By Chloe Johnson, Minneapolis Star Tribune; Erin Jordan, The Gazette; Sarah Bowman, Indianapolis Star Published October 13, 2022 at 4:00 AM CDT This article is re-published here with permission from the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk at the University of Missouri. The full article can be accessed at this link. Farmers are dealing with more and heavier rainfall events throughout the Upper Midwest. Some farmers install drainage tiles and trenches to handle the water, but that can lead to soil erosion and flooding downstream. Corn was just starting to tassel across much of the Midwest, including fields in southern Indiana, a golden crown signaling the end of the season. But while most farmers were preparing for harvest, Ray McCormick was climbing back into his tractor to re-drill his soybeans. The southwest Indiana farmer had to drill soybeans in August – for a second time last year, having already lost his spring-planted corn crop – after yet another heavy rain flooded his river-bottom field. “My dad used to say that after July 10, ‘You’re kidding yourself trying to plant,’” said McCormick, who was trying to produce a crop for the landlords who own these fields. McCormick’s delayed planting is one example of how a changing climate – and the rains that come with it – are transforming farm country in the Mississippi River watershed. A hotter atmosphere is causing rain to fall in harder bursts, pushing back planting seasons and drowning crops. At the same time as human-driven climate change is juicing precipitation, Corn Belt farming practices such as installing underground drainage tiles and leaving fields bare after harvest are changing how water moves across the landscape and into waterways. That runoff eventually makes its way south, carrying sediment as well as pollution that contributes to the hypoxic, or oxygen-free, “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico. “There is no part of the water cycle we haven’t altered,” said Carrie Jennings, research and policy director with the Minnesota nonprofit advocacy group Freshwater. In Minnesota, flows in the Mississippi River rose 24% in seven decades, according to a 2016 report. Flows have doubled in the Minnesota River, which carries sediment and pollution from the state’s southern farm country into the Mississippi, according to a 2017 study from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. In Indiana, along the Wabash River just upstream from McCormick, flows have increased by at least a third in the last century, according to a report from the Purdue Climate Change Impacts Center. More than 100 U.S. Geological Service stations in Indiana show increased streamflow over the past 30 years. Similar trends of heavier rains and increased flows can be seen across the Midwest region. All that water has to go somewhere. With a changing climate, the farms of the future will look different, experts say. How communities adapt will determine what kind of farming they can do. “This rain isn’t going away,” said Jennifer Kanine, the director of natural resources for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, which has worked to restore wetlands in northwest Indiana’s agricultural areas. “We need to start working with it instead of fighting it,” she continued. “We need to ask, how can we best manage all this water, because we’ve compromised the system so much already.” Want to read more about erosion-caused mayhem along the Minnesota? Read the full article at this link. This story is part of When It Rains, a special series from the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk. Next month, LWV UMRR blog will re-publish the third article in this series - To Stay or To Go: Increased Flooding Forces Towns to make Hard Choices.
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On December 5 at 1pm, Mayor Mitch Reynolds spoke about how his city is working to mitigate these problems both as an individual city and as part of the Mississippi River City and Township Initiative (MRCTI). He also provided an update about a bill now working through Congress - the SMRT Act - that can help cities dealing with these problems. The SMRT Act is formally the "Andrew Young Saving our Mississippi River Together" Act. At the LWV UMRR Annual Meeting, MRCTI's Brandt Thorington provided background and information on the SMRT Act. You can see the video of Brandt's talk at this link, starting at the 24.34 point. And... here's a link to an article about how Illinois groups are urging development of a plan for navigation on the river during extreme low-flow conditions. Mayor Reynolds refers to this work in his talk. Some info on Mayor Reynolds: Mitch Reynolds took office as mayor of the City of La Crosse in April of 2021. This is the first elected office he has held and he was actively engaged in taking on homelessness, developing a strategy for more affordable housing, working on the PFAS contamination issue on French Island and taking part in a forward thinking public works project - building a new state of the art waste water treatment plant. Prior to becoming mayor, Mitch was the Operations Manager for Madison-based Whole Trees, LLC and spent 16 years as a radio journalist in La Crosse at Midwest Family Broadcasting before that. He has also worked as an arborist, a bartender, a room service waiter, a crab fisherman, and a piano mover, among many other occupations. Mitch originally hails from Michigan and spent many years in south Louisiana before moving to Wisconsin and settling in La Crosse in 1994 where he has lived since. He acquire a degree in History from UW-La Crosse and an MBA from Viterbo University. Mitch is married with two adult children and a granddaughter who all live in the community. Mitch is also a member of Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI), a coalition of more than 100 municipalities along the river. It is an association of Mayors along the Mississippi River and its tributaries and businesses. Mitch will share some of the highlights of the association and bring us up-to-date with the progress of the Safeguarding the Mississippi River Together (SMRT) Act. *Source: U of W Extension brochure: https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/climate/files/2014/03/La-Crosse-Climate-Change-brochure7-16-12.pdf
Minnesota's 1989 Ground Water Protection Act: Legacy and Future Directions - Webinar Nov 9, noon10/31/2022 The 1989 Ground Water Protection Act was a major accomplishment, as important to Minnesota water resources as the federal Clean Water Act was back in 1972. In fact, this Act went further than the Clean Water Act because it addressed protection and remediation of ground water, which at that time was the poor step child of water programs. The GWPA was nationally recognized and changed the face of groundwater management in Minnesota forever.
Thirty-three years later, what has changed? The Minnesota Ground Water Association commissioned a team of writers to develop a White Paper that looks at what the GWPA established and required, how the GWPA was implemented and where gaps remain, or where gaps have developed in the ensuing years. The White Paper is now complete, and in the video below, the team provides context for the White Paper by describing what the GWPA encompassed, how it's been implemented today, and where the White Paper finds opportunities for improving groundwater management. Following is the Executive Summary of the White Paper:
Passing with broad bipartisan support, the 1989 Ground Water Protection Act established a framework for protecting Minnesota’s groundwater based on a comprehensive approach designed to prevent degradation of groundwater quantity and quality. Much has changed in over thirty years since passage of this landmark environmental legislation. Groundwater demand has grown. Technology to detect and measure groundwater contaminants has improved, making clear that activities on the land surface affect groundwater quality. The effects of climate change on groundwater quantity and quality are becoming evident. Minnesota Statutes evolved since 1989 to place greater emphasis on groundwater stewardship by formalizing a definition of water sustainability. Funding mechanisms have changed such that funding shortages for important groundwater projects can be expected if the Clean Water Land & Legacy Amendment is not extended beyond the sunset date of 2034. The existing and expected changes in water demand, technology and surveillance, climate, statute, and funding make groundwater protection in the 21st century more critical than ever. These factors trigger the need for this Minnesota Ground Water Association White Paper. Through the lens of groundwater sustainability, this White Paper advances a conversation about needed priority policy and management actions, beyond those outlined in the Ground Water Protection Act of 1989. The priority actions are summarized in three main categories: Ensured Stable Funding: Funding for critical groundwater activities must itself be sustainable for groundwater sustainability to be achieved. The Clean Water, Land & Legacy Amendment sunsets in 2034, creating a potential funding gap for critical groundwater activities. Groundwater Sustainability: Minnesota contains a large volume of groundwater, yet groundwater sustainability is not assured. Sustainable groundwater management should be based upon water budgets, where thresholds leading to unacceptable effects are understood, including those related to recharge, discharge, storage, aquatic habitats, and ecological conditions in streams. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources defined groundwater sustainability in statute; this definition could be made more useful through adoption of operational or practical definitions. Specific priority actions to promote groundwater sustainability include:
Water Governance: Recurring proposals to change the structure of Minnesota’s water governance may impede progress toward groundwater sustainability. Proactively meeting these concerns may prevent the creation of unnecessary obstacles to groundwater sustainability efforts. The priority actions discussed above are opportunities to continue the work that originated from the Act, and address issues, ideas and approaches that have arisen in the meantime. Those invested in Minnesota’s groundwater resource should continue to unify policy and management efforts around the central unifying theme of groundwater sustainability. Sustained funding for activities described in this White Paper, and a unified approach to water governance will both be critical to achieving and maintaining groundwater sustainability. MGWA is an appropriate source of technical comment to amendment proposals if they go forward. Thirty years after its passage, Minnesota groundwater professionals recognize the far-sighted impact that the Act has had on the management of Minnesota’s groundwater. Yet the Act has not accomplished everything intended. It did not address all critical risks to groundwater quantity or quality, nor did it provide a complete strategy for protecting Minnesota’s groundwater. Minnesotans must continue to capture the critical measures to support the achievement of sustainable groundwater use and protection. One great accomplishment of the Act is that much of the work necessary for this next step is already done. Flood, drought... is there too much water or not enough? What's going on in the Mississippi Basin?10/30/2022
In a series of articles from the Mississippi River Basin Ag and Water Desk at the University of Missouri, journalists from around the Mississippi Basin report what they found. We will share the articles in the UMRR blog, and will continue to follow their work. The Ag and Water Desk is an independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, in partnership with Report For America and the Society of Environmental Journalists, funded by the Walton Family Foundation. When it Rains: After floods hammered St. Louis and eastern Kentucky this summer, the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk wanted to know: Is rainfall increasing in the basin? Desk Editorial Director Tegan Wendland worked with the nonprofit climate research and communication group Climate Central to produce new data analyses on this question. The team found that average annual rainfall has increased by upwards of 8 inches in the past 50 years in much of the region while also falling in heavier bouts, causing repeated flooding and raising many questions about how we live in a wetter world. Those facts are part of When it Rains, a new five-part multimedia series from the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk. The first installment follows. You may have seen these articles in other press; we will run them as a series of monthly installments in the UMRR blog. THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER BASIN IS GETTING WETTER AS CLIMATE CHANGE BRINGS ERA OF EXTREME RAIN, FLOODS (This link will take you to the full article.) By Bryce Gray, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Connor Giffin, The Courier-Journal Published October 11, 2022 at 4:00 AM CDT Much of the Mississippi River basin is getting wetter, according to a new analysis of federal data, while rainfall events are becoming more intense. At the same time, the western half of the U.S. is increasingly prone to drought. In the early morning hours of July 26, many St. Louis-area residents awoke to floodwater filling their homes, or to the din of blaring car alarms from vehicles getting overtaken by murky brown water. Too much rain was falling far too fast. The weather system dumped more than 9 inches on St. Louis – about a quarter of the city’s annual average – compressed largely within a few hours. That same week, torrential rain storms settled on Eastern Kentucky, where up to 16 inches fell and water rushed into people’s homes so swiftly that many didn’t get out in time. Forty people were killed in Eastern Kentucky. Two people died in St. Louis. Take time to read the rest of the story (thank you, Paul Harvey!) - you will learn about how the intensity of rainfall has increased and is expected to continue increasing; the number of flood-related federal disaster declarations has skyrocketed between 1970 and the 2010's and there's no end in sight.
Are you familiar with the story of the duo that RAN down the entire Mississippi River in 2019? Did you know that along the way, they deeply listened, learned, and gathered the voices and stories of 600 people? Three years later, the next chapter of the epic saga is here... On Tuesday, November 1st at 6 pm CT, join Relay of Voices via Zoom for the launch event of their all-new storytelling platform! At this event, project creator Victoria Bradford Strybicki will release the first of nine chapters and explain the power of this new interactive platform. The event is co-hosted by Mississippi River Network Outreach Manager Michael Anderson and features testimonials from River "voices" and a Q&A. Register here to receive the Zoom link! Stories are an excellent path to people's hearts, and we look forward to the unveiling of this new resource for all of us. LWV UMRR is a member of the Mississippi River Network. We thank them for their wonderful programs and diligent work on behalf of the River.
We are in the age of plastics... and plastic waste is burying us. What can be done about plastics? Many states and countries are requiring Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging. Would this be an effective approach in Minnesota as well? What are the hallmarks of an effective EPR program?
Rep. Sydney Jordan has a strong, effective EPR for Packaging bill (HF4132) and will be reintroducing it in the Minnesota Legislature again next session. There is also a federal bill - the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act: https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/984, If you'd like more information, please reach out to Jennifer Congdon, Beyond Plastics; or Lori Olinger with Sierra Club Northstar Chapter. Following is the checklist of ten essential elements for an effective EPR program. There are three locks and dams on the Mississippi in Minneapolis. The responsibility for operation of the Locks is currently with the US Army Corps of Engineers, but that could change. Studies are now in the works to determine if changes are needed, or indeed, if the dams are even needed. What is decided here has potential to change the face of the Mississippi forever. Background: To facilitate water-borne commercial navigation (barges and tow boats). Congress directed the construction of Lock and Dam 1 (also known as the Ford Dam) in 1917. Lower St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam in 1956 and Upper St. Anthony Falls in 1963. The US Army Corps of Engineers built these three locks projects and continues to operate and maintain them today. In 2014, Congress directed that Upper St. Anthony Falls be closed within one year In June 2015, the Corps of Engineers halted lock operations at Upper St. Anthony Falls Local and Dam, eliminated navigation above St. Anthony Falls.
Upper St. Anthony Falls: In January 2021, a draft disposition study for Upper St. Anthony Falls was published. Under the direction of Congress, lands surrounding the lock and dam will be conveyed to the city of Minneapolis. The draft disposition study report proposed disposal of the remainder of Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam. A final disposition study report and recommendations will be prepared following verification of lands to be conveyed to the city of Minneapolis. The report will be publicly available and published on the St. Paul District website. Lower St. Anthony Falls and Dam 1: A joint disposition study for Lower St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam and Lock and Dam 1 started Fall 2022. Public open houses are planned for October 2022. Details of those and future events and up-to-date information about the disposition study and the locks and dams can be found at https://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/MplsLocksDisp osition/. Early and continuing participation by a diversity of interests provides essential information and insights on alternatives. Alternatives to be Studied: The Corps will study combinations of the following alternatives: • Full or partial disposal • Modification of the locks and dams • Removal of the locks and dams • Potential opportunities for the locks and dams to serve a new purpose such as ecosystem restoration A recommendation to Congress, the outcome of this disposition study, is not expected until 2024, at the earliest. A recommendation will be selected after all alternatives are fully evaluated.
Source material for this post taken from USACE fact sheet for the project and USACE website. LWV UMRR's sister water-related ILO is LWV Lake Michigan Region. Consisting of Leagues that border Lake Michigan, this ILO was the model for LWV UMRR. Their Annual Meeting is coming up in October, and will feature a conversation with Wisconsin's US Senator Tammy Baldwin. You can attend in person at the Blue Harbor Resort in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, or attend virtually from wherever you are. Click here to access the LWV LMR website. This text is from LWV LMR: Restoring Lake Michigan: Her Past, Present & Future Friday and Saturday, October 21-22, 2022 Blue Harbor Resort 725 Blue Harbor Drive, Sheboygan, Wisconsin 53081 Attend in-person or via Zoom* Taking place on the shores of Lake Michigan at the beautiful Blue Harbor Resort in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, this weekend will include our annual meeting, engaging Lake Michigan-related field trips and an exciting line-up of policy makers, scientists, and Great Lakes advocates. Joining us for an In-person conversation will be United States Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin! Also, learn about a fascinating local NOAA project (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration), the impact of ancient glaciers on the Lake Michigan Watershed, the impact of infrastructure funds on the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and Areas of Concern, and much more. In-person registration is $135 for both days, through September 30 ($145 thereafter) Registration for both days includes a Welcome Reception with light hors d’oeurves, followed by a plated dinner on Friday, and breakfast and lunch buffets on Saturday. $70 for either the Friday or Saturday session through September 30 ($80 thereafter) Registration for either day includes only the meals served on the day for which you are registered. On-line attendance for both days is $30; field trips are not available online. Discounted rooms are $149 per night and may be reserved by calling the Blue Harbor Resort at 866.701.2583 (you must say you are with LWV LMR). A discounted room block of 30 rooms is available until September 23. Once sold out or after September 23, discounted room rate will only be extended, based on availability. You may be thinking... what is an ILO anyhow? Click here to learn more about what an ILO is and how it fits into the LWV national structure. .
LWV Lake Michigan Region program series on Great Lakes Issues September 8, 15, 22, & 29, 20228/28/2022
Last year, LWV Lake Michigan surveyed representatives from each of the four member states surrounding Lake Michigan, to determine which topics related to the preservation and protection of Lake Michigan were of most interest. With those results in mind, we have prepared a series of programs, with each program devoted to a different state: Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan.
The number one area of interest was Climate Change and, as a result, their 2022 Climate Change Forum was held in-person and online in April 2022. This fall LWV LMR continues their education efforts, with a focus on each state, specifically. Beginning on Thursday, September 8, 2022, and for the next three Thursday evenings, LWV LMR will offer a 1 ¼ hour program, via Zoom, to educate members and the public about the issues impacting Lake Michigan, in each of the four states. These programs are complimentary and open to the public. Please share this information with fellow league members, your colleagues, family and friends. See Registration Links below. Each evening requires separate registration at that state’s link, but each program is open to everyone, regardless of where you live. The schedule is as follows: Thursday, September 8, 2022, 7:30 p.m. CT – Indiana Topics: Climate Change, PFAS, Invasive Species, Coal Ash Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMvdemvpzIiHNy7QM0tb0OP_6Bp2leCC0eZ After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Thursday, September 15, 2022, 7:30 p.m. CT – Wisconsin Topics: Climate Change, PFAS, Invasive Species, Coal Ash Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMvfuGrqDssGNDA2AJ6eyYb3V96AvOr93gM After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Thursday, September 22, 2022, 7:30 p.m. CT – Illinois Topics: Climate Change, PFAS, Invasive Species, Coal Ash Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEscumhpz4iGdOkyXGg6WWB0U-fkATZSgU0 After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Thursday, September 29, 2022, 7:30 p.m. ET – Michigan Topics: Climate Change, PFAS, Invasive Species, Coal Ash, Line 5 Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUkde2sqDsqEtamYIh68KyOJ3Dbfr6V77ND After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. The programs will also be recorded. If you have any questions, please contact LWV UMRR at lwvlakemichigan@gmail.com
News update from Minnesota Public Radio: CO2 Pipelines debate heating up in Minnesota On September 12, Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions (Summit) submitted its first route permit application to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) for the Otter Tail and Wilkin Counties section of its proposed multi-state Midwest Carbon Express CO2 pipeline network (PUC Docket Number: 22-422. Summit’s proposed CO2 pipeline network will cut through Chippewa, Cottonwood, Jackson, Kandiyohi, Martin, Otter Tail, Redwood, Renville, Wilkin, and Yellow Medicine Counties. This leg of the project is 28.1 miles, a small fraction of the more than 212 miles of highly pressurized hazardous liquid CO2 pipeline proposed for Minnesota. The PUC ruled in June that they have jurisdiction over the routing of CO2 pipelines. Landowners and community members impacted by the proposed CO2 pipelines in Minnesota are concerned about the safety and negative effects of CO2 pipelines and Summit’s shady tactics as well as being skeptical about the company’s claims that they will be a boon to rural communities. While the conflict over CO2 pipeline construction has grown heated in surrounding states, the debate has been quieter in Minnesota. That seems likely to change as the companies attempt to secure more easements and as the permitting process proceeds. source: email from CURE, Oct 2, 2022, 7:10am
Why are carbon pipelines being proposed? Why are investors and the federal government putting money into these projects? We know that carbon in our atmosphere is causing the earth to warm, which will disrupt our climate and all life on earth. Reducing or eliminating carbon emissions is critical, and there are many different ideas about the best ways to do it. One controversial approach we've been taking for the past two decades is to switch from fossil fuels to 'biofuels' - ethanol and biodiesel. In this post on the UMRR Blog, we reported on a February 2022 report that looks at the utility of ethanol as an option for reducing carbon emissions. The ethanol industry is seeking ways to improve its environmental performance, especially as relates to carbon emissions. One way to do this is to capture the carbon that is released into the atmosphere. The pipelines would move the captured and compressed CO2 to eventual storage and/or reuse. The first two short YouTube videos following provide some more background on why the ethanol industry sees carbon capture as a way forward. The third is a video that provides more information on the process of capturing carbon from industries.
Carbon capture is part of President Biden's climate plan. This link goes to an article in the MIT Review interview with Shuchi Talati, chief of staff at the Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management. Here, Talati talks about the need to have a range of processes for reducing carbon. We have included a number of references at the end of this post that provide more information on pipeline technology and DOE work on carbon capture. Carbon pipelines are currently used in Texas to transport CO2 for use in extracting oil from spent oilfields, there are also links to information on this practice. Jess Mazour bio: Jess is a lifelong Iowan who found her passion in agriculture, local foods and the environment through her non-profit work. She currently works as the Conservation Program Coordinator for the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter where she is working with over one thousand farmers and landowners across the state who are opposing the carbon pipelines. Jess advocates for an intersectional vision of agriculture for the health of our communities, our environment, our citizens and our bodies. Jess has worked with Senator Bernie Sanders to develop his Rural Revitalization Plan and other federal and state leaders to advance good agricultural, rural, and food policies. Additional references:
DOE funding carbon capture infrastructure: https://www.energy.gov/fecm/notice-intent-issue-funding-opportunity-bipartisan-infrastructure-law-carbon-capture DOE program to accelerate carbon capture technology: https://www.energy.gov/fecm/carbon-negative-shot DOE info on pipeline safety: https://www.energy.gov/fecm/articles/statement-doe-welcomes-new-carbon-dioxide-pipeline-safety-measures-announced-us Why capturing carbon is part of Biden's plan: https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/25/1032832/why-capturing-carbon-is-an-essential-part-of-bidens-climate-plans/ Discussion of are eminent domain: https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/us-carbon-pipeline-proposals-trigger-backlash-over-potential-land-seizures-2022-02-07/ Agri-Pulse; concerns about yield: https://www.agri-pulse.com/articles/17077-carbon-dioxide-pipelines-unearth-anxiety-in-farm-country Excellent graphic CO2 Pipelines in Texas: https://www.kindermorgan.com/Operations/CO2/Index#:~:text=Kinder%20Morgan%20operates%20the%20approximately,feet%20of%20CO2%20per%20day. DOE; Texas demonstration project: https://www.energy.gov/fecm/articles/texas-co2-capture-demonstration-project-hits-three-million-metric-ton-milestone |
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