Depression Decisions: Bad Decision Driver?

// Written by Brad Walker, Rivers Director        November 26, 2013 Ever since the “Great Recession” began in 2009 I have wondered whether it might affect the making of important policy decisions. There is some precedence for concern when we look back on some decisions made during the Great Depression, especially regarding large-scale projects. Dams built…

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Missouri Adopts ‘Historic’ Clean Water Protections

NEWS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 7, 2013 Clean Water Commission Adopts Long Overdue Water Quality Standards (Jefferson City) Wednesday, the Missouri Clean Water Commission approved water quality standards that bring the state closer to compliance with the most basic provisions of federal clean water laws. The Missouri Coalition for the Environment (MCE), a nonprofit, state-based…

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USGS Releases Study on Dead Zone Pollutants

Special thanks to Susan Heathcote with Iowa Environmental Council for this Summary. An interesting report was released yesterday by the US Geological Survey about the long-term trends in nitrate levels in the Mississippi River and major tributaries.  The study looked at nitrate trends over the period 2000 – 2010. Overall nitrate concentrations increased 12% at…

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Veolia Withdraws: Victory!

Tuesday, October 28, at the Ways and Means Committee Hearing on Board Bill 216 at the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, Mary Ellen Ponder, St. Louis Mayor Slay’s representative, announced that Veolia Water North America was withdrawing from its efforts to secure a contract with the city’s Water Division. The welcome news stunned members of…

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The Dam That Was Too Big to Hide: Part 2

// Written by Brad Walker, Rivers Director       October 17, 2013 PDF Version – Both Parts See Part 1 here if you have not read it. Unexpected direct and indirect actions affected the process surrounding the approval, development and construction of a facility to replace the original Locks and Dam 26 on the Mississippi River at…

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Zombie Veolia Contract Rises Again

Wednesday, October 16, St. Louis Comptroller Darlene Green exposed St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay’s attempt to secure an open-ended, no-bid contract worth millions of dollars for Veolia, a French multi-national corporation with operations in water, sewage, hazardous waste, and garbage. At the meeting, Ms. Green brought to light a proposed contract that Slay is seeking…

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