CWN Holds Successful Capitol Hill Briefing on March 15th --The Mississippi River: The River Left Behind

The Clean Water Network's Capitol Hill briefing explored pollution problems and solutions in the Mississippi River Basin. The March 15 briefing took place in Room 122 of the Cannon House Office Building. The briefing focused on why the Mississippi River Basin lags behind in funding and resources compared to other Great Waters in the United States (Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes, Everglades, etc.). One purpose of the briefing was to identify lessons learned from other regions and spotlight what is happening on the ground in the region. Panelists discussed ways we can close the funding gap and bring more attention on the federal and state level to restoring and protecting the Mississippi River Basin.

The panelists for the briefing were Keith Dimoff, Executive Director of the Ohio Environmental Council and CWN Board Member, Albert Ettinger, Senior Attorney at the Environmental Law and Policy Center and CWN Board Member, and Renee Victoria Hoyos, Executive Director of the Tennessee Clean Water Network and CWN Board President. CWN Executive Director Natalie Roy moderated.

The panelists highlighted the fact that the Mississippi River system, the longest in North America, suffers from high levels of non-point source pollution from agricultural and stormwater run-off throughout its entire basin, from the Upper Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico. Albert Ettinger's presentation focused on the major pollutants in the river basin such as nitrogen, phosphorus and other nutrients that are major contributors tot he Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Renee Hoyos discussed how the Mississippi River's pollution problems are playing out on the ground in Tennessee and highlighted some efforts on the part of the federal government and the states to deal with this issue. Keith Dimoff wrapped up the panel by discussing how this issue plays out in Ohio, one of 31 states that drain into the MS River basin and idenitified some programs that worked in the Great Lakes region that could be emulated in the Mississippi River region.

Please find attached a fact sheet describing funding of restoration projects for America's Great Waters as well as Renee Hoyos' remarks from the briefing. Also attached is the event flier and a copy of the Inside EPA article that reported on the event.

Briefing Pictures

Albert Ettinger addressing Mississippi River Basin Briefing Attendees

Briefing crowd

Jason Flickner, Natalie Roy, Jennifer Browning, Keith Dimoff, Gayle Killam, Renee Hoyos and Tim Guilfoile after Mississippi River Basin Capitol Hill Briefing

Tim Guilfoile and Hank Graddy presenting their peititon to establish numeric water quality standards for the Mississippi River at the Mississippi River Basin Capitol l Hill Briefing