Thursday, January 31, 2013

Senate EPW Committee Leaders Anticipate New WRDA Proposal Within Weeks

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Ranking Member David Vitter (R-LA) both emphasized in a Thursday (January 31) hearing that they intend to have a bipartisan Water Resources Development Act, or "WRDA," available for the Committee's and full Senate's consideration sometime within the next several weeks.  The bill would be intended in part, Sen. Boxer noted, to fix ongoing problems related to the funding for maintenance of and improvements to the nation's harbors and inland waterway navigation system.

In Thursday's hearing (information available here), focusing on the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, a consistent theme made by most Committee members and several witnesses was that only about half of the revenues coming into that Trust Fund (from the Harbor Maintenance Tax) were being targeted each year for harbor maintenance work around the country (with the rest being allowed to accrue to offset other, unrelated, Federal spending).  Witnesses and Committee Senators alike stressed the need to address that discrepancy in a new WRDA bill.

 Although not an official hearing topic, the insolvency of the Inland Waterways Trust Fund was also mentioned by Senators Boxer and Vitter, and other panel members as a problem in search of a solution in a new WRDA bill.  The Chairwoman noted that the Committee's WRDA bill would reform the Act to expand the sources of funding available to water resources projects, and provide funding for water infrastructure projects that would be sufficient to meet current and future needs.

Sen. Boxer also noted that the bill's authors believe that they have "figured out a way" to address the issue of Congressional earmark restrictions.  Past WRDA bills would typically name and authorize funding for numerous, specific projects, a project designation meeting the congressional definition of an "earmark" ("congressional earmark" - House Rule XXI, Clause 9(a)). Since the last WRDA bill was passed, the House has placed a ban on earmarks; a ban that would largely put a stop to the past WRDA authorization process.  That earmark ban would necessitate changes to WRDA that provide a mechanism for identifying and prioritizing funding for needed water resource projects, while not specifically naming projects.

WRDA is a large public works bill that periodically authorizes flood control, navigation, and water resource environmental projects and studies by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, although it importantly does not appropriate funds for those projects and programs. WRDA projects and costs authorized under the act have typically far outstripped the revenue from their two major funding sources: the Inland Waterway Trust Fund and the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, both of which are vastly oversubscribed and fiscally unsound.

Congress passed the last WRDA in 2007. Previously, WRDA bills were passed in 1974, 1976, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1996, 1999 and 2000. The Environment and Public Works Committee held a WRDA hearing late in 2012, laying the groundwork its consideration of the bill this year. In her opening statement at the 2012 hearing, Boxer noted that the draft 2012 bill made "essential policy reforms, including increasing flexibility for non-Federal sponsors of Corps projects."  It is very likely that the bill that will be introduced in the coming weeks will largely mirror that 2012 draft.
Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

U.S. Congress in 2013: Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee

Our series previewing the U.S. Congress in 2013 continues this week with an overview of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and possible Committee agenda items this year that relate to Mississippi River Basin water issues. The Energy and Natural Resources Committee has jurisdiction over several Federal issues important from a Mississippi River Basin perspective. This is particularly true of its Subcommittee on Water and Power, which has jurisdiction over irrigation, water resource reclamation projects, including those related to flood control purposes, energy development impacts on water resources, groundwater resources and management, hydroelectric power, low head hydroelectric power, and energy related aspects of deep water ports. The Energy and Natural Resources Committee is also the authorizing committee with oversight of the Interior Department, and as such will be involved in the confirmation process for the new Interior Department Secretary nominated to succeed soon-to-be-departing Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) will chair the Committee for the first time this year, succeeding Sen. Jeff Bingaman, who did not seek re-election in 2012.  Alaskan Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski returns as the Committee's Ranking Member.  Energy development, and whether that energy will be exported or remain within the U.S., will be the top priorities on the Committee's agenda in 2013.  A progressive Democrat, from a state that is powered largely by renewable energy, Wyden is widely known for his ability to work with Senate Republicans, and has expressed a desire to work toward "bipartisan, common sense policies" on energy during 2013.  Bipartisan consensus is something that the Committee could not achieve during its 2012 energy debate, when the issue of offshore energy (i.e., oil and gas) revenue sharing with states was divisive.  To achieve consensus, Wyden will need to forge agreement, in particular, with Murkowski and fellow Democrat Mary Landrieu (D-LA), who both favored offshore energy revenue sharing with states.

Apart from those energy development issues, possible water resource topics that might be on the Committee's agenda at some time during 2013 include:
  • impacts of rising sea levels on coastal domestic infrastructures
  • shale gas development and production, and their impact on water resources
  • domestic and global water supply issues
Additionally, some time during the Spring, the Committee will likely hold hearings concerning the Obama Administration's budget proposals for the Interior Department and the U.S. Forest Service.

Below is the complete Committee member roster, listed alphabetically by party.  The listing highlights the four new Committee members (italicized) and those from Mississippi River Basin states (underlined) (links to Congressional Internet home pages for the Committee's nine Mississippi River Basin members are included).

Majority Members
Minority Members
The Committee office is located at Room SD-304 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510-6150
Telephone: (202) 224-4971
Fax: (202) 224-6163

To view previous coverage of the 113th Congress' Senate and House committees, see:
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
Senate and House Agriculture Committees
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
Posted by at No comments:

Friday, January 25, 2013

Mississippi River Basin Water Resource News for the Week

~Virtual Newspaper for an Aquatic World~

U.S. Congress in 2013: House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
Our series previewing the U.S. Congress in 2013 continues this week with an overview of the House Transportation and Infrastructure (or "T&I") Committee, and its likely activity this year that will be particularly relevant to Mississippi River Basin water issues. The preview (available here) has complete Committee member rosters, highlights new members and those from Mississippi River Basin states, and includes links to Congressional Internet home pages for the Committee's 21 Mississippi River Basin members. Important from a Mississippi River Basin perspective, the T&I Committee has jurisdiction over Federal management of emergencies and natural disasters, flood control, improvement of rivers, harbors and inland waterways (including public works for the benefit of navigation, bridges and dams), and the Coast Guard. Like its complimentary Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, the House T&I Committee will have as its likely top priority consideration of the Water Resources Development Act ("WRDA").

To view earlier coverage of the 113th Congress' Senate and House committees, also see:
Notable @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week

Water Quality -
  • Legal overview: Society will face new and difficult stormwater, nutrient, wetland and water right questions in 2013 http://bit.ly/V796Gr
  • Triclosan, an antibiotic used in soaps and cosmetics, and its byproducts are found in Minnesota's lakes and rivers http://bit.ly/XwAwpA
  • Tugboat carrying 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel sinks in Mississippi River http://bit.ly/13MubfO
  • Aquatic mussels wearing tiny sensor "backpacks" could help monitor Mississippi River pollution http://bit.ly/WbJvfY
  • Evansville, IN to share in class-action water contamination settlement with manufacturer of weed killer atrazine http://bit.ly/VXv7eU
  • 73 cities in Iowa end up receiving money under atrazine settlement in lawsuit against Syngenta http://icp-c.com/Www8b4
  • Wisconsin DNR investigating extent of molybdenum well contamination in southeastern WI area served by private wells http://bit.ly/XAZ2oM
  • To tackle urban stormwater runoff, cities turn to green initiatives http://bit.ly/WwvwCh
Water Resource Management (Floodplains, Dams, Navigation, Wetlands, Flooding, Supplies, etc.) -
  • EPA begins dialogue with mayors; local communities struggling to pay for expensive water system upgrades bit.ly/13MtWS7 (PDF file)
  • Experts: New Orleans post-Katrina upgrades made by Army Corps are improvement over past levees, but outdated already http://bit.ly/13Mx6VR
  • U.S. Coast Guard must sign-off on transporting fracking brine from Pennsylvania by Ohio River barges http://bit.ly/VXsXMc
  • Science Daily: Heat waves, storms, flooding: climate change to profoundly affect U.S. Midwest in coming decades http://bit.ly/Xwuq85
  • Key Mississippi River stretch reopened to shipping after hasty repairs were made to damaged lock http://bit.ly/10UaXGE
  • House bill introduced to require Army Corps of Engineers to reconsider its current levee vegetation policy http://1.usa.gov/XyZyDS
Drought-
Drought Mitigation Center Drought
Monitor Map-January 22
(click to enlarge)
  • National Drought Mitigation Center: On drought front, the Midwest sees some improvement while Plains remain "bone dry" http://bit.ly/rak0SU
  • Drought highlights "critical role" of waterway transportation on the Mississippi River http://nyti.ms/VXtFsL
  • Dredging Today: "Rainfall Provides Improved Outlook for Mississippi River Navigation" http://bit.ly/XwtWyG
  • Mississippi River section impacted by the U.S. drought will remain navigable at least through February 20 http://bloom.bg/WUyjFp
  • Persistent U.S. drought imperils winter wheat crop; may mean dry start for corn, soybeans and other spring-plantings http://reut.rs/Wft857
Farm Bill-
  • Washington Post editorial board opinion: food shortages-threat rationale for federal agricultural subsidies is "far-fetched" http://wapo.st/XvYrFy
  • Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman commits to convening a Committee Farm Bill mark up as soon as possible http://1.usa.gov/WfsoNk
  • Into the weeds: Kansas State University economist details nine possible Farm Bill crop insurance outcomes http://bit.ly/XBZ9Bg
  • Fiscal battles in Congress could prevent lawmakers from writing a new farm bill for weeks or months http://reut.rs/11ToD3V
Agriculture -
In the Cities -
Forestry -
  • Small trees left behind following logging, violent storms and epidemics help stream and lake water quality http://nyti.ms/XvNq7l
Biodiversity, Wildlife and Invasives -
A red-eyed treefrog (Agalychnis callidryas)
Photograph: Peter Lilja/Getty Images
  • Study concludes that existing risk assessment procedures for pesticide regulation are not protecting amphibians http://bit.ly/WUsaJn
  • New research suggests chemicals are playing significant and previously unknown role in global amphibian decline  http://bit.ly/TtDPT1
  • Senate bill introduced to reauthorize National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (matching habitat conservation grants) http://1.usa.gov/WftHvO
  • First bat from Mammoth Cave National Park, KY confirmed to have developed deadly white-nose syndrome http://cjky.it/VXsaei
  • Aerial eagle survey finds hundreds of eagles along lower Wisconsin River http://bit.ly/XwtRuT
  • Senators Brown (D-OH) and Toomey (R-PA) introduce bill to prevent invasion of Asian Carp in Ohio River Basin http://1.usa.gov/10xrPgD
  • WKSU (NPR): As Asian carp migrate north, concerns spreads to Ohio lakes to rivers http://bit.ly/WUqQGn
Gulf Coastal Region-
  • Scientists gather for comprehensive review of the short- and long-term effects of BP Deepwater Horizon accident http://bit.ly/XwBcet
  • Internet-based app may help track cultural impact of coastal losses in Louisiana http://bit.ly/XwBLoQ
Resource Extraction -
  • Interior Department delaying planned rules on controversial oil and gas well hydraulic fracturing http://bit.ly/XvTpZU
  • Billions in private investment $$ earmarked for Ohio gas drilling in Utica Shale this year http://ohne.ws/VXtlKy
  • Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman (R) approves revised route for Keystone XL pipeline through state http://huff.to/XwuwfQ
  • Nebraska Keystone XL oil sands pipeline route approval escalates Republican pressure on the White House bit.ly/XwIy1a
Federal Budget -
Upcoming Federal Budget Deadlines (Washington Post)
(click to enlarge)
  • Here are all of the budget deadlines the Federal government is facing over the next three months http://wapo.st/Wwu2rY
  • Senate will pass a 2014 budget http://politi.co/XvSQ2e House budget will contain deeper spending cuts than 2013 version http://bit.ly/XvSl8a
  • U.S. House approves No Budget, No Pay Act in a 285-144 vote, skirting debt ceiling limit and pressuring Senate to produce a fiscal year 2014 budget http://bit.ly/VlexXO
Events - Information on all past and future events listed here can be viewed in the on-line calendar on this Blog page and here as a stand-alone calendar
e-Newsletters, Publications and Journals -
  • Weekly Newsletter from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water: "Water Headlines" http://bit.ly/VwRarA
  • The Horinko Group Newsletter: January 2013 "Sustainabulletin" http://bit.ly/Xwuch6
  • Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's January 2013 "River Connections" e-newsletter http://bit.ly/10U6vrm
Other news-
  • Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) suggests U.S. EPA uses environmental group settlements to gain more stringent regulations http://1.usa.gov/WfujBp
  • Global investments to improve natural ecosystem health grow as opposed to paying for costly industrial infrastructure http://bit.ly/13MuNlU
  • Mississippi state and federal agencies are testing areas around former chemical plant in Hattiesburg, MS for pollution bit.ly/XvNOTg
  • Advocacy group pushes more infrastructure spending by highlighting Governors' early 2013 State of the State speeches http://bit.ly/XyZPH0
Political Scene -
  • Dozen-plus candidates vie to run in June 4, 2013 Missouri special election to fill vacant 8th District US House seat http://bit.ly/WUwicj
  • Washington Post interactive analysis of who’s staying, who’s going, and who’s coming in the Obama Administration http://wapo.st/V79zbN
  • Rep. Tim Walz (D-MN-1) named top Democrat on Agriculture Committee's conservation and energy subcommittee http://1.usa.gov/WdAMNl
  • U.S. House Agriculture Committee announces 2013 membership for its five Subcommittees http://1.usa.gov/11TqPIP
  • POLITICO's 113th Congress New Member Guide http://politi.co/Wn5UaR
  • Republican Arkansas Lt. Gov. Mark Darr planning a 2014 U.S. Senate bid to take on Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor http://bit.ly/XvMEHl
  • GOP US Rep. Shelley Moore Capito begins 2014 race to replace retiring Sen. Rockefeller (D-WV) in very strong position http://bit.ly/XVpImU
Last Word -
“Everything changes everything.” - Former Baltimore Orioles manager and Hall of Famer Earl Weaver, who died on January 18 at the age of 82.
Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

U.S. Congress in 2013: House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee

Our series previewing the U.S. Congress in 2013 continues this week with an overview of the House Transportation and Infrastructure (or "T&I") Committee, and its likely activity this year that will be particularly relevant to Mississippi River Basin water issues. The T&I Committee has jurisdiction over several Federal issues  important from a Mississippi River Basin perspective. They include Federal management of emergencies and natural disasters, flood control, improvement of rivers, harbors and inland waterways (including public works for the benefit of navigation, bridges and dams), and the Coast Guard.

The Committee is newly chaired this year by Pennsylvania Republican Bill Shuster (R-PA-9), who occupies the chairman's seat held for six years (from 1995 - 2001) by his father, Bud.  Bill Shuster succeeds outgoing Chairman John Mica (R-FL-7), who remains on the Committee but steps down as Chair due to House Republican term limits.  Rep. Nick J. Rahall, II (D-WV-3) returns this term as Ranking Member of the Committee.  Early on in 2013, Shuster and Rahall will have to repair Committee relationships damaged during the Committee's consideration of the Federal highway bill in 2012, when the panel's Republican leadership loaded the bill with contentious energy development provisions in an effort to garner conservative GOP votes.  Democrats opposed those provisions, including one to allow the construction of the Keystone XL synthetic crude oil pipeline through the Mississippi River Basin (the plains states and Midwest).

Like its complimentary Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, the House T&I Committee will have as its likely top priority consideration of the Water Resources Development Act ("WRDA"), a national  navigation, flood management and environmental restoration bill that was last reauthorized in 2007.  Historically earmark-laden, WRDA consideration will undoubtedly be at odds with the GOP House leadership's desire to hold earmarks in check, and in particular could put Shuster's Committee leadership abilities to the test, given his fiscally-conservative stature.  Shuster could find common ground with Senate EPW Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA), who in 2012 drafted a WRDA bill that would have replaced lawmaker-earmarked water projects with broader objectives defining the federal agency project selection process.

Later in 2013, the Committee will almost certainly take up reauthorization of the Federal passenger rail program, which expires on September 30.

Below is the complete Committee member roster listed alphabetically by party, highlighting new Committee members (italicized) and those from Mississippi River Basin districts (underlined) (links to Congressional Internet home pages for the Committee's 21 Mississippi River Basin members are included).

Majority Members
Minority Members
The Committee office is located at Room 2165, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515-6256 
Telephone: (202) 225-9446
Fax: (202) 225-6782

To view previous coverage of the 113th Congress' Senate and House committees, see:
Posted by at No comments:

Friday, January 18, 2013

Mississippi River Basin Water Resource News for the Week

~Virtual Newspaper for an Aquatic World~

U.S. Congress in 2013: The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
Our series previewing the U.S. Congress in 2013 continues this week with an overview of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and its likely work that will be especially relevant to Mississippi River Basin water issues (click here).  The preview includes complete Committee member rosters, highlights new Committee members and those from Mississippi River Basin states, and includes links to Congressional Internet home pages for the Committee's nine Mississippi River Basin senators. (To view our earlier coverage of the Senate and House Agriculture Committees, see here).

Notable @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week

Water Quality -
Water Resource Management (Floodplains, Dams, Navigation, Wetlands, Flooding, Supplies, etc.) -
  • Video of ongoing work at Minnesota Falls dam removal on Minnesota River (completion due mid-February) http://bit.ly/11wYGqI
  • GOP plans for spending offset and reduction amendments to House bill could hinder Hurricane Sandy bill passage http://politi.co/13kOssT
  • Taxpayers for Common Sense analysis of the Sandy disaster relief supplemental bill http://bit.ly/V1FeOq
  • Conservatives and watchdog groups mount a "not-so-fast" campaign against $50.7 billion Superstorm Sandy aid package http://apne.ws/11vdqpV
  • Expanded Panama Canal sparks race among U.S. ports to be ready for bigger cargo ships http://wapo.st/SyNuXS
  • Plan to ship thousands of barrels of “fracking” waste on Ohio River barges on hold as Coast Guard deliberates http://bit.ly/XyNoNR
  • US Army Corps to strengthen substandard segment of New Orleans' Pontchartrain lakefront levee http://bit.ly/11BPW2u
  • Inspectors taking inventory of flood control systems overseen by federal government find hundreds at risk of failing http://bit.ly/WalMO0
  • Missouri River floodplain issues highlighted in "Missouri River: A flood of disagreements has shaped vital waterway" http://bit.ly/S26Cfx
  • $50 billion Sandy bill splits Republicans but clears the House; Senate will consider next week http://bit.ly/V4nH72
Drought-
January 15 Drought Monitor Map
Click to Enlarge
  • Government drought forecast: snow and rain relieved some areas but much of Midwest; high plains still suffer drought http://1.usa.gov/UAc73J and http://bit.ly/rak0SU
  • Heat is gone and shock has faded, but US drought remains, and it is not about to disappear http://on.ft.com/13LdOjN
  • Drought-stoked water wars heating up in Texas, where officials are suing New Mexico and Oklahoma over river water http://on.wsj.com/UwbLuR
  • Risk of damage to US corn and soybean crops for second year increasing as drought predicted to persist through April http://bloom.bg/10gdkCp
  • U.S. drought could leave taxpayers with bill of nearly $16 billion in crop insurance costs because of poor yields http://nyti.ms/V4vdyV
Low Mississippi River Levels-
  • Army Corps of Engineers increasingly confident it can keep Mississippi River open to shippers through spring http://on.wsj.com/13vlyq3
  • St Louis Post-Dispatch Letter to Editor: Articles about low Mississippi River overstate the problem http://bit.ly/VPLSWv
  • Army Corps praised by barge industry for averting Mississippi River shipping shutdown http://bit.ly/11mUtWA
  • Eastern Iowa companies feel varying impacts from low Mississippi River http://bit.ly/XyN4Pg
  • Army Corps very confident that they will be able to sustain Mississippi River navigation for rest of the season http://nyti.ms/UAcuvk
  • Drought-depleted Mississippi River six feet higher at southern Illinois choke point, allowing barges to pass safely http://bloom.bg/Uwbokb
  • Reuters: Vessels on the Mississippi River gearing up for "shipping superhighway" to fully reopen as water levels rise http://reut.rs/11wUjfi
Farm Bill-
  • National Farmers Union issues media release on crop insurance: Important but Far From Perfect http://bit.ly/Uw9z6K
  • House and Senate Agriculture committee leaders face more difficult Farm Bill budget situation this year than last http://bit.ly/11wU2sK
Agriculture -
  • Agriculture: Three broadly-used pesticides pose a threat to honeybees http://reut.rs/Vwb5XK
  • New study: replacing  corn with biofuel crops reduces nutrient runoff through subsurface drainage http://bit.ly/XyLWen
  • Nitrate-Nitrogen Losses through Subsurface Drainage under Various Agricultural Land Cover scenarios http://bit.ly/11vcB0n
  • Midwestern US study: Watershed sediment losses to lakes accelerating despite agricultural soil conservation efforts http://bit.ly/WxZPH5
  • National Farmers Union Policy Committee meets in Washington, D.C., to begin revising organization’s policy http://bit.ly/SyKCKM
  • Study recommends use of Midwestern marginal lands unattractive for food crops to grow nonfood feedstocks http://bit.ly/USW3bH
  • Federal court preserves an Environmental Protection Agency ruling that permits sale of high-ethanol fuel blend http://bit.ly/V4vHoA
  • EPA Region 7 and 8 officials meet with state agriculture departments' directors; discuss air, nutrient, water issues http://1.usa.gov/V4r7Xr
  • USDA Secretary: Americans must gain an understanding for the importance and potential of rural areas http://tnne.ws/W3pJ72
In the States -
  • Iowa nutrient runoff pollution plan criticized by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency http://dmreg.co/11mSjGr
  • Iowa officials tout their Nutrient Reduction Strategy as the way to reduce Gulf hypoxia http://bit.ly/11vdCWk
  • EPA Provides Comments on Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy: praises effort: urges additional steps http://1.usa.gov/11vdLck
  • Draft Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy is "getting high praise from EPA Region 7 Administrator Karl Brooks" http://bit.ly/W3rBwA
  • Ag Professional e-magazine: EPA comments on Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy http://bit.ly/11wVvPV
  • Minnesota state legislators get a crash course in the changes ahead for the state in light of climate change http://bit.ly/Vw5Nvf
Biodiversity, Wildlife and Invasives -
  • University of Wisconsin study: native eastern US plants flowering as much as a month earlier due to warming climate http://bit.ly/13Lbsl2
  • Cost rises of trying to keep Asian Carp; other aquatic invasives from moving between Mississippi and Great Lakes basins http://bit.ly/Wbp7fS
  • Minnesota Legislature expected to discuss actions to stop further invasive Asian carp advances up the Mississippi River http://bit.ly/W47T3H
  • New uses considered for federally-protected Shippingport Island in the Ohio River http://cjky.it/11BRKIW
  • U.S. Global Change Research Project: Rising temps could change landscape of Midwest U.S. http://bit.ly/WaqefG
  • Options to help stop the advance of Asian carp into Minnesota abound, but disputes over choice continue http://bit.ly/10cJQ8z
  • Audubon Nature Institute; San Diego Zoo working on 5-year project to create endangered species habitat near New Orleans http://bit.ly/V4t5Hx
  • Smartphone owners can report invasive species sightings using Midwest Invasive Species Information Network application http://bit.ly/V4sCVR
Gulf Coastal Region-
  • Louisiana purchases 11,145 acres of forested wetlands to add to Maurepas Swamp Wildlife Management Area http://bit.ly/XhGD2J
Resource Extraction -
  • USGS: No water contamination from drilling in Fayetteville Shale natural gas area of Arkansas http://bit.ly/11mThT6
  • Wisconsin Republican lawmakers unveil bill to loosen mining regulations; they say bill can generate 1000s of jobs http://bit.ly/Walmaj
Federal Budget -
  • Midwesterners accustomed to generous government disaster aid payouts may have to look elsewhere in future http://bit.ly/11BPHVi
  • White House informs House Budget Committee Chair that it will miss February 4 deadline for sending budget to Congress http://bit.ly/W42cml
Events - Information on all past and future events listed here can be viewed on the on-line calendar on the Blog page (above) and here, as a stand-alone calendar.
  • Next Minimal Impact Design Standards (MIDS) meeting; January 18, 9-12 CST; MPCA St. Paul, MN office or by webex http://bit.ly/11mEJ5O
  • Midwest-Great Lakes Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration Meeting; Wooster, OH, April 12-14 http://bit.ly/13viXMN
  • Assoc of State Floodplain Managers Conference, "Remembering the Past - Insuring the Future", Hartford, CT, June 9 -14 http://bit.ly/13vmj2e
  • 2013 Missouri River Natural Resources Conference and BiOp Forum; March 11-14; Jefferson City, MO http://mrnrc2012.com
  • Wetland Restoration in Urban Environments; Lisle, Illinois, February 7, 7–8 PM http://bit.ly/V4rIse
  • Water Challenge Day during New Orleans Entrepreneur Week to focus on innovative approaches to living with water (3/18) http://bit.ly/S20HXP
e-Newsletters, Publications and Journals -
  • Volume 6 of the USGS Cooperative Water Program Quarterly Highlights, January 2013 http://on.doi.gov/11mIpo5 (pdf file)
  • Minnesota Pollution Control Agency January 15 issue of Watershed Network News http://bit.ly/XAYC4o
  • Delta Dispatches January 15 issue with the latest news on Coastal Louisiana restoration efforts http://bit.ly/Wap5Vj
Other news-
  • Doomsday Clock remains at five minutes to midnight on the basis of nuclear, climate change and emerging threats in 2012 http://bit.ly/S2eE8d
  • New York Times will close its environment desk in the next few weeks http://bit.ly/V10N1m
  • Anoka County Board supports MN efforts to have Mississippi River Trail through County designated a U.S. bike route http://bit.ly/XyNd53
  • Southeast Tennessee Green Infrastructure Handbook for Local Governments; using water to green Tennessee's cities http://bit.ly/V4qgpP
  • EPA releases fact sheet series on Low Impact Development benefits; addressing obstacles to their wider adoption http://1.usa.gov/Vwag0Y
Political Scene -
  • Minnesota GOP faces long, rocky road to recovery by 2014 http://bit.ly/UA9W0f
  • USGS Director McNutt to step down in February http://bit.ly/W3oNQ3
  • US Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar plans to step down at the end of March http://bit.ly/S1YZFZ
  • Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire frequently mentioned as possible new Obama Administration Interior or EPA head http://bit.ly/10gcxBi
  • A look at Iowa's 2104 Congressional races: Braley’s Gubernatorial Aspirations and Harkin’s Re-Election Decision http://bit.ly/11wT8MW
  • Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will probably not face a credible primary challenger in 2014 http://bit.ly/W3nvoq
Last Word - "'What dust we raise,' said the fly upon the chariot wheel." - Aesop
Posted by at No comments:

U.S. Congress in 2013: The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee

Today we cover the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in the second in a series of previews of U.S Congressional committees of particular relevance to Mississippi River Basin water resource issues in the upcoming 113th Congress (To view our earlier coverage of the Senate and House Agriculture Committees, see here).

Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Ranking Member David Vitter (R-LA) will head this Committee.  Vitter follows in the footsteps of outgoing Ranking Member James Inhofe (R-OK), who paired up with Boxer in the last Congress to pass against stiff odds a comprehensive transportation bill, as well as an aviation bill (Inhofe stepped down from the Ranking Member role under Republican Caucus rules limiting position tenures).

The first item on the Committee's docket in 2013 will likely be reauthorization of the massive water resources law known as the Water Resources Development Act, or "WRDA."  WRDA is a bulky public works bill that periodically authorizes flood control, navigation, and water resource environmental projects and studies by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, although it importantly does not appropriate funds for those projects and programs. WRDA bills are designed to be passed every two years; however, Congress passed the last WRDA in 2007. Previously, WRDA bills were passed in 1974, 1976, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1996, 1999 and 2000.  The Committee held a WRDA hearing late in 2012, laying the groundwork for consideration of a bill this year. In her opening statement at the hearing, Boxer noted that the draft 2012 bill made "essential policy reforms, including increasing flexibility for non-Federal sponsors of Corps projects," and that it recognized "the need to expand the sources of funding available to water resources projects (since) (f)unding for water infrastructure projects has been insufficient to meet current needs."  Vitter, although not considered to be environmentally liberal, may team up with Boxer and champion many of the WRDA reforms envisioned by the Chairwoman, since his Louisiana constituents have strong interests in ports, barge traffic, flood management and water quality.

WRDA projects and costs authorized under the act have typically far outstripped the revenue from their two major funding sources: the Inland Waterway Trust Fund and the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, both of which are vastly oversubscribed and fiscally unsound. This is due in large part to the past WRDA tradition of most every congressional member placing water resources projects in their home districts or states into the WRDA bill (a list of projects that in the past have been solicited before the bill is drafted by the EPW Committee and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee). Such projects for the most part would now meet the congressional definition of an "earmark" ("congressional earmark" - House Rule XXI, Clause 9(a)). And the current House ban on earmarks would largely put a stop to that process, arguably necessitating changes to WRDA that provide some mechanism for identifying and prioritizing funding for needed water resource projects.

Given its huge price tag, WRDA reauthorization discussions will likely be quickly brought into the fiscal cliff debate that will take up much of Congress's and the Administration's attention through at least the first quarter of 2013.

Apart from WRDA, the state of the Environmental Protection Agency regulatory regime will likely take up a lot of the Committee's time this year, as it did in 2012. Once again in 2013, we can expect to hear GOP members calling EPA regulations over-reaching and job-stifling, and see Democrats rebutting those charges to give the Agency and its soon-to-be-new Administrator some political cover.  Under the fairly remote scenario that carbon capping legislation is seriously considered this year, the EPW Committee would be the main Committee where the terms of such legislation would be hammered out.  Boxer has historically championed capping greenhouse gas emissions, something that Vitter and his Republican committee colleagues may be averse to doing.  The Committee may also take up the issue of reforming the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, or TSCA, something that both Boxer and Vitter have said they would like to accomplish.

Below is the complete Committee member roster listed alphabetically by party, highlighting new Committee members (italicized) and those from Mississippi River Basin states (underlined) (including links to Congressional Internet home pages for the Committee's nine Mississippi River Basin senators).

Majority Members
  • Max Baucus (D-MT)
  • Barbara Boxer (D-CA) Chairwoman
  • Benjamin L. "Ben" Cardin (D-MD)
  • Thomas R. "Tom" Carper (D-DE)
  • Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand (D-NY)
  • Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ)
  • Jeff Alan Merkley (D-OR)
  • Bernard "Bernie" Sanders (I-VT)
  • Thomas S. "Tom" Udall (D-NM)
  • Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
Minority Members
The Committee office is located in room SD-410 of the Dirksen Senate Office, Washington, DC 20510
Telephone: (202) 224-8832
Fax: (202) 224-1273
Posted by at No comments:

Friday, January 11, 2013

Mississippi River Basin Water Resource News for the Week

~Virtual Newspaper for an Aquatic World~

 U.S. Congress in 2013: The Agriculture Committees
The week we launch the first in a series of previews of U.S Congressional committees of particular relevance to Mississippi River Basin water resource issues with a preview of the House and Senate agriculture committees. In addition to this appetizer, for complete Committee member rosters, highlighting new Committee members and those from Mississippi River Basin states and districts (including links to Congressional Internet home pages for Mississippi River Basin members) you can click here.
Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee
Chaired by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) with newly-appointed Ranking Member Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS), this Committee will spend much of 2013 doing what it did in 2012: attempting to get a final, comprehensive Farm Bill passed out of Congress and sent to the President's desk. Stabenow had forged a good working relationship over the years with the former Ranking Member Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), who was replaced this Congress by Cochran. The shift in the Committee's GOP leadership will likely mean a shift in the fortunes of southern farm landowners and producers, as Cochran is expected to be a strong advocate on the Committee for that region's interests. Southerners on the Committee opposed the Senate's 2012 version of the Farm Bill, largely because it ended direct payments to their growers, while shifting farm program payments to insurance-like provisions that they say favored corn and soybean producers of the Midwest.

House Agriculture Committee
Like its Senate counterpart, the House Agriculture Committee's 2013 agenda will be dominated by the Farm Bill. Having failed to usher passage of a Farm Bill in 2012, the House Agriculture Committee is poised to once again attempt passage in 2013, starting anew, as it were, in a fiscal climate dictated by the ongoing fiscal cliff deliberations that will hold most of Congress's political attention at least through March (Neither the Senate nor the House committee will actually start from scratch, however, likely beginning 2013's activity using their respective 2012 bills as templates).

Last year's major area of Farm Bill disagreement among Committee members was ideological, centering on spending cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which accounts for over half of the Farm Bill's total budget. The SNAP payment issue will be sucked into the fiscal cliff debate as that cliff reemerges as a major political issue following the President's inauguration, significantly informing the Farm Bill direct payment, SNAP and risk management deliberations on the House side, as well as in the Senate.

The Committee is lead by its Chair, Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK-3) and Ranking Member Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN-7).

Notable @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week

Water Quality -
  • Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner targets EPA in criticism about Floyds Fork nutrient reduction plan http://cjky.it/UZ6blO
  • Kentucky Waterways Alliance responds in its blog to Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner's Floyds Fork EPA criticisms http://bit.ly/WWI3xH (see the article, above)
  • Federal judge signs off on mediators who will determine damages over Kingston TN coal ash spill http://bit.ly/Uao831
  • Methylmercury levels spiked in Tennessee rivers after 2008 coal ash spill http://bit.ly/VFL8Fx
  • Five South Dakota projects recommended for EPA Section 319 grants to reduce nonpoint sources of water pollution http://bit.ly/TXqjU5
  • US District Court: EPA does not have the statutory authority to use stormwater flow as a surrogate for sediment pollution http://bit.ly/ZI9z8n
  • Ohio farmers are being urged by Farm Bureau to reduce manure and fertilizer runoff or face federal regulations to do so http://bit.ly/UZ4xAx
Water Resource Management (Floodplains, Dams, Navigation, Wetlands, Flooding, Supplies, etc.) -
  • The Nature Conservancy op-ed: Water’s 'fiscal cliff' is no pretty waterfall bit.ly/ZGxAg4
  • Supreme Court decides to intervene over a Texas - Oklahoma water dispute http://bit.ly/WnRbuL
  • Government Accountability Office: FEMA needs to make mapping of tribal lands in flood-prone areas a higher priority http://1.usa.gov/WnRyVW
  • Army Corps of Engineers releases revised $10.3 billion proposal to build the Morganza to the Gulf levee (Louisiana) http://bit.ly/VKcFmC
  • Bigger, better physical model of Mississippi River to be built at LSU http://bit.ly/Sikofl
  • Columbus, Ohio officials and the Ohio Nature Conservancy strive to protect Columbus wetlands http://bit.ly/SikJys
  • Missouri River Forecast Center expects lower than normal chances of flooding across much of River Basin this year http://bit.ly/ZI5ssZ
Drought-
January 8 U.S. Drought Monitor Map
Click to Enlarge
  • Weekly drought monitor report (NOAA, USDA, DoC): Plains remain tightly gripped by severe drought; Midwest remains dry http://bit.ly/rak0SU
  • Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas rains should provide drought relief; but generally worst-hit areas remain in sad shape http://yhoo.it/WWL0OK
  • Little sign of easing in US's "big dry" http://bit.ly/ULUGOz
  • 2012 hottest year on record in contiguous U.S., NOAA says http://wapo.st/ZGr2hI
  • 2012 drought that ravaged U.S. corn and soybean crops, spurring record prices, poised to persist well into 2013 http://bloom.bg/ZGDu0O
  • Reuters: USDA declares drought disaster in much of Wheat Belt http://reut.rs/UZ5Dw8
  • U.S. Department of Agriculture makes first drought disaster designations in 2013; 597 counties bit.ly/WROaDo
  • If water levels on Lake Michigan continue to drop, the Chicago River (Illinois River Basin) could reverse itself http://bit.ly/UMU0aJ
Low Mississippi River Levels-
  • NPR's On Point program takes a close look at the “Drought And The Mississippi" http://bit.ly/Wv6di7
  • Rain to keep water levels high enough to avert Mississippi River barge traffic shutdown before expected February rise http://bloom.bg/WRTird
  • On a low-water stretch of the Mississippi River, the U.S. Coast Guard has been reduced to playing traffic cop http://wapo.st/106MJZt
  • Despite low water levels, Mississippi River should remain open to barge traffic at least through end of January http://bit.ly/SinRKJ
  • Barge operators: Drought puts at risk gains from recent emergency Mississippi River dredging and rock removal http://bloom.bg/ZGE9PY
In the States -
  • Fiscal cliff deal leaves states' environmental agencies uncertain about level of federal funding they will receive http://bit.ly/UmGysh
  • Minnesota Pollution Control Agency accepting proposals for Clean Water Partnership grant and loan funding http://bit.ly/13hic9R
  • Iowa extends comment period on controversial plan to cut pollution running down Mississippi River to Gulf of Mexico http://dmreg.co/VFKR5g
  • EPA provides comments on contentious Iowa nutrient reduction strategy 1.usa.gov/UZ3Bfr (PDF file of EPA letter)
Farm Bill-
  • Farm Bill's largest conservation program faces an uncertain future under terms of nine-month extension http://bit.ly/VFIkZ3
  • House Agriculture Committee cancels tentative plans to draft a new farm bill in the near future http://bloom.bg/VFMNuw
  • Senate Agriculture Committee Chair will proceed with new farm bill; not waiting for House Agriculture Committee to act http://bit.ly/VFN4xA and http://bit.ly/VFNtQL
  • Minneapolis Star Tribune editorial board: Farm Bill extension is "giant step in the wrong direction” http://bit.ly/VFNowy
  • Eastern SD drought will most likely have greater effect on farmers than Congress’ inability to pass a new Farm Bill http://bit.ly/VKbB2j
  • Rice industry pleased that direct payments are still available due to the extension of the 2008 farm bill http://bit.ly/VFNCUb
  • U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN): good chance of Senate Farm Bill passage; House passage more problematic http://bit.ly/WRUrii
Agriculture -
Biodiversity, Wildlife and Invasives -
Mississippi Gopher Frog
  • Minnesota DNR recommends Asian carp barrier based on bubbles and flashing lights on Mississippi River at Minneapolis http://bit.ly/VFJBiF
  • Nebraska environment report favors revised Keystone XL pipe plan that avoids sensitive Sand Hills region http://reut.rs/VMjUtL
  • Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission votes to add Mississippi gopher frog to state's endangered species list http://bit.ly/URCSS5
  • MS and AR Congressional delegations want U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to allow hunting over rolled rice fields http://on.thec-l.com/WRVgb4
  • Invading Species Can Extinguish Native Plants Despite Recent Reports to Contrary http://bit.ly/WWLkgw
Resource Extraction -
  • Companies posed to take up diamond exploration and mining in North Dakota http://bit.ly/VFID68
  • Residents near Central Illinois coal mine frustrated with reclamation pace; worried about potential pollution http://bit.ly/Wo6pPT
Federal Budget -
  • Obama administration’s fiscal year 2014 budget proposal is expected to be late this year, possibly not out until March http://bit.ly/ZGCU32
  • Federal government is facing the threat of three major fiscal disasters in the coming months http://bit.ly/WnPQUG
Events - Information on all past and future events listed here can be viewed on the on-line calendar on the Blog page (above) and here.
  • Call for Abstracts for 26th International Congress for Conservation Biology now open (July 21-25 2013 in Baltimore, MD) http://bit.ly/VFJWBW
  • 2013 International Low Impact Development Symposium; U of MN; August 18-21, Saint Paul RiverCentre, Saint Paul, MN  http://bit.ly/U6eRGr
  • Sustainable Water Management Conference; American Water Works Association; Nashville, TN - April 7-10 http://bit.ly/VFM1Od
  • Webinar: Soil Role in Processing Pollutants: Green Infrastructure; Carbon Sequestration Case Studies; Jan 24, 5-6 EST http://bit.ly/SincJq
  • Save the dates: NCER - The National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration; Chicago, IL, July 29-August 2 http://bit.ly/VPvipt
  • Webinar: Water Quality Monitoring for Public Health; February 5, 2 PM EST http://bit.ly/WWCFuy (session password is "healthy")
  • Webinar: Hydroponic nutrient reduction in Upper Mississippi River floodplain levee districts; January 16; 12-1:30 PM ET http://bit.ly/WRRgap
e-Newsletters, Publications and Journals -
Other news-
  • New study: Up to half of the food produced worldwide is wasted http://lat.ms/WWJr3q 
  • Government Accountability Office launches searchable database allowing look-up of policy issues and related reports http://1.usa.gov/SilnMB
  • City of Cincinnati, Ohio now offering $5 million in green roof loans http://bit.ly/VFLxru
  • 1 Mississippi Campaign looks to fill summer intern positions in Minnesota, Illinois/Missouri and Tennessee http://bit.ly/VPxqgE
  • President Obama likely to nominate outgoing Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire as new USEPA head http://bit.ly/138Cem4
Political Scene -
  • Information on the new faces in the 113th congress sortable by state, party, gender and chamber http://wapo.st/VKh0pW
  • River Basin politics: Ron Paul supporters are expected to effectively take over the Iowa Republican Party on Saturday http://bit.ly/VSJy01
Last Word -
Genghis Khan
“Root canals, NFL replacement referees, head lice, Canadian rock band Nickelback, colonoscopies, carnies (that is, carnival employees), traffic jams, Donald Trump, France, Genghis Khan, used-car salesmen, Washington political pundits and brussels sprouts.” The list, reported by Time’s Matt Peckham, of those things that are more popular than Congress (which got a 9 percent approval rating in a weekend Public Policy Polling survey of 880 voters). Peckham added, “It wasn’t all bad news for Congress, however; the elected body still managed to beat out John Edwards, lobbyists, telemarketers, the Kardashians, North Korea, Lindsay Lohan, playground bullies, Fidel Castro, meth labs, communism, gonorrhea and the Ebola virus.”
Posted by at No comments:

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Senate and House Agriculture Committees Take Shape

This is the first of a series of articles on U.S. Congressional committees particularly relevant to Mississippi River water resource issues, as the new 113th Congress begins its work in 2013.  Today's article previews the Senate and House Agriculture Committees.

Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee
Chaired by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) with newly-appointed Ranking Member Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS), this Committee will spend much of 2013 doing what it did in 2012: attempting to get a final, comprehensive Farm Bill passed out of Congress and sent to the President's desk.  Stabenow had forged a good working relationship over the years with the former Ranking Member Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), who was replaced this Congress by Cochran.  The shift in the Committee's GOP leadership will  likely mean a shift in the fortunes of southern farm landowners and producers, as Cochran is expected to be a strong advocate on the Committee for that region's interests.  Southerners on the Committee opposed the Senate's 2012 version of the Farm Bill, largely because it ended direct payments to their growers, while shifting farm program payments to insurance-like provisions that they say favored corn and soybean producers of the Midwest.

Here is the Committee member makeup, presented alphabetically.  New members are italicized; Senators from Mississippi River Basin states (which dominate the Committee) are underlined.   Links to Congressional Internet home pages are provided for Mississippi River Basin senators.

The Committee office is located in room SR-328A, Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510-6000
Telephone: (202) 224-2035
Fax: (202) 228-2125


House Agriculture Committee
Like its Senate counterpart, the House Agriculture Committee's 2013 agenda will be dominated by the Farm Bill.  Having failed to pass a Farm Bill in 2012, the House is poised to once again attempt passage in 2013, starting anew, as it were, in a fiscal climate dictated by the ongoing fiscal cliff deliberations that will hold most of Congress's political attention at least through March (Neither the Senate nor the House committee will actually start from scratch, however, likely beginning 2013's activity using their respective 2012 bills as templates).

Last year's major area of Farm Bill disagreement among Committee members was ideological, centering on spending cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which accounts for over half of the Farm Bill's total budget.  The SNAP payment issue will be sucked into the fiscal cliff debate as that cliff reemerges as a major political issue following the President's inauguration, significantly informing the Farm Bill direct payment, SNAP and risk management deliberations on the House side, as well as in the Senate.

The Committee is lead by its Chair, Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK-3) and Ranking Member Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN-7).  Here is the Committee member makeup, presented alphabetically.  New Committee Members are italicized; Members from Mississippi River Basin districts are underlined.  Links to Congressional Internet home pages are provided for Mississippi River Basin representatives.

The Committee office is located in room 1301, Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
Telephone: (202) 225-2171
Tel: (202) 225-0917
Posted by at No comments:

Friday, January 4, 2013

Mississippi River Basin Water Resource News for the Week

~Virtual Newspaper for an Aquatic World~

Farm Bill . . . 2013
Surprising a few, perhaps, but certainly disappointing many, Congress passed a pared-down, nine-month Farm Bill extension as part of its end-of-year "fiscal cliff" budget deal, providing congressional leaders yet another in an ongoing series of windows of opportunity to agree upon, vote on and pass a comprehensive Farm Bill; a task that eluded Congress in 2012 (see the numerous articles on the extension below, under "Farm Bill"). And while rumors circulate that Agriculture Committee staff are setting aside time in late February to mark up a new 2013 version of the Farm Bill, that date is anything but certain. Several arguably more pressing items are poised to take up much of Capitol Hill's attention over the next several months, potentially taking the urgency out of any initiative to move a comprehensive Farm Bill quickly through the respective House and Senate agriculture committees. Below are a few of those more "urgent" items.
  1. First, the Federal government will have to avert a government default by raising the debt ceiling, a limit that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told congressional leaders that the country had hit this past Monday. While Geithner said he would begin to implement “extraordinary” measures to forestall a government default, how long it will be until those measures are exhausted is unclear, given the unknown impact of the just-passed fiscal cliff legislation.
  2. By March 2, Congress and the Obama Administration will need to preempt sequestration by agreeing to additional long-term Federal budget savings.  The fiscal cliff agreement put off from January 1 until March 1 $85 billion in what are called "blunt spending cuts" that President Obama will be required to split between defense and non-defense Federal programs, something few want to see happen.  
  3. Finally, the six-month Fiscal Year 2013 Continuing Resolution that authorizes the Federal government spending expires on March 27, necessitating another spending authorization bill before then to allow the government to continue to function beyond that date.
If you throw into the mix the impending battles over Fiscal Year 2014 spending proposals and bills, the calendar becomes even more crowded. That budgetary debating season traditionally kicks off with the President's late-winter budget proposal release; a release “normally” due no later than the first Monday in February, under law. However, it has become clear that the February 4 deadline will be missed this year because of the late nature of the budget deal and its impact on future budget projections.

Given this legislative traffic jam and the fact that the basic political landscape in Washington, DC hasn't really changed between last year and 2013, it is not at all beyond the realm of possibility that a 2013 Farm Bill effort will stall and that some basic Farm Bill authorities will again be extended by the time the end of September rolls around.  Surprising few and disappointing many.

 Notable @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week

Farm Bill-
  • New Year’s tax package rushed through Congress Tuesday includes a nine-month farm bill extension http://bit.ly/WksQGt
  • Farm Bill Extension details begin to emerge http://bit.ly/Wg7fyA
  • Tax bill passed by Senate includes a nine-month Farm Bill extension http://nyti.ms/Wksj7o
  • National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition: smaller, targeted programs to fund farm-food reform left out of tax bill http://bit.ly/WktbJg
  • National Farmers Union on Farm Bill extension: Congress has left rural America out in the cold http://bit.ly/Wku5Fm
  • National Farmers Union and Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership op-ed: "time to relink conservation, crop insurance" http://argusne.ws/WeNjfv
  • Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) won’t work on a new Farm Bill without congressional leaders' assurances it will get a vote http://bit.ly/Wg7utk
  • Farm Bill process begins anew in 2013 with less money for programs and less political clout behind the measure http://bit.ly/WawQZa
  • Farm Bill extension sends comprehensive bill back to square one http://bloom.bg/Wg7cCX
  • Thad Cochran (D-MS) replaces Pat Roberts (D-KS) as Senate Agriculture Committee's ranking member; move that has Farm Bill implications http://politi.co/10VtVLR
  • NPR’s “Morning Edition” -  “Farmers Frustrated By Farm Bill Extension” http://n.pr/TKnJRs
Agriculture -
  • House Agriculture Committee announces five 113th Congress subcommittee chairs (including Iowa and Arkansas reps) http://1.usa.gov/ZV2RvH
  • House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member announces four new Democratic Committee members for 113th Congress http://1.usa.gov/Vus2zE
  • Iowa farmer preserves nature by harnessing it http://bit.ly/UGy8P6
  • Groups plan to turn the roof of an 8,000-square-foot warehouse into St. Louis' first rooftop farm http://bit.ly/UGA0HG
  • Climate changes force Kentucky farmers to try different crops, cultivation methods http://cjky.it/UGAVaU
  • Farmland-prairie system with built in resilience contrasts sharply with most drought-impacted Midwest landscapes http://bit.ly/WaE8w0
Water Quality -
Water Resource Management (Floodplains, Dams, Navigation, Wetlands, Flooding, Supplies, etc.) -
  • New $1.1 billion hurricane levee proposed for New Orleans East Land Bridge http://bit.ly/XPuWPr
  • Sen. McCaskill (D-MO) seeks action on St. Johns Bayou and New Madrid floodway Missouri levee project http://bit.ly/UGwnBx
  • House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has agreed to hold two votes on Hurricane Sandy aid after coming under pressure http://bit.ly/Wg6nK4 (To read why it's controversial, see this blog post: http://bit.ly/UdltDV)
Drought-
January 1 Drought Monitor Map
Click to Enlarge
  • Middle-U.S. snows arrested further drought deterioration but were insufficient to improve the situation http://bit.ly/rak0SU
  • Reuters: Fears of new Dust Bowl form in central U.S. http://nbcnews.to/RteJl0
  • Worst U.S. drought since the 1930s Dust Bowl is damaging wheat crops across the country's midsection http://bloom.bg/Wg8gGO
  • Much of the U.S. is still desperate for relief from the nation’s longest dry spell in decades http://wapo.st/Wg8aiw
Low Mississippi River Levels-
  • Drought-depleted Mississippi River will remain open for barge traffic next week and possibly until January 26 http://bloom.bg/Wayg5Z
  • Chicago Tribune: Mississippi River water levels lowest in decades, threaten shipping http://bit.ly/UGxUHQ
  • Barge operators issue new warning about impacts of declining Mississippi River levels http://bit.ly/Wga7vh
  • 'Ice bite' could drop Mississippi River levels even more as drought continues http://bit.ly/WkvjRh
  • Barge union pleads for more water from Missouri River to aid Mississippi River transportation; Army Corps balks http://bit.ly/WkvvQk
  • Fears mount as "mighty Mississippi" runs dry in drought http://ind.pn/UGvbxQ
  • Army Corps of Engineers is in emergency mode to keep Mississippi River barge traffic moving http://bit.ly/UGywx2
In the States -
  • EPA: Iowa DNR must check 8000 livestock facilities over five years to prevent federal Clean Water program takeover http://dmreg.co/UGxbGv
  • EPA approves Oklahoma's implementation of Agriculture Pollutant Discharge Elimination System program http://1.usa.gov/VuvxpD
Forestry -
  • Call for manuscripts: Special Issue of Forests: "Forest Restoration and Regeneration" - Deadline February 2013 http://bit.ly/WaF2ZH
Biodiversity, Wildlife and Invasives -
Gulf Coastal Region-
  • Louisiana Attorney General running out of funds to pay expenses in BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster litigation http://bit.ly/UGxHnP
  • Corps of Engineers might have to rebuild coastal Louisiana wetlands under existing Federal law http://bit.ly/TwSjPA
  • Coastal Louisiana has lost about 1,900 square miles of land since the 1930s; cemeteries being impacted http://abcn.ws/WaGkDP
Resource Extraction -
Federal Budget -
Events -
  • Information on all past and future water and natural resource related events listed here can be viewed on the on-line calendar embedded within this Blog page (above) and here as a separate calendar.
e-Newsletters, Publications and Journals -
Other news-
  • Administrator Lisa P. Jackson stepping down from EPA Cabinet-level post after four years http://bit.ly/RteR3Y
  • New Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee video "The Mighty Mississippi - Managing Through Cooperation and Commitment" http://bit.ly/WaA7I5 (direct link to video)
Political Scene -
  • The Hill: Portrait of the 113th Congress that convened Thursday http://bit.ly/Wg6XHT
  • 112th Congress exits having enacted fewer laws than any other since 1947 http://politi.co/Rtfqus
  • U.S. House seat contenders start to line up against embattled Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN-4) http://bit.ly/Wg8EVI
  • Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder is angling to become GOP nominee for MO’s open U.S. 8th District House seat http://bit.ly/Wg8vSh
  • Minnesota: Rep. Erik Paulsen 2014 U.S. Senate bid not so ‘ridiculous’ after all http://bit.ly/Wg8qOp
Last Word - "In the environment we are working in - it is absolutely a miracle that we got it done.” - Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, Frank Lucas (R-OK-3), speaking of the congressional fiscal cliff deal and its embedded nine-month Farm Bill extension.
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)