Hearings of interest to Mississippi River basin stakeholders this week

House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on environmental regulations and jobs
Tuesday; 1:00 PM (Eastern), 2322 Rayburn House Office Building

Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on agriculture's impact the on economy
Thursday; 2:30 PM (Eastern), 328A Russell Senate Office Building

House Republicans propose deeper cuts to Federal spending

As anticipated, House Republicans unveiled a spending resolution Friday night that would cut federal spending in numerous programs that relate directly to Mississippi River Basin restoration and conservation, including USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, Agricultural Research Service, NOAA Operations, Research and Facilities, Corps of Engineers Investigations, Construction, Mississippi River and Tributaries projects, and Operation and Maintenance, NOAA Operations, Research and Facilities, and numerous Fish and Wildlife, EPA and USGS programs (see background story on the budget issues here).


The GOP's Continuing Resolution (CR) would appropriate money for Federal spending from the beginning of March, when the current CR expires, through the remainder of the 2011 Fiscal Year, which ends September 30. The full list of the House Republicans' proposed cuts can be found here (as a pdf file).  And here is a link to the full (360-page) House Continuing Resolution, which the House will begin considering on Tuesday, with debates scheduled throughout the remainder of the week.

President Obama is expected to deliver his own budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2012 on Monday.

Mississippi River Basin Water Resource News for the Week

Regional Voices Inform the Budget Debate

Whether it is cuts or flat funding that are envisioned, (see our article below), the discussions centering around continued 2011 and upcoming 2012 Federal funding will certainly focus on programs central to Mississippi River Basin issues of water quality, water resource planning, navigation, infrastructure, agriculture, invasive species and many others. The debate within the DC Beltway will be best served if it is well-informed by educated perspectives from the River Basin region.  House Members and Senators representing your Congressional district or state would benefit from hearing your views. Contact information for their House and Senate offices can be found here and here, respectively.  For those wishing to contact House and Senate appropriators on the funding proposals we outline below, members of the House Appropriations Committee and its subcommittees can be found on page two of our House committee member listing, here. Senate Appropriations Committee members are listed here and its subcommittee members here.  The appropriations subcommittees with jurisdiction over funding for Federal departments and agencies that manage key River Basin programs are:

• Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies (USDA, except the U.S. Forest Service)
• Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies (Army Corps of Engineers, Department of the Interior-Bureau of Reclamation)
• Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies (USEPA; U.S. Forest Service; Department of the Interior, except Bureau of Reclamation and Central Utah Project)

The Neverending Story (The Federal Budget and the River Basin)

What's happening - With the clock ticking towards a March 4 end to the Continuing Resolution (CR) that is currently funding the Federal government, Congressional leaders must pass a new budget measure by then in order to avoid a government shutdown. But thus far, no consensus is emerging regarding what to fund and what to cut within CR legislation that would cover the seven months remaining in the current (2011) Fiscal Year.

On February 9 the House Appropriations Committee Republicans released “a partial list of 70 spending cuts” that the GOP majority planned to include in their upcoming CR bill.That initial list of CR spending cuts included reductions in programs that are particularly relevant to Mississippi River Basin water resource issues (see our article here on the proposed cuts). However, almost immediately, conservative House Republican expressed their desire to come up with even deeper cuts than those proposed by appropriators, who, by Thursday afternoon, promised to find a full $100 billion in spending cuts, reflecting the party’s "Pledge to America." This appropriation "re-do" meant that Republican staffers scrambled to scrape together the extra cuts in time to unveil a revised spending resolution by the new Friday release target. Whatever level of cuts end up being proposed, the Republican House majority is framing them as cuts below the Obama Administration's Fiscal Year 2011 budget proposal (see here). So the proposed cuts do not necessarily reflect reductions to levels of spending actually approved for the last (2010) Fiscal Year.

What this means - A deeper spending cut package is very unlikely to become law, as President Barack Obama and the Democrats who control the Senate are certain to oppose extensive cuts. President Obama has called for spending to remain at Fiscal Year 2010 levels (in his State of the Union address). Thus far, at least, Senate Democratic leaders have not expressed a position on overall spending for the remainder of this Fiscal Year, with Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) saying that, “Our minds are open to anything that’s reasonable.”

New Pew Research Center survey data released on Thursday imply that flat spending or, at most, more moderate cuts may be supported by the majority of Americans who, the poll suggests, by and large do not want to see the severe, quick reductions envisioned in the House Republican plan (see a summary of the Pew survey here).

What's next - As things evolve on the 2011 Fiscal Year budget front, the debate will become even more energetic on Monday (February 14), when the Obama Administration releases its 2012 Fiscal Year budget proposal (it will be released on this Office of Management and Budget (OMB) web page).  OMB Director Jacob J. Lew said this week that the President's proposal will call for a five-year freeze on discretionary spending not related to national security. We will post updates on our blog on Monday and throughout next week as the Administration's budget numbers relevant to key Mississippi River Basin programs become known.

Notable @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week:

In the States -

New survey of WI residents indicates public has it wrong with perceived sources of water pollution http://bit.ly/i1iJTk

River accident dumps 2000 gallons of oil in Mississippi River near Port Allen, Louisiana http://bit.ly/gKuQhi

WI organization documents wide range of potential state climate change impacts http://bit.ly/gvtaf7 (including habitats, ag & H2O resources)

Group threatens suit against Champaign, IL over alleged coal gasification plant hazardous discharge to stream http://bit.ly/fgD4cD

IA issues moratorium on use of land purchase funds; part of Governor's program-by-program evaluation of spending http://bit.ly/f6iVZO

Flooding, Floodplains, Dams and Navigation -

Winter weather snarls US Midwest grain barge flow http://bit.ly/ewJW03

La. State Senator Crowe launches 33-state legislative petition drive calling for Mississippi River dredging http://bit.ly/fKKmBd

Agriculture -

>140 groups urge Congress to include water quality concerns in upcoming Farm Bill http://bit.ly/em5126 & http://bit.ly/f4sprz (pdf files)

Researchers produce detailed global map of imbalances in way phosphorus is being used as fertilizer around the world http://bit.ly/gcT1Yo

Cattlemen’s Beef Assoc. new mission statement includes providing beef "in an environmentally . . . sustainable manner” http://bit.ly/hkoaD9

Lincoln Journal Star editorial: USDA should be "congratulated for giving high priority to Conservation Reserve Program" http://bit.ly/ho593U

USDA predicts corn stockpiles will be at tightest supply-to-use ratio since Great Depression as more used for ethanol http://reut.rs/ea7DCu

House Ag Committee drafts extensive oversight plan re: administration's farm programs & regulations; USDA & EPA http://bit.ly/emoifK

House Agriculture Comm. Chair Lucas (R-OK) urges stakeholders to reach out to members of Congress on farm issues http://bit.ly/i7FUaT

Congressional Research Service issues “Environmental Regulation & Agriculture” report highlighting agriculture-regulatory nexus areas http://bit.ly/dS7cKL

Water Quality-

Mississippi River-Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force releases its FY 2011 Operating Plan (PDF file) http://bit.ly/eVd6zX

Events -

Should be great - National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration; Aug 1-5 http://bit.ly/hkfQVR (Baltimore; see pix here: http://bit.ly/fHKJgw)

9th INTECOL International Wetlands Conference; Orlando FL; June 3-8, 2012 http://bit.ly/e8vVV1

Biodiversity, Wildlife and Invasives -

MN State Senator, Chair of Environment & Natural Resources Committee, vows to deal with aquatic invasive species http://bit.ly/eiNZPQ

Cyanobacterium common in lakes turns on estrogen-related genes in fish; abstract: http://bit.ly/h17uII news piece: http://bit.ly/fQ3q1v

USDA releases pre-publication version of massive national forests & grasslands management policy: http://bit.ly/fozfox (pdf)

Other news-

USGS Great Lakes study released today 1st in series to assess national water supplies & usage http://bit.ly/fX9Bpi & http://bit.ly/g0wb0Y

Center for American Progress & Oxfam America release report on moving Gulf Coast toward a sustainable future http://bit.ly/dI9ePj

Federal Budget-

House appropriations subcommittee oversight hearings begin this week; goal: to trim federal spending http://bit.ly/gkpmVq

House Republicans planning for USDA & FSA budget cuts of $3.2 billion for remainder of FY 2011 http://bit.ly/fiE9JO

Table with FY 2011 CR spending limits & cuts announced by Appropriations Chair Rogers for each Subcommittee: http://bit.ly/efAS96

House Appropriations Chair Rogers announces partial list of 70 spending cuts; includes wilderness, water, conservation http://bit.ly/eKQVVL

Potential Continuing Resolution budget cuts include programs central to Mississippi River Basin conservation http://bit.ly/gjb9eO

Senate Budget Committee schedules Feb 15 & 17 hearings to examine President's proposed FY 2012 budget request (to be released on Feb 14)

House Appropriations Comm Chair Rogers announces plan cut $100B in spending for fiscal year 2011 http://bit.ly/eOoPrL

Political Scene -

Senate Appropriations Committee today unveiled its 112th Congress subcommittee memberships: http://bit.ly/ftYE6k

Wall Street Journal: EPA is "No. 1 target of complaints from business groups" collected by House GOP leaders http://on.wsj.com/fltdmD

Tea Party rolls out "2012 Target List" First up: Sens. Lugar (R-IN), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Snowe (R-ME) & Stabenow (D-MI) http://bit.ly/gs3ZIa

Last Word -  

We (my dog and I) were crying in our Pittsburgh Steelers "Terrible Towels" last Sunday as our beloved Mississippi River Basin team went down to defeat in the Super Bowl. But with February here, our eyes now turn to Florida and baseball's spring training! The Steelers? They'll be back next year!

Over 140 Groups Sign Onto Letter Urging Congress to Include Water Quality Concerns in Upcoming Farm Bill

A coalition of over 140 water, wastewater, conservation, agricultural, environmental and state organizations distributed a letter to Capitol Hill today (February 10) urging all members of Congress to support practices and policies that strengthen the links between agriculture and water quality as they consider the 2012 Farm Bill.

The organizations note in the letter that discussions concerning the 2012 Farm Bill "will provide an opportunity to substantially improve our nation’s waters through the promotion of practices that improve the conservation performance of our farms and ranches."  The letter goes on to express the organizations' interest in working with Congress "to craft a Farm Bill that better connects agricultural systems and practices to water quality improvements."

Full copies of the letters to Senate Majority Leader Reid and House Speaker Boehner can be found here and here, respectively (pdf files).

The Federal Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds

Are you unsure what the relevance of the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds and their potential funding cuts are to the Mississippi River Basin?  You can check out our latest, revised and updated White Paper on those Federal loan programs here.  

As the White Paper explains, the Clean Water State Revolving Fund is a Federal loan assistance authority for water quality improvement projects that provides loans for the construction of municipal wastewater facilities and implementation of nonpoint source pollution control and estuary protection projects. The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund is largely patterned after the Clean Water State Revolving Fund program and is designed to assist public water systems with financing their infrastructure costs of achieving or maintaining compliance with the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act.  For more detail, please refer to the White Paper.

Potential Budget Cuts Include Programs Central to Mississippi River Basin Conservation

Yesterday (February 9) the House Appropriations Committee released “a partial list of 70 spending cuts” that the Republican majority plans to include in an upcoming Continuing Resolution (CR) bill. The CR legislation will fund the federal government for the seven months remaining in the current (2011) Fiscal Year.  The CR currently in place expires on March 4.  The list of CR spending cuts includes reductions in the following programs that are particularly relevant to Mississippi River Basin water resource issues:

• Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies   (-$30M)*
• NOAA   (-$336M)
• EPA   (-$1.6B)
• USDA Farm Service Agency   (-$201M)
• USDA Agriculture Research   (-$246M)
• USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service   (-$46M)
• Land and Water Conservation Fund   (-$348M)
• USGS   (-$27M)
• Fish and Wildlife Service   (-$72M)
• National Park Service   (-$51M)
• EPA Clean Water State Revolving Fund   (-$700M)
• EPA Drinking Water State Revolving Fund   (-$250M)
• USDA Forest Service   (-$38M)

* cuts below the Obama Administration's Fiscal Year 2011 budget proposal (see here)
M = million; B = billion
Source: House Appropriations Committee media release

A full list of program cuts will be released when the Continuing Resolution bill is formally introduced.  Republican appropriators had hoped to unveil a spending bill incorporating their proposed cuts later today, February 10, and bring it to the House floor next week, but those plans may be revised because of conservative House Republican desires to come up with even deeper cuts.

House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member, Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA-6th) released a statement in response to the list of cuts, which is available on-line here, noting that the proposed cuts would undercut "vital investments in the long-term health of the nation.”

For those wishing to contact House and Senate appropriators on these funding proposals, members of the House Appropriations Committee and its subcommittees can be found on page two of our House committee member listing, here.  Senate Appropriations Committee members are listed here and of its subcommittee members here.

Mississippi River Basin Water Resource News for the Week

Budget and Appropriations Debate Begins in Earnest

The debate over funding the Federal government during the remainder of this (2011) and the next (2012) fiscal years became more intense recently, beginning with President Obama's State of the Union proposal to freeze discretionary Federal spending at Fiscal Year 2010 levels, and continuing with yesterday's (February 3) announcement by House Republican leaders that they would seek $32 billion in spending cuts from the Continuing Resolution currently funding the Federal government. 

The House Appropriations Committee members, whose job it now is to write a bill detailing the cuts that will be made to meet the $32 billion target, said on Thursday that the biggest reductions would be made to transportation and housing programs (with cuts of 17% below Fiscal Year 2010 appropriated levels). Other cuts directly relevant to Mississippi River Basin conservation and restoration would include agricultural programs (by 14%); energy and water programs (by 10%); and interior and environment (by 8%).    Defense and homeland security spending would increase 1% under the Republican plan. See the graphic, below, from this Wall Street Journal article:

Democrats immediately promised to fight the proposal, reprising their recently-made arguments that significantly cutting spending too rapidly might derail the economic recovery. The White House also countered that the proposed GOP cuts could lead to widespread furloughs of Federal employees, threaten people with loses of subsidized housing, reduce services in national parks, and cut aid to schools and local emergency personnel.

This debate is all but a prelude, however, to a much bigger one looming over spending and tax priorities in the future.  Those discussions will kick off on February 14 when the Obama Administration releases its Fiscal Year 2012 budget proposal to Congress.

Notable @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week: 

In the States -

• Public asks for more time to study renewing permit for 5 MGD 3M wastewater discharge into Mississippi R http://bit.ly/ihW3w7 (in MN)
• IA's Governor Branstad: DNR needs to improve efficiency & attitude towards public; IA waters getting "better" http://bit.ly/eLsSvP
• IA DOT & 3 contractors agree to pay $60,000 civil penalty for construction stormwater violations http://bit.ly/hKuyMc
• EPA sets Total Maximum Daily Loads (pollutant reduction plans) for 4 MO streams http://bit.ly/ia1MNc & http://bit.ly/hosRXv
• New Tennessee Clean Water Network newsletter available online http://bit.ly/h417PD
• Report: Most states’ tax revenues gaining strength, but many still in “deep hole” http://bit.ly/huCBlp (full rpt: http://bit.ly/i0FCxP)
• Bill to develop wetland site goes to WI Gov. Scott Walker for signature http://bit.ly/ejrTTN

Flooding, Floodplains, Dams and Navigation -

• Upper Mississippi River group forms to find alternatives to controversial "Plan H" flood-control option http://bit.ly/i7AaXv
• National Weather Service: large snowpack has set stage for Upper Minnesota River Valley spring flooding http://bit.ly/gSPZeA
• National Weather Service: Mississippi River runs "high risk" of flooding this spring http://bit.ly/fb3d0K
• Significant springtime flooding likely in the Upper Mississippi River Basin http://bit.ly/gsX0NX
• Business owners & government officials explore options re: future of "high hazard" Minnesota Falls Dam http://bit.ly/dX63pi
• Meeting attendees take sides on Minnesota Falls Dam site options http://bit.ly/hOqCf9
• Improving  Mississippi River Coon Rapids Dam is project under MN Gov. Dayton's proposed $1 billion bonding bill http://bit.ly/hemVWF
• As funding concerns mount, Army Corps says it will resume some lower Mississippi River dredging http://bit.ly/dV7Z4f

Agriculture -

• EPA draft report on environmental/conservation impacts of biofuels production/use highlights uncertainties http://bit.ly/dWlaGS
• Ethanol industry attacks draft EPA study detailing ecological harm that may accompany increased biofuel production http://bit.ly/fGJSsE
• Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s agenda this year includes new scrutiny of ethanol http://bit.ly/hWnt2N
• USDA Conservation Reserve Prog sign-up March 14-April 14; targets highly erodible & environmentally sensitive land http://bit.ly/gGhf5B
• Farmers create U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance to fight bad publicity http://bloom.bg/dPXc4u & http://bit.ly/hVMYjK
• OH Farm Bureau spokesman re: messaging: "Feeding the world requires us to kick up some dirt and create a few odors" http://bit.ly/eni7tY
• Upcoming USDA Program & Grant Deadlines from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition http://bit.ly/fCmADP
• UN Food & Agriculture Organization report: world food prices reached all time high in January http://bbc.in/gxwUpu
• Rep. Conaway (R-TX) Chair of a House Ag Subcommittee: new farm bill will have to accept funding cuts http://bit.ly/eSgU7l

Water Quality-

• EPA sets Total Maximum Daily Loads (pollutant reduction plans) for 4 MO streams http://bit.ly/ia1MNc & http://bit.ly/hosRXv
• Total Maximum Daily Load study calls for sharp reduction in St. Croix River phosphorous levels (MN & WI) http://bit.ly/h726Hg

Federal Budget-

• The Obama Administration has now set Valentine's Day for delivery of its budget proposal - Monday, Feb. 14 http://reut.rs/gG0U3u
• Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Inouye (D-HI) announces earmark moratorium for both FY 2011 & FY 2012 bills http://bit.ly/fCFRuE
• House GOP leaders: will seek to cut $74 billion from President 2011 budget request http://bit.ly/h0vtGH ($32 B from spending)
• GOP Fed 2011 spending plan would cut Ag programs by 14%; energy/water by 10% and Interior/environment by 8% http://bit.ly/hcldPt
• Senate Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) says House GOP proposal to cut $32 billion from 2011 spending is “unworkable” http://bit.ly/gjZmQ6

Events -

• 4th Annual Ohio Stormwater Conference, May 12-13, Columbus, OH http://bit.ly/gy8IcW

Biodiversity, Wildlife and Invasives -

• RT @InvasiveNotes: Invasive plant species lists by state-US East Coast, Ontario & Midwest http://bit.ly/ePO5qP
• Invasive Emerald Ash Borer expected to migrate into IA soon from WI http://bit.ly/ggPYqt
• Anti-zebra and quagga mussel bacterium holds promise for control of those invasives http://bit.ly/ftG4HV
• Due to weather conditions, Army Corps GLMRIS public scoping meeting scheduled for Thursday is rescheduled for March 8 http://bit.ly/h9AtN5
• Senate EPW Committee Dems: Bills removing Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolf set bad precedent http://bit.ly/hubEyv

Other news-

• Fishers & Farmers Partnership for the Upper Mississippi River Basin receives Stry Foundation funding http://bit.ly/eWRTRw
• 18 university & research center scientists call on US lawmakers to take "fresh look" at climate change http://bit.ly/fS0E24
• New report estimates that Gulf of Mexico should recover from BP oil release by end of 2012, with some exceptions http://nyti.ms/g8qEAS

Political Scene -

• Here is the latest listing of announced US House Committee assignments http://bit.ly/h0I41L
• Tea party candidates eyeing Sen. Claire McCaskill's (D-MO) U.S. Senate seat for 2012 http://bit.ly/efMc8q
• Former Rep. Mark Neumann (R-WI) sounding more & more like potential 2012 candidate vs. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) http://bit.ly/hfe2xj

Last Word-

Finally, we would not be true to our Mississippi River Basin values if we didn't root for our favorite watershed team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, in this Sunday's Super Bowl.  As they say in my old home town, "Go Stillers!"