Oil Spill
Zoned treatment in BP spill recovery; some get A list, others potluck
Sun Herald
By KAREN NELSON
Posted: 11:00pm on May 22, 2012; Modified: 1:02am on May 23, 2012
PASCAGOULA -- An outlet mall on U.S. 49 in Gulfport won't be treated the
same as an outlet mall in Key West if they both put a claim in the BP oil
spill legal settlement.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/05/22/3964703/zoned-treatment-in-bp-spill-recovery.html
Baldwin County planning to pay BP lawsuit legal fees with leftover grant
money
Published: Tuesday, May 22, 2012, 9:53 AM Updated: Tuesday, May 22,
2012, 10:48 AM
By Connie Baggett, Press-Register
FAIRHOPE, Alabama -- Baldwin County commissioners agreed at their work
session today to use $1.38 million leftover in Deepwater Horizon oil spill
grant funds to pay their team of attorneys involved in settling the $11.565
million lawsuit against oil giant BP.
http://blog.al.com/live/2012/05/baldwin_planning_to_pay_bp_law.html
Plaquemines Parish to rebuild Cat Island
Published: Tuesday, May 22, 2012, 6:39 PM Updated: Tuesday, May 22,
2012, 8:13 PM
By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, The Times-Picayune
Plaquemines Parish plans to build a $1.5 million, 40-acre circular barrier
island to protect and help rebuild Cat Island. The restoration work also
will involve replanting the tiny island's black mangrove bushes that are an
important habitat for Louisiana's state bird, the brown pelican.
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/05/plaquemines_parish_to_rebuild.html
BP attempting to reclaim money, Vessels of Opportunity captains say
WALA
ORANGE BEACH, Ala. (WALA) - LOCAL CHARTER CAPTAINS LIVID
Many Orange Beach charter boat captains are seriously upset. They tell
FOX10 BP is going back on a promise and using the settlement to withhold
thousands of dollars that they earned: a full third of their pay.
http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/gulf_oil_spill/vessels-captains-upset-with-bp
Lingering oil complicates restoration
Daily Comet
By Nikki Buskey
A long-awaited restoration project aimed at rebuilding rapidly eroding
shoreline at Fourchon Beach is moving forward. But the project comes as
active oil cleanup is still taking place on the Lafourche beachfront.
http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20120522/ARTICLES/120529938
Transocean Expects More Indictments Tied To Deepwater Incident
Wall Street Journal
By Angel Gonzalez
HOUSTON (Dow Jones)--Transocean Ltd. (RIG, RIGN.VX) expects more
indictments to issue from the U.S. Department of Justice's criminal
investigation on the Deepwater Horizon incident, targeting Transocean,
Halliburton Co. (HAL) and BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) employees, a Transocean
executive said Tuesday.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120522-709718.html
State News
DeSoto ponders EPA suit
County retains legal muscle for possible challenge to ruling
Commercial Appeal
By Henry Bailey
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Taking aim at the Environmental Protection Agency's decision to keep DeSoto
County grouped with Memphis and Crittenden County, Ark., on ozone levels,
DeSoto County supervisors are seeking legal options from the high-powered
Butler, Snow legal firm.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/may/23/desoto-ponders-epa-suit/?print=1
Conservation Officers Target Agriculture Runoff
MPB
PUBLISHED BY DANIEL CHERRY ON 22 MAY 2012 06:43PM
Conservation officers are hoping to reduce water pollution across
Mississippi by stopping water from running off farms. MPB's Daniel Cherry
reports how agriculture runoff poses a threat to marine life and also
threatens drinking water quality.
http://mpbonline.org/News/article/conservation_officers_target_agriculture_runoff
Beautification group honors Oxford mayor
by NEMS Daily Journal
05.23.12 - 05:06 am
OXFORD – Keep Mississippi Beautiful has named Oxford Mayor George "Pat"
Patterson as its 2012 Mayor of the Year.
http://nems360.com/view/full_story/18693024/article-Beautification-group-honors-Oxford-mayor?instance=secondary_stories_left_column
Outlook: What we make -- Chemicals; Pascagoula area finds its niche in
worldwide market
Published: Tuesday, May 22, 2012, 3:07 PM Updated: Tuesday, May 22,
2012, 3:12 PM
By Kaija Wilkinson
Mississippi Press
PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- The chemical industry has a deep history in
Jackson County, one that likely will continue to develop as the plants --
DuPont First Chemical Pascagoula Site and Mississippi Phosphates Corp. --
keep a close eye on market demand and adjust accordingly.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/05/outlook_what_we_make_--_chemic.html
Outlook: Things we make -- gas; Chevron fuels local economy
Published: Tuesday, May 22, 2012, 2:59 PM Updated: Tuesday, May 22,
2012, 3:06 PM
By Kaija Wilkinson
Mississippi Press
PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- Chevron's local refinery continues to rank near
the top in the nation and world in terms of production, and grows its
reputation as a major player in the local and regional economies.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/05/outlook_things_we_make_--_gas.html
Outlook: Things we make - Fish byproducts
Published: Tuesday, May 22, 2012, 10:46 AM Updated: Tuesday, May 22,
2012, 11:14 AM
By Harlan Kirgan, Mississippi Press
MOSS POINT -- Omega Protein's pogy boats are a familiar sight in coastal
waters, but they are also players in international trade.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/05/outlook_things_we_make_fish_by.html
Department of Marine Resources announces Mississippi shrimp season to open
May 30
Published: Tuesday, May 22, 2012, 2:48 PM Updated: Tuesday, May 22,
2012, 3:07 PM
By Susan Ruddiman, The Mississippi Press
BILOXI, Mississippi - The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources has
set the opening date of the 2012-13 shrimp season in Mississippi
territorial waters for 6 a.m., Wednesday, May 30.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/05/department_of_marine_resources.html
Garden soaks up flood water, pollutants at Moss Point school
WLOX
Some Moss Point students have been tackling a tough environmental
assignment. They had to create a project that can help alleviate flooding
at their school and keep pollutants from reaching the Pascagoula River.
Their solution was to plant a garden.
http://www.wlox.com/story/18583863/garden-soaks-up-flood-water-pollutants-at-moss-point-school
Bryant signs bill that will limit AG's power in dealing with lawsuits
'Will cost taxpayers millions,' Hood says
AP
Phil Bryant on Tuesday signed a law limiting the attorney general's control
of the state's legal business.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20120523/NEWS/205230330/Bryant-signs-bill-will-limit-AG-s-power-dealing-lawsuits?odyssey=mod|
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Press Releases
USDA and Partners to Invest Nearly $32 Million in Mississippi River Basin
Water Quality and Wetlands Projects
WASHINGTON, May 22, 2012 — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today
announced that USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and its
partners will invest nearly $32 million this year in financial and
technical assistance for five water quality and wetlands improvement
projects in seven Mississippi River Basin states. When fully implemented,
the projects will prevent sediment and nutrients from entering waterways,
decrease flooding and improve bird and fish habitat. NRCS estimates that
this investment will restore 11,400 acres to wetland habitat.
"These projects are great examples of USDA working with partners to improve
water quality in the Mississippi River Basin," Vilsack said. "Through these
projects, agricultural producers are voluntarily taking action to restore
and protect wetlands on private lands in watersheds that USDA has
identified as being critical to water quality restoration in the basin."
Landowners interested in applying for funding should contact their local
NRCS office (http://go.usa.gov/m2Y) or the partner listed below. Signup
dates may vary based on the individual project.
Arkansas
Boeuf River Watershed
NRCS and Partner Funding: Arkansas Game and Fish Commission $2,178,316
Arkansas
Cache/L'Anguille
NRCS and Partner Funding: Craighead County Conservation District $214,748
Arkansas
Cache River and Lower Whit-Bayou Des Arc wetlands restoration
NRCS and Partner Funding: The Nature Conservancy $3,030,000
Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Tennessee
Lower Mississippi River Batture hardwood forest and wetlands restoration
NRCS and Partner Funding: Mississippi River Trust $20,231,933
Iowa
North Raccoon River Wetland Initiative
NRCS and Partner Funding: Iowa Department of Natural Resources $6,183,000
Total $31,837,997
NRCS provides funding for these new projects through its Wetlands Reserve
Enhancement Program (WREP), part of the agency's Wetlands Reserve Program.
Since 2010, NRCS has formalized WREP agreements under MRBI with 47
landowners in the Mississippi River Basin, investing $17.8 million in
long-term conservation easements and wetland restoration projects. Learn
more about the WREP at http://go.usa.gov/m24 and find out about other NRCS
programs and initiatives at http://go.usa.gov/m22.
NRCS is celebrating the 20th anniversary of WRP this year. More than 11,000
of America's private landowners have voluntarily enrolled over 2.3 million
acres into the WRP. The cumulative benefits of these wetlands reach well
beyond their boundaries to improve watershed health, the vitality of
agricultural lands and the aesthetics and economies of local communities.
Visit the WRP web page at http://go.usa.gov/Vkc.
USDA works with state and local governments and private landowners to
conserve and protect our nation's natural resources – helping preserve our
land, and clean our air and water. President Obama launched the America's
Great Outdoors initiative in 2010 to foster a 21st century approach to
conservation that is designed by and accomplished in partnership with the
American people. During the past two years, USDA's conservation
agencies—the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the U.S. Forest
Service, and the Farm Service Agency—have delivered technical assistance
and implemented restoration practices on public and private lands. We are
working to better target conservation investments: embracing locally driven
conservation and entering partnerships that focus on large, landscape-scale
conservation.
#
EPA Awards $2 Million to Small Businesses
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Small
Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program recently awarded $2 million to
25 companies in support of technology development toward sustainable
solutions for the environment. The SBIR program is part of EPA's Technology
Innovation for Environmental and Economic Progress: An EPA Roadmap, which
focuses on linking research and development, policy and finance.
"Small businesses play an essential role in our communities and economic
growth," said April Richards, program manager for EPA's SBIR Program.
"These companies are making a difference in protecting our environment,
developing green jobs, and exploring innovation and technology solutions to
environmental issues."
EPA's SBIR program supports small businesses' development of new
technologies addressing key environmental areas. The technological concepts
submitted to this year's competition include drinking water monitoring and
treatment, sustainable infrastructures, green building, innovation in
manufacturing, greenhouse gas reduction, air pollution monitoring and
control and waste monitoring and management.
The 25 companies awarded contracts make up Phase I of this year's annual
competition. The winners will compete for Phase II funding to commercialize
their technologies, helping to protect Americans' health and the
environment. To be eligible to participate in the SBIR program, a company
must be an organized, for-profit U.S. business and have fewer than 500
employees. Phase I awards may be up to $80,000, and Phase II awards may be
up to $300,000.
This year's Phase I winners include companies from 18 states across the
U.S.:
• GVD Corporation, Massachusetts
• Aerodyne Research, Inc., Massachusetts
• Orono Spectral Solutions, Inc., Maine
• The Laser Sensing Company, New Jersey
• NEI Corporation, New Jersey
• Electron Energy Corporation, Pennsylvania
• NanoSonic, Inc., Virginia
• Luna Innovations, Inc., Virginia
• Compact Membrane Systems, Inc., Delaware
• Okeanos Technologies, LLC, Kentucky
• ThornProducts, LLC, Florida
• Faraday Technology, Inc., Ohio
• T3 Scientific, LLC, Minnesota
• UES, Inc., Ohio
• Sunocs, LLC, Indiana
• Fluidic microControls, Inc., Illinois
• Synanomet, LLC, Arkansas
• Adherent Technologies, Inc., New Mexico
• SolarBee, Inc., North Dakota
• Membrane Technology and Research, Inc., California
• Intelligent Optical Systems, Inc., California
• Altex Technologies Corporation, California
• Fungi Perfecti, LLC, Washington
• OnTo Technology, LLC, Oregon
• Los Gatos Research, Inc., California
More information on the winners: http://www.epa.gov/ncer/sbir/12awards
More information on the Technology Innovation Roadmap:
http://www.epa.gov/envirofinance/innovation.html
