The President's Fiscal Year 1999 Budget

Date: Mon, 2 Feb 1998 16:52:58 -0500
To: "DC - All District Chiefs"<distribution.dc@srv1rvares.er.usgs.gov>
From: "Robert M. Hirsch, Chief Hydrologist, USGS" <rhirsch@srv1rvares.er.usgs.gov> (by way of Jan
 Arneson)
Subject: FY 1999 President's Budget Information
Cc: "A  - Division Chief and Staff"<distribution.a@srv1rvares.er.usgs.gov>,
        "B  - Branch Chiefs and Offices"<distribution.b@srv1rvares.er.usgs.gov>,
        " , WRD Archive File, Reston, VA "<wrd-archive>


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***

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