BOARD00054 ‎(2)‎

• Board Meeting Date: 11/13/2006
• Description: CWCB Director's Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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Myers Confirmed as USGS Director: On September 15, Mark D. Myers was confinned by the U.S.
Senate as Director of the U.S. Geological Survey. President Bush nominated Myers in May. He is the
head of Alaska's Geological Survey.

Bernbardt Nominated as Solicitor: On Sept 13, David L. Bernhardt, Deputy Interior Solicitor, was
nominated as Solicitor. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee acted favorably on the
nomination and it is now on the Senate Executive Calendar. A native of Rifle, Colorado, Bernhardt served
fonner Secretary Gale Norton as a Counselor, Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of Congressional and
Legislative Affairs.

CBO Report Released: In early September the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report
entitled "How Federal Policies Affect the Allocation of Water," prepared at the request of Rep. Grace
Napolitano (D-CA), the ranking minority member of the House Resources Committee's Water and Power
Subcommittee.

The August 2006 report was prepared by CBO's Microeconomic Studies Division. The report has raised
objections from the Family Fann Alliance (FF A). In an August 31 letter, FF A states that the report "fails
to recognize the real issues," while presenting "ill-conceived changes in federal water policy," that might
be adopted to "reallocate water to 'maximize potential benefits to society was a whole.''' FFA adds the
report does not attempt to address "enhancing Western water supplies."

For a copy of the report go to: http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=7471&sequence=0&from=7

Water Resources Development Act Hoped to Pass in November: In November, House/Senate
conferees will return intent on passing the first Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) authorization
for Army Corps of Engineers' projects and programs since 2000. The bill authorizes spending for scores
of western projects, and under General Provisions, refmes Corps planning processes.

Water Researcb BiU Passes House: On September 25, the House passed H.R. 4588, the Water
Resources Research Act Amendments of 2006, introduced by Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) to reauthorize
applied research grants and funding for the Nation's Water Resources Research Institutes. S. 1017, a
similar bill, passed the Senate last year on September 17.

Study Predicts 'Wild Ride' of Drougbts, Heavy Rain for West: In a preview ofa major international
multiyear report on climate change that comes out next year, an October study released by the National
Center for Atmospheric Research details what nine of the world's top computer climate models predict.

"It's going to be a wild ride, especially for specific regions," said study lead author Claudia Tebaldi.
Tebaldi pointed to the Western U.S., Mediterranean nations and Brazil as "hot spots" that will get
extremes at their worst. And some places, such as the Pacific Northwest, are predicted to get longer dry
spells punctuated by heavier rainfall.

As the world wanns, there will be more rain likely in the tropical Pacific Ocean and that will change the
air flow for certain areas, much like El Nino weather oscillations now do. Those changes will affect the
U.S. West, Australia and Brazil, even though it's on South America's eastern coast.

The researchers took] 0 international agreed-upon indices that measure climate extremes - five that deal
with temperature and five with precipitation - and ran computer models for the world through the year
2099. What Tebaldi called the scariest results had to do with heat waves and wann nights. Everything
about heat waves - their intensity, length and occurrence - worsens.

The measurement ofwann nights saw the biggest forecast changes. Every part of the globe is predicted to
experience a tremendous increase in the number of nights during which the low temperature is extremely

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