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<br />Reclamation Hydropower Report: On Nov, 8, as required under Section 1840 of the Energy Policy Act
<br />0(2005, on behalf of the Secretary of Interior, Reclamation submitted to the Congress a report
<br />"identifying and describing the status of potential hydropower facilities included in water surface storage
<br />studies under.aken by the Secretary for projects that have not been completed or authorized for
<br />construction" since 1939,
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<br />The report does not contain recommendations, but it is a useful reference for under-standing the
<br />magnitude and scope of historical studies, Reclamation inventoried a significant number of reports, many
<br />of which included studies of or references to one or more projects, About 500 projects were identified as
<br />including hydropower as one of the pwposes, but they "have not been completed or authorized for
<br />construction. "
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<br />Most of the inventory relates to providing historic data from the reports, However, Section 1840 called for
<br />some updated or current information on costs and timelines to complete studies (i.e. feasibility reports)
<br />and identification of potential hydroelectric facilities and benefits and costs, This information was not
<br />inc luded in the report as it would require project sponsor/stakeholder participation with scoping and cost
<br />sharing of studies. Also, given the age of many studies, pre-feasibility work would be required to assess
<br />the rationale for more detailed feasibility level efforts. Such activities could not be accomplished in the
<br />90-day time frame mandated by law (P.L, Law 109-58, Energy Policy Act of 2005).
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<br />The report is available online at <httD://www,usbr.l!ov/nower/datafsecI840.ndf>,
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<br />USGS Cooperative Water Program (CWP) Stakeholders Roundtable Meeting Set: The 2nd
<br />National USGS Cooperative Water Program (CWP) Stakeholders Roundtable will be held in Austin,
<br />Texas at the Doubletree Hotel on January 31,2006, Following a full day of presentations, discussion and
<br />planning on Tuesday, a tour will follow on Wednesday morning, February 1, The Interstate Council on
<br />Water Policy (ICWP) is sponsoring the meeting, with assistance from the U,S. Geological Survey, in
<br />cooperation with the WSWC, Association of State Flood Plain Managers (ASFPM), National Association
<br />of Floodplain and Stormwater Management Agencies (NAFSMA) and others, For registration
<br />information and the agenda go to www.icwn,org,
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<br />U.S. Geological Survey/Landsat Problems: November 30, USGS released a statement regarding
<br />Landsat 5 technical difficulties, stating that on November 26, the back-up solar array drive on Landsat 5
<br />began exhibiting unusual behavior, The rotation ofthe solar array drive became sporadic and the solar
<br />array was not able to provide the power needed to charge the batteries. Maintaining power to the batteries
<br />is critical to sustain proper operation of the spacecraft. The primary solar array drive failed under similar
<br />circumstances last January. As a result of this current situation, imaging operations will be suspended for
<br />at least the next two weeks or until attempts to solve the problem have been resolved, Landsat 5, launched
<br />in March 1984, has performed far beyond its three-year design lifetime and has continued to collect
<br />global land surface coverage, Landsat 5 and Landsat 7 together provide full global coverage of the
<br />Earth's surface every eight days.
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<br />Landsat 7 is also experiencing technical difficulties, A zig-zagging observation pattern can not be
<br />corrected, complicating data gathering and assessment activities, With both Landsats 5 and 7
<br />malfunctioning, the need for an alternative source ofthermal data is serious, Still, it is unlikely NPOESS
<br />will soon be able to fill that need. On November 16, the House Science Committee held a hearing on the
<br />program, which appears to be as much as $3 billion over budget and that is not expected to be launched
<br />until 2012, three years later than the most recent program plan, NPOESS is a key satellite for developing
<br />three- to seven-day weather forecasts for civilian and military purposes, It is designed to replace existing,
<br />less sophisticated satellites that are expected to be beyond their useful lives over the next several years,
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