Mississippi River Collaborative

06/13/2021

"Under the Clean Water Act, [EPA] is required to annually review, and if necessary, strengthen, industry-wide pollution standards—called effluent limitation guidelines—for concentrated animal feeding operations...

[On] May 20, Food & Water Watch filed a lawsuit against EPA...over the agency’s failure to update the farm wastewater guidelines as required by the Clean Water Act.

'EPA’s current CAFO guidelines only apply to the largest of operations, do not regulate many of the pollutants of concern coming out of these facilities, and sanction manure storage and disposal practices that are known to harm water quality,' the organization contends."

CAFO requirements under Clean Water Act challenged by Food & Water Watch.

06/04/2021

"...a football field of wetlands vanishes into open water every 100 minutes"

The Mississippi constantly erodes its banks, particularly within the last thousand miles because, unlike upper regions, the lower Mississippi contains no locks or dams. How river-side plants, including one here in Memphis, is helping with this erosion.

05/07/2021

In addition to supporting direct Mississippi River work, MRC members also support work on other waterways that feed the Gulf Dead Zone, such as the Pearl River. Thanks to Pearl Riverkeeper and Healthy Gulf for their incredible stewardship.

03/23/2021

"Secretary Mike Naig says the [Hypoxia Task Force], which represents 12 states in the region, recently sent a letter requesting support from President Biden and his administration."

Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture is co-chair of what’s called the Hypoxia Task Force, which works to reduce the size of the “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico through cutting nutrient runoff in the Mississippi River basin. Secretary Mike Naig says the group, which represents 12 states in the r...

03/21/2021

"[T]he dead zone is amplified by the naturally occurring nutrients at the bottom of the lake and those nutrients speed things up."

New research finds the annual dead zone in Lake Erie is getting a boost that makes it worse very quickly.

03/19/2021

"Mayors from more than 100 communities along the river corridor met to address plastic pollution and other critical issues. The initiative will begin with data collection in three places along the length of the river: Baton Rouge, Louisiana; St. Louis, Missouri and St. Paul, Minnesota. The data will be collected throughout April 2021 using a “citizen science” approach."

Mayors from more than 100 communities along the river corridor met to address plastic pollution and other critical issues.

03/18/2021

TONIGHT, Mar 18, 6:30p CT, join Living Lands and Waters for a big announcement!

Chad has had some very exciting plans hidden up his sleeve for a few years, which have the potential to make a significant, positive impact on both the Quad Cities and the country.

Join us live tomorrow night (March 18th) at 6:30 PM as Chad and the team announce the historic plans.

Tomorrow night, tune in at bisonbridge.org/live-stream.

03/17/2021

"The $1.9 billion diversion would funnel mud-laden Mississippi River water through a section of levee on the West Bank of Plaquemines Parish and send it spilling into Barataria Bay, potentially rebuilding 28 square miles of marsh with river sediment."

But oyster interests balk at how diversion will harm their livelihood

03/15/2021

"The state of Iowa, in its Nutrient Reduction Strategy developed in 2013, recognized the power of cover crops to help solve the runoff problem. They set a goal of cover crop adoption on 60 percent of corn-soy acres. So how far has Iowa come since then?...At this rate of growth, the state’s goal will take nearly a century to achieve."

Iowans have long prized their state’s deep, rich soils and its position as an agricultural powerhouse. In the heart of the Corn Belt, its farmers lead the nation in corn acres planted, and come in second in soybean acres. But there’s a dark side to all that: Decades of intensive, industrial-styl...

03/09/2021

02/28/2021

"While this environmental damage is fairly well-known, the economic impact of CAFOs is less so."

A predatory and extractive financial sector has hollowed out communities across the US.

02/14/2021

The Mississippi River Watershed increased its grade from a "D" to a "C-" in five years. At that rate, we might see an "A" in 2050. https://americaswatershed.org/reportcard/