Fiscal Year 1999 Budget and Increased Collaboration Between the State Water Resources Research Institutes and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Date: Mon, 02 Feb 1998 16:57:52 -0500 To: "DC - All District Chiefs" From: "Robert M. Hirsch, Chief Hydrologist, USGS" (by way of Jennifer Ponton ) Subject: FY 1999 Budget & Increased Collaboration with Institutes Cc: "John E Schefter, Chief, Office of External Res, Reston, VA ", "A - Division Chief and Staff", " , WRD Archive File, Reston, VA ", "Jennifer B Ponton, Office Automation Clerk, Reston, VA " In Reply Refer To: Mail Stop 436 MEMORANDUM February 2, 1998 To: Directors, State Water Resources Research Institutes District Chiefs, Water Resources Division, USGS From: Robert M. Hirsch (signed) Chief Hydrologist Subject:Fiscal Year 1999 Budget and Increased Collaboration Between the State Water Resources Research Institutes and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) I am pleased inform you that the President's budget for fiscal year 1999 proposes a $1,000,000 increase for the State Water Resources Research Institute Program. These additional funds would be earmarked for research on the causes, effects, and management of nonpoint-source pollution in support of the Administration's Clean Water and Watershed Restoration Initiative. This Action Plan is a multiagency effort and will involve the participation of several USGS programs, including the Institutes. It is our intent that funds be made competitively available under section 104(g) of the Water Resources Research Act, which has a 1:1 matching requirement and requires that the research priorities be jointly developed by the USGS and the Institutes. This proposed increase is a significant development for the Institute Program and the USGS. It is the first proposed increase in funding for the program since it was assigned to the USGS in 1984 and it is the first time, to my knowledge, that funding for the Institutes has been sought in direct support of a high-priority Federal program. It is this latter development that is of special significance to the USGS in that it would set a precedent in working with the Institutes to either complement the work of internal USGS programs or extend the capabilities of the USGS into those areas where it has little or no expertise such as research on the regulatory and economic aspects of water quality management. If the Congress appropriates the funds, I will strongly encourage all District Chiefs and Institute Directors to work together in support of this initiative. We will work together with the Institutes to develop research priorities and operational details of this new program. Our plans must provide a mechanism to encourage collaboration of USGS scientists with university scientists in the identification of specific research topics, the development and review of research proposals, the selection of proposals to be funded, and in the research projects themselves. In working toward these goals, I once again encourage all Institute Directors to invite the District Chief in their State to serve on their State Advisory Panel, and I encourage the District Chief to agree to serve if asked. I have directed John Schefter, Chief of the Office of External Research, to work with the leadership of the National Institutes for Water Resources and selected USGS personnel to work out the operational details of this program in anticipation of its implementation. I look forward to participation in the National Institutes for Water Resources meeting in early March, and to working with you on this new collaborative effort.