Try and place a quick call to Senator Harkin and Grassley Ask them to support the Global Warming and Prioritization Amendments to the Water Resources and Development Act ( WRDA) Vote YES on the Feingold-McCain-Coburn-Carper-Gregg- Sununu-DeMint Prioritization Amendment to WRDA Ensure That Corps Projects Address Climate Change Vote Yes On the Kerry-Feingold-Collins-Sanders-Carper Amendment to S. 1248 The following reforms are included in the underlying WRDA bill: --Independent peer review of costly or controversial Corps projects; --Dramatic improvements to the Corps* mitigation process; --Modernization of the Corps* woefully out of date planning guidelines; --Establishment of a new national policy that directs the Corps to avoid impacts to floodplains; and --An interagency assessment of the nation*s vulnerability to flood and related storm damage and recommendations to improve the nation*s various flood prevention programs. THE AMMENDMENTS Vote YES on the Feingold-McCain-Coburn-Carper-Gregg- Sununu-DeMint Prioritization Amendment to WRDA Ensure That Corps Projects Address Climate Change Vote Yes On the Kerry-Feingold-Collins-Sanders-Carper Amendment to S. 1248 Vote YES on the Feingold-McCain-Coburn-Carper-Gregg- Sununu-DeMint Prioritization Amendment to WRDA The Problem: The Corps currently has $58 billion of authorized, unconstructed projects on the books. WRDA 2007 is likely to add another $31.5 billion to the mix. With roughly $2 billion a year in Corps’ construction funding, it would take over 40 years just to clear the backlog. As Hurricane Katrina made tragically clear, the water resource agenda in our country is broken. Projects are not funded according to need, but according to politics. Taxpayers deserve a better system to ensure their investment is going to the projects of the greatest need. With the rising threat of global warming – and Corps projects serving on the front lines of impending impacts – the need for prioritization is all the more urgent. The Amendment: The Feingold-McCain-Coburn-Carper-Gregg-Sununu-DeMint amendment would establish a Water Resources Commission. This Commission would be: Comprised of 8 members appointed by the leadership of both parties of the House and Senate and the President; Charged with issuing a one-time only, non-binding report prioritizing Corps projects based on a set of project specific criteria; and Responsible for recommending a process for adding additional authorizations and reconsidering priorities in the future. The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA): In its February 2007 report issued at the behest of Congress, Prioritizing America’s Water Resources Investments, Budget Reform for Civil Works Construction Projects at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NAPA concluded that: “The present project-by-project approach, with lagging project completions, on-again-off-again construction schedules, and disappointed cost-share sponsors that do not know what they can count on, is not the best path to continued national prosperity.” “The prioritization process is not transparent. At several points, within both the executive and legislative branches, the decision process is not sufficiently open or documented so that the public can readily understand the reasons for funding or not funding projects.” “Larger questions emerged that bear on the future sustainability of the nation’s water resources...The answer to these questions should begin with a fundamental reassessment of national water resources needs, goals, and strategies. It should end with a substantially reshaped planning and budgeting process…” Protect our Future Ensure That Corps Projects Address Climate Change Vote Yes On the Kerry-Feingold-Collins-Sanders-Carper Amendment to S. 1248 In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the nation witnessed the tragic consequences of an intense storm, an eroded wetlands system, and faulty U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) planning. With scientists projecting that global climate change will produce more intense storms, flooding and sea level rise, Corps planning must respond by accounting for climate change and protecting natural systems that can buffer the effects of that change. The Kerry-Feingold-Collins-Sanders-Carper Amendment: The amendment would require the Corps to use the best available climate science; account for potential future impacts of climate change on storms and floods; and account for the costs and benefits associated with the loss and protection of wetlands, floodplains, and other natural systems that can buffer the affects of climate change. The amendment also requires the Corps to use, where appropriate, nonstructural approaches to project planning to help protect such natural systems. Global Climate Change Threatens Communities: Global climate change threatens community health and safety. Scientists expect an increase in extreme weather events, including more powerful storms, more frequent floods, and extended droughts. Flooding from tropical storms and hurricanes pose a risk to coastal communities while rapid snowmelt and increased rainfall will increase flooding in other regions. Healthy Streams, Floodplains, and Wetlands Can Buffer Climate Change Impacts: Healthy rivers, streams, floodplains, and wetlands act as natural sponges and basins. They absorb flood waters and act as barriers between storm surges and homes, buildings, and people. Healthy wetlands help minimize the impacts of drought by recharging groundwater supplies and filtering pollutants from drinking water. These resources also provide critical habitat for fish and wildlife, and exceptional recreational opportunities. Corps Planning Fails To Account For The Value Of Essential Natural Systems: Corps planning does not account for the value of services provided by healthy rivers, streams, wetlands, and floodplains. The Corps also rarely recommends nonstructural approaches that could provide the same or better project benefits while avoiding damages to these vital resources. The Status Quo Will Not Protect Our Future: The Corps’ traditional approach to flooding problems is to straight jacket rivers with levees and floodwalls. This severs critical connections between rivers and their wetlands and floodplains, and leads to significant coastal and floodplain wetland losses. These approaches have left coastal communities, like New Orleans, far more vulnerable, and have exacerbated flood damages by inducing development in high risk, flood prone areas and by increasing downstream flooding. -- -- ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º> Deborah Neustadt Des Moines, IA Sierra Club Water Committee, Chair Wildlife and Endangered Species Committee, Corresponding Member Iowa Chapter, Executive Committee Member, Political Chair - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/