On May 26, the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the “Assistance, Quality, and Affordability Act of 2010,” a water infrastructure bill (H.R. 5320); however the measure was passed out of Committee to the full House with significant cuts to its overall cost and with changes to the bill’s chemical testing protocol. The bill would reauthorize the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) and otherwise amend the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) (the Committee passed the measure by a 45 – 1 vote; see Committee web page summary here).
Section 10 (“Authorization of Appropriations”) as proposed by co-sponsors by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (CA-30) and Committee member Rep. Ed Markey (MA-7), would have authorized a total of $12.7 billion on an increasing, sliding scale from fiscal years 2011 through 2015. However, the bill as passed would reauthorize the SRF for $4.8 billion cumulatively over the next three years.
Section 16 of the bill (“Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program”) would have changed EPA’s Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program by requiring EPA to test no fewer than 100 substances found in drinking water sources to which a “substantial population” may be exposed to determine (a) if they are endocrine disruptors and if so, (b) how the substances might affect human health. Section 16 also would require EPA to develop and implement a process whereby (a) substances would be selected for testing, (b) new testing technologies and scientific developments would be developed, (c) substances would be accelerated through the program, and (d) information about the program would be made public.
With respect to those Section 16 provisions, the phrase “scientifically relevant information” proved to be problematic regarding its use in making decisions under that section. House Republicans objected to the vagueness of the term, and instead proposing to amend the language to assure use of "minimum criteria for relevant and valid scientific information." In the final version, language establishing qualifiers on the type of science EPA can use to decide what chemicals are tested was included, satisfying both Republican and Democratic Committee members.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Mississippi River Water Resource News for the Week
A group of Iowa farmers and agricultural leaders will travel to Mississippi later this week to learn more about efforts to reduce pollution in the Gulf of Mexico. The trip constitutes the first half of an “Iowa-Mississippi Farmer to Farmer Exchange,” a project focused on addressing hypoxia in the Gulf by increasing understanding among stakeholders and expanding the use of conservation practices in both states. Read more in these news articles here and here.
The Environmental Protection Agency, National Great Rivers Research and Education Center, and Lewis and Clark Community College are co-sponsoring a July 29 workshop based on EPA’s workshop: "Getting In Step – A Guide for Conducting Watershed Outreach Campaigns." The workshop will run from 9 AM to 4 PM in Godfrey, Illinois, and will review the basic building blocks for developing effective outreach campaigns through social marketing techniques. . Current examples of successful campaigns and outreach materials will be provided throughout the day. Interactive group exercises will jump start your own outreach campaign. Download a copy of the Getting in Step Guide at this web site. To register for the workshop contact Vera Bojic at (618) 468-4870 or vbojic@lc.edu. There is a registration fee of $15.
The 65th International Soil and Water Conservation Society Annual Conference will be held in St. Louis, Missouri. Primary conference dates are July 18-21, 2010. The headquarters hotel is the Hilton at the Ballpark. The conference will include workshops, concurrent sessions, symposia, posters, plenary sessions, and technical tours designed to raise the awareness of conference participants to recent developments in the science and art of natural resource conservation and environmental management. Additional conference information and registration links can be found here. The Soil and Water Conservation Society is a nonprofit scientific and educational organization founded in 1943 to foster the "science and art of natural resources conservation and environmental management on working land."
In honor of the International Year of Biodiversity, Conservation Biology has compiled and published three virtual issues of 10-15 of its previously published articles. These virtual issues focus on three key subject areas: Conservation Social Science, Connectivity and Corridors, and Climate Change. Access to the articles is available free of charge on the web.
Notable @UpperMiss tweets for the week:
The Environmental Protection Agency, National Great Rivers Research and Education Center, and Lewis and Clark Community College are co-sponsoring a July 29 workshop based on EPA’s workshop: "Getting In Step – A Guide for Conducting Watershed Outreach Campaigns." The workshop will run from 9 AM to 4 PM in Godfrey, Illinois, and will review the basic building blocks for developing effective outreach campaigns through social marketing techniques. . Current examples of successful campaigns and outreach materials will be provided throughout the day. Interactive group exercises will jump start your own outreach campaign. Download a copy of the Getting in Step Guide at this web site. To register for the workshop contact Vera Bojic at (618) 468-4870 or vbojic@lc.edu. There is a registration fee of $15.
The 65th International Soil and Water Conservation Society Annual Conference will be held in St. Louis, Missouri. Primary conference dates are July 18-21, 2010. The headquarters hotel is the Hilton at the Ballpark. The conference will include workshops, concurrent sessions, symposia, posters, plenary sessions, and technical tours designed to raise the awareness of conference participants to recent developments in the science and art of natural resource conservation and environmental management. Additional conference information and registration links can be found here. The Soil and Water Conservation Society is a nonprofit scientific and educational organization founded in 1943 to foster the "science and art of natural resources conservation and environmental management on working land."
In honor of the International Year of Biodiversity, Conservation Biology has compiled and published three virtual issues of 10-15 of its previously published articles. These virtual issues focus on three key subject areas: Conservation Social Science, Connectivity and Corridors, and Climate Change. Access to the articles is available free of charge on the web.
Notable @UpperMiss tweets for the week:
- NOAA: global data show 2010 could end up being hottest year ever http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64I2YF20100519
- Proposed list of impaired TN streams not meeting water quality standards http://bit.ly/9NAd9y; PDF of list: http://bit.ly/9NAd9y
- How Grazing Lands Influence Greenhouse Gas | ScienceDaily http://bit.ly/cjJ5FK
- Water conservation being built into MN Twins Target Field facility http://bit.ly/aw4qjz
- New study: Using straw residue with legume cover crops reduces leaching of nitrogen into waterways http://bit.ly/dD4FJM
- New USGS study: Commonly used herbicide Atrazine shown to affect reproduction of fish http://bit.ly/cTypxa
- New study: >20 % of samples from public wells across country contained at least 1 contaminant at levels of concern http://bit.ly/aa63a2
- 7 Upper Mississippi River Nat Wildlife Refuge sites to be cleaned up during June 19 Great Mississippi River Cleanup http://bit.ly/a1KIJV
- Status and Trends in State Invasive Species Policy: 2002-2009 http://bit.ly/ao5osb - Environmental Law Institute
Can You Hear Them Now?
Yesterday I had the pleasure of accompanying John Peter Thompson, President of the nonprofit "National Agricultural Research Alliance- Beltsville" and Rachel Dawson, like me, a Policy Analyst from the Northeast-Midwest Institute, on a tour of a very small portion of the USDA's "Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center" in Beltsville, Maryland. You can see some photos of our eight-hour tour here.
At over 7,000 acres, the ARS Beltsville research center is the largest and most diversified agricultural research complex in the world. And although its history of accomplishments and ongoing research have made it an international leader in agriculture research, its international reputation sadly dwarfs the degree to which it is valued here in the U.S.
The breadth and quality of research that has already been undertaken over the facility's 100 years of work has certainly brought value to the world's agricultural enterprises, but it is certainly equally true that much of what the Center accomplishes is never fully recognized, valued and put into practice, to the detriment of agriculture and all things connected (water, soil, air, animals, plants, economy, towns, cities, oceans, you, me . . . you get the picture).
The troubling thing is, the ARS BARC, as it is known, is actually little-known in the Washington, DC area, in Maryland, and across the nation. And it is even less valued. Its budget is chronically tight and becoming tighter, despite the increasing need for its services in the face of growing demand for safe, affordable and quality food worldwide; despite the central role that agriculture plays in the economic and ecological sustainability of the region, nation and world. In an era when the immediate and instant garner attention, the long-term view and thoughtful research approach of ARS and the scientists at BARC is little more than an afterthought.
Do yourself and all of the rest of us a favor; take a tour of the facility in person if at all possible (by the way, there is an open house on June 5 in celebration of BARC's 100 years of work). Speak to the people dedicated to the work of sustaining agriculture and the Earth and its peoples. Spend some time touring the facility's web site and becoming acquainted with BARC's mission, projects and people. I think you'll come away, as I did, impressed as to what is happening there; who is working for us there. You might even start giving some second thoughts about what our priorities should be when it comes to putting our money where our food lies.
The good people at the Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center have been speaking. Can you hear them now?
At over 7,000 acres, the ARS Beltsville research center is the largest and most diversified agricultural research complex in the world. And although its history of accomplishments and ongoing research have made it an international leader in agriculture research, its international reputation sadly dwarfs the degree to which it is valued here in the U.S.
The breadth and quality of research that has already been undertaken over the facility's 100 years of work has certainly brought value to the world's agricultural enterprises, but it is certainly equally true that much of what the Center accomplishes is never fully recognized, valued and put into practice, to the detriment of agriculture and all things connected (water, soil, air, animals, plants, economy, towns, cities, oceans, you, me . . . you get the picture).
The troubling thing is, the ARS BARC, as it is known, is actually little-known in the Washington, DC area, in Maryland, and across the nation. And it is even less valued. Its budget is chronically tight and becoming tighter, despite the increasing need for its services in the face of growing demand for safe, affordable and quality food worldwide; despite the central role that agriculture plays in the economic and ecological sustainability of the region, nation and world. In an era when the immediate and instant garner attention, the long-term view and thoughtful research approach of ARS and the scientists at BARC is little more than an afterthought.
Do yourself and all of the rest of us a favor; take a tour of the facility in person if at all possible (by the way, there is an open house on June 5 in celebration of BARC's 100 years of work). Speak to the people dedicated to the work of sustaining agriculture and the Earth and its peoples. Spend some time touring the facility's web site and becoming acquainted with BARC's mission, projects and people. I think you'll come away, as I did, impressed as to what is happening there; who is working for us there. You might even start giving some second thoughts about what our priorities should be when it comes to putting our money where our food lies.
The good people at the Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center have been speaking. Can you hear them now?
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Northeast-Midwest Institute Mississippi River Basin Issues May Update
Here is the link to the May Update from the Northeast-Midwest Institute on Mississippi River Basin issues: Update. This month’s Update contains these items:
Publications and Articles
- USDA NRCS CEAP Report
- USDA ERS Conservation Reserve Program Analysis
- EDF Delta Dispatches
Conference, Event and Meeting Announcements
Federal Legislative Updates
- WRDA 2010
- Assistance, Quality and Affordability Act
- Climate and Energy Legislation
- 2012 Farm Bill
- Clean Water Restoration Legislation
- Atrazine Developments
Federal Budget and Appropriations
Monday, May 24, 2010
Mississippi River Water Resource News for the Week (last week)
The "Assistance, Quality, and Affordability Act of 2010" (H.R. 5320), sponsored by Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), passed out of the Energy and Environment Subcommittee on May 19 by a vote of 18-13. The bill would reauthorize the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and otherwise amend the Safe Drinking Water Act. A press release and links to the bill and bill summaries can be found here. You can track progress on the bill at this Library of Congress web site.
This issue is so cross-cutting among all of the natural resource arenas that the news deserves widespread notice and has implications throughout the Mississippi River basin: a new suite of three National Research Council (National Academies) reports requested by Congress conclude (in the words of the National Academies) that "strong evidence on climate change underscores need for action" (National Academies' web page with reports and press release here).
Daniel Hellerstein (USDA ERS) has written an article in the June 2010 edition of Amber Waves entitled, “Challenges Facing USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program," in which Hellerstein notes that improved targeting of benefits, encouragement of better conservation practices, and heightened competition among bidders could hold promise for increasing the environmental benefits and lowering the cost of the Conservation Reserve Program. The full article can be found here.
EPA's National Water Program has released the final FY 2011 National Water Program Guidance. According to an EPA news release, "this Guidance describes water program priorities and strategies, including the suite of water performance measures and their targets, for the coming fiscal year." The final Guidance is available at this EPA web site.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District Regulatory Branch will hold a stream bank stabilization workshop August 2-4, at the Polk County Conservation Board's Chichaqua Longhouse, which is located at 8700 NE 126th Ave., Maxwell, Iowa. Space is limited to the first 60 people who register. Contact Al Forhlich, for more information, at: Regulatory Branch; Rock Island District; 309/794-5859
A map to the location can be found by following this link.
This issue is so cross-cutting among all of the natural resource arenas that the news deserves widespread notice and has implications throughout the Mississippi River basin: a new suite of three National Research Council (National Academies) reports requested by Congress conclude (in the words of the National Academies) that "strong evidence on climate change underscores need for action" (National Academies' web page with reports and press release here).
Daniel Hellerstein (USDA ERS) has written an article in the June 2010 edition of Amber Waves entitled, “Challenges Facing USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program," in which Hellerstein notes that improved targeting of benefits, encouragement of better conservation practices, and heightened competition among bidders could hold promise for increasing the environmental benefits and lowering the cost of the Conservation Reserve Program. The full article can be found here.
EPA's National Water Program has released the final FY 2011 National Water Program Guidance. According to an EPA news release, "this Guidance describes water program priorities and strategies, including the suite of water performance measures and their targets, for the coming fiscal year." The final Guidance is available at this EPA web site.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District Regulatory Branch will hold a stream bank stabilization workshop August 2-4, at the Polk County Conservation Board's Chichaqua Longhouse, which is located at 8700 NE 126th Ave., Maxwell, Iowa. Space is limited to the first 60 people who register. Contact Al Forhlich, for more information, at: Regulatory Branch; Rock Island District; 309/794-5859
A map to the location can be found by following this link.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Are We There Yet?
Just when you thought it was safe to go back inside the beltway, this from Politico: D.C. is about to become more divided and nasty, if you can believe it. Regardless of who wins, the Pennsylvania senator will not be a centrist like Specter; Utah won't have Bob Bennett brokering quiet deals; and Rand Paul, if he wins, will give us another Jim DeMint.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Reactivity
Washington, DC will be showcasing its reactive best this week, as five congressional hearings are scheduled related to the Gulf of Mexico BP oil rig disaster. For those interested in following the hearings, here they are (all times are Eastern):
Today (Senate):
Hearing on oil spill response
Homeland Security
02:30 PM, 342 Dirksen
Tuesday (Senate):
Hearing on offshore drilling
Energy and Natural Resources
11:00 AM, 325 Dirksen
Hearing on oil spill response
Commerce
02:30 PM, 253 Russell
Hearing on Gulf oil spill
Environment and Public Works
02:30 PM, 406 Dirksen
Wednesday (House):
Hearing on Gulf oil spill
Transportation and Infrastructure
10:00 AM, 2167 Rayburn
Today (Senate):
Hearing on oil spill response
Homeland Security
02:30 PM, 342 Dirksen
Tuesday (Senate):
Hearing on offshore drilling
Energy and Natural Resources
11:00 AM, 325 Dirksen
Hearing on oil spill response
Commerce
02:30 PM, 253 Russell
Hearing on Gulf oil spill
Environment and Public Works
02:30 PM, 406 Dirksen
Wednesday (House):
Hearing on Gulf oil spill
Transportation and Infrastructure
10:00 AM, 2167 Rayburn
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