Mississippi River Basin Water Resource News for the Week

Mississippi River Basin Floods Prompting Policy Reconsideration
Flood waters continued to take center stage in the middle and lower Mississippi River valley this week in the aftermath of the Army Corps of Engineers May 2, planned levee breach near Birds Point, Missouri, and as the River crest moved downstream past Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi, and toward Louisiana.  The near-record flooding has prompted renewed calls for a change in the way water resources are managed in the region and elsewhere, and has particularly focused attention on the River Basin's extensive levee system, and its impacts on neighboring urban and rural communities and on the environment.  You can read a summary of the week's flood news and an overview of its policy implications here.

House Republican Appropriators Propose Further Discretionary Spending Cuts for Fiscal Year 2012
House Appropriations Chair Hal Rogers (R-KY-5) on Wednesday announced a schedule calling for the completion of work on the 12 fiscal year 2012 appropriations bills by the end of the fiscal year, along with proposed 2012 allocations that would cut $30 billion from this year's (2011) appropriated levels, including a $1 billion reduction to the Energy and Water subcommittee that among other things deals with Army Corps civil works funding, an almost $2 billion cut to the Interior and Environment subcommittee that oversees development of the Department of Interior and U.S. EPA budgets, and a $2.7 billion cut to the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration subcommittee, which oversees USDA spending.   Read more details and see a full breakdown of the allocations here.   (The House, by the way, is now in recess for the next ten days, while the Senate will be in session next week.)

Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee Directory
The latest (May 2011) Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee directory is now available for downloading as a PDF file. The Directory is a valuable resource; filled with a wealth of contact information for private and public Upper Mississippi stakeholders working on natural resource issues. Here is the link to the directory  (pdf file).

Notable @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week: 

Flooding, Floodplains, Dams and Navigation -

• FEMA resource pages for MS http://1.usa.gov/jNPVjK TN http://1.usa.gov/igl415 LA http://1.usa.gov/mCJ2nC  flooding
• Army Corps' St. Croix River Flood Protection Project on hold until heavy metal contamination issues resolved http://bit.ly/lg6Y37
• La State Senator asks for mid-US states' legislator support on Mississippi River dredging issue http://bit.ly/k9FlKs (pdf of letter)
• East Carroll levee overtopped; 10k acres of prime farmland flooded http://bit.ly/iqLdDm
• In Mississippi, dreams of bountiful harvest wash away with the flood http://huff.to/kDAR2e
• Army Corps overview of the Mississippi River Morganza spillway in La. they are considering opening this weekend: http://bit.ly/k5hbTP
• La. flooding scenario map w/ Morganza Floodway at 50% capacity & Bonnet Carre’ Spillway full operation http://bit.ly/jjWkJ3 (pdf file)
• Louisianans make preparations ahead of Mississippi & Atchafalaya River flooding http://bit.ly/jqv12s

Water Quality-

• EPA orders additional testing of Iowa coal-ash impoundments http://bit.ly/j5SNTB
• EPA steps in to enforce clean water rules in MN sugar beet processor pollution case http://bit.ly/kOoxaX
• Minnesota River still ailing after 20 yrs of cleanup & close to $1 billion in public spending http://bit.ly/mwQYko
• Mississippi River flooding: pesticides, fertilizers & untreated sewage in flood waters http://abcn.ws/muVNCd
• Obama administration orders Chicago River cleanup; story: http://bit.ly/jVGl3K & graphic: http://bit.ly/iDdAek

Agriculture -

• Agribusiness interests want to use next farm bill to release idled Conservation Reserve Program acreage http://bit.ly/k5FM1j
• 72 ag groups' letter http://bit.ly/kdBiOw: make it easier for farmers to opt out of Conservation Reserve Program http://bit.ly/l2RPT1
• Oxfam: Farm Bill cuts won’t be reform or save $ in long-term unless they address price-dependent subsidies http://bit.ly/kW4uce
• Phosphorus paradox: Scarcity & overabundance of a key nutrient http://bit.ly/kLO3kS
• Rep Paul Ryan (R-WI-1) House Budget Comm Chair: "We shouldn’t be giving corporate farms subsidies" http://nyti.ms/jkONw0 
• Obama calls for "revamping" of farm support system, possible subsidy caps via @cbsnews http://bit.ly/mwlyEB
• Minneapolis Star Tribune editorial: Congress needs to better align financial incentives to achieve conservation goals http://bit.ly/jDSKvp
• Direction of Federal biofuel policy being scrutinized as Congress looks to reduce budget deficit http://bit.ly/jHz1Hc
• IA State U study: federal support has only limited impact on ethanol industry; corn prices http://bit.ly/hiyz5Y
• USDA ERS: geographic and crop patterns emerge for Farm Bill direct payment & insurance payouts http://1.usa.gov/mQmRyX
• While mid-America floods, TX http://bit.ly/muCCzj, OK http://bit.ly/jpinNq and KS  http://bit.ly/itHwV0 face severe drought
• RT @MinnesotaNews: Sediment from farms threatens scenic Lake Pepin http://bit.ly/ihQfCj
• MN NPR: Minnesota River farms get scrutiny in Lake Pepin (Mississippi River) degradation http://bit.ly/iUBIPg

In the States -

• WI Gov. Walker & Legislature move quickly to weaken state environmental & energy programs http://bit.ly/iZV5FM
• 4 inducted into WI Conservation Hall of Fame include citizen conservationists, researcher & industrialist http://bit.ly/kEWD3H
• EPA will not fine parties involved in TN sewage spill; state may yet pursue penalties http://bit.ly/isCkf6
• IA Senate Dem leader raises possibility of July 1 state government shutdown absent budget agreement with GOP Gov http://bit.ly/jHbfNx
• TVA will keep 900 acres acquired in 2008 KY coal ash spill; convert to "green space" http://bit.ly/iDRNtO
• Following previous veto, MO lawmakers send Gov. Nixon revised bill limiting nuisance lawsuits against farms http://bit.ly/jLT4b4
• Letter to the Editor: Farm conservation investment pays off in improved TN water & helping farmers http://bit.ly/mKv15o
• Two KY environmental groups file suit over illegal discharges from mines into rivers http://bit.ly/mxFuor
• Enviro groups' lawsuit alleges Kentucky coal company filed falsified Clean Water Act water reports http://bit.ly/lkqEEP

Biodiversity, Wildlife and Invasives -

• Research explores role of WI bait businesses in communicating aquatic invasive species info http://bit.ly/jGi0Or
• MN DNR: fishing supports 43,000 MN jobs, generates $2.8 B in direct spending & contributes >$640 M/yr in taxes http://bit.ly/iFKOHi
• Momentum building for WI state wolf hunt http://bit.ly/lOuyrl
• US reaches settlement on Endangered Species decisions; commits to decisions on 251 species in next 6 yrs http://nyti.ms/jGKMNj
• Opening spillways to divert flooding Mississippi River "almost certainly" will kill significant #s of oysters http://bit.ly/iIvoPD
• Encouraging early signs that MN's migratory birds fared well while wintering in Gulf of Mexico http://bit.ly/kBLHvd

Federal Budget -

• Sen Conrad (D-ND) presents budget resolution that calls for 50-50 split in spending cuts & tax increases http://bit.ly/jeWroK
• Senate Budget Committee Chair Conrad (D-ND) says he’s planning for budget resolution markup next Wednesday http://bit.ly/joFBkT
• VP-led deficit-reduction task force appears no closer to a deal http://politi.co/le7DLo
• House GOP Appropriators Propose Further Discretionary Spending Cuts to EPA, Interior, USDA, Army Corps in 2012 http://bit.ly/jvmIPQ

Events -

• Full recording & PowerPoint PDF available for Horinko Group's Flood Risk Webinar http://bit.ly/mTEGlw
• For DC friends: June 8 World Oceans Day at Smithsonian's National History Museum & related sustainable seafood feasts http://bit.ly/lDsiFU

E-Newsletters-

• Association of State Floodplain Managers Spring Newsletter: http://bit.ly/d8Jugl
• America's Waterway (Mississippi River) "River Currents Newsletter" May issue published http://bit.ly/jYcQT8

Political Scene -

• Former MN state Sen. Clark (D) announces 2012 US House run vs. Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-MN-8) http://bit.ly/luCk2z
• Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO-2) will announce his 2012 US Senate campaign vs Sen Claire McCaskill (D-MO) next Tuesday http://bit.ly/mabwtq
• OK & IN finalize their new Congressional redistricting maps http://bit.ly/jiAi91; join AR, IA, MO & LA as states completing process
• Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) announces that he will retire at the end of his current tenure http://bit.ly/iBmZPH

Other news-

• Monmouth College Poll: Midwesterners see few globalization benefits; fear job loss http://bit.ly/k3TIk1
• New USDA map shows low income rural America correlates with "food desert" locations http://bit.ly/lHLNev

Last word -  “We’re in the same rowboat, and one person says, ‘If you don’t give me that last loaf of bread, I’m going to shoot a hole in the boat, and we’ll both sink.'" - - William Ury, quoted in the Washington Post, describing the current state of budget and debt ceiling negotiations in Washington, DC.  Ury founded Harvard’s Project on Negotiation and co-authored the negotiation  classic “Getting to Yes.”