<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)">
<!--[if !mso]>
<style>
v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Tahoma;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
h3
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 3 Char";
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:10.5pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
h5
{mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 5 Char";
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p.MsoAcetate, li.MsoAcetate, div.MsoAcetate
{mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Balloon Text Char";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:8.0pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:windowtext;
font-weight:bold;}
span.Heading3Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 3 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 3";
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
font-weight:bold;}
span.Heading5Char
{mso-style-name:"Heading 5 Char";
mso-style-priority:9;
mso-style-link:"Heading 5";
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
font-weight:bold;}
span.slg
{mso-style-name:slg;
color:#326497;
text-transform:uppercase;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.origin37
{mso-style-name:origin37;
color:#666666;
text-transform:none;
font-weight:normal;
font-style:italic;
text-decoration:none none;}
span.BalloonTextChar
{mso-style-name:"Balloon Text Char";
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Balloon Text";
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="2050" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple>
<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://www.eedaily.com/" title="E&E Daily"><b><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#990000;
text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=530 height=65 id="_x0000_i1025"
src="cid:image001.jpg@01CA1742.430F0A60" alt="E&E Daily"></span></b></a><b><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=right style='text-align:right'><b><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#666666;text-transform:uppercase'>An
E&E Publishing Service </span></b><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#666666;text-transform:uppercase'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<h3 style='line-height:15.0pt'><span class=slg><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>WATER:</span></span><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'> T&I panel floats bill
to form resource management council </span><span class=origin37><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>(Friday, August 7,
2009)</span></span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></h3>
<h5 style='line-height:15.0pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'>Taryn Luntz, E&E reporter<o:p></o:p></span></h5>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Congressional
aides, conservation advocates and water stakeholders are gearing up to tackle
the increasingly thorny issue of water management, seeking to transform a
system of piecemeal project approvals into one that plans comprehensively for
all aspects of watersheds.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>With water
conflicts surfacing throughout the country, House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee staffers are working on a water planning bill that
they have circulated among stakeholders over the past two months.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>A June 12
draft of the legislation would create a Cabinet-level council and a
president-appointed director charged with "carrying out the policies and
programs of the federal government affecting sustainable water resources
management."<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>The bill
also would establish regional watershed planning boards that would produce
five-year plans for water use and conservation, targeting "increased water
efficiency, increased water quality and improved ecological health and
resiliency for federal, interstate, state, tribal and local governmental and
non-governmental stakeholder actions with regard to water resource decisions
across the watershed."<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>The
legislation seeks to overcome one of the most significant challenges facing
water managers. Currently, water management is split among local, state,
regional and federal agencies, often with several bodies dividing
responsibility for different aspects -- and sections -- of watersheds. This
approach can lead to unfortunate consequences, advocates say, as projects
planned for one area can fail to account for downstream effects or wider
regional issues.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Lawmakers
on the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee noted the need for
broad-level water planning at a hearing on the issue in June 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>"At
present, several regions of the country face significant water resource
challenges ranging from droughts in the Southeast and Southwest to the recent
flooding in the Midwest," Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) said.
"Watershed planning and management can be an important tool to help make
better decisions in resolving these water resource needs."<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Ranking
member John Boozman (R-Ark.) said Congress should consider devising a way for
the federal government to provide technical assistance and guidance to state
and local water planning efforts.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>"More
and more often we are seeing growing cities' needs for municipal and industrial
water supplies at odds with similar needs for that same water downstream,"
Boozman said. "It conflicts with environmental, recreation, navigation or
flood control needs elsewhere in the watershed. What has been missing in most
cases is a comprehensive watershed plan against which more focused local feasibility
plans can be measured."<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>The "<a
href="http://www.eenews.net/features/documents/2009/08/06/document_daily_01.pdf"><span
style='color:#990000'>Sustainable Watershed Planning Act</span></a>" aims
to address these varied concerns with water management. The bill was scheduled
for a committee markup June 4 but was pulled from the schedule to allow staff
to gather more feedback, a T&I legislative aide said. The draft is a work
in progress with no firm date set for completion, he said.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Under the
draft legislation, the sustainable watershed planning council would consist of
the U.S. EPA administrator; the secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Energy,
Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Interior and U.S. Army; the
chiefs of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission; and state and tribal leaders.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Regional
watershed planning boards, based on the boundaries of Army Corps of Engineers
civil works districts, would have federal, state, local and stakeholder
representatives.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>States
would be eligible for grants of up to $1.5 million a year to set up their own
water planning boards or to support existing planning efforts.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<h3 style='line-height:15.0pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'>Questions, concerns raised<o:p></o:p></span></h3>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Water
experts agree some type of planning fix is necessary.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>"At
this stage, progress on water resources at the federal level is frustrating
just about everybody," said David Conrad, senior water resources
specialist for the National Wildlife Federation. "There's definitely a
need for better planning and better coordination, both among federal agencies
working on water resources and with states and regional interests -- especially
to sort out roles and needs at all different levels."<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>On the
federal level, agencies frequently fail to coordinate with each other, and
Congress approves water projects on a project-by-project basis.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>"The
Congress has been dealing with water projects by approving them in
'eaches,'" said Gerald Galloway, a civil engineering professor at the
University of Maryland and former Army Corps member. "As a result, there is
no coordination among projects and the priority system is not based on any
analysis of how they impact each other."<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>The draft
bill says it would not interfere with interstate water compacts or state
management of groundwater resources, but stakeholders and state water planners
are fretting about what exactly the bill would affect.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>"What
it appears to do is create an infrastructure for watershed planning, but it is
unclear what type of watershed planning is intended," said Marcia
Willhite, chief of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency's water bureau.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>"You
can plan to manage water quality, to manage water quantity, to make sure you
have intact ecosystems, you can plan for wildlife habitat, even appropriate
navigation," Willhite said. "But it's unclear from the bill that I've
seen what the focus of the planning is to be."<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Water
industry groups also are hoping subsequent drafts will clarify the reach of the
proposed watershed council.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>"We
understand that the draft legislation does not give the federal government
ultimate power to accept or reject specific watershed plans or projects,"
the American Shore & Beach Preservation Association wrote in its analysis
of the draft. "Ours is a federal system of government in which states have
the paramount role to implement watershed policies. We are concerned that the
structure established in the draft legislation may actually be too cumbersome
to achieve the desired result."<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Water
experts agree that for legislation to be successful, it must foster
collaboration among the various planning bodies, encourage consensus-building,
and give private stakeholders an incentive to buy in to the plan.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>"Collaboration
in planning for water projects is critical," Galloway said.
"Collaboration means you start together and work together. You don't have
one party write a plan and give it to the others when you're finished."<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<h3 style='line-height:15.0pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'>White House dips into water management<o:p></o:p></span></h3>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>The push
to improve water management has gained considerable steam this year, with the
Obama administration tackling two new initiatives.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>The White
House is rewriting standards for federal water projects, expanding the scope of
26-year-old rules that guide the Army Corps of Engineers in an effort to
consider environmental and social goals as well as economic ones. The broader scope
represents a shift from the economic emphasis in the current Army Corps
principles and guidelines. In addition, the administration is considering
expanding the scope of the principles and guidelines to cover all federal
agencies that undertake water resource projects (<a
href="http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/2009/07/14/archive/3?"><i><span
style='color:#990000'>Greenwire</span></i></a>, July 14).<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>The
administration also is crafting an executive order aimed at toughening federal
policies restricting the construction of dams, levees, roads and other
structures in flood-prone areas.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:15.0pt'><b><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>President
Obama's draft order would direct agencies to use nonstructural approaches --
typically, building codes, planning laws and education campaigns -- to manage
floodplains and protect public safety, wetlands and other natural resources (<a
href="http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/2009/07/21/archive/2?"><i><span
style='color:#990000'>Greenwire</span></i></a>, July 21).<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Byron
Leydecker, JcT</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Chair, Friends
of Trinity River</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>PO Box 2327</span></i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Mill Valley, CA
94942-2327</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 4810
land</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 519 4810
cell</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net"><span style='color:blue'>bwl3@comcast.net</span></a></span></i></b><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org"><span style='color:blue'>bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</span></a>
</span></i></b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>(secondary)</span></i><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="http://fotr.org/"><span style='color:blue'>http://www.fotr.org</span></a>
</span></i></b><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>