Western Governors: Current Drought Emphasizes Need for National Drought Information System (5/4/06)
Western Governors: Current Drought Emphasizes Need for National Drought Information System FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With a quarter of the United States already facing moderate-to-extreme drought conditions, Western Governors today urged Congress to take action this year on the National Integrated Drought Information System Act, a proactive measure that will minimize the impacts and costs of drought. The Western Governors' Association's leads for drought are Govs. Janet Napolitano (Ariz.), WGA Chair; Mike Rounds (S.D.), WGA Vice Chairman; Brian Schweitzer (Mont.); and Bill Richardson (N.M.). Duane Smith, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, testified today on behalf of WGA and the Western States Water Council before the House Science Subcommittee on Environment, Technology, and Standards. We are already seeing the impacts of drought in 2006, Smith said. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, there have been 32,988 fires between January 1 and April 24 on 2,195,768 acres. This compares to the 5-year average for this time period of 23,639 fires on 485,308 acres. We know from our past experiences, the costs of response efforts to drought have been staggering. On average, the federal government spends $6-8 billion on drought response. Western governors and the water council say creation of the National Integrated Drought Information System would improve drought monitoring and forecasting, which is fundamental to a proactive approach to addressing not only drought, but also water shortages. It also would allow policy-makers and water managers at all levels of the private and public sectors to make more informed and timely decisions about water resources in order to mitigate or avoid the impacts from droughts, Smith said. NIDIS will provide water users across the board- farmers, ranchers, utilities, tribes, land managers, business owners, recreationalists, wildlife managers, and decision-makers at all levels of government- with the ability to assess their drought risk in real time and before the onset of drought, in order to make informed decisions that may mitigate a drought's impacts. The Western states believe that enactment of NIDIS will help move the country toward a proactive approach that will avoid conflicts and minimize the damage caused by future droughts, thereby saving taxpayers money, Smith said. The House measure is sponsored by Reps. Ralph Hall (Texas) and Mark Udall (Colo.). Sponsors of a similar Senate bill are Sens. Ben Nelson (Neb.) and Pete Domenici (N.M.). Information related to WGA's drought policy can be found on the Web at WGA Policies. The Western Governors' Association is an independent, nonprofit organization representing the governors of 18 states and three U.S.-Flag islands in the Pacific. Through their Association, the Western governors identify and address key policy and governance issues in natural resources, the environment, human services, economic development, international relations and public management. # # # # #
May 4, 2006
Contact: Kevin Moran, 202-624-5402