we will consider -- i can't do that yet. okay. let me explain the nominees we will have today that we can go to immediately. doctor david applegate of the geological survey, carmen to be the assistant secretary of the interior for insular and internationalti affairs and the director of the advanced research projects agency energy. we hold a hearing on the nominations on april 208th and i've supported all three nominees and they are qualified to the positions they've been nominated. doctor applegate served as the director for the past year. the career member of the senior executive service and diplomat in the state department. spent the last two and a half years in the states. at the head of the mechanical engineering department serving as the associate director of the solid-state solar thermal. i think all three nominees will bring their extensive knowledge and experience and i would urge my colleagues to vote to confirm that we will vote on the nominations once we have. thank you for being here as we discussed the f western drought crisis and pressing issues that's no doubt ever present in the minds of our western colleagues. at the west is facing historic droughtsur and 92% at large is facing a degree of drought. from some states like arizona, california, nevada, mexico and utah that figures is not 100% and in the southwestern they've called this the worst the area has seen in 1200 years. i know the water issues are different than we have in west virginia. we are often faced with flooding and too much rather than a drought but it doesn't matter where you live it has a domino effect that spills over into the lives of all americans from economic losses to wildfires to food scarcities and prices. it was a wake-up call to the entire country on the critical importance of stakeholders coming together to develop and s implement the solutions to tackle both water supply and water demand. especially inup light of the population growth and climate change. i want to stay focused on actionable solutions into that will be the focus of the drought discussion today. the reclamation has a vital role to play when it comes to managing the western resources and addressing the water security scarcity. teddy roosevelt created the declaration after signing the reclamation act on june 17th, 1902, 120 years ago this friday. the bureau is the largest water supplier operating over 300 reservoirs that provided one in five western farmers with water for their crops and 10 trillion drinking water to millions of peoplein each year. but the agency is facing unprecedented challenges. they reached the lowest levels ever recorded and currently they are sitting at 29% capacity while lake powell is a 27% capacity. they put hydropower which is critical to current and future reliability at risk because the water must be high enough to actually turn the turbines. in fact the reliability corporation signed the threat of the water levels to hydroelectricity generation to be among the challenges to maintaining the reliability and inthe west for the coming summe. the water projections also look at grandma and if the water levels continue to decline it would trigger the most for the southwest. this is incredibly alarming to everyone. the reservoirs are resource to millions of households, thousands of farmers and ranchers and wildlife habitat and over 3.5 million homes with multiple competing the reclamation facilities provide they are no doubtt going to be some toughio decisions ahead abt how to allocate the water supplies. last year congress invested in the water infrastructure and provided the bureau of reclamation a historic amount in the infrastructure law. 8.3 to fund projects that can provide short-term drought relief and long-term drought resilience. it provided funding for the water recycling and storage and aging infrastructure projects and water conservation efficiency funding for projects that provide multiple benefits for people in the environment. i look forward to hearing from the commissioner about how the agency is prioritizing the funds to deal with the scarce water supplies and where additional congressional action may be needed to prepare for the future. fwhile the discussion has centered onn the availability, the water demand solutions must alsoso be part of the conversation. i've talked at length about how the energy efficiency is a scommonsense way to reduce the energy consumption and i think it makes sense to look at it through the same lens. water and energy are two sides of the same coins. it takes a lot of water and a substantial amounts of water to produce energy. given the current drought high energy costs we are seeing across the board, water conservation a and water use are the lowest hanging fruit to managing the demand. i understand there are tools available to help the communities make investments to conserve water. one such tool was the bureau of reclamation's water smart program. this was designed specifically to address the water demand by investing in the irrigation infrastructure and water conservationon and efficiency improvements to help the communities respond to the water scarcity across the west. one thing we all agree on is that in all of the above collective approach is needed tc look after these tough conditions because they are only so many ways for such a critical resource. i look forward to learning from our witnesses on where the opportunities exist to further invest in both water supply and water demand. finally the long term effort is going to require flexible water management strategies and meaningful investments in the state and federal level. the bottom line is water is the most essential resource to the health of our people, our economy and our environment. but the prolonged drought is becoming a frightening norm and it's going to take collaboration on all parties involved to commit tot implementing the sustainable drought solutions for recognizing this reality is critical so i look forward to learning more and discussing how to better manage and serve the limited water resources that are the lifeblood of so many economies and communities. i will now turn to senator barrasso for his remarks. >> thank you mr. chair man and as you know we've agreed to a voice vote on all nominees once we have a quorum on this support to serve as the director of the united states geological survey at the department of interior. doctor applegate is exercising the authority under the usgs director with numerous positions it is the largest civilian water, earth and biological mapping agency and the nomination hearing, doctor applegate committed to prioritizing the core mission of the agency and to zealously guard the scientific independencefi to ensure the information it publishes. it's imperative and i'm going to be watching closely to makeim se he follows through that commitment to service the assistant secretary of international affairs and i know that we have a quorum so i will move on to say she currently serves and will do a fine job and also support the director of the advanced research project at the department of energy so thank you, mr. chairman. >> i will delay my opening statement. >> thank you, senator. now we can vote on the three nominations they. on a roll call vote i ask unanimous consent we take up all three nominations unblock and we have a voice vote on all three. is there any objections? hearing none, that will be the order and we have a second on the nominations to be the director of the geological survey and the ambassador to be the assistant secretary of interior for the international affairs and the director of the advanced research project agency with a recommendation nomination being confirmed all those in favor. proposed, the nomination is in favor of support and now we will go back to senator barrasso for his opening statement. >> thank you for holding the hearing on the drought we are living two in the west. first i want to welcome pat o'toole to be at the committee as a member of the panel. mr. o'toole, thanks for agreeing to testify. you've been here in the past and provided valuable insight and i'm glad you're here to provide that today on this important topic. i'my, going to give a more extensive introduction of pap that is a member of the legislature when we get to that point inhe terms of the witness testimony. to those in rural wyoming they can create conditions for catastrophic wildfires and communities. the wildfires have already burned close to 2 million acres this year and it's all across the country. drought also reduces recreationally in the tourism opportunities and reduces related jobs around reservoirs in the public plants and now according to the oceanic and atmospheric administration, 36 national parks over 400 ski resorts and reservoirs are experiencing moderate to drought.al the productionte and availabiliy but the water levels through to the operator would provide a significant amount ofli carbon free electricity to western communities and i mentioned than in the statement, chairman. the lack of availability threatens hydraulic fracturing and this is a process that produces abundant supply of natural gas. and alfalfa fields necessary for feeding and raising cattle. this could result in significant economic impact is for communities that depend on agriculture and ranching to create jobs. the farms and ranchers stopped because of the lack of water and it doesn't just put them out of work, it increases the cost of food. this hits families in the west end across the country that can afford it the least. american families are dealing with skyrocketing inflation and record-breaking gas prices at the pump the highest in history today. can't afford a grocery drought attacks on top ofce all of that, which is going to clearly boast family household budgets even further. the problem is itam in practice are clear what westerners need our solutions. which means we need solutions for the upper basins like wyoming to be in compliance with their obligations to weather colorado river basin states. the solutions include flexibility to the operation of the bureau of reclamation facilities to better manage availablee water resources. we alsoon need to develop better data to understand how much water the state and other states are using and account for that use. improved data will help us understand what the drought is doing to the states and to the water users all across all sectors. better forecasting data will identify the drought -related problems i before they arise. we also need to invest in additional water storagera opportunities to effectively use the water that we do have. building more water storage will give other states the water they need you to provide system resiliency and maintain stream flows toai benefit fish and wildlife. the stakes cannot be higher. a short and long-term solutions that provide westerners the waterso they nee. and policies that do not ensure that health, safety and economic well-being of american families first arnold policies worth pursuing. water storage and improved flexibility, better data and teimproved forecasting can help accomplish these goals. the lower basin states benefit from working together to address the drought and accomplish these goals andd again thank you mr. chairman and i look forward to hearing from the witnesses. >> thank you, senator barrasso. i would like to introduce the panel of witnesses and we have joining us today the honorable camille, commissioner of reclamation at the department of interior. we have the general manager of the southern nevada water authority and doctor hall vice president of the resilient water system of environmental defense fund. mr. pat o'toole of the alliance which senator barrasso is going to introduce and finally charlie stern a specialist in the natural resource policy. thank you for taking the time to be with us today to help educate us. now to the witnessing remark first of all, i'm going to start with mr. o'toole and i would like for senator barrasso to properly introduce you. thanks mr. chair man and i would like to take the moment to introduce pat o'toole who is going to be testifying shortly. he is the president of the family farm alliance can also be cattle and sheep rancher into a grower but a member of the family farm alliance's board of directors since 1998 and then named fifth president in march of 2005. a former member of the wyoming house of representatives he and his wife live on a ranch that has been in the family since 1881, which was nine years before wyoming even became a state. in the university and a strong g background in irrigated agriculture to provide valuable for today's hearing so thanks for making the trip and for joining us today. welcome to the committee. the commissioner of the bureau of reclamation thank you for this ongoing dialogue for the very important issue of water across the west. the panel can talk about the specificity to havet. the impact agriculture, communities and ecosystem. i will focus on the management system and the reclamation to manage this moment and into the future. my testimony goes into more specifics on the actions that we managed 189 projects but he will see a similar fact pattern on every basin. the p variability and temperatus leading to dry soil while translating into earlier and low runoff. for the unprecedentedh and that is true the reality in the mormon which reclamation must manage the system. reclamation is respondingg basin by basin and engaging in actions to mitigate the impacts of the landscape utilizing the operational and financial authorities as we take on the challenge based onn the best available science and whole of government approach and we take these actions along with our partners. here are a few today. maximizing the financial resources, we programmed $100 million inme fy 21 and received $210 million in fy 22 from congress and immediately putnd that on the wildfire activities. we funded 55.3 million grants across the western states. we are using the operational flexibilities in the colorado river we have the 500 plus plan engaged in the lower basin states for tribal agricultural and municipal users. we announced the actions that will help increase by nearly 1 million over the next 12 months to help preserve and protect. we are implementing the bipartisan infrastructure law and last month the reclamation announced 46 project lectures for the infrastructure and extraordinary maintenance to link 240 million. we have funding opportunities available for the efficiency projects and those are now throughout the year. this friday on our birthday we will be breaking ground on the first 100 million-dollar contract for safety in california. this friday the reclamation will celebrate 120 years since we were created by congress and the challenges c we are seeing are unlike anything we have seen in our history. the science of the system in the colorado river basin indicate one of immediate action and we rely on the 120 year track record of partnership to solve the challenges that continue to do so. but in the colorado river basin, more conservation and management are needed in addition to the actions already underway. between two and 4 million acres of additional conservation is needed just to protect critical levels in 2023. it is in our authority to act unilaterally to protect the system and we will protect the system. w but today we are pursuing a partnership working with the states and tribes and having this discussion that have the faith and confidence of the sentries track record in reaching a consensus solution. but faith alone is not enough. we need to see the work. we need to see the action. my ask of congress today is to keep pushing us back to the table. and to my partners, to stay at the table until the job is done. nearly 6,000 reclamation professionals of today are part of the legacy of america for harnessing cutting-edge technology the fire to the nation through the great depression and world war ii and continue to help sustain the life and livelihood of the american westt reno today. working with our partners in serving the people in the communities of the american west how the reclamation has met and overcome its many challenges it will continue to do so in the future. thank you. .. what has been a slow-motion train wreck or several years is accelerating and the moment are reckoning is near. will the situation subjectively bleak it is not in my view are proffered little they can do to improve the colorado river hydrology. the solution to this problem and by solution i don't mean refilling the rest of. avoiding catastrophic conditions in the degree of demand management previously considered unattainable. efforts are a a case in point. with 1.8% of the rivers allocated flows we are little more -- lake mead looses twice as much water to evaporation and we use each year. whoever is this tiny bar this this tiny bar in the waters sustain 70% of the state's population. our population is increased by 800,000. people over the last two decades. our water consumption last year was 26% last that the turn-of-the-century. we achieve thisti by pursuing -- paying customers replace grass setting mandatory irrigation schedules and strictly enforcing waterways to roles. we have removed enough grass to lay a role of solid all the way around and we are not done for addition to tighter restrictions on ornamental turf or sites are set on improving your occasion efficiency and reducingef evaporate if cooling. their headwinds on this journey including the reluctance of the business community to embrace conservation and metrics the value energy efficiency over saving water. her key advantages to recapture recovery virtually every drop of water with administrative support green if the structure through which we return water to lake mead are so important. we also encourage federal support for large-scale water recycling projects for communities without access to larger reservoirs. engaging my colleagues in other states it's clear they recognize the urgency of the situation and are ramping up their conservation efforts however and there's no way around this entities alone cannot address this crisis not because ofot indifference. because we simply don't use enough water to tip the scales. as in the cities the primary concern in the agricultural sector is grass. 80% of colorado river is used for agriculture and 80% and about 80% it's used for crops like alfalfa. i'm not suggesting farmers stopped farming that they consider crops was to make the investments needed to optimizeti irrigation efficiency. my view is i spend you can't improve the efficiency of those measures i stronglyy support the bill senate bill 2568 sponsored by senator senator cortez masto for this positionti will provide access to more consistent at grit water use data. by reducing the use of the colorado river water agricultural entities are protecting their own interests. if late meat reaches it the allocation will be further reduced. we can still meet critical needs because we have invested $1.4 billion in local funding to secure our access to water. however at the same elevation california arizona and mexico will be cut off entirely because water can escape from lake mead. we are 150 feet from 25 million americans losing access to the colorado river and the rate of decline is accelerating. the burden of shortage cannot be borne by any single community or sector rather i every user of the colorado river to follow her lead andnd do all they can to preserve what remains of the lifeblood of the southwest. our collective future depends on it. thank you for your time. >> thank you. now we have dr. hall. >> thank you chairman manchin ranking member russell and committee members for the chance to speak to on this most urgent issue. the mission is divide a vital earth for one