Oil Spill
BP emails reveal company veiling oil spill rate
AP
By CAIN BURDEAU
NEW ORLEANS -- On the day the Deepwater Horizon sank, BP officials warned
in an internal memo if the well was not protected by the blowout preventer
at the drill site, crude oil could burst into the Gulf of Mexico at a rate
of 3.4 million gallons a day, an amount a million gallons higher than the
government later believed spilled daily from the site.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/01/28/v-print/3717057/bp-emails-reveal-company-veiling.html
Oil spill fine bill: Offsets could be obstacles but lawmakers optimistic
Published: Sunday, January 29, 2012, 7:28 AM
By George Altman, Washington Bureau , Press Register
Where can lawmakers find at least $1 billion of federal revenue to offset
oil spill fine money that they want to send to the Gulf Coast? Are such
offsets, through spending cuts or new revenue, really necessary to replace
fines to be paid by private companies only because of a spill that hurt the
Gulf? And exactly how much money should lawmakers offset?
http://blog.al.com/live/2012/01/gulf_oil_spill_fine_bill_offse.html
Oil spill focuses attention on delicate Gulf Coast
AP
By RAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI
TIVOLI, Texas -- For decades, farmers and fishermen along the Gulf of
Mexico watched as their sensitive ecosystem's waters slowly got dirtier and
islands eroded, all while the country largely ignored the destruction.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/01/29/v-print/3718237/oil-spill-focuses-attention-on.html
State News
Mississippi regulators pushed to drop statewide burn ban
DeSoto County fights EPA inclusion in Memphis pollution zone
By Jeff Amy
Associated Press
Originally published 08:38 a.m., January 28, 2012
Updated 10:39 a.m., January 28, 2012
JACKSON, Miss. — Although almost no one seems to know it, it's illegal for
everyday citizens to burn common waste in Mississippi.
That may be about to change though as the Mississippi Department of
Environmental Quality comes under pressure to change the rule.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/jan/28/mississippi-regulators-pushed-drop-statewide-burn/
Burn ban decision could shift to city/county
WTVA
TUPELO, Miss. (WTVA) -- It can be found all around the state, people
burning leaves or branches in their yards instead of having them taken off
or composted.
Officials in Jackson are talking about abolishing the state law, which
could leave burning regulations up to each county.
http://www.wtva.com/news/local/story/Burn-ban-decision-could-shift-to-city-county/S3ZH020H2kWkB0KvJ-5VeA.cspx
Unattended trash fires spread in Harrison County
Sun Herald
By ANITA LEE
Harrison County firefighters put out three brush fires Sunday that consumed
a total of about 20 acres from about noon to 2 p.m. Sunday. County Fire
Chief Pat Sullivan said in all three cases, people were burning trash, left
the fires unattended and then discovered they were burning out of control.
He said one man went inside to take a shower while his trash burned, then
stepped out to discover the fire had spread in Sunday's stiff breeze. No
homes were evacuated, Sullivan said. The U.S. Forestry Service helped bring
two of the fires under control.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/01/29/v-print/3718239/unattended-trash-fires-spread.html
MDEQ drops efforts to change water regulations
By David A. Farrell
The Picayune Item
PICAYUNE — The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality has backed
off implementing changes in water regulations that would affect the state's
six southernmost counties, Robbie Wilbur, MDEQ communications director told
the Picayune Item on Friday, confirming rumors that have been circulating
to that effect.
http://picayuneitem.com/local/x431313481/MDEQ-drops-efforts-to-change-water-regulations
Gas exploration unlikely to occur overnight, say MDA experts
Published: Saturday, January 28, 2012, 7:48 AM
By Harlan Kirgan, Mississippi Press
GAUTIER, Mississippi -- Mississippi Development Authority experts don't
expect a rush to tap into the state's offshore natural gas until prices
improve.
The MDA conducted a public meeting from noon to 7 p.m. Friday at the
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College administration building.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/01/gas_exploration_unlikely_to_oc.html
Drilling in state waters could soon be a reality
WLOX
How and when should natural gas drilling take place in Mississippi state
waters? That was the subject of a public hearing Friday night in Jackson
County.
http://www.wlox.com/story/16620896/drilling-in-state-waters-could-soon-be-a-reality
TVA Generation Partners site wins national award
Special to The Commercial Dispatch
January 28, 2012 9:59:00 PM
STARKVILLE -- A Mississippi regional landfill participating in the
Tennessee Valley Authority's Generation Partners renewable power program
has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as one of
the nation's top renewable generation projects.
http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=15376
Pearl could cause minor flooding in Hancock, Pearl River counties
Sun Herald
By ANITA LEE
The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for the Pearl River
in Hancock and Pearl River counties.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/01/29/v-print/3718215/pearl-could-cause-minor-flooding.html
Rez officials may ban glass
Portable storage units, rope swings also on board agenda
Clarion Ledger
A ban on glass containers and rope swings and a time limitation on portable
storage units are among a list of proposed ordinance changes being
considered by officials overseeing the Ross Barnett Reservoir.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20120130/NEWS/201300316/Rez-officials-may-ban-glass?odyssey=mod|
newswell|text|Home|p
Recycling brings Long Beach man contentment
Sun Herald
By JOHN FITZHUGH
LONG BEACH -- If you drove past Mark Kreher's Long Beach house, you might
think he was having a garage sale.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/01/28/v-print/3717177/recycling-brings-long-beach-man.html
Seedlings at root of lesson in being good stewards of Earth
Commercial Appeal
By Henry Bailey
Monday, January 30, 2012
For these "wrap" artists, there's rhythm and rhyme in getting 2,659
Southern magnolia seedlings ready to distribute next week to third-graders
at 14 public and private schools across DeSoto County.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/jan/30/thats-a-wrap/?print=1
Gulfport 6th-graders lend their help to endangered gopher frog (gallery)
Published: Saturday, January 28, 2012, 8:52 AM
By Harlan Kirgan, Mississippi Press
VANCLEAVE, Mississippi -- The Commodore Climate Changers, a sixth-grade
science club from Gulfport, spent Friday morning learning about the
Mississippi gopher frog's habitat, and then got busy helping the endangered
species on a pine savanna.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/01/gulfport_sixth-graders_lend_th.html
KiOR closes on $75M loan to support first biofuels plant
Mississippi Business Journal
Published: January 29,2012
COLUMBUS — KiOR Inc., a next-generation renewable fuels company based in
Pasadena, Texas, has closed a $75 million, four-year term loan with a
lender group comprised of an affiliate of Vinod Khosla and two Canadian
corporations owned by certain pension fund clients of Alberta Investment
Management Corporation (AIMCo).
http://msbusiness.com/2012/01/kior-closes-on-75m-loan-to-support-first-biofuels-plant/
National News
Companies try to recycle all waste, send nothing to landfill
USA Today
Food leftovers as worm bedding? At a DuPont warehouse in Lockport, N.Y.,
cafeteria waste is turned into compost that's used for its landscaping.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/environment/story/2012-01-29/dupont-zero-landfills/52873674/1
California fuels rule sparks controversy
Washington Post
By Juliet Eilperin, Published: January 29
Just as it pioneered curbs on greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light
trucks a decade ago, California is championing standards that could
transform the fuel that goes into their tanks.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/california-fuels-rule-sparks-controversy/2012/01/23/gIQAQtEuaQ_print.html
War of words over looming EPA dioxin study
CNN
With the EPA's deadline only days away, a war of words has erupted over
whether the agency should go ahead with a dioxin study decades in the
making.
http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/27/war-of-words-over-looming-epa-dioxin-study/
Press Releases
MEMA Director Announces New Appointments
Pearl – Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Executive Director Robert
Latham promotes MEMA Office of Mitigation Director Bill Brown to the
position of Deputy Administrator.
In his new role Brown will oversee the offices of Support Services, Hazard
Mitigation and Recovery. Brown will be responsible for oversight of all
financial aspects of the agency including budgeting, travel, payroll,
hazard mitigation grant administration and FEMA recovery programs.
"Bill's extensive experience in managing more than $500 million in
mitigation grant funding since Hurricane Katrina makes him uniquely
qualified for the complex financial aspects of his new position," said
Latham.
Additionally Mitigation Grants Bureau Director Jana Henderson has been
selected to become the new Mitigation Office Director. Henderson will
oversee the entire mitigation office which includes mitigation grants,
planning, state floodplain management and oversight of the National Flood
Insurance Program.
"Jana has worked diligently through some very complex FEMA guidance to
produce and deliver some very high quality outcomes in the mitigation grant
programs in our Agency," said Latham.
Brown and Henderson will take over their new roles Feb. 1.
Latham says Brown and Henderson have worked hard to develop strong,
positive relationships with local emergency management offices and other
officials to ensure that the Agency delivers consistent grant guidance to
applicants and assisted them when necessary to ensure that they receive the
funding they need to build stronger, more disaster resistant communities.
For more information please visit MEMA online at www.msema.org.
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