The head of the U.S. Forest Service said Thursday that the agency’s Proposed Directive on Groundwater Resource Management has been put on hold to enable more engagement with Western states.
According to the Western Governors Association, that’s positive news. The Association had expressed concern (and later delivered comments) to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack about the proposed directive shortly after its release last July. The governors noted then in a letter that “Western states are the exclusive authority for allocating, administering, protecting and developing groundwater resources, and they are responsible for water supply planning within their boundaries.”
The Western Governors’ Association (WGA) letter concluded: “This proposed directive was developed without any state consultation of which WGA is aware. True consultation with the states will help the Service identify and avoid conflicts regarding proposed directives and rules. We invite the USFS to work through WGA, the Western States Water Council, and individual states to facilitate dialogue on ways to improve this (and any future) proposed directive.”
USFS Chief Tom Tidwell made the announcement during a hearing on the Forest Service’s fiscal 2016 budget before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in response to questioning from Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.)
“Where we are today is we’ve stopped,” Tidwell said, according to a story by Phil Taylor of E&E News. “We’re going to go back, and we’re going to sit down with — primarily with the states, the state water engineers — to really sit down with them and get their ideas about how we can do this, and ideally how we can do it together.” (Read story, subscription required)
WGA Executive Director Jim Ogsbury applauded the decision. “We have said from the beginning that the Forest Service should seek an authentic partnership with the states to achieve appropriate policies that reflect both the legal division of power and the on-the-ground realities of the region. Western Governors look forward to working with the agency.”