SARL Members and Alumni News
Algae plaguing Ohio lakes could force Gov. Kasich to take executive action
Dayton Daily News | Posted on May 30, 2018Algae blooms for the past decade or more have invaded Ohio’s lakes and rivers, turning the waterways to a thick green color, killing fish — and in some case leaving the water toxic to humans. The state has spent billions of dollars on solutions to fix the water quality problem and put in place rules to decrease what some scientists say is the No. 1 culprit of the algae blooms — runoff from farm fields and land near waterways. A forthcoming bill in the Statehouse will propose more regulations to clean up Ohio’s waterways but Gov. John Kasich may not wait for the bill to get to his desk.Instead, Kasich is considering using the powers of his office to address concerns raised by an Ohio EPA study released in April, said Jim Lynch, Kasich’s communications director. The study revealed there has been “no clear decrease” in the amount of nutrients flowing from farmlands into Lake Erie and other state waters.“It’s been a high priority for the governor since he’s been in office,” Lynch said. “We keep looking for what more we can do and what we can do through executive action is our next step.” The “single biggest thing” that Ohioans can do to prevent algal blooms is to stop fertilizer runoff from getting into lakes in the first place, Kasich said. Not only do the water quality issues pose a problem for beach-goers but they are threatening an bi-national Great Lakes agreement struck in 2015.The governors of Ohio and Michigan and the premier of Ontario, Canada have all signed the Western Basin of Lake Erie Collaborative Agreement. It calls for substantial reductions in nutrients runoff into Lake Erie and its source watersheds, including a 40 percent reduction in phosphorous by 2025, according to a copy of the agreement.Ohio has invested $6 billion statewide to improve water quality since 2011, according to the Ohio EPA. Even with that investment though, Ohio, Michigan and Ontario are nowhere near reaching that 2025 goal, said Heidi Grismer, spokeswoman for the Ohio EPA.
Tyson to get $20 million in state funds for Tenn. chicken complex
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted on May 30, 2018Tyson Foods Inc. will receive $20 million in state economic funds to help the company build a new chicken complex in Humboldt, Tenn. Tennessee’s State Funding Board on approved the package. The package includes $14 million for water, sewer and electrical upgrades and $6 million for new construction
Tyson gets Iowa’s help for plant expansion
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted on May 24, 2018Tyson Fresh Meats will receive nearly $675,000 in Iowa state tax credits to help the company upgrade its pork plant in Perry, Iowa. The Tyson Foods subsidiary plans to construct a new chilling system to improve product quality and efficiencies at the Perry facility, the Iowa Economic Development Authority said in a post on its website. The $43.7 million project won’t add jobs there but will require additional training for existing employees.
Oregon lawmakers mull preventing ‘too big to fail’ livestock operations
Capital Press | Posted on May 22, 2018he regulatory problems facing a controversial Oregon dairy have raised questions among lawmakers about avoiding “too big to fail” livestock operations in the future. Negative publicity has continued to mount for Lost Valley Farm of Boardman, Ore., which in 2018 has faced a $10,600 fine, a lawsuit filed by state farm regulators and financial troubles resulting in bankruptcy proceedings.The 7,300-acre farm is home to nearly 14,000 head of cattle.The Senate Interim Committee on Environment and Natural Resources summoned the state’s top agriculture and water regulators for a legislative hearing on May 21 to begin analyzing what went wrong.
MN Gov. Mark Dayton vetoes bill that gave Enbridge's new pipeline fast-track approval
Minnesota Star Tribune | Posted on May 22, 2018As expected, Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed legislation that would have allowed Enbridge to build a controversial new oil pipeline without getting regulatory approval. The legislation would have terminated a three-year process before the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) that is nearly complete.The PUC is slated next month to decide if Enbridge's new Line 3 across northern Minnesota is needed, and if so, what route it should take."This bill pre-empts the long-standing PUC process, which has been established in law, and which has been used for years to make those complex and controversial decisions," Dayton said in a letter Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, speaker of the house.The legislation would also disregard the input of "thousands of Minnesotans who have participated in the [regulatory] process," including by attending public meetings and hearings, Dayton wrote.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich wants to crack down on phosphorus runoff that feeds Lake Erie algal blooms
Cleveland.com | Posted on May 17, 2018Gov. John Kasich said he plans to issue an executive order if state lawmakers won't limit fertilizer use in certain parts of the state that contribute to problematic phosphorus and nitrate runoff in Lake Erie. The Ohio General Assembly in 2015 restricted manure and fertilizer application on snow-covered or wet ground in the western basin of Lake Erie with exceptions such as injecting it into the ground or applying it on a cover crop. Another law required large farm owners to obtain a certification in properly applying fertilizer. "We know it's a phosphorous problem and we know what watersheds are the heaviest contributors of phosphorus, so we're looking at what we can do from an executive perspective," Lynch said.Ohio Farm Bureau spokesman Joe Cornely said there's no argument fertilizer nutrients contribute to algal blooms, but additional regulations are premature until research shows what types of nutrients are leaving farm soil and their effect on the problem.
NH:3 contentious renewable energy bills head to governor’s desk
New Hampshire Business Review | Posted on May 16, 2018New Hampshire’s renewable industry will get a boost – though at a possible cost to ratepayers – if three bills passed last week by lawmakers are signed into law by Gov. Chris Sununu. Senate Bill 446 is perhaps the most far-reaching, increasing fivefold the size of projects that would qualify for net metering. That’s the current law that allows homeowners, small business and groups to get credit, and sometimes even cash, for generating their own electricity.SB 446 would extend the upper limit from 1 megawatt to 5 megawatts, allowing large businesses, municipalities and even small hydro generators to take advantage of it, paving the way for much larger renewable energy projects.Critics, including utilities and some business groups, claim that generators are paid too much for the power, and this amounts to a subsidy paid for by other ratepayers. Advocates say that renewable energy saves money on distribution and generation costs.
Connecticut environment groups file federal lawsuit against state
Connecticut Post | Posted on May 16, 2018Several Connecticut environment groups and companies are taking the state to federal court over the legislature’s decision to remove money from state energy funds in the two-year budget passed in October. The Connecticut Fund for the Environment and 11 other plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court Tuesday in order to stop the $165 million sweep.Using the funding for other than its intended purpose is a breach of the contracts clause of the United States Constitution, the plaintiffs argue. Much of the money is raised through a small surcharge on electric bills; because the money is now allocated for different purposes, the plaintiffs say this qualifies as an illegal tax on tax-exempt organizations — such as nonprofits that are ratepayers.
2019 Maryland Operating Budget Includes Historic Funding for Rural Communities
Rural Maryland Council | Posted on May 16, 2018The Maryland Legislature approved the Fiscal Year 2019 State Operating Budget that includes funds to support the Rural Maryland Prosperity Investment Fund (RMPIF), a key step forward in addressing disparities in the State’s rural areas. The Rural Maryland Prosperity Investment Fund will receive $6,000,000 in funding for targeted investment to promote economic prosperity in Maryland’s traditionally disadvantaged and undeserved rural communities. These funds will sustain efforts to promote rural regional cooperation, facilitate entrepreneurial activities, and support key community colleges and nonprofit providers. For Fiscal Year 2018, 27 grants were distributed to 27 organizations throughout the State.
U.S. ‘Nothing But You and the Cows and the Sirens’ — Crime Tests Sheriffs Who Police Small Towns
Wall Street Journal | Posted on May 15, 2018Ross County, with its rolling forested green hills and quaint two-century-old county seat, is an image of idyllic rural America. But as night fell here on a warm Tuesday in May, chaos descended on the Ross County Sheriff’s Office. A neighbor called to report a disturbance, likely a violent domestic dispute, and another called to report a man slumped over the steering wheel of his pickup, likely an overdose. Calls of other suspicious vehicles came flooding in. The violent-crime rate in rural areas rose above the national average for the first time in a decade, according to the most recently available data from the federal government. Though cities, on average, still have a higher violent-crime rate than rural areas, large metropolitan areas are safer than they have been in decades, while small communities in some states are getting more dangerous. “It is nothing but you and the cows and the sirens,” said Sgt. Brenton Davidson, a patrol sergeant at the sheriff’s office. “You are seeing more violence, and you never know where your backup is coming from.” Small departments, where budgets and the number of deputies have remained stagnant, are overwhelmed. The number of sheriff’s deputies patrolling 691 square miles in Ross County, which sits some 50 miles south of Columbus, has remained at four over the past two decades. The population over the same period has increased to 77,000 from about 72,000. Starting pay for deputies is $35,000 a year, compared with the Ohio average of about $60,000.