Full Funding Secured - In the last newsletter edition, we reported that Maryland's U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski (senior Democrat on the Senate Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Subcommittee) announced her intention to fight for full funding for the Susquehanna Flood Forecast and Warning System. Thanks to her unwavering commitment and the subsequent support from other senators and congressmen from the Susquehanna basin, full funding in the amount of $2 million was approved by Congress and signed into law by the President (Public Law 109-108).
SRBC is grateful to Senator Mikulski for her leadership and to all the basin legislators who fought for the restored funding.
Interagency Committee - For 20 years, SRBC has coordinated and chaired the interagency committee on the Susquehanna flood warning system. Along with SRBC, the committee is comprised of federal and state agencies directly involved in or interested in the Susquehanna System. The committee convenes annually to discuss each agency's accomplishments and any shortfalls in the current fiscal year, and to identify tasks and system needs for the next fiscal year.
This year's interagency meeting was held on December 2. For the first time in many years, the certainty over the budget allowed committee members to make firm decisions regarding what equipment upgrades and community outreach programs would be implemented next fiscal year. For more information on the system and the interagency committee, go to www.susquehannafloodforecasting.org.
