PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 28, 2006
Contact: Stephanie Lundberg
Phone: 202-225-5506

House Passes Kind Mississippi Protection Bill
to Reduce Sedimentation, Improve Water Quality

Washington , DC – Today, Rep. Ron Kind's (D-WI) Upper Mississippi River Basin Protection Act (HR 5340) passed the House of Representatives by a unanimous vote. This legislation calls for the development of a coordinated, public-private approach to studying nutrient and sediment runoff in the Upper Mississippi River Basin and establishes a system for water-quality monitoring along with a computer modeling program to analyze data.

“Increased sediment and nutrient flow into the Upper Mississippi River Basin poses a very serious danger to the long-term health of the entire Mississippi River system, as well as the commerce and recreational activities that it supports,” said Kind, founder and Co-chair of the Upper Mississippi River Task Force. “My legislation will help lay the scientific foundation necessary to ensure the future quality and beauty of the Mississippi for generations to come.”

One of the most significant problems threatening the health of the Upper Mississippi River, the accumulation of excess sediment (from increased soil erosion) and nutrients (such as fertilizers and animal waste) reduces wetland habitat - imperiling vital lifelines for a wide variety of fish and waterfowl - and fills the main shipping channel of the river, costing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers more than $100 million annually in dredging costs. In addition, soil erosion resulting from runoff collectively costs farmers $300 million annually in lost applied nitrogen and reduces the long-term sustainability and income of the family farm.

Kind's Upper Mississippi River Basin Protection Act aims to produce the data needed to understandthe quantity, timing, and location – the what, when, and where – ofsediment and nutrient production from its source in the landscape to its destination in our rivers and lakes. Relying on existing federal, state and local programs, the legislation establishes a sedimentation and nutrient reduction monitoring network and an integrated computer modeling program that, combined, will provide the baseline data needed to make scientifically sound and cost-effective decisions to improve the Upper Mississippi River's ecosystem.

Over the last four years, Rep. Kind has worked with farmers, the navigation industry, sporting groups, conservation organizations, and government agencies to come up with this effective, basin-wide, and non-regulatory approach to dealing with the problem of nutrient and sediment runoff into the Upper Mississippi River and its tributaries.

“There is no easy solution to stopping the runoff of sediment and nutrients into the Upper Mississippi River Basin,” concluded Rep. Kind. “But, I believe that this legislation will make significant strides towards reducing the flow of these harmful pollutants into ‘ America’s River,’ and will help improve the health of this unique natural resource.”

The Upper Mississippi River Basin Protection Act now awaits approval from the Senate, along with Kind legislation to establish a national and international habitat restoration grant program to sustain vulnerable bird populations. This Congress, the House also has passed and the President has signed Kind legislation toprovide conservation funding through sales of an electronic duck hunting stamp.

The Upper Mississippi River system, with tributaries and a basin encompassing much of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri, is widely recognized as one of our nation’s great multi-use natural resources. While the Mississippi River and its tributaries provide drinking water to approximately 22 million Americans, the system’s 1,300 navigable miles transport millions of tons of commercial cargo via barges. In addition, forty percent of North America’s waterfowl use the wetlands and backwaters of the main stem as a migratory flyway, illustrating the environmental significance of the system as well as recreation capabilities. Overall, the Upper Mississippi River Basin provides $1.2 billion annually in recreation income and $6.6 billion to the area's tourism industries.

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