Mississippi River Water Resource News for the Week

Nutria Control and Eradication

On July 27 the Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on the "Nutria Eradication and Control Act of 2009" (H.R. 3850) to bolster the Department of Interior's efforts to control and eradicate nutria, an invasive rodent from South America that eats primarily the roots of marsh vegetation. Their voracious appetite for wetland plants has lead to the loss of wetland habitats in coastal Louisiana, as well as the Chesapeake Bay region and Pacific Northwest.  The bill was introduced by Representatives Frank Kratovil (D-MD-1st) and Charles Boustany (R-LA-7th), and aims to bring nutria under control in the Louisiana coastal area (where the rodent first entered the country) and to eliminate nutria from the Chesapeake Bay and the Pacific Northwest regions.  The bill would authorize up to $12 million annually for nutria control, including $4 million each for Maryland and Louisiana, and $1 million each for the states of Delaware, Oregon, Virginia and Washington.

Possible Targeted Changes to EPA's Water Quality Standards Regulation
On July 30 the Environmental Protection Agency announced in today's Federal Register its "plans to initiate national rulemaking to make a limited set of targeted changes to EPA's water quality standards regulation."  The announcement includes ways in which the public can provide input to EPA on the topics.  EPA is considering clarifications to the water quality standards regulations related to:

1. Antidegradation Implementation Methods
2. EPA Administrator's "Determination" Process
3. Designated Uses for Waterways
4. Variances to Water Quality Standards
5. Triennial Reviews of State Water Quality Programs
6. Three Clarifications to Reflect Court Decisions

Here are links to the Federal Register announcement: (pdf) and (text).
 

2010 Water Resources Development Act: To be or not to be?
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed a $6B Water Resources Development Act bill on July 29, although many agree with this writer that passage of a full WRDA bill in 2010 is an extreme long shot. Here are the T&I Committee bill summary and Committee Chair Oberstar’s introductory statement concerning the bill.

Notable @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week:

• Research: Mississippi River Sediment Load Insufficient to Sustain Coastal Louisiana http://bit.ly/d0p5gC (Nature Geoscience)
• IL RiverRoad has New Kiosks, Digital Tours & Discovery Guides http://bit.ly/9iUVEb 
• In a reverse of prior visit, Mississippi farmers visit Iowa counterparts http://bit.ly/9glRii 
• EPA, DOI, USDA & others to hold America’s Great Outdoors Initiative listening session in Minneapolis http://bit.ly/d8u8mx 
• Dam Bursts in Iowa; hundreds evacuated http://bit.ly/cu8HYI http://bit.ly/az9wKO 
• Iowa flooding from Maquoketa River after Lake Delhi dam failure causes millions in damage http://bit.ly/9otTFV 
• Iowa government looks to restore lake washed out in weekend flooding http://bit.ly/cSY9OY 
• Does the destruction of Iowa's Lake Delhi during the flood offer a glimpse into the future? http://bit.ly/9C45ky 
• Ethanol industry is fracturing & under attack inside & outside DC http://bit.ly/aU0Kcq 
• Public Meeting on Mississippi River Lock and Dam 3 Fish Passage Study; Red Wing, MN 6 PM CDT http://bit.ly/aOgXkC 
• Starting Monday landowners & farmers have less than month to apply for Conservation Reserve Program enrollment http://bit.ly/drP6qH 
• MN AG Swanson & Sen Klobuchar say time is now for Minnesota to stop Asian carp http://bit.ly/bwXH0U and http://bit.ly/dp3EIq 
• Minnesotans fight over how to deal with invasive Eurasian watermilfoil http://bit.ly/dovQVg 
• Article outlines Vermillion River (MN) contamination and conservation projects http://bit.ly/8Zwfgn 
• 12 Illinois counties declared disaster areas after flooding http://bit.ly/9EI5lr 
• RT @Johann3216: [In Louisiana] Feds, farmers create habitats for migrating birds http://bit.ly/c0OgOq
• Zebra mussels invade Lake Minnetonka, MN's 10th-largest lake http://bit.ly/aQ0uUr 
• Lexington (KY) Dispatch: "Gulf of Mexico Has Long Been a Sink of Pollution" http://bit.ly/cGm81j 
• Upper Miss. River Conf. - Early bird registration ends Aug 2 http://bit.ly/bBi78h 

Mississippi River Water Resource News for the Week

Appropriations
Yesterday (July 22) the Senate Appropriations Committee approved three Fiscal Year 2011 Appropriations bills: the Energy and Water Development bill (which funds Army Corps of Engineers environmental programs), Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies, and the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies bills.  The details have yet to be released; however the following subcommittee markup summaries of each of the bills have been provided by the Committee (pdf files):

• Energy and Water Development
• Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies
• Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies

Also, yesterday, the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee  approved the EPA - Department of Interior Fiscal Year 2011 funding bill, sending it on to the full Appropriations Committee.  Here are the spending bill summary table, the earmark list, and Chairman Jim Moran’s opening statement (where he mentions funding to protect great water bodies, including the Mississippi River). The bill would provide $11 billion for the Department of Interior, $10 billion for the U.S. EPA and $4.9 billion for the U.S. Forest Service.   These amounts represent "basically a flat budget" in the words of Chairman Moran, and are very close to the spending levels approved in the Fiscal Year 2010 appropriations bill.  Details beyond these summaries will be available soon.  There are three earmarks specific to the Mississippi River:

1. Fish and Wildlife Service Land Acquisition in the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge in MN, WI, IA and IL ($2.5 Million)
2. Fish and Wildlife Service Land Acquisition in the Middle Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge in IL and MO ($500,000)
3. National Park Service Construction in the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area in MN ($3 Million) 

Controversial flood and wind insurance bill pulled from consideration
The “Multiple Peril Insurance Act of 2009” (H.R. 1264) had been scheduled for a vote in the House on Thursday, July 22, but was pulled from the House floor late in the afternoon in face of growing opposition (see http://bit.ly/9dRPmp).  The measure would have amended 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.

Issues of Scale in Water Resource Management

From the abstract of a very noteworthy and relevant Environmental Management journal article, "Multilevel Water Governance and Problems of Scale: Setting the Stage for a Broader Debate" -
"Environmental governance and management are facing a multiplicity of challenges related to spatial scales and multiple levels of governance. Water management is a field particularly sensitive to issues of scale because the hydrological system with its different scalar levels from small catchments to large river basins plays such a prominent role. It thus exemplifies fundamental issues and dilemmas of scale in modern environmental management and governance. In this introductory article to an Environmental Management special feature on “Multilevel Water Governance: Coping with Problems of Scale,” we delineate our understanding of problems of scale and the dimensions of scalar politics that are central to water resource management. We provide an overview of the contributions to this special feature, concluding with a discussion of how scalar research can usefully challenge conventional wisdom on water resource management. We hope that this discussion of water governance stimulates a broader debate and inquiry relating to the scalar dimensions of environmental governance and management in general."

Notable @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week:

• Groups Study Great Lakes-Mississippi River Split http://bit.ly/ccl2ZK
• IA Department of Natural Resources has failed to enforce nearly 16 state laws http://bit.ly/aARsXO
• Rules to protect MN lakeshores/limit supersized docks have sat in Governor's office for months http://bit.ly/d6y0W2
• House transportation & urban development appropriations bill includes money for Wisconsin River work http://bit.ly/cqb6fo
• Sept 18: annual Illinois River Sweep clean up by Friends of the Illinois River http://bit.ly/cJOE0N
• US Sen. Harkin: nearly $32 million for energy & water projects coming to Iowa http://bit.ly/dirpeQ
• Visitors center set to reopen at MN Valley National Wildlife Refuge http://bit.ly/dBaWyA
• As many as 4100 adult silver carp per mile on the middle Illinois River http://bit.ly/9qhcna
• USFS issues national road map for responding to climate change http://bit.ly/ckseAQ
• IA State U study: Little impact if U.S. ethanol tax breaks end http://bit.ly/ceEa3p
• ORSANCO considering allowing more mercury in Ohio River basin water http://bit.ly/dovjWM
• Rep. Oberstar (MN) receives letters of support of Clean Water Act strengthening from Obama Administration http://bit.ly/bFxAhe
• Zebra mussel discovery at MO Smithville Lake prompts Department of Conservation investigation http://bit.ly/bytEvc
• Ecologists shun urban research by a 1:6 ratio http://bit.ly/ccXk2F
• New research on spatial targeting of Agri-conservation measures: Cost-Effectiveness and Distributional Consequences http://bit.ly/ct9Bj8
• Loons tracked by satellites will map migration down Mississippi flyway http://bit.ly/ds9QAO
• New wetlands under construction at Tara Wildlife along Mississippi River to divert migrating birds from oil http://bit.ly/cFLBqB
• IL River town hopes tourism may revive struggling economy http://bit.ly/98LiPQ
• USDA Awards Wetland Enhancement Projects in midwest (NSAC) http://bit.ly/cVaIxf
• National Farmers Union: climate change impacting agricultural community; need comprehensive climate & energy policy http://bit.ly/advi7T
• IN Dept of Environmental Management to establish numeric standards for P levels in lakes http://bit.ly/bUYq6J
• MN to have Sandhill Crane hunting season in fall for the first time in 94 years http://bit.ly/9gQwgE
• IN wetland fencing attempts to block Asian Carp migration into inland lakes http://bit.ly/bvnWyR
• MN DNR finds Eurasian Milfoil in Pelican Lake-one of the state’s 44 designated wildlife lakes http://bit.ly/9YOA6k
• Groups challenge plan to strengthen Mississippi River levees using injected coal ash http://bit.ly/9OTCQO

House Looks to Flat-Line EPA and Interior Spending for 2011

The House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee fiscal year 2011 spending bill markup is scheduled for Thursday, July 21 at 2:30 PM, in room B-308 Rayburn House Office Building.  Based on yesterday's (July 20) House Appropriations Committee approval of a top line spending level plan, it is all but certain that tomorrow's mark-up will keep U.S. EPA and the Department of Interior funding flat-lined for next year.   Last week the Senate Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee approved a fiscal year 2011 spending bill that would cut $14 billion from the Administration's proposed budget; however, even with those cuts, the Senate's 2011 Interior and Environment bill would appropriate more funding than in fiscal year 2010.

Northeast-Midwest Institute Mississippi River Basin July Update

The July Update from the Northeast-Midwest Institute on Mississippi River Basin issues is now available on-line.    This month’s Update contains the following items: 

RIVER BASIN NEWS AND NOTES

• Mississippi River Policy Manager Position Announcement
• Gulf of Mexico 2010 Dead Zone Prediction
• National Academies' Report on Farming Sustainability
• Place Effects on Environmental Views
• Environmental Defense Fund’s latest issue of Delta Dispatches
• Upcoming Conferences, Events and Workshops

LEGISLATION

• Safe Treatment of Polluted Stormwater Runoff Act
• Flood Insurance Reform and Priorities Act
• Large-Scale Ecosystem Restoration Legislation
• Multiple Peril Insurance Act
• Green Infrastructure for Clean Water Act

BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS

Oh, What a Tangled Web We Weave (Part Dieu)

This past April in response to the risk of oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill reaching Louisiana's coastline and fertile coastal marshes, state officials started opening levee gates along the Mississippi River.  This move allowed extra amounts of Mississippi River water to flow into Louisiana's coastal marshes in an attempt to keep the oil at bay.

By many accounts the effort succeeded in minimizing the amount of oil entering the Mississippi River estuaries. However, now some oyster farmers and scientists are cataloging the deaths of large numbers of oysters in those estuarine areas.  They believe that some saline marshes have been so overwhelmed by fresh water that their salinity has dropped to levels that oysters do not normally face, resulting in the deaths of large numbers of oysters.

State officials have said that it is not certain to what extent the extra Mississippi River releases are responsible for killing the oysters.

Read a full Wall Street Journal story on the issue here.

Oh, What a Tangled Web We Weave

In a paper published today in Environment Magazine  two University of Nebraska professors (industrial ecologist Adam J. Liska and agricultural economist Richard K. Perrin) contend that military activity associated with protecting and acquiring Middle East oil contributes to greenhouse gas emissions to an extent not typically considered.  Liska and Perrin write that fuel burned in military planes and ships, as well as the carbon dioxide released during the manufacture of those planes and ships, should be accounted for in gasoline’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emission total (increasing gasoline's potential for impacting the climate much more than previously believed).

The authors conclude that their analysis "suggests that GHG emissions from military activities should be included in the GHG intensity of gasoline, as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency implements emissions requirements for biofuels relative to petroleum fuels."

Such an analysis might place biofuels, such as corn-based ethanol, in a more favorable light compared to gasoline from a GHG emission perspective.   Some have argued that ethanol production results in more net GHG emission than gasoline, since ethanol's production is linked to the destruction of forests to make way for farmland (releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and removing trees that could otherwise absorb carbon dioxide).

Mississippi River Network Policy Manager Position Announcement

The Biodiversity Project and the 30+ member Mississippi River Network: Headwaters to Gulf (MRN), are looking to hire someone for a 2-year contract to work on the coalition's policy agenda.  Interested persons can apply by sending cover letter and resume to Biodiversity Project Executive Director, Jennifer Browning at jbrowning@biodiverse.org. The position will be open until it is filled.  You can read the entire job description, and more information about the Mississippi River Network here. The Mississippi River Network web page is located here.