Mississippi River Basin Water Resource Weekly News

~Virtual Newspaper for an Aquatic World~

Noteworthy @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week  

Water Quality -

• NPR: How mass-produced meat turned phosphorus into pollution ow.ly/seYEg
• Consultant and lobbyist says farmers need to be active in solving water quality concerns (North Dakota) ow.ly/sdk3S
• Phosphorus standards for wastewater are cropping up in growing number of localities as standards become commonplace ow.ly/sdjJM
• Ohio Environmental Protection Agency proposes limits on phosphorus and nitrogen amounts in state waterways ow.ly/sdjyq

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

• One thing Congress can agree on: Multimillion-dollar water projects ow.ly/sf1IO
• New Orleans' Jefferson Parish local officials are urging several changes to FEMA flood maps ow.ly/sf1s5
• The water is freezing earlier than usual this year on the upper Mississippi River, making navigation difficult ow.ly/sdgw7
• Illinois River valley flooding tops the News Tribune (LaSalle, IL) list of significant 2013 news stories ow.ly/sdfSe
• PBS Newshour: Can New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward ever recover from Hurricane Katrina? ow.ly/sdeqx
• Judge halts lawsuits seeking damages from federal government for Hurricane Katrina-related levee failures, flooding ow.ly/sdebf
• Grand Tower, IL receives bad news on funding options for needed Mississippi River levee repairs ow.ly/sddvs
• Federal budget deal failed to provide any clarity for operators overseeing Bureau of Reclamation water projects http://ow.ly/sfad7

Farm Bill-

• GOP Congressman Steve King (IA): Farm Bill deal won’t necessarily be easy to strike in early 2014 ow.ly/scMu3

Agriculture -

• Rents on prime US crop land expected to stay high in 2014 despite drop in grain prices, raising risk of income losses ow.ly/sdoBQ
• US farmers becoming gripped by anxiety even as they close books on their best financial year ow.ly/sdmku
• Corn is heading for the worst year since at least 1960 and wheat is poised for the biggest annual loss in five years ow.ly/sdiF8
• Cover crops could help farmers improve soils, and the health of streams and rivers leading into the Gulf of Mexico ow.ly/sdhcv

December 31 U.S. Drought Monitor
Map (click to enlarge)

Climate and Weather -

• January 2 NOAA/NWS national drought update: http://ow.ly/q3w3u 
• NOAA's Climate Prediction Center January 2014 drought outlook http://ow.ly/q3yAx

Biodiversity, Wildlife and Invasives -

Endangered Species Act turns 40; critics say the law is costly, poorly administered and ineffective ow.ly/seYWi
Quad Cities area is a popular place for Bald Eagles, birdwatchers from December through February ow.ly/sdgQh


Louisiana Coastal Region-

• LSU and federal government to study the worth of Gulf of Mexico monitoring systems in a three-year, $750,000 project ow.ly/sdgiF

Resource Development -

• Operators of all oil and gas wells in Oklahoma must now report the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing ow.ly/seZbG
• New Food & Agricultural Policy Research Institute report: Renewable Fuel Standard Waiver Options for 2014 and Beyond ow.ly/sdiYZ

Federal Budget -

• Congress is set to unveil a giant fiscal year 2014 spending bill next week ow.ly/scMzW
• Omnibus FY 2014 spending bill takes shape as appropriations committees' staffs have worked through the holidays ow.ly/scMdY

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

• 2014 Environmental Connection Conference (International Erosion Control Assn); Nashville, TN, February 25-28, 2014 ow.ly/seBpW

e-Newsletters, Publications, Journals, Multimedia  -

• Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's Watershed Network News - December 26, 2013 ow.ly/sdo0o
• Montana Watershed Coordination Council's December 27, 2013 Watershed News ow.ly/sdn1e
• National Academies' Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources Winter newsletter ow.ly/sdi3O

Politics and People-

• U.S. House Republicans have scheduled work on legislation next week aimed at easing environmental regulations ow.ly/seZmv
• In Congress: battle lines are being drawn for a series of upcoming clashes over new regulations on horizon in 2014 ow.ly/sdmAM
• Former Rep. Grassley staffer now will run for US House in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District in 2014 instead of Senate ow.ly/seXTp
• Field of Louisiana Republicans hoping to unseat Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) in 2014 grows to three ow.ly/seC9R
• GOP state Sen. Whitver will not seek the seat being vacated by longtime Rep. Tom Latham (R-Iowa-3) ow.ly/sdl8s

Last Word -

"The second week of January I would expect that we get a (farm) bill to the president."  - Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, speaking to reporters on Thursday about his hopes for passing a comprehensive farm bill in early 2014.