Monday, November 15, 2010

WRDA prospects dim amid climate of fiscal concern (11/15/2010)

Here's a summary of the latest update on WRDA from Environment & Energy reporter, Paul Quinlan
WATER: WRDA prospects dim amid climate of fiscal concern (11/15/2010)

The mid-term election made the possibility of the next Congress approving a multibillion-dollar bundle of nationwide water projects known as the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) very slim. In the past, the WRDA has been one of the best ways for our congressional delegate to bring home the bacon. The legislation authorized billions of dollars in federal spending for locks, dams and levees; beaches; the Everglades; coastal wetlands and ecosystem restoration; and construction of drinking water and flood control systems across the United States -- all while creating jobs and, in many cases, subsidizing local and national utilities and industries.

The WRDA's enormous price tag is a problem. The WRDA of 2007 swelled to $23 billion after pet projects were included that gave the bill enough congressional support to override George W. Bush's veto. That scenario is not expected to happen in the near future with mid-term elections bringing a new crop of mostly Republican freshman consisting of tea partiers and budget hawks into Congress that have promised to cut the nation's fat.

Last week, the chances of a WRDA grew even slimmer when White House fiscal commission co-chairs Erskine Bowles and former-Sen. Alan Simpson released draft recommendations on how to reduce the country's budget deficit that called for, among many other things, cutting $1 billion-worth of "low-priority" Army Corps of Engineers programs by 2015. That means that most WRDA-authorized projects are headed for the chopping block. Couple that with the sentiment touted widely among House Republican leaders last year that WRDA projects constitute "earmarks" -- even though some Senate Republicans, led by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), generally disagreed -- and the odds of WRDA progress drop further.
  
In an unprecedented move, Republican leaders withdrew all project requests from what ended up being a $6 billion WRDA the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee passed this year (E&E Daily, July 30). Republicans will take over that committee next year and start again on the WRDA process, from which almost all abstained this year.

The Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 17, at 10 a.m. in 406 Dirksen. Witnesses scheduled to testify include Matt Woodruff, director of government affairs at Kirby Corp. and member of Inland Waterways Users Board; Jim Weakley, president of the Lake Carriers' Association; Steve Verigin, vice president of GEI Consultants Inc., and member of the National Committee on Levee Safety; and Lawrence Roth, senior vice president, ARCADIS U.S. Inc., on behalf of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Water Conservation and Irrigation Efficiency: A Water Summit for Arkansas Rice Farmers

Save the Date!
Water Conservation and Irrigation Efficiency:
A Water Summit for Arkansas Rice Farmers
Brinkley Convention Center
December 14, 2010
5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Free and Open to the Public

A Water Summit for Farmers will be held December 14, 2010 at the Brinkley Convention Center, Brinkley, AR, from 5:00 to 8:00 pm. The summit will feature presentations on water conservation and irrigation efficiency. Speakers will discuss new programs to conserve water and make irrigation of crops more efficient.
Phil Tacker, Irrigation Specialist for Delta Plastics and retired University of Arkansas Extension Agricultural Engineer, will discuss Multiple Inlet Rice Irrigation and the Phaucet Program for Furrow Irrigation.
Gene Simmons, Extension crop production specialist at the Missouri Delta Research Center will present research conducted to evaluate mechanized irrigation on rice. Valley Irrigation, the Missouri Delta Research Center, EMBRAPA (the Brazilian agricultural research service) and Rice Tec have partnered to develop the Circles for Rice program. Gene will talk about the Circles for Rice program and three years of field trial data.
Fred Ferrell, past Missouri Director of Agriculture and present owner of Mid-Valley Irrigation, is a Missouri rice farmer who has developed a successful strategy for raising rice using center pivot irrigation. He will present his cost analysis on the past 10 years production and discuss a successful crop rotation program that he has implemented on his own farm.
Doors will open at 5 pm with a free “Meet and Greet” reception!  You can sign up to attend this important event by calling or emailing Ellen McNulty at 870-329-1396 or awf.ellen.mcnulty@gmail.com.  You don’t want to miss this important event so call or email today to reserve your seat!
Sponsored by National Wildlife Federation, Arkansas Wildlife Federation, Delta Plastics, and Valley Irrigation