Mississippi River Basin Water Resource Weekly News

~Virtual Newspaper for an Aquatic World~

This Week
If you don't care to wade through all of the news one-liners below, here is our concise, weekly, one-paragraph, summary of things that we've learned: "What We Learned This Week - Floods, Drought, Body Doubles and Jumping Frogs."

Next Week

"Friends"

There will be no "Mississippi River Basin Water Resource Weekly News" edition the week of July 7, as your FNB* (and friends) travel to the remote hills and valleys of northwestern Pennsylvania for some time in and near the headwaters of the Mississippi River Basin.  The Weekly News, and other Northeast-Midwest Institute Mississippi River Basin Blog posts will return the week of July 14.

In the meantime, the U.S. House and Senate both return next week from an eleven-day, July Fourth Holiday recess. Congress is then planning to be in session for four consecutive weeks, before recessing for the entire month of August, and the first week of September (House schedule here; Senate's here).  Here is a summary of the activities currently scheduled for next week that relate to Mississippi River Basin water resources.  They include several House hearings, and the possible Senate floor consideration of a comprehensive "Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2014." (* "Friendly Neighborhood Blogger).

Noteworthy @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week

Water Quality -

• Nancy Stoner, Acting Assistant Administrator for Water, USEPA: "Setting the Record Straight on Waters of the US" http://ow.ly/yGUh5
• EPA Administrator McCarthy to promote jurisdictional ("Waters of the US") rule in "heartland"  tour "into the Midwest" http://ow.ly/yGYfR
• GOP lawmakers: Waters of the US rule would "enable litigious environmental groups to jeopardize fireworks displays throughout the country" http://ow.ly/yHbSq
• U.S. Geological Survey study: emerging contaminants of concern making their way into Minnesota's shallow and deep aquifers; MPR story: http://ow.ly/ywd9W (study found here: http://ow.ly/ywdtY)
• Court rulings keep federal and state lawsuit alive against ExxonMobil Corp. over  Arkansas pipeline spill http://ow.ly/yBfND
• Ohio DNR: Monroe County fracking well fire likely sent contaminants into nearby stream, killing fish, other aquatic life, as far as 5 miles away http://ow.ly/yE5mW
• Citizens from local and statewide groups support West Virginia's Kanawha River protection proposal http://ow.ly/yHcGZ
• Bill Northey, Chair of Mississippi River/Gulf Of Mexico Hypoxia Task Force:  group making "significant progress" http://ow.ly/yGPmw
• USGS (in JSTOR): Appalachian waterways affected by mountaintop removal coal mining have fewer fish, less aquatic diversity http://ow.ly/yGZeJ
• Missouri Public Service Commission approves Ameren Missouri’s plan to build coal ash landfill in Missouri River floodplain http://ow.ly/yK1dg

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

• A rising Mississippi River is threatening towns north of St. Louis area http://ow.ly/yK2pS
• By the weekend, the Mississippi River will be at major flood stage in much of Iowa, Illinois and Missouri http://ow.ly/yH6XK
• Rising flood waters expected to make 11 mid- and upper-Mississippi Rive locks and dams impassable, forcing river closure http://ow.ly/yE4yF (The current Mississippi River lock closure status page (from the Army Corps of Engineers): http://ow.ly/yE6os)
• FEMA to assess Minnesota flood damage this week http://ow.ly/yBgdh and http://ow.ly/yBg7Z
• Environmental Finance Center: catalog of publications describing green infrastructure financing and established benefits http://ow.ly/ywq8k
• Sudden drop in Missouri River concerns anglers, and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks ow.ly/yB0Rj
• Arkansas River Infrastructure Task Force proposes construction of four low water dams to spur development (Oklahoma) http://ow.ly/yE7gF (plan: http://ow.ly/yE7iw) - see related article, below
• Tulsa, OK city councilors and mayor make push for multi-million dollar construction project to "improve" Arkansas River http://ow.ly/yE7M2 -see related article, above

Agriculture -

• USDA interim rule published requiring farmers to adopt  conservation practices before qualifying for federal crop insurance http://ow.ly/yH0xN
• Op-ed: Risky agri-business in the face of climate change: What if one bad year just leads to more and

  

  U.S. Route 66

  increasingly bad years? http://ow.ly/yAVsJ
• Reminder: USDA-NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program pre-proposals are due by July 14 (Mississippi River Basin is a priority area) http://ow.ly/yAZjT
• Waterlogged fields wash out Minnesota corn, soybean crops, leaving farmers with limited options http://ow.ly/yEuPD
• USEPA wading through over 27,000 public comments on proposed registration of 'superweed' herbicide http://ow.ly/yGXI6
• @ChrisClaytonDTN explores how farming along Route 66 has changed since Steinbeck's day. http://t.co/95GPHJf8kx and http://t.co/839FIrlOd9

Climate and Weather -

Click to enlarge

• El Nino-like event likely to disrupt climate in 2014, UN World Meteorological Organization warns http://ow.ly/yBbku
• BBC's science editor visits one of the most-impacted U.S drought areas: the Oklahoma Panhandle  http://ow.ly/yJAbK
• State climatologist: preliminary data show Iowa has endured its third-wettest June on record http://ow.ly/yJEro
• Weekly US drought update: Drought condition upgrade for Iowa, Illinois, Louisiana, Nebraska, Kansas, northern Oklahoma due to plentiful rainfall http://ow.ly/wmTdv
• NOAA Climate Prediction Center July drought outlook http://ow.ly/q3yAx River Basin drought relief expected except in southern Oklahoma; northeastern Tennessee
• PLOS ONE - "Climate Exposure of U.S. National Parks in a New Era of Change" http://ow.ly/yJULB

Biodiversity, Wildlife and Invasives -

• Indiana seeks to slow spread of Asian carp in state ow.ly/yC391 

  

  Emerald ash borer larval damage to ash tree

• Emerald ash borer effects will ripple through forest ecosystems, affecting other plants, animals and water supplies http://ow.ly/yEtUU
• USGS-led study: Intersex fish found in three Pennsylvania river basin, including Ohio River Watershed http://ow.ly/yHbb1 exhibiting effects of endocrine-disrupting chemical exposure
• University of Missouri study: bisphenol A, or BPA, can alter a turtle’s reproductive system after exposure in the egg http://ow.ly/yBfgY
• U.S. honeybees have become a victim of the very food system that has come to depend on bees for a third of its output http://ow.ly/yAWoz
• PLOS Pathogens: Researchers pinpoint virus strain that causes bee deformities http://ow.ly/yBaeo
• Wisconsin's statewide 'Landing Blitz’ to educate boaters on invasive species http://ow.ly/yJBlo
• Obama administration releases final policy re: determining whether wildlife species deserve Endangered Species Act protection http://ow.ly/ywW68
• June 30 Memorandum of Understanding renews Federal Native Plant Conservation Committee to identify priority areas for native plant preservation http://ow.ly/yE0Ov

In the Cities -

• Clarksville, Missouri will no longer pay for temporary sandbag walls to protect its "quaint business district" from periodic Mississippi River flooding http://ow.ly/yK1TM
• Nuisance properties a headache for Des Moines' historic River Bend neighborhood  http://ow.ly/ywrXu
• Permeable pavement coming to Davenport, Iowa http://ow.ly/yE1QT
• Reconfiguration of I-71 through Cincinnati provided city with long-planned access to Ohio Riverfront, accelerated environmental and health-related public infrastructure improvements http://ow.ly/yE2O7

In the States -

• Minnesota Pollution Control Agency publishes first-of-its-kind report on condition of Minnesota’s rivers and streams http://ow.ly/yHvti

Forestry -

• Louisville, Kentucky receives $400K USDA grant to increase nature-based recreational opportunities in Jefferson Memorial Forest http://ow.ly/yAUHr

Resource Development -

• List of organizations opposed to St. Tammany Parish fracking (Louisiana) grows; seek denial of required wetlands permit http://ow.ly/yEvsT
• Iowa ethanol plant begins producing the Midwest's first commercial-scale quantities of cellulosic ethanol http://ow.ly/yJCnp

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

• The National Tom Sawyer Days are this week in Hannibal, Missouri (July 3-5) http://ow.ly/yE8yv - frog jumping contest on Saturday!
• National Academies meeting on Analysis of Costs and Benefits of National Flood Insurance Program Reforms, July 11 (public session), Washington, DC http://ow.ly/yECvL - preregistration requested
• Cities Alive 12th Annual Green Roof and Wall Conference Conference: Green Roofs for Healthy Cities; Nashville, Tennessee, November 12-15 http://ow.ly/yE3i0

e-Newsletters, Publications, Journals, Multimedia  -

• Association of State Floodplain Managers' June News & Views http://ow.ly/yAYRf
• Montana Watershed Coordination Council's June 26 Watershed News ow.ly/yB0bj
• The Nature Conservancy's June 2014 - Great Rivers E-news http://ow.ly/yCeDI
• Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy's July 1 TUWaterWays e-newsletter http://ow.ly/yGW2d

Other news-

• New Orleans Advocate editorial: Our Views: Together for the River http://ow.ly/yEJs2
• St. Croix Watershed Research Station announces the Summer 2014 Artists-in-Residence at Pine Needles http://ow.ly/yGOJL
• New White House plan promotes streamlined infrastructure permitting by Federal agencies http://ow.ly/yGTr8

Politics and People-

• Conservative Louisiana Rep. Vance McAllister (R-5-La.) recants his April pledge to retire http://ow.ly/yBSSE
• Conservative group files lawsuit against Mississippi Secretary of State and Republican Party over recent US Senate runoff results http://ow.ly/yHi4s
• Pew Research Center for the People and the Press: "Beyond Red vs. Blue: The Political Typology" - Polarized Wings; a Diverse Middle http://ow.ly/ywesG
• Shrinking Congressional Battleground Map: Both parties have relatively few opportunities to pick up new seats in 2014 midterm election http://ow.ly/yBiIR

Last Word -

Beer fermenting

“Global warming: Take it seriously or your beer will suck.” - St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial, suggesting that, to get the climate change message across, we talk about beer.