Oil Spill
MS shrimpers optimistic about 2012 season
WLOX
After years of struggles and hardships, there is a lot of optimism about
this year's Mississippi shrimp season. When the season opens Wednesday, the
Mississippi Department of Marine Resources says this will be the second
earliest start on record.
http://www.wlox.com/story/18649425/ms-shrimpers-optimistic-about-2012-season
South Mississippi shrimpers hope for better fortunes when season opens
today
Sun Herald
By MICHAEL NEWSOM
BILOXI -- Shrimp season opens in Mississippi waters today and those down at
the docks who have dealt with rising fuel costs, foreign competition,
natural disasters and the BP oil spill in 2010 are hoping for better
fortunes this year.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/05/29/3976354/south-mississippi-shrimpers-hope.html
Louisiana Senate panel modifies proposal on use of Gulf oil spill fines
By Jeff Adelson, The Times-Picayune
Baton Rouge -- A proposed constitutional amendment that would have required
all the money the state receives from fines resulting from the BP oil spill
be put into a coastal restoration fund gained a significant alteration
Tuesday, with a Louisiana Senate panel tacking on a provision that
legislators can redirect the money with a two-thirds vote of both chambers.
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/05/senate_panel_modifies_oil_spil.html
Birds and their habitats studied for BP spill effects
Louisiana Weekly
By Susan Buchanan
Pelican eggs washed away this spring on a Plaquemines Parish island eroded
by oil, and traces of oil and Corexit were found recently in eggs from
Minnesota pelicans that winter in the Gulf. Scientists have collected data
on birds for Natural Resource Damage Assessments, or joint government and
BP studies of the spill's impacts. That information will be used by the
feds in the BP spill trial, scheduled for January in U.S. District Court in
New Orleans. BP may introduce its own findings on birds then, according to
wildlife experts.
http://www.louisianaweekly.com/birds-and-their-habitats-studied-for-bp-spill-effects/
Gulf Leaders Continue Push to Keep BP Funds Headed Locally
Sunshine State News
By: JIM TURNER | Posted: May 30, 2012 3:55 AM
After the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, business quickly fell nearly 30
percent to 50 percent said Joseph Costanzo, owner of Wharf Express in
Tallahassee.
http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/gulf-leaders-continue-push-keep-bp-funds-headed-locally
State News
Oil and water: Regulators keep eye on environmental concerns
By Barrett L. Welch
Enterprise-Journal
With hydraulic fracturing still in its infancy in southwest Mississippi,
state officials and oil company representatives are confident the oil
recovery process will have minimal impact on the environment and drinking
water supplies.
The environmental issues related to fracking draw concerns on multiple
fronts - water used in fracking has the potential to be a safety hazard to
the environment and freshwater wells if disposed of improperly, and its
disposal has also caused earthquakes in other states, in part due to the
overfilling of disposal wells. And taking water from natural resources to
carry out the process could limit the availability of freshwater over time.
WATER SAFETY A KEY ISSUE
Fracking water is rife with sand, but the salt and chemicals - including
acid, gelling agents, friction reducers, iron control, biocide and others -
make up about 1.5 percent of the entire mixture. Nonetheless, the water can
pose a threat to the environment and drinking water if disposed of
improperly.
Doug Hoch, a spokesman with Encana Oil & Gas, one of the companies
involved
in fracking operations in southwest Mississippi, said the chemicals used in
fracking water are a smaller issue than the water's ability to taint
drinking water, which comes from underground aquifers.
"I know a lot of people have concerns about chemicals," Hoch said. "The
issue is not the chemicals. The issue is, is there a pathway for those to
get into water? With good well-bore integrity, there's no way."
Hoch said the oil wells have multiple layers of casing to protect
groundwater aquifers. When a well is in production, the company conducts
monitoring and pressure testing to spot issues.
Richard Harrell, director of the Mississippi Department of Environmental
Quality's Office of Pollution Control, agrees that safeguard should
mitigate
water safety concerns.
"Most concerns of damaging groundwater concern damaging the well itself,"
Harrell said. "The well is cased, grounded and cemented, all the way down
through groundwater sources. It provides two to three inches of
protection."
At present, a lot of the fracking water used at two Amite County wells
known
as Anderson 17H and 18H is used over and over again, which cuts down on the
need to draw more fresh water from the Amite River.
Water used in the fracking process is eventually disposed of at an
established Adams County injection well.
"Encana told us they're ... looking at installing their own deep,
disposable
injection well and also looking at recycling water," Harrell said. "It's
kind of a win-win because you're not having to inject and dispose of it and
get more source water."
Ronn Tarbutton of the Mississippi Oil and Gas Board said injection wells
typically start about 800 feet deeper than the deepest freshwater well.
Adams County's freshwater wells range from 800 to 1,600 feet deep, which
would put the disposal well at least 2,400 feet deep.
But, Tarbutton added, water at depths closest to the injection well is not
necessarily potable but is instead choked with undrinkable minerals anyway.
By contrast, wells being fracked in the area are in shale formations that
are 10,000 to 12,000 feet deep, which officials have said is enough of a
barrier to keep fracking operations away from the water table.
The oil and gas board requires companies to meet stringent environmental
precautions before issuing a permit to drill wells, disposal or otherwise,
Tarbutton said.
"We're going to want to know a lot of things before it's approved,"
Tarbutton said. "We want isolation cement between the casing and the
formation. We want to make sure it's not migrating up.
"We do that for an area of a quarter-mile radius around the well. We want
to
make sure the head's not going to get anywhere near fresh drinking water."
ENCANA: 'LIMITED' AMOUNT
OF WATER USED in fracking
But can fracking impact the availability of drinking water?
Locally, oil companies are using about 330,000 gallons per stage. With an
average of three fracking stages completed daily, companies are using about
1 million gallons per day from both forks of the Amite River for each well.
"We're using a limited quantity of water," Hoch said. "We're not going to
deplete it in sense that hydraulic fracking is going to drain an aquifer.
The real issue is how much water do you need to use, and are there
opportunities to recycle the water?"
Encana has had success recycling fracking water in other parts of the
county. In Colorado, for instance, 90 percent of the water is used multiple
times.
Jamie Crawford, director of the Mississippi Department of Environmental
Quality's office of Land and Water Resources, said none of the fracking
water - including recycled water - will return to any river or stream in
the
state.
"Unless they came up with some process to treat this material and applied
for water permits, we have no contemplation that any of this would wind up
back in a river system," Crawford said. "We've had no inquiries to treat
and
dispose of water like that."
Crawford said each well is expected to require about 10 million gallons of
water.
"We have not had to be overly concerned with water levels this time of
year," Crawford said. "What we discussed with Encana is having them pay to
have stream gauges installed - paying the U.S. Geological Survey to install
and maintain those gauges."
The gauges would allow Crawford's office to keep an eye on water levels via
the Internet. At present, the office has to send a worker from Jackson to
check the levels every 90 days.
To a lesser extent, oil companies also are paying for water from owners of
private ponds and lakes.
"We told companies if this gets big, we want to see master plan of how
water
will be sourced, so we can see how much water is going to be needed,"
Crawford said. "We'll allocate that water out pending its best use for the
state.
"The question is, this is still kind of in the pilot. They're not entirely
sure this is going to take off and work. They're kind of inching along, and
working to be prepared."
Hoch doesn't anticipate Amite County mirroring Karnes City, Texas, where
groundwater levels have dropped between 10 and 30 feet each year.
"Groundwater shouldn't drop. Hydraulic fracking has no impact on
groundwater
level," Hoch maintained. "It depends on where they are sourcing their water
from. Fracking in and of itself is not going to deplete groundwater."
WILDLIFE, ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICIALS LOOK TO OTHER STATES
Cathy Shropshire of Mississippi Wildlife Federation is concerned for the
state's future based on problems other states have faced in oil production.
"Talking to Arkansas and Louisiana, I think we're all kind of in a learning
mode. Hopefully we've learned from the mistakes of other states," she said.
"We have concerns because we've seen what's happened in other states. We
certainly don't want to see the same thing happen in Mississippi."
DEQ officials are confident that Mississippi has learned from mistakes made
elsewhere, particularly after a roundtable discussion Harrell recently
participated in with officials from other oil states, such as North Dakota.
"They don't have the infrastructure to capture natural gas. Mississippi is
very fortunate, with a lot of pipelines and natural gas," Harrell said.
"We're in a pretty good situation that we're probably going to get two
sellable products (oil and natural gas) out of this and not have to worry
about the air pollution situation you see up there."
SPILLS, QUAKES CAUSE CONCERN
Fracking has also raised concerns of oil spills and earthquakes.
Spills are a risk in any operation. Crawford said the response and
treatment
of such accidents depends on the size of the spill.
"A small site may require ... oil-eating microbes and nutrients," Crawford
said. "A larger site may require excavation, sampling and disposal of
soil."
Harrell added that oil companies are required to obtain air pollution
permits from DEQ, and the department will not authorize any pollution
permit
"that could cause a risk to the public."
Though earthquakes have popped up around frack sites in Arkansas and Texas,
officials do not think they'll be a threat in Mississippi.
Crawford said they should not pose a threat in Mississippi, noting the main
issue in those two states was overinjecting disposal wells.
"If we push them to recycling, it even more so lessens the risk," Crawford
said. "We don't know of any fault systems in the area. It has been used for
a number of active disposal wells in that area, and we don't anticipate
problems like other areas have experienced."
Yazoo clay blamed for partial parking lot collapse
Portion of Clinton Walmart parking lot affected
WAPT
CLINTON, Miss. -
Orange cones blocked a portion of the Walmart parking lot in Clinton on
Tuesday after it collapsed.
The asphalt recently crumbled along the western edge of the parking lot,
taking out about 30 parking spaces.
Geologist David Dockery told 16 WAPT news that the collapse could be
attributed to Yazoo clay. As moisture evaporates, the Yazoo clay shrinks
and cracks, Dockery said. When it rains, water gets in the cracks, causing
it to expand, and in this case, crumble.
http://www.wapt.com/news/central-mississippi/Yazoo-clay-blamed-for-partial-parking-lot-collapse/-/9156946/14270612/-/h03isez/-/index.html
Ocean Expo Aquarium & Learning Center construction to start this summer
Published: Tuesday, May 29, 2012, 5:26 PM Updated: Tuesday, May 29,
2012, 6:22 PM
By Harlan Kirgan, Mississippi Press
GULFPORT, Mississippi -- Construction on the Ocean Expo Aquarium & Learning
Center in D'Iberville should ramp up soon, organizers are saying.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/05/ocean_expo_aquarium_learning_c.html
Mississippi Phosphates reports $1.1 million loss in 'challenging' first
quarter
Mississippi Press
By Kaija Wilkinson
PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- Mississippi Phosphates parent Phosphate Holdings
Inc. said today that it had a net loss of $1.1 million in the first quarter
that ended March 31, 2012, compared with net income of $16,000 for the
first quarter in 2011.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/05/mississippi_phosphates_reports.html
National News
4 companies to pay $5M in FEMA trailer settlement
Gulf Coast residents claim exposure to hazardous fumes
AP
NEW ORLEANS — Four FEMA contractors that installed or maintained
government-issued trailers for storm victims after Hurricane Katrina,
including those in Mississippi, have agreed to pay a total of $5 million to
resolve claims that the temporary shelters exposed Gulf Coast residents to
hazardous fumes, according to court filings Tuesday.
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20120530/NEWS/205300353/4-companies-pay-5M-FEMA-trailer-settlement
Opinion
Keep Rez Beautiful makes big splash in its first year
BY JEANNINE MAY • SPECIAL TO RANKIN LEDGER • MAY 29, 2012
As Keep the Rez Beautiful marks its one-year anniversary this month, we're
celebrating our successful first year and how we can build upon it. We
formed because we were tired of seeing litter on our roads and in our
Reservoir. We wanted to inspire revitalization in our shoreline
communities, and we wanted to provide a venue for environmental education.
We chartered a course for Keep the Rez Beautiful, and I'm proud of where we
are headed.
http://www.rankinledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120529/LIFE/205290306
Why regulating gas fracking could be cheaper than the alternatives
Washington Post
By Brad Plumer, Published: May 29
We're living in a "Golden Age of Gas," says the International Energy
Agency. Trapped in shale-rock formations around the world are trillions of
cubic feet of unconventional natural gas. And drillers now have the
technology to pluck it out. That's a lot of cheap fuel — and it's
lower-carbon than coal.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/why-fracking-regulations-could-be-cheaper-than-no-regulations-at-all/2012/05/29/gJQAfcUKzU_blog.html
Press Releases
EPA and Department of Veterans Affairs to Connect Veterans with Jobs in
Water Sectors
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Vocational Rehabilitation and
Employment Program announced today a memorandum of understanding to connect
veterans with disabilities to career opportunities in the water and
wastewater sectors -- such as at wastewater plants and drinking water
facilities -- as part of EPA's Water Sector Workforce Initiative. This
effort will be beneficial to both the environment and economy as clean
water and job placement for veterans are top priorities of the Obama
Administration.
The agreement allows EPA and VA to connect qualified veteran employees with
staffing needs at water and wastewater utilities. EPA and the VA will work
with water utilities, states and local VA counselors to promote water
sector careers and resources for finding water jobs for veterans as well as
educational programs to help veterans transition into careers in water
industries.
"This agreement comes at the perfect time to address the predicted
workforce shortages in the water and wastewater industries and the need for
transitioning veterans into civilian jobs," said Nancy Stoner, acting
assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Water. "EPA believes that
well-trained and experienced water sector professionals are vital to
ensuring sustainable, properly operated systems."
"VA has cultivated relationships with both public and private industry to
ensure disabled veterans have opportunities to find and maintain meaningful
employment," said Under Secretary for Benefits Allison A. Hickey. "We are
thrilled to forge this relationship with EPA to assist them with hiring
veterans through our Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program."
More than one-third of all current water operators are eligible to retire
within seven years and, according to the U.S. Department of Labor,
employment for water and wastewater operators is expected to grow by 20
percent between 2008 and 2018, faster than the national average for all
other occupations. EPA sees the need to invest now in creating a pipeline
of future water sector professionals to fill these essential water sector
careers.
VA's Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program assists more than
100,000 disabled veterans annually prepare for, find, and maintain
meaningful careers. Veterans are an important target group for water and
wastewater utility jobs because many veterans already possess training and
technical skills that are directly transferable to careers in the water
sector. There is a wide spectrum of water sector careers that veterans
could be qualified for, including engineering, laboratory and water
science, operations and maintenance, management and administration,
communications, and public education. The Vocational Rehabilitation and
Employment Program further supports veterans for the water workforce by
providing necessary accommodations and additional training as needed.
More on EPA's Water Sector Workforce Initiative:
http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/sustain/ws_workforce.cfm
More about VA connecting qualified veterans with employer needs:
http://www.vetsuccess.gov/
