On November 4, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife held a remote hearing on the following bills: (1) H.Res. 320 recognizing the critical importance of access to reliable, clean drinking water for Native Americans and Alaska Natives and confirming the responsibility of the Federal Government to ensure such water access; (2) H.R. 4832 to establish the Open Access Evapotranspiration (OpenET) Data Program; (3) H.R. 5001 to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to continue to implement endangered fish recovery programs for the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basin; and (4) H.R. 5345 to authorize the Director of the United States Geological Survey to establish a regional program to assess, monitor, and benefit the hydrology of saline lakes in the Great Basin and the migratory birds and other wildlife dependent on those habitats.
Witnesses included Tanya Trujillo, Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, U.S. Department of the Interior; Bidtah Becker, Associate Attorney, Navajo Tribal Utility Authority; Rebecca Mitchell, Director, Colorado Water Conservation Board; Sara Porterfield, Water Policy Associate, Trout Unlimited; and Joel Ferry, Utah House of Representatives (Dist. 1). Links to the recorded hearing and written testimony are available at: https://naturalresources.house.gov/hearings/remote-wow-legislative-hearing_november-4-2021-
The WSWC submitted the following testimony supporting various provisions of the bills.
November 4 2021 WSWC Written Testimony to the House Water Oceans and Wildlife Sub