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<br />co - 3, CA - 1, and MO - 1; compared to NY - 43, WI -
<br />33, ME-30, MI-28, MN -16, VT-16, GA-10, VA -9,
<br />NH - 9, and MA - 7.
<br />
<br />WATER QUAUTY
<br />
<br />Clean Water Act-Reauthorization
<br />
<br />Both Houses of Congress have begun preliminary
<br />activities aimed at reauthorizing the Clean Water Act
<br />(CWA). The House Public Works Committee, which
<br />has primary House CWA jurisdiction, has started a
<br />series of clean water hearings, as has the House
<br />Merchant Marine Subcommittee on Environment and
<br />Natural Resources. Issues discussed so far include
<br />funding and other matters associated with rural
<br />wastewater treatment needs and the more general
<br />issue of the need for additional wastewater treatment
<br />projects nationwide.
<br />
<br />Senate Environment Committee Chair Max Baucus
<br />(D-Ml) announced at the Mid-winter meeting of the
<br />Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution
<br />Control Administrators that Senator Bob Graham (0-
<br />FL) will lead the effort to write a Senate CWA
<br />reauthorization bill, which is expected to be introduced
<br />by early summer. Important issues include non-point
<br />source pollution control, funding, and pollution
<br />prevention. Baucus suggested an annual funding goal
<br />of about $5B, and said that meeting the funding needs
<br />of rural communities, and possibly allowing CWA state
<br />revolving-loan funds to be used to meet Safe Drinking
<br />Water Act (SDWA) requirements, should receive
<br />priority attention. He said that new approaches to
<br />non-point source pollution should be explored in
<br />cooperation with states, with attention to demonstrated
<br />successes and emphasis on providing additional
<br />funding. He also discussed combined sewer over1low
<br />issues and the need to emphasize a watershed-based
<br />approach in the CWA. Further, there was some
<br />discussion of combining provisions of the CWA and
<br />the SDWA.
<br />
<br />WATERRESOURCES~NERGY
<br />
<br />Drought/Pacific Northwest
<br />
<br />Below average snowpack in the Upper Columbia
<br />River Basin, regional weather forecasts of no
<br />substantial precipitation in the near future, and low
<br />streamflow and runoff forecasts portend one of the
<br />
<br />worst water years in the history of the Northwest.
<br />Annual runoff from the Columbia River historically .
<br />averages 88-188M acre-feet. Streamflows have been
<br />only 55% of average this winter, and regional
<br />reservoirs are only about 30% full, compared to an
<br />average of 70% for this time of year. Since the fall of
<br />1986, the Northwest has suffered two of the driest two-
<br />year periods since 1929. The March 6 Palmer Index
<br />continues to show sever drought in many areas.
<br />
<br />The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) markets
<br />power from federal projects and controls most of the
<br />Northwest's power supply. BPA is also responsible for
<br />helping restore threatened salmon stocks, and last
<br />year raised its water budget for fish from 3.6M acre-
<br />feet (Mal) to 6.5 Maf, with streamflows dropping. This
<br />winter temperatures have also been well below
<br />average, raising regional electricity demands, and
<br />requiring BPA to purchase power.
<br />
<br />Hydropower makes up 70% of the Northwest's
<br />power supply, and BPA usually has surplus power to
<br />sell. However, BPA's surplus power revenues have
<br />dried up, along with the weather. BPA has had to
<br />purchase power from regional thermal electric
<br />resources, and buy and import power on the open
<br />market from Canada and California. As a result last
<br />year SPA lost $274M, and analysts project a FY93 .
<br />shortfall of $413M. Revenue projections have dropped
<br />$82M since the last quarter. As of Jan. 31, the federal
<br />reservoir system held a little less than 4.4M megawatt-
<br />hours (mwh) of energy, which is less than is usually
<br />stored in Grande Coulee alone. Short-term power
<br />purchases from October through January totaled over
<br />101 M mwh, compared to about 42M mwh for the same
<br />period in FY92 (BPA Journal, March 1993).
<br />
<br />WESTERN STATES WATER COUNCILJPEOPLE
<br />
<br />In a recent letter to Executive Director Craig Bell,
<br />Utah's new Governor Michael O. Leavitt has reaffirmed
<br />that Larry Anderson, Dee Hansen, and Thorpe
<br />Waddingham will serve as Utah's WSWC members,
<br />while Don Ostler and Dallin Jensen will serve as
<br />alternates. Further, Governor Leavitt designated Larry
<br />Anderson as Utah's member on the Council's
<br />Executive Committee, "prompted by the retirement of
<br />Dee Hansen as Executive Director of the Utah
<br />Department of Natural Resources...." The Governor
<br />concluded that he "looks forward to working closeiy
<br />with the...Council."
<br />
<br />The WESTERN STATES WATER COUNCIL is an organization of representatives appointed by the Governors of .
<br />member states - Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota,
<br />Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming, and associate member state Oklahoma
<br />
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