Environmental Groups Blast AFBF Report

August 10, 2000

A coalition of environmental groups say a "misinformation campaign orchestrated by the American Farm Bureau drastically understates Illinois' role" in the so-called "dead zone" problem in the Gulf of Mexico and waters in the Midwest. The Mississippi Riverwise Partnership cited several government studies linking Midwest agricultural pollution in the Mississippi River Basin to the area of the Gulf of Mexico, where, the group says, low levels of oxygen have been found.

The AFBF reported that scientific information had shown that managing the Mississippi River's flow as it empties into the Gulf of Mexico could be an effective tool to decrease the size of the Gulf of Mexico's hypoxic zone. It was reported, AFBF added, that the low-oxygen hypoxic zone had shrunk to just 1,700 square miles. Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium researcher Nancy Rabalais reported that the decrease likely was due to low river stages of the Mississippi River in southern Louisiana.

AFBF also said that in addition to decreased river flow this year, researchers say that wind and current patterns were more active, thus having a role in the decreasing size of the hypoxic zone. Calm waters and high river flows in the spring and early summer of 1999 set the stage for the biggest hypoxic zone since measurements began in the mid 1980s.

However, the environmental coalition said hypoxia "is mainly caused by nutrients in the water from excess fertilizer and other sources. Illinois cannot afford again to take a 'head-in-the-sand' approach to a major environmental issue. Reports by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency clearly show that excess nutrients from Illinois fields, golf courses and sewerage plants are impairing Illinois waters. The new information on the `dead zone’ reconfirms that this pollution is also damaging waters downstream," said Albert Ettinger of the Environmental Law and Policy Center.

"Excessive nutrients are the number one water pollution problem in Illinois," said Robert Moore, Director of Prairie Rivers Network. According to Illinois EPA, 10,716 miles of stream and 301 lakes are impaired by nutrient pollution. "It's an enormous problem which impacts Illinois waters as well as the Gulf," said Moore.

Doug Daible of the Mississippi River Basin Alliance said, "The small size of this year's dead zone is consistent with observations since 1985, when scientific measurements began. When the level of the river is low, the size of the hypoxic zone tends to be smaller. However, this correlates with nutrient inputs, not just flow level, as last year's record-size 'dead zone' in a low-water year demonstrated. During periods of drought, nutrient runoff is decreased."