May 07, 2021
By:
Walter G. Wright
Category:
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
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A coalition (“Coalition”) of 86 organizations on April 14th sent letters to the United States Senate and House of Representatives requesting support for the U.S. Geological Survey (“USGS”) streamgaging networks and Next Generation Water Observation Systems (“NGWOS”).
The letters were addressed to:
- Senator Jeff Merkley, Chair
- Senator Lisa Murkowski, Ranking Member
- Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment & Related Agencies
- Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, Chair
- Congressman David Joyce, Ranking Member
- House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment & Related Agencies
The Coalition seeks:
- $28.7 million for streamgages
- $33 million for cooperative matching funds for streamgage networks
- $28.1 for NGWOs and data delivery modernization
The funding would be a component of the United States Department of Interior appropriations for FY-2022. In support of this request the letters state:
- Life-saving information is provided because of the continuous streamflow information at 8,400 locations
- USGS programs are being discontinued annually because of lack of resources
- Adequately quantifying/managing the nation’s water supplies/infrastructure is critical
- Coalition members rely on the streamgage data/science
- Streamgages provide necessary trend information providing a basis for understanding climate science
- Natural resource decisions made on U.S. Indian reservations utilize streamgage information
Copies of the letters can be downloaded here.
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