WRITTEN STATEMENT BY
VICE ADMIRAL
CONRAD LAUTENBACHER, JR. (
UNDER
AND NOAA
ADMINISTRATOR
NATIONAL OCEANIC
AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
OVERSIGHT HEARING ON THE
NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION’S
FY 2008 BUDGET REQUEST
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
SUBCOMMITTEE ON FISHERIES, WILDLIFE AND OCEANS
February 27, 2007
Madam Chairwoman and members of the Subcommittee, before I begin my testimony I would like to thank you for your leadership and the generous support you have shown the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Your continued support for our programs is appreciated as we work to improve our products and services for the American people. Thank you for the opportunity to testify on the President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 Budget Request for NOAA.
The FY 2008 President’s Budget supports NOAA’s priority to advance mission-critical services. The FY 2008 request is $3.815 billion, which represents a $131 million or 3.4% increase over the FY 2007 request. This request includes the level of resources necessary to carry out NOAA’s mission, which is to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment, and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet our nation’s economic, social and environmental needs. At NOAA we work to protect the lives and livelihoods of Americans, and provide products and services that benefit the economy, environment, and public safety of the nation. Before I discuss the details of our FY 2008 budget request, I would like to briefly highlight some of NOAA’s notable successes from the past fiscal year (2006).
FY 2006 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
President Designates Largest Fully-Protected Marine Area on Earth
Recognizing the continuing need for resource protection,
President Bush designated the
Successful Launch of NOAA Satellite GOES-13
and New Satellite Operations Facility Ensure Continuity of Improved Data
Collection
On May 24, 2006, officials from NOAA and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) confirmed that a new geostationary operational environmental satellite, designed to track hurricanes and other severe weather impacting the nation, successfully reached orbit. Upon reaching final orbit, the satellite was renamed GOES-13. This is the first in a new series of satellites featuring a more stable platform enabling improved instrument performance. NOAA instruments were also launched on the European MetOp-A polar-orbiting satellite in October 2006. Combined with NOAA and Department of Defense (DOD) operational satellites, MetOp-A will help provide global data for improving forecasts of severe weather, disaster mitigation, and monitoring of the environment. This launch ushered in a new era of U.S.-European cooperation in environmental observing.
In 2006, NOAA satellite operations and data processing groups began moving into the new NOAA Satellite Operations Facility (NSOF). The NSOF will house the NOAA satellite command and control functions and data and distribution activities that are central to NOAA’s mission. The NSOF will also house the U.S. Mission Control Center for the Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking (SARSAT) program and the National Ice Center (NIC), a joint NOAA/DOD mission to track ice floes and issue warnings to the nation’s maritime force. The NSOF will become fully operational in Spring 2007.
Enhancements to NOAA’s Fleet of Ships and
Aircraft
Significant progress is being made in modernizing NOAA’s fleet. NOAA took delivery of the Fisheries Survey Vessel (FSV) HENRY B. BIGELOW, the second of 4 new FSV, on July 25, 2006. The BIGELOW has high-tech capabilities that make it one of the world’s most advanced fisheries research ships. These ships will be able to perform hydro-acoustic fish surveys and conduct bottom and mid-water trawls while running physical and biological oceanographic sampling during a single deployment ― a combined capability unavailable in the private sector that will enable research and assessment to be carried out with greater accuracy and cost efficiency. NOAA also took delivery from the Navy of a “retired” P-3 aircraft in response to the hurricane supplemental bill attached to the FY 2006 Defense appropriations legislation. Rehabilitation of the P-3 is expected to be completed by the start of the 2008 hurricane season.
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act Reauthorized
Congress reauthorized the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) in December, 2006, and it was signed into law by President Bush on January 12, 2007. The MSA is the guiding legislation that authorizes fishery management activities in federal waters. Enactment of this bill was one of the top priorities of the U.S. Ocean Action Plan. The reauthorized MSA strengthens NOAA’s ability to end overfishing, rebuild fish stocks, and work collaboratively on conservation.
NOAA designed easy to deploy
Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART)-II technology, which
provides two-way communication between the buoys and NOAA facilities. This technology allows engineers to
troubleshoot these systems from the lab and repair the systems remotely when
possible. This functionality can minimize
system downtime and save money by not requiring a ship be deployed to make minor
repairs. The U.S. Tsunami Warning Program
also created tsunami impact forecast models for nine major coastal communities,
providing information for inundation maps.
With the December 11, 2006 deployment of DART #23 in the
NOAA also continued to monitor sea
height through a network of buoys and tide gauges, collecting information
critical to understanding the time of arrival and the height of tsunami
waves. In 2006, NOAA completed the
installation of eight new National Water Level Observation Network (NWLON)
stations to fill gaps in the detection network, bringing the two-year total to
15. The 15 stations were installed in
Red Tide Monitoring Protects
Human Health and Coastal Economics in
In the wake of the 2005 New England
red tide crisis that forced the closure of most shellfisheries in the region, NOAA
provided additional emergency funding in 2006 to provide timely and critical
information to state managers to build upon long-term research supported by the
Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Bloom, and Monitoring and Event
Response for Harmful Algal Bloom programs at the Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution, as well as other partner institutions. In the spring of 2006, NOAA-sponsored
monitoring detected rapid escalations of the bloom, which subsequently closed
shellfisheries in
National Estuarine Research Reserve System
Adds 27th Reserve
On May 6, 2006, Commerce and Congressional officials dedicated the newest site in the National Estuarine Research Reserve System in Port Aransas, TX, bring the total to 27 reserves. This new reserve introduces a new biogeographic area type into the system, and adds 185,708 acres of public and private land and water. The reserves are federal-state partnerships, where NOAA provides national program guidance and operational funding. These reserves serve as living laboratories for scientists and provide science-based educational programs for students and the public.
Wide Application Potential of Unmanned Aircraft
Systems Demonstrated
In 2006, NOAA worked
with federal and private sector partners to successfully demonstrate Unmanned Aircraft
Systems (UAS) technology. NOAA is
interested in UAS as a tool to explore and gather data to help us reach new
heights in our ability to understand and predict the world in which we
live. Use of UAS could help NOAA achieve
our mission goals and provide cost-effective means
to: enforce regulations over NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuaries, conduct long
endurance flights for weather, conduct research over areas that pose
significant risks to pilots, validate satellite measurements, provide counts of
marine mammal populations, monitor atmospheric composition and climate, and
hover above hurricanes and gather critical data for input into hurricane
models. NOAA will continue to examine
how UAS can assist in the collection of environmental data.
Protecting Habitat Essential to Fish
In 2006, over 500,000 square miles
of U.S. Pacific Ocean habitats were protected from damage by fishing practices,
particularly bottom-trawling. Combined,
these areas are more than three times the size of all
NOAA Continues Efforts to Assist with
following 2005 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
In addition to providing the forecasts and immediate
response assistance in 2005, following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, NOAA has continued
to assist with
NOAA ships and aircraft provided critical response and
recovery capabilities in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
NOAA Ship THOMAS JEFFERSON completed obstruction surveys in the
NOAA mounted a multi-pronged effort to address
fishery-related impacts in the
Collaboration Enables
a NOAA Weather Radio to be Placed
in Every Public School
in
NOAA and the Departments of Homeland Security and Education worked
to get 97,000 NOAA weather radios placed in every public school in
NOAA’s National Oceanographic Data Center
(NODC) released a major upgrade to its World Ocean Database product. World Ocean Database 2005 (WOD05) is the
largest collection of quality-controlled ocean profile data available
internationally without restriction. All
data are available on-line for public use.
Data are available for 29 ocean variables, including plankton data. The database includes an additional 900,000
temperature profiles not available in its predecessor. The database provides the ocean and climate
science communities with research-quality ocean profile data sets that will be
useful in describing physical, chemical and biological parameters in the ocean,
over both time and space. This database
is a crucial part of the Integrated Ocean Observing System and the Global Earth Observation System of
Systems.
New Arctic Observatory Established for Long-Term Climate Measurements
NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory in
NOAA Scientists Identify Carbon Dioxide Threats to Marine Life
A report co-authored by NOAA research scientists documents
how carbon dioxide is dramatically altering ocean chemistry and threatening the
health of marine organisms. The research
also uncovered new evidence of ocean acidification in the North Pacific. The report resulted from a workshop sponsored
by NOAA, the National Science Foundation, and the
First Operational Satellite Products for Ocean Biology
In June, 2006, NOAA began to process and distribute ocean
biology products for
FY 2008 BUDGET REQUEST HIGHLIGHTS
Supporting the
Coastal and marine waters help support over 28 million jobs,
and the value of the ocean economy to the
New investments in ocean science are aimed at monitoring and
better understanding marine ecosystems.
Increased funding of $16 million is included for the Integrated Ocean
Observing System to enhance models and information products through development
of regional systems and improved data management and communications. A total increase of $20 million is provided
for NOAA research on four near-term priorities established through the national
Ocean Research Priorities Plan. An
additional $8 million will support exploring and defining areas of the
continental shelf that are adjacent to, but currently outside of,
The FY 2008 President’s Budget builds on NOAA’s strong
record of investing in projects that embody the spirit of cooperative
conservation. Projects to protect and
restore valuable marine and coastal areas include funding of $8 million for
enforcement and management activities in the recently designated Northwestern
Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument, and $10 million for a project to
restore nearly 1,000 stream miles of habitat for endangered Atlantic salmon and
other fish species. A total of $15
million is provided for the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program, to
assist state and local partners in the purchase of high priority coastal or
estuarine lands or conservation easements.
Increased funding of $3 million is also included to support
Finally, the FY 2008 NOAA budget provides support to ensure sustainable access to seafood through development of offshore aquaculture and better management of fish harvests. The Administration will propose legislation to establish clear regulatory authority and permitting processes for offshore aquaculture. An increase of $3 million is included to establish the regulatory framework to encourage and facilitate development of environmentally sustainable commercial opportunities. In addition, $20 million in increases are provided to improve management of fish harvests, including $6.5 million in increases to implement the new and expanded requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006, $3 million for observer programs, and $6 million for market-based approaches to fisheries management. Market-based approaches — such as Limited Access Privilege Programs (LAPPs) that provide exclusive privileges to harvest a quantity of fish — move fisheries management away from cumbersome and inefficient regulatory practices and have been shown to lead to lengthened fishing seasons, improved product quality, and safer conditions for fishermen. The Administration has set a goal of doubling the number of LAPPs in use by the year 2010, and the increased funding of $6 million for LAPPs in this request supports that goal. Finally, an additional $2 million in funding is provided to meet the management challenges of assessing and mitigating the impacts of sound from human activities, such as national defense readiness and energy exploration and development, on marine mammals.
Sustaining Critical Operations
As always, I support NOAA’s employees by requesting adequate funding for our people, infrastructure, and facilities. NOAA’s core values are science, service, and stewardship, as well as people, ingenuity, integrity, excellence, and teamwork. Our ability to serve the nation and accomplish the missions outlined below is determined by the quality of our people and the tools they employ. Our facilities, ships, aircraft, environmental satellites, data-processing systems, computing and communications systems, and our approach to management provide the foundation of support for all of our programs. Approximately $54.6 million in net increases will support our workforce inflation factors, including $44.9 million for salaries and benefits and $6.6 million for non-labor related adjustments such as fuel costs.
This year, we focus on the operations and maintenance of NOAA vessels and necessary enhancements to marine safety, facility repair, and modernization. A funding increase of $8.3 million will be used to support marine operations and equipment, including $5.6 million for new vessel operations and maintenance and $1.7 million to implement a more effective maritime staff rotation and safety enhancements. This funding will support the operations maintenance for the OKEANOS EXPLORER, NOAA’s first dedicated Ocean Exploration vessel. Increased funding of $5.5 million will support operations and maintenance for NOAA’s third P-3 aircraft. NOAA is also moving forward this year with increases in funding for unmanned vehicles, with $0.7 million in support of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) and an increase of $3 million in funding to support the further use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). With this increase, NOAA will evaluate the benefits and potential of using UAS to collect data crucial for climate models, weather research, fisheries enforcement, and coastal zone studies.
The backbone of the NOAA infrastructure is our integrated Earth
observation effort. NOAA, NASA and the
Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) serve as the lead agencies for
the federal government in developing our
Improving Weather Warnings & Forecasts
Severe weather events cause $11 billion in damages and
approximately 7,000 weather-related fatalities yearly in the
Climate Monitoring & Research
Society exists in a highly variable climate system, and
major climatic events can impose serious consequences on society. The FY 2008 Budget Request contains
investments in several programs aimed at increasing our predictive capability,
enabling NOAA to provide our customers (farmers, utilities, land managers,
weather risk industry, fisheries resource managers and decision makers) with
assessments of current and future impacts of climate events such as droughts,
floods, and trends in extreme climate events.
NOAA is building a suite of information, products and services to enable
society to understand, predict, and respond to changing climate
conditions. These activities are part of
the U.S. Climate Change Science Program and are being conducted in
collaboration and coordination with our important interagency partners
including NASA, NSF, and the Department of Energy. We will continue to expand
and improve access to global oceanic and atmospheric data sets for improved
climate prediction and development of climate change indicators. NOAA will support the critical National
Integrated Drought Information System with increases of $4.4 million to develop
an integrated drought early warning and forecast system to provide earlier and
more accurate forecasts of drought conditions.
This request also supports the Administration’s efforts to create a
Critical Facilities Investments
The FY 2008 President’s Budget Request also includes important increases for critical facilities, necessary to provide a safe and effective working environment for NOAA’s employees.
Of particular importance this year is the $3 million funding
increase to begin design of a replacement facility at the
CONCLUSION
NOAA’s FY 2008 Budget Request provides essential new
investments in our priority areas while maintaining critical services,
reflecting NOAA’s vision, mission, and core values. The work NOAA accomplished in 2006 impacted
every