NEMWI to Hold Briefing on Cost of Nitrate Removal from the Mississippi River
NEMWI will hold a briefing on the economic costs of nutrient removal in the Mississippi River Basin on Wednesday, May 23rd, from 1-2:30 pm in room 200 of the Senate Visitor Center.
Nitrate pollution on the Mississippi River is increasing, which is resulting in higher treatment costs to ensure safe drinking water, according to a new Northeast-Midwest Institute study of drinking water treatment costs at water utilities.
Elevated nitrate concentrations in water sources and increasing water treatment costs ultimately mean higher water bills for consumers. These and other findings are especially urgent as the current House text of the next Farm Bill would shutter key programs within the conservation title that alleviate nitrate pollution.
This urgency is further highlighted by the rollback of various environmental regulations, which will likely result in lower standards and even higher water treatment costs.
This briefing is an opportunity to hear the highlights of this new study and to learn about its implications for federal agricultural and environmental policy. The panel will include:
- Dr. Sridhar (Sri) Vedachalam, Director of the Safe Drinking Water Research and Policy Program, Northeast-Midwest Institute
- John Albert, Chief Research Officer, Water Research Foundation
- Jimmy Bramblett, Deputy Chief - Programs, Natural Resources Conservation Service
- Eric Heath, Senior Policy Counsel, Northeast-Midwest Institute
To RSVP, please email
events@nemw.org
. For more information, please contact Eric Heath, Senior Policy Counsel for the Mississippi River Basin Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute at
eheath@nemw.org
.
House Rejects Farm Bill
The House failed to pass its version of the Farm Bill on Friday, May 18th. Republicans sought major restrictions on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which ultimately turned the usually bipartisan legislation into a tense partisan struggle in which no Democrats voted in favor of the bill.
Republican leadership also faced defections from some moderate Republican members that opposed the SNAP changes as well a revolt from the conservative House Freedom Caucus that wanted to tie their support of the bill to the ongoing immigration debate on the Hill. This ultimately proved too much for Republican leadership and the bill failed 198-213.
The Farm Bill still might gain enough support for passage this Congress, however, as negotiations between Republican leadership and the Freedom Caucus continue.
The current Farm Bill expires on October 1st of this year.
NEMWI Staff Testify to USTR Panel on the Impact of Tariffs on Conservation Efforts in the Mississippi River Basin
NEMWI submitted a proposal to testify before the United States Trade Representative regarding the impact on conservation practices that would result from proposed tariffs against the People's Republic of China and t
he proposal was accepted.
A member of the NEMWI staff, Eric Heath, Senior Policy Counsel, testified on May 17th.
The testimony submitted is available
here
.
If you have any questions, please contact Eric at
eheath@nemw.org
.
