Dear Friends,<\/p>\n
The lakes along the Savannah River Basin are a vital part of our community.\u00a0Lakes Hartwell, Thurmond, and Russell attract thousands of visitors each\u00a0year. In addition to serving as economic engines for the region, these three\u00a0lakes provide clean, safe drinking water to thousands of residents.\u00a0Unfortunately, the severe drought facing the Upstate is threatening our\u00a0lakes and negatively impacting our local economies.<\/p>\n
Record low rainfall in the area has pushed our lakes to their lowest levels\u00a0in more than two decades. There appears to be no relief in sight as the\u00a0National Weather Service has predicted that temperatures over the next three\u00a0months will be unusually warm while precipitation will remain below average.<\/p>\n
To make matters worse, the Army Corps of Engineers, who oversees the outflow\u00a0of water from these lakes into the Savannah River, is required to operate\u00a0under what I believe is an outdated and broken set of policies known as the
\nDrought Contingency Plan. According to the Drought Contingency Plan for a\u00a0level three drought, Lakes Hartwell, Thurmond, and Russell must release 3600\u00a0cubic feet of water per second into the Savannah River.<\/p>\n
The question on my mind and on the minds of many in our District is a simple\u00a0one; why can’t the Corps reduce the outflow from these lakes that are\u00a0already at dangerously low levels?<\/p>\n
Several months ago our office started looking into the issue. Finding the\u00a0answer to that relatively simple question was a slow and frustrating\u00a0process, but what we discovered was surprising. Essentially, the National\u00a0Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), under authority of the\u00a0Endangered Species Act, prohibits the Corps of Engineers from reducing\u00a0outflow rates below 3600cfs in order to protect the short-nosed sturgeon, an\u00a0endangered species of fish that lives in the Savannah River.<\/p>\n
Once we knew what the problem was, our goal became finding a solution.\u00a0Through numerous letters, phone calls, and meetings, our office worked to\u00a0get NOAA to allow for a temporary reduction in the outflow rate by 500cfs\u00a0for all three lakes from November 2008 to February 2009. This temporary\u00a0reduction bought us some time to find a more permanent solution.<\/p>\n
On December 22, 2008, I sent a letter to the Corps asking that they continue\u00a0the reduced outflow rate for as long as possible past January. Additionally,\u00a0the states of South Carolina and Georgia echoed my request in formal letters\u00a0to the Corps. The Corps responded stating that they would do everything they\u00a0could to ensure the reduced outflow rate continued beyond January.<\/p>\n
Last week, we received word that NOAA refused the Corps’ request to continue\u00a0the lower release rate of 3100cfs. I am extremely disappointed and\u00a0frustrated with this decision given that NOAA has no conclusive evidence\u00a0that the short-nosed sturgeon would be adversely affected by the reduced\u00a0outflows. While NOAA may be uncertain of how its actions affect the
\nshort-nosed sturgeon, I am certain that their refusal to comply with our\u00a0request to continue reduced outflows will have a serious negative impact on\u00a0our lakes and the surrounding communities. NOAA’s protectionist view fails\u00a0to meet the standards of good stewardship found in collaboratively\u00a0conserving precious resources. Unlike the citizens of our state who are\u00a0wisely conserving water, NOAA is showing little regard for making similar\u00a0short-term sacrifices for a resource that impacts all our interests.<\/p>\n
Today, I sent a letter to Mary Glackin, Acting Director of the National\u00a0Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, asking her to reconsider\u00a0NOAA’s decision requiring the Corps’ to increase release levels from\u00a03100cfs. NOAA’s action jeopardizes the safety of our families and the\u00a0economy of each community surrounding the lakes. If you would like to read In addition to looking for continued temporary relief, I am working towards\u00a0a long-term solution. To that end, I met with General Schroedel, regional\u00a0leader for the Army Corps of Engineers, on January 11, 2009 to address my\u00a0concerns about flaws in the Drought Contingency Plan. General Schroedel and\u00a0I had a productive meeting, and I remain optimistic that much-needed reforms\u00a0to the Drought Contingency Plan will be made. However, adjustments to the\u00a0Drought Contingency Plan are only part of the solution. I am considering\u00a0introducing legislation that will amend the Endangered Species Act in a\u00a0manner that would allow for the protection of our lakes and water supplies.<\/p>\n As we continue to make progress on this important issue, I am committed to\u00a0keeping you up-to-date and informed. I will issue regular updates via email\u00a0and post important information regarding the situation on our website, I want you to know that I understand and share the frustration surrounding\u00a0the drought, and I will continue to do all that I can to find an immediate\u00a0and temporary fix while working towards a long-term solution. Should ever\u00a0have any question about this issue and our efforts, please feel free to\u00a0contact our office at (202) 225-5301.<\/p>\n Sincerely,<\/p>\n J. Gresham Barrett<\/p>\n Member of Congress<\/p>\n P.S. To make your opinion known on this important issue, please call Mary\u00a0Glackin, the Deputy Under Secretary for NOAA, at (202) 482-4569 or email her\u00a0at Dear Friends, The lakes along the Savannah River Basin are a vital part of our community.\u00a0Lakes Hartwell, Thurmond, and Russell attract thousands of visitors each\u00a0year. In addition to serving as economic engines for the region, these three\u00a0lakes provide clean, safe drinking water to thousands of residents.\u00a0Unfortunately, the severe drought facing the Upstate is threatening our\u00a0lakes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-793","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2gEQ0-cN","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kevinbryant.com\/kbarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kevinbryant.com\/kbarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kevinbryant.com\/kbarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevinbryant.com\/kbarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevinbryant.com\/kbarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevinbryant.com\/kbarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kevinbryant.com\/kbarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevinbryant.com\/kbarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevinbryant.com\/kbarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nthis letter in its entirety, you can do so by clicking
\nhere<http:\/\/barrett.houseenews.net\/mail\/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=2100031749.111749.338&gen=1&mailing_linkid=3664<\/a>>.<\/p>\n
\nwww.barrett.house.gov<\/a><http:\/\/barrett.houseenews.net\/mail\/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=2100031749.111749.338&gen=1&mailing_linkid=3665<\/a>>.<\/p>\n
\nmary.glackin@noaa.gov<\/a><http:\/\/barrett.houseenews.net\/mail\/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=2100031749.111749.338&gen=1&mailing_linkid=3666<\/a>>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"