Number of Dead Sea Turtles in Mississippi Hits 99 for 2012
MPB
Published by Rhonda Miller on 01 May 2012 12:13am
Dead sea turtles and dolphins continue to wash up along Mississippi beaches. MPB’s Rhonda Miller reports scientists are still trying to determine the cause of death.
http://mpbonline.org/News/article/number_of_dead_sea_turtles_in_mississippi_hits_99_for_2012
Sen. Jeff Sessions: Prospects good for Restore Act (Gallery)
Published: Monday, April 30, 2012, 3:57 PM Updated: Monday, April 30, 2012, 4:05 PM
Press Register
By George Talbot
MOBILE, Alabama -- U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Mobile, said Monday that prospects are looking good for passage of the Restore Act, federal legislation that would steer billions of dollars in fines from the 2010 BP oil spill to the Gulf Coast states affected by the catastrophe.
http://blog.al.com/live/2012/04/sen_jeff_sessions_prospects_go.html
BP launches new Gulf of Mexico advertisement
WLOX
Tourism along the Gulf of Mexico is getting another boost from BP. Beginning Monday, the company is launching the latest in a series of ads which promote the Gulf Coast as a vacation destination.
http://www.wlox.com/story/17934144/bp-launches-new-gulf-of-mexico-advertisement
Hood wants court relief for GCCF claimants who settled
Sun Herald
By ANITA LEE
Attorney General Jim Hood is petitioning the federal judge overseeing BP litigation to include in a settlement 200,000 individuals and businesses that released BP from liability over the oil catastrophe when they accepted payments from the Gulf Coast Claims Facility.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/04/25/v-print/3908269/hood-wants-court-relief-for-gccf.html
Law firm offers representation in oil spill sustenance claims
By Jeremy Pittari
The Picayune Item
PICAYUNE — Lines of people have been forming outside a church on Jackson Landing Road on Mondays for the past few weeks, all filling out claims for the loss of sustenance fishing due to the British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.
http://picayuneitem.com/local/x157474987/Law-firm-offers-representation-in-oil-spill-sustenance-claims
New program offers relief for those affected by the oil spill
WLOX
There is a new program offering financial assistance to those affected by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
http://www.wlox.com/story/17796605/new-program-offers-relief-for-those-affected-by-the-oil-spill
BP to begin restoration in Gulf, but Texas holding out
By Tim Eaton
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Published: 9:44 p.m. Sunday, April 29, 2012
About $60 million worth of coastal restoration projects to be paid for by British petroleum giant BP PLC are about to begin in every Gulf Coast state except Texas.
http://www.statesman.com/news/texas-politics/bp-to-begin-restoration-in-gulf-but-texas-2331913.html
Black Fishermen “Still Bleeding” After BP Oil Spill
Once self-sufficient, seafaring men and women must rely on the support of charities and fishing advocates. Black fishermen say they are being excluded and unfairly compensated in settlements.
By Danielle Wright
BET
Byron Encalade knows fishing. It’s in his blood.
As a third-generation oyster fisherman from East Point A’La Hache, Louisiana, Encalade and his family fisheries harvest oysters and shrimp transported across all Gulf Coast states. With Louisiana being the No. 1 provider of shrimp, oysters, crab and crawfish in the United States, income, theoretically, should be limitless. But two years after the BP oil spill, which dumped 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf and resulted in the deaths of 11 rig workers, life, as well as business, has not been the same.
http://www.bet.com/news/national/2012/04/30/black-fishermen-still-bleeding-from-bp-oil-spill.html
BP oil spill settlement initial approval is likely, judge says
Published: Wednesday, April 25, 2012, 4:26 PM Updated: Wednesday, April 25, 2012, 5:21 PM
By David Hammer, The Times-Picayune
U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier said he's leaning toward approving a preliminary settlement between BP and private plaintiffs that will allow final Gulf oil spill claim payments to begin. But Barbier stopped short of ruling from the bench at a hearing today, saying instead he would take the next few days to write a full order.
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2012/04/bp_oil_spill_settlement_initia.html
BP profit falls as Gulf spill costs still weigh
Reuters
6:30am EDT
By Tom Bergin
LONDON (Reuters) - BP Plc (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) reported a bigger-than-expected profit drop on the back of a fall in production prompted by the need to sell oil fields to pay for the Gulf of Mexico disaster, raising concerns about the oil group's turnaround plan.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/01/us-bp-idUSBRE84009T20120501
BP Expects to Spend $4 Billion a Year in Gulf
Wall Street Journal
By ISABEL ORDÓÑEZ And ÁNGEL GONZÁLEZ
HOUSTON—After self-examination following the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, BP BP.LN -2.15% PLC decided not to leave the Gulf of Mexico and opted instead to increase investment as part of its renewed commitment to the region, a company executive said Monday.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303916904577376070308280752.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
State News
Smithville focuses on recovery
by JB Clark
NEMS Daily Journal
04.28.12 - 05:06 pm
SMITHVILLE - A majority of the Smithville population was in attendance at Saturday's Smithville Memorial Day when Governor Phil Bryant presented Mayor Gregg Kennedy with a check for $13,732.16 to help pay debris removal costs.
…The check Bryant presented to Smithville is part of a grant from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality for environmental cleanup.
http://nems360.com/view/full_story/18396693/article-Smithville-focuses-on-recovery?instance=secondary_stories_left_column
Smithville Remembers Dead One Year After Tornado
MPB
Published by Sandra Knispel on 30 Apr 2012 07:18am
It was an emotional day of remembrance in Smithville, one year after an EF-5 tornado ravaged the small town in northeast Mississippi, killing 16. MPB’s Sandra Knispel was at Saturday’s ceremony and filed this report.
… “We prayed about this and while we were praying we decided the DEQ [Department of Environmental Quality] could write a check. So, mayor, if you want to come up here, I’ve got a check to help you pay for your debris removal and that portion of the match of $13,732.16 and we’re not done yet [applause].”
Moving forward, the town is working on plans for a permanent memorial for those 16 killed in the afternoon of April 27th of last year.
http://mpbonline.org/News/article/400smithville_remembers_dead_one_year_after_tornado
Out of sight, out of mind
Stone County Enterprise
By Jody O'Hara
Apr 27, 2012, 11:35
Another SNAFU has arisen with the S-8 waste water treatment facility.
At Monday's meeting of the authority, board members heard of drainage pipe which had not been laid to engineering specifications.
http://www.stonecountyenterprise.com/article_1556.shtml
Anadarko Fights Ailing Preacher in Toxic Lawsuit
Business Week
By Tiffany Kary on May 01, 2012
Reverend Steven Jamison recalls the February day 13 years ago when he was digging ditches to replace culverts at his Maranatha Faith Center in Columbus, Mississippi. As he switched from a shovel to an excavator, an oily black substance began to fill the trench. It smelled like turpentine, and the deeper he dug, the more he saw, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its June issue.
http://www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/58580?type=bloomberg
Mississippi Power CEO defends Kemper County plant
WLOX
The CEO of Mississippi Power tells WLOX News that claims of massive rate increases because of the plant under construction in Kemper County are wrong.
http://www.wlox.com/story/17956041/mississippi-power-ceo-defends-kemper-county-plant
Water advisories issued for two beaches
Sun Herald
By MARY PEREZ
Two Harrison County beaches are under water contact advisories.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/04/26/3910571/water-advisories-issued-for-two.html
Legislature a step closer to 1-cent tax
Bill would require voters to OK any hike for water repairs
Clarion Ledger
State lawmakers Monday agreed on a bill that would let voters in Jackson and some outlying communities decide on a special 1-cent sales tax increase for much-needed water and sewer repairs.
Water in Wiggins does not meet state requirements
WLOX
Water in the city of Wiggins does not meet state requirements and has not for several years.
http://www.wlox.com/story/17859390/water-in-wiggins-does-not-meet-state-requirements
Prescription drug take-back event deemed successful
By CALEB BEDILLION
DAILY LEADER
Sunday, April 29, 2012 3:00 pm
Narcotics enforcement agents stood behind the Brookhaven Police Department headquarters Saturday afternoon with about 20 pounds of prescription medication boxed at their feet.
http://www.dailyleader.com/news/article_a693ebb6-91a4-11e1-9da9-0019bb2963f4.html
Take-Back Day recovers potentially dangerous drugs
Starkville Daily News
By NATHAN GREGORY
Residents wishing to dispose of unused medication had the opportunity to do so Saturday.
http://www.starkvilledailynews.com/node/9871
Mississippi DMR plans public hearing on Bernard Bayou projects in Gulfport
Published: Saturday, April 28, 2012, 4:04 PM Updated: Saturday, April 28, 2012, 4:06 PM
By The Associated Press
GULFPORT, Mississippi -- The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources will hold a public hearing May 8 on an application to build a bulkhead, keyhole boat slip and dredge on the north bank of Bernard Bayou in Gulfport.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/04/mississippi_dmr_plans_public_h.html
Legislature finishes work on fiscal 2013 budget bills
AP
Mississippi lawmakers have completed their part of the state budget process, passing a final batch of appropriations bills.
The overall $5.6 billion budget is for fiscal 2013, which begins July 1.
Lawmakers put finishing touches on state budget
Sun Herald
By GEOFF PENDER
JACKSON -- Mississippi lawmakers on Monday put the finishing touches on a $5.54 billion state general fund budget, spending about $22 million more than the current year, and meeting their Monday-night deadline for spending bills.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/04/30/v-print/3916709/lawmakers-put-finishing-touches.html
Kemper plant: Let project proceed
Editorial – Clarion Ledger
The $2.4 billion Kemper County integrated gasification combined-cycle, or IGCC, plant project cleared another hurdle Tuesday, but it won't be the last.
Top EPA official resigns over 'crucify' comment
AP
By DINA CAPPIELLO
The Obama administration's top environmental official in the oil-rich South Central region has resigned after Republicans targeted him over remarks made two years ago when he used the word "crucify" to describe how he would go after companies violating environmental laws.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/04/30/v-print/3915325/top-epa-official-resigns-over.html
EPA faces crucial climate decision on diesel made from palm oil
Washington Post
By Brad Plumer, Published: April 27
Quick quiz: Which country is the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, after the United States and China?
Bay cleanup plan has environmental groups at odds
Washington Post
By Darryl Fears, Published: April 29
For more than a decade, the Potomac Riverkeeper organization has been that ant that tried to move a rubber tree plant, taking on large corporate polluters in high hopes of one day cleaning the Chesapeake Bay.
Fracking ‘Health Challenges’ to Be Examined by U.S. Advisers
Bloomberg
The Institute of Medicine will examine whether the process of hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas from rock “poses potential health challenges,” a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official said.
http://www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/57874?type=bloomberg
Fracking Sand Threatens Gas Well Workers, Researcher Says
Business Week
By Alex Wayne on April 30, 2012
Sand dust created from the hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas from rock is one of the most dangerous threats to workers at wells blossoming across the U.S., a government safety researcher said.
http://www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/58208?type=bloomberg
AEP disputes study linking plants to 3,200 deaths
By Justin Juozapavicius
Associated Press / April 28, 2012
TULSA, Okla.—Energy giant American Electric Power is disputing an environmental group's study that finds air pollution from the company's 26 coal-fired plants caused as many as 3,200 deaths and more than 20,000 asthma attacks last year.
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2012/04/28/aep_disputes_study_linking_plants_to_3200_deaths/
Press Releases
GOV. PHIL BRYANT CELEBATES MEMORIAL WITH SMITHVILLE
April 28th, 2012
Governor’s Office Presents Town with Grant to Help with Recovery
Smithville—Gov. Phil Bryant joined the town of Smithville today to remember the 16 people who lost their lives in the massive tornadoes that swept through Mississippi last April. The ceremony not only honored the lives lost but also recognized the town’s road to recovery.
To aid that recovery, Gov. Bryant presented the town of Smithville with a grant check for $13,732.16. The funds are part of a grant program through the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. The check covers Smithville’s portion of eligible costs related to public debris removal after an EF-5 tornado destroyed much of the town.
“I am so pleased to be able to bring this grant to Smithville,” Gov. Bryant said. “Disaster recovery is often a long, costly process, and the small local governments that have to shoulder part of that cost are often struggling to rebuild their tax bases after a major emergency. This money will help Smithville get back on its feet.”
Smithville Mayor Greg Kennedy was thankful for the grant and said that the money is one of the little ‘miracles’ that Smithville is grateful for.
“Smithville is finding that recovery is a long, slow process,” Mayor Kennedy said. “It’s hard, and frustrating and expensive! There are days we look around us and shake our heads wondering if we’re ever going to make it—if there is a light at the end of this long, long tunnel.“
“But then, amazingly, little miracles happen,” Kennedy continued. “Folks call offering free volunteer labor, cards and letters of support come in the mail and financial help comes unexpectedly. This is just such a time. We deeply appreciate this help from Gov. Bryant and MDEQ. It is very much needed, and we are grateful for it.”
The grant is the first of many that will be awarded by MDEQ. Following last April’s tornadoes and the flooding of the Mississippi River in May, MDEQ estimates that about 40,000 dump trucks of debris had to be processed and collected throughout Mississippi’s affected counties. The agency says they plan to present similar grants to about 60 communities.
“The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality works closely with communities after disasters to assist with their on the ground debris issues,” said MDEQ executive director Trudy Fisher. “In doing so we became aware of the financial burden being borne by communities for debris removal while coping with a whole host of other issues. We are pleased to support Gov. Bryant’s recovery efforts by finding grant funds and being a small part of easing the financial burden of Smithville and other communities still recovering from the devastating disasters of 2011.”
Following last April’s tornadoes and the flooding of the Mississippi River, 51 counties in Mississippi were declared federal disaster areas, authorizing the flow of government aid.
Reimbursement for eligible debris collection and removal is part of FEMA’s Public Assistance program. Local governments are usually responsible for 12.5 percent of eligible debris costs.
The MDEQ grant program aims to use more than $1.2 million from its Local Government Waste Tire grant fund to help local governments pay their portion of eligible costs.
The waste tire grant fund Funding for waste tire grants is provided by a waste tire account funded from a fee charged on the wholesale sale of every new motor vehicle tire sold in Mississippi. This fee provides the funds to ensure and encourage the proper management and disposal of waste tires in the state.
###
