February 12, 2015
National Water Resources Association
Daily Report
House and Senate Appropriations Committees Emphasize Need
for Water Project Funding
Yesterday, the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee
held a hearing on the budget requests of the Army Corps of Engineers
and the Bureau of Reclamation. National Water Resources Association
(NWRA) Executive Vice President, Bob Johnson attended the
hearing. Reflecting on the hearing Mr. Johnson noted that: "This was a
collegial hearing with members from both parties showing support for
the missions of Reclamation and the Army Corps. Republican and
Democrat members of the committee expressed concern at the reduced
level of funding for both agencies and noted a desire for the
administration to make addressing water needs and infrastructure a
higher priority." The President's budget request included $4.7 billion
dollars for the Army Corps and approximately $1.1 billion for
Reclamation, both down from the FY 2015 enacted amounts.
In a separate hearing the House Energy, Water and Related Agencies
Appropriations Subcommittee met to review the Army Corps of
Engineers budget request. The hearing primarily focused on Army
Corps funding. Similar to the Senate hearing, members expressed
disappointment in the amount of funding requested for the Army Corps.
In addition, issues surrounding the EPA and Army Corps proposed rule
on the "waters of the United States" was discussed. During both the
House and Senate hearings, Army Corps of Engineers Assistant
Secretary for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy, stated that the Agencies are
working to have the rule done by this summer. Prior to yesterday's
hearings administration, officials had stated consistently that the rule
would be finalized this spring. It is not clear at this point if the final rule
will be out this spring or pushed back into the summer. NWRA is closely
tracking this issue and will keep water users informed. NWRA will
discuss this issue at its Federal Water Issues Conference in April and
has invited EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to speak with NWRA's
members.
Appropriations activity will continue today when the House Energy,
Water and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee meets to
review the Bureau of Reclamation's budget request. Additional
information about his hearing can be found HERE.
Upcoming NWRA
Meetings:
Federal Water Issues
Conference - April 13-15,
2015, Washington Court
Hotel, Washington, DC
Western Water Seminar
- August 4-6, 2015, Hyatt
Regency Monterey,
Monterey, California
84th Annual Conference
- November 4-6, 2015,
Westin Denver Hotel,
Denver, Colorado
Upcoming Member
Meetings:
2015
February 19-20, Family
Farm Alliance Annual
Meeting & Conference,
Las Vegas, NV
February 25-26,
Association of California
Water Agencies
Washington Conference,
Washington, DC
March 4-6, Texas Water
Conservation
Association Annual
Convention, Austin, TX
Stay Connected
In This Issue
WATER POLICY:...House Ag subpanel to hold hearing on controversial proposal
AGRICULTURE:...Vilsack won't take bait as committee Republicans slam
waterways proposal
Join Our Mailing List
ARMY CORPS:...Lawmakers at bicameral hearings lament that budget request
moves 'backward'
ENERGY EFFICIENCY:...Long-sought détente on water heaters now going
through 'ordeal' of legislative
NATURAL RESOURCES:...Two westerners set to fill out panel's Democratic roster
Save the Date FWIC
5 things to know: Including do you know where your water comes from?
Water Use Cutbacks, Fines Expected During Summer Due to Intense Drought
WATER POLICY:
Timeline for finalizing rule slips to summer, Obama
official tells lawmakers
Annie Snider, E&E reporter
Published: Wednesday, February 11, 2015
The Obama administration's timeline for finalizing a controversial water rule has
slipped from spring to summer, the Army Corps of Engineers' top official
suggested today.
Last week, U.S. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and Assistant Secretary of the
Army for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy told House and Senate lawmakers that the
water rule was on schedule for finalization this spring, although they hinted that it
may come after the April deadline that is written in the administration's regulatory
agenda.
But while testifying to the House Energy and Water Development Appropriations
Subcommittee this morning, Darcy said the administration is working to have the
rule done.
"We are hoping soon to propose a final rule as soon as we can," she said. "We're
looking to try to have it done by the summer."
In a brief interview with Greenwire after the hearing, Darcy denied that this
represented a change in the administration's timeline.
The later the schedule for finalizing the rule slips, the more opportunities
congressional opponents of the rule will have to attempt to block it through mustpass legislation like spending bills and a surface transportation package. Getting a
provision in one of those bills would make it more difficult for the president to veto
than stand-alone legislation.
Supporters of the rule have also wanted it completed before presidential politics
begin to heat up this summer.
Darcy said this morning that EPA and the Army Corps are still sorting through the
roughly 1 million comments the agencies received on the water rule, which would
increase the number of streams and wetlands that receive automatic protection
under the Clean Water Act.
Darcy said that 37 percent of those comments were in favor of the rule, 58 percent
were opposed, and the others were neutral.
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House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) argued that the rule would
"strangle" economic activities in his district and around the country.
Hearing the breakdown of comments this morning, Rogers had a simple answer.
"Well, majority rules in this country," he said.
Darcy also testified that the administration has implemented the two provisions in
the "cromnibus" appropriations bill passed in December 2014 that dealt with the
water rule. She said the agency has both withdrawn the controversial interpretive
rule for agriculture and has submitted guidance to its field offices for implementing
a provision that blocks EPA and the Army Corps from requiring a permit for normal
farming practices or ditch maintenance (E&E Daily, Dec. 10, 2014).
Reprinted from Greenwire with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC
- www.eenews.net - 202-628-6500
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WATER POLICY:
House Ag subpanel to hold hearing on controversial proposal
Tiffany Stecker, E&E reporter
Published: Thursday, February 12, 2015
The House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry in two weeks will hold its first hearing to
discuss the Waters of the United States proposed rule, subcommittee Chairman Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) toldE&E
Daily yesterday.
Although the Agriculture Committee does not have jurisdiction over the issue, lawmakers on the committee have
criticized the agencies crafting the rule -- particularly U.S. EPA -- for the burden the regulation could pose on
farmers and ranchers. The proposal, which would expand the number of streams that receive automatic protection
under the Clean Water Act, was written by the Army Corps of Engineers and EPA.
"I certainly share [their] concerns," said Thompson. Many agriculture groups, led by the American Farm Bureau
Federation, have said the rule could make growers vulnerable to costly permits and fines despite the agricultural
exemptions under the act.
Agriculture Chairman Michael Conaway (R-Texas) has said the full committee is not likely to hold hearings on the
issue, instead taking the "bully pulpit" to discuss it. On the Senate side, Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.)
has said stopping the rule is one of his top priorities (E&E Daily, Feb. 4).
Reprinted from E&E Daily with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC - www.eenews.net - 202-628-6500
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AGRICULTURE:
Vilsack won't take bait as committee Republicans slam waterways proposal
Tiffany Stecker, E&E reporter
Published: Thursday, February 12, 2015
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said yesterday that he would not ask U.S. EPA and the Army Corps of
Engineers to retreat from the Waters of the United States proposed rule, though he recognizes that farmers have
concerns over the proposal.
"It's not our decision to make -- it's our sister agency, and we have to respect that," Vilsack told the House
Agriculture Committee at a hearing to discuss the state of the rural economy. In the secretary's first committee
appearance of the 114th Congress, lawmakers had the opportunity to ask him about any aspect of agricultural
policy.
Nevertheless, lawmakers pressed Vilsack to take a stand against the rule, which would expand the number of
streams and waterways that receive automatic protection under the Clean Water Act.
"If I were in your position, I would take a tough stance advocating," said Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio), who is chairman
of the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment.
Agriculture trade groups like the American Farm Bureau Federation have come out strongly against the rule, saying
it would expose farmers to costly fines and permits despite the agricultural exemptions under the Clean Water Act.
Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) also asked Vilsack to take a stand on the waters rule.
Indiana farmers "don't feel like they're being heard by this administration," she said.
Vilsack said he has used his role to discuss the concerns with EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. But he refused to
press further on the agency.
"It's sort of like asking [the House] to make sure the Senate does what it should do; you can't dictate the Senate,
can you? You try, maybe," Vilsack told Walorski.
Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) pushed harder still.
"If there has been a call by others to pull the rule, and you have some concerns that you've even expressed, why
wouldn't you or your agency request that EPA actually pull the rule?" he asked, noting the U.S. Small Business
Administration's opposition to the proposed regulation.
Vilsack answered that going against an agency that works closely with USDA is not his "style."
"I wake up every morning, I say my prayers and I'm thankful that I'm not the EPA administrator," he said. "I am
concerned about making sure that I have a relationship so that I am in a position to have an impact on not just one
rule, but on all of the rules."
Outside of the contentious Clean Water Act rule, lawmakers also posed questions on conservation issues within
USDA's purview. Vilsack confirmed that there will be a general sign-up for the Conservation Reserve Program,
which pays landowners to set aside highly erodible land for wildlife habitat, water protection and other
environmental benefits.
The 2014 farm bill lowered the cap for CRP land from 32 million acres to 24 million acres, a concern to Agriculture
Committee ranking member Collin Peterson (D-Minn.). CRP lands are especially important for birds, which nest in
grasslands and wetlands.
In order to do more with less, USDA is looking to use CRP acres "in a creative way," said Vilsack. This includes
incorporating the land in the popular Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), a new initiative that links
the department with conservation organizations and local governments to improve lands on a larger, regional scale.
"I think there's an opportunity to leverage, potentially get more acres involved in conservation, maybe not
specifically in CRP, but leverage those resources more effectively," Vilsack said later, in response to similar
concerns from Rep. Rick Allen (R-Ga.).
Vilsack added that he wants to see more coordination between the Farm Service Agency, which administers the
CRP, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which oversees the RCPP.
More than one year after the passage of the farm bill, legislators continue to have questions about USDA's safety
nets and commitment to crop insurance.
Lawmakers criticized the Obama administration's proposed cuts to crop insurance in the fiscal 2016 budget, which
would shift more of the cost of premiums from the government to the landowner. The proposed changes would
save about $14.6 billion over 10 years, according to the administration (E&E Daily, Feb. 9).
"We've have crop insurance, reinsurance folks come to us saying they're exiting the business," said Agriculture
Chairman Michael Conaway (R-Texas).
Vilsack responded that the insurance industry would continue to see generous profits and that the claim that
insurance companies are losing business "isn't quite accurate."
"This is a healthy industry, and we're seeing an expansion in a number of insurance policies," he said.
Reprinted from E&E Daily with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC - www.eenews.net - 202-628-6500
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ARMY CORPS:
Lawmakers at bicameral hearings lament that budget request moves
'backward'
Annie Snider, E&E reporter
Published: Thursday, February 12, 2015
Another year, another Army Corps of Engineers budget request that is all but dead on arrival -- that was the
message that lawmakers of both parties and both chambers sent the administration yesterday during hearings on
the agency's fiscal 2016 budget proposal.
"This budget proposes cutting the corps' spending to the actual level of spending in 2007," Sen. Lamar Alexander
(R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, said yesterday
at the opening of a hearing on the Army Corps' and the Bureau of Reclamation's budget proposals. "We're literally
moving backward on an agency that's crucial to maintaining our country's infrastructure."
And so begins the now annual ritual whereby congressional appropriators balk at a lowballed request from the
administration that is submitted in full knowledge that lawmakers -- eager to see projects in their districts move
forward -- will fight to increase it.
Idaho Republican Mike Simpson, chairman of the House Energy and Water Development Appropriations
Subcommittee, recounted last year's process, which included not only funding increases from the Appropriations
Committee but additional increases during floor consideration of the spending bill.
"I understand how this works, having watched it work both at the state level and at the federal level," he said during
his committee's hearing yesterday on the Army Corps budget. "Oftentimes, it's easy for an administration -Republican or Democrat -- when they are preparing a budget to cut back on those areas that they know Congress
is going to fill in, that's important to members of Congress, so they have more money to spend on priorities that
they would like to spend money on, and then we end up having to deliver back to it the allocation."
But, he argued, there's no guarantee Congress can continue to play its part in the routine.
While Simpson said he didn't think he could pass a bill that funded the Army Corps at the levels the administration
requested -- $4.7 billion, a roughly 15 percent cut from fiscal 2015 enacted levels -- he also said the committee is
bumping up against the limits of its allocations.
"It's going to be substantially harder to do this and keep backfilling the president's budget request," he said.
The administration's proposal for two key budget lines that were dealt with in last year's Water Resources Reform
and Development Act drew especially intense frustration from lawmakers yesterday.
The Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund is intended to pay for ports maintenance and dredging, and receives the
proceeds of a 0.125 percent ad valorem tax on goods that arrive on U.S. docks. But only about half of the fund's
revenues have been put to use for their intended purpose in recent years, with the balance being used to offset
federal spending elsewhere in the budget.
Last year's WRRDA bill included a deal hammered out between congressional appropriators and authorizers to
steadily ramp up spending from the fund, reaching full utilization by 2025. But the Obama budget proposal for the
fund reaches 47 percent of the level laid out in WRRDA for fiscal 2016.
Lawmakers have also put a series of measures in place in recent years to boost funding for the inland waterways
system. Those steps included shifting much of the cost for the system's largest construction project -- a massively
over-budget and over-schedule lock and dam on the Ohio River -- to the federal government in last year's WRRDA
bill. The barge industry also successfully lobbied for an increase to its own gas tax, the proceeds of which go to the
Inland Waterways Trust Fund to pay for industry's half of the cost for new lock and dam projects (E&E Daily, Dec.
17).
But the Obama budget blueprint would leave a large chunk of the extra money freed up by these changes sitting in
the trust fund rather than being put toward the massive backlog of projects on the aging inland system.
"It's disappointing to me and hard to go back to the people whose taxes we raised and say, 'We took your money,
but we're just going to put it on the shelf for a while,'" Alexander told Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works
Jo-Ellen Darcy and Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick, commanding general of the Army Corps.
Regulatory program boost sought; key staffer retires
One area where the Obama administration did increase its funding request for the corps was the agency's
regulatory program.
The corps is responsible for the Clean Water Act permitting program that deals with dredging and filling streams
and wetlands. With the administration hoping to soon finalize a major proposal to increase the number of waters
that receive automatic protection under the 1972 law, the corps asked for a $5 million boost to its regulatory
program in fiscal 2016.
Bostick said that the agency is in the process of hiring 125 regulators whom it hadn't been able to hire because of
across-the-board spending cuts and that the $5 million bump would allow the agency to hire 25 more on top of that
to deal with the water rule.
To come up with what the agency's additional needs would be for the water rule, Darcy said the corps looked at
what happened in 2006 in the wake of a muddled Supreme Court decision that threw regulatory jurisdiction into
confusion. She said the corps expects that most of the needs will be for training, and that while the manpower
demand is likely increased in the near term, the administration expects it will tail off as the agency and the
regulatory community become familiar with the new rule.
"Part of the rule is to get better certainty as to what's jurisdictional and what's not -- who's in and who's out," Darcy
told Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), the only senator to mention the rule in the upper chamber's hearing.
"If we have a brighter-line test, that people know they're in or out, I think it will over time reduce the number of
case-by-case specific determinations we have to make now," she said.
In the upper chamber, senators on both sides of the aisle also used the budget hearing to bid farewell to Roger
Cockrell, a longtime Democratic professional staffer who also spent 23 years at the corps before heading to Capitol
Hill. Alexander said he is scheduled to retire at the end of the month.
"It's hard to think of anyone inside or outside of Washington who matches Roger in knowledge or experience,"
Alexander said, drawing a round of applause from the audience. "It's hard to think of a water resource bill that
hasn't benefited from his guidance."
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the committee, said Cockrell was "instrumental" in shaping
the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy, and was her most trusted resource
on water resource issues.
Reprinted from E&E Daily with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC - www.eenews.net - 202-628-6500
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ENERGY EFFICIENCY:
Long-sought détente on water heaters now going through 'ordeal' of
legislative process
Nick Juliano, E&E reporter
Published: Thursday, February 12, 2015
The battle had been raging for months in the staid and little-observed confines of a rulemaking docket.
On one side was General Electric Co., which was the first to develop a highly efficient water heater capable of
meeting a strict efficiency standard that the Department of Energy had recently finalized. On the other side were
rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities that had come to rely on demand-response programs they said
required the use of older, less efficient water heaters.
GE said the 2010 rule should be implemented as planned, arguing that manufacturers and utilities had adequate
time to prepare for it to take effect, which is scheduled to happen on April 15 of this year. But the utilities were
arguing for tweaks they said were necessary to protect the demand-response programs they and their customers
had come to rely on.
In the end, the two sides were able to reach a détente -- with some influential interest groups helping mediate the
discussion. More than a dozen stakeholders -- including GE, several other appliance manufacturers, the National
Rural Electric Cooperatives Association and the Natural Resources Defense Council -- drafted legislation that
would allow the demand-response programs to continue for now without opening too wide of a loophole that would
risk reversing the efficiency benefits of the underlying DOE rule.
A version of the language those companies and interest groups first drafted in 2013 will be heading to President
Obama's desk soon, tucked into legislation approving the Keystone XL pipeline, which Republicans have made
their top priority since winning a majority of both chambers of Congress. The KXL bill is headed for a veto, but
supporters of the rural utilities hope the measure's early consideration during debate over the pipeline legislation
can clear a path for quick passage of a standalone bill before DOE begins enforcing the rule on manufacturers in
two months.
"Wait is a four-letter word ... when we've got precious little time to get this done," said Kirk Johnson, NRECA's
senior vice president of government relations.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) offered an amendment to the KXL bill sparing water heaters used for demandresponse programs from the DOE rule. The amendment, which passed 94-5, also included the so-called "Better
Buildings Act," which would establish a voluntary Tenant Star program to promote efficiency efforts between
landlords and renters, based on legislation authored by Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.).
Portman and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who have co-sponsored broader efficiency legislation in recent
years, are now looking for another legislative vehicle or trying to convince colleagues to "hotline" a standalone
version of his amendment via unanimous consent. They tried to hotline a version of the bill last year but ran into an
objection from former Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.); however, the five "no" votes on the amendment indicate that
objections likely remain.
Opposition to the Portman amendment is focused primarily on the Tenant Star provisions, Republican aides said,
suggesting the possibility that a standalone fix to the water heater issue would have an easier time of passing.
However, the aides said it was unclear whether "Better Buildings Act" supporters would let just the water heater fix
pass without their legislation being included.
The five Republicans who voted against the amendment were Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, James Lankford of
Oklahoma, Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ben Sasse of Nebraska.
Meanwhile, there is a perception among some pro-efficiency lawmakers that allowing less-efficient water heaters to
be used for demand response would cause a slight increase in overall energy use, said Steven Nadel, executive
director of the American Council on an Energy Efficient Economy. Combining it in a single legislative package with
the Better Buildings Act allows the energy reductions expected to be spurred by the Tenant Star program to
essentially act as an "offset," he added.
Sens. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who last month introduced S. 259 to fix the water
heater rule, also are working their colleagues to try to find a solution in the next two months.
"The one thing I've realized in Washington is sometimes deadlines help, and we have a deadline here, and we
need to get at least this provision done, if not the rest of the other ones," Klobuchar said in a recent interview.
"That's what Senator Hoeven and I are working on."
DOE moving slowly
DOE has been seen as dragging its feet to address the concerns that arose following its 2010 finalization of the
energy conservation standards for residential water heaters. A 2013 proposal to allow for one-year waivers from
the rule has not been finalized, and several stakeholders interviewed in recent days say the department appears to
have halted its work on the rulemaking in the hopes that Congress can enact the legislative fix. A DOE
spokeswoman declined to comment, citing the still-open rulemaking docket.
Leaders at NRECA, the American Public Power Association, which represents state-owned and municipal utilities,
and PJM Interconnection, which operates the electric grid in several Midwestern and Mid-Atlantic states, were
among those who soon sounded the alarm about the rule. They said it would effectively outlaw production of large
volume "electric resistance" water heaters that worked well in electric thermal storage programs utilities used to
manage peak loads and incorporate intermittent renewable resources like wind power into the grid.
Utilities were able to control the operation of residents' water heaters -- which are among the largest power users in
the home -- essentially running them at night when demand was low and storing the resulting energy as hot water.
"This is the biggest battery system we have -- you're storing energy in the form of heat," Johnson said.
The type of large water heaters, typically in excess of 55 gallons, that were used for demand-response applications
represent a relatively small part of the overall market. But they had to be large in order to be useful in demandresponse applications while still providing an adequate supply of hot water when it is needed.
In 2012, DOE sought more input from utilities, manufacturers, environmentalists and other stakeholders, and in
2013 the agency proposed a new rule that would authorize one-year waivers from the water heater standard. In
response to the 2012 request for information, only two of 127 comments -- from GE and Farmers Electric
Cooperative -- argued against making any change to the rule, according to DOE. Conversely, 120 commenters
recommended at least some change. Utilities told DOE they were able to reduce peak load by a total of 145
megawatts and realized $60 million in annual cost savings using the water heaters to store energy for demand
response purposes.
"Heat pump water heaters are great when they're used in the right application; they do not lend themselves to load
control very well," said Jim Deichert, division manager for off-peak heating at Steffes Corp., a North Dakota-based
company that makes controls to connect water heaters to utilities for use in demand management programs.
GE has argued that modifying the rule could risk delaying the technology advances and efficiency improvements it
is meant to bring about, and the company says it makes water heaters using heat pump technology that can
function as needed in demand-response programs. The company has cited studies from the Oak Ridge National
Laboratory and Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance demonstrating that heat pump systems can perform as
needed in demand-response programs. The appliances also have electric resistance units that can be used only
when necessary for demand-response or thermal storage purposes while relying on the more efficient heat pump
the rest of the time.
"Our position on this is very clear; that is these products can perform the functions of electrical products used for
both of those kind of programs," said Earl Jones, GE's senior counsel for government relations, in an interview this
week.
GE Appliances & Lighting, which manufactures the water heaters in Louisville, Ky., began developing efficient
water heaters about a decade ago as part of CEO Jeffry Immelt's "ecomagination" initiative aimed at developing
more energy-efficient products. The GeoSpring line became the first class of water heaters to be certified as part of
U.S. EPA's voluntary Energy Star program, and the company just last month announced the launch of an 80gallon model capable of complying with DOE's soon-to-take-effect rule.
While GE was first to market with water heaters that could achieve DOE's standard, several other manufacturers,
including Rheem and AO Smith, have since come out with comparable products.
Jones said the company's resistance to changes to the DOE rule was not motivated by a desire to protect its
market share. Because it is only large water heaters affected by the heat pump requirements, a relatively small part
of the overall water heater market is affected. Most homes are fitted with units below 50 gallons.
"It's not as if this is something that is going to be disruptive of this entire category," Jones said. The point is to
emphasize the value of heat pump technology for a wide variety of applications and to ensure "that consumers and
policymakers are not misled into thinking that progress in technology affecting this very significant energy user is
somehow out of bounds."
Some companies seek relief
With DOE's waiver rulemaking apparently stuck and uncertainty around a legislative solution, some companies
have reached out to DOE's Office of Hearings and Appeals seeking relief from the efficiency standard. Vaughn
Thermal Corp. submitted one such application in November, citing its manufacture of specialty water heaters that
rely on electric resistance technology to be deployed for storage or grid management purposes. NRECA, NRDC
and ACEEE filed joint comments supporting Vaughn's waiver request.
GE opposed the request, arguing that heat pump water heaters can be used for those purposes and provide a
superior economic benefit to customers -- saving about $368 dollars per year off a homeowner's energy bills
compared to an average $58-per-year benefit from demand-response programs, according to a letter from Jones
to OHA. The comments also argue, essentially, that companies do not deserve to be bailed out for failing to
prepare for regulations that have been in the works for years.
"DOE's and EPA's focus on [heat-pump water heaters] played critical roles in GE's decision to develop its first
model," which was the first to qualify for the Energy Star program in 2008, Jones wrote.
Noting that the DOE rulemaking process for large water heaters began in 2006, Jones writes, manufacturers have
had nearly a decade to prepare for the potential need to manufacture or purchase more efficient products. "Yet,
Vaughn has provided no evidence or information of research, product development or sourcing activities," Jones
says.
While the company would not like to see OHA offer waivers from the standard, GE supports the legislative
approach because it is narrowly tailored to provide temporary relief while directing DOE to more fully analyze the
performance of conventional and high-efficiency water heaters in demand-response programs before beginning a
new rulemaking to update the standard, expected to begin by 2017.
With a broad coalition of environmentalists, industry groups and competing manufacturers on board, proponents
remain optimistic about their chances of getting legislation enacted somehow. A similar bill passed the House last
year, 375-36, but that doesn't mean the road to enactment will be smooth.
"What you have established is solid, broad support for it in the House and in the Senate," said Rep. Peter Welch
(D-Vt.), an efficiency champion who co-sponsored last year's bill. "Now we just have to go through the ordeal of
figuring out a mechanism by which to get it through both bodies in a way that it can land on the president's desk.
And that's always a puzzle."
Reprinted from E&E Daily with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC - www.eenews.net - 202-628-6500
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NATURAL RESOURCES:
Two westerners set to fill out panel's Democratic roster
Corbin Hiar, E&E reporter
Published: Thursday, February 12, 2015
Reps. Lois Capps of California and Jared Polis of Colorado are poised to take the last two Democratic spots on the
Natural Resources Committee, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced yesterday.
The House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee recommended the new committee assignments for Capps
and Polis. Their bids are likely to be approved today by the full Democratic Caucus.
Capps currently sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee and was a member of Natural Resources in both the
110th and 111th sessions of Congress.
"I look forward to engaging in all aspects of the Committee's portfolio, and working with my colleagues on the
Committee to protect our precious public lands and natural resources for future generations," she said in a press
release touting the recommendation.
Polis is a member of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee as well as the committees on Rules and
Education and the Workforce.
Their precise roles and responsibilities on Natural Resources will be determined in consultation with ranking
member Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), spokesman Adam Sarvana said.
"The process for settling subcommittee assignments will be collaborative," he said. "It'll be handled between
Grijalva, Capps and Polis to make sure everyone's needs are met."
The ranking member named the rest of his Democratic subcommittee picks last month, ahead of Natural
Resources' first meeting (E&E Daily, Jan. 28).
Reprinted from E&E Daily with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC - www.eenews.net - 202-628-6500
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ENDANGERED SPECIES:
White House plan would ramp up trafficking enforcement
Corbin Hiar, E&E reporter
Published: Wednesday, February 11, 2015
To ramp up the fight against wildlife trafficking, the Obama administration today rolled out a new defense plan
mainly focused on increasing U.S. and global enforcement efforts.
The three-pronged implementation plan for the National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking also aims to
reduce demand for endangered species and products made from them as well as to increase international
cooperation to address the growing challenge. The strategy to reduce the multibillion-dollar illicit market was
announced by the White House last year (E&ENews PM, Feb. 11, 2014).
"Poaching and illegal trade in wildlife have long been a threat to species ranging from elephants to tigers, but they
have escalated into an international crisis in the past decade as demand has grown and organized crime has
discovered how lucrative this trade can be," Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said in a statement. The departments of
the Interior, Justice and State co-chaired the President's Task Force on Combating Wildlife Trafficking, a 17agency group that produced the plan.
"We have reached a pivotal moment where we must take effective action or risk seeing iconic species go extinct in
the wild," Jewell added.
The 30-page bullet-pointed plan includes specific objectives, next steps and ways to measure the strategy's
progress. Fully half of the document is devoted to efforts to increase enforcement.
Some of the notable enforcement objectives include working with Congress to increase penalties for wildlife
trafficking and to direct proceeds from the illegal trade into additional enforcement. The plan specifically
highlighted S. 27, a bipartisan bill to prosecute wildlife trafficking under federal racketeering and money laundering
statutes (Greenwire, Jan. 7).
The task force also called for tightening prohibitions on the trade of elephant ivory. Specific next steps include
eliminating the administrative exceptions to the 1989 African Elephant Conservation Act moratorium to prohibiting
commercial import of antique ivory, clarifying the definition of what qualifies as an antique and limiting the number
of sport-hunted elephant trophies an individual can import.
Some lawmakers and interest groups, however, are seeking to roll back the virtual ban on the ivory trade, which
was announced in February 2014 at the same time as the broader anti-trafficking strategy (E&E Daily, Feb. 5).
Furthermore, training to support the interdiction and investigation of wildlife trafficking should be added to the core
curriculum of FBI legal attachés, Drug Enforcement Administration agents and other "relevant federal personnel
deployed abroad," the plan says.
The task force aims to reduce demand by launching education and advertising campaigns about the impact of
wildlife trafficking both at home and abroad. The administration also will seek to work with religious and faith
leaders on the initiative.
To increase international cooperation in the fight against illegal trade in rare plants and animals, the plan primarily
calls for raising the issue with China and including "meaningful commitments to combat wildlife trafficking in new
[free trade agreements] including the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment
Partnership."
Technology could provide another way to promote cooperation, the task force said. It said the U.S. Agency for
International Development should launch a "Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge" that would offer "awards to the most
creative, innovative, and promising science and technology solutions to wildlife crime, and put the winning
innovations into the hands of individuals and institutions that will put them to good use."
Finally, the task force emphasized that the document released today is just a start.
"The plan to implement the strategy will be informed by the breadth of the wildlife trafficking crisis, which continues
to grow at an alarming rate," it said.
Conservation groups were quick to praise the new plan. Wildlife Conservation Society President and CEO Cristián
Samper said in a statement that it represents "an unprecedented commitment from the United States government
to curb wildlife trafficking, an ever-increasing threat to our world's wildlife, and to global, regional and local
security."
"We applaud the president's leadership and are optimistic that this strategy will bring real results in efforts to
address this transnational organized crime -- helping to prevent the extinction of a large array of species from the
elephant, to the tiger, to the sea turtle, to the tarantula," said Samper, who served on an advisory council to the
task force. "Our world's wildlife has a new reason for hope."
Reprinted from Greenwire with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC - www.eenews.net - 202-628-6500
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WILDLIFE:
Enviros sue USDA to force review of predator control program
Scott Streater, E&E reporter
Published: Wednesday, February 11, 2015
A coalition of environmental groups is suing the Agriculture Department's predator control program in an effort to
halt wildlife trapping and killing in Idaho until the agency conducts a thorough environmental review of the
program's impacts on protected species statewide.
The lawsuit, filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, targets USDA's Wildlife Services
program, which is tasked with destroying animals that are deemed a threat to crops and livestock.
The 40-page complaint says Wildlife Services, a division of USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS), has never fully analyzed the statewide impacts of trapping, shooting and poisoning "thousands of wolves,
coyotes, foxes, beavers, cougars, birds, and other wildlife species across Idaho each year."
The coalition of five environmental groups, led by the Western Watersheds Project, the Center for Biological
Diversity and WildEarth Guardians, says USDA must conduct a full environmental impact statement (EIS) "to
assess its wildlife damage management activities in Idaho, which largely consist of killing wildlife."
The lawsuit also names the Fish and Wildlife Service as a defendant, saying it has failed to "thoroughly assess
direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of Wildlife Services' Idaho wildlife damage management activities" to
species protected by the Endangered Species Act, "including bull trout, Canada lynx, and grizzly bear."
"Wildlife Services spends millions of dollars each year to indiscriminately shoot, poison and trap coyotes, wolves,
mountain lions, foxes, badgers and many other wildlife species -- yet it refuses to comply with our nation's basic
environmental laws," said Laird Lucas, director of litigation for Advocates for the West, which is providing legal
representation for the groups. "This lawsuit will shine a bright line on this rogue agency and force it to reveal
publicly exactly what wildlife killing programs it is engaged in and the adverse impacts of those activities."
Without conducting an EIS in the state, "it's impossible to know whether [the program is] leading to widespread
damage to other species like grizzly bears," said Andrea Santarsiere, a staff attorney with the Center for Biological
Diversity.
An APHIS spokeswoman could not be reached for comment on this story by publication time. The Agriculture
Department and APHIS typically do not publicly comment on pending or ongoing litigation.
Today's lawsuit names Todd Grimm, Wildlife Services' Idaho state director, as well as the Fish and Wildlife Service.
The environmental groups filed a notice of intent to sue last September (E&ENews PM, Sept. 8, 2014).
The groups said today in a public release announcing the filing of the lawsuit that Wildlife Services in 2013 killed
more than 3,000 animals in Idaho "using methods such as aerial gunning, neck snares, foothold traps, and toxic
devices known as M-44s that spray sodium cyanide into the victim's mouth, causing tremendous suffering and
releasing toxic chemicals into the environment."
They said that after the notice of intent to sue was filed, Wildlife Service agreed to prepare a new environmental
analysis, not an EIS, of the program's activities in Idaho. They said this commitment "falls short of the more
comprehensive analysis required by law."
In the legal complaint, the groups say that Wildlife Services "relies" on a nationwide programmatic EIS of the
program "issued two decades ago, which does not analyze Idaho-specific activities or impacts in any detail, and
which is badly outdated and contrary to modern science concerning the impacts of killing wildlife."
At various times, the complaint says, "Wildlife Services has attempted to bolster this inadequate and outdated
document with a piecemealed array of Environmental Assessments, but these fail to provide the 'hard look' at the
environmental impacts of Wildlife Service's Idaho programs or to evaluate meaningful alternatives," as required by
the National Environmental Policy Act.
"Additionally, in recent years, wildlife researchers have published numerous studies finding that Wildlife Services'
methods of wildlife killing do not produce the intended consequences -- and instead produce many unintended
consequences. Wildlife Services has failed to consider or supplement its analyses with this critical information that
fundamentally undermines its programs," the complaint says.
The groups ask that the court order Wildlife Services to conduct a full EIS, and for Fish and Wildlife to formally
consult with Wildlife Services "to insure that agency actions are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of a
listed species or destroy or adversely modify its critical habitat."
The complaint says a 2014 FWS biological opinion that concluded Wildlife Services' activities "are not likely to
jeopardize the continued existence of bull trout, grizzly bear, or lynx, or adversely modify their critical habitats," is
"based on inaccurate and incomplete information."
Reprinted from E&ENews PM with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC - www.eenews.net - 202-628-6500
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ENDANGERED SPECIES:
Utah's governor signs executive order protecting sage grouse
Phil Taylor, E&E reporter
Published: Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R) yesterday signed an executive order designed to conserve greater sage grouse and
prevent what Herbert has argued are unneeded federal protections under the Endangered Species Act.
Herbert's order directs state agencies to coordinate among themselves in implementing Utah's greater sage
grouse conservation plan, which calls for protecting the flamboyant, strutting bird in 11 areas covering 7.5 million
acres. Utah wildlife officials say those areas contain 94 percent of the state's birds.
Utah's plan, released in early 2013, calls for sustaining a statewide 10-year average population of 4,100 males on
monitored breeding grounds, known as leks, and protecting 10,000 acres of sage grouse habitat each year through
voluntary, incentive-based programs, among other steps.
"Utah is committed to good environmental stewardship," Herbert said in a statement yesterday. "Signing the
executive order has to be done in a serious and thoughtful way, addressing the bird's habitat, as well as the needs
of society, private landowners and the economy."
Utah is among several Western states crafting plans to preserve the ground-dwelling bird ahead of the Fish and
Wildlife Service's Sept. 30 deadline to determine whether the bird needs the protection of ESA.
Congress last December temporarily barred FWS from preparing a formal listing rule that would restrict activities
within the bird's 165 million acres of habitat.
Fish and Wildlife will consider the strength of land-use plans being crafted by the Bureau of Land Management and
Forest Service as well as conservation plans implemented by states including Utah as it determines whether to
propose a listing.
A Fish and Wildlife spokesman said the agency is still reviewing Herbert's order.
Utah says 4 percent of an estimated hundreds of thousands of greater sage grouse reside in Utah.
Utah's Division of Natural Resources reported finding 4,449 male grouse in spring 2014, an increase of almost 40
percent over the previous year. The 10-year rolling average is 4,152 male birds at counted leks, it reported.
Herbert attributed last year's gain to the state's newly implemented conservation plan.
Herbert's order, which runs through July 2017, calls for habitat to be maintained and enhanced in the state's 11
protected areas, while allowing currently authorized activities to continue. Funding for research, mapping and
habitat enhancements is to be funneled to those 11 areas.
In addition, the state's Division of Oil, Gas and Mining is to coordinate closely with and take advice from the
Division of Wildlife Resources on all industrial activities within the protective areas. DNR is directed to expedite
completion of mitigation standards and conditions, including a conservation banking program, and the state's
forestry division is ordered to focus wildfire mitigation activities within the conservation areas and prioritize sage
grouse habitat in fire pre-attack planning.
Alan Matheson, Herbert's environmental adviser, said the 2013 conservation plan has been updated internally and
that the Fish and Wildlife Service has been impressed.
"They provided some very positive feedback in the direction we were going and the level of detail in that plan," he
said.
Fish and Wildlife last fall identified 16.5 million acres of sage grouse "strongholds," located mostly on federal lands
where it is urging BLM and the Forest Service to implement the most stringent protections (Greenwire, Feb. 10).
Most of those areas are located along Nevada's border with Idaho and Oregon, in central Idaho, western Wyoming
and north-central Montana, but some strongholds extend to northeast Utah's Bear River watershed.
It remains to be seen whether Herbert's order and the Utah conservation plan have the regulatory teeth FWS
believes are necessary to preclude a listing proposal in September. The agency in 2010 determined that sage
grouse warrant federal protections because they lack existing regulatory mechanisms and their habitat was being
fragmented and destroyed.
Ed Arnett, director of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership's Center for Responsible Energy
Development, praised Herbert's order.
"We appreciate the governor and state of Utah for solidifying its commitment to conservation of the greater sage
grouse," Arnett said in a statement. "We look forward to tracking implementation of the state's plan and its impact
on the health and conditions of the sagebrush ecosystem."
Reprinted from Greenwire with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC - www.eenews.net - 202-628-6500
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Water experts meet to discuss ways to conserve water in Central Texas
By Rosie NewberryPublished: February 11, 2015, 6:26 pm Updated: February 11, 2015, 8:25 pm
Attendees at 2015
Central Texas Water Efficiency Network Symposium
AUSTIN (KXAN) - Water experts gathered in Austin on Wednesday for the 5th annual Central Texas
Water Conservation Symposium. This year's panel focused on successful water conservation program
"case studies" from around the country.
"They're here to find out what they're doing in California and in other states," said Jennifer Walker, Water
Resources Coordinator with the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club. "What they've learned - their
lessons learned - the good and the bad, so we don't make the same mistakes."
Panelists Hank Smith, Matt Hollon and Chris Berry discussed the benefits of implementing droughttolerant landscapes, especially as part of new home construction. Drought-tolerant landscapes include
the use of native grasses, rain gardens and standardized soil placement (6" in Austin) for each new
home's yard, using as little turf as possible. Panelists also debated the benefits of raising water bills and
how charging fees through two different water meters at each residence- one for domestic use, one for
outside irrigation - might lead to people to use their outside water less.
Read entire article HERE.
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5 things to know: Including do you know where your water comes from?
Feb 12, 2015, 6:35am CST
Lance Murray
Digital Content ProducerDallas Business Journal
Do you know where your water comes from? According to a new poll commissioned by the Texas Water
Foundation, it's likely you don't. The poll found that roughly 28 percent of Texans know the direct source
of their water, the same percentage as 10 years ago. That's a problem, the foundation said, because
there is a correlation between that knowledge and the willingness to conserve water. In times of drought
- which much of Texas is under - water conservation is an important for many North Texas communities.
Read entire article HERE.
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Study: Groundwater depletion slowing in western Kansas
By Associated Press
February 10, 2015
The Kansas Geological Survey says average groundwater levels are still declining in western Kansas,
but at a slower rate.
The agency on Tuesday released preliminary data from the measurements of some 1,400 water wells
taken earlier this year.
Most of the wells draw from the High Plains aquifer, which includes the Equus Beds and Great Bend
Prairie aquifer in south-central Kansas and the Ogallala aquifer in western Kansas.
Read entire article HERE.
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Water use cutbacks, fines expected during summer due to intense drought
Tuesday, February 10, 2015 09:46PM
STUDIO CITY, Calif. (KABC) --The Metropolitan Water District said this year's rainfall so far is
disappointing, and there could be water cutbacks of five to 10 percent or more this summer.
"We started off with a wet December and then immediately we go into January, which is a record dry. It's
just the driest on record up in the Sierras," said Debra Man, assistant general manager and chief
operating officer of the district.
This is bad news since that is one of the places where the district gets its water. It then supplies that
water to a number of local water companies and it will be up to them whether to impose rationing.
Read entire article HERE.
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Pacific Northwest's Winter, Warm and Wet, Is Climate Change Preview
TUESDAY, 10 FEBRUARY 2015 18:00
Little snow in sight looks to be the future of the American West.
Photo via Flickr / Creative Commons user wilbur
Water managers typically flush Keechelus Reservoir, 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of Seattle, in the winter to make room for melting snow. With almost
no snow this year, managers are getting a glimpse of conditions that climate scientists say will be normal by mid-century. Click image to enlarge.
By Brett Walton
Circle of Blue
SEATTLE, Washington - Famously overcast and stormy in the cold months, the Pacific Northwest is
normally a haven for snow lovers. From volcanic peaks to valley basins, winter resounds with the glee of
cherry-cheeked skiers and the terror of thunderous avalanches. Mount Baker, a mainstay of the Washington
state ski circuit, is accustomed to skyscraping snow accumulations deep enough to entomb an 18-meter (60foot) building.
Not this year. Record-warm temperatures expose bare mountain ridges and disappoint ski bums and lift
operators alike. Despite average levels of precipitation, rain is falling, not snow. Snowpack in much of the
Olympics, the remote Washington peninsula mountain range, and in the Cascades, the spine from here to
northern California, is less than 30 percent of normal.
Read entire article HERE.
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Hays Water Fight Portends Battles to Come
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by Neena Satija
Feb. 11, 2015
photo by: Axel Gerdau
WIMBERLEY - Hundreds of people packed a community center Tuesday night to demand that state
Rep. Jason Isaac, R-Dripping Springs, stop a commercial groundwater-pumping project in Hays
County. Not that there is much he can do to stop it.
But their wrath underscored an issue likely to flare up repeatedly across the state as water supplies
dwindle and the population keeps growing: Texas' approach to managing groundwater is increasingly
incompatible with the demographics and growth patterns of the state. And possible solutions are hard to
find amid bruising local politics, deep-pocketed business interests and small-government-minded
legislators.
If the town hall meeting called by Isaac is any indication, the fights will not be gentle.
Read entire article HERE.
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Snowpack levels near record lows throughout Oregon; summer water supplies could be
affected
Julie Koeberle and Scott Oviatt, both hydrologists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation
Service, measure snow depths and its water equivalent at a station near Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood Dec. 30, 2014. The
conservation service begins its snow pack season Jan. 1 whey hydrologists monitor snow depths and then convert those depths
water estimates for the region later this year. (Tony Hernandez/The Oregonian)
By Tony Hernandez | The Oregonian/OregonLive
on February 11, 2015 at 5:00 AM, updated February 11, 2015 at 1:24 PM
Winter rainfall, especially this past weekend's precipitation, is keeping statewide precipitation levels in
the normal range. But if low snow levels persist, water resources could be significantly strained in the
summertime, experts say.
Some snow pack monitoring stations near Mount Hood have recorded no snow for the first time in at
least 33 years, said Melissa Webb, a hydrologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural
Resources Conservation Service.
Read entire article HERE.
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(NWRA) does not control or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this information. The inclusion of news items and links, and any views
or opinions expressed therein, is not intended to indicate endorsement or importance by the NWRA.
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