WSW Issue #1690
<br />Page 1 of 3
<br />October 10, 2006
<br />WESTERN STATES WATER COUNCIL
<br />Fall Meetings - Sheridan, Wyoming
<br />The 152nd meetings of the Western States Water Council were held in Sheridan, Wyoming at the Holiday
<br />Inn on October 4 -6. First, a federal /state agency round -table discussed the WGA/WSWC report, "Water Needs
<br />and Strategies for a Sustainable Future," and a proposed scope -of -work, together with collaborative opportunities.
<br />Representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
<br />Geological Survey (USGS), and Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) discussed their willingness to help implement the
<br />recommendations in the report.
<br />The State of Wyoming hosted an enjoyable field trip that included a visit to Tie Hack reservoir, a roller -
<br />compacted concrete dam, built to provide a secure city water supply for Sheridan and Buffalo. Of note, Corps
<br />requirements limited growth projections to I%, while the area is now experiencing 3 -4% gr wth due to the energy
<br />production business. After lunch, the tour took a look at different coalbed methane (CBM production fields and
<br />related produced water handling activities that included a subsurface drip irrigation syst m for alfalfa, an on -site
<br />ion treatment and discharge system, and on and off -site storage ponds. While initially luctant to take the water,
<br />many farmers and ranchers have been glad to have it during the recent drought.
<br />The Water Resources Committee met Thursday morning, beginning wit status report on the Corps'
<br />Western Watersheds Study by Mike Bratlien, South Pacific Division Programs irector and Gene Lilly, the study
<br />lead. The study is designed to compliment the WSWC/WGA workplan. The ores has a $750,000 budget to work
<br />with, and another $65,000 from related programs. The Corps sees this aO valuable bottom -up approach to
<br />identifying and providing needed watershed planning assistance. The,96rps is helping coordinate other federal
<br />agencies' participation. He observed, "The more we link up, the mor we can get done."
<br />The Committee recommended the Council update a suKsetting position on federal water and climate data
<br />collection and analysis. Next, there was an extended discu ion on the nature and state of western state water
<br />plans, which vary significantly. Sixteen oj4he eighteen WSWC member states have some type of water plan, and
<br />the Committee will be asking for informati' n on popul on projections, estimated water needs and water supply
<br />strategies. Ward Staubitz, USGS' Cooperitive Wa W Program (CWP) Coordinator, noted it is a $200M program
<br />that covers some 4,500 of USGS' 7,500 sTeam ges and about 750 investigative studies. USGS Water Science
<br />Center Directors set funding priorities at ft state level. He addressed stakeholder recommendations, endorsed
<br />by the WSWC, to improve communications, control costs and sponsor regional stakeholder workshops.
<br />Brenda Burman, USBR Deputy Commissioner, spoke to members on pending legislation (S.895) to
<br />authorize a rural water supply program and federal loan guarantees. The bill has passed the Senate, but has not
<br />reached the House floor. Louis Mauney, USBR, then presented information on the Reclamation Fund, which was
<br />created by the Congress in 1902. Receipts come from certain sales, leases and rentals of federal lands in
<br />Reclamation States, as well as repayments and other revenues from water resource development. Since 1995,
<br />receipts have outpaced expenditures, mainly due to oil and gas leases and mineral royalties, which make up
<br />nearly half of all receipts. Expenditure from the Fund must be appropriated by the Congress. The estimated
<br />unobligated balance at the end of FY2007 is $7.27B, and is growing at over $900M /year.
<br />Other guest speakers included Barry Lawrence, with the Wyoming Water Development Commission, and
<br />Bruce Boe, with Weather Modification, Inc., who described an $8M study to evaluate and demonstrate the use of
<br />the technology in Wyoming.
<br />The Water Quality Committee met in an extended concurrent session with John Wagner, Wyoming, and
<br />Bob Bukantis, Montana, providing their perspectives on CBM development, discharges, and interstate issues.
<br />Roger Gorke, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Water, participated in a discussion of other
<br />http: / /www.westgov.org /wswc /news /1690.html 10/24/2006
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