Mississippi River Basin Water Resource Weekly News

~Virtual Newspaper for an Aquatic World~

USDA Names Three Mississippi River Basin Landscapes as Nationally Critical for Conservation

Critical Conservation Areas (Click to Enlarge)

On Tuesday, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the availability of funding for its Regional Conservation Partnership Program (or "RCPP"); a new 2014 Farm Bill program.  In making the announcement, the agency designated three areas all or partially within the Mississippi River Basin among eight priority conservation areas that will have access to a "Critical Conservation Area" pool of RCPP funding to be made available nationwide.  The designation of a 13-state "Mississippi River Basin" as a Critical Conservation Area, according to USDA, will "accelerate conservation" and "continue to reduce nutrient and sediment loading to local and regional water bodies and to improve efficiency in using water supplies, particularly in the southern states."  USDA also named the "Prairie Grasslands Region" as priority conservation area. That region encompasses much of the western half of the Mississippi River Basin (including the Ogallala Aquifer), as well as the Red River valley - areas that "are facing critical conservation needs on working lands from frequent flooding and ponding (in the north) to prolonged drought and aquifer decline (in the Ogallala)," according to the USDA. In addition, USDA notes that the Prairie Grasslands Region offers "essential habitat" for a number of wild game and threatened species, including the lesser prairie chicken and sage grouse. The agency believes that designating the Prairie Grasslands Region as a Critical Conservation Area, will "accelerate conservation efforts to address these water resource and habitat issues" in the region.  In addition to the above two designations, the USDA named the "Longleaf Pine Range" as a Critical Conservation Area, including parts of its range in Louisiana and Mississippi.  USDA designated that area with the goal of improving "the profitability and sustainability of longleaf pine forest ecosystems" by increasing the longleaf pine acreage from 3.4 to 8 million acres by 2025.  You can follow these USDA links to read more about: the RCPP; the Critical Conservation areas; and the USDA request for project pre-proposals (applications due July 14).

Noteworthy @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week

Water Quality -

• Most states in Mississippi River-Gulf of Mexico federal-state hypoxia task force have either draft or final nutrient plans http://ow.ly/xbGzz
• Republicans Set Phoenix Hearing on EPA ‘Water Grab’ (Re: Waters of the U.S.rulemaking) http://ow.ly/xl2RU (see proposed rule here: http://ow.ly/xl2V3)
• UC-Berkley economist in industry-sponsored report: "EPA Fails to Calculate Costs of Clean Water Act Rule" http://ow.ly/xnDnd (report here: http://ow.ly/xnDxj)
• House Small Business Committee Chairman says EPA proposal to regulate small water bodies would ‘drown’ small businesses in new rules http://ow.ly/xqyR0
• USGS: continuous nitrate monitoring across the Nation, including the Mississippi River Basin - Where, How, and Why http://ow.ly/xiMEF
• In states like Wisconsin, opposition to some large dairy farm operations grows after manure spills, improper waste handling http://ow.ly/xj33x
• Department of Natural Resources investigates cause of 1000s of fish killed in southwestern Missouri's Clear Creek http://ow.ly/xlq9Y
• House bill to create National Infrastructure Development Bank Act now has over 100 cosponsors http://ow.ly/xlsmg (Blue Green Alliance media release: http://ow.ly/xltq9)
• Sierra Club files suit in U.S. District Court, claiming LG&E pollutes Ohio River from Louisville coal-ash containment pond http://ow.ly/xoXZ2

Agriculture -

• Pre-proposal applications due to USDA by July 14 for Regional Conservation Partnership Program projects http://ow.ly/xkNLl
• AP Regional Conservation Partnership Program story: USDA Seeks Partnerships to Protect Soil, Water http://ow.ly/xl0s1
• USDA Secretary Vilsack: House Appropriations Committee aims to reduce funding for conservation programs would have "some small impact" http://ow.ly/xl1Mr
• Senate Agriculture Committee Republicans seek meeting with EPA Administrator to discuss "constituent concerns" http://ow.ly/xjdYq
• USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service releases “Farms and Land in Farms 2013 Summary” http://ow.ly/xnCzT (PDF file)
• Study finds world's food supplies are at risk as farmland becomes concentrated in hands of wealthy elites, corporations http://ow.ly/xoz3v
• Sensors that measure a variety of agriculturally essential soil properties on the go are being developed http://ow.ly/xovX4

Climate and Weather -

Seven-day low flow streamflow
trends (click to enlarge)

• EPA releases third edition of "Climate Change Indicators in the United States" report http://ow.ly/xnEFm
• May 27 US drought update: Dryness expanded through southeastern Iowa, into east-central Illinois; otherwise Midwest was unchanged. Nebraska drought deepened; Plains otherwise improved http://ow.ly/wmTdv
• Yale researchers: Americans care deeply about 'global warming' – but not 'climate change' http://ow.ly/xkMwP (see the Yale report here: http://ow.ly/xl8VN)

Biodiversity, Wildlife and Invasives -

• USGS says its researchers erred in saying Asian carp eggs had been discovered in Mississippi River near Lynxville, Wisconsin http://ow.ly/xj0yc
• Wisconsin, Minnesota study little-known fish whose disappearance may mean smaller inland lake musky, pike and walleye http://ow.ly/xj1PH

In the Cities -

• Louisville, Kentucky sewer rates will rise another 5.5 percent to pay for ongoing $850 million water pollution project http://ow.ly/xlptG
• New Orleans Dazzling Post-Katrina Parks Boom http://ow.ly/xnFME
• Minneapolis parks system has received the highest urban green space score in the country for the second year in a row http://ow.ly/xp1nX

In the States-

• Groups deliver signed petitions to Gov. Jay Nixon asking that Missouri’s water be protected from coal ash waste http://ow.ly/xbG7j
• Revised environmental rules for Minnesota livestock feedlots are now in effect http://ow.ly/xozWp
• Media Release: A major victory for public health, environmental quality and the Mississippi River in Minnesota http://ow.ly/x7jBs (also see news coverage: http://ow.ly/x3tnH)

Louisiana Coastal Region-

• PBS NewsHour: As Louisiana’s coastline shrinks, a political fight over responsibility grows http://t.co/egri0ku9Y4

Forestry -

• Nature Conservancy/University of Tennessee "Fading Forests III" report calls for more action against invasive species http://ow.ly/xcbvC

Federal Budget -

• House Appropriations Committee passes USDA 2015 spending measure http://ow.ly/xqxZ4  (Committee announcement and summary)
• House Appropriations Committee sends fiscal 2015 spending bill for agriculture programs to full House, 31-18, along party lines http://ow.ly/xqATT (news coverage)
• House $51.2 billion Commerce and Science spending bill would boost NOAA weather forecast funding; cut climate research http://ow.ly/xl7Hh

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

• Registration open for Mississippi River’s Island Construction and Land Restoration Tour, June 5, 9 am-3 pm, Onalaska, WI http://ow.ly/xnFpf
• Minnesota Green Roof Symposium: Protecting Our Watersheds, Saint Paul, MN, June 19, 9 am - 5 pm http://ow.ly/xnGck
• St. Croix River Association's "Rockin' on the River" cruise-event, June 19, 6-9:30 PM; Hudson, WI http://ow.ly/xik5M

e-Newsletters, Publications, Journals, Multimedia  -

• Lower Mississippi River Dispatch, Vol 10 No 6, Monday, May 26 http://ow.ly/xihoj
• Bi-weekly Green Lands Blue Waters update, highlighting Continuous Living Cover on Mississippi River Basin agricultural land http://ow.ly/xiiOC
• Water Environment Federation May 27 e-newsletter http://ow.ly/xjp8W
• May 27 Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy "TUWaterWays" edition http://ow.ly/xnDRn
• Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Watershed Network News - May 29 http://ow.ly/xoVnF
• Montana Watershed Coordination Council May 29 Watershed News http://ow.ly/xqzy2

Other news-

• House Ways and Means Committee passes bill along party lines to permanently extend conservation easement tax deduction http://ow.ly/xp0La
• EPA’s online Catalog of Federal Funding Sources for Watershed Protection was recently updated (April 2014) http://ow.ly/xbFh2
• White House unveils its semiannual regulatory agenda detailing thousands of rules in pipeline in federal agencies http://ow.ly/xig33
• MinnPost: "The many personalities of the Mighty Mississippi" http://ow.ly/xlDwn

Politics and People-

• 75 percent of the salient issues on Washington’s agenda are subject to legislative gridlock http://ow.ly/xloeQ
• Louisville environmental attorney Tom FitzGerald has accepted seat on Ohio River commission http://ow.ly/xiZwG
• Seventeen-term Rep. Ralph Hall (R-Tex.-4) loses GOP runoff, becoming first incumbent to lose renomination this cycle http://ow.ly/xkRqY
• Republicans unite to back Iowa state Sen. Joni Ernst, hoping to put retiring Sen. Tom Harkin’s (D) Senate seat in play http://ow.ly/xl3DQ
• Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality chief Trudy Fisher announces plans to resign http://ow.ly/xoYIg

Last Word - "Frequently the more trifling the subject, the more animated and protracted the discussion." - President Franklin Pierce.

1855 Colton Map of Kansas and Nebraska
from Geographicus (click to enlarge)

160 years ago, on May 30, 1854, the U.S. territories of Nebraska and Kansas were established, when Pierce signed the Kansas–Nebraska Act.  The law opened the lands for settlement, and had the effect of repealing the 1820 Missouri Compromise by allowing white, male settlers in those territories to determine through popular sovereignty whether they would allow slavery within each territory  The Kansas–Nebraska Act divided the nation; pointing it toward a devastating civil war that precipitates animated and protracted discussion to this day.  Not a trifling subject.

What We Learned This Week

Farm and Farmland Trends in the U.S. (click to enlarge)

Three landscapes in the Mississippi River Basin are considered "Critical Conservation Areas" by the USDA, and that agency's Secretary, Tom Vilsack. believes that a House Appropriations Committee bill that reduces funding for conservation programs would have "some small impact" if passed.  Asian carp eggs were not discovered this past spring in the Mississippi River near Lynxville, Wisconsin after all. Minneapolis has the best urban green spaces in the country for the second year running.  The number of farms in the United States in 2013 was estimated to be down by seven thousand; total land in farms decreased 360 thousand acres; and average farm size was up two acres from the previous year.  Louisiana Senator David Vitter is the most "median" of all U.S. Senators when it comes to the number of bills he sponsored or cosponsored that were actually enacted (78) during his tenure. The Mississippi River Basin champion is Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi, who has seen 675 bills that he sponsored or cosponsored eventually become law.  Three-quarters of the salient issues on the U.S. Congressional agenda are subject to legislative gridlock.  And last but not least, Americans are more concerned when the term "global warming" is used to describe that environmental challenge. "Climate change," by contrast, leaves them relatively unmoved.  Which is perhaps why a $51.2 billion spending bill the House passed this week would boost NOAA weather forecast funding but cut spending on climate research.

Capitol Hill This Week - What to Watch For (UPDATED May 29)

Dirksen Senate Office Building

The House is recessed for the long Memorial Day weekend and is set to reconvene on Wednesday to take on a fairly limited committee and floor agenda.  The full House on Wednesday is scheduled to begin consideration of the 2015 Commerce, Justice and Science spending bill, which would appropriate funding for NOAA's climate programs and the National Weather Service, among other agencies.

Below are the House committee activities currently scheduled that relate to Mississippi River Basin water resources. The Senate is recessed until Monday morning, June 2.  Links are provided to the relevant committee pages on the Internet, and, where appropriate, to pieces of legislation. Many Congressional proceedings are webcast live, and these should be, as well (follow the appropriate link). All times are Eastern.

Wednesday

• House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security Mark Up - FY 2015 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill (including Federal Emergency Management Agency appropriations); 6:00 PM, room H-140 Capitol. 

Thursday

• House Appropriations Full Committee Mark up of draft Fiscal Year 2015 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill; 9:00 AM, room 2359 Rayburn House Office Building.
• House Ways and Means Committee markup of various bills, including HR 2807, the
  HR 2807, “Conservation Easement Incentive Act of 2013.”  10:30 AM, room 1100 Longworth House Office Building.
• House Science, Space and Technology Committee hearing "Examining the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Process;" 11:00 AM, room 2318 Rayburn House Office Building.
• House Small Business Committee hearing on "Will EPA's 'Waters of the United States' Rule Drown Small Businesses?"  1:00 PM, room 2630 Rayburn House Office Building.

USDA Designates Three Mississippi River Region Critical Conservation Areas

Critical Conservation Areas (Click to Enlarge)

On Tuesday, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the availability of what the it termed "substantial investments in conservation projects across the country" through its implementation of the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (or "RCPP"); a new 2014 Farm Bill program.  In making the announcement, the agency designated three areas all or partially within the Mississippi River Basin among eight priority conservation areas that will have access to a "Critical Conservation Area" pool of RCPP funding made available nationwide.  The designation of a 13-state "Mississippi River Basin" as a Critical Conservation Area, according to USDA, will "accelerate conservation" and "continue to reduce nutrient and sediment loading to local and regional water bodies and to improve efficiency in using water supplies, particularly in the southern states."  USDA also named the "Prairie Grasslands Region" as priority conservation area. That region encompasses much of the western half of the Mississippi River Basin (including the Ogallala Aquifer), as well as the Red River valley - areas that "are facing critical conservation needs on working lands from frequent flooding and ponding (in the north) to prolonged drought and aquifer decline (in the Ogallala)," according to the USDA. In addition, USDA notes that the Prairie Grasslands Region offers "essential habitat" for a number of wild game and threatened species, including the lesser prairie chicken and sage grouse. The agency believes that designating the Prairie Grasslands Region as a Critical Conservation Area, will "accelerate conservation efforts to address these water resource and habitat issues" in the region.  In addition to the above two designations, the USDA named the "Longleaf Pine Range" as a Critical Conservation Area, including parts of its range in Louisiana and Mississippi.  USDA designated that area with the goal of improving "the profitability and sustainability of longleaf pine forest ecosystems" by increasing the longleaf pine acreage from 3.4 to 8 million acres by 2025.  You can follow these USDA links to read more about: the RCPP; the Critical Conservation areas; and the USDA request for project pre-proposals  (applications due July 14).

USDA Designates Prairie Grasslands Region as a Critical Conservation Area

 Prairie Grasslands Region
(click to enlarge)

Today, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the availability of what the it termed "substantial investments in conservation projects across the country" through its implementation of the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (or "RCPP"); a new 2014 Farm Bill program. In making the announcement, the agency also designated the Prairie Grasslands Region as one of eight priority conservation areas that will have access to a "Critical Conservation Area" pool of RCPP funding to be made available nationwide. The Prairie Grasslands Region encompasses much of the western half of the Mississippi River Basin (including the Ogallala Aquifer region), as well as the Red River valley-areas that "are facing critical conservation needs on working lands from frequent flooding and ponding (in the north) to prolonged drought and aquifer decline (in the Ogallala)," according to the USDA. In addition, USDA notes that the Prairie Grasslands Region offers "essential habitat" for a number of wild game and threatened species, including the lesser prairie chicken and sage grouse. The agency believes that designating the Prairie Grasslands Region as a Critical Conservation Area, will "accelerate conservation efforts to address these water resource and habitat issues" in the region.

The RCPP is designed to facilitate partner-producer agreements that will further conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of soil, water and wildlife on a regional scale. It is anticipated that partners will bring cash matches, technical expertise and local knowledge to the conservation picture. Those partners may include organizations such as agricultural and silvicultural producer associations, groups of producers, State or local governments, Native American tribes, farmer cooperatives, water or irrigation districts, municipal water or wastewater treatment entities, conservation nongovernmental organizations, and institutions of higher education.

According to the NRCS RCPP web site, the Program will combine the purposes and functions of four former regional conservation programs – the Agricultural Water Enhancement Program, the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Program, the Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative and the Great Lakes Basin Program." NRCS will allocate RCPP funds across three different categories: 25% to projects selected through a state competitive process administered by State Technical Committees; 40% for projects based on a national competitive process; and 35% for projects in the designated Critical Conservation Areas.

Lands eligible for RCPP projects can include cropland, grassland, rangeland, pastureland, nonindustrial forest land, and other land "incidental to agricultural production" (such as wetlands and buffers). Eligible conservation activities envisioned for the Program include:

Water quality restoration or enhancement, including nutrient management and sediment reduction;
Water quality conservation, restoration or enhancement relating to surface water and groundwater resources;

• Drought mitigation;
• Flood prevention;
• Water retention;
• Air quality improvement;
• Habitat conservation, restoration and enhancement;
• Erosion control and sediment reduction;
• Forest restoration; and
• Easement acquisition activities associated with wetland restoration and protection, or the preservation of working agricultural lands.

In evaluating projects proposed for funding, NRCS may give higher priority to proposals that:

• Deliver high percentages of applied conservation to address conservation priorities or local, State, regional, or national conservation initiatives;
• Significantly leverage non-Federal financial and technical resources and coordinate with other local, State, regional, or national efforts;
• Provide innovation in conservation methods and delivery; and
• Assist producers in meeting or avoiding the need for a natural resource regulatory requirement.

Along with the Prairie Grasslands Region, the other Critical Conservation Areas include the Mississippi River Basin, Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Great Lakes Region, Colorado River Basin, Longleaf Pine Range, Columbia River Basin, Prairie Grasslands and California Bay Delta. In making the designations, USDA gave priority to areas:

• With significant agricultural production;
• Benefiting from water quality or quantity improvement, and
• Containing landowners and producers that need to meet or avoid negatively impacting agricultural regulations.

The announcement for program funding will be made available shortly on the grants.gov web site, with more information on the Program available at this nrcs.usda.gov web site.

USDA Names Mississippi River as One of Eight National Critical Conservation Areas

Today, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the availability of what the it termed "substantial investments in conservation projects across the country" through its implementation of the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (or "RCPP"); a new 2014 Farm Bill program.  In making the announcement, the agency also designated the Mississippi River Basin as one of eight priority conservation areas that will have access to a "Critical Conservation Area" pool of RCPP funding to be made available nationwide.  The designation of a 13-state Mississippi River Basin area as a Critical Conservation Area, according to USDA will "accelerate conservation" and "continue to reduce nutrient and sediment loading to local and regional water bodies and to improve efficiency in using water supplies, particularly in the southern states."

Critical Conservation Areas
(click to enlarge)

The RCPP is designed to facilitate partner-producer agreements that will further conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of soil, water and wildlife on a regional scale. It is anticipated that partners will bring cash matches, technical expertise and local knowledge to the conservation picture.  Those partners may include organizations such as agricultural and silvicultural producer associations, groups of producers, State or local governments, Native American tribes, farmer cooperatives, water or irrigation districts, municipal water or wastewater treatment entities, conservation nongovernmental organizations, and institutions of higher education.

According to the NRCS RCPP web site, the Program will combine the purposes and  functions of four former regional conservation programs – the Agricultural Water Enhancement Program, the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Program, the Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative and the Great Lakes Basin Program."  NRCS will allocate RCPP funds across three different categories: 25% to projects selected through a state competitive process administered by State Technical Committees; 40% for projects based on a national competitive process; and 35% for projects in the designated Critical Conservation Areas.

Lands eligible for RCPP projects can include cropland, grassland, rangeland, pastureland, nonindustrial forest land, and other land "incidental to agricultural production" (such as wetlands and buffers).  Eligible conservation activities envisioned for the Program include:

• Water quality restoration or enhancement, including nutrient management and sediment reduction;
• Water quality conservation, restoration or enhancement relating to surface water and groundwater resources;
• Drought mitigation;
• Flood prevention;
• Water retention;
• Air quality improvement;
• Habitat conservation, restoration and enhancement;
• Erosion control and sediment reduction;
• Forest restoration; and
• Easement acquisition activities associated with wetland restoration and protection, or the preservation of working agricultural lands.

In evaluating projects proposed for funding, NRCS may give higher priority to proposals that:

• Deliver high percentages of applied conservation to address conservation priorities or local, State, regional, or national conservation initiatives;
• Significantly leverage non-Federal financial and technical resources and coordinate with other local, State, regional, or national efforts;
• Provide innovation in conservation methods and delivery; and
• Assist producers in meeting or avoiding the need for a natural resource regulatory requirement.

Along with the Mississippi River Basin, the other Critical Conservation Areas include the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Great Lakes Region, Colorado River Basin, Longleaf Pine Range, Columbia River Basin, Prairie Grasslands and California Bay Delta.  In making the designations announced today, USDA gave priority to areas:

• With significant agricultural production;
• Benefiting from water quality or quantity  improvement, and
• Containing landowners and producers that need to meet or avoid negatively impacting agricultural regulations.

The announcement for program funding will be made available shortly on the grants.gov web site, with more information on the Program available at this nrcs.usda.gov web site.

What We Learned This Week - "Adieu" French Quarter

New Orleans French Quarter

A coalition of six environmental groups sued the Army Corps of Engineers on Thursday in a bid to block further construction of Mississippi River channel training structures.  The Corps is moving ahead with plans for more of the projects. Congress passed and sent on to the President the long-awaited Water Resources Reform and Development Act.  The bill may very well be one of the last large pieces of legislation to garner bipartisan support from Congress in this heated election year - an election year in which, thus far, incumbents still rule.  Not one House or Senate incumbent has lost yet this primary election cycle. They are 139-for-139.  One incumbent, Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, handily dispatched tea-party challenger Matt Bevin in Tuesday's primary election, after McConnell's campaign spent about $47 for each of the 213,608 Republicans voting for the Senator. Farmland values fell in the first quarter in much of the Midwest, the latest sign of a downturn in the U.S. agricultural market.   That downturn may be short-lived, since China’s corn demand will increase by 41 percent over the next decade.  That increasing demand, coupled with climate change could make your cereal more expensive.  While farmers wait for demand to rise, east-central and southeast Iowa is bucking the downward land value trend, as evidenced by a recent record high price set for Henry County ($12,500 an acre). And last but not least, Louisiana's Governor and some of its legislators worked diligently over the past two weeks to quash lawsuits seeking oil and gas industry funds to restore the coastline. Meanwhile over that period, Louisiana said "adieu" to an area of the Mississippi River Delta roughly the size of New Orleans' French Quarter, which vanished into the Gulf of Mexico.

Mississippi River Basin Water Resource Weekly News

~Virtual Newspaper for an Aquatic World~

Congress Sends Water Resources Reform and Development Act to President for Signature

The Senate on Thursday afternoon overwhelmingly approved a conference report to accompany the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA), following House approval of the measure on

Olmsted Locks and Dam Project on
on Ohio River Between Illinois and
Kentucky

Tuesday. The WRRDA bill will now go on to the President for his signature, authorizing 34 new lock, dam, levee, port and ecosystem restoration projects, while introducing reforms to the way the Army Corps of Engineers manages its water resource projects. Here is a section-by-section summary of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 Conference Report that Congress passed. Highlights of the measure can be found here, and the Conference Report, itself, can be seen here. In this article you can find an overview of various sections of the Conference Report that specifically relate to portions of or projects within the Mississippi River Basin, and Coastal Louisiana.

Noteworthy @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week  

Water Quality -

Mississippi River Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force - Spring Public Meeting

• USDA to provide assistance to agricultural producers to improve water quality in priority watersheds including Mississippi River Basin http://ow.ly/x65q1
• Materials from May 21 Mississippi River Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force - Spring 2014 Public Meeting: http://ow.ly/x8u7u
• Mississippi River/Gulf Hypoxia Task Force reaches agreement with universities to further water quality programs, goals http://ow.ly/x6bbT

Other Water Quality News

• House Science, Space and Technology Committee passes bill to support interagency algal bloom research; story: http://ow.ly/x8xpj (bill: http://ow.ly/x8xjD)
• House Small Business Committee Republicans call on EPA and Army Corps to withdraw Clean Water Act, "Waters of the U.S." proposal http://ow.ly/xbjzd
• Residents near coal ash waste sites call upon Illinois Pollution Control Board for tougher pollution protections http://ow.ly/x0B4K
• Tennessee's auto plant ambitions could harm Hatchie River, one of state's least spoiled rivers http://ow.ly/x0CTl
• Dozens rally in Tennessee to "Save the Nolichucky" from ammonia, other pollution from new U.S. Nitrogen, Greene County plant http://ow.ly/x0EoQ
• Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to check health of Lower Minnesota River and tributaries this summer http://ow.ly/x4gb7
• University of Arkansas Systems' Division of Agriculture team monitoring water quality around hog farm at  state's request http://ow.ly/x6anS
• West Virginia regulators propose over $21,000 in fines for plant that spilled coal slurry into stream in February ow.ly/x9tNX

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

Water Resources Reform and Development Act

• Congressional Budget Office estimates that the Water Resources Reform and Development Act will cost $12.3B over 10 years http://ow.ly/x425Y
• Taxpayers for Common Sense Water Resources Reform and Development Act analysis: measure fails to reform http://ow.ly/x42Gd
• Water resources bill would make substantive changes to the Water State Revolving Fund program http://ow.ly/wVXCr
• Passage of water resources bill could spur construction completion on Chickamauga Lock (Tennessee River in Chattanooga) http://ow.ly/x3936

Other Water Resource Management News

• LEAD STORY: Environmental groups sue Army Corps of Engineers to block further Mississippi River navigation structure construction http://ow.ly/x9snQ
• LEAD STORY: Environmental groups sue Army Corps, questioning efforts to manage Mississippi River http://ow.ly/xbazY
• Threats to ten-parish area's Southern Hills Aquifer system grow in Louisiana http://ow.ly/x0GAo
• Pumping polluted groundwater for cleanup purposes is an added drain on already-stressed Twin Cities, Minnesota groundwater http://ow.ly/x0Ivi
• Six southwestern Illinois levee repair projects totaling $39 million on target for completion in 2015; more-protective 500-year flood protection work will take longer http://ow.ly/x0MLZ
• Utilities reevaluating flood risks at Cooper and Fort Calhoun nuclear power plants on the banks of the Missouri River http://ow.ly/x0NHF
• Army Corps seeks public input on Cora Island shallow water habitat project; part of Missouri River Recovery Program http://ow.ly/x37Zy

Agriculture -

• Environmental Defense Fund will partner with pork producer Smithfield Foods to help company use fertilizer more efficiently http://ow.ly/x9tma
• Reps. Ron Kind (WI) and Tim Walz (MN) call for Mississippi River watershed to be designated as critical conservation area http://ow.ly/x6sHt
• Purdue Extension agricultural economist publishes two articles on what 2014 farm bill could mean for Midwest farmers and agriculture http://ow.ly/wVoZH
• Farmland values fell in the first quarter in much of the Midwest, the latest sign of a downturn in the market http://ow.ly/wVo7I
• Strong farm land demand is still evident in east-central and southeast Iowa; Record high price set in Henry County http://ow.ly/x0lsy
• Union of Concerned Scientists: Agribusiness companies are creating a “superweed crisis” http://ow.ly/x0HKw
• Midwest growers invest in more-sophisticated machinery to rapidly sow more crops in narrow windows of favorable weather http://ow.ly/xbfTM

Climate and Weather -

• National Geographic: New Dust Bowl is engulfing the same region that was the geographic heart of the 1930s original http://ow.ly/x3w9u
• Hard on the heels of two studies last week, ESA's Cryosat spacecraft mission sees Antarctic ice losses double http://ow.ly/x1bNj (ESA’s CryoSat web site story: http://ow.ly/x1cdP)
• May 20 drought update: Dryness expanded eastward in Oklahoma, areas of Missouri, Louisiana and Arkansas benefited from rains, most of Midwest unchanged http://ow.ly/wmTdv 

  

  May 20 Drought Update Map
  (click to enlarge)

• NOAA Climate Prediction Center monthly drought outlook for June (will be published at end of the month) http://ow.ly/q3yAx
• NOAA’s 2014 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook indicates that a near-normal or below-normal hurricane season is likely http://ow.ly/x9rPZ
• Snow appears to be a very important driver for how much water actually ends up in a river http://ow.ly/x0zSQ
• Sixty-seven insurance companies commit to tackling climate change by encouraging government action; promoting emission reduction http://ow.ly/x64Cr
• Chicago Council on Global Affairs report calls on U.S. government to integrate climate change adaptation into its global food security strategy http://ow.ly/x8vOB
• New Planning and Drought guide from the American Planning Association  http://ow.ly/x9dZB

Biodiversity, Wildlife and Invasives -

Cooling Water Intake

• LEAD STORY: EPA finalizes standards for the protection of fish and other aquatic life from cooling water intakes at over 1,000 power plants and factories http://ow.ly/x2WHp (EPA notice: http://ow.ly/x2WXR)
• Two Mississippi River state Republican Senators (James Inhofe (Okla.), David Vitter (La.)) don't like U.S. EPA's new cooling water intake rule http://ow.ly/x33bj
• Environmental groups disappointed with Obama administration's new rule on water intakes at factories and power plants http://ow.ly/x3qT0
• Environmental groups consider suing U.S. EPA again over a final cooling water intake rule http://ow.ly/x41It
• White House is reviewing a final Endangered Species Act policy that will largely dictate the law's regulatory reach http://ow.ly/x416P (draft policy: http://ow.ly/x40TK (PDF file)) 
• Proposed Endangered Species Act Regulations Would Significantly Expand Critical Habitat Protection Under Act http://ow.ly/x5KYN
• Bill introduced by Rep. Gardner (R-Colo.) would prevent the Sage Grouse from being listed under the Endangered Species Act for 10 years http://ow.ly/xbgxg
• Forest Service evaluating how it manages large western North Dakota grassland to save greater sage grouse http://ow.ly/x63VX (notice: http://ow.ly/x63N4)

In the Cities -

• Meteor impact 74 million years ago could be the cause of Manson, Iowa's well production problems today http://ow.ly/x1hF2

In the States-

• Minnesota becomes first state to prohibit antibiotic triclosan in most retail consumer hygiene products after chemical found in increasing amounts in state waters http://ow.ly/x3tnH
• Mixed grades on Minnesota’s water and agriculture state legislative issues http://ow.ly/x8z2d
• State Legislators approve bill to ease southwestern Minnesota water shortage, but it requires communities to provide some money http://ow.ly/x8zv6
• Gov. John Kasich set to sign into law new agricultural regulations to combat algal blooms in Ohio waterways; bill: http://ow.ly/x3wYL news article: http://ow.ly/x3xpD
• Louisiana Senate approves House-amended legislation restricting "legacy lawsuits" filed against oil and gas companies http://ow.ly/x9gme

Louisiana Coastal Region-

• Sen. Landrieu (La.) urges Louisiana's state senators to support state House-passed bill to limit coastal protection fund use http://ow.ly/x0md7
• Louisiana lawsuits seek oil and gas industry money to restore coastline http://ow.ly/x0GNI
• Lake Borgne, Louisiana storm surge barrier barge gate inspected in advance of, prepared for hurricane season http://ow.ly/x0Jfg

Resource Development -

• As ethanol producers see their industry's most profitable period, EPA nears a June biofuel standards decision http://ow.ly/x30Fq (for background, see here: http://ow.ly/x30OX)

Federal and State Budgets -

• Full Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously approves Fiscal Year 2015 agriculture appropriations bill; committee summary: http://ow.ly/xbdgW
• House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee reports out FY 2015  $20.9 B USDA-FDA spending bill without any amendments http://ow.ly/x3Zut (also see: http://ow.ly/x2Znr)
• House passes 2015 defense spending bill that includes several controversial energy and environmental (climate) riders http://ow.ly/x9xdm (see list of amendments here: http://ow.ly/x9xt2)
• Louisiana’s 2013 4th quarter state tax revenue was 15.2 % below its peak in 2008 with implications for state budget (but North Dakota revenues are up 119.4 percent and Illinois is doing well, too) http://ow.ly/x5M7n

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

• Lower Arkansas River Basin stakeholders to meet May 29 to find ways to manage high selenium levels, Arkansas Valley Research Center, 6 PM http://ow.ly/x6rHD

e-Newsletters, Publications, Journals, Multimedia  -

• Montana Watershed Coordination Council's Watershed News for May 16 http://ow.ly/wW0Ou and May 22 http://ow.ly/xbbbG
• 1Mississippi May Newsletter – Local Food is good for you and the River http://ow.ly/x0nYl
• Lower Mississippi River Dispatch; Vol 10 No 5d, May 20; "Global Warming and Challenging Conditions on the Big River" http://ow.ly/x3a7q
• Mississippi River Collaborative "Currents" - News and Events http://ow.ly/x5MyE
• Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's River Connections for May 2014 http://ow.ly/x6l3c
• Spring Update from America's Watershed Initiative http://ow.ly/x9cE3

Other news-

• POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: National Wildlife Federation hiring Water Resources Manager for both Water Protection Network and Mississippi River Network http://ow.ly/x6IAS (Washington, DC)
• POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: Bluestem Communications seeks full-time Program Manager to manage the Mississippi River program http://ow.ly/x6IWO (Chicago, Illinois)
• Reclaimed land given back to rivers; meanders cut back into flood plains, as part of Netherlands back-to-nature approach http://ow.ly/x1cwm
• The Environmental Protection Agency is rushing to roll out new regulations before the end of President Obama’s term http://ow.ly/x0izv
• EPA inspectors tally environmental threats at Eleven Point River, Coastal Energy Corp. facility in southern Missouri http://ow.ly/x0Clt
• New study explores boating access in the U.S., examining the current and future needs http://ow.ly/x6QB4 (full report can be accessed here: http://ow.ly/x6Rjw)
• Six Aquatic Adventures to Help Beat the St. Louis Heat This Summer http://ow.ly/x8yKQ

Politics and People-

• This Tuesday's Mississippi River Basin state primary election results (Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania) http://ow.ly/x0upN
• Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell wins Kentucky GOP primary and must now face Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes http://ow.ly/x5Kpe
• Conservative group Heritage Action will punish lawmakers on its annual scorecard if they vote in favor of an $8.2 billion water infrastructure bill http://ow.ly/x309i

Last Word - 

The Americas, as published in "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum"
in 1570 (click to enlarge)

"Theatrum Orbis Terrarum" (Theatre of the World), which was the world's first atlas, published on May 22, 1570 by Abraham Ortelius in Antwerp with 70 maps.

Senate Approves and Sends Water Resources Reform and Development Act to President

The Senate on Thursday afternoon overwhelmingly approved (91-7 roll call vote) a conference report to accompany the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA), following House approval of the measure on Tuesday.  The WRRDA bill will now go to the President for his signature, authorizing 34 new lock, dam, levee, port and ecosystem restoration projects, while introducing reforms to the way the Army Corps of Engineers manages its water resource projects.  The House voted 412 to 4 (roll call vote tally here) to approve the water resources bill compromise.  The seven Senate no votes came from Republican Sens. Burr (N.C.), Coburn (Okla.), Flake (Ariz.), Johnson (Wis.), Lee (Utah), McCain (Ariz.) and Roberts (Kan.). The four House no votes were cast by Republican Reps. Amash (Mi.), Gohmert (Tex.), Huelskamp (Kan.) and Salmon (Ariz.).

The conference report suggests that the cost of the 34 new project authorizations would be offset with $18 billion in project deauthorizations.  However, a Congressional Budget Office analysis suggests otherwise, estimating that WRRDA will cost $12.3 Billion over 10 years.  Here is a section-by-section summary of the Conference Report. Highlights of the measure can be found here, and the full Conference Report, itself, can be seen here.

Mississippi River Basin - Louisiana Coastal Relevance

Below is an overview of various sections of the Conference Report that specifically relate to portions of or projects within the Mississippi River Basin, and Coastal Louisiana.  The summary is derived from language in the section-by-section summary, and from language in the conference report, itself.

Section 1046. Reservoir Operations and Water Supply. This section in part requires the Secretary to notify applicable non-federal interests before each fiscal year of the anticipated operation and maintenance anticipated activities for that fiscal year and for each of the subsequent four fiscal years for which the non-federal interest is required to contribute amounts, and it prohibits the Secretary from charging a fee for surplus water storage over the next 10 years on Corps of Engineers reservoir projects in the Upper Missouri River Basin.

Section 2006. Preserving the Inland Waterway Trust Fund.  This section authorizes a change in cost-share for the inland navigation project on the Ohio River in the vicinity of Olmsted, Illinois to provide that, beginning with fiscal year 2015, 15 percent of the cost of construction for the Olmsted Project shall be paid for each fiscal year from the Inland Waterways Trust Fund. It also provides a sense of Congress that expenditures for the Olmsted project should be not less than $150 million annually until completion and modifies the definition of rehabilitation for major projects. The "Olmsted Project" is the project for navigation, Lower Ohio River, Locks and Dams 52 and 53, Illinois and Kentucky, authorized by section 3(a)(6) of the Water Resources Development Act of 1988

Section 2007. Inland Waterways Oversight. This section requires that the Secretary and the Government Accountability Office report to Congress on the challenges associated with the Olmsted project. Additionally, this section requires that for any future inland navigation project that is estimated to cost more than or has achieved a cost of $500 million, the Secretary shall submit to Congress an annual financial plan for the project.

Section 2010. Upper Mississippi River Protection. This section directs the Secretary to close the Upper St. Anthony’s Falls Lock and Dam (Mississippi River Mile 853.9 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) no later than one year after the enactment of the Act.

Section 4002. Mississippi River. This section calls upon the Secretary to improve forecasting on the Mississippi River by updating forecasting technology in the interest of maintaining navigation; studying the feasibility of carrying out projects to improve navigation and aquatic ecosystem restoration; carrying out a study to improve the coordinated and comprehensive management of water resource projects related to severe flooding and drought conditions; and carrying out navigation projects outside of the authorized federal navigation channel to ensure safe and reliable fleeting areas.  This section also authorizes a Middle Mississippi River Pilot Program to study improvements to navigation and aquatic ecosystem restoration in the middle Mississippi River.  It also establishes a "Greater Mississippi River Basin Severe Flooding and Drought Management Study," in part to "improve the coordinated and comprehensive management of water resource projects in the greater Mississippi River Basin relating to severe flooding and drought conditions," and develop "new water resource projects to improve the reliability of navigation and more effectively reduce flood risk."

Section 4003. Missouri River. This section authorizes the Secretary, in coordination with the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Director of the United States Geological Survey, and the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, to provide for a coordinated and supported effort to conduct soil moisture and snowpack monitoring in the Upper Missouri River Basin. This section also modifies a continuing authority program for ecosystem restoration projects along the Upper Missouri River; authorizes reimbursement for individuals' travel expenses associated with participation in the Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee; and authorizes the Secretary to carry out a study to determine the feasibility of carrying out shoreline erosion projects to mitigate damages to tribal lands and infrastructure in the Missouri River basin.

In addition, this section requires the Corps of Engineers, as part of the President’s annual budget process, to report to Congress on the prioritization of federal actions to be carried out during the next fiscal year to mitigate for fish and wildlife losses as a result of Corps of Engineers projects in the Missouri River Basin. It also clarifies that the Secretary shall consult with other federal agencies, conservation districts, the Yellowstone River Conservation District Council, and the state of Montana in carrying out the Yellowstone River project in the vicinity of Intake, Montana.

Section 4004. Arkansas River. This section authorizes the Secretary to establish a McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System Advisory Committee. The Committee will serve in an advisory capacity only and duties include providing information and recommendations to the Corps relating to the efficiency, reliability, and availability of the operations of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River navigation system.

Section 4007. Northern Rockies Headwaters. This section authorizes the Secretary to study the feasibility of carrying out projects to mitigate the impacts of extreme weather events, including floods and droughts, on communities, water users, and fish and wildlife and their habitats located in and along the headwaters of the Columbia, Missouri, and Yellowstone Rivers and tributaries. The Secretary may carry out feasible projects in accordance with the criteria for an appropriate Continuing Authority Program or recommend projects for authorization in the Annual Report in accordance with Section 7001 of this Act.

Section 4011. Louisiana Coastal Area. This section authorizes the Secretary to review Louisiana’s Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast developed by the State of Louisiana for the purposes of coastal protection and restoration, and, in consultation with the State of Louisiana, to identify and conduct feasibility studies for up to ten projects included in that plan. This section also modifies the existing science and technology program to examine system-wide approaches to coastal sustainability.

Section 6004. Deauthorizations. This section deauthorizes components of specific Army Corps of Engineers projects that had previously been authorized for navigation, flood control, shoreline protection, or public works projects.  Mississippi River Basin and Coastal Louisiana project deauthorizations include:

• Lucas Berg Pit Confined Disposal Area, Calumet-Sag Channel and Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, Cook County, Illinois -The portion of the project for navigation, Illinois Waterway and Grand Calumet River, Illinois, that consists of the Lucas-Berg Pit confined disposal facility authorized by the first section of the Act of July 24, 1946
• Port of Iberia, Louisiana --authorized by Section 1001(25) of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007

Section 7002. Authorization of Final Feasibility Studies. This section authorizes 34 water resources projects that have completed the technical review by the Corps of Engineers and are recommended by the Chief of Engineers. The projects are authorized to be carried out in accordance with the plan, and subject to the conditions, described in the Chief’s Reports. Each of the projects has as its primary purpose, one of the following: navigation, hurricane and storm damage risk reduction, flood risk management, environmental restoration. Mississippi River Basin and Coastal Louisiana project authorizations (including the date of the Army Corps of Engineers Report of the Chief Engineer and associated costs for the projects) are:

Flood Risk Management

• Topeka Flood Risk Management Project, Topeka, Kansas Aug. 24, 2009; cost: Federal: $17,360,000, Non-Federal: $9,350,000, Total: $26,710,000
• Flood risk management along the Cedar River in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Jan. 27, 2011;  cost:  Federal: $73,130,000, Non-Federal: $39,380,000, Total: $112,510,000 
• Flood risk management along the left bank of the Ohio River at Paducah, Kentucky (rehabilitation (reconstruction) of the existing flood damage reduction project) May 16, 2012; cost:  Federal: $13,170,000, Non-Federal: $7,090,000, Total: $20,260,000
• Jordan Creek Flood Risk Management Project, Springfield, Missouri, August 2, 2013;  cost: Federal: $13,560,000, Non-Federal: $7,300,000, Total: $20,860,000

Hurricane and Storm Management Risk Reduction

• Construction for the Morganza to the Gulf Hurricane Protection Project (a flood protection system for Terrebonne Parish and Lafourche Parish, Louisiana)-updated design following application of "more robust design and hydrologic and hydraulic modeling standards developed subsequent to Hurricane Katrina," July 8, 2013;  cost: Federal: $6,695,400,000, Non-Federal $3,604,600,000, Total: $10,300,000,000

Environmental Restoration

• Louisiana Coastal Area - ecosystem restoration for six projects in multiple locations in coastal Louisiana, December 30, 2010;  cost: Federal: $1,026,000,000, Non-Federal: $601,000,000, Total: $1,627,000,000
• Minnesota River, Marsh Lake Ecosystem Restoration Project, Minnesota (to help restore aquatic ecosystem structure and function as well as implement "ancillary recreation features"), December 30,2011;  cost: Federal: $6,760,000, Non-Federal: $3,640,000, Total: $10,400,000
• Restoration for Barataria Basin Barrier Shoreline (BBBS) in Lafourche, Jefferson, and Plaquemines Parishes, Louisiana, June 22, 2012;  cost: Federal: $321,750,000, Non-Federal: $173,250,000, Total: $495,000,000

Section 7003. Authorization of Project Modifications Recommended by the Secretary. This section modifies eight previously authorized water resources projects. These modifications were requested by the Administration. Subject to Section 902 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986, project cost increases must be authorized by Congress. This section authorizes new cost levels that are sufficient to complete the projects. Mississippi River Basin and Coastal Louisiana project modifications (including the date of the Army Corps of Engineers' letter of recommendation and new cost estimates) are:

• Wood River Levee System Reconstruction, Madison County, Illinois, May 7, 2013;  cost: Estimated Federal: $16,678,000, Estimated non-Federal: $8,980,000, Total: $25,658,000
• Des Moines River and Raccoon River Project, February 12, 2014;  cost:  Estimated Federal: $14,990,300, Estimated non-Federal: $8,254,700, Total: $23,245,000 
• Western Sarpy and Clear Creek, Nebraska flood risk reduction project, March 20, 2014; cost: Estimated Federal: $28,128,800, Estimated non-Federal: $15,146,300, Total: $43,275,100
• Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Reconstruction project (flood risk management), April 14, 2014; cost:  Estimated Federal: $17,687,000, Estimated non-Federal: $746,000, Total: $18,433,000

Capitol Hill This Week - What to Watch For UPDATED

Below are the U.S. House and Senate activities currently scheduled for this week that relate to Mississippi River Basin water resources. On Tuesday afternoon the House overwhelmingly (412 to 4 - roll call vote tally here) approved a national water resources bill - the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA). The Senate is expected to take up the measure on Thursday, where it should also easily pass. See this article for more details on that measure and of its relevance to the Mississippi River Basin and Coastal Louisiana.

Links are provided to the relevant committee pages on the Internet, and, where appropriate, to pieces of legislation. Many Congressional proceedings are webcast live, and these should be, as well (follow the appropriate link).  All times are Eastern.  This page will be updated as warranted.

Monday

• House Rules Committee meeting to consider the rules for debate on H.R. 4660-the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, Fiscal Year 2015, including funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 5:00 PM, room H-313 The Capitol (this may clear the way for full House consideration of the bill later in the week).  The bill would cut climate research and prioritize weather forecasting at NOAA.

Tuesday

• House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulations legislative hearing on several bills, including H. R. 4272, the “Forest Access in Rural Communities Act,” requiring the U.S. Forest Service to cease all implementation and enforcement of travel management rules altering public access to National Forest System lands; 9:30 AM; room 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
• House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies mark-up of Fiscal Year 2015 Agriculture Appropriations Bill; 10:00 AM; room 2362-A Rayburn House Office Building.
• House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs oversight hearing on "Oil and Gas Activities within Our Nation's Wildlife Refuge System;" 2:00 PM, room 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
• Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies mark-up of Fiscal Year 2015 Agriculture Appropriations Bill; 3:00 PM, room SD-192 Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Wednesday

• House Science, Space and Technology Committee markup of S. 1254, the “Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2013”  2:00 PM, room 2318 Rayburn House Office Building.

Thursday

• Senate Appropriations Committee (full committee) mark-up of Fiscal Year 2015 Agriculture Appropriations Bill; 10:30 AM, room SD-106 Dirksen Senate Office Building.

What We Learned This Week - To Bike or Not To Bike

Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock

The Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock (in Minneapolis) will very likely be permanently closed to boat traffic to limit Asian carp movement sometime during the next year.  The Mississippi River ecosystem's ability to effectively filter nitrates from its waters appears to be operating at or near capacity.  Indiana has the most coal-ash ponds of any state in the nation, along with a troubling number of spills.  The Mississippi River went over its banks, flooding some low-lying roads and agricultural land in parts of Iowa, Illinois and Missouri: something not out of the ordinary in the springtime.  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published new water quality criteria for selenium and 94 chemical pollutants.  Kansas Senator Pat Roberts is truly a Kansas resident, allowing him to seek re-election this year. Coastal Louisiana has one more thing to worry about, as scientists confirmed that the Western Antarctic ice sheet collapse has already irreversibly begun, with "major consequences for sea level rise worldwide."  Midterm election enthusiasm is at a ten-year low in the United States, with only 35 percent of eligible voters being all that

EPA's employee bike room in
Washington, DC

excited about the upcoming November elections.  Harvard School of Public Health scientists and neonicotinoid chemical makers disagree on whether neonicotinoid-based insecticides applied to corn and soybean seeds are at root of recent honeybee colony collapses.  But while there are still bees to be seen, you can watch them 24 hours-a-day on the Department of Agriculture's new "Bee Watch" cam. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is the world's fifth most resilient city.  And last but not least, Friday is “Bike to Work Day” in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency plans to close its only state-of-the-art employee bike room in Washington, D.C. this July, as it consolidates office space.  About 100 employees are not sure whether they will continue to bike to work.

Mississippi River Basin Water Resource Weekly News

~Virtual Newspaper for an Aquatic World~

Water Resources Reform and Development Act Agreement Details Released; Votes on Measure Next Week

As widely reported last week, a bicameral, bipartisan deal has been reached on a long-delayed national water resources bill (known as the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA)). A House-Senate conference committee has been negotiating to resolve the differences between a House WRRDA bill passed by that chamber in October 2013, and a companion Water Resources Development Act (S. 601) bill passed by the Senate last May. The WRRDA conference report was released by the conference committee Thursday afternoon after all but one of the members of the committee agree to the compromise language. Here is a section-by-section summary of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act Conference Report. Highlights of the agreed-upon compromise can be found here, and the Conference Report, in full, can be seen here.   We've prepared a summary of those bill provisions particularly relevant to the Mississippi River Basin, and they can been seen in this article.  The full House is planning to vote on the agreement next Tuesday, with a Senate floor vote anticipated very shortly thereafter.

Also Next Week

The House will be back from a one-week recess next week, and here you can find an overview of the House and Senate activities scheduled for the week that are relevant to the River Basin's water resources. They include some appropriation bill activity of note, as well as hearings related to activities on federal land, such as forest land and wildlife refuges.

Noteworthy @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week

Water Quality -

• UT researchers: Mississippi River ecosystem's nitrate filtration systems seem to be operating at or near capacity http://ow.ly/wKMIB (Link to journal article: http://ow.ly/wKO1Y)
• Indiana has the most coal-ash ponds of any state in the nation and a troubling number of spills http://ow.ly/wFzfj
• Sierra Club and Earthjustice release "Dangerous Waters: America's Coal Ash Crisis” covering eight states http://ow.ly/wTe81 (states include  North Carolina, Kentucky, Missouri, Virginia, New Mexico, Montana, Indiana, and Illinois)
• Postponed House hearing on Obama Administration proposal to clarify Clean Water Act jurisdiction now planned for June http://ow.ly/wJRD6
• South Dakota's Rep. Kristi Noem and Sen. John Thune criticize EPA/Army Corps' proposed streams, wetlands rule http://ow.ly/wKm1U
• Montana environmental regulators required to comply with new court settlement to eliminate industrial wastewater discharge permit backlog http://ow.ly/wK8Jb
• For over 12 years, Winfield, WV sewer plant has discharged more ammonia-nitrogen into the Kanawha River than permitted; without facing penalties http://ow.ly/wN2an
• Minnesota officials: Pine River watershed has highest average water quality of nearby watersheds in Mississippi River Basin http://ow.ly/wPIRd
• Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) hopes to include stormwater pollution provision in Senate highway bill to be debated this week ow.ly/wPzNS
• Iowa groups call upon state Department of Natural Resources to strengthen proposed large-scale commercial livestock operation clean water rules http://ow.ly/wQrEu
• EPA releases Draft Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality Criterion for Selenium--Freshwater for public comment; Federal Register notice: http://ow.ly/wS99C (Media coverage: EPA releases proposed Clean Water Act pollution control guidelines for the chemical element selenium http://ow.ly/wSh2u)
• EPA updates its national recommended water quality criteria for human health for 94 chemical pollutantshttp://ow.ly/wO0KW (Federal Register notice:  http://ow.ly/wO0Nh  - Public comment through July 14)

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

• Congress expected to vote soon on a conference report for "Water Resources Reform and Development Act" http://ow.ly/wFRMt
• National Journal: WRRDA bill would fund water-infrastructure projects: "Technically It Isn't Pork, but It's Close" http://ow.ly/wNUyQ
• Illinois Farmers Insurance Co. stormwater flood lawsuit could be landmark case that accelerates local efforts to deal with climate change impacts on runoff http://ow.ly/wQu1r
• Plains and Prairie Potholes webinar video on the human dimensions of natural resource conservation presented by USFWS  http://ow.ly/wFeAr
• Four-minute National Association of Flood and Stormwater Management Agencies (NAFSMA) video on using floodplains as protective community assets http://ow.ly/wJYb7
• Army Corps reports April runoff in the Missouri River basin was 96 percent of average http://ow.ly/wKjuM
• Mississippi River floods some low-lying roads and agricultural land in parts of Iowa, Illinois and Missouri http://ow.ly/wKM06
• Project aims restore biological habitat around Upper Mississippi River's Huron Island complex  http://ow.ly/wKlqI
• Groups helping to preserve Chillicothe Bottoms wetlands (Chillicothe, Illinois) http://ow.ly/wPJtq

Agriculture -

• Weed Science article: herbicide-resistant weed is capable of swiftly overtaking cotton fields http://ow.ly/wFSNl
• Herbicide-resistant weeds threaten soil conservation gains: Finding a balance for soil and farm sustainability http://ow.ly/wNza0 (PDF file)
• USGS study: Sewage sludge used as farm fertilizer can leave traces of prescription drugs, household chemicals in soil http://ow.ly/wKd2p (Study abstract here: http://ow.ly/wKdar)
• Livestock producers in Illinois oppose proposed regulation that would require feedlots to register with the state ow.ly/wT2qM
• The OFW Law Blog: For Drought-Hit Farmers, USDA Federal Crop Insurance Can Help, But Only If You Understand the Rules http://ow.ly/wUUPH

Climate and Weather -

• LEAD STORY: Western Antarctic ice sheet collapse has already irreversibly begun, with "major consequences for sea level rise worldwide" http://ow.ly/wMFXZ
• LEAD STORY: U.S. drought will persist across southern half of Kansas southward; ease across eastern Nebraska and Iowa by August http://ow.ly/wUVy3
• El Niño conditions remarkably similar to those in 1997: one of the most potent El Niño events of the 20th century http://ow.ly/wQs9f 

  

  May 13 Drought Monitor Map
  (click to enlarge)

• Policy makers in Minnesota and other states remain divided over how to respond to National Climate Assessment http://ow.ly/wKdUq
• Lloyd's of London, the world's biggest insurance market, urges insurers to account for climate change in their models http://ow.ly/wJUdZ
• All materials from the Capitol Hill May 8 briefing, "The National Climate Assessment: Measuring Domestic Climate Impacts" now online http://ow.ly/wNjPW
• US drought update: Improvements continue across parts of Midwest, Nebraska and South Dakota; mixed bag elsewhere in the Plains http://ow.ly/wmTdv
• Illinois Infrastructure: Getting Our Water Systems Up to Snuff Amidst the Climate Crush http://ow.ly/wSbl5

Biodiversity, Wildlife and Invasives -

• Senate-House conferees agree in draft bill to Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock closure (Minneapolis) to limit Asian carp movement http://ow.ly/wPvIw
• Agencies acknowledge that elimination of Mississippi River Basin Asian carp isn't possible; but look to manage their numbers http://ow.ly/wSoYW
• Opposition raised at hearing to Fish and Wildlife Service designation of Arkansas stream habitat for freshwater mussels http://ow.ly/wSgML
• Administration proposes new rules and policy to clarify designation, protection of threatened and endangered species critical habitat http://ow.ly/wFQ6j
• Yearly Survey Shows Better Results for Pollinators, but Losses Remain Significant http://ow.ly/wTfaD
• Harvard School of Public Health study: Insecticides applied to corn, soybean seeds at root of recent honeybee colony collapses http://ow.ly/wFSnH and http://ow.ly/wFXLA 
  
• Chemical makers say neonicotinoids aren’t to blame for bee deaths; step up lobbying to counter beekeeper calls for a ban http://ow.ly/wSdze
• "Bee Watch" cam will broadcast honey bee hive activity at USDA Headquarters  live over the Internet 24 hours per day http://ow.ly/wShUN
• Scientists propose classifying invasive species based on the level of impact they have on the recipient ecosystem http://ow.ly/wJXFn
• Scientists try to save endangered hemlock trees in Cranesville Swamp (Prescott County, West Virginia) http://ow.ly/wN1IR
• Groups sue Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to respond to request to protect Midwest's rusty patched bumblebee http://ow.ly/wQz5G

In the Cities -

• Resilient Cities Research Report: Pittsburgh, PA (at #5) makes Grosvenor's list of globally resilient cities http://ow.ly/wSael (only other Mississippi River Basin city in top 50 is Chicago)
• Des Moines, Iowa Mayor Frank Cownie looks for ways that city and region can adapt to changing climate impacts http://ow.ly/wShAx
• EPA provides $100,000 toward Omaha, Neb. green infrastructure water monitoring network http://ow.ly/wMFdG
• EPA technical assistance funding available for communities to help meet Clean Water Act municipal wastewater and stormwater management requirements http://ow.ly/wPup7
• Moving stormwater continues to be Baton Rouge problem http://ow.ly/wSb1g

In the States-

• West Virginia regulators plan to redesignate Kanawha River through Charleston as potential public drinking-water source http://ow.ly/wFg5I and http://ow.ly/wK9P3
• Bills restricting oil and gas 'legacy lawsuits' sent to Louisiana House floor http://ow.ly/wN3pP
• Concerned for bees, Minnesota lawmakers call for aggressive pesticide review by state Department of Agriculture http://ow.ly/wN2NM

Louisiana Coastal Region-

• St. Tammany Parish residents urge Army Corps, Louisiana not to consider oil driller's wetlands-mitigation permit application ow.ly/wSrBT

Resource Development -

• Reported spills from oil and gas well sites in North Dakota jumped significantly in 2013 map: http://ow.ly/wN0nv  story: http://ow.ly/wN0qH
• Industry experts: successful gas well fracking at edge of Tuscaloosa Marine Shale formation likely would lead to more Louisiana rigs http://ow.ly/wKeUC

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

• Streaming Live Friday: Brookings Institution's What’s Next in American Infrastructure? May 16, 9:30 AM EDT http://ow.ly/wQszy
• Wetland Mapping Consortium webinar: use of land cover change data to understand wetland trends; May 21, 3 PM EDT http://ow.ly/wSbPm
• Briefing: Managing Climate Risks in the Southeast (includes Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky), May 22, 10 AM; 428 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC http://ow.ly/wSkj5
• National (climate) Adaptation Forum webinar: Community Adaptation in the City; May 22; 1 PM http://ow.ly/wFTJ2
• Sustainable Site Development - A Watershed Approach to Green Infrastructure Presentation, Chicago Center for Green Technology, May 22, 6-8 PM http://ow.ly/wSaNo
• May and June St. Croix River Association-listed events http://ow.ly/wMGp3
• Ohio Wetlands Association Annual Wetlands Gala; June 7, 2 p.m., Amherst, OH http://ow.ly/wPuNw
• National Hazard Mitigation Association fifth annual symposium; June 25-26, Broomfield, Colorado http://ow.ly/wNwoN
• 7th annual Ecosystem Services Partnership Conference: “Local Action for the Common Good” - San José, Costa Rica; September 8-12 http://ow.ly/wL6IH

e-Newsletters, Publications, Journals, Multimedia  -

• Montana Watershed Coordination Council's May 9 Watershed News http://ow.ly/wJZVv
• Lower Mississippi River Dispatch, May 13, on the Mississippi River canoe trip from Natchez to St. Francisville, La. http://ow.ly/wML32
• Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy's TUWaterWays e-newsletter for May 13 http://ow.ly/wPu1m (PDF file)
• MN Pollution Control Agency's Feedlot Update - May 15; includes changes to large feedlot NPDES permit requirements ow.ly/wT1ER

Other news-

• Economic Research Service (USDA): Farming-dependent counties, concentrated in the Great Plains and Corn Belt, lost population between 2010-13 http://ow.ly/wSdYQ
• Illegal National Park Service projects harmed northeastern Iowa Mississippi River valley Native American burial site (Effigy Mounds National Monument) http://ow.ly/wKRG9
• Snarled Great Plains rail service effects ripple through agricultural economy, as oil transport takes up track space http://ow.ly/wSd6n

Politics and People-

• How gerrymandered is your Congressional district? (interactive map at the district level) http://ow.ly/wT6oh
• State elections board rejects claim that Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) is not truly a Kansas resident http://ow.ly/wMFFQ
• Congress continues to hold off on votes confirming USEPA Office of Water assistant and deputy assistant administrators http://ow.ly/wFQYB
• Ben Sasse wins GOP Nebraska U.S. Senate primary, becoming the nominee and likely the next senator http://ow.ly/wPwmg
• Alex Mooney wins Republican primary in race to replace seven-term Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV-2) http://ow.ly/wPwFx
• Rep. Capito (R-WV) and Secretary of State Tennant (D) easily win respective West Virginia nominations for U.S. Senate http://ow.ly/wPx0x
• U.S. Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE-2) survives strong challenge in Tuesday's 2nd District House Republican primary http://ow.ly/wPGjZ

Last Word -

Ben Cohen (left) and Jerry Greenfield

“Remember these words from two old ice cream guys: if it's melted, it's over.” - Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, co-founders of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream