What We Learned This Week – "Pleas, Pleas Me"

Mississippi farmers are preparing for what they see as the "inevitable" nutrient regulations coming from the Federal government. Iowa farmers say they are committed to clean water but are less sure of farm impacts on the Gulf of Mexico's water quality. Meanwhile Iowa officials are posting microcystin health warnings at a record pace, and blue-green algae concerns continue on the Ohio River. Two U.S. District Court judges declined to issue preliminary injunctions against the Waters of the United States rule, but one did not - blocking today's rule implementation in thirteen states. Environmental groups sued a West Virginia coal company in federal court over alleged water pollution, as other environmental groups threatened to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its fracking wastewater rules. The Independent Petroleum Association of America wants the American burying beetle removed from the endangered species list, from where it has has long bothered the oil and gas industry. New Orleans was in the news . . . a lot; as were the city's musicians, and Hurricane Katrina, which would have been ten years old this week.  Sea levels worldwide rose an average of nearly three inches since 1992. 1,300 rural counties in 46 states lost population since 2010. The Tennessee Valley Authority intends to close its coal combustion residual impoundments and is seeking the public's input, while both industry groups and environmentalists filed grievances against the USEPA's new coal combustion waste disposal rule. And last but not least, lawns now cover an area three times larger than any irrigated U.S. crop.