Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 74 / Thursday, April 17, 1997 / Notices 18797

provisions of the Federal Advisory

Committees Act.

Judith C. Gottlieb,

Acting Regional Director.

[FR Doc. 97–9956 Filed 4–16–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–70–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

Development of Strategic Plan for the

Bureau of Reclamation, Pursuant to

the Government Performance and

Results Act of 1993

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation,

Interior.

ACTION: Request for comments.

SUMMARY: The Government Performance

and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) requires

the Bureau of Reclamation

(Reclamation) and other Federal

agencies to set strategic goals, measure

performance, and report on results. It

requires development, no later than the

end of fiscal year 1997, of a 5-year

strategic plan, to include the

organization’s mission statement,

identify its long-term strategic goals,

and describe how it intends to achieve

its goals. The Act also requires that in

developing its Strategic Plan, that

Reclamation solicit and consider the

ideas of those potentially affected by or

interested in the Strategic Plan. This

notice asks for public comment

concerning the development of the

Bureau of Reclamation’s Strategic Plan

for the years 1997–2002.

DATES: Comments must be received by

May 9, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be directed to Karen Pedone, GPRA

Program Manager, W–6300, Bureau of

Reclamation, 1849 C Street NW.,

Washington, DC 20240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Karen Pedone, (202) 208–4972. Copies

may be obtained by contacting your

local Reclamation office or by calling

Karen Pedone.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Statutory Background

The Government Performance and

Results Act of 1993, Public Law 103–62

was enacted to make Federal programs

more effective and publicly accountable

by targeting results, service quality, and

customer satisfaction. Other statutory

goals were to improve Congressional

decisionmaking and to improve internal

management of the Federal Government.

Section 306 of title 5, United States

Code, requires that Reclamation submit

to the Director, Office of Management

and Budget, and to the Congress a

strategic plan for program activities no

later than September 30, 1997. The plan

is to contain:

(1) A comprehensive mission

statement covering the major functions

and operations of the agency;

(2) General goals and objectives,

including outcome-related goals

objectives, for the major functions and

operations of the agency;

(3) A description of how the goals and

objectives are to be achieved, including

a description of the operational

processes, skills and technology, and

the human, capital, information, and

other resources required to meet those

goals and objectives;

(4) A description of how the

performance goals included in the plan

required by section 1115(a) of title 31

shall be related to the general goals and

objectives in the strategic plan;

(5) An identification of those key

factors external to the agency and

beyond its control that could

significantly affect the achievement of

the general goals and objectives; and

(6) a description of the program

evaluations used in establishing or

revising general goals and objectives,

with a schedule for future program

evaluations.

Strategic Plan Summary

The Bureau of Reclamation Strategic

Plan also provides the framework for

Reclamation’s implementation of the

other parts of the Act, including

development of annual performance

plans, and annual program performance

reports that compare actual performance

to the annual goals.

Reclamation is the largest water

resources management agency in the

West, administering or operating 348

reservoirs (with a total storage capacity

of 245 million acre-feet), 58

hydroelectric powerplants, and more

than 300 recreation sites. With these

facilities, Reclamation delivers water to

over 31 million people and about 10

million acres of irrigated land or about

one-third of the irrigated acreage in the

West; generates more than 40 billion

kilowatt hours of energy each year,

making it the Nation’s second largest

producer of hydroelectric power and the

fifth largest electric producer (based on

generating capacity) in the West;

provides water-based recreation

activities for about 90 million visitors a

year; provides water supplies to support

habitat for wildlife refuges, migratory

waterfowl, anadramous and resident

fish, and endangered and threatened

species; and provides flood control

including $414 million in 1995 in flood

control benefits. This number reflects

the amount of damages from flooding

predicted to have occurred if

Reclamation facilities had not been in

place.

Reclamation projects stimulate an

estimated $24 billion in economic

activity each year. Benefits in

agriculture, recreation, power

dependent industries, municipal and

industrial water service, and other

related areas, including the construction

industry, are the direct result of

Reclamation management of a finite, but

variable natural yearly water supply.

These multipurpose benefits generate

about $5 billion in State and Federal tax

revenues. An estimated 700,000 personyears of employment are produced each

year as a result of the Reclamation

program.

The Reclamation program was created

by the Reclamation Act of 1902 to

reclaim the arid West and to provide

economic stability in the 17 western

states by developing irrigation projects.

Over time, these single purpose projects

gave way to the development and

construction of multipurpose water

resources projects. Over the past 90 plus

years, the Federal Government has

invested more than $16 billion in

Reclamation projects, 80 percent of

which is subject to repayment to the

U.S. Treasury (although often without

interest). Project beneficiaries pay for

annual operation and maintenance

costs. In addition, Reclamation is

responsible for securing the safety of its

dams and ensuring that Reclamation

facilities are maintained, operated, and

repaired in a manner that assures

project purposes are reliably met.

With a major network of water supply

and power generation facilities in place

and settlement of the West

accomplished, public interest has

shifted to concern for the efficient use

of already developed water supplies, the

protection of social and environmental

values, and the protection of the Federal

investment and infrastructure. As a

corollary, Reclamation’s emphasis has

evolved from narrowly focused project

development to the broadest aspects of

contemporary water and related

resources management and protection.

The transition from a development

emphasis to a resources management

orientation has involved several years of

introspection and change. In the mid1980’s, Reclamation undertook an

agency-wide assessment and published

the findings in a public document:

‘‘Assessment ’87 * * * A New Direction

for the Bureau of Reclamation.’’ That

document concluded that Reclamation’s
18798 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 74 / Thursday, April 17, 1997 / Notices

* * * mission must change from one based

on Federally supported construction to one

based on effective and environmentally

sensitive resource management.

Based upon that conclusion and further

introspection over the next 4 years,

Reclamation adopted a new mission

statement in 1992—a mission statement

which will lead us into our second

century of service to the Nation.

In 1993, Reclamation’s ‘‘Blueprint for

Reform’’ solidified this change in

mission by establishing contemporary

program priorities, functional

realignments, and streamlined operating

processes throughout Reclamation.

Specifically, the ‘‘Blueprint for Reform’’

called for the delegation of decisionmaking authority to the lowest practical

organizational level, reductions in

organizational layering and the number

of supervisory personnel, streamlining

regulations, and revision of program and

budget execution processes to reflect the

current mission and programs.

Collectively, the implementation of

these changes would enable

Reclamation to become a more efficient

and effective agency, that is more

responsive to its modern mission and its

customers.

Strategic Planning Process

The Strategic Plan has been

developed around a framework of

Reclamation’s three essential mission

objectives, desired long-term outcomes,

and 5-year strategic goals linked to more

tactical strategies to guide the agency in

attaining mission objectives. These

strategies will enable Reclamation to

implement measurable and

demonstrable annual program

performance goals. Accomplishments

will be measured through the use of 5-

year strategic goals and strategies as

program measures. Both the 5-year

strategic goals and the annual goals will

be described in the annual plans. With

sufficient resources and the ability to

effectively deal with factors beyond the

agency’s control, the annual goals will

be accomplished leading ultimately to

the achievement of the progressive

levels of 5-year, outcome, and mission

goals set forth in the Strategic Plan.

In forthcoming annual plans,

Reclamation’s performance indicators

will be used for assessing the results of

program activities. They will help

Reclamation determine whether it has

met its objectives and achieved desired

results. Measures may be expressed in

the form of outputs—the more

traditional quantitative and qualitative

ways of describing work products—or

they may be in the form of outcomes—

measures designed to show a program’s

achievements in light of intended

results.

In addition to objective, tangible

measures of Reclamation-wide

performance, the agency will report on

selected activities that demonstrate

progress. Because much of the on-theground mission is focused on managing

a finite but highly variable water supply

across the 17 western states,

Reclamation must consider individual

situations as well as the overall picture

to understand how well it is managing

a finite water supply among competing

demands, multiple project purposes,

and national and international policies

and priorities.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Bureau of

Reclamation is to manage, develop, and

protect water and related resources in

an environmentally and economically

sound manner in the interest of the

American public.

Mission Goals and Strategies

Mission Objective I—Manage, Develop,

and Protect Water and Related

Resources

Strategy 1—Manage Water and Related

Resources

Strategy 2—Facilities Operation

Strategy 3—Facilities Maintenance and

Rehabilitation

Strategy 4—Dam Safety

Strategy 5—Efficient Use of Water

(Conserve Water)

Strategy 6—Water Quality

Strategy 7—Complete Projects Under

Construction

Strategy 8—Indian Water and Related

Resources Management

Strategy 9—Fulfill Obligations to Indian

Tribes

Strategy 10—Research and Technology

Development

Mission Objective II: Protect the

Environment

Strategy 11—Fish and Wildlife

Strategy 12—Enhance Recreational

Opportunities

Strategy 13—Federal Land Interests

Mission Objective III: Improve our

Business Practices and Increase

Productivity of our Employees

Strategy 14—Use Common Sense

Business Approaches

Strategy 15—Implement Programmatic

Budgeting and Accountability

Strategy 16—Recover Federal

Investments

Strategy 17—Diverse, Skilled Workforce

Excellence

Strategy 18—Improve Customer Service

Electronic Access

The Bureau of Reclamation draft

Strategic Plan may be reviewed in its

entirety on the World Wide Web at

www.usbr.gov/Events/publicinvolve.html.

Dated: April 14, 1997.

Karen Pedone,

GPRA Program Manager.

[FR Doc. 97–9977 Filed 4–16–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–94–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

Bay-Delta Advisory Council’s

Ecosystem Roundtable Meeting

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: The Bay-Delta Advisory

Council’s (BDAC) Ecosystem

Roundtable will meet to discuss several

issues including: project selection

criteria, output from the technical

teams, development of the annual

workplan, public outreach and funding

coordination. This meeting is open to

the public. Interested persons may make

oral statements to the Ecosystem

Roundtable or may file written

statements for consideration.

DATES: The Bay-Delta Advisory

Council’s Ecosystem Roundtable

meeting will be held from 1:00 a.m. to

4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30,

1997.

ADDRESS: The Ecosystem Roundtable

will meet in Room 1131, Resources

Building, 1416 Ninth Street,

Sacramento, CA.

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Cindy Darling, CALFED Bay-Delta

Program, at (916) 657–2666. If

reasonable accommodation is needed

due to a disability, please contact the

Equal Employment Opportunity Office

at (916) 653–6952 or TDD (916) 653–

6934 at least one week prior to the

meeting.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The San

Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin

Delta Estuary (Bay-Delta system) is a

critically important part of California’s

natural environment and economy. In

recognition of the serious problems

facing the region and the complex

resource management decisions that

must be made, the state of California

and the Federal government are working

together to stabilize, protect, restore,

and enhance the Bay-Delta system. The

State and Federal agencies with

management and regulatory