COLORADO RIVER NATION’S THIRD MOST ENDANGERED
Diversions of water from the Fraser River to Colorado’s Front Range cities is threatening its ability to sustain itself and earned the river a place on the nation’s most endangered rivers list. Denver Rocky Mountain News; April 13 [The other rivers making the top ten list are: 1. Susquehanna River (NY, PA, MD); 2. McCrystal Creek (NM); 4. Skykomish River (WA); 5. Roan Creek (TN); 6. Santee River (SC); 7. Little Miami River (OH); 8. Tuolumne River (CA); 9. Price River (UT); 10. Santa Clara River (CA) The 2005 report is at: <http://www.americanrivers.org/site/DocServer/AR_MER_2005.pdf?docID=1261> <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_3695899,00.html>
DENVER WATER DISPUTES COLORADO RIVER IS ENDANGERED
Denver Water said a national organization’s designation of the Fraser River as the third most-endangered in the nation was based on an erroneous calculation that doubled depletions by the utility. Grand Junction Sentinel; April 28
WATER USE IN DENVER PLUMMETS
Denver Water officials project water use will fall 24 percent this year, double what was forecast, and said most of the savings came from a change in lawn-watering habits. Denver Rocky Mountain News; April 21 <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_3717226,00.html>
COLORADO RESERVOIR COULD SEE CHANGE IN MISSION
Federal and state officials are looking at using Chatfield Reservoir as a water-storage facility for 16 Denver-area and Front Range cities in Colorado, and more such proposals are under consideration across the West. Denver Rocky Mountain News; April 26 <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_3729699,00.html>
COLORADO HOUSE KILLS WATER BILL
Western Slope lawmakers saw their annual attempt to protect rural and western water from Front Range diversions go down the drain again, as House lawmakers killed the bill on a 33-30 vote. Grand Junction Sentinel; April 27 <http://www.gjsentinel.com/hp/content/news/stories/2005/04/27/4_27_1A_Buescher_bill_dies.html;COXnetJSessionIDbuild72=CvQRVCOS7KCxM2sw0ysDcZi15DoRKwpM11eq20WT7NNLs0ppCLzg!324024072?urac=n&urvf=11146241453390.40144000113188394>
COLORADO’S WATER ROUNDTABLES MUST YIELD MORE THAN TALK
Water is a contentious issue in Colorado and across the West, and we hope the nine roundtables that will be created under new legislation come up with more solutions than the previous groups set up over past decades. Grand Junction Sentinel; May 3 <http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/opinion/stories/2005/05/03/5_3_Penry__edit.html;COXnetJSessionIDbuild73=C3oV3lIc53W5ooIWj26mlfxPsWtluq2lUD9E6xzxAij2Fpj3mYEQ!68876232?urac=n&urvf=11151381333630.9728746625709196>
COLORADO CLOSES POLLUTION LOOPHOLE FOR OIL, GAS COMPANIES
Colorado’s streams and rivers will be cleaner now that the state is requiring small oil and gas companies to comply with runoff regulations followed by other industries in the state. Denver Post; April 28 <http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~417~2839366,00.html>
COLORADO LAWMAKERS WANT TO REVIVE WHITEWATER BILL
Sen. Jack Taylor, R-Steamboat Springs, said misinformation killed his bill that limited releases for recreational purposes, and he thinks he now has enough support to get it passed. Grand Junction Sentinel; April 5 <http://www.gjsentinel.com/hp/content/news/stories/2005/04/04/4_4_bills_coming_back.html;COXnetJSessionIDbuild69=CSC0CEDXehJMRdKwVXqLwSRChS18svHRylg1iGUqaSm6dPUA2Yui!962987660?urac=n&urvf=11127201167550.6381907632053238>
NEBRASKA FARMERS WILL BE PAID NOT TO IRRIGATE
Nebraska farmers living along the Republican and Platte rivers from the Wyoming border to central Nebraska will be paid not to irrigate under a program designed to conserve water. U.S. Water News, 04/04 <http://www.uswaternews.com/archives/arcsupply/5nebrfarm4.htm>
FEDS BEGIN WATER RELEASES FROM N.M. RESERVOIR
Water levels in the Navajo Reservoir on the San Juan River hit record lows in December 2003, but Colorado snowpack and spring run-off this year have brought levels close to capacity. Farmington Daily Times; April 28 <http://www.daily-times.com/artman/publish/article_18140.shtml>
N.M. SENATOR, NAVAJO LEADER SIGN WATER-RIGHTS DEAL
U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici said he doubted the millions of federal dollars needed to complete the $800 million settlement of San Juan River basin water rights would be found and further compromise may be needed. Farmington Daily Times;4/20 <http://www.daily-times.com/artman/publish/article_18005.shtml>
JUDGE URGES PARTIES TO SETTLE N.M. WATER-RIGHTS LAWSUIT
The parties to the 40-year-old Aamodt lawsuit that aims to settle water claims in three New Mexico watersheds have until January to reach a settlement or take the case to trial. Santa Fe New Mexican; April 27 <http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/13110.html>
HYDROLOGIST SAYS DROUGHT LINGERS IN WYOMING
A federal hydrologist said portions of Wyoming are headed into the sixth year of drought, and warned irrigators that they will need to be conservative with water supplies. Casper Star-Tribune; April 6 <http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2005/04/06/news/6230b66dfb4e988d87256fdb00026bb3.txt>
UTAH CITY FACING WATER SHORTAGES
Park City, Utah, officials said they are exploring eight options for new water sources for the resort city, and they said conservation practices won’t be enough to stave off a water shortage. Deseret News; April 6 <http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,600124078,00.html>
UTAH NEEDS TO END SUBSIDIES ON WATER
If Utah wants to get serious about conserving water, state officials need to hit consumers in the pocketbook, and make users pay the true cost of water. Provo Daily Herald; April 27 <http://www.harktheherald.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=53678&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0>
FLOOD WATERS ON THE RISE IN NORTHERN UTAH
Nearly every community in northern Utah’s Cache County is dealing with some flooding after two inches of rain fell in a 24-hour period. Deseret News; April 29 <http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,600130072,00.html>
WYOMING WATER CONCERNS SPOUT NEW DEMANDS FOR DRILLING CONTROLS
A new report released by the Oil and Gas Accountability Project <http://www.earthworksaction.org/publications.cfm?pubID=90> said hydraulic fracturing, the practice of pumping fluids into oil and gas wells at high pressure, is threatening underground drinking water supplies in Wyoming and other states. Casper Star-Tribune; April 14 <http://www.casperstartribune.net/news/wyoming/60bc4e23c56c530287256fe3000486b1.txt>
WYOMING COALBED METHANE RAISES WATER ISSUES
More than 22 billion gallons of water were pulled out of Wyoming’s coalbed methane seams in 2003, and energy companies are struggling to find ways to handle all that water. Denver Business Journal; April 20 <http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2005/04/18/focus3.html>
STATES BATTLE OVER ALLOCATION OF COLORADO RIVER WATER
Talks between the seven-member states of the Colorado River Compact have stalled over allocation of water to fill Lake Powell, and it appears the states won’t meet a second federal deadline to come up with a plan. Salt Lake Tribune; April 5 <http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2640122>
STATES PUNT COLORADO RIVER DECISION TO THE FEDS
A dispute over water releases from Lake Powell stalled talks between the seven Western states that share Colorado River water and left the decision over allocation to Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton. Denver Rocky Mountain News; April 27 <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_3732554,00.html> <http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0421river21.html> <http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~2813130,00.html>
NORTON MAINTAINS STATUS QUO ON LAKE POWELL RELEASES
Wyoming officials were disappointed in Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton’s decision not to reduce releases of water from Lake Powell, and said they feared future water supplies could be cut if the drought persisted. Casper Star Tribune; May 3 <http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2005/05/03/news/wyoming/c9a44fbb98ac2ef887256ff5008204b6.txt> <http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_3747776,00.html>
NEVADA, UTAH TAKE WATER WAR UNDERGROUND
Residents of western Utah and eastern Nevada said they are concerned on what will happen to their water supplies once Nevada starts pumping groundwater out of a shared aquifer to pipe it to Las Vegas. Salt Lake Tribune; April 7 <http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2643882>
NEVADA LAWMAKER PUSHES BILL TO PROTECT RURAL WATER
Gov. Kenny Guinn said Nevada’s current law adequately protects rural counties’ water resources, but conservationists and ranchers said new laws are needed to save their water from being gulped up by Las Vegas. Las Vegas Review-Journal; April 8 <http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Apr-08-Fri-2005/news/26245548.html>
WATER BILLS DIE IN NEVADA LEGISLATURE
Mining, labor and urban-growth interests presented a united front to Nevada lawmakers and succeeded in killing a bill that would have slowed the shipping of water from rural Nevada to Las Vegas. Reno Gazette-Journal (AP); April 24 <http://www.rgj.com/news/stories/html/2005/04/24/97853.php?sps=rgj.com&sch=LocalNews&sp1=rgj&sp2=News&sp3=Local+News&sp5=RGJ.com&sp6=news&sp7=local_news>
TRIBES APPEAL DECISION TO ALLOW SNOWMAKING ON ARIZONA PEAKS
The Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe and at least 12 other groups have appealed the U.S. Forest Service’s decision to allow wastewater be used to make snow on Arizona’s San Francisco Peaks. Arizona Daily Sun; April 27 <http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=107432>
EXPERTS SAY WEST WILL GROW DESPITE WATER WORRIES
New Census Bureau numbers put three of the nation’s most arid states, Arizona, Nevada and Utah, as the fastest growing despite much-reported concerns about providing water for that growth. Santa Fe New Mexican (AP); 4/22 <http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/12919.html>
FEDS, STATES SIGN COLORADO RIVER HABITAT PLAN
Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton and officials from Arizona, Nevada and California will sign a $626 million plan to preserve habitat along 400 miles of the Colorado River from Lake Mead to the Mexican border. Arizona Republic; April 4 <http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0404B1-talker04.html> <http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-colorado3apr03,1,2802325.story?coll=la-news-environment&ctrack=1&cset=true> <http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/04/04/national/a181727D73.DTL>
ENVIROS CRITICIZE COLORADO RIVER HABITAT PLAN
Critics of the newly signed Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program said the project will only mitigate habitat harm along 400 miles of the river, not stop it from occurring. Las Vegas Review-Journal; April 5 <http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Apr-05-Tue-2005/news/26220848.html>
WESTERN OFFICIALS PROMOTE LOGGING TO RAISE WATER SUPPLIES
Environmentalists said water conservation and more efficient allocation of Colorado River water make more sense than cutting trees to increase the amount of water that makes it to the river. Los Angeles Times; April 17 <http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-drought17apr17,0,4173626.story?coll=la-home-headlines>
SANTA CLARA RIVER IN DANGER
The Santa Clara River, which snakes 84 miles from the San Gabriel Mountains to the Ventura County coast, is one of two California waterways that rank among the nation’s most threatened for 2005, according to an environmental group that annually compiles a list of endangered rivers. American Rivers ranks the Santa Clara, the longest and wildest river remaining in Southern California, as the nation’s 10th most endangered, because of the massive Newhall Ranch project and other urban development planned along its banks. The Tuolumne River near Yosemite National Park ranks eighth, the rivers group said, because of a proposal that would allow San Francisco to take more water from the mountain stream, already a principal supplier of Bay Area drinking water. LA Times 4/13 <http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-endangered13apr13,1,7831325.story?coll=la-news-environment&ctrack=3&cset=true>
DROUGHT CAUSES WATER CUTBACKS IN OREGON’S KLAMATH BASIN
Environmentalists said cutbacks on water supplies will hit the Klamath National Wildlife Refuges particularly hard, as the wetlands area will get only half of what the area typically needs. Los Angeles Times; April 11 <http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-klamath11apr11,1,2427446.story?coll=la-news-environment&ctrack=1&cset=true>
THREATENED CHINOOK MAKE COMEBACK
An agreement between the Nisqually tribe and a federal wildlife refuge, which gave new protections for the Nisqually River estuary, is coming at a very fortunate time for the river. In addition to a surprising late run of coho the tribe reports that other species of salmon are increasing as well. The Nisqually tribe partially credits a surprising comeback of chinook salmon to voluntary fishing reductions by tribal members on the Nisqually River. This year, 2,600 chinook returned to the river, drastically up from 400 a decade ago. Tribal fishermen cut the number of fishing days in half and fishing was restricted to smaller areas of the river. Because of an early 1970s federal decision named after Judge George Boldt, 21 Washington state tribes, including Nisqually, are entitled to 50 percent of the state’s fish harvest and these tribes are big players in the state’s fish industry. Indian Country Today 4/11 <http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096410718>
DROUGHT SENDS IDAHO UTILITY ON A SHOPPING SPREE
Lower water flows through Idaho’s 17 hydroelectric plants are forcing Idaho Power Co. to buy more electricity on the open market and open up back-up power plants to meet increasing demands. Twin Falls Times News; April 6 <http://www.magicvalley.com/news/localstate/index.asp?StoryID=14877>
IDAHO LEGISLATORS STRUGGLE WITH HARSH WATER REALITIES
Changes made this legislative session in Idaho will dry up irrigation on hundreds of thousands of acres in southern Idaho, and lawmakers said more and more water will be shifted from agriculture to urban uses. Idaho Statesman;4/11 <http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050411/NEWS06/504110308>
IDAHO WATER OFFICIALS GRIM ABOUT SUPPLIES
This year could be the worst year yet in the six-year drought that has gripped Idaho, where the governor has already signed drought declarations for two counties. Sun Valley Idaho Mountain Express; April 14 <http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005102549>
IDAHO WATER CHIEF MAKES HIS CALL
Unless groundwater users can come up with 133,400 acre-feet of replacement water for surface water owners in southern Idaho, the state’s water chief said he will shut off their pumps. Idaho Falls Post-Register; April 21 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/pr.water042105.html>
IDAHO WATER CHIEF REFINES ORDER DEMANDS
At the end of this irrigation season, Idaho’s water chief said he will determine how much water Idaho groundwater users owe surface water owners, and will tack that amount on to next year’s obligation. Twin Falls Times News; April 28 <http://www.magicvalley.com/news/localstate/index.asp?StoryID=15287>
IDAHO CONFERENCE TACKLES WEST’S WATER WOES
Idaho’s water chief is poised to begin answering water calls as experts from around the world gathered in Boise to discuss solutions to the West’s water crisis. Idaho Statesman; April 20 <http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050420/NEWS01/504200332>
WESTERN STATES MUST BE CREATIVE TO SOLVE WATER WOES
History shows Westerners are constantly reinventing their water world and it’s time once again to reshape policies to serve a changing demographic. Idaho Statesman; 4/19 <http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050419/NEWS0501/504190313/1052/NEWS05>
EXPERTS SAY WATER CRISIS CALLS FOR SACRIFICE BY ALL
Policy makers, water users and experts who gathered in Boise to tackle water woes facing Western states agreed on one thing: it’s going to take collaboration and sacrifice to solve the crisis. Idaho Statesman; April 21 <http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050421/NEWS01/504210338>
IDAHO CITIES SHOULD MAKE WATER CONSERVATION MANDATORY
Drought and growth are exacting a toll on the finite water resources across the West, and Idaho cities should make conservation practices mandatory. Twin Falls Times-News; May 3 <http://www.magicvalley.com/news/editorials/>
LOW SNOWPACK IN MONTANA DRAWS WATER WARNING
Most of Montana’s river basins have record low snowpack, and a federal water official warned irrigators and water managers to prepare for low streamflows. Great Falls Tribune; April 7 <http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050407/NEWS01/504070302/1002>
MONTANA GOVERNOR TAKES HARD STANCE ON MISSOURI RIVER WATER
Gov. Brian Schweitzer said when reservoirs on the Missouri River water system hit a predicted low next year, he will hold Missouri and the U.S. Corps of Engineers to the rule that no water be released for navigation. Billings Gazette; April 13 <http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2005/04/13/build/state/35-gov-river-deal.inc>
WESTERN DROUGHT STRANGLES NATION’S LONGEST RIVER
Six years of drought and scant snowpack in Montana have dropped water levels in the Missouri River’s northern reservoirs to historic lows, and the deficit threatens water supplies in the river’s 10-state basin. USA Today; April 29 <http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050429/1a_cover29.art.htm>
IMPORTANT WATER BILLS FLOWED THROUGH MONTANA LEGISLATURE
The most important water bill passed by the Montana Legislature this session was one that gets the ball rolling on adjudication of water rights in the state. Great Falls Tribune; April 25 <http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050425/OPINION01/504250304/1014/NEWS01>
COUNCIL SAYS DIVERSION OF WATER WILL COST NORTHWEST MILLIONS
If a federal judge in Oregon orders increased water releases from five Snake and Columbia River dams to aid salmon runs, the Northwest could lose more than $100 million in hydroelectric power capacity. Idaho Falls Post Register; 4/15 <http://www.headwatersnews.org/pr.power041505.html>
CONSERVATIONISTS CONCERNED ABOUT BUSH’S BPA PLAN
A new report said President Bush’s revamped plan for the Bonneville Power Administration contains a provision that caps the BPA’s ability to borrow money and could gut mandated fish and wildlife mitigation programs. Missoulian; 4/25 <http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2005/04/25/news/mtregional/news02.txt>
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, MEXICAN FARMERS COOPERATE TO CONSERVE
The water situation in South Texas has improved dramatically in recent months. After a decade of drought, reservoirs along the Rio Grande are now near capacity due to plentiful rainfall. In addition, Mexico has recently begun repaying a water debt to the U.S. after a lingering dispute over a 1948 water-sharing treaty. Texas A&M Ag News, 04/01 <http://agnews.tamu.edu/dailynews/stories/SOIL/Apr0105a.htm> <http://www.uswaternews.com/archives/arcrights/5offisayx4.html>
SCENIC AND ACIDIC
The Columbia River Gorge, protected as a national scenic area for its rocky landscapes and natural vistas, endures acid rain and fog as severe as what falls in industrial East Coast regions. Air pollution from Eastern Oregon and Washington laces gorge clouds with some of the nation’s highest levels of certain harmful compounds, turning fog and drizzle nearly as acidic as vinegar, new federal research shows. Gorge fog and rain collected over four months ending about a year ago were typically as caustic as in Pittsburgh, for example, and commonly 10 times and sometimes 30 times more acidic than usual Northwest rainfall. Those levels are known to injure trees and wildlife, though minimal research has been done to document the extent of ecological damage in the gorge. Oregonian, 4/5 <http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/front_page/1112695109167101.xml>
NEW ENGLAND’S COMING WATER WARS
Get ready for the next big environmental battles – let’s call them water wars – as multinational corporations seek control of New England’s public water supply, bottled-water sales soar, water pollution worsens, and cities and towns struggle to pay for much-needed improvements to water pipes and sewage systems. Boston Phoenix, 04/07 <http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/top/features/documents/04590755.asp>
GROUP SAYS WYOMING HIGHWAY PLAN DESTROYS WETLANDS
An environmental group said it may sue to stop expansion of one of the major routes between Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks in Wyoming if plans aren’t changed to lessen the impact on wetlands. Casper Star-Tribune; April 15 <http://www.casperstartribune.net/news/wyoming/f336809b7b03c50187256fe400031c2a.txt>
WATER BIZ TAKES OFF
Only 2 percent of the world’s water is fresh, and with the World Commission on Water for the 21st Century projecting a 50 percent increase in demand in the next 30 years, food and drinking-water shortages, droughts, devastated agriculture, disease, and even armed conflict over water may be on the horizon. We smell profits! And indeed, over the last five years, stocks in the water sector have leapt 113 percent (while the S&P 500 lost 17 percent), with a 24 percent jump just last year. Companies involved in the $400 billion-a-year global water biz — delivery and storage of water, construction and maintenance of infrastructure like wastewater-treatment facilities and desalination plants – have seen their portfolios boom in recent years. Huge corporations like General Electric are investing billions each year in their water holdings. “Water will emerge as the next growth commodity,” says hedge-fund manager John Romero. The Wall Street Journal, 4/15 <http://www.grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4795>
DISAPPEARING LAKES, SHRINKING SEAS
West Africa’s Lake Chad has shrunk to a mere 5 percent of its former size. Central Asia’s Aral Sea is shrinking, gradually turning into desert. In Israel, the receding shores of Lake Tiberias-also known as the Sea of Galilee-sometimes allow mere mortals to walk where the water once was. Thousands of lakes in China have disappeared entirely. The diversion of river water in India and Pakistan that allowed for a doubling of irrigated area over the last four decades has depleted many lakes. All told, more than half of the world’s 5 million lakes are endangered. <http://www.enn.com/aff.html?id=524>
GOVERNMENT PROPOSES TO MOVE NUCLEAR WASTE PILED NEAR THE COLORADO RIVER
The Energy Department proposed to move a huge pile of radioactive waste away from the banks of the Colorado River — a victory for environmentalists and Western politicians who fear the leached compounds could poison the Southwest’s major source of drinking water. <http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=7488> <http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,600124229,00.html>
HYDRAULIC FRACTURING RAISES CONCERNS OVER WATER IN WESTERN U.S.
Despite persistent concerns about its effects on groundwater, the practice of hydraulic fracturing (or “fracing”) appears likely to receive an exemption from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act in legislation under consideration by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Fracing involves pumping highly pressurized fluids deep underground, forcing oil and natural gas to rise to the surface, where it can be slurped up and sold by companies like Halliburton, for which it generates about $1.5 billion a year. A recent EPA review judged the practice safe, but a whistleblower, 32-year agency veteran Weston Wilson, said the review did not use established procedures and relied on a panel composed largely of energy-industry personnel. Democrats tried to attach amendments to the legislation — one would require a real scientific investigation of the practice — but they were defeated on party-line votes. After all, as Halliburton argued in a legal brief, regulation “could have significant adverse effects on its business.” [Can’t have that.] Casper Star-Tribune, 4/15 <http://www.grist.org/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=4797>
NEW TESTS RAISE CONCERN ABOUT COLORADO’S WATER
Twisted fish with altered sex organs raised concern and prompted new studies about what’s in Colorado’s surface water, but experts agree regulations and solutions are years away. Boulder Daily Camera; April 17 <http://www1.dailycamera.com/bdc/science/article/0,1713,BDC_2432_3707304,00.html>
INVASIVE SNAILS MAKING THEIR WAY INTO MORE COLORADO WATERWAYS
Colorado wildlife officials said the discovery of New Zealand mudsnails in the South Platte River confirmed their fears that the invasive species is spreading through the state. Denver Post; April 29 <http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~2842319,00.html>
NJ GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES PLAN TO SPEED CLEANUP ALONG DELAWARE RIVER
Acting Governor Richard J. Codey announced a new plan to speed the cleanup of 10 major contaminated sites along the Delaware River. The plan includes a no-tolerance policy and tough enforcement for delays by companies responsible for cleaning contaminated sites. “Historically we have approached contaminated sites as individual cases, instead of identifying specific regions of New Jersey that need to be protected,” Codey said. “But a regional approach will create better results for the environment. It will let us focus on the sites that will have the greatest impact on a region’s well being. “Our plan for the Delaware River will focus on zero tolerance for delays,” the Acting Governor continued. “We are saying ‘Time’s up’ for cleanups that are behind schedule.” Capitol Reports 4/26 <http://www.caprep.com/0405061.htm>
STUDY: OCEAN ECOSYSTEMS PLAGUED BY AGRICULTURAL RUNOFF
Researchers have long suspected that fertilizer runoff from big farms can trigger sudden explosions of marine algae capable of disrupting ocean ecosystems and even producing “dead zones” in the sea. Now a new study by Stanford University scientists presents the first direct evidence linking large-scale coastal farming to massive algal blooms in the sea. Science Daily, 04/03 <http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/03/050326010739.htm>
CHINA PLANS TO MAKE WAY FOR GIANT WATER-DIVERSION PROJECT
China announced plans Tuesday to relocate 400,000 people to make way for a US$60 billion (euro50 billion) network of canals to supply its dry north with water from the wetter south. <http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=7474>
