Infrastructure & Environment Roudup

Drinking Water Supplies Threatened by Dry Weather

The Associated Press put together a nice, short summary the problem of shrinking water supplies.  You can read it at the NBC News site and see video of a related story.

Earthquake Preparedness: The Great Shakeout

February 7 will be the Great Central U.S. Shakeout.  If you’re a fellow Missourian, find more information at the Missouri Division of Geology.  If you live elsewhere in the central United States, check out the Shakeout Web site (participating states are Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Tennessee).

Highway Trust Fund Out of Money by 2015

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has released projections of funds available in the Highway Trust Fund.  They expect it to have insufficient funds to meet obligations by fiscal year 2015.

The Highway Trust Fund is the primary source of money for the federal-aid highway system.  Revenues to the fund come primarily from the federal gas tax.

You can see the CBO projections here→.

Related posts and articles

Highway Trust Fund Running Out of Money (Infrastructure Watch, Feb. 9, 2012)

Hydropower Bill Reported Out of Committee

The Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2013 (H.R. 267) was reported out of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.  The bill would expand hydropower development.

Mississippi River Affected by Drought

We’ve been following stories about the effects of the prolonged drought on the Mississippi River.  Our posts have mostly related to barge traffic and the effort to keep the river open downstream of St. Louis.

NPR has posted an article about the effects at the mouth of the river.  One of the issues is salt water intrusion, which as the potential to change the water quality in that part of the river and has already reached the intake of one drinking water system in Louisiana.  Of course, barge traffic is an issue for New Orleans, too, because the port there is where goods move from river barges to ocean-going vessels.

Recently, barge traffic has been back up by an oil spill on the river, too.  Cleanup of the spill near Vicksburg, Mississippi, continues.

Related posts and articles

Mississippi River barge backup shrinks, oil cleanup continues (Plume, K., Reuters, Feb. 1, 2013)

Rock clearing on drought-hit Mississippi River nears completion (Plume, K., Reuters, Jan. 29, 2013)

Work to Keep Mississippi River Open Continues (Infrastructure Watch, Jan. 29, 2013)

New Staff Leader Announced for Senate Environment & Public Works Committee

Sen. Barbara Boxer (CA), chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, announced that Jeremy Symons will join the committee staff as Deputy Staff Director. He will focus on environmental issues, including clean water, air quality, wildlife, and climate change.  Symons currently serves as the Senior Vice President for Conservation and Education at the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). Previously, he was Executive Director of NWF's Climate Change Campaign, held positions in the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Air and Radiation, and served in Sen. Ron Wyden's (OR) office.

You can read the original news release here→.

Secretary Chu Leaving Energy

Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced he will be resigning his post.  Other officials who announced their resignation include Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.

Related posts and articles

Outgoing Energy Secretary Warns Of Dangers Of Climate Change (Shogren, E., NPR, Feb. 1, 2013)

The Nexus of It All

Our infrastructure for water, energy, transportation, and food is all interconnected.  Changes to one has consequences in the others.  Below are links to several articles that explore these interconnections.

Agriculture & Energy

Food, fuel and the global land grab (Brown, L. R., Food Crisis and the Global Land Grab, Jan. 3, 2013)

Will Any Disaster Wake America up to its Water Problem? (Caprio, V., Our Water Counts blog, Nov. 8, 2012)

Energy & Water

Electricity from Water Mains: Inline Hydropower System Generates Power from Water Pipelines (Science Daily, Dec. 10, 2012)

Will Any Disaster Wake America up to its Water Problem? (Caprio, V., Our Water Counts blog, Nov. 8, 2012)

Injection Wells: The Poison Beneath Us (Lustgarten, A., ProPublica, June 21, 2012)

Pincushion America: The irretrievable legacy of drilling everywhere on drinking water (Peak Oil, June 30, 2012)

Food & Water

Growing food in the desert: is this the solution to the world's food crisis? (Margolis, J., Observer, Nov. 24, 2012)

Water Pollution and the Farm Economy (Gillis, J., New York Times Green blog, Dec. 11, 2012)

Will Any Disaster Wake America up to its Water Problem? (Caprio, V., Our Water Counts blog, Nov. 8, 2012)

Other

Don’t Fear the Nexus (Infrastructure Watch, Dec. 21, 2012)

1.1.8. THERMOELECTRIC POWER

GUIDE TO WATER CONSERVATION

1.1.8. THERMOELECTRIC POWER

Steam turbines are significant source of electrical power in the United States.  Power plant use water to generate steam and cooling.

Water plays a role in much power generation.  Though a minority of the energy generated nationwide comes from hydroelectric dams, they are significant energy providers in some regions.

<Table of Contents < Start of Chapter <Previous Next> Next Chapter>

Bill Quickies

The 10 Million Solar Roofs Act (S. 1108) would establish best management practices for solar permitting and provide grants to local governments to implement those practices.

A group of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska Congressmen sponsored a bill (H.R. 3719) that would make restoration of levees after the 2011 floods the top priority for the Corps of Engineers in its management of the Missouri River.

Congress finally passed an appropriations bill for the rest of fiscal year 2012 (H.R. 2055).

The Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2011 (H.R. 3680) would ease the permitting of small hydropower projects and fund workshops, pilot projects, and studies related to hydropower.

The Geothermal Exploration and Technology Act of 2011 (S. 1142) would fund geothermal exploration and the development of related technology.

President Obama signed into law the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011 (more information).

Activity in Congress

Bill Introduced To Review Impacts of Rules Affecting Energy Production
Rep. John Sullivan (OK) has introduced the Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation Act of 2011 (H.R. 1705). The bill would require a committee to review certain air pollution, waste disposal and other selected regulations and assess their impacts on the nations economy and energy sector.

Bill Would Limit EPA Administrator’s Determinations Related to Water Quality Standards
Rep. John Micah (FL) has introduced the Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011 (H.R. 2018). The bill would reduce the powers of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in relation to determinations of water quality standards and permitting in relation to the states.

Bill Would Require Environmental Agency to Consider Regulatory Affects On Jobs
Rep. Shelly Moore Capito (WV) has introduced the Employment Protection Act 2011 (H.R 1872). The bill would require the Environmental Protection Agency to consider the impact of rulemaking or permitting actions on employment in the various states. A version of this bill has also been introduced in the Senate (S. 1292).

Green Infrastructure Bill Introduced
Sen. Tom Udall (NM) has introduced the Green Infrastructure and Clean Water Act of 2010 (S. 1115). The bill would establish three to five centers of excellence in green infrastructure at higher education or research institutions. It would also make green infrastructure grants of up to $200,000 available to communities for planning and implementing green infrastructure projects. Various offices of the Environmental Protection Agency would be tasked with promoting green infrastructure. A version of the bill has also been introduced in the House of Representatives (H.R. 2030).

Hydrokinetics Bill Introduced
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (AK) has introduced the Marine and Hydrokinetic Energy Promotion Act of 2011 (S. 630). The bill would establish funding and programs for hydrokinetics development, mainly by adding hydrokinetics to programs established in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

Congressional Activity

BILLS INTRODUCED

S. 3736, introduced by Sen. James Inhofe (OK), would allow states to opt out of the corn ethanol portion of the renewable fuel standards of the Clean Air Act.

The Small-Scale Hydropower Enhancement Act of 2010 (H.R. 5922), introduced by Rep. Adrian Smith (NE), would exempt small hydroelectric projects (1.5 megawatts or less) from the requirements of the Federal Power Act.

BILLS REFERED TO COMMITTEE

A Roadmap for America’s Energy Future (H.R. 5899) was referred to the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. The bill would set policy related the management of mineral energy resources and investment in other energy resources.

BILLS SCHEDULED FOR DEBATE

The Economic Revitalization and Innovation Act of 2010 (H.R. 5897), makes various revisions to the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965.

The Water Resources Development Act of 2010 (H.R 5892), deals with the authorization for a host of Corp of Engineers projects and studies.

CONGRESSIONAL AGENCIES RELEASE REPORTS

Water Infrastructure Financing: Stakeholder Views on a National Infrastructure Bank and Public-Private Partnerships (Government Accountability Office, GAO-10-728)

Using Biofuel Tax Credits to Achieve Energy and Environmental Policy Goals (Congressional Budget Office)

Book Review: When the Rivers Run Dry by Fred Pearce

Pearce, Fred. When the Rivers Run Dry: Water—The Defining Crisis of the Twenty-first Century. Boston: Beacon, 2006.

Mankind’s attempts to harness rivers have had unintended consequences. Schemes to make land more productive have created deserts. Crops on drained land have produced less food and value than the swamps they displaced. Rivers hemmed in to prevent flooding have flooded more frequently and worse than before.

Pearce isn’t against technology. He sometimes expresses admiration for the dams, canals and other engineering feats about which he writes. However, he’s not impressed when this technology deprives people of the water and wealth it was intended to provide.

Water and wealth is a connection Pearce often makes. For all the lip service paid to the social benefits of grand water schemes, the water tends to go where the money is.

Overall, the world has become more water poor. The poorest have generally lost the most.

In spite of the history, Peace sees hope in the potential of technology that works with the water cycle instead of against it. It is already happening on a small scale where ancient where people are reviving ancient methods of capturing rainwater. Indian farmers are adapting dessert containers for use as a cheap, and more efficient, drip irrigation pipe. On the large scale, river engineers are cutting levees, restoring wetlands and allow river to return to curvy courses. In agriculture, the biggest user and waster of water in much of the world, there is a move to crops that are more appropriate to the locally available rainfall and less dependent on irrigation. Even in Los Angeles, a city known for the lengths it has gone to in order to quench its great thirst in a dry land, activist are seeking to create a more porous city that captures and uses the water that falls there naturally.

To illustrate his points, Pearce travels the world to see the disastrous results of bad water management, the extreme example being the disappearing Aral Sea. He also points out what works, like a restored qanat in Iraq.



If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in Water by Marq de Villiers.

Book Review: Water by Marq de Villiers

de Villiers, Marq. Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource. 1999. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000.

Marq de Villiers serves as a guide on a tour of water problems, conflicts and occasional solutions around the world. Though he is not an alarmist, his book seems to indicate that the problems have so far greatly outpaced the solutions.

There are several aspects of water problems and conflicts that de Villiers considers: natural, technological and political. In each area, he provides specific examples of water in or nearing crisis.

The natural distribution of fresh water in the world is uneven. That may be the fundamental aspect of water problems: even where it’s seemingly abundant, it doesn’t occur where and when people want it to make use of it. In parts of the world, this is a dire situation.

The technological solutions people have applied to correct this distribution have resulted in some amazing works of engineering since early in human history. It has also had many unintended consequences. Irrigation that made marginal land productive has made some of that land useless, even desert, through increased salinity. Dams, drainage and transfers have created ill effects in regional climates. Water mining, pollution and other human activity are also threatening the quantity and quality of water even in developed nations. There is hope in the technological area in that much of this harm may be reversible and the human ingenuity that created these technologies might also create sustainable solutions to our water needs.

Political considerations are very important to water issues, particularly when considering the possibility of conflict, even outright war, because of water scarcity. The Middle East and North Africa come to mind as hot spots where water is a critical issue; de Villiers enlightens both the current situation and history of these regions. Though mistrust runs deep between the nations in this region, even seemingly friendly ones, there is hope for solutions to their water problems. North America has its water problems to, and the problems on the Colorado River are surprisingly similar to those on the Nile. The differences in water availability in the United States, Mexico and Canada also makes for interesting relations between these close and usually friendly neighbors. China may present the largest political problems related to water and it’s food production and population that threatens to push it into crisis.



The book closes with four general strategies for dealing with the world’s water problems. First, get more water by either bringing it in from elsewhere or making it (i.e. desalination). Next is conservation and pricing to reduce demand and encourage using water in the most valuable ways. Third is population control; de Villiers seems relieved that world populations have been growing more slowly without major intervention. Finally, you can steal water from others. Since 40 percent people worldwide live in watersheds that cross national boundaries, it becomes a complicated matter of who has what right to the water and this is a potential source of water conflict, though not insurmountable.

Infrastructure Economic Stimulus in the News

Here is a clearinghouse of links to recent articles and posts on the how the economic stimulus package is effecting infrastructure.

Bill Would Axe Stimulus Plaques (Infrastructure Watch, July 1, 2009)
Hydropower Funding Available (Infrastructure Watch, July 1, 2009)
Missouri Receives Federal Funds for Energy Program (Infrastructure Watch, July 1, 2009)

Stimulus Buying A Lot Of New Highways, Not Much New Transit (Reed, J., The Infrastructurist, June 30, 2009)
Some transit stimulus now available for operating costs (The Dig, Blueprint America, PBS, June 30, 2009)
Missouri Receives Stimulus Funds for Water Quality Management Planning (Infrastructure Watch, June 22, 2009)
Transportation Department Releases Guidelines for Stimulus Funding of High-Speed Rail (Infrastructure Watch, June 22, 2009)
Federal Officials Discuss High-Speed Rail with State Officials (Infrastructure Watch, June 8, 2009)
Missouri Plans for SRF Funds from the Recovery Act (Infrastructure Watch, June 1, 2009)
the lion in winter: interview with Norman Mineta (Solomon, Mark B., DC Velocity, June 2009)

Coverage of Infrastructure Economic Stimulus (Infrastructure Watch, May 14, 2009)

Hydropower Funding Available

The Department of Energy announced up to $32 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to modernize the existing hydropower infrastructure. The department will competitively award funds to a variety of non-Federal hydropower projects that can be developed without significant modifications to dams and with a minimum of regulatory delay.

Projects will be selected in two areas:

-Deployment of Hydropower Upgrades at Projects Greater than 50 MW: These include projects at large, non-Federal facilities (greater than 50 MW capacity) with existing or advanced technologies that will enable improved environmental performance and significant new generation.

-Deployment of Hydropower Upgrades at Projects Less than 50 MW: These include projects at small-scale non-Federal facilities (less than 50 MWs) with existing or advanced technologies that will enable improved environmental performance and significant new generation.

Letters of intent are due July 22nd, 2009, and completed applications August 20th, 2009. The complete Funding Opportunity Announcement number, DE-FOA-0000120, can be viewed at FedConnect.net. Projects are expected to begin in Fiscal Year 2010.

You can read the full Department of Energy news release here.