BOARD01112

• Board Meeting Date: 1/24/2006
• Description: CWCB Director's Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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engineering and environmental studies that should be "more aggressively outsourced where objectively
detennined to be feasible and economically beneficia1."

Copies of the final report will be available through the National Academies Press at www,nap,edu,

Water and Energy Nexus Workshop: The third in a series of workshops designed to help develop a
regional assessment of water and energy needs and prepare a national road map for meeting those needs
was held in Salt Lake City, Utah on January 10-11, at the airport Hilton. Sandia National Laboratories
was the coordinator. There were a number of presentations on energy and water issues in agriculture,
power generation and other areas. A series of break -out groups addressed problem areas, identified needs
and developed ideas for solutions, Attendees included water and energy users, utility managers, policy
makers and planners, regulators, environmental and economic development interests, government
agencies, and academics,

$18 Million Targeted for Water Quality Monitoring: On December 30, the Environmental Protection
Agency announced its plans to allocate the FY 2006 increase of $18 million for national water quality
monitoring, These funds supplement an existing allocation of approximately $200 million annually to
support state? interstate agency, and tribal programs to combat water pollution.

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The agency is changing the way it allocates funds under the water pollution control grant program (known
as Section 106 of the Clean Water Act). The agency allocates the funds through a prescribed allotment
fonnula, Under the revised process, EP A will be better able to target these additional funds to help carry
out priority areas that include monitoring for pollutants. The process requires the agency to consult with
states and interstate agencies prior to finalizing the allocation fonnula, This action was taken in response
to President Bush's FY 2006 budget calling for an increase in funding of water-quality monitoring
nationwide.

Subcommittee Reviews Watershed Programs: On December 6, House Agriculture Subcommittee on
Conservation, Credit, Rural Development and Research Chairman Frank Lucas chaired a hearing to
review the U ,S, Department of Agriculture's (USDA) watershed programs, USDA's Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS) administers four watershed programs including the Watershed Surveys and
Planning Program, Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations Program, Watershed Rehabilitation
Program, and Emergency Watershed Protection Program, These programs are designed to maintain safe
drinking water, control erosion, preserve wildlife habitat, and implement flood protection measures,

Since 1948, more than 11,000 flood control dams have been built across the U,S. and many are
approaching or have exceeded their intended 50 year life span. Chairman Lucas noted that the
government cannot meet the funding demands due to the size and scope of the projects requested by the
public,

NRCS and Reclamation Sign Partnership Agreement Regarding Water Conservation: On
November 29, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Chief Bruce Knight and Commissioner
John Keys, Bureau of Reclamation, have signed a five-year memorandum of understanding (MOD) to
coordinate agency efforts for efficient use and long-term sustainability of available water supplies for
agricultural production and other beneficial uses,

Some highlights of the agreement include:

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. Support for locally-led cooperative conservation projects regarding efficient water management.
. Developing and implementing specific plans of action for cooperative conservation activities,

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