~Most of the Water News - None of the Spin~
Noteworthy @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week
Water Quality -
Waters of the United States
- 13 states ask federal judge to issue a preliminary injunction against Waters of the U.S. rule before its August 28 implementation date; news stories: http://ow.ly/QLXfj and http://ow.ly/QLVHz; North Dakota press release: http://ow.ly/QLVsQ; states' motion: http://ow.ly/QLV2C
- American Farm Bureau Federation says new maps show how Clean Water Act (WOTUS) rule will affect Pennsylvania, Virginia and Montana waterways' regulation http://ow.ly/QQRXw
- EPA: Farm Bureau maps “are highly inaccurate depictions” that “visually exaggerate the waters covered” by WOTUS rule http://ow.ly/QREuA
Other Water Quality News
- Minnesota Court of Appeals upholds new water quality standards for rivers; story:
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| Source: Wikimapia |
http://ow.ly/QKJEf and ruling: http://ow.ly/QKJKA
- Bipartisan coalition of downstate Illinois state lawmakers wants Interior Department to extend public comment period on new stream protection rule http://ow.ly/QCdWH
- Scientific American: analysis shows that several thousand near-surface fracking wells pose threat to U.S. drinking water supplies http://ow.ly/QCr6L
- Federal judge approves $5 million settlement among Exxon Mobil, Arkansas and the federal government over 2013 Pegasus pipeline crude oil spill http://ow.ly/QR920
- Federal judge rules in favor of plaintiffs in case brought against Fola Coal over conductivity pollution from West Virginia mines http://ow.ly/QRdvF (ruling: http://ow.ly/QRdD4)
- Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals warns of high PCB and mercury in Devil's Swamp Lake and Bayou Baton Rouge biota (along Mississippi River) http://ow.ly/QRgpC
- Draft USDA-FSA environmental assessment: Arkansas hog farm not likely to have significant detrimental impact on Buffalo National River basin; story: http://ow.ly/QHJL1; draft report: http://ow.ly/QHKai
- ORSANCO considers extending mixing zone policy to allow power plants and other industry to exceed Ohio River wastewater mercury standards http://ow.ly/QHSLG
- Minneapolis Star Tribune op-ed: "From runoff to ruin: The undoing of Minnesota's lakes" http://ow.ly/QL7pt
- Targeted changes to agriculture practices in Wisconsin result in significant reduction in surface water phosphorus http://ow.ly/QOprS
- Allegheny County, Pa., (Pittsburgh metro area) emphasizes 'green' infrastructure in $2 billion antiquated sewer network upgrade http://ow.ly/QQTJx
- Study: blue-green algae pose increasing threat to U.S. drinking, recreational water http://ow.ly/QU07V
Water Resource Management (Floodplains, Dams, Navigation, Wetlands, Flooding, Supplies, etc.) -
- Louisiana state leaders renew calls to fix wetlands outside New Orleans destroyed by Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet shipping channel http://ow.ly/QQPeS and http://ow.ly/QQPnU
- Army Corps of Engineers cost-benefit analysis: Replacing aging Chickamauga Lock (Tennessee River) would cost over twice the initial estimate http://ow.ly/QS1rS
- Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) disputes new Army Corps' economic assessment; backs Chickamauga lock project completion http://ow.ly/QS1PT
- Army Corps of Engineers partners with Riverlife to study options to restore degraded Ohio River banks near Pittsburgh http://ow.ly/QRHTt
Agriculture -
- USDA ERS: number of U.S. farmers markets tripled over the past 15 years to 8,476 in 2014 http://ow.ly/QIz9A
- Rapidly shifting consumer preferences are causing visible fractures within Minnesota agriculture http://ow.ly/QKJh0
- MinnPost Op-ed: U.S. needs a strong Renewable Fuel Standard http://ow.ly/QL0SB
- Monsanto Co. petitions Agriculture Department to deregulate corn variety that withstands weedkillers dicamba and glufosinate http://ow.ly/QO0r5 (PDF file of petition)
- Northeast Arkansas town residents seek to resurrect their school system as a K-12 agriculture academy http://ow.ly/QOrll
- USDA stuns market watchers by forecasting large corn, soybean harvests; potentially hurting some cash-strapped farmers http://ow.ly/QQVEL
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences paper: Co-managing fresh produce for nature conservation and food safety http://ow.ly/QRpnj
Climate and Weather -
- US drought update: some dry areas of the Midwest and Plains recovered over the past
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| Source: NASA |
week http://ow.ly/wmTdv
- NOAA updates their El Niño outlook: it looks like this year’s will be the strongest since 1997-1998 http://ow.ly/QTO8X
- Investigating organizations report that FEMA fails to adapt its response programs to predicted and observed climate-induced changes http://ow.ly/QQNYv
Biodiversity, Wildlife and Invasives -
- Native moth damaging cherry trees, turning large swaths of the Allegheny National Forest brown http://ow.ly/QIMQu
- Pilot program next summer "will put a substantial number" of walleye in Lake Mille Lacs; let Minnesota conservation officials assess the impact http://ow.ly/QHyoA
- Next steps uncertain for Minnesota special legislative Mille Lacs walleye working group http://ow.ly/QTVau
- South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Commission removes bald eagle from the state’s threatened species http://ow.ly/QHAZ3
- The first comprehensive plan to protect bees and other pollinators in Wisconsin is being developed http://ow.ly/QL22h
- USDA's APHIS to lead 'nationally coordinated program' to manage feral swine http://ow.ly/QL3yr
- Newly identified tadpole disease found across the globe, threatening already-declining frog populations further http://ow.ly/QO7YP
- Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) supports permanently severing Great Lakes-Mississippi River basin connection in Chicago to hold Asian carp at bay http://ow.ly/QRIpa
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| The Historic New Orleans Collection |
In the Cities -
In the States-
- Op-ed: If Wisconsin is going to kill DNR's Water Division, let's make sure that our water resources don't die with it http://ow.ly/QILHn
- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial: Wisconsin DNR reorganization holds promise, but
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| River Basin States in the News This Week |
agency needs more employees http://ow.ly/QIM87
- In Illinois, separate agency budgets cover half the pay for Gov. Rauner's staff, in a process known as "off-shoring" http://ow.ly/QHEg3
- As the Pennsylvania budget impasse stretches into its second month, Legislature explores to do when reserves are gone http://ow.ly/QCOCL
- Pennsylvania state budget: No deal in sight as Harrisburg goes into dog days of summer http://ow.ly/QLUEf
Gulf Coastal Region-
- Outside of levee-protected New Orleans, efforts have lagged to protect small towns and villages losing land every year to coastal erosion http://ow.ly/QU0JD
- Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council releases Gulf of Mexico restoration projects recommended to receive first round of BP oil spill fine funding under RESTORE act http://ow.ly/QRZ2Q
- How to save a sinking coast? Hurricane Katrina created a Louisiana laboratory http://ow.ly/QHunX
- Louisiana Eats: Conservation and conscience on two Gulf Coast farms http://ow.ly/QHwqk
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| Photo: LaCrosse Tribune |
Resource Development -
- State judge rules that West Virginia pipeline planners cannot access private property for surveys without a landowner's permission http://ow.ly/QCcb7
- As a new frac sand mining operation grows around their farm, Wisconsin owners protect it from future development http://ow.ly/QCpmk
- New residential lofts in Minneapolis will be powered mostly by hydropower that once fed historic mill built in 1880s http://ow.ly/QCqwy
- Company about to start strip mining for coal on 741 acres of 18,011-acre Egypt Valley Wildlife Area (eastern Ohio) http://ow.ly/QHS0P
- Washington Post op-ed: Five myths about coal http://ow.ly/QHToF
- An analysis of the federal pipeline approval process shows a decision on Keystone XL is taking far longer than usual http://ow.ly/QR5Iy
- Study: Railroads are more than 4 ½ times riskier than pipelines for moving oil http://ow.ly/QTPYh
Federal Budget
(You can follow the status of all of the fiscal year 2016 appropriation bills on this Congress.gov web page) -
- The U.S. is once again coming close to hitting the "ceiling" for overall debt http://ow.ly/QHsfe
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)
- Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana meeting; August 19, Baton Rouge, LA http://ow.ly/QQQyt
- Webinar: Wisconsin's Healthy Lakes Initiative Grant Program, August 20, noon - 1 pm CT http://ow.ly/QL4kx
- EPA Board of Scientific Counselors Safe and Sustainable Water Resources BOSC Subcommittee meeting, August 27-28, Cincinnati, OH http://ow.ly/QHIoY
- DOI's Office of Surface Mining announces Schedule of Public Hearings from September 1 through 17 for its proposed Stream Protection Rule (in Denver, Colo.; Lexington, Ky.; St. Louis, Mo.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Big Stone Gap, Va.; and Charleston, W.Va.) http://ow.ly/QLh6S
- Public Listening Session for Water Resources and Climate Change Adaptation Group (via webinar), September 9, 2-4 PM ET http://ow.ly/QO6Oo
- National Water Quality Monitoring Council Webinar: "Effective Science Communication with emphasis on visual science communication tools" September 15, 2 pm ET http://ow.ly/QHzoB
- Upper Mississippi River Conference and Student Summit, October 14-16, Davenport, Iowa http://ow.ly/QOUX8
- Convening: "The City Upstream and Down: How integrated water resources management can help cities manage water resources sustainably;" October 28 - 30, Racine, WI (NOTE: convening participation is limited to 25 cities) http://ow.ly/QIGfw
- Wildlife Habitat Council Conservation Conference 2015 - November 11-12, Hilton Baltimore, MD http://ow.ly/QRy91
e-Newsletters, Publications, Journals, Multimedia -
- Montana Watershed Coordination Council's August 7 Watershed News http://ow.ly/QHBzU
- Lower Mississippi River Dispatch No. 300, August 10, "Wild Miles on the Big River" http://ow.ly/QKF5F
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's August 11 Basin Alliance for the Lower Mississippi in Minnesota (BALMM) "Currents" http://ow.ly/QL65v
- EPA launches new Clean Water State Revolving Fund web site http://ow.ly/QTYLC
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| Photo: Des Moines Register file |
Other news-
- Tulane University opens registration for $1 million Nutrient Reduction Challenge to develop plan to reduce amount of nutrients entering world's waters http://ow.ly/QCeXQ
- Here's a 10-point checklist to help you get ready for another Iowa State Fair, including a guide to selfies, how to avoid politicians, and where to find the fabled butter cow http://ow.ly/QRN3p
- Welcome To Cancer Alley: the 85-mile stretch between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, home to more than 150 industrial plants and refineries http://ow.ly/QL577 - an interactive look at the effects of poverty and pollution in Louisiana
- Report: despite pushing to do so, states are ill-prepared to administer public lands within their boundaries; story: http://ow.ly/QRbxl report: http://ow.ly/QRbCA
- The Guardian: "Reading American cities: books about the Twin Cities" - Minneapolis and St Paul have a compelling and distinctive literature http://ow.ly/QTLi8
- The National Geographic Society meets with tourism community representatives over its Mississippi River rebranding initiative http://ow.ly/QRGkH
- Veterans on Mississippi River trip find paddling eases pain of war http://ow.ly/QTVm0
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| Source: Gallup |
Politics and People-
- 14 percent of U.S. adults approve of the way Congress is doing its job, according to a new Gallup survey http://ow.ly/QOesP
- Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wisconsin) leads New Democrat Coalition seeking autumn movement on often-stymied issues http://ow.ly/QHFTv
- Nashville mayoral race results mean there will be a September 10 runoff between top two finishers: Megan Barry and David Fox http://ow.ly/QCgoc
Your Moment of Zen -
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| Photograph: NPL/Rex Shutterstock |
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