Drought

8/14/2007 -- Statewide Toll Free Information 1-877-261-3473

Firefighters continue to battle the dry conditions throughout the Upper Peninsula. Five new fires started yesterday in the UP totaling approximately 13 acres.    » read more »

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 9, 2007) – The Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet, Division of Water, has issued a water shortage warning for Warren County, Kentucky.

The warning area includes the city of Bowling Green and the surrounding communities served by Bowling Green Municipal Utilities and the Warren County Water District.

Flow in the Barren River, Warren County’s water supply source, has remained low to severely low for the past five months and is currently at the lowest levels on record since the completion of Barren River Reservoir in 1963.    » read more »

August 10, 2007 -- Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jim Webb and U.S. Representative Rick Boucher today announced that Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Johanns, has designated Lee, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Washington and Wise Counties as primary agricultural disaster areas. Farmers in these counties and the adjoining Counties of Bland, Buchanan, Dickenson, Grayson, Tazewell and Wythe and the Cities of Bristol and Norton who have suffered crop losses due to the ongoing drought may be eligible to receive financial help from the federal government.    » read more »

FRANKFORT, Ky., Aug. 9, 2007 – The Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet, Division of Water, has issued a water shortage warning for Warren County, Kentucky.

The warning area includes the city of Bowling Green and the surrounding communities served by Bowling Green Municipal Utilities and the Warren County Water District.

Flow in the Barren River, Warren County’s water supply source, has remained low to severely low for the past five months and is currently at the lowest levels on record since the completion of Barren River Reservoir in 1963.    » read more »

Requests pending for nine additional localities

August 9, 2007 -- RICHMOND – Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine announced today that the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture has designated Culpeper, Lee, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Washington and Wise counties primary natural disaster areas due to reductions in farm production caused by drought and high temperatures that occurred from January 1, 2007, and continuing. This disaster designation makes farmers eligible for low-interest loans and any supplemental relief that may be provided by Congress.    » read more »

Drought Threatens to Worsen with Relentless Heat Wave

8/9/2007 -- Raleigh - North Carolina Governor Mike Easley today asked North Carolina residents to keep conserving water and energy as a persistent heat wave and worsening drought continue across the state. Today’s updated federal drought map shows 94 North Carolina counties with moderate, severe or extreme drought for the second straight week. Easley has directed state agencies in 27 western counties suffering the driest conditions to limit non-essential water uses.    » read more »

USDA grants Governor Pawlenty’s request for assistance to Minnesota farm operators

August 7, 2007 -- Saint Paul – Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty today received notice from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns that 24 Minnesota counties have been designated as federal agricultural disaster areas due this summer’s drought. Farmers and ranchers in an additional 32 adjacent counties will also be eligible for assistance. The Governor had requested the disaster declaration in a letter to Secretary Johanns last Friday.    » read more »

August 3, 2007 -- A massive wildfire racing through Luce County in Michigan's Upper Peninsula is the largest of numerous wildfires burning in the state, as drought conditions persist. The Sleeper Lake Fire, which started late yesterday, and is thought to be the result of a lightening strike, is located in a remote section of state land north of Newberry.    » read more »

08/01/2007 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today granted Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen’s request for federal farm assistance for all 95 Tennessee counties due to drought. Bredesen made the request July 5 as a result of extreme drought conditions across the state that have plagued Tennessee farmers since the beginning of the growing season.    » read more »

Expands Executive Directive to State Agencies and Encourages Water Conservation

8/2/2007 -- Raleigh - North Carolina Governor Mike Easley today announced the most serious levels of drought have spread from the western part of the state into the Piedmont, and he has expanded his directive to state agencies in the region to stop various non-essential uses of water. Twenty-seven counties are now in either severe or extreme drought, the third and fourth levels of a five-category national drought monitoring system.    » read more »

August 3, 2007 -- Saint Paul - Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty today sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns requesting a federal agricultural disaster be declared for 25 Minnesota counties, which would allow drought-impacted farmers and ranchers to receive low-interest loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Additionally, the Governor requested that Secretary Johanns declare Roseau County as an agricultural disaster area due to winter grass kill and early excessive rains.    » read more »

July 31, 2007 -- HONOLULU – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns has informed Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle that a federal disaster declaration has been approved due to drought conditions in all four Hawai‘i counties. The declaration will make available low-interest federal loans to farmers and ranchers who have suffered losses due to the long dry spell since January 1, 2007, and which have continued. The disaster loans have a 3.75 percent interest rate, which is much lower than current conventional loans.    » read more »

Damage assessments may lead to disaster declaration and other assistance

Little Falls, Minnesota, July 31, 2007 – With a significant portion of Minnesota experiencing “severe” drought for the second year in a row, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty today visited a farm in Morrison County to view the impact of the dry conditions on crops and livestock. State and federal officials joined the Governor at the Ron Hourscht Farm just west of Little Falls.    » read more »

July 17, 2007 -- OLYMPIA – Washington Governor Chris Gregoire today proclaimed a state of emergency for all 39 Washington counties due to a number wildfires burning across the state, as well as a concern for the availability of resources to deal with a severe and escalating fire season.

“I am taking this step as a precaution,” said Governor Gregoire. “Current wildfires need to be contained, but at the same time, we are looking at weather forecasts that project the possibility of more wildfires for some time to come.”    » read more »

(FRANKFORT, Ky.) June 7, 2007 – State water officials are encouraging the practice of water conservation as rainfall deficits continue to build across Kentucky.

“We are experiencing hot, dry conditions that are usually associated with the summer months of July, August and September,” said Bill Caldwell of the Kentucky Division of Water. “These conditions have the potential of impacting water supplies across the state.”    » read more »