From Anna E. Normand Linda R. Rowan comes this CRS report (1 July 2022) 'U.S. Geological Survey (USGS): Supplemental Appropriations'.
IMHO the USGS is the best Earth science agency in the world, especially in the water science realm. From what I remember (early-mid 1970s) they have seen some brutal budget cuts.
I have pasted the entire document below. Click on the graphics to enlarge them.
Download CRS_InFocus_Report_ USGS_Supplemental_Appropriations_1July2022
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is a science agency in the Department of the Interior (DOI) that aims to provide scientific information about the geological processes of the Earth; to minimize loss of life and property from natural hazards; and to support the management of water, biological, energy, and mineral resources. Congress typically appropriates funds for the agency through annual Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations acts. This In Focus covers supplemental appropriations for the USGS that are in addition to annual appropriations. (For information on USGS annual appropriations, see CRS In Focus IF11850, The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS): FY2022 Appropriations and Background.) Congress may consider both the amount of USGS supplemental appropriations and how effectively the agency uses these funds, among other issues, as discussed below.
Table 1 summarizes supplemental appropriations for the USGS for FY2018-FY2026. It shows a total of $677.7 million in supplemental appropriations over the nine-year period. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58) provided $510.7 million over the FY2022- FY2026 period for activities related to USGS’s energy, mineral, and mapping activities. Three other laws provided a total of $167.0 million for USGS natural hazard response, recovery, and related projects. Figure 1 shows supplemental funding for the USGS for FY2018-FY2026. For comparative purposes, it also shows annual appropriations enacted for each of FY2018-FY2022.
Natural Hazard Funding
The USGS, with support from nonfederal partners, collects scientific information for long-term data sets, such as streamflow and flood records, and monitors, assesses, and conducts research on natural hazards. To date, supplemental appropriations laws included $167.0 million for FY2018 through FY2022 for the USGS to repair, replace, or upgrade monitoring equipment and facilities impacted by recent natural disasters and to improve natural hazard science capabilities. The USGS has released plans allocating this funding (see https://www.usgs.gov/ supplemental-appropriations-for-disaster-recovery- activities). The following sections highlight some of the funding and activities.Hurricanes and Floods
The USGS continues to use supplemental appropriations to conduct work in states and territories impacted by hurricanes and severe storms: AR, FL, GA, HI, LA, NC, NJ, NY, PA, PR, SC, TN, TX, and USVI. This includes spending of around $10 million to replace or harden (i.e., improve structures to withstand hazards) hundreds of streamgages and to update post-storm conditions in streams and rivers. The USGS is spending $15.5 million to update lidar surveys and conduct coastal assessments and risk forecasts in affected areas. Further, the agency is spending $8.1 million to upgrade and harden the Puerto Rico Seismic Network and the Puerto Rico Strong Motion Program, which were impacted by Hurricane Maria.Volcano and Earthquakes
The USGS is spending $73.4 million of FY2019 supplemental appropriations for activities related to the intense eruptions at Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii in 2018, which damaged at least 724 structures. Of the total, $10.8 million is for rebuilding and hardening the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory monitoring network, $3.0 million is for investigations, and $59.6 million is for construction of a new facility in Hilo to replace facilities at the summit of Kilauea Volcano that were damaged beyond repair in 2018. The USGS also is spending $4.3 million in FY2019 supplemental appropriations for hardening and improving Alaska Volcano Observatory facilities and monitoring network infrastructure after the 2018 magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck north of Anchorage. Upgrades to facilities and network infrastructure are to ensure volcano monitoring capabilities and hazard communications in emergencies. With FY2022 supplemental appropriations, the USGS is funding the replacement and hardening of portable seismic equipment in California, Puerto Rico, and Utah.Wildfires and Landslides
The USGS is spending about $20 million provided in FY2018, FY2019, and FY2022 supplemental appropriations to assess post-wildfire landslide hazards and to conduct lidar studies in California and Washington, and for assessment and updates to models of fire behavior and their impacts on DOI land. The USGS also is spending about $5 million to repair, replace, or harden the seismic network in California for earthquake monitoring after parts of the network were damaged in wildfires. In response to landslides associated with Hurricane Maria, the USGS spent $5.8 million for post-landslide assessments and lidar studies to identify landslide hazards, which contributed to a landslide susceptibility map for Puerto Rico.Energy, Mineral, and Mapping Funding
The IIJA funded $510.7 million for activities authorized in Division D of the act that aim to bolster supply chains for clean energy technologies. For example, the IIJA provided $320.0 million for the USGS Earth Mapping Resources Initiative, which aims to complete a national surface and subsurface mapping and data integration effort that prioritizes mapping (e.g., topographic, geologic, geochemical, and geophysical mapping). This initiative was first funded in FY2019 and received $10.6 million in FY2022 annual appropriations. The IIJA also included $23.7 million to augment existing efforts to characterize, digitally document, and preserve physical geologic samples that may relate to mineral exploration. The USGS released a spend plan for these activities on February 16, 2022 (see https://www.usgs.gov/media/files/usgs-bipartisan- infrastructure-law-spend-plan). (Note from WW: this URL did not work and I was advised to "try again later".)The IIJA also provided $167.0 million for a USGS Energy and Minerals Research Facility in Golden, CO, to replace an outdated facility. In May, the USGS signed a memorandum for a cooperative agreement with the Colorado School of Mines for the design of the facility.
Issues for Congress
As previously noted, the USGS released information detailing its spending plans for supplemental appropriations. Specific issues for Congress may include how quickly these funds are being spent, what activities have been funded, and what sorts of output and/or performance measures are being tracked by the USGS and other observers. Congress also may consider broader questions, such as how effective the funding is in accomplishing specific purposes set out by Congress; such purposes include reducing hazard impacts and identifying mineral resources to improve supply chains. Another question may be if and how Congress wishes to adjust funding in future years.A more specific issue related to these funds involves natural hazard monitoring infrastructure. USGS facilities and monitoring equipment that are necessary for hazard assessments and warnings are prone to impacts from natural hazards. Congress has provided supplemental appropriations to repair and harden some of this monitoring infrastructure. Potential topics for consideration include whether to alter levels of investments to harden USGS monitoring infrastructure and/or funding for natural hazards monitoring and science.
Enjoy!
"Men running the world is really not going that well." - Liz Cheney
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