UMRBA Reports on FY 2023 Accomplishments

UMRBA is pleased to share a summary of the Association's accomplishments in its 2023 fiscal year.  This “year-in-review” highlights some of the progress made in 2023 (fiscal year) and presents a look forward to the work in the year ahead.

The UMRBA Board applauds state agency staff, our federal partners, individual and organizational stakeholders, and the Association's staff for all their collective, collaborative work for the benefit of the Upper Mississippi River.

Notable events and new collaborations in fiscal year 2023 are that: 

• UMRBA hosted the first of two workshops for the purposes of finding the most impactful ways to accelerate the use of multi-benefit conservation practices on agricultural lands. These workshops are funded through U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water.
• UMRBA met with the Regional Administrators from USEPA Regions 5 and 7, aligning shared priorities related to the UMRBA Interstate Water Quality Monitoring Program, basin-wide nutrient management, environmental justice, climate resilience, lead and cooper rule, and national primary drinking water regulations for PFAS.
• UMRBA, in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota (IonE), launched a new project to enhance climate resilience along the Upper Mississippi River from Minnesota to Missouri. This includes basin-wide downscale climate modeling and exploring how to make resilience planning efforts at local, regional, and systemic scales more accessible and inclusive for the diverse people and communities of the Upper Mississippi River.
• The UMRBA Spills Group renewed the UMR Spills Response Plan and Resource Manual, which is a unique, river-focused tool and information source for first responders and contingency planners.
• UMRBA developed a scope for, and initiated the development of, a water availability cumulative impacts assessment. As a first step, UMRBA’s member states are aligning their consumptive use data and developing consumptive use coefficients.
• UMRBA supported through advocacy and other means, and participated in interagency programmatic efforts for, the Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) program and the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP).

Find the FY 2023 Accomplishments Report on UMRBA's website by clicking here.