• H. R. 4798, The Small Community Options for Regulatory Equity Act of 2010
ACWA Federal Affairs Committee Meets
Members of ACWA’s Federal Affairs Committee initiated their new term of service by meeting on March 12 in Sacramento. The meeting agenda included Orientation for new members of the committee; Executive Director’s Update including ongoing development of ESA Principles, discussion of proposed CEQ Principles and Guidelines for water projects ( PPR draft comments), and Health legislation update. The agenda also covered updates on the Water Infrastructure Network (SRF funding), National Endangered Species Act Reform Coalition (ESA reform), Chemical Security legislation, taking positions on bills, discussion on how best to handle the Obama Administration’s increase in regulatory directives and National Water Resources Association update.
The committee favorably approved reporting to the ACWA Board a legislative concept paper for development of a National Water Infrastructure Bank Proposal. The AWWA has requested that ACWA submit comments as well as publicly endorse the concept paper.
The committee meets next at ACWA’s Spring Conference in Monterey.
NWRA Update and Conference Schedule
NWRA President Larry Libeu informed committee members that NWRA’s Washington D.C. conference will be held March 22-24 at the Washington Court Hotel; the Western Water Seminar between July 28-30 in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and the 79th Annual Conference is November 10-12 at the Hotel Del Coronado, San Diego. Libeu noted NWRA’s Board adopted a new Strategic Plan at its last meeting.
WaterSmart Grants Announced
On March 16, Reclamation announced grants are available for water and energy efficiency projects. The application deadline is May 4, 2010. To view the announcement and for more information click here.
Bay Delta Report Released
On March 19, the National Research Council Bay Delta Committee released its first report.
To read the report in its entirety click here.
Written and Designed by Association of California Water Agencies. ACWA Washington Report is a free, bi-weekly email publication.
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910 K Street, Suite 100 • Sacramento, CA 95814
www.acwa.com
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