Week of April 26
Wisconsin plans tough rules on invasives
The Natural Resources Board voted, 7-0, on rules designed to fight non-native invaders that pose environmental and economic peril.
After the vote, the Department of Natural Resources said the measure - five years in the making - represents the first time a state has developed a comprehensive rule to fight the spread of invasive species.
Chief among the regulations was the creation of a classification system identifying more than 100 invasive species. It will be used to decide how best to respond to the most worrisome threats first.
--The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Democrats debate softer climate rule
House Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are negotiating among themselves on whether to scale back legislation that would impose a mandatory limit on greenhouse gases , with some conservatives and moderates calling for electric utilities to be given free pollution allowances and for more modest cuts in the targets for reducing emissions.
--The Washington Post
Dust storms increase in the West
Nestled in the San Juan Mountains at 9,300 feet, and surrounded by 13,000-foot peaks, Silverton, Colo., seems an unlikely place for a dust storm , especially with two feet of snow on the ground. So Chris Landry was alarmed on the afternoon of April 3 when he spotted a brown haze on the horizon; an hour later, a howling wind had engulfed the town in a full-fledged dust storm, turning everything from the sky to the snow a rusty red.
"It was almost surreal," recalled Landry, executive director of the Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies. The landscape looked like Mars after the storm passed, he said: "You could feel the dust, you could taste the dust."
The scene Landry witnessed that day was the most severe example of a phenomenon that has overtaken parts of the West this year, one that could exacerbate a slew of environmental problems there in the years to come. The Colorado Rockies, including the headwaters of the Colorado River and the Rio Grande, have experienced 11 serious dust storms this year, a record for the six years researchers have been tracking them.
--The Washington Post
Louisiana aquifer steadily declining
Some areas in north Louisiana have lost one-third of their drinking water supplied exclusively by the Sparta aquifer.
For nearly 50 years, water levels in the Sparta aquifer have been declining by about two feet per year, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Sixteen parishes in north Louisiana depend either entirely or partially on the Sparta aquifer for their potable water, but the groundwater source is being used faster than it can be replenished.
The grave situation of north Louisiana's diminishing water supply seems to have finally raised concern among state officials. At a February meeting of the Louisiana Groundwater Resources Commission in Minden, the majority of commission members and area residents in attendance expressed sincere interest in finding viable solutions for the rapidly depleting aquifer.
--Shreveport Times
Energy tax credit gives billions to paper companies
Paper companies in Minnesota and across the nation have figured out how to make billions off of an alternative energy tax credit that Congress devised two years ago. Their answer: burn diesel.
This rather paradoxical twist has already ignited a debate between the paper industry and environmental groups and lawmakers on both sides of the argument in what some industry watchers and analysts are claiming is a presage of fights to come as Congress tries to detail new climate and energy legislation this session.
--Minnpost.com
Research questions sustainability of Colorado River uses
The Colorado River is a critical source of water for seven Western states, each of which gets an annual allotment according to a system that has sparked conflict and controversy for decades. But in an era of climate change, even greater difficulties loom.
. Tim P. Barnett and David W. Pierce of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography report that under various forecasts of the effects of warming temperatures on runoff into the Colorado, scheduled future water deliveries to the seven states are not sustainable.
--The New York Times
Gas drillers must account for water use, court rules
Energy companies drilling natural gas from underground coal seams must obtain water well permits or replace the water they use if other water supplies are affected, the Colorado Supreme Court has ruled.
Groundwater pumped out during coal-bed methane drilling is not just a waste product, the court said, ruling on a lawsuit by landowners who say their water supplies are threatened by companies using groundwater to free natural gas in coal seams.
The decision means companies must defer to water users with older water rights and replace the water they use when it belongs to others.
--The Associated Press
Illinois investigation of tainted water begun
Gov. Pat Quinn is demanding answers from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency about why residents of south suburban Crestwood weren't notified that the village had pumped drinking water contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals for more than two decades.
In response to a Tribune investigation that revealed the village's secret use of a polluted well, Quinn directed his senior staff to conduct a thorough review of the EPA's actions in Crestwood. Among other things, the governor wants to know why the agency didn't invoke a 2005 law requiring the state to issue a notification when residents could be exposed to soil or groundwater pollution.
--The Chicago Tribune
California begins $4 million conservation effort
Californians should take shorter showers, wash only full loads of laundry and use a broom instead of a hose to clean their driveways.
State Natural Resources Secretary Mike Chrisman says the "Save Our Water" campaign responds to the water shortages facing many farmers and cities around the state. California is in a third year of below-average precipitation.
--The Associated Press
EPA to stiffen reporting requirements
The federal government will once again require companies to fully disclose the toxic chemicals they release into the air, onto land and into water.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced it was reversing a decision by the Bush administration in 2006 that reduced reporting of toxic pollution for more than 3,500 facilities nationwide.
The Bush rules allowed facilities storing or releasing smaller amounts of toxic chemicals to submit less-detailed information to the government.
More than a dozen states had sued the agency over the change saying it reduced the information available to the public about chemical hazards in communities.
--The Associated Press
Week of April 19
EPA designates greenhouse gases as pollutants
The Environmental Protection Agency formally declared carbon dioxide and five other heat-trapping gases to be pollutants that endanger public health and welfare, setting in motion a process that will lead to the regulation of the gases for the first time in the United States.
Although the finding had been expected, supporters and critics said its issuance was a significant moment in the debate on global warming. Many Republicans in Congress and industry spokesmen warned that regulation of carbon dioxide emissions would raise energy costs and kill jobs; Democrats and environmental advocates said the decision was long overdue and would bring long-term social and economic benefits.
U.S. manufacturers, including major drugmakers, have legally released at least 271 million pounds of pharmaceuticals into waterways that often provide drinking water , according to an Associated Press investigation.
Hundreds of active pharmaceutical ingredients are used in a variety of manufacturing, including drugmaking. For example, lithium is used to make ceramics and treat bipolar disorder. Nitroglycerin is a heart drug and is also used in explosives. Copper shows up in pipes and contraceptives.
Federal and industry officials say they don’t know the extent to which pharmaceuticals are released by U.S. manufacturers because no one tracks them — as drugs. But an analysis of 20 years of federal records found that the government unintentionally keeps data on a few.
--The Associated Press
Lake Vermilion state park in jeopardy
In 2007, Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced his initiative to buy 2,500 acres of land along Lake Vermilion in northeastern Minnesota. At the time, he said securing the land would make the park one of the nicest parks in the nation.
"We hope through this proposal that we'll be able to give everyone in Minnesota and up at the lake or up north experience through this next state park," Pawlenty said.
Pawlenty expressed confidence that the state would purchase the land from owner U.S. Steel, saying at one point that the deal won't fall apart.
But now, Pawlenty appears to have all but given up on the park.
Pawlenty said the state and U.S. Steel couldn't come up with a sale price for the land. U.S. Steel reportedly assessed the property at $20 million. The state assesment is $14 million. Pawlenty said state law prohibits offering more than 12 percent the appraised value of the land.
--Minnesota Public Radio
EPA demands endocrine tests on pesticides
The Environmental Protection Agency for the first time will require pesticide manufacturers to test 67 chemicals contained in their products to determine whether they disrupt the endocrine system , which regulates animals' and humans' growth, metabolism and reproduction, the agency said.
Researchers have raised concerns that chemicals released into the environment interfere with animals' hormone systems, citing problems such as male fish in the Potomac River that are bearing eggs. Known as endocrine disruptors, the chemicals may affect the hormones that humans and animals produce or secrete.
--The Washington Post
UM report documents ethanol’s water use
While recycling and other advancements have reduced water use in Minnesota's corn-ethanol plants by a third of the levels of just a few years ago, increased reliance on irrigated corn has pushed water consumption to alarming levels in the desert Southwest and parts of California.
A University of Minnesota report notes that Minnesota's 17 ethanol plants currently average about 3.5 gallons of water for each gallon of ethanol produced. This is down from about 10 gallons per gallon of ethanol just a decade earlier.
However, over-all water consumption rates rise quickly when ethanol is produced from corn that is irrigated, as it is on 207,000 acres in Minnesota or 3 percent of the state's 7.8 million acres planted to corn.
When irrigated corn used in ethanol production is factored in, Minnesota averages about 19 gallons of water for each gallon of ethanol produced. Current state-wide ethanol production is about 4 billion gallons, a number that was expected to double this year but the economic downturn has curtailed plant expansion.
--Minnpost.com
Lawmakers target Mississippi River management plan
The Mississippi River Critical Area Program guides development along a 72-mile stretch of the river through the Twin Cities metropolitan area, striving to balance environmental protection with local land-use preferences.
But some interests argue that the three-decade-old executive order needs an update.
Bills moving through the Minnesota Legislature would do just that, requiring a state-led review of existing rules and more zoning districts to guide development. The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Katie Sieben, DFL-Newport, and Rep. Rick Hansen, DFL-South St. Paul, has gone through several committees and could get floor votes soon.
--The St. Paul Pioneer Press
Prior Lake mussel discovery spurs Minnetonka inspections
Lake Minnetonka boaters will feel new pressure this year to guard against spreading exotic water life following the recent discovery of zebra mussels in Prior Lake -- the first metro-area lake to be infested by the unwanted shell creatures.
Officials plan a 30 percent increase in inspections of boats to look for ride-along aquatic life at public boat launches on Lake Minnetonka.
The Lake Minnetonka Conservation District is expected to approve an extra $21,000 next week to pay for more inspections by the Department of Natural Resources.
--The Star Tribune
Idaho requires fee to fight invasives
Under a new Idaho law, all motorized and non-motorized watercraft more than 10 feet long will be required to display an Idaho Invasive Species Fund sticker. They are expected to be available by the end of April.
The sticker prices are $10 for motorized boats registered in Idaho, $20 for other motorized vessels, and $5 for a nonmotorized vessel. Discounts for nonmotorized commercial fleets are available.
The fee isn't part of any annual boat registration costs.
Revenue from sticker sales will fund a program to prevent the introduction in Idaho of invasive aquatic species such as quagga mussels. Money will be used for boat inspections, washing stations and informational materials.
--The Idaho Statesman
Los Angeles raises water rates to spur conservation
Los Angeles businesses, landlords and residents will pay more for water starting June 1 if they don’t cut back at least 15 percent on usage under a plan approved by the Los Angeles City Council.
The Los Angeles Department of Water & Power plan is aimed at sending water customers price incentives to encourage conservation .
The region is in the midst of a three-year drought, exacerbated by dwindling water allocations from the DWP’s Owens Valley aqueduct, the State Water Project and the Colorado River. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the region’s wholesale water supplier, announced it was cutting its allocations by about 10 percent, effective July 1.
Under the controversial DWP plan approved on a 9-2 vote, customers who do not cut water usage 15 percent from previous-year levels will see their bimonthly water bills rise by an average of 10 percent. Customers who reduce usage by at least 15 percent will see water bills reduced more than 10 percent on average.
--Los Angeles Business Journal
Bird deaths may result from salmonella, DNR says
Minnesota residents have found an increasing number of dead birds at feeders over the last couple of weeks. According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, a strain of salmonella may be to blame.
The bacteria that causes heavy mortality in birds is transmitted through the bird’s droppings. The largest mortality seems to be in red polls and pine siskins. Two red polls that died recently in northern Minnesota were sent to the DNR pathology lab and tested positive for salmonella.
As birds gather at feeders, they pick up the bacteria, which then spreads to other birds.
Residents and others who feed birds can help stop the spread of the bacteria by thoroughly cleaning feeders with a bleach solution.
--Minnesota DNR
China faces water crisis
Over the past year getting clean water has been a struggle for many in China . In February one of the most severe droughts to hit China in a half-century affected some 5 million people and 2.5 million livestock in the provinces of Hebei and Henan, near Beijing. Farther south in Yancheng, Jiangsu, 300 kilometers from Shanghai, more than 200,000 people were cut off from clean water for three days when a chemical factory dumped carbolic acid into a river. Just before the Olympics last June, the coastal city of Qingdao, site of the sailing events, saw an explosion of algae in nearby waters that may have been caused by pollution.
--BusinessWeek
High Plains Aquifer down 9% since pumping began
The High Plains Aquifer , the sea of fresh water under the Great Plains, is about 9 percent smaller since irrigators and cities started tapping it in about 1950, according to a new report.
The total amount of drainable water in the aquifer in 2007 was about 2.9 billion acre-feet, a decline of about 270 million acre-feet since before development, the U.S. Geological Survey said in a report
.
An acre-foot of water is equivalent to the volume of water that would cover one acre to a depth of 1 foot.
In Nebraska, water-level changes from predevelopment to 2007 in wells ranged between a rise of 84 feet and a decline of 71 feet, said USGS hydrologist Virginia McGuire in Lincoln.
When adjusted for specific areas, average water-level change in the aquifer in Nebraska was a decline of one foot from predevelopment to 2007. There was a decline of 1.2 inches from 2005 to 2006 and a decline of 2.4 inches from 2006 to 2007.
--The Omaha World-Herald
Florida suit seeks to force EPA water quality review
An environmental group has filed a lawsuit accusing the Environmental Protection Agency of letting Florida flout federal clean water requirements .
Linda Young, director of the Clean Water Network of Florida, said Monday the group is seeking a court order for EPA to conduct an independent review of a state list of water bodies and decide which ones need stricter pollution limits.
The suit filed last week in U.S. District Court in Tallahassee alleges that since 2003, EPA has failed to review and approve or disapprove the list of water bodies that fail to meet quality standards. The list must be submitted every two years.
--The Associated Press
Ag groups seek to overturn pesticide ruling
Twenty-two agricultural organizations asked that the full Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rehear a landmark pesticide case , even as the Environmental Protection Agency, a party to the case, declined to do so. A January opinion on National Cotton Council of America v U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from a three-judge panel was the first U.S. court ruling that pesticide discharge is a point source of pollution subject to additional regulation and permitting under the Clean Water Act (CWA).
The agriculture groups submitted their request in a friend of the court brief, arguing the decision ignored the definition in CWA of “point source” and that point sources are regulated only where they convey pollutants to navigable waters, not where they convey things that may at some later point result in water pollution.
A group as diverse and powerful as Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had urged EPA to request a rehearing of the case. Agriculture groups delivered a similar message in a meeting last week.
However, the federal government through EPA declined to ask for a rehearing, asking instead for a stay of the decision for two years to give the Agency time to develop a general pesticide application permit within the requirements of the ruling.
--Wisconsin AgConnection
Dairy industry seeks to cut cows’ greenhouse gases
The U.S. dairy industry wants to engineer the " cow of the future " to pass less gas, a project aimed at cutting the industry's greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020, industry leaders said.
The cow project aims to reduce intestinal methane, the single largest component of the dairy industry's carbon footprint, said Thomas P. Gallagher, chief executive officer of the U.S. Dairy and Dairy Management Inc.'s Innovation Center in Rosemont, Ill.
The project involves adopting innovative practices and technologies One area to be explored is modifying the dairy cows' feed so they produce less methane, said Rick Naczi, the leader of the initiative.
--The Associated Press
Week of April 12
Soybean farmers object to river research
What started as a $600,000 project to improve water quality in rural Minnesota is in jeopardy after soybean growers protested, causing funders to reconsider and send the money to more cooperative states.
The controversy centers around a $5 million initiative that Monsanto Co., which produces seeds and herbicide, announced last December in an attempt to reduce fertilizer runoff and sediment in the Mississippi River. It planned to work with farmers and conservation groups to measure whether different methods of fertilizing, tilling, and filtering runoff improved stream water quality or affected crop yields.
But now the Nature Conservancy, which is overseeing the studies, says objections by the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association have made it likely that at least $125,000 of the three-year grant destined for southeastern Minnesota will be diverted to similar projects in Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin -- where soybean farmers have not objected.
--The Star Tribune
Environmental Education Week set
Gov. Tim Pawlenty has declared the week of April 12 - 18, 2009, as Environmental Education Week in Minnesota.
The state designation coincides with the National Environmental Education Foundation's efforts to increase the educational impact of Earth Day by creating a full week of educational preparation, learning and activities in K-12 classrooms, nature centers, zoos, museums and aquariums. National Environmental Education Week is the largest organized environmental education event in the United States.
In support of Environmental Education Week's 2009 theme, "Be Water Wise!," more than 2,000 partner organizations around the country will participate with a week's worth of environmentally-themed lessons, field trips and special events.
For more information about Environmental Education Week programming around the country, visit www.eeweek.org. --Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Environmentalism caught fire from the Cuyahoga
Environmentalists observing 2009 as "The Year of the River" are celebrating the remarkable return to health of the Cuyahoga River over the last four decades.
But before there was a Cuyahoga comeback, the Cuyahoga was a catalyst.
When the oily, murky and sluggish waterway caught fire in June 1969, it not only caught the attention of a previously indifferent industrial nation -- it also ignited an already smoldering ecological movement.
--The Cleveland Plain Dealer
Zebra mussel shells found in Prior Lake
Empty zebra mussel shells have been discovered in Prior Lake, prompting state officials to ask boaters and anglers using the popular southwest metro lake to take extra precautions.
A homeowner recently found about a dozen empty shells of the invasive mussel along the southeastern shore of lower Prior Lake, the Department of Natural Resources said.
Officials, however, aren't certain whether the shells came from live mussels in the lake or were brought there on equipment and fell off. The DNR said its staff soon will search the lake for more of them. If any are found, it said, the lake will be designated as infested.
--The St. Paul Pioneer Press
Research challenges biological maxim
Scientists have produced strong new evidence challenging one of the most fundamental assumptions in biology : that female mammals, including women, are born with all the eggs they will ever have.
In a provocative set of experiments involving mice, Chinese researchers have shown for the first time that an adult mammal can harbor primitive cells in her ovaries that can become new eggs and produce healthy offspring, they reported yesterday.
While much more research is needed to confirm and explore the findings, the work raises the tantalizing possibility that it could someday lead to new ways to fight a woman's biological clock, perhaps by stockpiling her egg-producing cells or by stimulating them to make eggs again.
--The Washington Post
Drought lowers White Bear Lake
Gary Christenson's dock stretches for 340 feet.
"We think the dock will be 600 feet this year," said the geologist, who lives on the lake's northwest shore. "Six hundred feet — then I give up. Then I quit."
Christenson's dock is an extreme example of what a long, mild drought, combined with White Bear's small watershed, has done to the east metro's largest body of water.
--The St. Paul Pioneer Press
PBS to air ‘Poisoned Waters’ documentary
Lisa Jackson, Environmental Protection Agency chief for the Obama Administration, asserted at a forum for the PBS Frontline documentary "Poisoned Waters" that new legislation is needed to strengthen the EPA's authority to control pollution and protect local rivers, streams and wetlands across America.
Jackson, speaking at the National Press Club, said that court decisions had left "murkiness" about the EPA's authority to enforce some mandates of the Clean Water Act. She said EPA would seek new legislation to "clarify" its authority to take action on smaller waterways.
The two-hour documentary, to be aired on PBS on April 21, shows sobering evidence of America's failure over the past 35 years to contain water contamination from agricultural waste, stormwater run-off, and now, a new wave of chemicals, known as endocrine disrupters, most of which have no safety standard set by the EPA. The danger to human health from these chemicals in the environment and in drinking water systems was underscored Dr. Robert Lawrence of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.
--PR News Wire
Invasive ash borers found near Minnesota border
Minnesota inspectors are poring over the southeastern tip of the state for signs of emerald ash borers, an invasive beetle that has killed millions of ash trees in 10 other states.
An infestation of the small, metallic-green beetle was discovered near the Wisconsin town of Victory along the Mississippi River, only a mile southeast of the Minnesota-Iowa border and 20 miles south of La Crosse, Wis. It was the first appearance in western Wisconsin.
--The St. Paul Pioneer Press
Proposed 30,000-cow feedlot raises water worries
Scott Collins' family has been farming in arid eastern Washington since his great grandfather first homesteaded the 1,500-acre, dry-land wheat farm more than a century ago.
That is because the groundwater he and his family depend on could be in jeopardy if a proposed cattle feedlot and other industrial-sized projects like it are built in his rural Franklin County.
--The New York Times
ADM plans to bury C02 deep underground
The drillers have gnawed through a mile of rock here, almost down to a 600-million-year-old layer of sandstone where they hope to bury about 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide -- equal to the annual emissions of 220,000 automobiles.
The $84-million project, of which $66.7 million comes from the Energy Department, will help determine whether storing greenhouse gases underground, so-called sequestration, is a viable solution for global warming.
The project by Archer Daniels Midland Co., in which greenhouses gases from a corn mill will be buried beneath shale, is important because it's the furthest along of the seven federally sponsored partnerships nationwide to study the matter.
--The Los Angeles Times
Assault planned on invasive pondweed
When common carp were purposely introduced to Minnesota lakes sometime before 1900, they apparently brought along another visitor that today is just as reviled as the big rough fish: a water plant called curly-leaf pondweed .
A century after the aggressive pondweed was discovered in state waters, agencies from cities to watershed districts to the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) have declared war on the invader. Now, the results of contrasting eradication efforts in three conjoined lakes in Eden Prairie and Bloomington could help shape future efforts to contain curly-leaf pondweed.
Near the end of this month or early in May, herbicide will be applied to Southeast Anderson Lake in Bloomington in the first of four annual chemical treatments to kill pondweed.
--The Star Tribune
Texas report calls for linking energy and water
A joint report from the University of Texas and an environmental group urges state planners to conserve both water and energy .
The report released Monday claims that improving water conservation will cut power demand and that upgrades in energy efficiency will decrease water needs, allowing Texas to utilize "finite supplies of both" and cut consumers' costs.
One recommendation in the report, which the Environmental Defense Fund helped prepare, requires studies to determine how much water is available for use at new fossil-fueled or concentrated solar power plants.
--The Associated Press
Oregon Zoo tries to restore native frogs
The small, elegantly colored frogs raised in a humid backroom at the Oregon Zoo have already defied the odds. Now, they will try to defy a grim fate.
About 120 rare Oregon spotted frogs, raised from eggs and overwintered to grow as large as possible, will be released into a wetland near Olympia. If they survive, the frogs could be the first wave in restoration of threatened native frogs that have been losing their battles for survival.
Once common from southwest British Columbia to northwest California, rana pretiosa -- precious frog -- has been decimated by habitat loss and invasive species such as the American bullfrog. But a partnership of scientists, state officials and zoos hopes to counter the dismaying trend.
A year ago, biologists gathered portions of the frogs' gelatinous egg masses from Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge near Mount Adams in Washington state and delivered them to the Oregon Zoo and Northwest Trek Wildlife Park in Eatonville, Wash., for rearing.
--The Portland Oregonian
Antarctica glaciers lose huge chunks of ice shelves
Antarctica's glaciers are melting more rapidly than previously known because of climate change, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey report prepared in close collaboration with the British Antarctic Survey.
The USGS study documents for the first time that one ice shelf has completely disappeared and another has lost a chunk three times the size of Rhode Island. This research is part of a larger ongoing project that is for the first time studying the entire Antarctic coastline.
"This study provides the first insight into the extent of Antarctica's coastal and glacier change," Salazar noted. "The rapid retreat of glaciers there demonstrates once again the profound effects our planet is already experiencing-more rapidly than previously known-- as a consequence of climate change. The scientific work of USGS, which is investigating the impacts of climate change around the world, including an ongoing examination of glaciers, is a critical foundation of the Administration's commitment to combat climate change."
The USGS study focuses on Antarctica, which is the earth's largest reservoir of glacial ice. In a separate study published in Geophysical Letters, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports that ice is melting much more rapidly than expected in the Arctic as well, based on new computer analyses and recent ice measurements.
--U.S. Geological Survey
Week of April 5
Minnesota legislators turn attention to water
What are the best ways to protect and clean up Minnesota waters — from its groundwater to its many lakes and rivers?
At the state Capitol, lawmakers are preparing their answers.
After weeks of often-lengthy hearings, they're assembling legislation identifying how to spend one-third of the money to be raised over the next year by a voter-approved sales tax increase that begins in July.
It'll also be the culmination of years of work.
For almost a decade, the state has been debating how to pay for a federally required water-cleanup effort, estimated to cost $80 million to $100 million a year over several decades. But it couldn't agree on a way to pay for such a commitment until the Clean Water, Land and Legacy constitutional amendment was approved in November.
--The St. Paul Pioneer Press
Pollution catches up with St. Croix River
The gradual but steady pollution of the popular St. Croix River means it's no longer the sparkling algae-free gem it was four decades ago.
Already classified as impaired by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the St. Croix is expected to land on a national top 10 list of endangered rivers that will be announced by American Rivers, an environmental advocacy group.
"We're not happy with the news but getting some national attention in Minnesota and Wisconsin is good," said Dan McGuiness, interim executive director of the St. Croix River Association. "We're hoping that this information will help us bring more attention to the river."
--The Star Tribune
Are some chemicals more dangerous at low doses?
There are some 82,000 chemicals used commercially in the U.S., but only a fraction have been tested to make sure they're safe and just five are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), according to congressional investigators. But a government scientist says there's no guarantee testing actually rules out health risks anyway.
The basic premise of safety testing for chemicals is that anything can kill you in high enough doses (even too much water too fast can be lethal). The goal is to find safe levels that cause no harm. But new research suggests that some chemicals may be more dangerous than previously believed at low levels when acting in concert with other chemicals.
"Some chemicals may act in an additive fashion ," Linda Birnbaum said at a conference held at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health at Columbia University. "When we look one compound at a time, we may miss the boat."
--Scientific American
EPA posts mug shots of most-wanted fugitives
Albania Deleon started a business eight years ago to instruct and certify workers in the safe removal of asbestos. It was a growth industry, and pretty soon her company, Environmental Compliance Training in Methuen, Mass., was the largest in the state.
Some might say Ms. Deleon, who was born in the Dominican Republic and is a naturalized citizen, was living the American dream.
But not the Environmental Protection Agency, which added her to its list of “ E.P.A. Fugitives ,” people who have been charged with violating environmental laws or regulations.
--The New York Times
Will conservation fervor dry up?
Two years ago, while metro Atlanta’s drought burned through the record book, Karin Guzy of east Cobb turned off her in-ground sprinkler system.
It hasn’t been on since.
Instead, she waters her garden from two 250-gallon water cisterns. The large buckets easily fill from light rain collected off her roof.
Guzy doesn’t plan to go back to using drinking-caliber water on her 2-acre garden. Not even with the declaration by the state climatologist that metro Atlanta is finally out of the three-year drought.
--The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Court backs cost-benefit analysis in water case
In a defeat for environmental groups, the Supreme Court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency may use cost-benefit calculations to decide whether to require power plants to make changes that could prevent the destruction of billions of aquatic organisms each year.
--The New York Times
California looks into its climatic future
As California warms in coming decades, farmers will have less water, the state could lose more than a million acres of cropland and forest fire rates will soar, according to a broad-ranging state report.
The document, which officials called the "the ultimate picture to date" of global warming's likely effect on California, consists of 37 research papers that examine an array of issues including water supply, air pollution and property losses.
Without actions to limit greenhouse gas emissions, "severe and costly climate impacts are possible and likely across California," warned state environmental protection secretary Linda Adams.
The draft Climate Action Team Report, an update of a 2006 assessment, concludes that some climate change effects could be more serious than previously thought.
--The Los Angeles Times
Iowa State to study nutrient flow to Gulf
Iowa State University researchers will receive $600,000 in federal grants to help them reduce the water pollutants that flow from Iowa to the oxygen-depleted zone of the Gulf of Mexico.
The watersheds of Raccoon River, Walnut Creek and Boone River will be studied. The grant money comes out of the Environmental Protection Agency’s national Targeted Watersheds Grant Program.
"EPA is committed to protecting our nation's watersheds," acting Regional Administrator William Rice said in a statement. "The three watersheds identified by Iowa State University helps focus the agencies' efforts to improve water quality, which will result in a reduction of nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment that reaches the Gulf of Mexico."
--The Des Moines Register
Sweeping wilderness bill signed
President Obama signed a sweeping land conservation package into law, protecting more than 2 million acres as wilderness and creating a national system to conserve land held by the Bureau of Land Management.
The measure, a collection of 170 bills that represents the most significant wilderness effort in at least 15 years, would provide the highest level of federal protection to areas such as Oregon's Mount Hood and part of Virginia's Jefferson National Forest, along with sites in California, Colorado, Idaho, Michigan, New Mexico, Utah and West Virginia. It also authorizes the first coordinated federal research program to investigate ocean acidification and allows additional funding to protect ecologically valuable coastal areas and estuaries.
The law also establishes the 26-million-acre National Landscape Conservation System, which aims to protect the most environmentally and historically significant lands controlled by the BLM. The new system, which encompasses 850 sites, including the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwest Colorado, Agua Fria National Monument in Arizona and Nevada's Black Rock Desert National Conservation Area, requires the agency to make conservation a priority when managing these areas.
--The Washington Post
Group plans Straight River clean-up
As a kid, Ryan Kubat spent a lot of time on the Straight River . As a father, he often takes his son canoeing down the river or on other river-related outings. But over the years he has noticed the river getting darker and darker.
“The Straight River is really a treasure for Steele County,” Kubat said. “There’s a lot of garbage in the river; there’s a lot of garbage on the banks and the places around the river we need to clean out of there.”
This year, he and other members of the Cannon River Watershed are hoping an organized clean-up effort can help clear up some of the trash not only in the Straight River but all along the Cannon River Watershed.
--Owatonna People’s Press
Iowa bill would limit manure regulation
Community and environmental activists criticized a measure working its way through the Legislature that they claim would undercut efforts to protect Iowa’s rivers and streams.
They said a measure approved 43-6 in the Senate would stop state environmental officials from crafting regulations that restrict the application of manure to frozen ground.
"The Senate's action is a travesty," said Hugh Espey, executive director of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. "It's a slap in the face to all Iowans who care about clean water and a decent quality of life."
--The Associated Press
New Mexico asserts control over deep ground water
Starting March 30, anyone trying to lay claim to water in New Mexico that deeper than 2,500 feet below the surface will come under state regulation.
Gov. Bill Richardson signed a bill into law that gives the state authority to divvy up rights for water 2,500 feet below the surface and deeper. The state already has purview over ground water and H 2O just below the ground surface.
Because of a quirk of state law, however, this deep groundwater has not fallen under the purview of state authority as has groundwater and water in rivers and lakes.
But population growth has caused some growing cities, such as Rio Rancho, to start searching for other sources of water beyond importing H 2O in or relying on surface water. And that has led them to look deep below the surface to these aquifers for sources of H 2O. Sandoval County, where Rio Rancho is located, has even partnered with a corporation to begin plans for a desalination plant to make the salty, mineral-laden water usable.
--The New Mexico Independent
Maryland bill would mandate septic changes
Moving to correct a major water pollution problem in some portions of the Chesapeake Bay, the Maryland Senate agreed to require nitrogen-removing technology on all new or replacement household septic systems near the shoreline.
Under the bill, which was narrowly approved, the state would cover the extra cost of replacing a failing septic system with an enhanced one capable of removing nitrogen from household wastewater. But homebuyers would have to bear the added cost of about $5,600 for an enhanced system when building a house along the shore.
The measure now goes to the House of Delegates, where its future is uncertain.
--The Baltimore Sun
Lake Superior water level up from 2008
Lake Superior's water level dropped an inch in March, or slightly more than its usual drop for the month.
The International Lake Superior Board of Control says the lake generally drops about half an inch in March.
The levels of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron rose two inches this month, which is their typical increase.
Both lakes are nine inches below their long-term average but a foot higher than they were a year ago.
Water levels usually fall from September to March and begin to rise in April.
Lake Superior neared record low levels in 2007 but it's been edging back to normal. Its level is six inches below its long-term average for April 1, but still five inches above the level at this time last year.
--The Associated Press
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