Savannah River Basin Drought Management Plan
D. The District Drought Management Committee may delegate work tasks to individuals in the District with the
approval of the committee member representing the individuals' Division/Office.
E. The District Drought Management Committee will recommend to the District Engineer the form, content, and
timing of information provided to the public about the District's responses to the drought.
F. The committee will consider information received from the Savannah River Basin Drought Coordination
Committee (SRBDCC).
G. The chairman of the District Drought Management Committee will present recommendations of that committee
to members of the Savannah River Basin Drought Coordination Committee and to the District Engineer for his
approval.
MEETINGS
The District Drought Management Committee would meet on a monthly basis during a drought. The chairman, or in
his absence, the vice chairman, of the District Drought Management Committee will call this meeting. Additional
meetings may be called at any time by any member of the District Drought Management Committee to address
specific items which need attention before the next scheduled meeting. Minutes of each meeting will be kept by
someone appointed by the vice-chairman of the District Drought Management Committee.
EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE MANAGEMENT MEASURES
Heretofore, the identified components of the SRBDMP are directed at a regional or basin management approach in
addressing the adverse impacts of a drought. Despite the successful implementation of these measures, during the
advanced stages of a severe water shortage, it is possible that the water supplies for a specific area may become
inadequate to the point that a substantial threat is created to the health and welfare of the inhabitants of the area,
including a threat of damage or loss of property. Accordingly, Public Law 93-288 allows an area to be designated a
"Natural Disaster Area" under a Presidential declaration. Under this declaration an area may be eligible for a variety
of assistance programs which are administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other
appropriate Federal agencies.
In addition, once an area has been determined to be "drought-distressed" by the Secretary of the Army, there is an
emergency program available whereby the Corps of Engineers, under the approval of the Secretary of the Army, can
assist in alleviating a water shortage situation. To qualify under this program an ·area need not have been designated
as a "Natural Disaster Area." The authority for this program was provided by Public Law 95-51 which amended
Public Law 84-99. Implementation of this program is governed by Corps of Engineers Regulation ER 500-1-1. The
portion of this regulation which addresses the drought assistance program is included as Appendix G. Under this
program the Corps can construct wells and transport water to farmers, ranchers, and political subdivisions which
have been determined to be "drought-distressed." For the purposes of this assistance, a political subdivision has been
defined as " a city, town, borough, county, parish, district, association, or other public body created by or pursuant to
State laws, having jurisdiction over the water supply of such public body."
Since the responsibility for providing an adequate supply of water is basically non-Federal, the Corps, emergency
program can be utilized only after non-Federal interests have exhausted all reasonable means for securing necessary
water supplies, including assistance and support from other Federal agencies. As stated above, drought assistance
under this program can assume two forms, construction of a well or transport of water. ER 500-1-1 Chapter 6,
elaborates on the guidance for implementation of each of these assistance efforts. It can be found at
http://publications.usace.army.mil/publications/eng-regs/ER_500-1-1/toc.htm .
It is important to note here that well construction is performed on a cost-reimbursable basis, whereas water
transportation costs would be a 100 percent Federal expense. Another point which should be emphasized is that
transportation of emergency water supplies will be provided only in connection with water needed for human and
livestock consumption and not for irrigation, recreation, or other non-consumptive purposes. This emergency
assistance program provides the opportunity to address the most severe localized situations which may be
encountered under an extreme drought event. This program could be utilized to interface with state disaster
management programs and plans, which may be undertaken as a water shortage becomes of increasing concern. To
successfully utilize this program in consort with other state emergency programs, it will be necessary for the
Savannah River Basin Drought Coordination Committee to become familiar with the availability, purposes, and