What We Learned This Week - "Walleye World"

Attorneys General from Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana sought an injunction to block implementation of Obama Administration Clean Water (WOTUS) Rule in those states. Rep. Paul Gosar sought to impeach U.S. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy over WOTUS statements made to Congress. The Obama Administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to decide an Army Corps of Engineers, Clean Water Act jurisdictional determination case. Walleye are Minnesota's "holy grail of fish," but with walleye in decline, the Minnesota DNR has become the political prey. A bill that would block implementation of the Department of Interior's proposed stream protection rule passed out of a House committee. The EPA plans to set the first federal limits on toxic metals (mostly from coal ash) in power plant wastewater discharges; though the rule's potential reach is seen as limited. States often fail to penalize companies for oil development industry wastewater spills. Increasing nitrate levels in Minnesota drinking water are a costly challenge for homeowners. The Fish and Wildlife Service settled with the Center for Biological Diversity; agreeing on deadlines for determining whether ten snail, insect, bird, mussel and fish species warrant federal protections (including aquatic species in several Mississippi River Basin states). A federal appeals court panel ruled that the U.S. EPA erred in allowing the use of an insecticide linked to pollinator decline. And last but not least, it's official - marijuana is not considered to be a part of Missouri's agriculture.