Mississippi River Basin Water Resource News for the Week - Holiday Weekend Early Edition

Let the Games Begin
The US Congress returns from its month-long recess next Tuesday and will immediately dive into the task of addressing two Federal spending issues.  Here is what we can expect to happen:

1. The "Supercommittee," formed under provisions of  the Budget Control Act of 2011 signed into law on August 2, will have a window of opportunity to make targeted cuts from Federal programs running over the next ten Federal fiscal years (that window, under the new law lasts until November 23). If a proposal is developed and then approved by the Supercommittee, the committee’s report and legislative language is required to be issued by December 2, and then be presented to the House and Senate on a "take-it-or-leave-it" basis. Congress will need to vote on the Supercommittee's proposal by December 23.  There is more to the process, which those policy junkies among you can read up on in our August monthly Mississippi River Basin Update.
2. Although provisions to raise the debt limit and create the Supercommittee drew most of the attention to the Budget Control Act, the measure also importantly established Federal spending limits for the next two fiscal years (2012 and 2013). So now that they know how much spending authority they have for the 2012 fiscal year, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees next week will jump headlong into preparing the twelve spending bills that will ultimately determine specific Federal agency spending limits for the next fiscal year.   And while members of Congress will likely still disagree over how much spending is funneled toward which Federal agencies and to defense, Congressional Democrats and Republicans alike have noted that the bipartisan compromise on 2012 and 2103 spending contained in the budget control legislation makes it unlikely that an appropriation's impasse will bring Congress to the brink of closing the government.

Notable @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week:  
Agriculture -

• IA Farm Bureau: compliance with conservation programs should not be condition for purchasing fed-subsidized insurance http://bit.ly/qeG0yr
• US cotton growers drop insistence that Congress preserve existing system of farm subsidies http://bit.ly/rtkZhr
• August 9 Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative Partner meeting info  now posted online by NRCS http://1.usa.gov/o9kpXo
• Converting cropland from corn to higher-ethanol-yielding biofuel crops could put pressure on H2O resources http://bit.ly/pcPROv
• This week's High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal issue focuses on "Protecting Our Waters" & Gulf hypoxia http://bit.ly/nGzYrV
• FarmPolicy.com transcript of last Thursday's Senate Agriculture Committee Farm Bill field hearing (Kansas City) http://bit.ly/rnpAW9 (pdf)
• Good economic times return for corn-based ethanol industry http://bit.ly/r9lprV while candidate dodges ethanol question http://bit.ly/oHqkiP
• Net 2011 farm income is forecast by USDA ERS to be up 31 percent from 2010 http://1.usa.gov/5s7CpE
• IA Farm Bureau president praises "farmer friendly" environmental & regulatory policies of Gov. Branstad http://bit.ly/qOWXB9
• Corn Growers Assc policy objective for next farm bill: development of "effective, affordable crop insurance program" http://bit.ly/pe41yb

Water Quality-

• Electric Power Research Institute to use Conservation Innovation Grant for Ohio River Basin water quality trade pilot http://bit.ly/oPgfSi
• Poll finds national support for protecting & restoring LA's coastal wetlands & limiting Mississippi Basin pollutants http://bit.ly/pLypSF
• USGS: Widely-used herbicide (Roundup) commonly found in Mississippi River Basin rain & streams http://on.doi.gov/phrzAz
• Ohio River Basin part of pilot water quality trading market program http://bit.ly/nHPcqc
• EPA holds public meeting in first step to determine new pollution limits for impaired Floyds Fork watershed (KY) http://bit.ly/pFpSIw

Water Resource Management (Floodplains, Dams, Navigation, Flooding, etc.) -

• Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX): FEMA is "Deeply Flawed" System http://bit.ly/rjSiEI
• Federal FEMA disaster aid has been made available to Iowa for July 27-29 storms & flooding http://1.usa.gov/nSAvON
• Documentary "The Big Uneasy" - much of Katrina damage to New Orleans preventable with better planning/engineering http://bit.ly/r9DvUi
• Agreement between Louisiana & Corps re: Lower Mississippi River study draws conservation community praise http://bit.ly/o21ANd

In the States -

• DesMoines Register op-ed: Iowa DNR's confined feedlot water quality enforcement continues to be non-existent http://bit.ly/oRTxLb
• AR commission grants mining company relaxed new treated water quality standards to the dismay of area residents http://bit.ly/nS5GCM

Biodiversity, Wildlife and Invasives -

• Fish and Wildlife Service director: must work to restore credibility re: what drives FWS endangered species listings http://nyti.ms/n97h68
• SD Dept. of Game, Fish & Parks pheasant brood survey shows 46% decline from 2010; weather & CRP acreage loss blamed http://bit.ly/pakRHs
• Six attorneys general seek Great Lakes, Mississippi basin split http://trib.in/reQXCk

Federal Budget -

• Here is a handy primer on the deficit reduction Supercommittee and what it will be doing through the end of the year http://bit.ly/qJVMxX
• Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) predicts the new deficit-cutting supercommittee will fail http://bit.ly/nJmhcv

Gulf Coastal Area-

• New Orleans post-Katrina recovery still "spotty" http://usat.ly/oNsDB1
• Poll finds national support for protecting & restoring LA's coastal wetlands & limiting Mississippi Basin pollutants http://bit.ly/pLypSF
• Gulf of Mexico oil spill research grants go to 8 consortia ($112.5 million over 3 years) http://bit.ly/oOLyAO

Resource extraction -

• Op-ed: The Pacific Institute calls for better monitoring of water contamination from fracking http://bit.ly/npCzGe

Events - 

• 2011 Horinko Group Water Resources Summit; October 25; U of MD College Park http://tinyurl.com/3zganno
• 13th Biennial Governorís Conference on the Management of the Illinois River System; Oct 4-6; Peoria http://bit.ly/8YbqO
• 2011 Upper Mississippi River Conference; Sept 21-23, Bettendorf, IA http://bit.ly/lp0jXH
• First Biennial IL River RiverWatch Symposium, Peoria, Illinois, October 4 bit.ly/o3swiZ
• Iowa university extensions' Sept. 12 webinar to address recovery for flood-impacted cropland http://bit.ly/oMar5g
• Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative 2011 Statewide Mtg; Sept 29-Oct 1, Green Bay, WI http://bit.ly/oYe7OM
• Farm Foundation Forum: Data Collection on Agriculture in a Time of Fiscal Constraints; Washington DC; Sept. 13 http://bit.ly/olCIp3

e-Newsletters, Publications and Journals -

• Northeast-Midwest Institute's August Update (PDF file) on Mississippi River Basin issues is now available bit.ly/oKo9HY

Other news-

• Clean Water America Alliance accepting US Water Prize nominations through December 7 http://bit.ly/ntdj3k
• GAO: EPA research/technical activities fragmented; largely uncoordinated after not implementing 1992 recommendations http://nyti.ms/oelKvo
• Indiana power companies warn of a "regulatory train wreck" due to new Fed air, water & waste regulations http://bit.ly/nOTtLT
• Complexity theorist formula predicts social unrest related to corn price trends & ethanol-related price spikes http://bit.ly/pfm7f4
• USGS study of 23 trace elements & radon in groundwater nationwide from 1992-2003 http://on.doi.gov/nQiKAN
• GOP lawmakers accuse major environmental groups of profiting from taxpayers by suing the federal government http://1.usa.gov/oZIDov

Political Scene - 

• Former GOP Rep. Mark Neumann enters WI US Senate race http://bit.ly/pYf7v6
• WI state Speaker Fitzgerald (R) joins in race for soon-to-be open Senate seat (US Sen Kohl's seat) http://bit.ly/qDdTCK
• House Majority Leader Cantor (R-VA) outlines GOP agenda for thwarting EPA & other regulations http://1.usa.gov/nnPVCK
• Republican Beth Ann Rankin, who lost to Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR) in 2010, will run for US House again http://bit.ly/oUCp8g

Last Word - "Cultivate a better world."
Coldplay's song "The Scientist" is performed by Willie Nelson in this new short (2:20 minute) film entitled, "Back to the Start" and posted on YouTube. The animated film, by film-maker Johnny Kelly, depicts the life of a farmer who slowly turns a family farm into an industrial animal operation before opting for a return to a much smaller scale operation.  Both the film and the soundtrack were commissioned by Chipotle, so there is a very innocuous add placement for chipotle.com at the end of the piece, along with the message, "Cultivate a Better World."

"Back to the Start"

Coldplay's song "The Scientist" is performed by Willie Nelson in this new short (2:20 minute) film entitled, "Back to the Start" and posted on YouTube.  The animated film, by film-maker Johnny Kelly, depicts the life of a farmer who slowly turns a family farm into an industrial animal operation before opting for a return to a much smaller scale operation.  Both the film and the soundtrack were commissioned by Chipotle, so there is a very innocuous add placement for chipotle.com at the end of the piece, along with the message, "Cultivate a Better World."

August Issue of "Mississippi River Basin Update" Published

Here is the link to the August Update (PDF file) from the Northeast-Midwest Institute on Mississippi River Basin issues.  The August Update contains these items:

RIVER BASIN NEWS AND NOTES

• USGS: No Consistent Nitrate Declines in Mississippi River Basin 
• NRCS Hosts Mississippi River Basin Initiative Briefing 
• Great Lakes & Mississippi River Interbasin Study Aquatic Nuisance Species White Paper 
• New, Enhanced University of Minnesota “River Life” Internet Site 
• Upcoming Conferences, Events and Workshops

LEGISLATION, BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS

• Budget Control Act and Fiscal Year 2012 Appropriations

Deficit Reduction Supercommittee Primer

The President signed the Budget Control Act of 2011 into law on August 2 (text available here).  The law authorized a $900 billion increase in the Federal debt ceiling.  The legislation in part created a twelve-member bipartisan Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (which almost immediately became known as the "Supercommittee").  The job of the Supercommittee is to identify from $1.2 to $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction (in the form of either spending cuts or new revenue) over the 2012 to 2021 period and to submit that proposal to Congress for a straight up or down vote.  

Between September 7 and November 23, the Supercommittee will have its window of opportunity to make targeted cuts from Federal programs.  If a proposal is developed and then approved by the Supercommittee, the committee’s report and legislative language is required to be issued by December 2, and then be presented to the House and Senate on a "take-it-or-leave-it" basis.  Congress will need to vote on the Supercommittee's proposal by December 23.

If December 23 passes without Congressional approval of the Supercommittee’s proposal, then “sequestration” forces automatic spending reductions of $1.2 trillion, including $600 billion in defense cuts, and $600 billion in cuts from all other programs, through 9 percent across-the-board spending reductions (except Medicare, which would be cut by only 2 percent).

If the Supercommittee fails to reach agreement or produces less than $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction, then the President is authorized to increase the debt ceiling by $1.2 trillion.  However, if Congress passes a Supercommittee plan to reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion (or more), then the President may increase the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion.

Although provisions to raise the debt limit and create the Supercommittee drew most of the attention to the legislation, the measure also importantly established federal spending limits for the next two fiscal years (2012 and 2013).  And while members of Congress will likely still disagree over how much spending is funneled toward which Federal agencies and defense, Congressional Democrats and Republicans alike have noted that the bipartisan compromise on 2012 and 2103 spending contained in the legislation makes it unlikely that an appropriation's impasse will bring the Congress to the brink of closing the government before Federal spending authority runs out on September 30 (the end of the current fiscal year).

The 12 Super Committee members, with links to their official web pages) include:

• Representatives Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), Dave Camp (R-MI) and Fred Upton (R-MI) (appointed by House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH))
• Representatives Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jim Clyburn (D-SC) and Xavier Becerra (D-CA) (appointed by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA))
• Senators Max Baucus (D-MT), John Kerry (D-MA), and Patty Murray (D-WA) (appointed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV))
• Senators Pat Toomey (R-PA), Jon Kyl (R-AZ), and Rob Portman (R-OH) (appointed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY))

Senator Murray and Congressman Hensarling will serve as Supercommittee Co-Chairs.

University of Minnesota's River Life Announces New, Enhanced Web Site

The River Life web site is very rich in information and well worth visiting on an ongoing basis.  The following new web site announcement was received from the River Life folks this morning.

River Life, a program of the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota, is pleased to announce the launch of our new web site at riverlife.umn.edu.

Launched in late August, 2011, the web site reflects our evolving program and our commitment to help our audience learn more about rivers and river issues. River Life uses social media, a digital atlas, and case study reports to develop and share knowledge on the scientific and professional practices that create inclusive, sustainable rivers. We discuss science, planning, engagement, inclusion, sustainability and river issues in a spatial, thoughtful, and timely manner.

While visiting the web site you can explore useful and interesting River Resources, keep up-to-date on what has caught our attention in the media in the River Portal, and examine the stories of how communities and individuals have lived with the river at River Stories. Make the river a part of your curriculum or teaching and get on the ground experience with the river as a part of River Rangers. See how stories, resources, and issues connect spatially with the River Atlas – a bird’s eye view of rivers and river issues. For more information you can read our River Talk blog, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Rivers represent perhaps the most complex biological and physical systems in the world. Yet our great rivers are threatened: water quality and quantity both are at peril from overuse, from competing uses, and from a generalized failure to recognize how valuable and imperiled the resource really is. Our work is grounded in a conviction that future river managers will need to be conversant in the sciences, public policy, design, planning, and in the engagement programs that reach the broadest sectors of the populace.

There’s great work happening all over.  Exemplary projects, programs, and places.  All this and more at the River Life site riverlife.umn.edu.  Go take a look and tell us what you think!

Mississippi River Basin Water Resource News for the Week

"Look!  Up in the sky!" - What to Expect from the Deficit Reduction Supercommittee

The president signed the Budget Control Act of 2011 into law on August 2.  The law authorized a $900 billion increase in the Federal debt ceiling.  The legislation in part created a twelve-member bipartisan Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (which immediately became known as the "Supercommittee").  The job of the Supercommittee is to identify from $1.2 to $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction (in the form of either spending cuts or new revenue) over the 2012 to 2021 period and to submit that proposal to Congress for a straight up or down vote.  

Between September 7 and November 23, the Supercommittee will have its window of opportunity to make targeted cuts from Federal programs.  If a proposal is developed and then approved by the Supercommittee, the committee’s report and legislative language is required to be issued by December 2, and then be presented to the House and Senate on a "take-it-or-leave-it" basis.  Congress will need to vote on the Supercommittee's proposal by December 23.

If December 23 passes without Congressional approval of the Supercommittee’s proposal, then “sequestration” forces automatic spending reductions of $1.2 trillion, including $600 billion in defense cuts, and $600 billion in cuts from all other programs, through 9 percent across-the-board spending reductions (except Medicare, which would be cut by only 2 percent).

If the Supercommittee fails to reach agreement or produces less than $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction, then the President is authorized to increase the debt ceiling by $1.2 trillion.  However, if Congress passes a Supercommittee plan to reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion (or more), then the President may increase the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion.

The 12 Super Committee members include:

• Representatives Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), Dave Camp (R-MI) and Fred Upton (R-MI) (appointed by House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH))
• Representatives Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jim Clyburn (D-SC) and Xavier Becerra (D-CA) (appointed by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA))
• Senators Max Baucus (D-MT), John Kerry (D-MA), and Patty Murray (D-WA) (appointed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV))
• Senators Pat Toomey (R-PA), Jon Kyl (R-AZ), and Rob Portman (R-OH) (appointed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY))

Senator Murray and Congressman Hensarling will serve as Supercommittee Co-Chairs.

Notable @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week: 

Agriculture -

• USDA Secretary Vilsack: economics makes continuation of farm conservation efforts uncertain http://bit.ly/qmQyb0
• SD GOP Senator John Thune: "the biggest (budget cut) bulls-eye right now is on direct payments" http://bit.ly/qdzXgc
• Kansas-based corn waste to energy project to commercialize cellulosic ethanol by 2013 http://1.usa.gov/p0XaRW
• Agribusiness confidence slips for first time since August 2010 on back of ethanol uncertainties http://bit.ly/o7sMmY
• International Water Management Institute: Water resources at risk from growing global demand for food http://bit.ly/nad8cP
• USDA publishes 20-year WRP commemorative “Restoring America’s Wetlands: A Private Lands Conservation Success Story” http://1.usa.gov/p0qjvV
• EPA Issues Clean Water Act Compliance Orders to 6 Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations in Iowa, Kansas; Nebraska http://1.usa.gov/oANk8u
• USDA "AmberWaves" Sept 2011 Featured Article: Reducing Agriculture’s Nitrogen Footprint http://1.usa.gov/p3HWeR
• USDA ERS study analyzes whether federal farm programs encourage native grassland losses http://1.usa.gov/pQ91AK
• Native grassland advocates worry rising crop prices cause farmers to plow under native SD grass to grow more grain http://bit.ly/oV0dS5
• Intriguing chart showing USDA conservation program spending by category from 1949-present (and ERS analysis): http://1.usa.gov/pqapRX
• Links to testimony from August 25 Farm Bill field hearing by the Senate Agriculture Committee in Wichita, KS: http://bit.ly/qfDPx4
• Senate & House Agricultural committees will start writing versions of latest farm bill in matter of weeks http://bit.ly/pBCdFr

Water Quality-

• Second exposed petroleum product pipeline ruptures in Missouri River flood zone http://on.wsj.com/rpcuAF
• Iowa City Press-Citizen Editorial: Significant steps needed to restore the Iowa River http://bit.ly/p1xmQi
• Keeping water on the land is the solution to erosion, pollution & flooding that plague Iowa River http://bit.ly/r9XvdJ
• Study: Ag land associated with good water quality in highly-urbanized watersheds, but to pollution in less-urbanized http://bit.ly/r8r37W
• Environmental groups: KY coal company submitted >17,000 possibly false water pollution discharge reports http://bit.ly/oSzXON

Water Resource Management (Floodplains, Dams, Navigation, Flooding, etc.) -

• Army Corps' Mississippi & Missouri Rivers' work won't be done in time to protect areas from run-of-mill 2012 floods http://on.wsj.com/pIc3DM
• Group opposes multimillion dollar Illinois River island-building project http://bit.ly/p0oK1k
• 7 Missouri River governors pledge cooperation to convince Army Corps to make flood control top priority http://bit.ly/qBTuM2 & http://bit.ly/ngGFyI
• Op-ed: Army Corps Flood Failures on Mississippi Demand New Vision http://bloom.bg/nn0kPV

In the States -

• WI DNR announces restructuring plan to make agency more responsive to public http://bit.ly/psV33S
• Funding cuts have some worried about Iowa’s commitment to protecting its rivers http://bit.ly/nboGqk
• UMETCO Minerals Corp clean water violations & lack of AR DEQ enforcement frustrate public http://bit.ly/oOCPvt

Biodiversity, Wildlife and Invasives -

• MN DNR wants sonic bubbler barrier against invasive carp in St. Croix River http://bit.ly/qOFG0L
• MN DNR: no Asian carp captured during 5 day search of St. Croix River http://cbsloc.al/mPXsWf
• MN DNR Search Continues for Asian Carp in St. Croix River http://bit.ly/p6XEdg
• North Dakota's waterlogged landscape attracting massive flocks of breeding ducks http://bit.ly/oKViUx
• Invasive Oriental bittersweet control in Minnesota: A presentation by MDA [available to view on-line] http://bit.ly/poIOcf

Federal Budget -

• OMB to Federal agencies: cut your budgets by 5-10% for FY 2013 budget request (OMB memo: http://bit.ly/rkVlkc (PDF file))
• Debt-ceiling agreement providing little help to congressional appropriators running late on their funding bills http://bit.ly/qPrShg
• House Ag Committee Chairman & Ranking Minority Member mapping out unified Farm Bill program spending cut strategy http://bit.ly/nQsdVR
• Conservation Stewardship Program is "low-hanging" Farm Bill fruit that could be cut or eliminated by Supercommittee http://bit.ly/r7vQhk

Gulf Coastal Area-

• Invasive Apple Snails continue to spread in Barataria-Terrebonne Estuary region (Texas & Louisiana) http://bit.ly/q5blha

Resource extraction -

• EPA officials tour eastern Kentucky coal mining region to hear community concerns http://bit.ly/nn9m1a
• WV enacts temporary shale drilling regulations http://bit.ly/qsQbBh

Events -

• 31st International Symposium of the North American Lake Management Society; Oct 26-28; Spokane, WA http://bit.ly/rdV3rf
• Managing Water. Harvesting Results - America's Ag Water Management Summit.  October 11-12; Bloomington, MN http://bit.ly/p5iiPs
• First Illinois RiverWatch Biennial Symposium; Peoria, Illinois, October 4 http://bit.ly/qwukM5
• 2011 Horinko Group Water Resources Summit; October 25; U of MD College Park http://tinyurl.com/3zganno
• World Agricultural Forum Congress: Rethinking Agriculture To Sustain Growing Global Population; Nov 18-Dec 1, Brussels http://bit.ly/nemvFj
• Kentucky Stormwater Association is having its annual convention September 27-29; Frankfort, KY http://bit.ly/q6fw2J
• National Nonpoint Source Monitoring workshop/Low Impact Development conference  Sept 25-28, Philadelphia, PA http://bit.ly/bVpnUT
• Iowa Farm Bureau will hold its annual summer policy conference next Tuesday - Wednesday http://bit.ly/nUjhXw

e-Newsletters, Publications and Journals -

• Latest issue of Journal of Sustainable Human Development now available online http://bit.ly/n9tf7j

Other news-

• Okla. tribes sue state over water rights, seeking to stop exports until water rights are analyzed & allocated http://nyti.ms/peSg7M
• Stream restoration key to Cincinnati's battle against urban blight & excess stormwater runoff http://nyti.ms/qdiNbR
• Analysis: Role of Baseline Data & Analytical References in Restoring Ecological Integrity in Highly Regulated Rivers http://bit.ly/pI0rUk
• Severe hurricanes prompt talk of changing storm scales and adding "Category 6" http://bit.ly/pTEnUM
• Journal PLoS Biology: # of species on Earth: 8.7 million give or take http://reut.rs/pSckjs

Political Scene -

• Poll has Missouri Lt. Gov. Kinder (R) trailing Gov. Nixon (D), 48 to 41 % in the governor's race http://politi.co/omEuxL (pdf file)
• Former GOP congressman Mark Neumann set to announce US Senate campaign for Kohl's WI seat http://bit.ly/phj6a6
• No criminal charges will be filed in  WI Supreme Court fisticuffs case http://bit.ly/oTww35 (and you thought Midwesterners were docile!)

Last Word -"They used to cane each other and have duels! The Speaker of the House Henry Clay was in at least one duel!"  - House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), in an interview with Slate, on why the 112th Congress isn't so bad.

Mississippi River Basin Water Resource News for the Week - Lake Wobegon Edition

It's Been a Quiet Week in Lake Wobegon
And inside the Capital Beltway, as well, as most of the nation's politicians have fled DC's heated air and its even more heated debates for home soils, vacation vistas or international junkets.  But the waters of the Mississippi River basin continue to flow south to the Gulf in large quantities, carrying nitrogen and phosphorous along for the ride, invasive species continue to move north into an ever-widening reach of streams, and people still contribute to solving or exacerbating those and many other River Basin problems - both purposely and (mostly) unintentionally.  That's all conveniently captured in the following summary of the week's news.

Notable @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week: 

Agriculture -

• USDA Economic Research Service: The Ethanol Decade: An Expansion of US Corn Production, 2000-09 http://1.usa.gov/roRURD
• Iowa Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative project highlighted in Dubuque Telegraph Herald http://bit.ly/n04c7j
• Op-ed: "Iowa, the leading state for political hypoxia" leads to a damaging fresh & coastal water http://bit.ly/pLY4fU
• China’s struggle to meet growing middle class demands could upend corn's world trade flows http://on.wsj.com/r50F4p

Water Quality-

• Paper mill admits fish kill fault as dead fish flow into Louisiana's Lake Pontchartrain http://bit.ly/nXXdyT
• Gulf of Mexico sends warning to SD about agriculture's contributions to hypoxia http://bit.ly/opeTJ0

Water Resource Management (Floodplains, Dams, Navigation, Flooding, etc.) -

• Missourians opposed to "Plan H" Mississippi River-taming effort http://bit.ly/o6oJCV
• CBS St Louis: Another year, another "flood of the century'' on the Mississippi River; is river taming worth it? http://cbsloc.al/oh4KaZ
• Op-ed-"Nation needs fresh view of its rivers"-Mark Davis, Inst on Water Resources Law & Policy, Tulane Law School http://bit.ly/pJtlFa
• Missouri River governors to meet with Army Corps on flood issues http://bit.ly/p2LmSa
• This year's "once-in-500-year" Missouri River flood may not be so once-in-a-500-ish http://bit.ly/qwuTax
• Army Corps budget cuts may slow Birds Point, MO levee rebuilding http://bit.ly/qJdrPj
• >100 years after Chicago River flow was reversed, engineers consider re-reversing out of Mississippi basin http://bit.ly/pNIQV8

In the States -

• Environmental groups file notice of intent to sue EPA to move water quality authority from Iowa DNR http://bit.ly/pGe8ay
• Iowa CCI files ethics complaint against environmental commissioner  claiming conflict of interest http://bit.ly/pLvPQZ

Biodiversity, Wildlife and Invasives -

• Evidence of invasive Asian Carp found in St. Croix River by MN DNR http://cbsloc.al/pwo1Rz
• MN DNR: Asian carp may be in or may soon be in some of MN's largest waterways http://bit.ly/qcS1rp
• Asian (Bighead) carp caught by angler in Lower Wisconsin River http://bit.ly/pnGVv5
• MN DNR dispatches fisheries crews to search for Silver Carp in St. Croix River http://bit.ly/o3f42X

Federal Budget -

• Focus now on Congressional committees of jurisdiction - have until Oct 4 to send recommendations to debt supercommittee http://bit.ly/oN2031

Gulf Coastal Area-

• Public meetings ongoing re: Louisiana's Coastal Master Plan & recommending specific actions for saving coast http://bit.ly/o9JWiW

Resource extraction -

• Poll: Appalachian voters oppose mountaintop mining; favor regulation http://bit.ly/pi0IDC
• Seeking a safer future for electricity's coal ash waste [National Geographic] http://bit.ly/oAotar
• Circuit Court judge strikes down ban on fracking by Morgantown, WV  http://bit.ly/o8VpT9
• Environmental Integrity Project coal waste report spotlights IL-home to 2nd highest number of US ash dumps http://bit.ly/nINLDW
• Enviro groups' report on 37 states highlights "inadequate" coal ash state regulations http://bit.ly/oGscUB

Events -

• 2011 Horinko Group Water Resources Summit; October 25; U of MD College Park http://tinyurl.com/3zganno
• Public meetings ongoing re: Louisiana's Coastal Master Plan & recommending specific actions for saving coast http://bit.ly/o9JWiW
• Save the dates: Oct 18-19 Memphis TN workshop: Assessing Recreation Impacts from Hydrokinetic Energy Projects http://bit.ly/qY0ecN
• 13th biennial Governor's Conference: "Illinois River: A National Opportunity" Oct 5-6; Marquette IL http://bit.ly/qbuwRp & http://bit.ly/8YbqO
• Screening of "The Big Uneasy", award-winning documentary of New Orleans & Katrina; Sept 8; 6:45 pm, Minneapolis MN http://bit.ly/p7uYAb

e-Newsletters, Publications and Journals -

• The latest Minnesota Forest Insect & Disease Newsletter from @MNDNR:  http://bit.ly/3q1juD
• The U of MN River Talk blog has moved over to its new web site at http://bit.ly/rp6X1A

Other news-

• River cruising poised to return to the Mississippi next year http://on.msnbc.com/qO30tn
• Obama to use USDA and SBA to attract venture capital to rural areas (announcement Tuesday) http://bit.ly/nTu7ts

Political Scene -

• Democrats survive in final Wisconsin recalls http://politi.co/pV5rQQ

Last Word - The labor monument at Lewis and Clark Landing in Omaha, Nebraska on Tuesday, when the Missouri River was measured at 33.98 feet; the first time that the River had been below 34 feet since June 20.