WASHINGTON
,
October 5, 2023
(press release)
–
US Senate News
:
Source:
United States
Senator
Kyrsten Sinema
(
Arizona
) Bipartisan Headwaters Protection Act strengthens two
U.S. Forest Service
programs to ensure forest, watershed, and drinking water health
Arizona
senior Senator
Kyrsten Sinema
cosponsored the bipartisan Headwaters Protection Act – legislation strengthening two U.S.
Forest Service
programs authorized in the 2018 Farm Bill, the Water Source Protection Program (WSPP), and the Water Condition Framework (WCF). The Sinema-backed bill invests in these programs to improve the health and safety of forests, watersheds, and drinking water across
Arizona
. Sinema’s support comes as Arizonans increasingly worry about access to clean water, especially during record drought conditions. Last year, Sinema and a bipartisan group of Western senators sent a letter to the
Senate Appropriations Subcommittee
on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies requesting full funding for the WSPP. “The future of
Arizona
– and all of the American West – depends on a healthy, resilient water supply. Our bipartisan bill offers a commonsense step towards a strong water future so
Arizona
can continue to thrive,” said Sinema. The Sinema-backed Headwaters Protection Act reauthorizes the WSPP and increases funding opportunities from
$10 million
per year to
$30 million
per year over the next ten years, as well as authorizes
$30 million
in new funding opportunities for the WCF over the next five years. The WSPP is designed to help prevent pollution of surface and ground water used as a primary source of drinking water. The WCF establishes a new consistent, comparable, and credible process for improving the health of watersheds on national forests and grasslands. The
Forest Service
reports that in Fiscal Year 2022, 54% of watersheds were in functioning condition, 44% were functioning at risk, and 3% had impaired function. A 2020 map of National Forest System lands reveals that large portions of the Salt and Verde watersheds – which are critical to supplying the Valley with clean, reliable water – were functioning at risk. The Headwaters Protection Act would fund reliable data and meaningful watershed health improvement projects and provide constituents with more plentiful, clean water.
MIL OSI USA News
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