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  LWV Upper Mississippi River Region

UMRR blog

Chris Jones - Nitrogen Discharge from Iowa Rivers

3/1/2021

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Iowa is famous for the livestock it produces - the number of hogs in Iowa in 2020 was more than twice that in the next highest state - more than 24,000 hogs.  Iowa is also the top producer in chickens and 7th highest in cattle.  All these animals eat a lot of corn and soybeans and they make a lot of manure.  

Chris Jones is a Research Engineer at the Iowa Institute of Hydraulics and Engineering, and he has a chatty and informative blog where he analyzes and reports on  Iowa water data.  
In his March 1, 2021 post, Jones compiled data from the monitoring of Iowa watersheds since 2003.  His post documents his data sources and explains his methodology.  The graph above shows the amount of nitrogen being discharged from Iowa on the major rivers.  The green line is the rivers discharging to the Missouri River, and the blue line is the rivers going directly to the Upper Mississippi.  The red line is the total discharge.  Jones' data shows that the total nitrogen discharge has doubled since 2003.  

In 2019, Jones wrote a post that compared the impact of the population of livestock to the human population of major cities.  Our speaker at the UMRR session, David Osterberg, quoted Chris Jones  as he talked about the need for a stronger approach to nutrient management.  You can watch the video of Osterberg's talk via the link in this UMRR Blog post.  Chris Jones' blog post that Osterberg quoted is found at this link.  

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Ag-Urban Partnership for Water Quality - Trading Guidance published, pilot project planned

3/1/2021

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In our December blog post,  we told you about the Ag-Urban Partnership Forum hosted by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.   In a recent email, Katrina Kessler of MPCA  said:

"I am reaching out to let you know that the MPCA recently published a detailed Water Quality Trading Guidance document and a companion website that provide a high-level introduction to the concept of water quality trading. Water quality trading provides a mechanism and legal framework for regulated wastewater and stormwater sources to engage in watershed-based water quality restoration and protection partnerships, and is closely related to the ecosystem services marketplace ideas presented at the Ag-Urban Partnership Forum.
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The Water Quality Trading Guidance is available on the MPCA’s water quality trading webpage. I encourage you to visit the website and, if you are interested, review the guidance document.
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I am also pleased to share that the MPCA, in coordination with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR), will be initiating a pilot project to increase awareness and participation in water quality trading opportunities. We are excited to work with local resource managers and agricultural producers to identify how state agencies and local partners can work on innovative water quality solutions."

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We will continue to follow developments and share them on the blog.  Trading is an important option for reducing nonpoint source pollution.  Read more about MPCA's efforts in trading on their website's trading page.  

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Ag-Urban Partnership Forum on Water Quality

12/20/2020

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 The problems of water quality are shared by rural and urban Minnesotans.  The solutions have to be shared, too.  
The need to reduce the amount of pollutants that go in to the river unites both agricultural and industrial interests.  To help to bridge the ag-urban divide and unite interests, forums have been organized to bring people together.  The second annual forum was held on December 16, 2020.  

According to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's post on the conference, ""The key issue initially fueling the conferences centers on the question, how can the urban and rural agriculture worlds work together to address water quality and other environmental issues? Cities face daunting costs for wastewater treatment. Agriculture dominates the rural landscape, and has a major impact on water quality. What if both worked together?

While environmental quality is the goal, getting there is all about the economy. And climate change.

Leif Fixen of The Nature Conservancy promoted the Ecosystem Service Marketplace Consortium (ESMC), which is developing the processes and technology that would pay farmers for “carbon credits” — a measure of capturing carbon to help mitigate global warming."  Click the picture below for more information on this pilot project.
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The first Ag-Urban Partnership Forum was held on November 18, 2019 and is documented in a detailed .pdf found at this post on the Minnesota River Data Center website.  
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Voluntary measures will not solve the nitrogen runoff problems - a talk with David Osterberg

10/14/2020

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Nutrient-laden runoff from Iowa's farm fields is a major contributor to the "Dead Zone' in the Gulf of Mexico.  In this discussion, David Osterberg lays out options for dealing with the problem.   He makes a potent case that getting enough farmers to take voluntary measures to reduce runoff, as currently hoped for in the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy, is not going to work.  As LWV UMRR Vice-chair Mary Ellen Miller points out in this meeting: Voluntary [change in ag practices as recommended in the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy] is not working, and it's not working because too many federal dollars are going to support the current practices." 
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                     <<<<Advance video to 5:30 unless you want to see the chit chat as we all gather for the Zoom.>>>>
David Osterberg is a former Iowa state representative who was chairman of the House Energy and Environmental Protection Committee as well as the Agriculture Committee. David was the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in 1998 and worked for one year as a consultant to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. David holds an M.S. in water resources management and another in agricultural economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is professor emeritus in the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of Iowa, and a staff member at Common Good Iowa.
This discussion was part of the LWV Upper Mississippi October 12 meeting.   The LWV UMRR Board meets on the first Monday of even numbered months (if you do the math, that's 6 times/year).  Before Covid, we traveled around the watershed getting to know people and issues across our four-state area.  At each Board meeting, we'd have an educational/advocacy session on local issues where local Leaguers and the general public joined us. Now, everything's virtual, so no travel, but we are still doing sessions like this on the first Monday of every even-numbered month.  Watch our newsletter for notice of upcoming events like this talk with David Osterberg!  


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Nitrogen-laden runoff - how is this affected by extreme rainfall events in the Midwest?

10/14/2020

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Climate change brings more extreme rainfall events to the Upper Mississippi River Basin according to the National Climate Assessment.   How much does this contribute to the loss of nutrients from the land and subsequent over-enrichment of our waters?  

Recent research at Iowa State University has shown that the heavy
rain events that occur only a few days a year can account for up to a third of the annual nitrogen runoff from farmland in the Mississippi River basin, according to a new study from Iowa State University scientists.  The research, uses innovative computer modeling techniques to quantify nitrogen runoff from land ecosystems into rivers and streams.   This link goes to a summary of that research.  
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Looking in more detail at the full published study, the researchers found that "Overall, >80% of the Basin total runoff and N leaching was from the rising extreme precipitation areas. Basin-wide, extreme precipitation events occurred only 8.6 days year−1 (2.4% of 365 days) on average, but they contributed to approximately one-third of annual total water yields and N yields. This is likely a conservative estimate of the contribution of extreme precipitation events as we only focus on extreme precipitation days without consideration of post-event legacy effects."  

This new understanding of the role of extreme precipitation can inform how changes can be made in fertilizer and manure application to reduce the loss of nutrients.  

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EPA rule to define acceptable science in decision making

4/30/2020

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This is not an Action Alert from Leauge of Women Voters, rather we are providing information on a pending goverment action that our readers may decide to comment on, with information from other organizations.  Note that the comment deadline is May 18.  

A recent email from the Water Protection Network urges readers to comment on a rule being proposed by EPA.  (MRN's appeal follows this paragraph, verbatim.)  This rule would set standards for the types of scientific research that can be used in environmental decision making.  On its face, it would make sense for EPA to define the level of  research that will be used  - as we are seeing now with covid research it seems that there is often incomplete, inconclusive or even conflicting conclusions that come out regularly.  It's important that the research that is used in decision-making reflects the current scientific understanding on a particular topic.  But if the constraints work to systematically exclude certain types of research, the quality of decision making is diminished.  So, here's the call-to-action paragraph from the Mississippi River Network

"Take Action Against EPA's Secret Science Rule
At a time when the importance of sound science-based decision-making is painfully clear, the Trump administration has proposed a rule that would impose sweeping restrictions on the types of scientific studies that can inform the regulatory decision-making process. Instead of "strengthening transparency" as the proposal claims to do, it is instead designed to "keep highly respected and peer-reviewed scientific studies from informing government decisions on public health and environmental protection" (Bruce Stein, NWF).
  • Read the proposed rule from the EPA: "Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science"
  • Take action: Submit a comment through regulations.gov here by the May 18 comment deadline, or through one of these action pages from WPN members National Wildlife Federation and NRDC.
  • Learn more from WPN member Environmental Law & Policy Center: In Public Health Crisis, Trump Administration Continues Attacks on Public Health Studies"

Following the links in this paragraph leads the reader to EPA's proposal in the Federal Register and a March 23, 2020, blog post by  Ann Mesnikoff of the Environmental Law and Policy Center.  Reading the EPA proposal it is hard to sort out what there is to be concerned about.  There is a link in Ann's blog post taking the reader to Ann's December 4, 2019 post, where she provides more background on the rule.  She says, "The rule requires all of the data underpinning EPA legislation to be publicly available or otherwise replicable. However, there are multiple reasons why some studies can’t be replicated or made fully available. Privacy rules and patient protections prevent individual health data from being released. Raw data or original conditions may no longer exist, such as lead exposure from leaded gasoline, which has been banned now for decades. Scientific research is built around long-term and health-based research, so there are long-established methods for evaluating in these situations. The new “transparency” rule would not lead to more transparent research; it would only bar EPA from using critical scientific information."

This action is just one of a myriad of ways that the rules protecting our air, land and water are being weakened.  Sigh.  Push back will be timely,.  

 
Picture below - How institutions are approaching scientific research during Covid-19 
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Green Lands Blue Waters - Working toward Continuous Living Cover on Midwestern Farmlands

12/15/2019

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Green Lands Blue Waters (GLBW) was formed in 2004 by representatives of land grant universities and key agricultural and environmental organizations – listed below.   This organization includes partners from the same four-state area as LWV UMRR - Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois.  

The Mission of Green Lands Blue Waters is "
to support the development of and transition to a new generation of multi-functional agricultural systems in the Upper Mississippi River Basin and adjacent areas that integrate more perennial plants and other Continuous Living Cover into the agricultural landscape." 

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The Green Lands Blue Waters Conference was held in Minneapolis on November 19-20.  We will share highlights from that conference when the videos and related materials are made available online.  

GLBW Founding Partners:
  • Agricultural Watershed Institute                                                                   Audubon Society
  • Illinois Stewardship Alliance                                                                             Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
  • Iowa Farmers Union                                                                                              Iowa Soybean Association
  • Izaak Walton League of America                                                                    Land Stewardship Project
  • Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University
  • Louisiana State University                                                                                 Minnesota Farmers Union
  • Practical Farmers of Iowa                                                                                  Rural Advantage
  • Southwest Badger Resource Conservation & Development Council
  • The Land Institute                                                                                                 The Nature Conservancy
  • Trout Unlimited                                                                                                        University of Illinois
  • University of Minnesota-Twin Cities                                                          University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Wisconsin Farmers Union
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LWV Jo Daviess County Wins Award!

8/31/2019

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LWV Upper Mississippi River Region owes a lot to LWV Jo Daviees County – it was this League in Galena, Illinois, that had the idea to start an Inter League Organization* focused on protecting and improving water quality in the Upper Mississippi.  It was from that idea that LWV UMRR was born in 2015, and we thank them for it.
 
LWV JDC has moved the ball along considerably in their local water quality work now.  You can read about how they got started in this blog post from August of 2017.  In this post from December of 2017, we shared the good news that LWV Jo Daviess County received a $10,000 prize for their proposal in the US EPA's Nutrient Sensor Action Challenge. 

They implemented the proposal, and this month learned that they won big - they were one of three projects across the US receiving a $50,000 prize for their work!

​ Following is the press release from US EPA.  Congratulations to LWV Jo Daviess County!  

CHICAGO (Aug. 21, 2019) - Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and four federal partners announced the winners of its technology-accelerating water quality challenge. The League of Women Voters of Illinois in Jo Daviess County is one of three national teams selected for the Challenge’s prize of $50,000 each. The winning teams demonstrated how data from low-cost water quality monitoring sensors can be used to inform local decision-making on nutrient management.

“EPA is proud to support League of Women Voters of Illinois in their efforts to better manage our water resources and reduce nutrient runoff pollution,” said Region 5 Administrator Cathy Stepp. “Jo Daviess County and Northwest Illinois will benefit from the League’s work to help combat one of the nation’s most challenging water quality problems.”

The League of Women Voters of Illinois demonstrated how an edge-of-field sensor system could support farmers in reducing nitrogen loss from their fields. The installed sensors provide real-time data to inform farm-scale management decisions.

"The League's work on water resource management issues will benefit greatly from this award,” said League of Women Voters of Illinois Project Coordinator Beth Baranski. “Participation in the Challenge has already strengthened the connections between scientists, advocates and farmers and the prize will be used to continue to build a model of cooperative problem-solving and improve water quality in the Driftless Area of Northwest Illinois.”

The Nutrient Sensor Action Challenge is one of a series of challenges focused on nutrient management conducted as part of multi-year collaboration between the EPA, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS).

“To address the challenges of today and the future, we need innovative thinkers at the global- and local-level,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for Science and EPA Science Advisor Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta. “We commend the ‘challenge’ winners for identifying creative ways to use low-cost tools to understand our resources and better inform nutrient management decisions.”

For this challenge, six teams deployed and collected data from two or more nutrient sensors for at least three months and sought to demonstrate how local communities can use the collected data to inform nutrient management. In addition to the League of Women Voters of Illinois, South Platte Water Renewal Partner in Colorado and the University of New Hampshire were prize winners.

Through prize competitions and other innovative mechanisms, EPA, USGS, USDA, NIST, and NOAA’s IOOS collectively pursue opportunities to facilitate technological breakthroughs, engage stakeholders, and build a community working together to solve nutrient pollution. The Nutrient Sensor Action Challenge will be used as a springboard for further innovation to reduce excess nutrients in lakes, rivers, and coastal waters.
Press release:
  
https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-and-federal-partners-announce-winners-water-quality-challenge
* So what's an Inter League Organization?  Read about it at this link.  
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The Nature Conservancy's big idea to protect the upper Upper Mississippi - talk by Matt Gladue on June 1

6/4/2019

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The upper Upper Mississippi  is that part of the Mississippi that starts at the Headwaters and flows to the Twin Cities.  Water quality in the upper Upper Mississippi River is very good.  The river, especially in the furthest north reaches, is protected by extensive forests and wetlands.  But threats to this river are growing - threats from land conversion and development.  The river is in danger of becoming polluted, like the Minnesota, which would endanger the water supply of millions of Minnesotans as well as damage this invaluable natural resource.
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Matt Gladue's talk at the Annual Meeting engaged the audience in understanding the value of the upper Upper Mississippi - in the heart and soul of Minnesotans, as the source of drinking water for millions, and as an invaluable natural resource for wildlife and recreation.  The threats to the river are many, but it is within the power of Minnesotans to make a changes that will save the river.  

The Nature Conservancy has a big idea for saving the river.  They have identified critical conservation lands, about 2% of the land in the watershed, that if protected from development or restored to forest will help to protect the river.  Matt talked about this project, and that The Nature Conservancy is working on doing grass-roots organizing to develop public support.  They are also seeking organizations to partner with them in this effort.  To learn more about TNC's big idea, click here.

The videos below are broken up in part because Matt provided discussion periods during his talk and in part due to technical difficulties that resulted in small gaps.  
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LWV UMRR Annual Meeting - Congresswoman Angie Craig comes and speaks

6/3/2019

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June 1, 2019, LWV Upper Mississippi River Region's annual meeting was held at Schaar's Bluff Gathering Space near Hastings, Minnesota.  Many thanks to Representative Craig for taking time to visit with us and share information on legislation she's working on.

One bill - the Local Water Protection Act - has passed the House and a bill is being prepared in the Senate.  It passed with bipartisan support in the House.  This bill provides funding to local governments for programs and projects that improve water quality under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act.  Here's a link to that b
ill:
H.R.1331 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Local Water Protection Act ...  

Projects under Section 319 have been responsible for significant water quality improvements in our country.  Continuing and increasing funding for this Section is important  - read more about the Clean Water Act at this link.
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