Mississippi River Basin Water Resource Weekly News

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

Noteworthy @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week  

Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Water Quality -

• A federal judge in North Dakota has granted a Friday hearing on states' request to block Waters of the U.S. rule http://ow.ly/R8DEx
• Toxic algae closing Iowa beaches at record numbers http://ow.ly/QZfUB
• North Dakota Departments of Health and Agriculture urge avoidance of blue-green algae http://ow.ly/QZgrI
• U.S. Geological Survey researchers find neonicotinoid pesticides in over half of U.S. urban and agricultural streams; abstract: http://ow.ly/R5s45 and story:  http://ow.ly/R5GYg
• New University of Nebraska-Lincoln study suggests that nitrates may play a key role in increasing uranium contamination in groundwater http://ow.ly/R5HzG
• Abandoned coal mines throughout Ohio still taint state rivers and streams with polluted water http://ow.ly/QU9tZ
• Wood County (Wisconsin) Board poised to pass groundwater protection ordinance; op-ed: it's the "right thing to do" in fight against nutrient pollution http://ow.ly/QUnjM
• Environmentalists and coal operators at odds over proposed Department of Interior mining stream protection rules http://ow.ly/QZeaw
• Investigators from several Minnesota agencies seek answers to cause of substantial Whitewater River fish kill three weeks ago http://ow.ly/R2CVw
• EPA settles with Iowa Fertilizer Company and Orascom E&C USA for Clean Water Act (stormwater) violations http://ow.ly/R8FlU
• One of last executives charged in West Virginia spill that left 300,000 without tap water pleads guilty to federal violations http://ow.ly/R5qtW
• Army Corps confirms radioactive contamination in yards by Coldwater Creek (St. Louis County, Missouri) http://ow.ly/R8O8E

Source: Wisconsin DNR

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

• A decade after Katrina, are America's flood frequency estimates dangerously wrong? http://ow.ly/R5q6P
• Groundwater: Diminishing Resource, Increasing Conflict - As high-capacity wells proliferate in Wisconsin, water in groundwater-fed streams and lakes is being diverted http://ow.ly/R3LfP
• Voters to decide whether Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District needs more borrowing power to finance flood-control projects http://ow.ly/QUjnD
• Canal proposed for Arkansas River through south Tulsa; called less costly than more dams and lakes http://ow.ly/QUkNl

Agriculture -

• Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program funding now available nationwide; proposals and pre-proposals due in October and November (grant- and region-dependent) http://ow.ly/QUrv3 (also see this from NSAC: http://ow.ly/QUs0A)
• Federal Reserve: Farmland values dip in Midwest http://ow.ly/QZjtn

Source: CNN (click to enlarge)

Climate and Weather -

• Weekly drought update: dryness introduced in upper Ohio Basin, Oklahoma, elsewhere in the River Basin: status quo or drought relief http://ow.ly/wmTdv
• Op-ed: "El Niño: Why now is the time to act" http://ow.ly/QZdA4

Biodiversity, Wildlife and Invasives -

• There's some good news and bad regarding aquatic invasive species in Minnesota lakes and rivers contains http://ow.ly/R2txD
• MPR News: Upper Mississippi River mussels making a comeback http://ow.ly/QZaTl
• Wildlife officials grapple with Yellowstone park's surging bison population 
• Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies: sage grouse numbers rebound from 2007-2013 free fall http://ow.ly/R2swT

Photograph: Alec Soth

In the Cities -

• The New Yorker photo essay: "City of Water" - the spirit of New Orleans is rooted in the city’s below-sea-level precariousness http://ow.ly/R2pDO
• Rebuilt confidence in New Orleans flood controls fuels rebuilding, but the new flood controls never addressed the wild card of climate change http://ow.ly/R5IAU

In the States-

• Illinois commits to pay out nearly 90 percent of the cash it normally spends even though there’s no budget in place http://ow.ly/R2oKe
• Six weeks into the current state budget cycle, Louisiana is forced to cut $4.6 million from state services; more cuts likely as oil revenues fall http://ow.ly/R3476
• Proposed Colorado constitutional amendment would allow local governments more power over oil and gas regulations http://ow.ly/R2IVe

Gulf Coastal Region-

• The Great Boot Debate: Why do all Louisiana maps look essentially the same as they did in the

  

  Photo: NOAA

  1930s? Is it time for a change? http://ow.ly/QZiJN
• FEMA press release: "Mississippi Hurricane Katrina: A Decade of Progress through Partnerships" http://ow.ly/R0sie
• The Acadiana Advocate editorial: "Threat to Louisiana’s people, heritage due to coastal erosion, rising seas is real" http://ow.ly/R2o1F
• New NOAA National Habitat Policy affirms that healthy habitat is “vital to resilient coastal and ocean ecosystems and communities” http://ow.ly/R8FAK

Resource Development -

• Arkansas officials consider expanding hydropower to make up for lost coal capacity, contending that "the rivers are not producing as much as they can" http://ow.ly/QZzFn
• Environmentalist seeks to take over mines from bankrupt Patriot Coal Corp. in effort to turn coal green, revive Appalachia http://ow.ly/R8DjO
• Kentucky town wants Republican politicians to stop blocking federal efforts to help local economies adapt to coal's decline http://ow.ly/QU98w
• Dane County leaders consider ways to work around Wisconsin budget provision blocking a local requirement that Enbridge Energy pipeline company purchase oil spill insurance http://ow.ly/R2DIB
• Public comment sought on application for Wisconsin's Green Tier program by Badger Mining Corporation's industrial sand operation http://ow.ly/R3GB1
• Advocates in Houston County (southeastern Minnesota) seek to ban large-scale frac sand mining http://ow.ly/R5Vfi
• Landowners new lawsuit contends that the Iowa Utilities Board has no authority to allow company access to private property to build pipeline http://ow.ly/R5Ug6

Federal Budget (You can follow the status of all of the fiscal year 2016 appropriation bills on this Congress.gov web page) -

• When Congress returns from its August recess, it faces a tangle of fiscal deadlines and contentious partisan battles http://ow.ly/QZqYI

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)

• Minnesota Landscape Arboretum 2015 Clean Water Summit: "Reconnecting Rainwater and Groundwater" September 15, 8:30 AM-4:30 PM; MN State Hwy. 5 http://ow.ly/R0Ar1
• Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council public meeting on draft Initial Funded Priorities List; September 15, 5:30 PM CT, Homer L. Hitt Alumni Center, New Orleans http://ow.ly/R8BFN
• Ohio State University-sponsored Farm Science Review, September 22-24, Molly Caren Agricultural Center, London, Ohio http://ow.ly/QUpco (background: http://ow.ly/QUpex)
• Minnesota Water Resources Conference; October 13-14, St. Paul RiverCentre http://ow.ly/R0B4H

e-Newsletters, Publications, Journals, Multimedia  -

• St. Croix River Association e-newsletter with upcoming events http://ow.ly/QZkqA
• Montana Watershed Coordination Council's August 14 Watershed News http://ow.ly/QZm3P
• Lower Mississippi River Dispatch No. 301; August 17: 80 years in 80 Days http://ow.ly/QZrTI
• Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's Waterfront Bulletin for August http://ow.ly/QZPGE
• Green Lands Blue Waters e-newsletter; re: Continuous Living Cover on agricultural land in the Mississippi River Basin http://ow.ly/R5Thm

Illustration: Brian Stauffer

Other news-

• Chippewa group's plan to gather wild rice on Hole-in-the-Day Lake in Nisswa runs afoul of Minnesota DNR http://ow.ly/R5ulS
• You can now rate the quality of federal government services (such as the US EPA and US Forest Service) on Yelp http://ow.ly/R5sWx
• Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announces $42 million in funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund to states http://ow.ly/R0xCd
• Corn wars: The farm-by-farm fight between China and the United States to dominate the global food supply http://ow.ly/QZoES
• USDA to invest $20 million to help 15 states increase recreational public access on private farm, ranch, and forest lands http://ow.ly/R0nAl
• Supreme Court raisin ruling may have breathed new life into the public trust of ownership doctrine for wildlife http://ow.ly/R8CZc

Politics and People-

• Iowa Democrat Jim Mowrer will challenge freshman GOP Rep. David Young for the U.S. House 4th District seat; Kim Weaver (D) looks to face off against Steve King (R) in Iowa 3rd District http://ow.ly/R2nmq
• Democratic state Sen. Karen Tallian drops out of Indiana's gubernatorial race, leaving John Gregg as the sole Democratic contender http://ow.ly/R2PK5
• Kentucky Coal Association plans second closed-door meeting with state’s leading gubernatorial candidates: Matt Bevin (R) and Jack Conway (D) http://ow.ly/R2RfP
• At the Iowa State Fair, Presidential contenders spoke with voters, played festival games, and ate an array of food on a stick http://ow.ly/R2q4a

Your Moment of Zen - 

Photograph: Greg Morgan/Barcroft Media