Guest column: Don't rush redesign of farmland drainage By DES MOINS REGISTERFebruary 17, 2010MICHAEL BURKART is a hydrologist in Ames. Contact: burkartj15@ hotmail.com. • WILLIAM STOWE is D.M. public works director. Contact: wgstowe@dmgov.org. Last November, the Iowa Water Resources Coordinating Council (WRCC) submitted flood plain management policy recommendations to Gov. Chet Culver and state legislators. The [...]
Follow the countys lead By EditorialTuesday, Feb. 16, 2010, TAMPA BAY newspaperPinellas County commissioners passed an ordinance Jan. 19 that will help protect the county’s waterways. The ordinance includes a ban on the sale and application of nitrogen and phosphorous fertilizers from June 1 to Sept. 30. It also regulates landscape and maintenance practices. [...]
Our Voice: Stop studying Great Lakes woes and use grants to start addressing problems By Bay City Times staff February 07, 2010, 5:58AMThough the deadline for submissions has passed, we offer this idea: The EPA should require that money any group receives be spent directly on action. We’re not saying that environmental studies and data [...]
Fight seen over ban on winter spreading of manure By PERRY BEEMAN pbeeman@dmreg.com February 14, 2010 , DES MOINES REGISTER Another showdown looms over Iowa's regulations governing farmers' ability to spread manure on frozen or snow-covered fields. Livestock interests are pushing legislation that would effectively lift the winter ban on applying manure, said Wayne [...]
Environmental group pushes back against HGS By Walter Pierce Thursday, 11 February 2010, The Independent Weekly, http://www.theind.com The Louisiana Environmental Action Network has submitted a letter to the state Department of Environmental Quality opposing Henry Gas Storage’s proposal to discharge salt brine into Louisiana territorial waters off the coast of Marsh Island. Wilma Subra, technical [...]
Don't back down: Protect our water By THE REGISTER'S EDITORIAL , Des Moines Register FEBRUARY 11, 2010 This state long took it for granted that farm-field runoff would pollute our waterways. Then the 2009 Legislature passed a bill that prohibits spreading manure on snow-covered or frozen ground. It has flaws, but acknowledges the need for [...]
State ag chief holds Q&A By WHITNEY PANDIL-EATON Staff Writer wpandileaton@minotdailynews.com January 31, 2010 It was a Q&A of sorts at the North Dakota State Fair Center as Agricultural Commissioner Doug Goehring took questions from a small group on Friday, the final day of the ag expo. Topics ranged from the current habitat project of [...]
Meat eater's balancing act By Diane Toroian Keaggy01/20/2010, ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH (Illustration by Dan Martin/P-D) I blame the bratwurst. For years, I ate no filet mignon, no rack of lamb, no osso buco. And honestly, I didn’t miss meat at all. Except pork. Not pork tenderloin or pork chops, but the really bad stuff like [...]
Major coastal restoration financing starts, slowly, in Barack Obama's 2011 budget plan By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune February 01, 2010, 7:24PMPresident Barack Obama's proposed fiscal year 2011 budget includes the first $35.6 million for the Army Corps of Engineers to construct larger coastal Louisiana restoration projects, but falls far short of the money allocated to [...]
Groups gauging Ohio River's pollution levels By James Mayse, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.26 January 2010 Jan. 25--Environmental groups in a number of states, including Kentucky, are engaged in a lengthy project to determine how runoff from farm operations is making its way to the Ohio River. The groups are testing for nitrogen and phosphorus in creeks [...]
