Western States Water Council 2001 Report

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Further, Pat declared that the Bureau of Reclamation and western states must continue to work in partnership to meet the diverse needs of a growing population. The federal government must continue to respect state granted property rights to water, and the rights of states to allocate and manage their water resources. The Bureau should also adopt proactive, non - regulatory, incentive- based approaches to managing the waters under its control, consistent with western states' rights. Specifically, Reclamation should continue to pursue and fund work related to the existing Bridging - the-Headgate Partnership, Field Services Program, Challenge Grants and drought planning and preparedness activities. Water 2025 On April 7, during a review of Reclamation's budget by the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Christopher Bond (R -MO) questioned the success of Interior's Water 2025 Initiative. He asked Thomas Weimer, acting Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, and Commissioner John Keys, about reports that Water 2025 is not working to ease tensions and avert water wars in the West. Environmentalists have largely dismissed the program as ignoring damage caused by the diversion of rivers and other resources (Greenwire, April 4, 2005). The Bureau's $946.7M budget request is down slightly from last year, but calls for nearly doubling spending for Water 2025. Keys said that Water 2025 was not simply a repackaging of previous agency activities and programs, adding that $4.5M made available in Challenge Grants had been used to leverage $30M in non - federal spending for projects. (Environment & Energy Daily, April 8, 2005) Of note, on April 26, Keys announced the Challenge Grant Program would be extended to state governments. "The Water 2025 initiative recognizes that state government agencies have a leading role in avoiding future water supply crises. The Challenge Grant Program for Western States will specifically help state water agencies respond to this challenge." The program will be particularly focused on "the development and use of water markets, structural modifications that will conserve water and improve water management, and other approaches. Among these measures are the use of analytical tools that will help states better administer or more efficiently manage water rights, comply with interstate compacts, or otherwise stretch scarce water...." Eligible applicants include state government water management agencies and authorities. Clean Water Act Pesticides On February 1, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a notice of proposed rulemaking and an interpretive statement regarding issues pertaining to the regulation of pesticides applied to or over waters of the United States under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Clean Water Act. EPA determined that the application of a pesticide to waters of the United States consistent with all relevant requirements of FIFRA did not constitute the discharge of a pollutant that required a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System ( NPDES) permit. EPA first published the interpretive statement in the Federal Register for public comment on August 13, 2003. In this rulemaking notice, EPA also proposed to revise the NPDES permit program regulations to incorporate the substance of the interpretive statement. Wetlands /SWANCC On April 27, Senator Russell Feingold (D -WI) introduced the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act (S. 912), to overturn the 2001 U.S. Supreme Court's decision that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers cannot enforce federal Clean Water Act 35