The President's Fiscal Year 1999 Budget Date: Mon, 2 Feb 1998 16:52:58 -0500 To: "DC - All District Chiefs" From: "Robert M. Hirsch, Chief Hydrologist, USGS" (by way of Jan Arneson) Subject: FY 1999 President's Budget Information Cc: "A - Division Chief and Staff", "B - Branch Chiefs and Offices", " , WRD Archive File, Reston, VA " In Reply Refer To: Mail Stop 409 MEMORANDUM February 2, 1998 To: District Chiefs From: Robert M. Hirsch (signed) Chief Hydrologist Subject: The President's Fiscal Year 1999 Budget Here it is! Information on the President's fiscal year (FY) 1999 budget request to Congress for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and especially the Water Resources Division (WRD). Attachments to this memorandum include a table and text explaining the highlights of the budget situation as it stands now. Very briefly, the President's budget has some very good news for our cooperators, especially those involved in the environmental/ water-quality arena. Most of the proposed increase in WRD's budget ($19M) is for water-quality related work in two Administration initiatives. This proposed increase of 10 percent to WRD's budget, the largest proposed increase in many years, is good news and a strong endorsement of our work. The overall increase for the USGS is about $47M, or 6 percent. However, as you go through the information below, please keep in mind that we are only about half way through the FY 1999 budget process. What is behind us is the Administration's work on the budget (numerous iterations among the bureau, Department, and Office of Management and Budget). Now, we take the show to Congress. Still to come, are our House Appropriations Hearing (March 18); budget "markups" by House and Senate that usually occur in the June-July time frame; and finally, the end-game -- joint House-Senate Conference action, final congressional passage, and signature by the President, hopefully before October 1 (but usually not). So, although we can certainly begin discussing the positive potential benefits of the President's budget with those outside the USGS who are interested, we should caution them that this budget is still quite far from being enacted. Tomorrow, we will be sending subsequent email containing excerpts from our budget book describing the specific changes in each line item, and overall summaries of the two water-quality initiatives. In addition, we will be sending along to you, in a day or so, a "briefing sheet" designed particularly for informing our cooperators about our budget. You may also share any of the material in this message. The entire budget book will be sent to you in a few weeks once it is approved and printed As of this afternoon, February 2, you are free to share this information with employees and cooperators and other interested parties. Remember, that while this is excellent news, it is not money in the bank until Congress passes the budget and the President signs it. If you have any questions, please check first with your Regional Program Officer. In the meantime, I hope you find the following information enlightening and, at least for the time being, uplifting! Attachments: (1) USGS News Release on FY 1999 President's Budget (2) Table comparing FY 1997 and FY 1998 enacted budgets with FY 1999 President's budget ****** ATTACHMENT 1 ****** FY 1999 PRESIDENT'S BUDGET (Dollars in Thousands) FY 1997 FY 1998 FY 1999 Enacted Enacted President's Request TOTAL U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 738913 759160 805883 WRD as a percentage of total USGS 26% 26% 27% WATER RESOURCES INVESTIGATIONS 192506 194882 214187 Water Resources Assessments & Research 94444 95851 103820 Ground-Water Resources 2995 3079 3187 National Water-Quality Assessment a/ 63352 64216 71603 Toxic Substances Hydrology 14028 14252 14226 Hydrologic Research and Development 14069 14304 14804 Water Data Collection & Management 28950 28247 32849 Hydrologic Networks and Analysis b/ 23524 24087 25604 Water Information Delivery c/ 5426 4160 7245 Federal-State Cooperative Program d/ 64559 66231 71961 Water Resources Research Act Program e/ 4553 4553 5557 NATIONAL MAPPING PROGRAM 131775 135785 151789 GEOLOGIC HAZARDS, RES. & PROCESSES 229280 235175 233793 BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH 137500 145159 157312 GENERAL ADMINISTRATION 25057 25584 27293 FACILITIES 22795 22575 21509 a/ Clean Water Initiative; includes $1M for work on Park Service Lands. b/ FY 1999 Program Change for Hydrologic Networks and Analysis includes five parts: Watershed Modeling -998 Truckee Carson -1219 Water Quality Information 2000 Clean Water Initiative 1500 Other -496 Net Total 787 c/ Water Quality Information Initiative. d/ Includes $2M for Clean Water and $2M for Water Quality Information Initiative. e/ Clean Water Initiative-competitive grants on nonpoint source pollution. NOTE: Compared to FY 1998, the President's FY 1999 budget represents a 6 percent increase for the USGS and a 10 percent increase for WRD. The FY 1999 column includes uncontrollable cost adjustments (about 2 percent to help with inflation, pay raises, etc.), as well as programmatic increases. The programmatic increases for the bureau are mainly in four Administrative Initiatives: * Global Disaster Information Network (GDIN) ($15M = all to NMD): to integrate and disseminate disaster-relevant information. Most of these funds would be for grants and contracts. * Species and Habitat ($11M for USGS; BRD = $9M; GD = $2M): to support Endangered Species issues. The $2M in GD's budget would support new ecosystem work in four areas, some of which would be done by WRD (Platte, Mojave, Yellowstone, and Salton Sea). * Clean Water and Watershed Restoration Initiative ($16.5M for USGS; WRD = $10M; GD = $3M; BRD = $$2M; NMD = $1M): to improve the water quality in 1000 watersheds. This is a new multi-agency initiative led by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. * Water Quality Information Initiative ($7M = all to WRD): to enhance dissemination of information on water quality to the public, especially in major urban areas. Aligned with EPA's EMPACT Program. Although these last two initiatives were developed along separate tracks in the Administration, they represent closely related work for WRD, and are described together here and in the COOP Program briefing document that we will send to you in a few days. ****** ATTACHMENT 2 ****** NEWS RELEASE Address U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Outreach U.S. Geological Survey 119 National Center Reston, VA 20192 703-648-4460 Release Contact Phone Email EMBARGOED UNTIL Trudy Harlow (703) 648-4483 tharlow@usgs.gov Feb. 2, 1998, 2:00 p.m. EST U.S. Geological Survey 1999 Budget Emphasizes Clean Water, Disaster Information, Species and Habitat The President has proposed a budget of $806.9 million for the Interior Department's U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Fiscal Year 1999. The proposed budget reflects a net increase of $47.7 million over the FY 1998 enacted level for the USGS's unique interdisciplinary natural science capabilities. The USGS provides crucial scientific information for natural resource and disaster management decisionmakers at all levels of government and the private sector. Increases include $16.5 million in support of the Administration's Clean Water and Watershed Restoration Initiative for a wide range of water-quality monitoring and watershed assessment activities; $15 million for a multi-agency natural disaster information network hosted by the USGS; and $11 million for species and habitat conservation studies in support of the nation's natural resource managers. "Impartial scientific information is the foundation for effective policymaking," said Dr. Thomas Casadevall, acting USGS director. "As the nation's primary natural science agency, the USGS is committed to responding to America's critical scientific, health, and economic concerns, such as the quality of the nation's water, increased understanding of species and habitats, and the safety of life and property in earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters." "USGS is focusing on science that is relevant to the nation's needs and concerns," added Casadevall. "That is why USGS scientists are at work every day on issues of concern to every citizen across our country, using their expertise to establish solid baseline information that will benefit generations of Americans. From identifying water quality threats associated with abandoned mine lands to determining the cause of bird die-offs in the Salton Sea, from understanding major ecosystems such as the Everglades, San Francisco Bay, and Chesapeake Bay to responding when natural disasters occur, every day the USGS is providing science for our changing world." The FY 1999 budget proposal also includes a $7.1 million savings from government reinvention initiatives. Highlights of the FY 99 budget include: *A $16.5 million increase to support the Clean Water and Watershed Restoration Initiative, which is designed to improve the health of aquatic systems in all of the nation's watersheds. USGS contributions will support federal, state, tribal and local government efforts to improve water quality. Specific components of the increase will enable USGS to evaluate nutrient loads and transport in major rivers and ground-water systems, including a specific focus on contributors to hypoxia and toxic algal blooms in the Gulf of Mexico and other coastal waters; determine the influence of land-use practices and pollution sources on water quality and ecosystems of rivers and coastal estuaries; provide data to help states determine the Total Maximum Daily Loads as required by the Clean Water Act; provide improved water-quality monitoring and assessment for watersheds in our national parks; develop state geo-environmental maps that will help the Bureau of Land Management and other agencies plan for remediation of the effects of past mining practices on water quality; provide the Bureau of Reclamation with information that will improve its ability to manage water quality and biological resources in 20 high-priority Western watersheds; and assess optimal approaches for pesticide monitoring in water-supply wells. *A $7 million increase to support the Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to provide information to the public on the quality of drinking water in 86 of America's major cities. *An increase of $15 million for a multi-agency program for the integration of natural disaster-related information and its dissemination to emergency managers and others who can take action to reduce disaster losses. Robust computer and broadcast networks will be established that can operate during all phases of disaster management, along with a public/private partnership among those who manage or are affected by natural disasters. *An increase of $11 million to support species and habitat research needed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and state and local agencies, in areas such as California's Salton Sea, with its continuing outbreaks of seabird and fish mortality. In Arizona and New Mexico, the study focus will be on the effects of land-use practices on endangered species and migratory birds. USGS biologists will study the consequences of fire use to improve the ecosystem health of national wildlife refuges, and biologists will supply information on wetlands and uplands in support of the population and habitat goals of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. Decision support systems and other tools will be developed to assist Department of the Interior public land and resource managers. As the Nation's natural science agency, the USGS has about 10,000 employees at work in every state and Puerto Rico, investigating issues of concern to every American, including nearly 2,000 local, state, regional and national organizations. Efforts range from about 45,000 water measuring stations crucial to making flood and water-supply forecasts, to 80,000 different maps of the country, as well as front-line earthquake and volcano monitoring networks and wildlife research at parks and refuges. ***USGS*** This press release and in-depth information on USGS programs may be found on the USGS home page: http://www.usgs.gov. To receive the latest USGS news releases automatically by email, send a request to . Specify the listserver(s) of interest from the following names: water-pr; geologic-hazards-pr; biological-pr; mapping-pr; products-pr; lecture-pr. In the body of the message write: subscribe (name of listserver) (your name). Example: subscribe water-pr joe smith.