Geological Survey February 17, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Notice is hereby given of a meeting of the ACWI, to be held March 1, 2011, via teleconference and web-based presentations. This ACWI meeting will serve a dual purpose: (1) During the morning, the Federal water agencies will have an opportunity to brief ACWI about the proposed 2012 budget. Each organization will have no more than five minutes to report, so we can ensure adequate time for discussion and for feedback from the non- Federal ACWI member organizations. (2) During the afternoon, some or all of the seven USGS science strategic planning teams (SSPTs) will present information about their activities and solicit ACWI feedback. The USGS SSPTs are part of a new science planning effort that Dr. Marcia McNutt, Director of the USGS, started within the bureau. The USGS 10-year strategic science plan (https://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/2007/1309/), which was released in 2007, identified six thematic areas upon which the USGS would concentrate. USGS has received much positive feedback on this plan and the efforts to move it forward. Director McNutt has commissioned seven SSPTs, one for each of the areas identified in the 2007 plan plus one additional team for Core Science Systems. These teams will work from the present through October 2011 to develop a more targeted 10-year science plan for each of their respective areas: Core Science Systems Ecosystems Energy and Minerals Environmental Health Global Change Natural Hazards Water These teams will work over the next 10 months to develop a strategic plan for each area and to carefully examine how efforts need to be integrated across all seven areas. It is also of the utmost importance to everyone at the USGS to have your input into this process, and that process will begin at the ACWI WebEx meeting on March 1. The ACWI was established under the authority of the Office of Management and Budget Memorandum M-92-01 and the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The purpose of the ACWI is to provide a forum for water information users and professionals to advise the Federal Government on activities and plans that may improve the effectiveness of meeting the Nation's water information needs. Member organizations help to foster communications between the Federal and non-Federal sectors on sharing water information. Membership, limited to 35 organizations, represents a wide range of water resources interests and functions. Representation on the ACWI includes all levels of government, academia, private industry, and professional and technical societies. For more information on the ACWI, its membership, subgroups, meetings and activities, please see the Web site at: https://ACWI.gov.