water pollution
Michigan calls for voluntary action on farm runoff. Will it be enough?
State officials in Michigan drafted a plan that relies on voluntary action by farmers to reduce phosphorus runoff from fields that eventually flows into Lake Erie, where nutrient pollution feeds algal blooms in the western end of the lake, reports MLive Media Group.
Vermont introduces regenerative soil bill
A bill in the Vermont Senate calls for a statewide soil regeneration program, with regular soil testing to certify that farms are improving the health of their soil through carbon content and depth of topsoil. The bill is part of a sweep of similar legislation in California, Oklahoma and Utah.
Virginia’s most important waterway is heavily polluted with livestock feces
Excrement from industrial livestock operations is poisoning Virginia’s Shenandoah River and putting people at risk for E. coli poisoning, says a report by the Environmental Integrity Project, a nonprofit advocacy group.
Storm Lake Times wins Pulitzer for editorials challenging Big Ag in Iowa
Art Cullen, co-owner of the Storm Lake Times, published twice a week in northwestern Iowa, won the Pulitzer Prize "for editorials fueled by tenacious reporting, impressive expertise and engaging writing that successfully challenged powerful corporate agricultural interests in Iowa." The editorials criticized county officials for letting agricultural interests dictate their response to a lawsuit by the Des Moines Water Works over nutrient runoff and held agriculture responsible for polluted waters.
Poultry farms top hogs and cattle in North Carolina in animal waste
North Carolina is second to Georgia as the largest poultry-producing state in the nation and a new report by state environmental officials says the poultry industry produces more animal waste than they expected, says public broadcaster WFDD-FM in Winston-Salem. Not only is it more than officials expected, the nitrogen and phosphorus runoff tops hogs or cattle. In one river basin, the Yadkin-Pee Dee, it was six times more.
Des Moines City Council backs bill allowing Water Works takeover
Days after a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by the Des Moines Water Works against farm runoff, the City Council voted to support a bill in the Iowa House allowing regionalization of the water utility, said the Des Moines Register. The chief executive of the Water Works says the regionalization bill, sponsored by a legislator who is a hog farmer, is retaliation for the lawsuit, which wanted to apply water pollution laws to agricultural runoff.
Activists prepare to fight Trump over Chesapeake Bay budget cuts
President Trump’s budget slashes all funding to the Chesapeake Bay cleanup program, but environmental activists and bipartisan supporters of the program say they are prepared for a sustained fight with the President, says The Washington Post.
Corn growers glad to see WOTUS go, but ‘we need to have some regulation’
The EPA overstepped with its Waters of the United States rule, said leaders of the National Corn Growers Association, who are happy the Trump administration will withdraw it. At the Commodity Classic, NCGA chairman Chip Bowling said, "[W]e do know we need to have some regulation and this group will be front and center when that time comes," reported DTN.
White House wants to slash EPA budget by 25 percent
The Trump Administration budget calls for cutting EPA jobs by one fifth — from 15,000 to 12,000 — and slicing the agency’s annual budget from $8.2 billion a year to $6.1 billion, says The Washington Post.
Trump signs repeal of Obama’s stream-protection rule
Completing a two-week legislative sprint by Republicans, President Trump signed a resolution that repeals a stream-protection rule issued by the Obama administration to restrict pollution near streams and require more restoration of riparian land.
Congress kills rule protecting 6,000 miles of streams
Congress took its first punch at the Obama administration’s environmental legacy by repealing the Stream Protection Rule, which would have tightened protections on more than 6,000 miles of streams and 52,000 acres of forests.
EPA nominee Pruitt opted for a study in water-pollution case
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt put "the brakes" on state pursuit of a water-pollution suit against poultry processors, said the New York Times in describing how Pruitt "will have the opportunity to engineer a radical shift" in federal policy if he is confirmed as EPA administrator.
Right-to-farm campaign rolls up funds in Oklahoma; opposition in biggest city
Oklahomans will decide on Nov. 8 whether to become the third state with a constitutional amendment guaranteeing a right to farm and ranch, a campaign whose chief target is animal-rights groups. Proponents have a 3-to-1 advantage in fundraising, says StateImpact Oklahoma, adding, "The issue has attracted more direct donations than any other ballot question, suggesting right-to-farm is high-stakes Oklahoma politics."
Flood count in North Carolina: 98 poultry barns, 15 hog lagoons
An environmental group, Waterkeeper Alliance, says floods from Hurricane Matthew swamped 98 barns on 27 poultry farms and 15 manure lagoons on nine hog farms in North Carolina based on reconnaissance flights over storm-hit territory. State environmental officials say their aerial observations determined one hog farm had two partial breaches, the most serious type of damage for release of animal waste from a manure lagoon.
Food companies agree to tackle water risks
Seven major food companies, with $124 billion in combined annual revenues, will work with growers around the world to reduce water use and pollution, said World Wildlife Fund and Ceres, a nonprofit group promoting sustainable food. The companies, Diageo, General Mills, Hain Celestial, Hormel Foods, Kellogg, PepsiCo and WhiteWave Foods, will submit detailed sustainable sourcing and water stewardship plans as part of the AgWater Challenge.
Study: Baby fish prefer plastic
Baby fish prefer plastic particles to the zooplankton that makes up their natural diet, according to a study published in the journal Science. The researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden "found that the larval fish that were exposed to microplastic particles displayed a shift in behavior and stunted growth," reports The Christian Science Monitor in an article on the study.
Voluntary limits to blame for Puget Sound pollution, law center says
“Washington state and federal government spend taxpayer money on programs designed to fix the pollution problem, but recently only two of 17 reporting regions in Puget Sound showed any improvements in water quality,” says the Western Environmental Law Center.
Toxins in ocean fish drop dramatically in last 40 years
The level of mercury has dropped 50 percent in ocean fish and the level of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) has fallen more than 90 percent in the last 40 years, according to a new review by researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California.