The Rundown
- Intelligence officials ignore environmental factors in latest assessment of national security threats.
- Reclamation increases water allocations for California’s Central Valley farmers.
- Senate Democrats release list of EPA environmental justice grants targeted for elimination.
- U.S. Geological Survey report identifies research needs for harmful algal blooms in the southeastern states.
- USDA Rural Development, which funds water and sanitation projects in rural U.S. communities, will scrap its Biden-era guidance that prioritized disadvantaged communities.
And lastly, NIH appears to halt future funding for research into climate change and health.
“I’ve been on this committee, now, this is my thirteenth year. Every single one of these reports that we have had has mentioned global climate change as a significant national security threat, except this one. Has something happened? Has global climate change been solved? Why is that not in this report, and who made the decision that it should not be in the report when it’s been in every one of the eleven prior reports?” – Sen. Angus King of Maine, in a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on the annual threats assessment written by the nation’s spy agencies.
“I can’t speak to the decisions made previously, but this annual threat assessment has been focused very directly on the threats we deem most critical to the United States and our national security. Obviously we’re aware of occurrences within the environment and how they may impact operations, but we’re focused on the direct threats to Americans’ safety, well-being, and security.” – Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence, in response to King’s questions.
Gabbard said she did not recall giving any instruction to ignore climate change in the report.
By the Numbers
400: Approximate number of grants related to environmental justice that the EPA has targeted for elimination. Democrats on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works have published the list of grants, which total some $1.7 billion and are intended to improve air and water quality.
40: Percent of a full water allocation that California’s Central Valley farmers south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta will receive this year from the federal canal system. That is up from a 35 percent allocation that was announced in February. Reclamation adjusts allocation during the winter based on snowpack. This year, the agency is also adhering to President Trump’s order to maximize deliveries of irrigation water.
News Briefs
National Security Assessment Doesn’t Hold Water
The nation’s spy agencies released their annual assessment of global national security threats. For the first time since 2007, the report does not mention water or climate change as environmental factors that affect U.S. interests.
The only mention of water in the 31-page document is to acknowledge that U.S. water infrastructure has been a target of cyberattacks. Even in the first Trump administration, environmental factors – extreme weather, floods, drought, food security, and water scarcity – were a prominent feature of the report.
In a public hearing marking the release of the report, Senate Intelligence Committee members concentrated on other threats.
Republicans focused on China, Iran, Islamic State, and Americans killed by drugs smuggled into the country. Democrats pressed the witnesses – all high-ranking intelligence officials – for answers about the Signal chat earlier this month in which military and intelligence leaders discussed plans to bomb Yemen. The chat included a journalist from The Atlantic.
Angus King of Maine was the only senator to mention the environment, asking Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, why climate change was not mentioned. She indicated it was not a priority.
The threats assessment dates to 2006, after Congress created the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
In the 2019 report, the first Trump administration said this about environmental factors: “Global environmental and ecological degradation, as well as climate change, are likely to fuel competition for resources, economic distress, and social discontent through 2019 and beyond.”
EPA Water Confirmation Hearing
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a confirmation hearing for Jessica Kramer, nominated to helm the EPA Office of Water.
Formerly a committee staffer who helped draft water infrastructure legislation, Kramer is most recently the deputy secretary for regulatory programs at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Studies and Reports
Harmful Algal Blooms
The U.S. Geological Survey published a report that identifies research needs to better understand and predict harmful algal blooms in the southeastern states. These blooms, which can produce deadly toxins, are occurring more frequently due to increased nutrient loads in rivers and lakes, warmer temperatures, and heavier rains.
On the Radar
Scientific Funding
The National Institutes of Health, the country’s primary funder of medical research, will no longer support research into the health effects of climate change, ProPublica reports.
In context: Water and Human Health in a Changing Climate
Rural Development Funding
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development division will scrap Biden-era guidance that prioritized funding for disadvantaged communities, in order to align with President Trump’s order to eliminate diversion, equity, and inclusion principles in the federal government.
Some 14 funding programs will be affected, including grants for decentralized water systems and post-disaster water projects.
The Biden-era guidance gave extra points to applicants if the community had a high social vulnerability score, was economically disadvantaged, or had a disproportionately high pollution burden.
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