Oil Spill
Hood hires ex-AG Mike Moore to sue BP
AP
By JEFF AMY
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood confirmed Tuesday to The Associated
Press that he has hired former Attorney General Mike Moore and others to
handle the state's claims against BP PLC stemming from the 2010 Gulf of
Mexico oil spill.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/03/20/v-print/3831308/apnewsbreak-hood-hires-ex-ag-mike.html
Oil from gulf disaster found in food chain
UPI
Published: March. 20, 2012 at 8:50 PM
CAMBRIDGE, Md., March 20 (UPI) -- Oil from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon
disaster entered the food chain in the Gulf of Mexico through zooplankton,
the tiniest of organisms, researchers say.
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2012/03/20/Oil-from-gulf-disaster-found-in-food-chain/UPI-30551332291029/
Judge tosses investors' suit against Transocean alleging shareholders were
misled
By Associated Press, Published: March 20
NEW ORLEANS — A federal judge in New York on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit
from investors who alleged top executives of Transocean Ltd. misled
shareholders about safety problems in the months leading up to a
catastrophic oil well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/judge-tosses-investors-suit-against-transocean-alleging-shareholders-were-misled/2012/03/20/gIQADJi9PS_print.html
State News
Vancleave High School team wins Envirothon competition
Published: Wednesday, March 21, 2012, 7:38 AM
By Harlan Kirgan, Mississippi Press
VANCLEAVE, Mississippi -- One of two Vancleave High School teams in the
South Area Envirothon won first place in the competition on Tuesday at the
Vancleave Park.
…Other state sponsors of the local event Tuesday were the Mississippi
Association of Conservation Districts and the Mississippi Department of
Environmental Quality. The Pascagoula Chevron Refinery was a local sponsor.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/03/vancleave_team_wins_envirothon.html
Recycling event set for Thursday
Starkville Daily News
By STEVEN NALLEY
Drowned cell phones, burned-out televisions, blown-out speakers,
virus-riddled computers and other broken or obsolete electronics have their
place. Amy Counterman, a safety and environmental assistant at Gulf States
Manufacturing, said she wants Starkville citizens to know that place is not
the trash can.
http://www.starkvilledailynews.com/node/9485
E-waste recycling events
WTVA
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WTVA) - If you own any old or unwanted electronic
equipment and are looking for a way to unload it, you can drop it off
during a recycling drive Thursday and Friday.
http://www.wtva.com/news/local/story/E-waste-recycling-events/Ny0mFlYugEis-k1HeEECtg.cspx
T. Boone Pickens to discuss Coast natural gas stations
Sun Herald
By GEOFF PENDER
JACKSON -- Billionaire financier and alternative energy guru T. Boone
Pickens is scheduled to visit with Gov. Phil Bryant, Coast lawmakers and
others in Jackson today, to discuss the state's energy future and the
opening of natural gas vehicle filling stations, starting with Harrison and
Jackson counties.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/03/20/v-print/3831702/t-boone-pickens-to-discuss-coast.html
AGO advises against storm sewer charge
Starkville Daily News
By NATHAN GREGORY
Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman announced at Tuesday's board of alderman
meeting discussion on a proposed storm sewage fee which would have funded
drainage projects around the city would not continue, citing an opinion
from the Mississippi Attorney General's office received Monday.
http://www.starkvilledailynews.com/node/9486
National News
Greens see politics in EPA delays
Politico
By: Erica Martinson
March 20, 2012 10:46 PM EDT
The Environmental Protection Agency's silence on a slew of pending
rulemakings is worrying some supporters, who fear the regulations will
remain trapped in the White House when an election-year window for new
announcements slams shut.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/74253.html
'Global warming' gets a rebranding
Politico
By: Erica Martinson and Jonathan Allen
March 21, 2012 12:09 AM EDT
Shhhh! Don't talk about global warming!
There's been a change in climate for Washington's greenhouse gang, and
they've come to this conclusion: To win, they have to talk about other
topics, like gas prices and kids choking on pollutants.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0312/74263.html
Residents fractured over fracking in Lee County shale basin
WRAL (NC)
For hundreds of people who showed up in Sanford Tuesday night for a public
hearing about natural gas drilling in North Carolina, fracking is a dirty
word. Others, however, said they're open to cautious energy exploration
that could help the state's struggling economy.
http://www.wral.com/news/state/nccapitol/story/10883310/
Fracking Rule for Federal Land to Use Industry's Cement Standard
Bloomberg
By Katarzyna Klimasinska - Mar 20, 2012
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which is drafting rules for natural gas
production by hydraulic fracturing on federal property, said it will use
industry standards for cementing.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-20/fracking-rule-for-federal-land-to-use-industry-s-cement-standard.html
EPA calls for tighter chemical regulations
Western Farm Press
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed that companies be
required to report to EPA all new uses, including in domestic or imported
products, of five groups of potentially harmful chemicals. Over the years,
these chemicals have been used in a range of consumer products and
industrial applications, including paints, printing inks, pigments and dyes
in textiles, flame retardants in flexible foams, and plasticizers. This
action is part of EPA's work to ensure chemical safety in order to protect
Americans' health and the environment.
http://westernfarmpress.com/government/epa-calls-tighter-chemical-regulations
Press Releases
Rules Proposed to Limit New Uses of Potentially Harmful Chemicals
EPA also calls for additional testing on health and environmental impacts
of PBDEs
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed that
companies be required to report to EPA all new uses, including in domestic
or imported products, of five groups of potentially harmful chemicals. Over
the years, these chemicals have been used in a range of consumer products
and industrial applications, including paints, printing inks, pigments and
dyes in textiles, flame retardants in flexible foams, and plasticizers.
This action is part of EPA's work to ensure chemical safety in order to
protect Americans' health and the environment.
The five chemicals EPA is targeting are polybrominated diphenylethers
(PBDEs), benzidine dyes, a short chain chlorinated paraffin,
hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), and phthalate di-n-pentyl phthalate (DnPP).
The agency is also proposing additional testing on the health and
environmental effects of PBDEs.
"Although a number of these chemicals are no longer manufactured or used in
the U.S. they can still be imported in consumer goods or for use in
products. Today's proposed actions will ensure that EPA has an opportunity
to review new uses of the chemicals, whether they are domestically produced
or imported, and if warranted, take action to prohibit or limit the
activity before human health or environmental effects can occur," said Jim
Jones, EPA's acting assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical
Safety and Pollution Prevention. "These actions also signal EPA's ongoing
commitment to the American people that the agency is taking significant
steps to make sure that the chemicals manufactured and used in this country
are safe."
The proposed regulatory actions are known as significant new use rules
(SNUR) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The proposed rules
would require that anyone who intends to manufacture, import, or process
any of the chemicals for an activity that is designated as a significant
new use to submit a notification to EPA at least 90 days before beginning
the activity. This notification means EPA can evaluate the intended new use
and take action to prohibit or limit that activity, if warranted. For
PBDEs, the agency will also issue simultaneously a proposed test rule under
section 4(a) of TSCA that would require manufacturers or processors to
conduct testing on health and environmental effects of PBDEs.
Today's proposed SNURs were identified in action plans the agency issued on
these and other chemicals during the last two years. Information on these
chemical-specific rules and the agency's action plans, including additional
actions under consideration or development, can be found at
http://www.epa.gov/oppt/existingchemicals/
