Oil Spill
RESTORE Act for Gulf Coast draws opposition
Published: Wednesday, May 09, 2012, 10:37 AM Updated: Wednesday, May
09, 2012, 1:23 PM
By Mary Orndorff
Press Register
WASHINGTON - A proposal to split the Clean Water Act fines from the BP
Deepwater Horizon oil spill among Alabama and four other states has drawn
opposition from other parts of the country.
http://blog.al.com/sweethome/2012/05/restore_act_for_gulf_coast_dra.html
Mayor: Tar Mat, Sheen Samples Belong to BP
(ORANGE BEACH, Ala.) - Samples from an oil sheen discovered at Perdido Pass
over the weekend have been sent to a lab for testing, the U.S. Coast Guard
said. They hope to determine if that mess is a remnant of the BP oil spill
disaster. Those results should be back Thursday.
http://www.local15tv.com/news/local/story/Mayor-Tar-Mat-Sheen-Samples-Belong-to-BP/gqZ7IEtggUuSCN-pRL8K9w.cspx
BP says it will assist if oil in Orange Beach came from 2010 spill
Published: Thursday, May 10, 2012, 5:30 AM Updated: Thursday, May 10,
2012, 6:16 AM
By Kathy Jumper, Press-Register
ORANGE BEACH, Alabama -- BP said Wednesday it is ready to assist in
handling the "oil sheen" that was discovered east of Perdido Pass if it is
proved that the BP oil spill of 2010 was responsible.
http://blog.al.com/live/2012/05/bp_says_it_will_assist_if_oil.html
BP Oil Arrest: First of Many or Act of Desperation?
By Jennifer Booton
Published May 09, 2012
FOXBusiness
U.S. officials made a splash last month with their first arrest in the BP (
BP) oil spill case, but many legal experts say the arrest was heavy-handed,
perhaps even an act of desperation.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2012/05/03/will-new-evidence-emerge-from-sole-bp-oil-spill-arrest/
Republican suggests Obama went easy on BP to win cap-and-trade backing
The Hill
By Ben Geman - 05/09/12 02:06 PM ET
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) is suggesting that the Obama administration
went easy on BP before the 2010 oil spill in return for a pledge to support
cap-and-trade legislation.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/226399-gop-rep-suggests-bp-escaped-scrutiny-in-return-for-cap-and-trade-support
Judge sides with federal government in suit challenging drilling leases
after Gulf oil spill
Published: Wednesday, May 09, 2012, 12:21 PM Updated: Wednesday, May
09, 2012, 4:21 PM
By Brendan Kirby, Press-Register
MOBILE, Alabama -- A judge today sided with the federal government in a
lawsuit accusing regulators of short-cutting permittingrules to oil
drillers in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
http://blog.al.com/live/2012/05/judge_sides_with_federal_gover.html
BP Seeks Brand Boost in Olympic Shakespearean Comedy
Bloomberg
Organizers of the London 2012 summer Olympics have raised more than $1
billion in sponsorships from domestic companies. Two of them, BP and
Electricite de France SA (EDF), are high-profile global energy companies
recovering from high-profile energy disasters. BP is trying to move on from
the 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident and subsequent 87-day oil spill.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-05-09/bp-seeks-brand-boost-in-olympic-shakespearean-comedy
State News
Gypsum storage site approved for Plant Daniel
Published: Wednesday, May 09, 2012, 6:25 PM Updated: Wednesday, May 09,
2012, 6:30 PM
By Harlan Kirgan, Mississippi Press
PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- Mississippi Power has been approved to operate a
40-acre gypsum storage site at Plant Daniel by the Jackson County Board of
Supervisors.
The supervisors approved a resolution Monday that allows Mississippi Power
to place the 40-acre disposal site in the center of 240 acres, said John
McKay, president of the supervisors.
"We are basically a rubber stamp for it," McKay said. The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency and the State Department of Environmental
Quality have approved the gypsum disposal site, he said.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/05/gypsum_storage_site_approved_f.html
Program to help farmers reduce runoff to waterways
AP
By JANET McCONNAUGHEY
A new U.S. Department of Agriculture program is offering money and advice
to help farmers, ranchers and forest landowners in parts of five Louisiana
parishes and six counties in Mississippi reduce runoff to badly damaged
waterways.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/05/10/v-print/3938525/water-quality-for-farmers-in-parts.html
Lignite Plant Tour
WTOK
Kemper Co., Mississippi
Wednesday Southern Company officials gave us a tour of the progress at the
Kemper County lignite coal plant
http://www.wtok.com/home/headlines/Lignite_Plant_Construction_150859575.html
Carroll dams could be a risk
Winona Times
by Reggie Ross
05.03.12 - 09:09 am
For Carroll County Beat One Supervisor Terry Herbert, it's only a matter of
time until the levees in Carroll County give way, causing mass destruction
to land and homes and maybe costing lives.
http://winonatimes.com/view/full_story/18444645/article-Carroll-dams-could-be-a-risk?instance=winstonsecondary_stories_left_column
Recycling a possibility for Fulton residents
by NEMS Daily Journal
05.10.12 - 06:11 am
FULTON – Residents soon may be able to receive curbside recycling pickup as
part of their regular services, but only if they express an interest.
http://nems360.com/view/full_story/18536179/article-Recycling-a-possibility-for-Fulton-residents?instance=secondary_stories_left_column
City recycling program back
Scott County Times
FOREST — Area residents wanting to help conserve natural resources through
recycling certain used items can now participate in the City of Forest's
recycling program which was restarted last week.
http://sctonline.net/articles/2012/05/09/news/local/news42.txt
Coal train derails in Covington County
WDAM
About two dozen coal cars from a Canadian National freight train derailed
just outside Collins Wednesday morning.
http://www.wlox.com/story/18243147/coal-train-derails-in-covington-county
Students get hands-on at IMMS
Sun Herald
By DONNA HARRIS
GULFPORT -- A half dozen marine biology students from Ohio spent their
morning in a classroom learning about sea turtles and terrapins, but by the
afternoon they had wind in their hair and the spray of saltwater on their
faces.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/05/09/v-print/3937577/ohio-college-students-get-hands.html
National News
Cause of bull redfish deaths in Mobile Bay remains a mystery
Published: Wednesday, May 09, 2012, 2:45 PM Updated: Wednesday, May 09,
2012, 5:53 PM
By Jeff Dute, Press-Register
MOBILE, Alabama -- The cause of the deaths of hundreds of bull red drum in
Mobile Bay over the April 29 weekend remains a mystery.
http://blog.al.com/live/2012/05/cause_of_bull_redfish_deaths_i.html
Green group files FOIA lawsuit seeking details about White House EPA
meetings
The Hill
By Andrew Restuccia - 05/09/12 12:42 PM ET
The Environmental Integrity Project filed a Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) lawsuit Tuesday seeking details about dozens of White House meetings
with interest groups to discuss Environmental Protection Agency
regulations.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/226383-green-group-sues-for-details-of-white-house-meetings-on-epa-rules
Senators call for EPA inquiry into lead factory sites
By Alison Young
USA TODAY
Six U.S. senators are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to
immediately examine the health threats posed by forgotten factory sites
featured in a recent USA TODAY investigation.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2012-05-09/lead-smelter-epa-health-threats/54857080/1?csp=34news
Opinion
BRYANT/Mississippi's most business-friendly legislative session
GOV. PHIL BRYANT
Guest Column
The 2012 legislative session will go down in history as one of
Mississippi's most business-friendly efforts as the session took bold steps
to make this state craved by businesses and where job creation will
flourish.
http://onlinemadison.com/main.asp?SectionID=3&SubSectionID=3&ArticleID=25040
Press Releases
New National Water Quality Initiative Targets Three Watersheds in
Mississippi
JACKSON, May 9, 2012 — Acting State Conservationist Al Garner announced the
launch of a new National Water Quality Initiative committed to improving
three impaired waterways in Mississippi. USDA's Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS) will manage the initiative by making funds
available to farmers, ranchers and forest landowners in the selected
watersheds.
"Water is our greatest natural resources and nothing can survive with it,"
Garner said. "The Water Quality Initiative will further NRCS' partnership
efforts to improve water quality using voluntary actions on private lands.
This initiative is a focused approach in areas facing significant natural
resource challenges. It bolsters the positive results of landscape
conservation initiatives NRCS and its partners already have underway."
Through this effort, eligible producers in select watersheds of the Pearl,
Big Sunflower and Tippah rivers will invest in voluntary conservation
actions to help provide cleaner water for their neighbors and communities.
The selected watersheds were identified with help from state agencies,
partners and the NRCS State Technical Committee.
Using funds from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, NRCS will
provide funding and advice to producers to install conservation practices
such as cover crops, filter strips and terraces in watersheds with
impairments where the federal investment can make a difference to improve
water quality.
"American farmers are good stewards of the environment, especially when
they have the tools they need to protect or improve fish and wildlife
habitat and water quality," NRCS Chief Dave White said. "We look forward to
collaborating with producers in key watersheds to help them have a positive
impact on streams with impaired water quality."
The three watersheds chosen in Mississippi include Ashlog Creek, a
tributary of the Pearl River; Porter Bayou, a tributary of the Big
Sunflower River; and North Tippah Creek, a tributary of the Tippah River.
NRCS accepts applications for financial assistance on a continuous basis
throughout the year. Remember to check with your local NRCS office to see
if you are located in a selected watershed. All applications for funding
consideration, during this fiscal year, must be received by June 15, 2012.
This summer, NRCS will notify all applicants of the results and begin
developing contracts with selected applicants.
Since 1935, NRCS's nationwide conservation delivery system works with
private landowners to put conservation on the ground based on specific,
local conservation needs, while accommodating state and national interests.
For more information about NRCS' programs, initiatives and services in
Mississippi, visit us online at www.ms.nrcs.usda.gov.
Gulf Coast Incident Management Team finalizes Phase III Response
Activities Completion Plan
NEW ORLEANS - The Federal On-Scene Coordinator for the Deepwater Horizon
oil spill, Capt. Duke Walker, announced Wednesday that he has signed the
Gulf Coast Incident Management Team Phase III Response Activities
Completion Plan following extensive collaborative efforts in meetings with
the Department of the Interior, State On-Scene Coordinators from Florida,
Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana and BP.
The National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan
contains four distinct operational phases. These phases include: (I)
discovery; (II) assessment and action initiation; (III) containment and
cleanup; and (IV) documentation of a pollution incident.
The plan details how the GC-IMT will continue to function in order to
ensure continuity of operations as the amount of personnel and equipment
are adjusted to meet the needs of the response and support staff are
potentially decentralized to other locations. Cleanup will continue in
designated areas until it has been completed to the standards as outlined
in the previously designed Shoreline Clean-up Completion Plan.
"The plan is another important step towards meeting our goal of cleaning
the shoreline to the standards specified in the SCCP while managing the
scale of the response to meet conditions on the ground," said Walker. "As
we move forward with the plan, our top priorities remain removing oil from
the environment and operating safely, efficiently and with federal
oversight of BP and response operations."
The plan was developed at the direction of the FOSC and collaboratively
written by the U.S. Coast Guard, all four Gulf States, the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Interior, and BP. Under the
plan, BP will continue oil spill removal activities as prescribed in the
SCCP and will remain operational on the Gulf Coast under the oversight of
the Coast Guard's Federal On-Scene Coordinator. As FOSC, Capt. Walker
continues consultation with all State On-Scene Coordinators and Federal
Trustees, such as DOI and NOAA.
"The Deepwater Horizon oil spill cleanup effort will continue until all the
oil that can be removed without further damaging the environment is
removed, creating the conditions for continued restoration work," said
Walker. "Essentially, the Phase III Response Activities Completion Plan is
our roadmap to guide GC-IMT activities from this point through the
completion of cleanup operations."
Additional information on the Phase III Activities Completion Plan and SCCP
can be found at www.restorethegulf.gov.
Additional information on the four operational phases of the NCP can be
found at http://www.doi.gov/oepc/response/ncp.htm.
CONTACT:
Dale Kemery (News media only)
kemery.dale@epa.gov
202-564-7839
202-564-4355
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 9, 2012
EPA Promotes Safer Alternatives to Nonylphenol Ethoxylates
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released the
final report on alternatives to nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPE) through the
Design for the Environment (DfE) Alternatives Assessment Program. NPEs are
widely used surfactants with a range of industrial applications and are
commonly found in consumer products, such as laundry detergents. When
released into the environment, they can be persistent and highly toxic to
aquatic organisms. The report identifies eight safer alternatives to NPE
that meet EPA's criteria for safer surfactants.
"I applaud the product manufacturers who have stopped using NPEs and
switched to safer alternatives and the chemical manufacturers who have made
the safer alternatives available," said Jim Jones, acting assistant
administrator for EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention
(OCSPP). "This report shows the important strides that have been made to
identify safer alternatives and the progress being made to phase out NPEs
in detergents and reduce its use in other applications. By developing
rigorous technical assessments through public participation, EPA can help
successfully encourage the transition to safer chemicals."
The report provides information on the availability of safer alternatives,
DfE's hazard evaluation method for surfactants, and the progress being made
in adopting safer surfactants. Using rigorous hazard-based criteria, EPA
evaluated hundreds of chemicals for their biodegradability and their
potential effects to aquatic organisms.
DfE's Alternatives Assessment Program helps industries choose safer
chemicals and offers a basis for informed decision-making by providing a
detailed comparison of the potential human health and environmental effects
of chemical alternatives. To date, the DfE program has labeled more than
2,700 safer products, including detergents that contain only safer
surfactants and other chemicals. All companies participating in the DfE
Safer Detergents Stewardship Initiative have eliminated NPE from their
product lines to meet DfE criteria.
More information on the DfE Alternatives Assessment Program and the NPEs
Report:
http://www.epa.gov/dfe/pubs/projects/npe/index.htm
EPA Updates Clean Air Act Requirements for Gas Stations to Reflect New
Vehicle Technologies
Widespread use of advanced vehicle technologies capture harmful gasoline
vapors when refueling, delivering more cost-effective emissions reductions
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined
that the systems used at gas station pumps to capture harmful gasoline
vapors while refueling cars can be phased out. Modern vehicles are equipped
to capture those emissions. This final rule is part of the Obama
Administration's initiative to ensure that regulations protect public
health and the environment without being unnecessarily burdensome to
American businesses.
Beginning later this year, states may begin the process of phasing out
vapor recovery systems at the pump since approximately 70 percent of all
vehicles are equipped with on-board systems that capture these vapors. This
final rule will ensure that air quality and public health are protected
while potentially saving the approximately 31,000 affected gas stations
located in mostly urban areas more than $3,000 each year when fully
implemented.
Since 1994, gas stations in areas that do not meet certain air quality
standards have been required to use gasoline vapor recovery systems. The
systems capture fumes that escape from gasoline tanks during refueling.
However, as required by the Clean Air Act, automobile manufacturers began
installing onboard refueling vapor recovery (ORVR) technologies in 1998,
making gas stations' systems increasingly redundant. Since 2006, all new
automobiles and light trucks (pickups, vans and SUVs) are equipped with
ORVR systems.
Gasoline vapors from refueling, if allowed to escape, can contribute
significantly to ground-level ozone, sometimes called smog, as well as to
other types of harmful air pollution. Breathing air containing high levels
of smog can reduce lung function and increase respiratory symptoms,
aggravating asthma or other respiratory conditions and other health
conditions. Gasoline vapors also contain toxic air pollutants associated
with a variety of health threats.
This final rule responds to public comments on EPA's July 2011 proposal,
and will take effect upon publication in the Federal Register.
More information: http://www.epa.gov/air/ozonepollution/
