Holiday Greetings

The Northeast-Midwest Institute's Mississippi River Basin Blog and your FNB ("friendly neighborhood blogger") are taking a holiday vacation until January 3. Please have a safe, happy and peaceful time, wherever you are this season.

December Mississippi River Basin Update

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

RIVER BASIN NEWS AND NOTES

• Task Force Final Strategy for Restoring Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ecosystem
• GAO’s Report on Actions Needed to Resolve Environmental and Flooding Concerns Surrounding Mississippi River Training Structures
• EPA’s Extension of Public Comment Period for Proposed CAFO Rule
• USDA Revised National Nutrient Management Standard Issued
• CRS and USDA Overviews of Conservation and Other Farm Bill Programs
• Report Calls into Question One Motivation for Expanding Mississippi River Locks and Dams
• Upcoming Conferences, Events and Workshops

LEGISLATION, BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS

• 2012 Congressional Calendar
• Consolidated Appropriations Package Cuts EPA Significantly; Provides Army Corps with Flood Reconstruction Money
• Spending Bill Rider Blocks Army Corps from Implementing Updated Water Policy
• Farm Bill Update

EPA Extends Public Comment Period for Proposed CAFO Rule

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has extended the public comment period for its proposed CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operations) rule in response to requests from the public for additional time to submit comments. The comment period is now extended to January 19, 2012. EPA says that it "proposed the rule in order to more effectively carry out its CAFO permitting programs on a national level and ensure that CAFOs are implementing practices to protect water quality and human health."

For information on the proposed rule, including instructions on how to submit comments, visit this EPA web site.

Last Minute Spending Bill Rider Blocks Army Corps from Implementing Updated Water Policy

A rider added at the last minute to a large Federal spending package passed by the House would block the Army Corps of Engineers from implementing updates to the U.S. water resource management policy (known as the "Principles and Guidelines;" under development by the White House Council on Environmental Quality) for the next Fiscal Year (see this Environment and Engineering news article on the rider and its impact - PDF file).  On Friday (December 9), the House passed a massive ($1 trillion) Federal appropriations ("megabus") bill that will fund the Federal government through the remainder of the 2012 Fiscal Year.  The rider was among several attached to the legislation.  Final passage of the spending package came on a 67-32 Senate roll call vote on Saturday, which followed on a 296-121 bipartisan House vote on Friday afternoon.

The rider, in its entirety, reads:
"Water Resources Principles and Guidelines.-No funds are provided for the line item proposed for Water Resources Principles and Guidelines, as this is considered a new start. No funds provided to the Corps shall be used to develop or implement rules or guidance if an update or replacement to the document dated March 10, 1983, and entitled "Economic and Environmental Principles and Guidelines for Water and Related Land Resources Implementation Studies" is finalized during the fiscal year period covered by the Energy and Water Development Act for 2012. The Corps shall continue to use the Water Resources Principles and Guidelines in effect as of the date of enactment of this Act during that same period."

For additional details, including a summary packet and links to the legislation, visit this House Appropriations Committee web site. 

Mississippi River Basin Water Resource News for the Week - Final 2011 Edition

NRCS to Hold Briefing on Mississippi River Basin Healthy Waters Initiative and Related RFP
USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has scheduled a December 22, 10 AM (Eastern) meeting to update conservation and agricultural partners on the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Waters Initiative (MRBI). The briefing has been timed to coincide with the publication of the next MRBI Request for Proposals (RFP) (to be published in the Federal Register the week of December 19).  Interested parties can attend in person, or connect remotely by telephone and internet. Read details here.

GAO: Actions Needed to Resolve  Mississippi River Training Structures' Environmental and Flooding Concerns
In a December 9 report, the General Accounting Office (GAO) found that Army Corps of Engineers' Middle Mississippi River projects have not always complied with all environmental requirements, and may in the long run have destroyed habitat and worsened flooding along the River. Here is a link to the GAO report summary web page, which includes links to the full report and a report highlights' sheet.  The GAO prepared the report at the request of Rep. Timothy Bishop (D-NY-1), Ranking Member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee’s Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment, and Rep. Jerry Costello (D-IL-11) Ranking Member of the T&I Subcommittee on Aviation.

CRS and USDA Provide Comprehensive Overviews of Conservation and Other Farm Bill Programs
On November 30, the Congressional Research Service published a new guide to Agricultural Conservation Programs managed by the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Farm Service Agency (FSA).  Entitled "Agricultural Conservation: A Guide to Programs," the report provides an overview of 22 NRCS and FSA programs available to assist producers and landowners who wish to practice conservation on agricultural lands (download or view the Guide as a PDF file here).  On a related note, the USDA's Economic Research Service on December 15 released its “Farm Program Atlas,” an on-line resource designed to provide "access to an array of public data on Federal farm programs that will allow users to visually explore a core component of U.S. agricultural policy." The reports should prove to be valuable resources over the upcoming months, as Congress considers changes to and consolidation of many of those programs during its Farm Bill discussions.

Highly-Anticipated Revised National Nutrient Management Standard Issued by USDA
On December 13, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) revised its national conservation practice standard on nutrient management, and released the long-anticipated revised standard ("Standard 590"), along with an accompanying general National Nutrient Management Policy manual and National Instruction.  In a summary accompanying the standard's release, NRCS said that it is the intent of the "national conservation practice standard on nutrient management to help producers better manage the application of nutrients on agricultural land," while protecting and improving "ground and surface water, air quality, soil quality and agricultural sustainability."  You can read more details, and find links to the relevant standard documents, here).

Congress to Pass Megabus Federal Spending Bill Today; Cuts EPA Significantly; Provides Army Corps Flood Reconstruction Money
Last evening members of a joint Senate-House Conference Committee agreed to the provisions of a massive ($1 trillion) Federal appropriations ("megabus") bill that, when approved by Congress and signed by the President later Friday, will fund the Federal government through the remainder of the 2012 Fiscal Year. The megabus is the same as the 1,219-page Consolidated Appropriations bill package posted late Wednesday night by House appropriators, with the exception of two changes in provisions related to relationships with Cuba and the funding level for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. For an updated summary of the three-bill package, you can visit here (PDF file). For additional details, including a summary packet and links to the legislation, visit this House Appropriations Committee web site. 

Notable @UpperMiss Twitter Postings for the Week
Agriculture -

• NPR: Putting farmland on a fertilizer diet: USDA's new national nutrient management standard http://n.pr/u4qMaZ
• Midwestern farmers may see steep increases in crop insurance premiums because flood-damaged levees not repaired http://wapo.st/soDbCY
• US farmers enjoying best run in decades due to high crop, land & livestock prices & demand for corn used to make ethanol http://wapo.st/u6ygIe
• High commodity prices and harsh winters threaten Conservation Reserve Program, habitats and wildlife in farm belt http://bit.ly/vWogbq
• Battle over elimination of ethanol subsidies goes down to last minute as stakeholders vie for congressional attention http://dmreg.co/rTxs7T

Farm Bill-

• Agriculture's Conservation Reserve Program at a crossroads  http://bit.ly/tTdVpl
• Op-ed: “Why the farm bill needs a robust energy title” by James Greenwood & Roger Johnson http://bit.ly/t18fhG
• Farm Bill conservation programs threatened by anticipated budget cuts http://huff.to/roIAJL

Water Quality -

• House committee examines US wastewater infrastructure issues in light of EPA policy and funding http://1.usa.gov/uBY4FW
• Senators issue bipartisan call at hearing for more spending to fix nation's water and wastewater infrastructure http://1.usa.gov/v4Y2sD
• Coal company to pay $4.5M Clean Water Act penalty for WV selenium dumps http://bit.ly/umyNIa
• Chicago to eliminate raw sewage flow into Chicago River under settlement; news- http://bit.ly/rOVjkx; EPA page- http://1.usa.gov/rQsyl9
• Op-ed: Renewing America’s commitment to clean water (by Jan Goldman-Carter, National Wildlife Federation) http://bit.ly/u3aiMW

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

• Senate testimony calls for fundamental changes to US water policy http://bit.ly/twAHGi
• $1.6 million Army Corps study looks for ways to restore lost wildlife & plant habitat along lower Mississippi River http://trib.in/vbp7Qk
• GAO: Army Corps Actions Needed to Resolve Environmental & Flooding Concerns in Middle Mississippi River http://bit.ly/rHQvnd
• Corps cuts flow from Missouri River Gavins Point Dam to increase later flood storage capacity downstream http://bit.ly/vNfkv2
• Dredged material from Army Corps Mississippi River channel project expected to form new island, but no one knows where http://bit.ly/rqc9dM
• Federal Claims court trial opens in shipping canal & Army Corps rolls in Katrina flooding http://bit.ly/t6T1Nh
• Army Corps of Engineers short on levee-repair money after Missouri River flooding http://bit.ly/t1OUkl
• FEMA $1.6 M grant to Winnebago Co, IL for acquisition/removal of  homes repeatedly damaged by Rock River flooding http://1.usa.gov/s4K88e

In the States -

• Louisiana is one of worst states in country at enforcing environmental laws, EPA Inspector General finds http://bit.ly/uDwdBd (see related link below in "Other News")
• KY environmentalists ask court to vacate Clean Water Act settlement btw KY Energy & Environment Cabinet & coal company http://bit.ly/vu3ghp
• EPA and IA DNR want 4 cities to fix stormwater problems before renewing wastewater treatment plant permit http://bit.ly/veigH3
• IL Dept of Ag approves hog farm construction although county board advised denial due to water resource concerns http://bit.ly/uR71oM
• Coalition of MO environmental groups urges National Park Service to strengthen Jacks Fork and Current Rivers management http://bit.ly/uCvQy8 & http://bit.ly/u7cvXW

Biodiversity, Wildlife and Invasives -

• Coalition of  Minnesota conservation groups: Close Mississippi River Ford Dam lock to keep Asian Carp out http://bit.ly/t4fQlb
• Kentucky assigns four-mile “Outstanding State Resource Water” Ohio River area to protect endangered mussels http://bit.ly/vDPCKz
• Minnesota sees new setback in fight against invasive Asian carp http://bit.ly/rZWNOo

Federal Budget -

• Shutdown averted: Deal reached on $1 trillion omnibus spending bill  http://bit.ly/seSpzm and http://politi.co/uoXyFl
• Congress to Pass Megabus Federal Spending Bill Today; significant cuts to EPA remain in final package http://bit.ly/uLpmDT

Gulf Coastal Area-

• Officials release first round of BP oil spill Gulf restoration project proposals (totaling $57 million) http://bit.ly/rJMFUm

Resource extraction -

• Duke University study links mountaintop mining to degraded waterways http://bit.ly/vfHR6f
• Environmental Integrity Project report: 20 coal-ash dumps in 10 states linked to groundwater & soil contamination http://bit.ly/uui295 
• West Virginia governor to sign Marcellus gas regulatory bill http://on.wsj.com/vk5lyc and http://bit.ly/rBCCjx

Events-

• Horinko Group Webinar: Family Farms, Rural Landscapes, and the Farm Bill  January 18, 1:30 PM EST http://bit.ly/vyfon4
• USDA's Agricultural Outlook Forum 2012 - Moving Agriculture Forward; February 23-24; Arlington, VA 1.usa.gov/cPKpGZ
• NRCS December 22 Briefing on Mississippi River Basin Healthy Waters Initiative & Related RFP (phone call-in available) http://bit.ly/ts9DFb
• 2 free upcoming Farm Bill webinars: Conservation: Dec 16, 11 am; Local & Regional Food Systems: Dec 19, 11 am http://bit.ly/vYZ0GR

e-Newsletters, Publications and Journals -

• TNC Great Rivers Partnership Monthly e-Newsletter http://bit.ly/u0YGb7

Other news-

• EPA Inspector General: Inadequate State Oversight by EPA Leads to "Weak and Inconsistent" Enforcement (PDF of report: http://1.usa.gov/sfjw7M)
• USDA: increasing wheat supplies helping to drive down global food costs http://on.wsj.com/sJsmh7 &  PDF report: http://bit.ly/v1CPSi
• Bipartisan group of House members introduce bill to expand hydropower http://1.usa.gov/tpBhO5 (PDF of bill)

Political Scene -

• USA Today poll: Resurgent Republicans close gap in 12 key Presidential swing states http://usat.ly/tBBNF4
• Former school administrator Brad Harriman has announced he will run for retiring Rep. Jerry Costello’s (D-IL) seat http://bit.ly/srs6TL
• Do White House politics trump science? http://politi.co/uZZ0HZ
• Milwaukee County prosecutors secretly probing WI Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) campaign staff; arrest made http://bit.ly/sa1C8w 
• Rep. Geoff Davis (R-KY-4) announces that he will retire http://bit.ly/s8LEc1

Last Word - We leave this year's final "Last Word" to Samuel Langhorne Clemens (a/k/a Mark Twain), who reminds us that "The Mississippi River will always have its own way. No engineering skill can persuade it to do otherwise." And what better way to illustrate Clemens' 1866 wisdom than with this 2011 aerial view of some of the homes inundated within the Mississippi River's floodplain last spring and summer (these near Vicksburg, Mississippi on May 23).

Congress to Pass Megabus Federal Spending Bill Today

Last evening members of a joint Senate-House Conference Committee agreed to the provisions of a massive ($1 trillion) Federal appropriations ("megabus") bill that, when approved by Congress and signed by the President later today, will fund the Federal government through the remainder of the 2012 Fiscal Year (FY).  The bill package is the same as the 1,219-page Consolidated Appropriations bill package posted late Wednesday night by House appropriators, with the exception of two changes in provisions related to relationships with Cuba and the funding level for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.  For an updated summary of the three-bill package, you can visit here (PDF file). 

Notably, with respect to Mississippi River Basin natural resource issues, the substantial (18 percent) cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency's budget and provision of flood control reconstruction money to the Army Corps of Engineers remain identical to those described in our article on the consolidated bill package here.

House Democrats were able to resolve most of the major disagreements that they had with their Republican colleagues regarding legislative riders to the appropriations bills.  You can find the summary of the legislative riders that remain and key funding levels in the legislative package here (with a nod to NWF's Joshua Saks (Senior Legislative Representative) for this latter link).

UPDATE:  Final passage of the spending package came on a 67-32 Senate roll call vote on Saturday, which followed on a 296-121 bipartisan House vote on Friday afternoon.  A rider added at the last minute to the spending package blocks the Army Corps of Engineers from implementing updates to the U.S. water resource management policy (known as the "Principles and Guidelines" under development by the White House Council on Environmental Quality) for the next Fiscal Year (see this Environment and Engineering news article on the rider and its impact - PDF file).

The rider, in its entirety, reads:
"Water Resources Principles and Guidelines.-No funds are provided for the line item proposed for Water Resources Principles and Guidelines, as this is considered a new start. No funds provided to the Corps shall be used to develop or implement rules or guidance if an update or replacement to the document dated March 10, 1983, and entitled "Economic and Environmental Principles and Guidelines for Water and Related Land Resources Implementation Studies" is finalized during the fiscal year period covered by the Energy and Water Development Act for 2012. The Corps shall continue to use the Water Resources Principles and Guidelines in effect as of the date of enactment of this Act during that same period."

Consolidated Appropriations Package Would Cut EPA Significantly; Provide Army Corps with Flood Reconstruction Money

The House Appropriations Committee late last night released its Fiscal Year (FY) 2012, 1,219-page Consolidated Appropriations bill package. Should the House and Senate leaders come to an agreement with respect to moving ahead on a "megabus" spending package, this (or something closely resembling it) would likely be what the two chambers agree to vote on (for a summary of the three separate bills, click here (PDF file). However, it will likely take into Friday (or even into the weekend) before divisions between the Democratic-majority Senate and Republican-led House are overcome and a deal reached on the "megabus" package or on yet another Continuing Resolution (avoiding a long-term government shutdown, which would start on Friday night, absent new spending authorization). Nonetheless, the announced package is probably a good road-map of what will eventually come out of this protracted end-of-the-year appropriations process.

According to the Committee's summary, overall funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be reduced by $1.8 billion (-18.4%) from calendar year 2011 spending levels. The summary seeks to justify these cuts by noting that "funding for EPA has been unparalleled over the past several years, leading to unnecessary spending and contributing to the agency’s regulatory overreach, which has a detrimental effect on American businesses and the recovering economy." The conference agreement would fund EPA at $8.4 billion for FY 2012; a $233 million reduction below the FY 2011 enacted level and $524 million below the President’s budget proposal request. The conference agreement would specifically cut:

• $14 million (-6%) in clean air and climate research programs;
• $12 million (-9.5%) in EPA’s regulatory development office; and
• $14 million (-5%) to air regulatory programs.
• $101 million (combined) from the Clean Water  and Drinking Water  State Revolving Funds: $1.469 billion provided for the Clean Water and $919.363 million for the Drinking Water funds.

In addition, the bill includes:

• A 33% reduction to the EPA Administrator’s immediate office;
• A $78 million reduction for EPA operations/administration, which includes $41 million (-5%) in cuts to EPA’s regulatory programs;
• A $14 million (-6.2%) reduction for uncoordinated climate and other air research; and
• An elimination of $4 million in funding that EPA has used to delay the processing of Appalachian mining permits.

According to the summary the following are among other Mississippi River Basin-relevant provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations bill package:

• $1.7 billion in funding for disaster recovery assistance through the Army Corps of Engineers to "help repair damage to critical infrastructure caused by recent storms and floods, and will help prepare for future disaster events."
• $1.5 billion in funding for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; a cut of $28 million below last year’s level. Funding for mitigation fish hatcheries is restored.
• National Park Service (NPS) is funded at $2.6 billion, which is $32 million below last year’s level. This funding level "will allow all National Parks to remain open and NPS activities to continue" according to the summary statement.

The Consolidated Appropriations bill package consists of three separate bills (H.R. 3671 — "Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012;" H.R. 3672 — "Disaster Relief Appropriations Act;" and H. Con. Res. 94 — "Directing the Clerk of the House of Representatives to make corrections in the enrollment of H.R. 3671").