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<br />The Role of The Office of Water Policy <br /> <br />Ms. Susan Weaver, Special Assiatant with the Office of Water Policy <br />(OWP), presented an overview of the agency's responsibilities and <br />accomplishments. <br /> <br />c:-, <br />C' <br />.... <br />en <br />w <br />-1 <br /> <br />OWP was established in 1981 to assi8t in coordinating water policy within <br />the Department of Interior and translating the needs of the States into <br />departmental policy. <br /> <br />OWP is divided into two branches: Policy Analysis and State Liaison. <br />The Policy Analysis Division, composed of a small group of interdisciplinary <br />water experts, is responsible for analyzing and preparing water policy <br />options for the Secretary of the Interior, identifying water resource iasues <br />that Justify the attention of the Secretary, and coordinating water policy <br />implementation throughout the Department. The State Liaison Division serves <br />as a conduit of information between the States and the Department. <br /> <br />One of the early tasks undertook by OWP was to coordinate the development <br />of new principles and guidelines for planning water proJects. The new <br />principles and guidelines were meant to offer flexibility and some <br />discretionary decision authority so that water prnJects could be tailored <br />to special needs and conditions while still exercising good environmental <br />and project evaluation. <br /> <br />The Office is also involved in an on-going review of the many enabling <br />statutes, manuals, program rules, procedure instructions and other types <br />of policy directives within the several water-related bureaus and offices <br />of the Department. The purpose of this exercise is to ferret out any <br />inconsistencies with our departmental policy of recognizing State <br />aupremacy over water resources management, with the goal of elimination <br />of excessive Federal controls over States in water matters. <br /> <br />OWP has been assigned the lead role within Interior for review and <br />analysis of comments provided in responae to the Secretary's request for <br />State in-put on the issue of cost-sharing. <br /> <br />OWP is also working in coordination with the U.S. Geological Survey to <br />develop an annual National Water Summary that will make water resources <br />information more readily available and useful to policy makers and <br />managers at local, state and national levels. <br /> <br />To help clarify and distinguish between the various Federal Government <br />programs related to groundwater activities, OWP assembled a detailed <br />directory of agency groundwater responsibilities and key contact people <br />associated with these programs. <br /> <br />In concluding her presentation, Ms. Weaver refuted a previous allegation <br />that there is no national water policy. The national water policy is <br />that the States have the authority and the responsibility to allocate and <br />manage water resources within their boundaries. State primacy is <br />designed to create a Federal/State partnership, by which the Federal <br />Government makes guidance and direction available so that individual <br />atates can best plan, develop, and manage their resources. <br /> <br />10 <br />