GROUND WATER PROTECTION COUNCIL

April 22, 1999

Dr. Ethan T. Smith
Executive Secretary
Advisory Committee on Water Information
USGS 417 National Center
Reston, VA. 20192

Dear Dr. Smith

I would like to submit a request to place the topic "funding of the National Water Quality Monitoring Council (NWQMC)", on the agenda for discussion at the upcoming meeting of ACWI in May. I do so wearing two hats; one of a member of ACWI representing the Ground Water Protection Council, and another one of a member of the NWQMC representing the southeastern states of EPA's region IV.

I have been a member of NWQMC since its inception in 1991, and have chaired one of its work groups; the "Ground Water Focus Group" for that many years. In this capacity, I have been delighted with the progress we have made in generating the Council's reports and technical documents, but also frustrated with our inability to implement its current work plan. I fear that the Council's inertia, created so far with limited funding but unlimited interest and enthusiasm of its members, will be hard to maintain without the infusion of additional funds or staff time. The Council's members who have worked hard, using their own time, to identify priorities, or to initiate products, are being forced to watch their effort becoming outdated awaiting those elusive funds.

As a non-federal participant on many federal task forces, I still can not pretend to fathom the intricacies of the federal budget or the process followed in allocating internal agency funds. I can however make the observation that the burden of funding the activities of the Council has been borne entirely by the USGS and the EPA. Also as a non-federal stake holder, I may perhaps be forgiven for naming a few federal agencies (NOAA, USDA, DOD, DOE, others ?) that are logical beneficiaries of the Council's activities and products, but have yet to contribute their fair share in sustaining this worthy group.

I will be happy to elaborate verbally on this issue at the ACWI meeting. Should you have any questions or wish additional details on the above, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely
(signed)
Rodney S. DeHan Ph.D.
Senior Research Scientist, Florida Geological Survey
Past President and Board Member, the Ground Water Protection Council