Washington, DC –
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today called on President Obama to
include funding for the Mid-Atlantic River Basin Commissions in his
budget next year. The Mid-Atlantic Basin includes the Delaware,
Susquehanna and the Potomac River Basins. The federal dollars for the
Southern Tier and Hudson Valley would go toward flood mitigation,
recreation activities, and conservation programs.
“Delaware
River Basin is a natural treasure – it helps make the Southern Tier and
Hudson Valley ideal communities to work, vacation, and raise a family,”
said Senator Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Environment and Public
Works Committee. “However, the Mid-Atlantic River Basin is also one of
the most flood-prone regions in the country. The Commissions help
develop watershed flood management plans and flood warning systems, as
well as provide assistance to local governments. I hope that President
Obama will include funding for the Mid-Atlantic River Basin Commissions
in his budget next year.”
Funding
for the river basins has historically been awarded through the
appropriations process, including $2.365 million in the Energy and
Water Appropriations Act of 2009. Unfortunately, Congressional
requests for this amount were not included in the fiscal year 2010
Energy and Water Appropriations Bill.
Senator
Gillibrand joined with eight of her colleagues to request that the
President include the funding in his FY2011 budget and in subsequent
years. Senator Gillibrand was joined by Senators Chuck Schumer (NY)
Bob Casey (PA), Arlen Specter (PA), Ted Kaufman (DE), Tom Carper (DE),
Frank Lautenberg (NJ), Robert Menendez (NJ), Ben Cardin (MD), and
Barbara Mikulski (MD).
Full text of the letter is below.
Dear Mr. President,
We
write to express our support for the Mid-Atlantic River Basin
Commissions. The three commissions-the Delaware River Basin
Commission, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, and the Interstate
Commission on the Potomac River Basin-all play instrumental roles in
regulating the shared waters of their respective river basins. The
Mid-Atlantic River Basin Commissions have a strong record of
facilitating successful negotiations between member states and helping
their regions prepare for and mitigate unforeseen circumstances that
affect the river basins.
Each
of the respective compacts creating the three commissions was
authorized by Congress. In addition, the Susquehanna River Basin
Commission and the Delaware River Basin Commission are constituted
under federal-interstate compacts in which the federal government is a
signatory member. These unique compacts are the only two that exist
under federal law.
Funding
for all three of the compacts has historically been awarded through the
congressional annual appropriations process. In addition, the following
language was added to Section 5019 of the Water Recourses Development
Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-114):
(b)
Authorization to Allocate – The Secretary [of the Army] shall allocate
funds to the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, Delaware River Basin
Commission, and the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin to
fulfill the equitable funding requirements of the respective interstate
compacts. (Emphasis added).
The
Mid-Atlantic River Basins were provided $2.365 million in the Energy
and Water Appropriations Act of 2009, (P.L. 111-8). Unfortunately,
Congressional requests for this amount were not included in the fiscal
year 2010 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill. To ensure the success
of the Commissions in the future, we respectfully urge you to include
$2.365 million in your FY2011 budget and in subsequent years.
Thank you in advance for your consideration of this request.