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The Water Resources Coalition was established in
2007 to promote the development, implementation and funding of a
comprehensive national water resources policy. With member
organizations representing state and local governments,
conservation, engineering and construction, ports, waterways and
transportation services, the Coalition works to ensure that a
comprehensive, national water resources policy is developed,
implemented and funded to provide a sustainable, productive
economy; a healthy aquatic ecology; and public health and safety.
For more information, visit the Water Resources Coalition Web site
at www.waterresourcescoalition.org.
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House Cuts
Corps and Bureau Funding for FY 2012
The House Appropriations Committee released its fiscal
year 2012 Energy and Water Appropriations bill this week. The
subcommittee promptly passed the legislation by voice vote on
Thursday. The bill totals $30.6 billion, which is $1 billion below
the FY 11 enacted level and $5.9 billion below the President's FY
12 request. While the bill is a slight improvement on the
president's request in regards to the US Army Corps of Engineers'
Civil Works Program, it would still be a reduction of nearly $90
million compared to the FY 2011 budget. The Bureau of Reclamation
appropriation would be a reduction of nearly $92 million from the
FY 2011 budget.
The Army Corps would receive $4.77 billion, a cut of
$89 million from FY 11, but an increase of $195 million from the
President's budget request. The request breaks down to $2.37
billion for operations and maintenance, $1.57 billion for
construction, $210 million for the Mississippi River and
Tributaries, $104 million for investigations, and $27 million for
flood control and coastal emergencies. The Corps expects that
inflation will reduce actual spending on key infrastructure
programs by a further $3 billion over the next five years. The
WRC believes that these levels of spending are insufficient to
meet the nation's security, economic, and environmental in the 21st
Century.
The Water Resources Coalition sent a letter
to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Energy and Water
Development Subcommittee expressing concerns over the cuts and
requesting an appropriation of $5 billion for the Corps for FY
12 and an appropriation of $1.2 billion for the Bureau of
Reclamation.
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Corps
Nominee Testifies Before Senate Committee
Last week, the Senate Environment and Public
Works Committee heard testimony from Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick,
President Obama's nominee to be Chief of Engineers and Commanding
General of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. This
committee does not act on the nomination as it falls under the
jurisdiction of the Senate Armed Services Committee and this
committee has not currently scheduled a confirmation hearing.
"General Bostick's nomination comes at a very
challenging time," said Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), senior
Republican on the committee. "We have significant water
resources needs across the country and the Corps is currently
engaged in a historic flood fight along the Mississippi
River."
In a brief statement, Bostick avoided discussion of
difficult issues. "If confirmed, I look forward to
working with Congress to continue executing the Corps of Engineers'
mission of providing vital engineering services in peace and
war," he said. Bostick has a master of science in civil
engineering from Stanford University and is a licensed
Professional Engineer.
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Corps Work
Plan Yields Funding for Coastal Stewardship
On May 17th,
the Army Corps of Engineers released its FY2011 Work Plan that
announced which water resource projects would be funded for the rest
of Fiscal Year 2011. The Army Corps Work Plan included more
than $148 million for coastal water resources projects, studies,
and programs. This is more funding for America's coastal
water resources than in any year dating back to 1995, the last year
for which this data is available. For the American Shore and
Beach Preservation Association, this adds up to an enormous vote of
support from Corps Headquarters for its coastal stewardship
program.
The Corps Work Plan
is a departure from the practices of previous years, when Congress
would direct the Corps through the use of earmarks on which
projects to fund that particular year. In the absence of
earmarks, Congress was forced to leave the decision making for
funding individual projects up to the various federal agencies,
including the Army Corps of Engineers. With decisions being
made at Corps Headquarters rather than at the Capitol, the Corps
was able to choose to allocate a greater portion of their funding
toward coastal projects, studies and programs.
In past years,
Congress had adopted a habit of sprinkling funding to a larger
number of projects in order to "spread the wealth."
Unfortunately, they often spread it so thin that most projects did
not receive adequate funding. This led to stops and starts in
studies and ultimately to longer and more expensive projects.
The funding in the Corps FY11 Work Plan is a shift by the Corps to
prioritize projects and get them completed in a timely manner. The
Water Resources Coalition (WRC) is very pleased with this
year's Work Plan.
That being
said, WRC realizes that an unfortunate number of water
resource projects received no funding this year. WRC is
concerned that Congress may continue to decrease total funding for
the Army Corps of Engineers and is committed to fighting for
more support for America's water resources.
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EPA Releases
Annual Beach Report
To help beachgoers make
informed decisions about swimming at U.S.beaches, EPA annually
publishes a summary report and data about beach closings and
advisories for the previous year's swimming season. For the sixth
consecutive year, in 2010, the nation's coastal and Great Lakes
beaches were open 95 percent of the time during the swimming
season.
The Report summarizes state,
territorial and tribal data on beach closures and health advisories
from the previous year. Beach water monitoring is conducted
primarily to detect bacteria that indicate the possible presence of
disease-causing microbes (pathogens) from sewage or fecal
pollution. People swimming in water contaminated with these types
of pathogens can contract diseases of the gastrointestinal tract,
eyes, ears, skin, and upper respiratory tract. When
monitoring results show levels of concern, the state or local
government issues a beach advisory or closure notice until further
sampling shows that the water quality is meeting the applicable
standards.
The 2010 report shows that more
than 55 percent of beach closures lasted only a day or two.
To help minimize beachgoers' risk of exposure to pathogens in
beachwaters, EPA is helping communities build and properly operate
sewage treatment plants, working to reduce overflows as much as
possible, and working with the U.S. Coast Guard to reduce
discharges from boats and larger ships. Under the Beaches
Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act of 2000, EPA
provides annual grants to coastal and Great Lakes states,
territories, and eligible tribes to help local authorities monitor
their coastal and Great Lakes beaches and notify the public of
water quality conditions that may be unsafe for swimming. To date, EPA
has made available more than $100 million in BEACH grants to help
protect beachgoers. As a result, the number of beaches monitored
has increased by more than 1,200. For additional information please
visit: www.epa.gov/beaches
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The US Army Corps of
Engineers is working to complete a new, $14.6 billion, "100
year", hurricane reduction system in the New Orleans area,
however state and local officials are working to figure out how to
pay for the added operations and maintenance costs. The costs for
the new system could be as much as $38 million a year, which would
have to come from taxpayers. The new costs would be more than half
the combined budgets of the 8 local levee agencies and comes on top
of the initial $1.3 billion in construction costs that fell upon
state and local agencies.
Before Katrina each
levee district was responsible for the full cost of operating
levees within its boundries. The new system will provide protection
for additional areas, extending the pool of those who can be taxed.
Unfortunately, raising taxes in the current economic climate will
prove difficult in the affected areas. Local leaders are arguing
that the new expenses should be paid for with federal dollars for
at least the three most expensive navigation sites. However, at a
time of severe budget cuts in Congress that funding seems unlikely.
For the full
story please click here.
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Brian Pallasch and Marco Giamberardino
Water Resources Coalition
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