Panel fears agency's budget plan fails to properly address water shortfalls

E&E News
By Scott Streater
March 26, 2014

GOP lawmakers yesterday criticized the Obama administration's plan to lead parched Western states through ongoing drought conditions, with some arguing during a hearing that the administration cares more about addressing climate change and conserving water than about meeting growing demand.

The water policy discussion occurred during a House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power hearing on the Bureau of Reclamation's fiscal 2015 budget request, as well as the proposed budgets for the U.S. Geological Survey and others.

The administration's request includes $1 billion for Reclamation -- about level with last year's request and about $100 million less than levels under the omnibus appropriations bill for fiscal 2014 (E&ENews PM, March 4).

But very little time was spent during yesterday's hearing on the specifics of Reclamation's budget plan. Instead, much of the discussion centered around the Obama administration's general water management philosophy, specifically Reclamation's emphasis on conservation, as well as the agency's apparent slow pace in developing water storage projects.

For nearly an hour, panel members peppered Lowell Pimley, Reclamation's acting commissioner, with questions about current and future water supplies, new storage projects, and the agency's focus on climate change.

Subcommittee Chairman Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) urged lawmakers to help chart "a road map to abundance" by revising federal polices and laws to increase water supplies and affordable electricity generated through hydropower.

"Despite our continued efforts to bring Reclamation back to its core mission of supplying abundant and reliable water and power supplies, the 2015 budget request appears to be a wish list of programs designed to reduce human consumption, ration shrinking supplies, and resign ourselves to accepting frequent and catastrophic droughts," McClintock said. "I doubt anyone here needs a reminder that this is an issue in California that we have dealt with exhaustively, but the reality is, long-term solutions can only be found by expanding supply through multi-purpose facilities."

Pimley told the panel that Reclamation "is very aware of the role our projects play in helping Western states who are suffering through this drought," and that the agency understands "the value of adding new water supplies through a variety of methods, including surface storage in appropriate areas."

But Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) appeared exasperated after asking Pimley to provide an update on water storage being studied in California.

Costa has introduced a trio of bills to expand existing reservoirs and build one new facility on the Golden State's rivers. Costa has argued that by taking more water off the rivers during floods, the state would have more supplies during times of drought, like the one currently plaguing the state (E&E Daily, March 4).

Pimley, however, could not provide Costa with a time frame for completing the evaluation of the storage projects, saying only that the various studies were "on track" to be completed.

"On track. I love on track," Costa responded. "Since I've come here, we've been on track. I'm not sure which track it is. I believe it's the slow boat to somewhere."

The hearing came in the midst of a record drought across California, as well as dwindling water levels driven by a warming climate in places like the multi-state Colorado River Basin, which provides water for 36 million people.

A number of lawmakers have lobbied for dealing with the drought and the gap between water supply and demand by building more reservoirs and dams. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, whose department oversees Reclamation, acknowledged while on a trip to California earlier this month that new storage could be part of the solution (Greenwire, March 12).

But the Obama administration's fiscal 2015 budget request proposes increases for Reclamation efforts like the WaterSMART Program, which was adopted in 2010 to help establish a more sustainable water supply by providing grants for reclamation and reuse projects. Under the president's proposed budget, the program would receive an additional $3 million, as would two new programs within WaterSMART addressing the consequences of climate change on water resources, including a drought-response program to help communities manage drought and develop long-term resilience plans.

That clearly angered McClintock and other subcommittee members.

"The general statement of Reclamation's budget for the coming fiscal year mentions the term 'climate change' more than two dozen times, 29 times, to be precise; it only mentions the term 'storage' once," McClintock said. "If Reclamation is truly concerned about the changing climate, why isn't a larger emphasis put on expanding water supply to prepare for drought?"

Pimley said his agency is trying to take "a balanced approach" and that increased water storage is "a tool in the toolbox."

But California Rep. Grace Napolitano, the panel's ranking Democrat, defended the proposed budget for Reclamation, calling it "a realistic look at how we can safely keep the lights on and the water flowing in the face of growing demand."

And Napolitano encouraged her colleagues to work together on an issue that affects so many people.

"Somehow we're missing the point about working together instead of arguing about who is not providing enough information or what it is that we need to be able to move forward," she said.