Bill > S2437

This bill amends the Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program Authorization Act to modernize and reauthorize the program with several key changes. The bill updates the program's focus to emphasize the development and deployment of advanced technologies for snowpack measurement and modeling, including cutting-edge techniques like imaging spectroscopy, machine learning, and integrated hydrologic modeling. It expands the program's scope to support activities that improve snow and water supply forecasting, particularly in river basins where such forecasting can inform water management decisions across multiple water users, basins, or states. The bill removes previous reporting requirements and replaces them with new reporting mandates that include a list of basins using snowpack measurement technologies and an assessment of the most effective technologies for water supply forecasting. Additionally, the bill adjusts the program's funding, reducing the aggregate authorization from $15 million (for fiscal years 2022-2026) to $6.5 million annually for fiscal years 2027-2031. The legislation aims to enhance the program's ability to provide more accurate and timely snowpack and water supply information to support water management and reservoir operations in the context of changing weather and watershed conditions.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2437/all-info