Oil Spill
Lawmakers begin debate on RESTORE Act
Florida Today
Members of a House-Senate conference committee began debating legislation
Tuesday that would steer billions of dollars to Florida and other Gulf
Coast states still recovering from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil disaster.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20120508/NEWS01/120508037/Lawmakers-begin-debate-RESTORE-Act?nclick_check=1
Probe of BP oil spill report a waste of time, Democratic congressman says
By Bruce Alpert, Times-Picayune
WASHINGTON -- The top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee
doesn't think much of the panel's investigation into a two-year-old Obama
administration report on the 2010 BP oil spill. Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass.,
said the probe is a waste of time and money.
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/05/probe_of_bp_oil_spill_report_a.html
IG investigator says White House hindered probe of oil spill report
Politico
By DONOVAN SLACK |
5/8/12 1:08 PM EDT
An investigator for the Interior Department's Inspector General claims the
White House hindered an investigation into a report on the BP oil spill by
blocking access to a key official and email records, the New Orleans
Times-Picayune is reporting.
http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/05/ig-investigator-says-white-house-hindered-probe-of-122774.html
Oil mat attack planned in Orange Beach by coastal managers
By Kathy Jumper, Press-Register
ORANGE BEACH, Alabama -- A submerged oil mat filled with gooey tar remained
buried under the sand east of Perdido Pass just north of Perdido Pass
Bridge on Monday, while coastal officials devise a plan to get rid of it —
just weeks before the summer tourists hit the beaches.
http://blog.al.com/live/2012/05/oil_mat_attack_planned_in_oran.html
Alabama Coastal Foundation to offer oil spill workshops on May 10, 11
By From the Press-Register
BAYOU LA BATRE, Alabama — As part of a grant from the Environmental
Protection Agency, the Alabama Coastal Foundation has created "The
Citizens' Guide to the Oil Spill," a document to help people understand
scientific information about dispersant and crude oil chemicals related to
the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. The document displays side by side
many of the sampling and monitoring facts and figures conducted over the
last two years.
http://blog.al.com/pr-community-news/2012/05/alabama_coastal_foundation_to.html
Government considers protection for dwarf seahorse
AP
BASTROP, La. — The government will study whether the inch-long dwarf
seahorse should have federal protection.
The seahorse — the smallest of four species found in U.S. waters — lives
only in seagrass beds in the Gulf of Mexico. The beds have declined
dramatically since the 1950s, and were contaminated by the BP oil spill of
2010, said Center for Biological Diversity conservation biologist Tierra
Curry.
http://www.bastropenterprise.com/newsnow/x1942575310/Government-considers-protection-for-dwarf-seahorse
BP wins delay of Gulf spill trial until 2013
Reuters
(Reuters) - A trial to assign blame and damages that could total tens of
billions of dollars for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill has been put off
until January, in a setback for the U.S. government, which wanted to try
its case this summer.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47286402/ns/business/t/bp-wins-delay-gulf-spill-trial-until/#.T6puy1LLlRU
With This 500-Ton Deepwater Well Cap, BP Is Ready For The Next Oil Spill
Forbes
Two years ago BP engineers were churning their wheels trying to devise one
method after another to cap and kill the gushing Macondo well. Now the
company says it has built a system that — if such a disaster ever recurred
— could cap the blowout in relatively short order.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2012/05/08/bp-deepwater-well-cap/
State News
Cleaner air could have profitable byproduct
Sun Herald
By KAREN NELSON
PASCAGOULA -- Mississippi Power Co. has received approval from the state to
install a $600 million scrubber system at Plant Daniel in northeast Jackson
County to improve air quality.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/05/08/v-print/3935502/cleaner-air-could-have-profitable.html
USDA targets local watersheds for program
WTVA
WASHINGTON, DC (WTVA) -- Three watershed projects in north Mississippi and
northwest Alabama are among 157 targeted by a new USDA initiative.
The North Tippah Creek Watershed, the Turkey Creek Watershed, and the
Luxapilila Watershed are part of the effort to reduce nutrient and manure
runoff in local waters.
http://www.wtva.com/news/local/story/USDA-targets-local-watersheds-for-program/rGcAlrpOikynDf_Sb41gRw.cspx
SUPERFUND SITE
The Picayune Item
PICAYUNE — Work is continuing at Picayune's Superfund Site near Rosa
Street. The work seeks to contain creosote deposits left behind by past
wood treating activities and then treat the ground water.
http://picayuneitem.com/local/x241727297/SUPERFUND-SITE
DEQ issues high bacteria advisories for two Harrison County beaches
Published: Tuesday, May 08, 2012, 4:04 PM Updated: Tuesday, May 08,
2012, 4:13 PM
By The Associated Press
JACKSON, Mississippi -- The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality
has issued advisories to swimmers using two stretches of beach in Harrison
County.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/05/deq_issues_high_bacteria_advis.html
Water advisories issued for two beaches
Sun Herald
By MARY PEREZ
Swimmers are advised to stay out of the water at two beaches in Harrison
County.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/05/07/v-print/3934618/water-advisories-issued-for-two.html
Feds to propose requiring TEDS in all trawl nets
AP
By JANET McCONNAUGHEY
The federal fisheries agency says that by the start of next year's shrimp
season, all trawls should be required to include trap-doors for endangered
and threatened sea turtles.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/05/08/v-print/3935141/feds-to-propose-requiring-teds.html
NOAA research ship "Pisces" returns to Pascagoula
WLOX
The NOAA research ship "Pisces" is back home in Pascagoula. The vessel
returned to its homeport Tuesday afternoon, following a month long research
trip in the western Gulf of Mexico.
http://www.wlox.com/story/18196079/noaa-research-ship-pisces-returns-to-pascagoula
Public hearing Thursday on widening ship channel from Pascagoula to Horn
Island
Published: Tuesday, May 08, 2012, 7:30 PM Updated: Tuesday, May 08,
2012, 7:35 PM
By Harlan Kirgan, Mississippi Press
PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- A public hearing is planned Thursday on the
proposed widening of the ship channel from the Bayou Casotte Harbor to Horn
Island, which is intended to improve vessel traffic.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/05/public_hearing_thursday_on_wid.html
National News
Farmers to receive grants to fight pollution in parts of Chesapeake, other
watersheds
Washington Post
By Darryl Fears, Published: May 8
The U.S. Agriculture Department will put up $33 million for grants and
technical assistance to help American farmers and ranchers take steps to
stop polluted storm runoff from gushing into 157 watersheds, including a
small portion of the Chesapeake Bay.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/farmers-to-receive-grants-to-fight-pollution-in-parts-of-chesapeake-other-watersheds/2012/05/08/gIQAPXlVBU_story.html
Environmental groups collecting millions from federal agencies they sue,
studies show
By Joshua Rhett Miller
Published May 08, 2012
FoxNews.com
Deep-pocketed environmental groups are collecting millions of dollars from
the federal agencies they regularly sue under a little-known federal law,
and the government is not even keeping track of the payouts, according to
two new studies.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/05/08/environmental-groups-paid-millions-by-federal-agencies-sue-studies-show/?test=latestnews
Army Corps quickens Asian carp study
AP
By JOHN FLESHER
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, widely accused of moving too slowly to
prevent Asian carp and other exotic species from invading the Great Lakes,
will release a short list of possible solutions next year to quicken the
process, officials said Tuesday.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-05/D9UKIH8O0.htm
Vermont poised to be first state to outlaw fracking
Reuters
Tue, May 8 2012
By Jason McLure
(Reuters) - Vermont will be the first state to outlaw a controversial oil
and gas drilling method known as fracking when Governor Peter Shumlin signs
a bill banning the practice, a largely symbolic move given the state's
apparent lack of energy reserves.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/08/us-usa-fracking-vermont-idUSBRE84718720120508
Inhofe wants Senate to confirm EPA regional administrators
Daily Caller
1:14 AM 05/09/2012
Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Inhofe will be introducing legislation on
Wednesday to require that all regional administrators of the Environmental
Protection Agency be confirmed by the Senate.
http://dailycaller.com/2012/05/09/inhofe-wants-senate-to-confirm-epa-regional-administrators/
Opinion
The allure of fracking
Washington Post
By Stephen Stromberg
On Tuesday in Salt Lake City, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar approved a
natural-gas drilling project for Utah's Uinta Basin that will result in
more than 3,600 new wells.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/the-allure-of-fracking/2012/05/08/gIQA1hH3AU_blog.html
Why Anti-Fracking Groups Are Shifting Their Story From Water To Air Quality
Christopher Helman, Forbes Staff
This is a guest column by Colin Harris, an attorney with Bryan Cave LLP.
Colin has 20 years of experience in matters pertaining to the Clean Air Act
and Clean Water Act.
Mark Twain said "never let the truth stand in the way of a good story." A
common hydraulic fracturing narrative is that the technology pollutes water
supplies. The story goes that fracturing is a mysterious and untested
practice, that fracturing fluids are a secret, "chemical cocktail," that
there are innumerable incidents of aquifer and drinking water
contamination, resulting even in tap water catching fire, and that "Big
Oil" has pressured Congress into exempting the technology from any
environmental laws.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/energysource/2012/05/08/why-anti-fracking-groups-are-shifting-their-story-from-water-to-air-quality/
Federalizing fracking: a bad idea
Daily Caller
By Kathleen Hartnett White 12:29 PM 05/08/2012
"You can't professionalize if you don't federalize," former Senate Majority
Leader Tom Daschle declared in 2002, just before the Senate voted to create
the Transportation Security Administration.
http://dailycaller.com/2012/05/08/federalizing-fracking-a-bad-idea/2/
Press Releases
USDA Advances Water Quality Conservation Across the U.S.
Agricultural producers located in selected watersheds will be able to
participate
WASHINGTON, May 8, 2012 — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced
the launch of a new National Water Quality Initiative committed to
improving one to seven impaired watersheds in every U.S. state and
territory. The 157 selected watersheds were identified with assistance from
state agencies, key partners, and State Technical Committees. USDA's
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will make available at least
$33 million in financial and technical assistance to farmers, ranchers and
forest landowners this year to implement conservation practices to help
provide cleaner water for their neighbors and communities.
"The National Water Quality Initiative signifies a bold step by USDA to
improve water quality in some very challenging watersheds," Vilsack said.
"American farmers are good stewards of the environment, and this initiative
provides them with additional tools to protect and improve fish and
wildlife habitat and water quality."
Using funds from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, NRCS will
provide financial and technical assistance to producers for implementing
conservation practices such as cover crops, nutrient management, filter
strips and terraces.
To deliver the initiative, NRCS worked in collaboration with local partners
and state conservation and water quality agencies to identify watersheds
where on-farm investments have the best chance to improve water quality.
NRCS also will work with state and federal partners, such as the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Geological Survey, to assess
results over the long term. The initiative will build on ongoing efforts in
the Mississippi River Basin, Great Lakes, Chesapeake Bay and other
landscape conservation initiatives across the Nation.
All eligible applications must be submitted by June 15, 2012 in order to be
considered for this fiscal year's funding opportunity. However, NRCS
accepts applications for financial assistance on a continuous basis
throughout the year. Producers can view an online map or check with their
local NRCS office to see if they are located in a selected watershed. This
summer, NRCS will notify all applicants of the results of the competitive
selection process and begin developing contracts with applicants approved
for funding.
USDA works with state, local, and Tribal 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.
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 the National Water Quality Initiative, visit us
online.
#
EPA Adds Three Hazardous Waste Sites to Superfund's National Priorities
List
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is adding three
new hazardous waste sites that pose risks to people's health and the
environment to the National Priorities List (NPL) of Superfund sites. EPA's
Superfund program investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled
or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country.
"Superfund cleanups take contaminated properties and make them safe places
for people and the environment," said Mathy Stanislaus, assistant
administrator for EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. "They
can also return these properties to communities for productive use, which
translates into job creation, increased property values, enhanced local tax
bases and improved quality of life."
Since 1983, 1,664 sites have been listed on the NPL. Of these sites, 359
sites have been cleaned up, resulting in 1,305 sites currently on the NPL
(including the three sites added today). There are 59 proposed sites
awaiting final agency action.
Contaminants found at the sites include benzene, heavy metals, polynuclear
aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and
trichloroethylene (TCE).
The following three sites have been added to the National Priorities List:
• Jervis B. Webb Co. (former metal fabrication facility) in South Gate,
Calif.;
• Southern Avenue Industrial Area (adhesive manufacturer) in South Gate,
Calif.;
• Bremerton Gasworks (former gasworks facility) in Bremerton, Wash.
With all NPL sites, EPA works to identify companies or people responsible
for the contamination at a site, and require them to conduct or pay for the
clean up. For the newly listed sites without viable potentially responsible
parties, EPA will investigate the full extent of the contamination before
starting significant cleanup at the site. Therefore, it may be several
years before significant EPA cleanup funding is required for these sites.
Federal Register notices and supporting documents for the sites:
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/current.htm
Information about how a site is listed on the NPL:
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/npl_hrs.htm
Superfund sites in local communities:
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/index.htm
