The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS” mentioning the Department of Interior was published in the Senate section on pages S5409-S5410 on Aug. 13, 2020.
The Department oversees more than 500 million acres of land. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, said the department has contributed to a growing water crisis and holds many lands which could be better managed.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Ms. Harris):
S. 4530. A bill to establish a Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program within the Department of the Interior, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of the Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program Authorization Act, which I introduced today with Senator Harris. Representatives Josh Harder, John Garamendi, Jerry McNerney, Grace Napolitano, T.J. Cox, and Ami Bera--all Democrats from California--and Diana DeGette and Joe Neguse--both Democrats from Colorado--have introduced identical companion legislation in the House.
Airborne snow observatory, ASO, technology is a snow monitoring tool that provides precise measurement of depth and water content for every square meter of snow in a watershed. The technology measures snow depth and water content using an airplane-mounted light detection, LiDAR, instrument coupled with an imaging spectrometer.
When combined with conventional snow surveys, ASO provides a near-
perfect picture of snow water content.
By near perfect, I mean that ASO estimates snowpack and runoff forecast with 96 to 99 percent accuracy. This is much better than current practices, which only measure snowpack and runoff with 50 to 90 percent accuracy.
These forecast accuracies are achieved by comparing LiDAR measurements of bare ground topography in the summer with multiple measurements of snow depth during the winter. The greatest accuracies are based on once-a-month flights in watersheds earlier in the winter, and twice monthly flights during the spring runoff period.
The much more precise measurements of snowpack that ASO provides will be critical in better managing competing missions of western water storage reservoirs for flood control and water supply amidst a changing climate and growing population.
For example, in a single year, 2018, Turlock Irrigation District used this technology in the Tuolumne River watershed to save 150,000 acre-
feet of water supply.
Because they knew precisely how much snow was in the upper watershed of the Tuolumne, Turlock was able to avoid a release of 150,000 acre-
feet of water from Don Pedro Reservoir that otherwise would have been required for flood control.
Without ASO technology, Turlock would have had to assume for safety purposes that the melting snow in the upper Tuolumne watershed was at the high end of a wide range of guesstimates using conventional snowpack technology. With the possibility of a big snowmelt, Turlock would have had to release the extra 150,000 acre feet of water.
With water in California often costing $1000 per acre foot or more, errors in water-storage management can cost hundreds of millions of dollars in unnecessary releases from reservoirs and extra groundwater pumping.
Additional ASO flights to better measure snowpack often have a high return on investment, by one estimate as much as 40:1 for water supply benefits, and 80:1 for all benefits, including hydro, recharge, flood control, and ecosystem benefits.
After several years developing and refining the deployment of snowpack measurement technology, in December 2019, NASA concluded management of the-ASO program and transferred it to the private sector. While consistent with NASA's traditional approach to developing new technologies, this transfer reduces the certainty for Federal support of a program with significant public benefits, including improved water conservation, supply and delivery forecasts across the West.
The bill establishes a snow pack forecasting program at the Bureau of Reclamation within the Department of the Interior.
The Bureau shall implement the program in two phases:
No. 1, the first step is to coordinate with other Federal agencies on how they will work together to improve analyses of snowpack depth. This interagency process will result in a report due to Congress by October 21, 2021.
No. 2, following the completion of the report, the Bureau will cost-
share with States, water districts, other Federal agencies and other partners on increased LiDAR flights and other activities in particular watersheds.
This program is expected to benefit many Western States, including but not limited to Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains; the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico; and the Colorado River tributaries in Utah and Arizona, and the Pacific Northwest.
Fifteen million dollars would be authorized for the program from fiscal years 2022 to 2026.
I hope my colleagues will join me in support of this bill.
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