U.S. Needs Coordinated, Comprehensive Approach to Drought Relief
The House Science Committee’s Subcommittee on Environment, Technology, and Standards today heard from experts on drought and drought forecasting and also pushed forward legislation to combat this type of natural disaster by coordinating U.S. efforts.
"There is no doubt that drought has extremely harmful affects on our economy, however it is not always addressed as a natural disaster because it is slow to develop," stated Rep. Mark Udall (D-CO). "In my own home state of Colorado, reduced precipitation in addition to high temperatures has caused extreme wildfire conditions, water restrictions, a decline in tourism, reduced crop yields, and many other harmful effects."
According to NOAA, drought is estimated to result in average economic annual losses of $6 to $8 billion in the U.S. and in one particularly severe drought caused more than $62 billion (in 2005 dollars) of economic losses.
Drought is currently affecting parts of the American West for the seventh consecutive year with extreme drought restriction in parts of Arizona through much of New Mexico and southeastern Colorado; the central Great Plains is under moderate drought; the southern Great Plains is under severe to extreme drought; and “exceptional drought” - the most serious drought classification depicted by the U.S. Drought Monitor - has settled into southern Texas. Even in the D.C. area, we are experiencing drought conditions - the driest March on record.
The purpose of this hearing was to better understand drought - specifically, what is drought, how drought is currently monitored and forecast, and how the quality and usefulness of drought monitoring and forecast information provided by the Federal Government could be improved. H.R. 5136, the National Integrated Drought Information System Act of 2006, was developed jointly by Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX) and Rep. Udall to meet this need.
"While the Department of Homeland Security is working to prepare for natural disasters such as floods and hurricanes, the Federal Government is not doing enough to mitigate and reduce the effects of drought," added Rep. Udall. "I do not want to disparage the current efforts of NOAA and the Drought Monitor, but I believe there is much more NOAA can do to provide detailed, seasonal and long term, drought monitors on a regional basis."
Two major drought products currently exist that produce low-resolution national maps: the U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook and the Drought Monitor. Although both products are useful, they are insufficient to meet the needs of most water managers and users. This legislation specifies that NOAA will coordinate with local, state, tribal and Federal entities to create a comprehensive network of drought information and provide decision-makers with the tools to manage water resources. The end goal is to provide detailed information on drought vulnerabilities by improving drought prediction and better integrating existing drought information.
"In the arid West, a period of drought can destroy livelihoods and cause major disruptions. It’s time that we invested in the research and updated the tools our water managers need in order to plan accordingly," added Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT). "This bill is a good first step, but we should also fund the agencies that collect the data and pay for the moisture sensors and other equipment that would better enable us to predict a drought."
H.R. 5136 would authorize a total of $94 million through fiscal 2012 to enhance and operate the National Integration Drought Information System (NIDIS) at NOAA.
An immediate mark-up of H.R. 5136 followed the hearing and the Subcommittee passed the bill.
A recent Senate oversight hearing on drought made clear that legislation of this type maintains strong bipartisan and bicameral support, making further action on H.R. 5136 likely.
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