1.1 Congress
should adequately fund existing drought preparedness programs such as
the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Technical
Assistance Program (Public Law 46) and Environmental Quality
Incentives Program (16 U.S.C. 3839) and the Bureau of Reclamation’s
drought planning program (Public Law 102-250, Title II).
1.2 The
President should direct the Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps
of Engineers to find an effective way to meet the drought planning
needs of those areas not traditionally served by the Bureau of
Reclamation. Congress should fund these agencies’ efforts to better
serve the needs of the eastern part of the country.
1.3 The
President should direct all appropriate federal agencies to cooperate
fully and to provide all assistance possible to encourage development
or revision and implementation of comprehensive drought preparedness
plans by states, localities, tribes, regional entities such as
watershed and river basin organizations, and the private sector.
Federal agencies that provide drought planning assistance should
consider the elements shown in the box below.
1.4 Federal
agencies providing drought planning assistance should encourage state,
local, regional and tribal planners to use or adapt existing planning
materials and resources. These include materials developed by the
National Drought Mitigation Center, the Army Corps of Engineers, the
U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Western Drought Coordination
Council, the states, and urban and rural water districts.
1.5 The
President should direct all appropriate federal agencies to develop
and implement drought management plans for federal facilities such as
military bases, federal prisons, and large federal office complexes in
the United States. These plans should be coordinated with local and
state drought planning and mitigation measures.
1.6 The
President should direct all appropriate federal agencies to study
their programs for potential impacts on drought. Where such potential
exists, the agencies need to integrate national drought policy into
their programs.
1.7 The
President should direct federal agencies with water resources
management programs to develop and promote comprehensive public
awareness efforts as part of an ongoing drought preparedness strategy.
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