Mississippi River Basin Water Resource News of the Week

~Virtual Newspaper for an Aquatic World~

Asian Carp Observed 20 Miles Farther Upstream on Mississippi River Than Previously

Silver carp

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources scientists have observed the carcass of a silver carp on a concrete abutment just below Mississippi River Lock and Dam 5. The silver carp sighting was about 20 miles farther upstream than the previously northernmost instance of the species, indicating that invasive Asian carp continue to move upriver. The finding of the carcass on the lock and dam abutment also supports the contention by some that carp may be attempting to leap physical barriers on their movement northward. To read more details, see a news article, below (under "Biodiversity, Wildlife and Invasives") and this earlier blog posting on the finding.

Notable @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week  

Water Quality -

• Iowa groups' petition to issue numeric nutrient water quality criteria renews Mississippi River Basin criteria battle http://ow.ly/onmrA
• NRCS 2012 Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative report released ow.ly/olnSE (PDF file of report); NRCS Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative web page here: ow.ly/olodw
• USDA report: Farmers reduced sediment loss in Mississippi River Basin through voluntary conservation (E&E Greenwire) http://ow.ly/onnt6
• Environmental groups want EPA to take action against Indiana's coal mine water quality permitting system ow.ly/ogkMx
• U.S. District Court ruling: West Virginia bill doesn't shield coal companies from citizen suits ow.ly/ogkDD
• Environmental groups threaten lawsuit if EPA selects less stringent power plant discharge effluent limit guidelines http://ow.ly/oj4i1
• Groups press EPA to quickly release proposal requiring developers to limit new construction stormwater runoff http://ow.ly/oj4SJ
• U.S. District Court Judge rules in favor of Army Corps of Engineers in Kentucky coal mining stream valley fill case http://ow.ly/oj6aB
• Federal judge holds Alpha Natural Resources Inc. liable for selenium in discharges from coal-mines into West Virginia waterways http://ow.ly/ojUUo
• Iowa Public Radio: Farmers and policymakers debate Iowa's water quality regulation needs and future ow.ly/olsB0
• EPA-Iowa CAFO deal likely will sidestep question of when CAFOs have “duty” to seek Clean Water Act NPDES permits ow.ly/oo8qu
• Mid-Missouri Public Radio: USGS scientists detect high levels of nitrogen in Midwest waterways during spring/summer ow.ly/oluMH
• Kentucky seeks to become first state to win EPA approval for new selenium water quality standard ow.ly/olqta
• Federal report blames hydraulic fracturing fluids spill for harming fish in small southeastern Kentucky stream http://ow.ly/onyyg

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

• Occurrences of worldwide flooding corner bulk of global insurance claims for first half of 2013 ow.ly/ogl9W
• Proposed St. John the Baptist levee (Louisiana) would be designed to lower risk from surge in 100-year storms ow.ly/ogkTc
• Report commissioned by Louisiana and maritime interest coalition argues benefits of deepening Mississippi River http://ow.ly/ojaP3
• 2011 floods, 2012 drought altered aspects of shipping on Mississippi River and its tributaries http://ow.ly/oiVvH and http://ow.ly/oiVvq
• NPR: "Turning Off The [Groundwater Irrigation] Spigot In Western Kansas Farmland" http://ow.ly/oj1LS
• Also see:  Kansas running out of water over long term, aquifer could be 70% depleted by 2060 http://ow.ly/oj2AX and this PNAS study link: "Tapping unsustainable groundwater stores for agricultural production in the High Plains Aquifer of Kansas" http://ow.ly/oj38L
• Army Corps: some navigable Arkansas River infrastructure critically old, modernization costs could reach $120 million ow.ly/oltiM
• Army Corps' September 11 and 18 webinars to preview/solicit comments on Missouri River recovery plan and EIS ow.ly/ols9X
• Billionaire in a war of words with West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection over illegally built dam ow.ly/oll4m
• Rep. Loebsack (D-2-IA) calls on private support to help update outdated Mississippi River lock and dam system http://ow.ly/onoGZ
• Muskegon port development could mean barge terminal linking Michigan farmers to Gulf Coast via Mississippi River ow.ly/ooa6m
• New facility designed to enhance economic development, marketing, education related to navigation of Arkansas River ow.ly/oo9qA (also see: Ground broken for Arkansas River Resource Center at Little Rock Port Authority ow.ly/oo9Oh)

Farm Bill-

• Key differences between House and Senate farm bill versions for potential Conference Committee consideration http://ow.ly/oiXn4
• Heritage Foundation falls out of favor with some conservative Republicans over farm bill issues http://ow.ly/oni1k
• House GOP leaders still considering how to proceed with legislation establishing federal farm and food aid policy http://ow.ly/opzeL

Agriculture -

• Natural Resources Defense Council releases a new crop loss mapping tool http://ow.ly/oiYMk and

  

  Natural Resources Defense Council
  drought insurance report map

  drought-related crop insurance report http://ow.ly/oiZ7L (also see links, below)
• NRDC report: Drought-related insurance losses could have been avoided through use of water smart strategies ow.ly/ojVfx
• Op-ed: Big-equals-bad equation hides inconvenient truth: Plenty of small farmers do not embrace sustainable practices ow.ly/olfrM
• Groups sue US EPA over rule concerning collecting information from large-scale livestock confinement farms http://ow.ly/onixD (Also see: EPA sued for scrapping livestock data collection http://ow.ly/onxIC)
• Groups' concentrated animal feeding operations information lawsuit seeks to reinstate EPA's abandoned reporting rule ow.ly/oo8UA
• IL researchers: genetically modified corn planted to try to protect crops from pests fails to ward off rootworms ow.ly/oo7DM

Climate and Weather -

Drought Monitor Map
(click to enlarge)

• National Drought Mitigation Center: Above-normal temperatures and rapidly deteriorating soil moisture conditions hit Midwest http://ow.ly/lzFWU
• NOAA's Climate Prediction Center monthly drought outlook -(to be published at the end of this month) http://ow.ly/nIGg0
• With little rain expected in the Midwest, July and August poised to be driest since 1936 in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana http://ow.ly/oiUFH
• Midwest growing season that began unusually wet and cold is finishing hot and dry, renewing drought worries http://ow.ly/opzBK

Biodiversity, Wildlife and Invasives -

• MN DNR observations suggest that Asian carp may attempt to leap dams http://ow.ly/oiTfq
• Interior Department finalizes rule for calculating costs of  endangered and threatened wildlife habitat protections http://ow.ly/oj5El
• Sandbar spraying with herbicides (for vegetation control) to begin on Missouri River in September http://ow.ly/oj98g
• Capoli Slough is site of latest Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge island habitat-building project http://ow.ly/ojanl
• Fisherman angling for Asian carp solution The Daily Register - Harrisburg, IL - http://t.co/kiGVztH5ON
• Groups sue to stop USFWS's planting of genetically modified crops in IL, IA, MN and MO wildlife refuges ow.ly/ollBm

In the Cities -

• Initiative by Mississippi River mayors takes on an artistic form in St. Louis at River photo exhibition http://ow.ly/oj8sA
• Burnsville, MN rain gardens achieve about 90% reduction in stormwater runoff volumes during typical small storms ow.ly/olhCC

Gulf Coastal Region-

• Restoration questions persist as Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council evaluates BP spill fine spending plan http://ow.ly/ojUrI
• Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council unanimously approves plan to restore Gulf Coastal region http://ow.ly/ono8d
• Gulf restoration council approves initial restoration plan http://ow.ly/onyNd
• Levee board lawsuit over alleged oil and gas industry damage to coastal wetlands roils Louisiana http://ow.ly/onn5R

Federal Budget -

• Federal debt limit to be hit by mid-October, requiring Congressional action, says Treasury Secretary Jack Lew http://ow.ly/oiNJU

Events -  Information on all past and future events listed here can be viewed in the on-line calendar (here as a stand-alone calendar)

• Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Task Force Meeting; September 24; Minneapolis, MN http://ow.ly/ojy9C
• Call for abstracts: National Water Quality Monitoring Council's 9th Annual National Monitoring Conference, Cincinnati, OH, April 28 - May 2, 2014 http://ow.ly/ojBQN
• UNL Stormwater Management Education Team sponsoring annual Lincoln (NE) Green Infrastructure Tour; September 12 ow.ly/olgWC
• St. Croix River Assoc to show "The Price of Sand," film outlining "dangers of unregulated frac-sand mining" Sept. 12 ow.ly/ooclq

e-Newsletters, Publications and Journals -

• Green Lands Blue Waters biweekly news update (right hand column of this page: http://ow.ly/onR0d)
• EPA Climate Change and Water News http://ow.ly/onfyV
• Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy's WaterWays August 28 e-newsletter (Mississippi River Basin/Gulf excerpts) http://ow.ly/onhMg
• Montana Watershed Coordination Council Watershed News 08.15.13 ow.ly/oobT9

Other news-

• Closed ethanol plant in Buffalo Lake, Minn., being turned over to its lender under bankruptcy court order http://ow.ly/oj255
• Planned Great River Road Interpretive Center will focus on intrinsic value of Upper Mississippi River region ow.ly/olrg9
• Company focused exclusively on sustainability investing ranks countries on basis of sustainability in new report ow.ly/olpuC

Political Scene -

• Former state director for Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) files paperwork to run for Montana's only House seat http://ow.ly/ojuX2
• Politico examines the 2014 Arkansas gubernatorial race to assess whether Democrats are "done in the South" ow.ly/oln1u

Last Word -

Omnishambles was one of the more printable terms used
 by Peter Capaldi as Malcolm Tucker in "The Thick of It"

This week's "Last Word" is a new one that - given recent history - may be in vogue over the coming months in the halls of government: "omnishambles."  The word, originally coined by the writers of the political television satire "The Thick of It," is among the new words added this month to the Oxford Dictionaries online, and was voted the word of the year by the Oxford English Dictionary in 2012.   It means, "a situation that has been comprehensively mismanaged, characterised by a string of blunders and miscalculations."