Mississippi River Water Resource News for the Week

Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Hearings Held

Two House hearings last week looked at the decaying US water and wastewater infrastructure of pipelines, treatment plants, dams and reservoirs. On July 15, the Water and Power Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing entitled "The Bureau of Reclamation and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: A Progress Report and Planning for the Future." And the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hosted a July 15 hearing entitled "Putting America Back to Work Through Clean Water Infrastructure Investment."

Stormwater Treatment Bill Introduced

On July 16, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) introduced the Safe Treatment of Polluted Stormwater Runoff Act, S. 3602, to “direct the (Transportation) Secretary to establish a comprehensive program to control and treat polluted stormwater runoff from federally funded highways and roads.” The text of the bill is not available as this blog is posted, but will be available at this link shortly. The measure has been referred to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for further consideration.

Notable @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week:

• Army Corps of Engineers Launches Responses to Climate Change Website http://bit.ly/aSRlIW
• Groups challenge plan to strengthen Mississippi River levees using injected coal ash http://bit.ly/9OTCQO
• Army Corps to release report Thursday at Senate hearing on May's deadly Tennessee floods; 9:30 AM Room 192 Dirksen http://bit.ly/aKf1tK
• See EDF's latest issue of Delta Dispatches about the latest efforts to protect & restore the Louisiana coast http://bit.ly/cYusE3
• The Flood Insurance Reform Priorities Act of 2010 was passed by the full House yesterday by a vote of 329 - 90 http://bit.ly/btqL7z
• Sen Reid (D-Nev.) intends to bring an energy bill to the Senate floor the week of July 26 http://bit.ly/d9LNHn
• Ethanol industry advocate Growth Energy calls for gradual phasing out ethanol tax credit http://bit.ly/9RGA9j
• Rival pro-ethanol groups arguing that the subsidy should be instead extended the way it is http://bit.ly/bvfOd9
• USGS produces first comprehensive, interactive land cover map of the United States http://bit.ly/cRSYXa
• EPA July issue of Watershed News is now on-line at http://bit.ly/cKNcV2
• Illegal use of bait a problem in Wisconsin waters http://bit.ly/d3GEFX
• Minnesota's Aquatic Invasive Species Laws Require Boaters to "Pick it or Ticket" http://bit.ly/blI7vk
• House Ag Chair Peterson: "We’re not going to spend any more money" on the next Farm Bill http://bit.ly/cef5WW (free registration needed)

Controversial Flood and Wind Insurance Legislation to be Considered by House This Week

The “Multiple Peril Insurance Act of 2009” (H.R. 1264) is scheduled for a vote in the full U.S. House of Representatives this week (likely on Thursday, July 22).  The measure would amend the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968  "to provide for the national flood insurance program to make available multiperil coverage for damage resulting from windstorms or floods."  The bill was introduced in March 2009 by Rep. Gene Taylor (MS-4th), and has 22 co-sponsors, primarily from coastal states.   On April 27, 2010 it was passed out of the House Committee on Financial Services by a vote of 40-25.  The Obama Administration has been on record as opposing the addition of wind damage coverage under the National Flood Insurance Program, and several private insurers and some taxpayer and environmental groups have opposed the measure, as well.

Mississippi River Water Resource News for the Week

Your FNB ("friendly neighborhood blogger") is resting comfortably at the Delaware beach this week, but look for an updated news summary on Monday morning, July 19!

Action on Fiscal Year 2011 Environmental and Conservation Spending Bills

On July 15, the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee cut more than $500 million from agricultural conservation programs as part of the fiscal year agriculture spending bill marked up by the panel.  The bill would cut funding below levels set for 2011 in the farm bill by capping mandatory farm bill programs that offer assistance for farmers making environmental improvements and landowners restoring wetlands and grasslands.  Even with the cuts, the fiscal year 2011 bill would still provide more money than in fiscal year 2010.


Also yesterday, the Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a fiscal year 2011 spending bill that would cut $14 billion from the Administration's proposed budget, by cutting spending for the Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill and keeping level the funding for many other agencies.  Even with the cuts, the 2011 bills would appropriate more for the Energy and Water, and Interior and Environment bills than in 2010.


In summary, the various Senate 2011 spending bills would provide the following:
• Agriculture, $22.8 billion, a $30 million cut in the Administration's proposal, and slightly less than the Senate $23.5 billion 2010 allocation.
• Commerce, Justice, Science, $60.1 billion, below both the Senate $64.8 billion 2010 allocation, and the 2011 $60.5 billion Administration budget proposal.
• Energy & Water Development, $34.97 billion, an increase over fiscal year 2010's $33.8 billion, and slightly below the Administration's $35.3 billion proposal for 2011.
• Interior and Environment, $32.3 billion, a slight increase above last year's $32.2 billion allocation.


See more information on these respective House and Senate Appropriations Committee web pages:
http://appropriations.house.gov/
http://appropriations.senate.gov/

Listen

ScienceDaily published a news piece today that caught my eye.  The ScienceDaily piece summarizes research from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) that is presented in the most recent issue of the journal Rural Sociology, in an article entitled "Place Effects on Environmental Views."  Larry Hamilton, professor of sociology, senior fellow at the Carsey Institute at UNH, and lead author of the study said that his research found that the places where people live go far in defining how people view environmental regulation and conservation.  For example, "people who live in rural areas with high unemployment rates are less likely to support environmental regulations," Hamilton says.

This research into the conservation beliefs of rural America brought to mind a particular trip I made through the middle of my home state of Pennsylvania several years ago.  I was traveling along Pennsylvania Route 74 in the heartland of the state, down through Cumberland Valley between South Mountain in the Blue Ridge chain and Blue Mountain – the beginnings of the ridge and valley section of Pennsylvania.  If any is, that area is the epitome of rural, conservative, traditional, "red state" America.   And I was struck all of a sudden with the realization that the farms and small villages and the back roads and pastures and woodlands and people in that valley practically oozed the unspoken message of conservation – the message that these people connect with and hold the land dearly to their hearts, and that they want so much to be able to pass those lands and waters and natural areas on to their children and children's children.  That landscape and those people silently scream out the message of connections . . . connections with the land and water, connections in this time and place with each other, and connections through time with past and future generations.

But all too often we miss that message that speaks so loudly of conservation and of connections, as we, the so-called conservation experts, are busy writing and typing and speaking and instant messaging - trying to explain ourselves – not listening at all.  It’s time, I would offer, that we listen attentively to our rural neighbors whose lives  speak of responsibility and accountability, and convey a message of care for the common wealth. And it’s well beyond time that we attend to the whispers of those generations yet to come, which ask simply that their dreams may be fulfilled, hopes realized and opportunities achieved. Because if we do that - if we stop in our frenetic rush toward who knows where - to listen . . . we will hear those calls demanding that we have the courage to create a new vision – a radically new way of doing things - that respectfully takes into account the concerns and interests of all.

Mississippi River Water Resource News for (a slow, hot, Congressional-recessed) Week

"What is Truth?"

Not sure (with respect to the Mississippi River, nutrients and Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone)?  Don't worry, you're not alone; a lot of people seem to be confused (or, is it "confusing?").  Read "Truth, Perception and the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone" - an opinion piece about opinion pieces.

Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference

The Call for Papers is open now for the 2010 Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, to be held from December 12-15, 2010. According to the organizers, this year's Conference marks the 71st year that natural resource professionals in the Midwest will meet to share new research, management experiences, and valuable insight on fish and wildlife issues. The Conference is touted as "the premier fish and wildlife conference in the central U.S." with more than 1,000 attendees expected.

Notable @UpperMiss tweets for the week:

• Senator Levin to IN DNR: take Asian carp in Wabash River seriously http://bit.ly/cno67f
• WI DNR returns sturgeon to Baraboo River, addressing 180 years of river fragmentation http://bit.ly/9Hv87w
• Army Corps of Engineers “dewatering” 3 East Tennessee locks this year for maintenance work http://bit.ly/aFUHkL
• Rep Kind & Sen Klobuchar detail new bill to monitor Upper Mississippi River sediment & reduce erosion http://bit.ly/dCcabu
• Senate bill would create EPA green storm water infrastructure program http://bit.ly/ba67ko
• Gulf of Mexico's Dead Zone among world's largest & corn is a culprit http://bit.ly/9TUQkK
• Missouri Corn Stalk Testing Benefits the 'Dead Zone' in Gulf http://bit.ly/aDFYZh
• Iowa DNR cautions boaters about Zebra Mussels and Eurasian Watermilfoil http://bit.ly/b1pIgA
• New MN law requires boat owners to pull their drain plugs http://bit.ly/961iDb
• new climate change adaptation focused blog launched http://bit.ly/dla18v
• Truth, Perception and the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone http://bit.ly/ciuRVK
• Upper Mississippi River Basin Assoc & Enviro Mgmt Program-CC agendas set for August 3-4, La Crosse, WI meetings http://bit.ly/d1ksBR
• Updates to list of MN's most vulnerable species are as rare as the species themselves http://bit.ly/c4mjEu
• Ebooks Free Download (Ages 8 to 12): The Mississippi River (Natural Wonders of the USA) http://bit.ly/aZ5VSZ
• Mississippi River in MN drawn down to support plant growth & attract wildlife http://bit.ly/d7pNU0
• US Fish & Wildlife Service conducting some of first studies of their kind on Mississippi River mussels http://bit.ly/aZ0RnJ
• July 15: Federal Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force Public Meeting, Chicago http://bit.ly/bnd6Ta
• Unusual low O2 zone in Gulf of Mexico linked to Deepwater Horizon oil spill http://bit.ly/cCHDAT

Mississippi River Water Resource News for the Week

Gulf of Mexico 2010 Dead Zone Prediction

A report released this week based on the Federally-funded work of the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium in Cocodrie (LUMCON) and Louisiana State University indicates that this year's Gulf of Mexico hypoxic (or "dead") zone will be among the largest recorded, on the order of 6,500 to 7,800 square miles (or about the size of New Jersey). However, the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill's effect on this year's dead zone is largely unknown (news article here), according to Nancy Rabalais, director of LUMCON. University of Michigan ecologist Donald Scavia says the BP spill could make the dead zone larger because microbes use oxygen when consuming oil. But the effect could be offset if the oil limits algae growth to begin with (see a news article on the impacts of the oil spill on the dead zone here).

The Gulf of Mexico dead zone is largely attributable to oxygen depletion caused by annual massive algal die-offs and decomposition. The increased algal growth has been linked to excessive nutrients entering the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi River system. Most of those nutrients originate from farming practices upstream within the watershed (see a National Academies report on the hypoxic zone and nutrient runoff here).

House Fiscal Year 2011 Agriculture Appropriations Activity

Agricultural conservation funding remained intact following an evening vote this past Wednesday in the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, approving the House agriculture fiscal year 2011 spending bill. The Subcommittee unanimously approved the bill Wednesday night after hours of debate over proposed Republican amendments, all of which were rejected. The bill keeps intact major spending boosts for energy and conservation that Congress set two years ago, and rejects cuts to those programs that the White House proposed in its fiscal year 2011 budget. Democratic leaders said the future of the agriculture appropriations bill is uncertain given the current gridlock over the budget, which has put the annual appropriations process well behind schedule. Read the full New York Times story here.

National Academies' Report on Farming Sustainability Released

A National Academies’ National Research Council report concludes that American farmers are producing more food than ever, but that agricultural research is too focused on increasing production and needs to do much better at considering the consequences of farming such as water and air pollution. The report, "Toward Sustainable Agricultural Systems in the 21st Century," assesses the scientific evidence for the strengths and weaknesses of different production, marketing, and policy approaches for improving agricultural sustainability and reducing the costs and unintended consequences of agricultural production. (The full report is available to view and download as a PDF file here, and you can read an AP article summarizing the report findings here.

Notable @UpperMiss tweets for the week:

• Senate EPW Committee approves series of measures to protect great water bodies across US http://bit.ly/aKEIS9
• Statements from today's House subcommittee hearing to review USDA administration & delivery of conservation programs http://bit.ly/ZmHi7
• Ag Secretary Vilsack suggests Congress make it a goal to add 100,000 new farmers http://bit.ly/crN4Qs
• Minnesota = "The Land of 1,000 Impaired Lakes" http://bit.ly/dDyG9K
• Pump failure in St. Louis potentially caused millions of gallons of untreated sewage to flow into Mississippi R http://bit.ly/cGrxol
• EPA releases final decision on MO's 2008 impaired waters list; delists 4 water bodies & restores 15 http://bit.ly/aapIoY
• EPA approves IA DNR designated use changes for 64 water bodies & disapproves changes for 93 http://bit.ly/9WZ4RX
• Invitations open to submit session proposal for August 2011 National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration, Baltimore http://bit.ly/d8Ayks
• WI efforts to establish flock of whooping cranes meet with some success around Necedah National Wildlife Refuge http://bit.ly/bODvKa
• Black bears regain foothold in Wisconsin after 100-year absence http://bit.ly/bz7Fd3
• Minnesota River Watershed Alliance: July 2010 Meeting Invitation http://bit.ly/c2NwdX
• June is 2nd wettest on record for IL; results in high IL & MS River levels http://bit.ly/bmuiYu
• MPCA beginning 3rd year of 10-yr effort to assess river, stream & lake conditions in MN http://bit.ly/cnFvR2
• "Healthy Rivers, Healthy Cities" blog on U of MN's River Talk site http://bit.ly/agnTHx
• Gulf oil spill could threaten Wisconsin loon population this fall http://bit.ly/aJUIlK
• Ag Sec. Vilsack: cuts could be made to environmental quality incentives program to pay for child nutrition programs http://bit.ly/avYqrE
• Missourians asked to celebrate freedom from invasive species for Independence Day http://bit.ly/asjBNX
• New report is first to quantify payments for watershed services & water quality trading programs http://bit.ly/dbeSrj
• MN Pollution Control Agency Citizens Board agrees to cut turbidity H2O quality standards in half http://bit.ly/dgTZap
• Link to the "America's Inner Coastal Summit" Facebook page re: Mississippi River watershed issues: http://bit.ly/cTuCot
• MN waters & fish may never meet mercury reduction goals http://bit.ly/b44p6V
• EDF’s July 2 issue of Delta Dispatches with the Latest News on Efforts to Restore Coastal LA now on-line http://bit.ly/9dqlPC
• Drought takes its toll on WI natural resources http://bit.ly/94tZ0n
• MN removes two lakes off the (invasive) infested waters list http://bit.ly/chwJgT
• Sixteen states begin dishwasher detergent phosphate ban today http://bit.ly/aJFGxA