Congress moves on drought bill aimed at better forecasting and mitigation; Bill based on recommendations of Western Governors (9/27/06)
Congress moves on drought bill aimed at better forecasting and mitigation; Bill based on recommendations of Western Governors FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 27, 2006 DENVER -- Western Governors today commended Congress for moving rapidly forward on a drought bill that would dramatically improve the ability of states and communities to forecast, monitor and mitigate the impacts of drought. The bill passed by the House last night includes many of the recommendations made by the Western Governors' Association in its 2004 report, "Creating a Drought Early Warning System for the 21st Century: The National Integrated Drought Information System." The report was developed in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The House measure was approved by a voice vote. The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee is scheduled to take up the bill today. In a letter sent to members of Congress earlier this month (House letter -- Senate letter) , the Western Governors' Association urged them to pass this critical piece of legislation expeditiously. WGA leads for drought issues are: Govs. Mike Rounds, S.D., WGA Chairman; Bill Richardson (N.M.); Brian Schweitzer (Mont.); and Janet Napolitano (Ariz.). The bill sponsors in the House and Senate are Rep. Ralph Hall (Texas), Rep. Mark Udall (Colo.), Sen. Ben Nelson (Neb.) and Sen. Pete Domenici (N.M.). The Western Governors believe that improved drought monitoring and forecasting is fundamental to a proactive approach toward drought and water shortages, the WGA letter stated. NIDIS will allow policy-makers and water mangers at all levels of the private and public sectors to make more informed and timely decisions about their water resources in order to mitigate or avoid the impacts from droughts. Quoting statistics provided by NOAA, the governors said the federal government spends $6 to 8 billion a year responding to drought. In addition, an average of $1 billion a year has been spent on wildfire suppression over the past six years. The President's National Science and Technology Council issued a report last year entitled, Grand Challenges for Disaster Reduction, which emphasizes the importance of better drought warning systems. The report stated: Compared to all natural hazards, droughts are, on average, the leading cause of economic losses. A copy of the WGA letter, the NIDIS report and state-by-state statistics for many Western states suffering from the impacts of this year's drought are available on the WGA Web site at www.westgov.org. The Western Governors' Association is an independent, nonprofit organization representing the governors of 19 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. # # # # #
Contact: Shaun McGrath, Western Governors' Association, 303-623-9378