WaterWired

CRS Report: Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Environmental Infrastructure (EI) Assistance: Authorities, Appropriations, and Issues for Congress

From Anna E. Normand comes this CRS report (22 June 2022): 'Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Environmental Infrastructure (EI) Assistance: Authorities, Appropriations, and Issues for Congress'.

Click on the graphic to enlarge it.

Download CRS_Report_USACE_EI_Assistance_Auth.App_Congress_22June2022

Summary
Congress has authorized and appropriated funding for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) environmental infrastructure (EI) assistance. EI assistance is authorized and appropriated for the design and construction of certain infrastructure in specified municipalities, counties, and states. This assistance supports publicly owned and operated facilities, such as water distribution works, stormwater collection, surface water protection projects, and environmental restoration projects, among others. EI assistance generally falls into one of three authorization categories:

•   Section 219 EI. Projects and activities (e.g., design assistance) at specific geographic locations (e.g., city, county, multiple counties) authorized through Section 219 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1992 (WRDA 1992; P.L. 102-580), as amended.

•   Non-Section 219 EI Projects. Projects authorized in provisions other than Section 219 of WRDA 1992.

  EI Programs. EI programs authorized for broader geographic areas (e.g., states or regions of states), with eligible types of assistance authorized in various provisions.

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) reviewed enacted legislation likely to include EI assistance authorities and deauthorization lists to identify over 280 EI assistance authorities with cumulative authorizations of appropriations totaling around $6.18 billion. The authorizations of appropriations for these activities vary widely, from $100,000 for a water monitoring station to $585 million for a seven-state EI program. CRS identified authorized EI assistance in at least 42 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. CRS did not identify authorities for EI assistance in Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Rhode Island, Washington, and other territories.

Unlike traditional USACE water resource projects, EI assistance is not subject to the USACE planning process (e.g., it requires no feasibility study); however, EI assistance is subject to federal laws, such as the National Environmental Policy Act. USACE evaluates an activity’s eligibility for assistance by identifying whether an EI assistance authorization exists for the project’s geographic area and whether the proposed work is an eligible type of assistance provided for in the authorization. The authorization’s specifics determine the nature of USACE’s involvement and nonfederal cost share. USACE is authorized to perform design and/or construction work with USACE funds and, for certain programmatic authorities, may use appropriated funds to reimburse nonfederal sponsors for work they perform. Most USACE EI assistance requires cost sharing at 75% federal and 25% nonfederal, and the nonfederal sponsor—the owner of constructed facilities—is responsible for operations and maintenance.

Congress typically funds EI assistance through USACE’s Construction account in annual Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies appropriations acts. Congress provided $99.5 million for USACE to allocate among EI assistance authorities for FY2022. The explanatory statement accompanying Division D of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (P.L. 117-103), included recommendations to (1) fund 22 EI assistance authorities specifically requested by Members as Community Project Funding or Congressionally Directed Spending proposals and (2) provide $13 million for USACE to allocate to EI assistance authorities in the agency’s work plan. In FY2022, Congress also provided $200.0 million for EI assistance authorities in Division J, Title III, of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58).

Congress may consider whether to amend or add EI assistance authorities and, if so, how to address those provisions. During the earmark moratorium in the 112th-116th Congresses, Congress did not enact new EI assistance authorization authorities; rather, it amended existing authorities, which were first proposed by nonfederal sponsors. In the 117th Congress, both proposed WRDA 2022 bills, S. 4136 (as reported) and H.R. 7776 (as passed by the House), would amend EI assistance authorities and would enact new EI assistance authorities. The provisions in the two bills differ widely in the authorization of appropriations, eligible geographic areas, and type or types of projects eligible for assistance. Although H.R. 7776 would authorize more EI assistance than S. 4136 ($5.52 billion and $1.46 billion, respectively), both bills would authorize appropriations amounts greater than amounts Congress authorized in the USACE authorization bills enacted in 2016, 2018, and 2020. Congress also may consider its support for USACE’s EI assistance activities generally, in view of other federal programs that provide assistance for similar projects and activities. In addition, Congress may consider how to allocate funding among EI assistance authorities, whether based on Member requests, certain criteria, or other considerations.

Enjoy!

"Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy." - Franz Kafka

Submit an Article for September-October 2022 Water Resources IMPACT Theme Issue: 'Pacific Northwest Water'

Write an article for Water Resources IMPACT!

We are soliciting 8-10 articles (~800 - 1300 words) on the general topic of 'Pacific Northwest Water'. We are choosing this topic to 'promote' our 2022 annual conference in the Seattle area, 7-9 November.

So what is the 'Pacific Northwest'? Certainly Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and British Columbia. But how about Northern California? SE Alaska? Here is what Wikipedia says, Contact me for clarification (Email: aguadoc@live.com; 541-602-4085)

Here is a description of Water Resources IMPACT from the website:

Consistently chosen by members as one of AWRA's top benefits, Water Resources IMPACT magazine is a practical, solution-oriented digital magazine containing diverse and timely articles written for water resources management professionals at all levels of their career. Designed to coincide with specialty conferences and other AWRA activities, IMPACT is a bi-monthly collection of themed articles gathered by Guest Editors and based on the editorial calendar chosen by its Advisory Board.

You do not need to be an AWRA member or attending the Seattle conference
to submit an article. There are no page charges. 

Author instructions:

Download IMPACT Author Instructions_May_2022

I emphasize that these are not journal articles and should not be written like one. We are more interested in reading a story. See the articles in our March-April 2022 issue below. 

Here is a 'flipping book' version of the March-April version: The Lakes Sampler,

And a PDF: Download 168619 AWRA MarApr Impact v2 

And: Download IMPACT Author Instructions

The instructions may seem onerous but they aren't really - I am looking for articles (not journal articles). I want something on the order of 800-1300 words, with some figures/graphics and conversational/storytelling style. 

Topics

So what kinds of topics would be appropriate? Anything related to water in the PNW. 

Some examples:

1) Transboundary/transnational boundary issues; compacts & treaties

2) Education and training; workforce needs

3) Agriculture

4) Water quality and 'forever' chemicals'; waste disposal; Hanford site

5) IWRM

6) Endangered/threatened aquatic species

7) Dam removal

8) Ensuring sustainabiity

9) Diversity, equity and inclusion; underserved populations/communities

10) Personhood for water resources and the environment/ecosystems

11) Water resources planning, management, ethics, policy, and governance 

12) Are projects appropriate, necessary and desirable? Who decides?

13) Monitoring and evaluation; measuring success.

14) Climate change and adaptation, CO2 sequestration

15) Hydrology, hydrogeology and hydraulics

16) Aquifer storage and recovery, managed aquifer recharge (MAR)

17) Water supply and reuse mega-projects

18) Conflict, cooperation, collaboration 

19) Just about everything else!

The fuse is short - I need your finished article by 15 August. Send me a synopsis of 100 words or so ASAP but by 11 July 2022. Email: aguadoc@live.com. 
We want to avoid any duplication, 

Thanks!

“You could not remove a single grain of sand from its place without thereby … changing something throughout all parts of the immeasurable whole.” — Fichte, The Vocation of Man (1800)

CRS InFocus Report: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) FY2022 Budget Request and Appropriations

Eva Lipiec provides this updated (17 June 2022) CRS report: 'National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) FY2022 Budget Request and Appropriations'.

Download CRS_InFocus_NOAA_FY2022_Budget_Req_App_17June2022

I have pasted the entire report below. Click on the graphics to enlarge them.

Summary
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) mission is to understand and predict changes in weather, climate, oceans, and coasts; to share that information with others; and to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources. NOAA’s work is divided among six line offices: National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Ocean Service (NOS), National Weather Service (NWS), Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), and Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO). NOAA also has an overall Mission Support (MS) office, which provides planning, administrative, financial, information technology, and other services to the line offices. 

Congress provides NOAA, an agency of the Department of Commerce (DOC), with annual mandatory and discretionary appropriations. Mandatory appropriations generally form a small percentage of total NOAA funding and are disbursed to a variety of funds that support programs in NOS, NMFS, and OMAO. Discretionary appropriations typically are included in the annual Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS), and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. Discretionary appropriations support two broad accounts—operations, research, and facilities (ORF) and procurement, acquisition, and construction (PAC)—and a few smaller accounts. This CRS product focuses on NOAA’s FY2022 discretionary funding for ORF and PAC, and briefly describes supplemental appropriations. The product also notes potential issues for Congress, including NOAA’s climate-related activities, marine and aviation fleet support, and satellite operations. 

Agency Funding
NOAA requested a total of $7.19 billion in discretionary direct obligations for ORF and PAC for FY2022, including $6.92 billion in appropriations (Table 1). Direct obligations include annual appropriations, transfers, and recoveries from prior year obligations. In Division B of P.L. 117-103, Congress provided $6.11 billion for ORF and PAC in FY2022, including $5.83 billion in appropriations. The enacted amounts include $84.35 million for community project funding/congressionally directed spending (the first time Congress has included such Member requested funding since FY2012). The NOAA FY2022 enacted amount is $460 million above the FY2021 enacted level, $333 million over the FY2022 base level (the FY2021 enacted amount plus certain adjustments, such as inflation), and $1.08 billion below the FY2022 request. Over the past 10 years, enacted annual NOAA ORF and PAC direct obligation amounts peaked in FY2016 in adjusted dollars and in FY2022 in nominal dollars (Figure 1). 

Issues for Congress
According to NOAA’s FY2022 budget summary, the requested budget would have expanded investments in climate-related activities (research, observations, and forecasting; restoration and resilience; offshore wind; and equity), marine and aviation fleet support, and satellite operations (including observational satellites and space weather activities).

Climate-Related Activities
NOAA requested increases in FY2022 to existing activities and proposed new activities to implement Executive Order 14008, “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.” According to the agency, the requested climate-related increases and new expenditures totaled $855.1 million over the FY2022 base level. For example, two of NOAA’s largest funding increase requests included $40 million to develop a competitive process in NMFS to support large-scale nonfederal habitat restoration projects and $35 million to support additional coastal resilience activities in OAR. In the explanatory statement for P.L. 117-103, Congress did not provide the requested funds for the proposed NMFS and OAR activities but provided FY2021 enacted levels for certain activities and increased funding for other activities across the agency.

Marine and Aviation Fleet Support
NOAA, through OMAO and its Commissioned Officer Corp (NOAA Corps), maintains a variety of specialized ships and aircraft that gather oceanographic, atmospheric, hydrographic, and fisheries data to support the agency’s missions. For FY2022, the agency requested a total of $305 million for the PAC account to support platform improvements/tech infusion (including mid-life repair to the NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown) and aircraft and vessel recapitalization (NOAA received $120 million in FY2021 for such activities). In the explanatory statement for P.L. 117-103, Congress provided NOAA with the funding it requested for ship repair ($63 million) but a lower amount than requested for the other vessel and aircraft activities (an additional $101.5 million).

OMAO also provides coordination, support, and guidance for uncrewed marine and aircraft systems (UxS) across NOAA through the Autonomous Uncrewed Technology Operations (AUTO) program. NOAA currently uses UxS for seafloor and habitat mapping, ocean exploration, marine mammal and fishery assessments, emergency response, and at-sea observations. In FY2022, the agency requested $15.6 million for AUTO in OMAO’s ORF account (it received $13.7 million in FY2021). In the explanatory statement for P.L. 117-103, Congress provided $14 million toward AUTO, with certain amounts to be used for external partnerships and data acquisition.

Satellite Operations
NOAA, through NESDIS, manages several portfolios of environmental satellites. NOAA requested changes in funding for some activities under these portfolios. For example, NOAA’s largest proposed increase was $455 million (for a total of $465 million) for the Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) program, which contributes data to weather forecasts and detects and monitors environmental hazards (e.g., wildfires, smoke, fog). NOAA’s largest proposed decrease was $252.8 million for planned reductions in Polar Weather Satellite (PWS) activities. Congress approved the funding level decrease for PWS (explanatory statement for P.L. 117-103) and provided $150 million in total for GeoXO in FY2022 (communication with NOAA).

NOAA proposed and Congress approved some satellite budget structure changes in FY2020 and FY2021. For FY2022, NOAA requested to create two new subactivities (low-earth orbiting and space weather) to focus on portfolios of satellites and “maintain a flat overall budget.” In the explanatory statement for P.L. 117-103, Congress largely adopted NOAA’s FY2022 budget reorganization requests, with the exception of the proposed combining of funding for current programs with funding for next-generation satellite programs.

Enjoy!

“Whereas the short-term impact of AI depends on who controls it, the long-term impact depends on whether it can be controlled at all.” - Stephen Hawking

CRS InFocus Report: Wildfire Statistics

From CRS researchers Katie Hoover and Laura A. Hanson - updated 1 June 2022: Wildfire Statistics

Download CRS_InFocus_Report_Wildfire_Statistics_1June2022

Click on the graphics to enlarge then. The entire document is pasted below.

Wildfires are unplanned fires, including lightning-caused fires, unauthorized human-caused fires, and escaped prescribed fire projects. States are responsible for responding to wildfires that begin on nonfederal (state, local, and private) lands, except for lands protected by federal agencies under cooperative agreements. The federal government is responsible for responding to wildfires that begin on federal lands. The Forest Service (FS)—within the U.S. Department of Agriculture—carries out wildfire management and response across the 193 million acres of the National Forest System (NFS). The Department of the Interior (DOI) manages wildfire response for more than 400 million acres of national parks, wildlife refuges and preserves, other public lands, and Indian reservations. 

Wildfire statistics help to illustrate past U.S. wildfire activity. Nationwide data compiled by the National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC) indicate that the number of annual wildfires is variable but has decreased slightly over the last 30 years and the number of acres affected annually, while also variable, generally has increased (see Figure 1). Since 2000, an annual average of 70,072 wildfires has burned an annual average of 7.0 million acres. The acreage figure is more than double the average annual acreage burned in the 1990s (3.3 million acres), although a greater number of fires occurred annually in the 1990s (78,600 average). 

From 2012 to 2021, there were an average of 61,289 wildfires annually and an average of 7.4 million acres impacted annually. In 2021, 58,968 wildfires burned 7.1 million acres. 

As of June 1, 2022, over 27,800 wildfires have impacted about 1.9 million acres this year. As of March 28, 2022, the nationwide Preparedness Level is 2 (see the “Resources” section for more information). 

The number of fires and acreage burned are indicators of the annual level of wildfire activity. However, these numbers may be misleading with respect to their impact on human development or communities since many fires may occur in large, relatively undeveloped areas. Acreage burned also does not indicate the severity of the wildfire, the degree of impact upon forests or soils, or other ecological effects. 

Most wildfires are human-caused (89% on average from 2017 to 2021), although the wildfires caused by lightning tend to be slightly larger and burn more acreage (52% of the average acreage burned from 2017 to 2021 was ignited by lightning). 

In 2021, 73% of the nationwide acreage burned by wildfires was on federal lands (5.2 million acres; Table 1). The other 27% of the acreage burned was on state, local, or privately owned lands. Fires on these lands (44,960) accounted for 76% of total fires. Of the federal acreage burned nationwide in 2021, 79% (4.1 million acres) burned on FS land and 19% (1.0 million acres) burned on DOI land (Figure 3) 

More wildfires occur in the East (including the central states), but the wildfires in the West are larger and burn more acreage (including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming). In 2021, just over 23,000 wildfires burned approximately 6.2 million acres in the West, compared with the over 35,000 fires that burned just under 1.0 million acres in the East. In the East (where there is less federal acreage), most of the fires occur on nonfederal lands, whereas in the West most of the fires occur on federal lands (see Figure 4). In 2021, 73% (0.7 million acres) of the acreage burned in the East was on nonfederal land, whereas 80% (4.9 million acres) of the acreage burned in the West was on federal land. 

Resources
Another metric useful for assessing wildfire activity is the extent that resources—personnel, equipment—are engaged in wildfire suppression. A proxy for resource commitments is the nationwide Preparedness Level (PL) scale, which ranges from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest). The higher PLs indicate significant commitment of shared resources. In 2021, the PL was at the highest level for 68 days, the longest since at least 2000. 

Wildfire Damages
Although wildfires may have a beneficial impact on ecological resources, wildfires also may have devastating impacts, especially for communities affected by wildfire activity. Therefore, statistics showing the level of destruction a wildfire causes can provide useful metrics, such as acres burned or impacted, lives lost (firefighters and civilians), and structures (residential, commercial, and other) destroyed. In 2021, nearly 6,000 structures were burned in wildfires, the majority of which occurred in California (see Table 2). 

Conflagrations
Of the 1.5 million wildfires that have occurred since 2000, 237 exceeded 100,000 acres burned and 15 exceeded 500,000 acres burned. Only a small fraction of wildfires become catastrophic, and a small percentage of fires accounts for the vast majority of acres burned. For example, only about 1% of wildfires become conflagrations—raging, destructive fires—but predicting which fires will “blow up” into conflagrations is challenging and depends on a multitude of factors, such as weather and geography. In 2021, 2% of wildfires were classified as large or significant (943); 38 exceeded 40,000 acres in size; and 13 exceeded 100,000 acres. In context, there were slightly more large or significant wildfires in 2020 (999), but even more in 2017 (1,409). There have been 1,065 large or significant fires annually on average from 2017 through 2021.

Issues for Congress
Issues for Congress include the strategies and resources used for wildfire prevention, mitigation, and management, and the impact of wildfires on both the quality of life and the economies of communities surrounding wildfire activity. Other issues relate to post-wildfire recovery and site restoration. Congress also considers the total federal cost of wildfire management, including the cost of suppression operations; these costs vary annually and are difficult to predict.

For more information, see

 CRS In Focus IF10732, Federal Assistance for Wildfire Response and Recovery, and

 CRS Report R40884, Wildfires: CRS Experts.

Enjoy! 

"If any country was a mine-shaft canary for the reintroduction of cholera, it was Haiti - and we knew it. And in retrospect, more should have been done to prepare for cholera... which can spread like wildfire in Haiti... This was a big rebuke to all of us working in public health and health care in Haiti." ~ Paul Farmer 

CRS Insight Report: '2022 Hurricane Outlooks and 2021 Hurricane Season Review'

On the first day of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season Eva Lipiec penned this new CRS Insight report (31 May 2022): '2022 Hurricane Outlooks and 2021 Hurricane Season Review'.

Download CRS_Insight_2022_Hurricane_Outlooks_2021_Review

Recall that Insight reports often have embedded links that lead to reports and other information. Click on the online version (in the first paragraph) to access them.  

Background
Many in Congress have expressed interest in increasing scientific understanding of tropical cyclones and improving forecasts to help their constituents prepare for the yearly hurricane season and potentially decrease a storm’s impact on an individual or community. The Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is responsible for issuing tropical cyclone forecasts, including track, intensity, storm surge, and rainfall.

NOAA defines a tropical cyclone as a “rotating, organized system of clouds and thunderstorms that originates over tropical or subtropical waters and has a closed low-level circulation.” According to NOAA, tropical cyclones include

•   Tropical depressions—maximum sustained winds of ≤ 38 miles per hour (mph).

•   Tropical storms—maximum sustained winds of 39-73 mph. NOAA typically names a storm once it reaches this strength.

•   Hurricanes—maximum sustained winds of ≥ 74 mph, corresponding to at least a category 1 or 2 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Hurricanes may also be called typhoons or cyclones.

•   Major hurricanes—maximum sustained winds of ≥111 mph, corresponding to a category 3, 4, or 5.

  NOAA releases seasonal hurricane outlooks relevant to the United States, including the north Atlantic, eastern Pacific, and central Pacific Oceans, before each hurricane season begins. Such outlooks include information on potential named storms, hurricanes, and major hurricanes. The Atlantic and central Pacific seasons run from June 1 through November 30; the eastern Pacific season begins May 15. Tropical cyclones, however, may form outside of these time frames. In August, NOAA typically updates the Atlantic outlook but not the Pacific outlooks. Multiple nonfederal entities also publish outlooks. These forecasts rely, in part, on NOAA’s collected and shared information.

2022 Hurricane Season Outlooks
In May 2022, NOAA issued its initial 2022 Atlantic hurricane outlook (Table 1), indicating a 65% likelihood of an above-normal season rather than a near- (25%) or below-normal season (10%). The predicted number of named storms, hurricanes, and major hurricanes was similar to the number predicted in August 2021 for the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season. NOAA indicated that the higher level of activity is attributed to climate factors, such as the ongoing periodic cooling of sea surface temperatures in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific (La Niña phenomenon), warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, weaker tropical Atlantic trade winds, and an enhanced West African monsoon system.

2021 Hurricane Season
In May 2021, NOAA issued its initial 2021 Atlantic hurricane outlook (Table 3), indicating a 60% likelihood of an above-normal season rather than a near- (30%) or below-normal season (10%). In its August 2021 update, NOAA increased the likelihood of an above-normal season to 65%, adjusted the ranges of expected named storms and hurricanes, and retained its original number of major hurricanes (Table 1).

Enjoy!

"We are pleased to announce that have adopted a 'Disconnecting from Work Policy' (read here) to encourage employees to disconnect from work outside their work hours. We’re sending it to you after business hours to be sure you have time to read it!" - @ass_deans