H.R. 5610: Improving Drought Monitoring Act

This bill, known as the Improving Drought Monitoring Act, aims to enhance the United States Drought Monitor by making several key amendments and establishing an interagency working group focused on improving drought-related data collection and analysis. Below are the main components of what the bill would do:

1. Extending the Drought Monitor Program

The bill proposes to extend the program that improves the United States Drought Monitor until 2030, pushing back the existing deadline from 2023. This extension allows for continued enhancements and updates to the monitoring system that tracks drought conditions across the country.

2. Establishment of an Interagency Working Group

Within 180 days of the bill's enactment, the Secretary of Agriculture is required to form an interagency working group. This group will focus on:

• Ensuring the availability of consistent, accurate, and reliable data for the Drought Monitor.
• Incorporating additional data sources to improve drought monitoring methodologies.
• Identifying and addressing barriers to the use of current data systems.

3. Membership of the Working Group

The working group will consist of representatives from various governmental departments and agencies, including:

• Department of Agriculture
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
• Department of the Interior
• University of Alabama's Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology
• State mesonet programs from areas that have experienced severe drought conditions.

4. Duties of the Working Group

The working group will be tasked with:

• Developing methods to include more in-situ data in the Drought Monitor.
• Identifying federal datasets that could enhance drought assessments.
• Establishing a transparent process for evaluating new data products.
• Addressing any issues related to data availability and quality.

5. Reporting Requirements

Within one year of the bill's enactment, the working group must submit a report with recommendations for policy changes. This report will be sent to various government officials and committees that oversee agriculture and environmental management.

6. Action by the Secretary of Agriculture

The Secretary of Agriculture, in coordination with other relevant secretaries, must respond to the working group's recommendations within 180 days of receiving the report, implementing changes as feasible to improve the Drought Monitor.

7. Alignment of Drought Responses

The bill also mandates the Farm Service Agency and the Forest Service to create a memorandum of understanding within 60 days of the report submission. This memorandum will address:

• Aligning their practices for determining drought severity.
• Ensuring consistent policy responses to drought across different agencies.
• Utilizing the Drought Monitor as a key resource in decision-making.
• Providing clear communication to affected stakeholders about drought conditions and responses.

Relevant Companies

• AGRI - AgriFORCE Growing Systems Ltd. could be impacted as they operate in agriculture and will likely require updated drought data for resource planning.
• DVN - Devon Energy Corporation may be affected by changes in water management policies related to drought monitoring, which could influence their operational strategies.
• HPE - Hewlett Packard Enterprise provides data storage and processing solutions, which may find opportunities in supporting better data management for drought analysis.