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May 23, 2013

Ranking Member Johnson Congratulates Secretary Moniz, Requests Information from the Department of Energy

WASHINGTON, DC –Today, Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), and 22 of her House colleagues sent a letter to U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz congratulating him on his recent confirmation, as well as urging the Department to release a long-overdue “roadmap” outlining recommendations about how to develop U.S. energy resources without harming the quality and supply of water supplies.

“I look forward to working with the Secretary in my role as Ranking Member on the full range of federal energy and environmental issues that the Committee oversees,” said Ms. Johnson. “As a first step, I would like to call his attention to the development and release of this Roadmap, which is a key missing link of information that can guide Congress so that our policies can lead to better management of energy and water trade-offs.”

In the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Congress instructed the Secretary of Energy to submit a report assessing the state of water supply and demand and recommending future actions. DOE submitted a general review of the connections between energy and water in the U.S. in 2007, but has still not released the recommendations, otherwise known as the “roadmap”.

According to the Congressional Research Service, the energy sector has been the fastest growing water consumer in the United States in recent years and is projected to account for 85 percent of the growth in domestic water consumption between 2005 and 2030.  In September 2012, GAO released a report at the request of Ms. Johnson, identifying key energy-water nexus issues that Congress and federal agencies need to consider when developing and implementing national policies for energy and water resources.

The members of Congress who signed the letter are: Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Donna M. Christensen (D-VI), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA), John Conyers (D-MI), Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Alan Grayson (D-FL), Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ), Michael Honda (D-CA), Joe Kennedy (D-MA), John Lewis (D-GA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Nita Lowey (D-NY), Jim Moran (D-VA), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Scott Peters (D-CA), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Marc Veasey (D-TX).