Mississippi River Basin Water Resource Weekly News - Holiday Mid-Week Edition

~Most of the Water News - None of the Spin~

Noteworthy @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week  

Water Quality -

• Water quality monitoring buoy with near-real-time data collection capability placed in

  

  Photo credit: NGRREC/Ted Kratschmer

  Mississippi River near Alton, Illinois http://ow.ly/L4Alw
• House Republicans ask EPA if agency weighed impact of the proposed “waters of the United States" rule on farmers and ranchers http://ow.ly/L4zzO
• MPR News: New project is designed to improve the way arsenic is measured in Minnesota's private wells http://ow.ly/KSq9i
• Reps. Alex Mooney (R-WV) and Bill Johnson (R-OH) introduce bill to block Interior Department proposal to protect waterways from coal mining http://ow.ly/KYtVV (story: http://ow.ly/KYuKq)
• Stearns County settles with Minnesota Pollution Control Agency over alleged Sauk River polluted stormwater impacts http://ow.ly/KZAyc

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

• Washington Post: Rise in government flood insurance rates to mirror rising waters and flood insurance debt http://ow.ly/L4weO
• Federal funding tight for water infrastructure projects, including Lewis and Clark Regional Water System (Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota) http://ow.ly/KZuA0
• Bureau of Reclamation announces FY2016 budget for rural water projects across Montana, North and South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota http://ow.ly/KZx1x
• Army Corps of Engineers will spend more than $7 million this year to dredge 10 Mississippi River ports in four states http://ow.ly/L1yNS
• Tugboat pushing 21 barges up the Mississippi River strikes bridge pylons, causing the barges to break loose http://ow.ly/KZyGd
• NWS forecasts minor Mississippi River flooding on Wednesday in Baton Rouge and upriver http://ow.ly/L4K0T

Agriculture -

• Democratic senators ask Senate Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee leaders to preserve farm bill conservation funding http://ow.ly/L2JC7
• USDA to make $332 million in financial and technical assistance available through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program; applications received through May 15 http://ow.ly/L2lNP
• Analysts suggest that the UN's Sustainable Development Goals ignore threats associated with nitrogen and phosphorus overuse http://ow.ly/L1xwB
• Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA) suggests he may introduce legislation to reverse what he calls cover crop disincentives http://ow.ly/KSmsS
• Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation farmers discuss policy agenda with lawmakers in Washington D.C. http://ow.ly/KYi5P
• Ohio Farm Bureau promoting fertilizer certification training as part of $1 million Water Quality Action Plan http://ow.ly/KYjWJ and http://ow.ly/KYjYm
• President urges Congress to double funding to confront the danger of antibiotic-resistant bacteria http://ow.ly/KYm62
• Analysts predict farmers will plant record soybean acreage this spring for a second consecutive year while cutting corn plantings for the third in a row http://ow.ly/L1pQR
• Sorghum helping Plains' farmers weather sinking corn, soybean and wheat prices http://ow.ly/L2K0j
• Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND), US Forest Service Chief and ranchers discuss Dakota Prairie Grasslands region conservation and grazing issues; story: http://ow.ly/L1tuq and Hoeven press release: http://ow.ly/L1tKN
• After peaking two years ago, Iowa farmland values have tumbled about 15 percent http://ow.ly/L4Bwl
• Environmental Protection Agency confirms it will require a weed resistance management plan for glyphosate, key ingredient in the herbicide Roundup http://ow.ly/L4CeL

Click to enlarge

Climate and Weather -

• US weekly drought update (to be released April 2): http://ow.ly/wmTdv
• NOAA Climate Prediction Center monthly drought outlook for April: northern and central Great Plains drought development is anticipated, especially in Nebraska and South Dakota http://ow.ly/q3yAx

Biodiversity, Wildlife and Invasives -

• 26 Kentucky elk arrive in Wisconsin for reintroduction program http://ow.ly/KYkL1 
• Herd of around two dozen bison could be grazing on restored Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie grassland (Illinois) as soon as this fall http://ow.ly/KZz7Q

In the Cities -

• Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas developing long-term plan to separate sewer

  

  Photo credit: WQAD

  network under agreement with EPA http://ow.ly/KYfRm
• Extension of 2026 deadline for mitigating overflowing sewer system unlikely for Pittsburgh metro region municipalities http://ow.ly/KYgsP
• Iowa Secretary of Agriculture announces nine Urban Conservation Water Quality Initiative Demonstration Projects in Ames, Calmar, Cedar Falls, Des Moines, Granger, Storm Lake, Webster City, West Des Moines and (three in) Calhoun County http://ow.ly/KYgMu
• Hampton, Illinois' "Stop pooping on the bike path" sign on the Mississippi Riverside trail is intended for humans http://ow.ly/L1wNe
• Construction begins on 1.6-mile, $2 million trail along the Arkansas River in  Fort Smith, Arkansas http://ow.ly/L4GRf
• Hickman, Mississippi officials push for improvements to Mississippi River port http://ow.ly/L1ysZ
• City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County given consent order extension to explore benefits of green infrastructure to reduce stormwater entering sewer systems http://ow.ly/L2IOZ
• Residents voice concerns over planned development's impact on green space along Illinois River, criticize lack of city of Peoria vision http://ow.ly/L4GdM
• Minneapolis park officials consider allowing construction of corporate building on leased Mississippi Riverside land and adjacent park http://ow.ly/L4Iuv

In the States-

• Freedom Industries, West Virginia sign 2014 Elk River spill site cleanup agreement

  

  States in the news this week

  http://ow.ly/L4SW3
• Republican state lawmakers in Minnesota block an attempt to debate an oil train safety bill http://ow.ly/KYw4I
• Minnesota state bill modified to include provisions to protect water quality and study farmer incentives after concerns were expressed that it would harm state water resources http://ow.ly/L1AuF (link to bill: http://ow.ly/L1AyZ)
• Arkansas House of Representatives passes S.B. 341, prohibiting agriculture disaster payments from being considered income (bill: http://ow.ly/KYiB4) story: http://ow.ly/KYiJz
• Tennessee bill would take back regulatory authority over state's coal industry from Federal government http://ow.ly/KZv1m (link to bill: http://ow.ly/KZvfl)
• North Dakota may sue federal government over new rules regulating hydraulic fracturing on federal lands in the state http://ow.ly/KSSPk
• South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks opens two five-year Black Hills fisheries management plans (for streams and reservoirs) for public comment http://ow.ly/KYjjC
• Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority sends $884 million 2015-2016 budget for levee and restoration projects to state Legislature http://ow.ly/KYvvj

Gulf Coastal Region-

• National Wildlife Federation: BP spill aftermath continues to impact, threaten Gulf wildlife http://ow.ly/KZxKq (NWF report link: http://ow.ly/L1wlo)
• The Guardian: BP says Gulf of Mexico is making a rapid recovery but evidence mounts that wildlife still struggles http://ow.ly/L1vzg
• Cat Island nearly gone; BP oil mat and tar balls still visible on East Grand Terre Island http://ow.ly/L4IWn

Resource Development -

• Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition raises concerns about natural gas drilling beneath Ohio River http://ow.ly/KZxru
• Largest U.S. boating advocacy group has thrown its support behind Senate bill removing corn-ethanol mandate http://ow.ly/KYdzf (link to bill: http://ow.ly/KYdOd)
• Congressional Budget Office releases slides from  “Issues Regarding the Renewable Fuel Standard” presentation by CBO analyst http://ow.ly/KYmyt

Federal Budget -

• House and Senate Republicans begin the task of reconciling their differing budget resolutions http://ow.ly/L4uDB (for the policy geeks among us, here is a primer on the U.S. Congressional budget resolution process http://ow.ly/L4zV7)

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

• NOAA Interagency Working Group on the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia webinars (Southeast/Gulf of Mexico/Mid-Atlantic)-April 2) (Inland Waters/Great Lakes-April 22) http://ow.ly/L4wyV
• 4th Annual Riverbend Earth Day Festival; Godfrey, IL,  April 18, 12-6 pm http://ow.ly/L4yOn

e-Newsletters, Publications, Journals, Multimedia  -

• Montana Watershed Coordination Council March 27 Watershed News http://ow.ly/KSTeZ
• Lower Mississippi River Dispatch No. 282, March 30; Grasshopper’s Jumping Journal: Atchafalaya River Expedition http://ow.ly/KZsS3
• Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Watershed Connections March e-newsletter http://ow.ly/L22K4

Other news-

• Farmer silences Nebraska Oil and Gas Conservation committee hearing with invitation to drink water tainted by fracking http://ow.ly/KYp2j
• National Park Service launches major national campaign to attract a new visitors; raise funds backlogged maintenance http://ow.ly/KZtGu
• Kansas City Star editorial: Pick up the pace on Rock Island Trail across Missouri http://ow.ly/KZvTq
• Minnesota River Valley National Scenic Byway announces the launching of its new updated website http://www.mnrivervalley.com/ (story: http://ow.ly/L4JfX)

Politics and People-

• Reps. Tammy Duckworth, Bill Foster, Robin Kelly and Cheri Bustos all consider entering 2016 Illinois Senate race http://ow.ly/KYnA7 (also see: Tammy Duckworth announces Illinois senate bid  http://ow.ly/KZd5R) - -  After Duckworth entered the race, Illinois Democrat Bustos subsequently said that she won't run for Senate 
• Raja Krishnamoorthi (D), former Illinois deputy treasurer, launches bid to succeed Rep. Tammy Duckworth in Illinois’ 8th District http://ow.ly/L4B6x
• Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility seeks greater protection for USDA scientists http://ow.ly/KYofi

Your Moment of Zen -

Photograph: Fred van Wijk/Alamy