Dorgan To Request Frought Emergency Declaration From State, Tribal Officials
DORGAN TO REQUEST DROUGHT EMERGENCY DECLARATION FROM STATE, TRIBAL OFFICIALS
U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan called a meeting Tuesday with stakeholders from across the Missouri River system to discuss the area's drought, which is currently in its eighth year and has dropped the river water level from its normal 55 million acre-feet to just 34 million acre-feet. Runoff this year is expected to again be nearly 25 percent below normal, and Dorgan said this leaves a very thin margin of error for communities that depend on the river for their water supply.
Dorgan said he will request a drought emergency declaration from state and tribal officials that could trigger a provision allowing federal agencies to provide emergency assistance.
Dorgan, chairman of the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, requested and received a comprehensive report from the U.S. Corps of Engineers outlining the potential effects of the continued Missouri River drought. The report revealed that the low water levels along the river have put a number of North Dakota communities in danger of losing their water supply.
Dorgan said the drought declaration will allow the federal Bureau of Reclamation to use federal funding to drill wells and take other action to ensure potable water is available. He said he'll work through his committee to ensure the Corps and Bureau of Reclamation have resources to secure the water supply for threatened cities.
"We've seen in Fort Yates, North Dakota, what happens when a city is cut off from its water supply, and I'm determined to make sure that doesn't happen again," Dorgan said.
"One step is for the Congress to put some money in the Bureau of Reclamation emergency funding account. Another step is for the state government and tribal leaders to declare a drought emergency that will trigger the Bureau of Reclamation to take some action to address this problem in the short term.
"The goal of this meeting was to ensure the federal, state and tribal governments are communicating and prepared. We need to continue to work together to make sure our citizens aren't left high and dry when the water level drops in the Missouri River system."
http://dorgan.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=269550