The Rundown
- USDA gives $280 million to Texas farmers affected by Rio Grande water shortages.
- USDA also develops a $10 billion program to pay farmers whose crop yields were blunted by weather disasters last year.
- White House orders more mining on federally managed public lands.
- Colorado representatives propose a $60 billion fund for ecosystem restoration.
- GAO finds rising demand for Hurricane Hunter storm data, but problems with fleet reliability and staffing.
- Inspector general recommends improvements to National Park Service wastewater management.
And lastly, EPA staff speak out against Trump administration’s funding cuts.
“Relationships that were built through years of meaningful engagement between communities and the federal government are being jeopardized. Organizations, institutions, and companies will likely shy away from future federal grant or contracting opportunities because no one wants to work with someone who doesn’t pay their bills and backs out on their promises.” – Open letter from current and former EPA staff and published in Environmental Health News. The letter writers wished to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation.
By the Numbers
$60 Billion: Ecosystem restoration funding authorized in a new bill reintroduced in Congress. The Protect the West Act is sponsored by two Colorado Democrats, Rep. Jason Crow and Sen. Michael Bennet. The funds would be a one-time deposit into an account for forest, rangeland, watershed, and wildlife restoration, with the goal of reducing wildfire risk and improving habitat. Projects could be on federal or non-federal lands and could be carried out by state, local, and tribal governments, or nonprofit groups.
News Briefs
Aid to Farmers, National
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will pay up to $10 billion to farmers whose crops were damaged by weather disasters last year and are encountering a “difficult farm economy.”
The new Emergency Commodity Assistance Program was authorized in a short-term budget deal at the end of December.
Commodities that are eligible for payments include wheat, corn, grain sorghum, barley, oats, upland cotton, extra-long staple cotton, long grain rice, medium grain rice, peanuts, soybeans, other oilseeds, graded wool, non-graded wool, mohair, honey, dry peas, lentils, small chickpeas, and large chickpeas.
Aid to Farmers, Texas
The USDA will partner with the Texas Department of Agriculture to distribute $280 million to farmers in the Rio Grande Valley who were affected by water shortages.
The region is experiencing a severe drought, but farmers have also been hobbled by Mexico’s failure to deliver sufficient water to the Rio Grande, as required by treaty.
Mining Executive Order
In a wide-ranging executive order, President Donald Trump invoked national emergency powers to increase domestic mineral production as a matter of national security.
The order lists numerous fast-action tasks for agency heads, some with deadlines of just 10 days. Many of the directives are pointed at Doug Burgum, the interior secretary and chair of the president’s National Energy Dominance Council. The minerals and materials covered by the order are Burgum’s prerogative, but it mentions uranium, copper, potash, and gold.
Agencies are now supposed to scour their inboxes for projects that can be permitted immediately. They have until March 30 to do so. Federally managed lands with mineral deposits are to be managed with mineral extraction as the number one priority, though multiple use is the legal intent of these lands.
The order extends to finance, allowing mining companies to receive favorable loan terms and guarantees.
Even with the sweeteners, observers say that the minerals business is complex. According to the Atlantic Council, the order’s intent is clear, but its impact is not. “Given the relatively short-term nature of four-year presidencies, companies remain hesitant to make multi-decade investments with uncertain returns.”
Studies and Reports
Hurricane Hunters Hampered
The data collected by Hurricane Hunters – airplanes that fly into and above tropical storms – inform life-saving weather forecasts.
Now that NOAA and the Air Force are using the planes to track West Coast atmospheric rivers, there is more demand than ever for their services. Yet, there are signs of eroding reliability.
That’s one conclusion from a Government Accountability Office investigation of the Hurricane Hunter program.
A major problem is demand. The number of flights rose substantially in recent years due to reconnaissance of atmospheric rivers, which occur in winter. From 20 winter-season flights in 2015-19, the number soared to 256 in the next five years. That’s on top of 762 tropical storm missions.
Staffing shortages and maintenance of an aging fleet have contributed to a rising number of incomplete missions, GAO found.
NOAA plans to replace its three planes, two of which are from 1974, while the Air Force has no such intention for its fleet of 10 that all date to the late 1990s.
The GAO review was requested by three Republican senators representing Gulf Coast states: Ted Cruz, Rick Scott, and Roger Wicker.
Toilets and Latrines
The Interior Department’s internal watchdog made six recommendations for the National Park Service to improve its management of 1,756 wastewater systems.
These systems range from sewage lagoons and backcountry latrines to centralized wastewater plants. Many are aging. According to the Office of Inspector General report, deferred maintenance is at least $877 million. The recommendations: track deficiencies and prepare plans to fix the most pressing problems; inventory all backcountry latrines; close large-capacity cesspools; ensure that high-tech systems are overseen by certified operators.
On the Radar
Drought Risk in Southern High Plains
NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center says there is a risk of drought conditions developing quickly in the next two weeks in the Texas Panhandle and eastern New Mexico.
Worldwide Threats Hearing and Report
The Senate Intelligence Committee will hold a public hearing on the annual worldwide threat assessment that is prepared by the nation’s spy agencies.
The assessment is usually released at the same time as the hearing. In recent years, the assessment has highlighted the risks that water scarcity and climate change pose to national security.
Federal Water Tap is a weekly digest spotting trends in U.S. government water policy. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.