Mississippi River Basin Water Resource News for the Week

~Virtual Newspaper for an Aquatic World~

Senate EPW Committee Leaders Expect 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 far less than all of the revenues coming into that Trust Fund were being targeted each year for harbor maintenance work around the country.  And although not an official hearing topic, the insolvency of the Inland Waterways Trust Fund was also mentioned by panel members as a problem in search of a solution in a new WRDA bill.  For more information on WRDA and the January 31 hearing, you can see this Blog coverage.

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, including irrigation, water resource reclamation projects, including those related to flood control purposes, energy development impacts on water resources, groundwater resources and management, hydroelectric power and low head hydro power. The preview (available in full here) has complete Committee member rosters, and highlights and includes links to Congressional Internet home pages for the Committee's nine Mississippi River Basin members. 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

Notable @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week

Water Quality -

• EPA giving communities more time to clean up waters because of financial burden of stormwater; wastewater projects http://bit.ly/115rhn9
• EPA Memo "Assessing Financial Capability for Municipal Clean Water Act Requirements" http://bit.ly/115rMNT (re: Clean Water Act obligations)
• Iowa State U: Sediment deposition rate in Iowa lakes due to erosion has increased exponentially over last 50 years http://dmreg.co/TwX8e2
• Barge with 80,000 gallons oil hits Vicksburg, MS, Mississippi River bridge; leaks http://bit.ly/Ws1TEp but contained http://bloom.bg/Ws1YrK
• U of MN study: triclosan a dominant source of forms of dioxin in lakes which receive sewage treatment plant effluent http://bit.ly/YbOmjr
• Blue Spring Creek, Missouri considered sacred by Northern Cherokee Nation tribe in an effort to stop treatment plant http://bit.ly/YcdLJI
• Levels of perfluorinated chemicals found in Mississippi River fish below Twin Cities area declining but remain high http://bit.ly/VilfdJ
• Minnesota pollution agency finds PFCs diminishing in Mississippi River, although still at "significant" levels in spots http://bit.ly/XK3h1v
• EPA announces its approval of Missouri's change to state water quality standards rules http://1.usa.gov/ViqmKP
• WV Sierra Club; WV Highlands Conservancy; OH Valley Environmental Coalition threaten to sue EPA over alleged lax WV DEP oversight re: mining water pollution http://bit.ly/Wd7Aqh
• Appalachian Mountain Advocates; other groups move to restart lawsuit over Bush Administration mining 'stream buffer' rule http://bit.ly/XeBpUY (PDF of notice)

Water Resource Management (Floodplains, Dams, Navigation, Wetlands, Flooding, Supplies, etc.) -

• Article looks at sediment transport dynamics in Mississippi River; proposes increasing dredged material beneficial use http://bit.ly/X40HDm
• Iowa flood planning goes high-tech, as new research models offer better data for future protection http://bit.ly/115tBdM
• Army Corps of Engineers seeks comments on development plans for Audubon Bend, along the Missouri River http://bit.ly/115wH1j
• New FEMA National Flood Insurance Program maps could be good news for many New Orleans-area flood-insurance customers http://bit.ly/TLLXhO
• Mississippi River barge crash and oil spill occurred at one of the two most difficult turns on the river http://bit.ly/XK3xh9
• More than 1,000 barges were backed up Wednesday on Mississippi River near Vicksburg, Mississippi due to barge accident http://reut.rs/XnA8Lc
• International Energy Agency: fresh water consumption for energy production on track to double within next 25 years http://bit.ly/XnCIki
• Senate hearing testimony from President of Associated Branch Pilots focuses on Mississippi River navigation system http://1.usa.gov/Vq8egv

Drought-

January 29 U.S. Drought Monitor Map
Click to Enlarge

• National Drought Mitigation Center: Midwestern rain did not "move the drought off its mark;" so status quo is the word http://bit.ly/rak0SU
• Unrelenting drought gripping key farming states in the U.S. Plains shows no signs of abating http://reut.rs/WjeudN
• USDA: drought continues to hit Oklahoma http://1.usa.gov/129tLkG and Kansas http://1.usa.gov/129tNZH hard
• Army Corps of Engineers has begun final step of its project to keep drought-stricken Mississippi River open to barges http://reut.rs/Vw1Sl3
• Stretches of Upper Mississippi River near record-low levels http://1.usa.gov/WC0o6s
• Some drought-starved Midwestern rivers that had been near record low levels were on verge of flooding Wednesday http://bit.ly/XnzGwF

Farm Bill-

• 2013 farm bill fate could come down to early February meeting between House Speaker and Agriculture Ranking Member http://bit.ly/YbQ4kI
• Sen. Al Franken (D-MN): passing five-year Farm Bill will be a top priority; expects House to be more open to passage http://1.usa.gov/WjdZ3b

Agriculture -

• Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR) announces that he will chair the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture http://1.usa.gov/Xnyt8w
• Three senators introduce legislation seeking to extend some lapsed agriculture disaster programs http://bit.ly/YbQFD3
• Federal appeals court rules that USEPA is overestimating amount of biofuel that can be produced http://bit.ly/YbRgET
• Environmental and Energy Study Institute: High Crop Prices Driving US Land Use Change at Increasing Environmental Cost http://bit.ly/YbTeFf
• University of Iowa professor: Midwestern U.S. aquifers being pumped at an unsustainable rate because of corn ethanol http://bit.ly/T2R9fK
• Minnesota Pollution Control Agency "Feedlot Update" covers Ag water quality certification program 'listening sessions' http://bit.ly/XK15qP
• MN Dept of Ag to host public meetings seeking input on proposed state Agriculture Water Quality Certification Program http://bit.ly/XK1slg
• Project aims to teach farmers how to best apply fertilizers to avoid unnecessary nitrous gases from reaching atmosphere http://bit.ly/WC4HhZ
• Side by side comparison of organic and conventional agriculture indicates that organic is better for environment http://bit.ly/Xaufzl

In the States -

• Iowa Environmental Protection Commission approves new way of funding $15M/year in water quality improvement projects http://bit.ly/129sl9D

In the Cities -

• City of St. Paul, MN proposes stormwater management program to state http://bit.ly/Wr3erW public comment period open http://bit.ly/Wr3hUN
• Minneapolis, MN Stormwater Management Program proposal to state open for public comment http://bit.ly/Wr3vLF  Plan: http://bit.ly/Wr3Aiu

Forestry -

• WWF's Zero Net Deforestation and Forest Degradation goal to stem forest-based biodiversity-ecosystem services depletion http://bit.ly/iwKrAz

Biodiversity, Wildlife and Invasives -

• United States Geological Survey and National Wildlife Federation map depicts spread of invasive Asian carp since 1970s http://bit.ly/Xat0jK
• Wisconsin's Natural Resources Board considers which species to list as endangered http://bit.ly/XFwoDO
• Annual aerial surveys show ducks making good use of Illinois River Valley, as duck use trends upward http://bit.ly/XB1vjc
• MN DNR Aquatic invasive species training available for Minnesota lake service providers http://bit.ly/Wr4nzW
• Minnesota hunters and anglers: a warming climate is already affecting fish and wildlife across U.S. and in the state http://bit.ly/Xatma7
• Minnesota’s U.S. senators will co-sponsor new legislation to help stop spread of Asian carp up the Mississippi River http://bit.ly/XUSJxm

Gulf Coastal Region-

• Gulf Coastal restoration task force approves $57.8 million for wetlands projects, begins to design four more http://bit.ly/TwY2aB
• Mississippi River Delta Science & Engineering Team answers "10 Fundamental Questions About the Mississippi River Delta" http://bit.ly/QJ6TDb
• Pipeline construction to deliver Mississippi River sediment to Barataria Basin to create coastal land may start in 2013 http://bit.ly/XsARcT
• New USGS and NOAA report outlines the extent of known science regarding climate change in coastal regions. Press release: http://1.usa.gov/Vt7egO Report: http://1.usa.gov/XMMqvG (PDF file)
• Study designed to protect and restore Southwest Louisiana's coastline could be finished next year; nearly 3 years late http://bit.ly/XK3Xnt

Resource Extraction -

• Natural gas fracking is coming to Illinois; while environmental concerns and disagreement over state taxes rise http://bit.ly/TwWlKc
• East Tennessee may soon find itself front and center in the growing fracking debate http://bit.ly/Ycdjv1
• Environmental groups ask State to prevent use of fracking drilling technique on forested University of Tennessee tract http://bit.ly/XnFuWQ
• University of Tennessee releases details of its controversial fracking project proposal http://bit.ly/XnGdqZ

Federal Budget -

• Both parties predicting that deep, across-the-board spending cuts will probably hit U.S. federal agencies on March 1 http://wapo.st/Wf9uXD
• House GOP leaders insist that across-the-board sequestration cuts are coming, while senators scramble for solutions http://nyti.ms/WjehHv
• Once unthinkable, severe Federal spending cuts (sequestration) now seem plausible http://bit.ly/W4oFCJ
• Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) predicts that the Federal budget "sequester is going to happen” on March 1 http://bit.ly/YbPtzJ

Events -  Information on all past and future events listed here can be viewed in the on-line calendar on this Blog page and also as a stand-alone calendar.

• Sustainability Summit and Exposition: Sustainability: An Economic and Ecologic Imperative; March 6-8, Milwaukee, WI http://bit.ly/129rm9A
• EPA Stormwater Webcast:  Overview & Lessons Learned, Feb 12, 1-3 PM ET flier:  http://1.usa.gov/129sXvZ register: http://bit.ly/129sVnR
• MN Dept of Ag to host public meetings seeking input on proposed state Agriculture Water Quality Certification Program http://bit.ly/XK1slg
• 68th Annual meeting of the Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee; March 20-22; Winona, MN http://bit.ly/Xnwot4
• Eighth Annual running of the Missouri River 340 (340-mile canoe race ) is set for July 23-26 http://bit.ly/Xav23h

e-Newsletters, Publications and Journals -

• Weekly Newsletter from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water: "Water Headlines" http://bit.ly/VlxV1C
• Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee Winter 2012 Newsletter (PDF file) http://bit.ly/WC5Hms

Other news-

• Monsanto Co. succeeds but continues to have its share of controversy: "Battered, Bruised, and Still Growing" http://on.wsj.com/XK2Sfz
• National Caucus of Environmental Legislators asks President to address climate change during second term http://www.ncel.net/ (PDF file of letter: http://bit.ly/XnEfqP)

Political Scene -

• Washington Post: The reason the makeup of the U.S. Congress hasn't really changed and won’t change (in two charts) http://wapo.st/129BjDY
• Former U.S. congressman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) is interested in replacing Ray LaHood as transportation secretary http://bit.ly/129Byic
• Iowa Democratic US Senator Tom Harkin will not seek 6th Senate term, says ‘it’s time’ http://wapo.st/VpUirX
• Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-1) exploring a bid for US Sen. Tom Harkin's seat when Harkin retires http://bit.ly/YbN5sx
• Iowa Republicans lining up to vie for U.S. Senate seat to be vacated by retiring Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) http://bit.ly/XGrIg9
• New Louisville Courier-Journal poll finds that Senate Minority Leader McConnell (R-KY) has weak public support http://politi.co/Wd7TS9
• Former Rep. John Boccieri, Democrat from central Ohio, will attempt to return to Congress in 2014 http://bit.ly/129u7rx

Last Word - "Climate change, once considered an issue for a distant future, has moved firmly into the present." - The first sentence of a 1000-plus-page "The US National Climate Assessment Report," authored by the National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee.  The draft report is available for review on-line here and is open for public comment through April 12, 2013.  Among the report's key findings: "There is increasing risk of seasonal water shortage . . . as well as water contamination due to sediment and contaminant concentrations caused by heavy downpours."