OCR Text |
Show jj Western Resources Water policy I By Helene C. Monberg iashington-The impasse over Impolicy continues. I " : nai water policy has been at a istill for the past four years follow-; follow-; i(,e Carter Administration's is-' is-' fCofa "hit list" on water projects '- spring of 1977 that outraged the and Congress. I major new water projects have 'conSiruction starts since then. The iiti Administration is asking for ofthe 1982 budget. ',terior Secretary James G. Watt has "jged to spread disquiet among Tr federal agencies, the eastern half "e country and in Congress by grab- the mechanism to control water I ''v in the Cabinet. Watt's control is ' soiid at this point, even tho his -essive, pro-Western confrontation I i of operation is turning off the .1 just as the man from Plains, Ga., ed off the West on his water jjes. Environmental groups are t petitioning for Watt's ouster. jurisdictional battle is shaping up Congress over water policy as a ,jl of Watt's actions. This, in turn, ibad repercussions among the water ftlopers. The Water Resources Con-js, Con-js, with a national membership, ffl the establishment of a new water 3cy by Congress to set water polciy , 1 a chairman independent of any ,;orunent to head it. gislation to establish such a group i succeed the' ineffective Water purees Council has been approved i both the Senate and House Public i :ts Committees, and the Sentate BUI ; ;;g) is expected to go on the Senate tit for a vote before the end of the ::ith. The National Water Resources sedation, with its Western orienta-r..-, does not favor such legislation, acting ac-ting to its spokesman, J. W. Meara. Beating a Dead Horse !'t: Two water experts thoroughly Wi: miliar with the water picture at all Ml' iclsof government told the National 8 ar Supply Improvement Associa-.'1 Associa-.'1 Hon June 2 "the days of massive new 15 ritruction" of multi purpose water ijects "are over in the United 1 K ales." They see a winding down of rSl deral water development-for good. In (he future, the big federal water Mies' business will be mainly that 1 atenance--they said. That s the U : of Daniel A. Dreyfus, minority ill director of the Senate Energy e j amittee who retires on June 12 to go private industry, and Russell R. rr. :;n of the Senate Energy Committee ' jnjv iff. The current hassle over water I 'J )'icy looks like "beating a dead horse" . 'him. Brown told Western Resources JjlV'ipUp. (WRW). id 1 The Dreyfus-Brown presentation was tlau usually candid for a couple of Senate nj; "fcsional staffers. They said, "For r-spr : past 10 years the level of funding for jnde Cities of the Bureau of Reclamation un ilhe U.S. Army Corps of Engineers s remained almost the same in terms 'instant dollars but has become ac- a smaller share of the overall wl budget. gjss- lle attitude toward funding of wj ral water resource development in rtlf Ws began as indifference and jppcr : ;1 as overt hostility. New project on lit became increasingly rare, and ;iI!V Nation and maintenance costs ed a larger proportion of expenses. expen-ses. However, projects under con-Jplion con-Jplion were funded at relatively high , perhaps as part of a wind up 1 down scheme for ending on going I developments. y'is ironic that just at a time when the f of activity on new projects in vol v-I v-I i'Jdro-power, irrigation and naviga-' naviga-' was decreasing as a result of pro-Tt pro-Tt maturity, environmental op- I of such development gained J ' Positions affording them control m 'the programs. 'th the recent elections, the pen-of pen-of official opinion may have i hack to favor resource develop-l develop-l but regardless of policy the ace base remains the same.. .It is 1 that energy needs will result in Surgence of water resources ac-I ac-I The days of massive new con-;ltln con-;ltln are over in the United s. Dreyfus and Brown stated. I'fus and Brown don't buy current 8 that energy developments in ., Kl will cause a terrific strain on ;'ater supplies. "NO major water have yet been justified for ' development. In fact, the quan-.,. quan-.,. 01 water needed for energy pro-;' pro-;' while seemingly large in isola-. isola-. re almost trivial when compared J ir T1 agricultural consumption in ) .. West," they stated. Same too, Iff ' relative to the sudden in- II m development of hydropower I SHUdien increase of applications 'I Dsiles filed with the Federal , Regulatory Commission (700 ' stnrInU 3nd 1600 exPected bv tnis in k 'S ma'n'y a "paper boom" ; ... " w punctured when backers ,s'aKi with the real world pro-j. pro-j. instruction, operation and 8"ient," they stated. S need good water managers, more up to date water codes, they told he water supply officials. "The answer to water for energy lies in more responsive respon-sive state water codes, not in new dams, they maintained. Watt and Congress Shortly after Watt became Secretary of Interior he was named to head the Cabinet Council on Natural Resources and the Environment. There are several councils within the Cabinet focusing on various aspects of federal policies and programs, all headed by the President. But Watt has been given the lead role in operating the Natural Resources Council and in hammering out a national water policy. He set up a working group to assist him in his work on the Council. It is headed by Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment John B. Crowell, Jr., Assistant Secretary of Interior In-terior for Land and Water Resources Barrey Carruthers, and Dr. John W. Hernandez, Deputy Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, as members. This working group came up with the proposed Office of Water Policy, which Watt wants to set up on his own in the Interior Department without additional legislation. Among the water issues that the proposed Office of Water Policy would consider, according to a draft dated April 24, are the following: cost sharing, including financing state federal joint ownership, repayment, and user charges, federal reserved and non reserved water rights; federal role in research and planning; structural versus non structural water projects non federal developments of federal water projects, alternative water quality quali-ty and quantity management policies, state federal priority establishment, and conservation policy. The Office of Water Policy would cost $2.5 million a year to run, with experts detailed from the top water agencies to help develop options and recommendations recommenda-tions to be presented to the Cabinet Council on Natural Resources. There are to be 22 on the staff of the Office of Water Policy, if funding is provided. The April 24 draft is based on the objective ob-jective that "this (Reagan) Administration Ad-ministration is committed to the protection protec-tion of states' water rights." The draft and all discussions on the proposed office of-fice of Water Policy within the working group have been silent on the problem . of Indian water rights -even tho the Secretary of Interior is trustee by law for Indian interests. Asked about this by WRW on June 2, former Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest Gerard said, "It's irresponsible ir-responsible not to include Indian water rights as an issue for discussion. It's impossible to talk about water rights in the West without . considering Indian water rights," said Gerard, now a consultant con-sultant here on Indian programs. The draft was put together in Carruthers' Car-ruthers' office while he was ad hoc chairman of the group before Gianelli came aboard. Publication of the draft has given the working group "cold feet" as one Interior source put it, so that it has limited its discussions recently to two major problems: cost sharing and a re-evaluation of the latest set of principles and standards put out by the Water Council last year as criteria to evaluate new water projects. The Great Lakes Commission was upset about the draft. James Fish, ex ecutive director of this eight state commission com-mission in the Upper Midwest which operates without federal funding, told the Water Resources Subcommittee of the House Public Works Committee on May 4: "In all candor, the eight Great Lakes States do not believe that the solution lies in placing our water policy into the hands of the Department of Interior, In-terior, which has not been public about its plans" and which does not as broad a water program as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or the Environmental Protection Pro-tection Agency. It wants Congressional action on legislation with the ineffective Water Resources Council (WRC) replaced by an independent council and an independent chairman. The chairman chair-man of the current Council has always been the Secretary of Interior, to the discomfort of the Army Corps and the Agriculture Department. The House Appropriations Committee Commit-tee caused Watt to back pedal on his plan to set up the new office of Water Policy within Interior by reprogramm-ing reprogramm-ing money for the Office of Water Research and Technology, within Interior In-terior and the WRC. Watt wanted to phase out both without Congressional say so. It warned him about reprogram-ming reprogram-ming funds for fiscal 1981 for the new Office of Water Policy while abolishing both WRC and OWRT would be at the peril of Interior's 1982 appropriations. So only the working group is now operating, Interior sources have told WRW. A justification for the new Office prepared for the House Appropriations Committee was pulled back on June 3, ostensibly for redrafting. But current authorizing legislation now moving on Capitol Hill was also a factor. Chairman James Abdnor, R-S Dak., of the Water Resources Subcommittee Subcom-mittee of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee testified in favor of Gianelli as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil works at Gianelli 's confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on June 3. He strongly endorsed Gianelli for the post and said he hoped to have comprehensive com-prehensive water policy legislation thru Congress by the end of the year. Gianelli is a former director of the California Department of Water Resources. Gianelli's confirmation was approved by the Senate Armed Services Ser-vices Committee on June 3 and Senate action is expected on June 4 so that he can appear as a witness before the Abdnor Abd-nor Subcommittee on June 8. . A bill by Abdnor (S1095) is awaiting Senate action on the calendar, Having been reported by the Senate Environment Environ-ment Committee on May 15. Among other things, it establishes a five member Board on Water Policy to replace the WRC, with the chairman to be appointed by the President and confirmed con-firmed by the Senate. It would have support from an Office of Water Programs Pro-grams within the Interior Department. Its passage by the Senate is expected by the end of the month. The Abdnor Subcommittee will consider con-sider cost sharing on water projects at hearings on June 8 and June 18, harbor development on June 12, and inland waterway development and user charges on barges on June 16. The House Public Works Committee reported a bill (HR 3432) similar to S 1095 on May 19, and the Water and Power Resources Subcommittee of the House Interior Committee will hold a hearing on it on June 4. |