Oil Spill
New oil spill offices get 13,000 claims in first 2 weeks of operation
By Brendan Kirby
Press-Register
More than 13,000 residents and businesses submitted claims during the first
2 weeks of the administration of a court-monitored settlement of litigation
involving the Gulf oil spill, officials said this afternoon.
http://blog.al.com/live/2012/06/new_oil_spill_offices_get_1300.html
State News
Air quality appeal likely
DeSoto Times
By ROBERT LEE LONG
DeSoto County will likely pursue a two-prong approach in registering its
appeal of the Environmental Protection Agency's placing of DeSoto County
within the non attainment region along with Shelby and Crittenden counties
in Tennessee and Arkansas, respectively.
http://www.desototimes.com/articles/2012/06/20/news/doc4fdfcb7685137902780679.txt
Health experts dispute cancer epidemic claims in Moss Point
WLOX
Health experts in Jackson County are disputing claims that there is a
cancer epidemic in Moss Point.
http://www.wlox.com/story/18830147/jackson-county-health-experts-dispute-cancer-epedemic-claims
Commission on Marine Resources asks for more studies before requiring
turtle excluder devices on trawlers in state waters
Harlan Kirgan
Mississippi Press
BILOXI, Mississippi -- Before a federal rule is launched to require shrimp
skimmer trawlers to have turtle excluder devices in state waters, the
Mississippi Commission on Marine Resources approved a resolution requesting
additional turtle population studies be conducted.
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/06/commission_on_marine_resources.html
Shrimp Season Holds Promise with Lower Fuel Costs and Average Catches
MPB
PUBLISHED BY RHONDA MILLER ON 19 JUN 2012 06:11PM
Shrimping in Mississippi is showing signs of improvement after a string of
catastrophes. Three weeks into the 2012 season, MPB's Rhonda Miller reports
shrimpers are cautiously optimistic.
http://mpbonline.org/News/article/shrimp_season_holds_promise_with_average_start
Loggerhead Turtle nests discovered on Mississippi's mainland
WLOX
For the first time in more than 20 years, Loggerhead Turtle nests have been
discovered on the mainland beaches of Mississippi.
http://www.wlox.com/story/18825851/rare-discovery-loggerhead-turtle-nests-found-in-mississippi
Rare loggerhead sea turtle nests spotted on South Mississippi beaches
Sun Herald
By MICHAEL NEWSOM — mmnewsom@sunherald.com
It's been about 20 years since rare loggerhead sea turtles had been
documented nesting on Mississippi Coast beaches, but recently two nesting
sites were discovered.
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/06/19/4018143/rare-loggerhead-sea-turtle-nests.html
5 Takeaways From The CTIC's Tour Of The Yazoo-Mississippi Delta
Annual 2012 Conservation In Action Tour shines a light on conservation best
practices throughout the Mississippi Delta region.
By Matthew J. Grassi
As the 2012 Conservation In Action Tour in the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta
wrapped up a lunch stop and the Conservation Technology Expo at the Mill
Creek Gin just north of Clarkston, MS, a light rain that had been briefly
pitter-pattering on the facilities' metal roof morphed into an intense,
deafening roar.
http://www.croplife.com/article/28804/5-takeaways-from-the-ctic-s-tour-of-the-yazoo-mississippi-delta
National News
House Republicans Propose Cutting EPA Budget, Preventing Rules
Bloomberg
By Mark Drajem - Jun 19, 2012
Republicans in the U.S. Congress proposed a budget for the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency that would set funding at the lowest level
since 1997 and prevent the agency from issuing clean-water standards.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-19/house-republicans-propose-cutting-epa-budget-preventing-rules.html
Report: Southern spent $17.5 million to fight EPA rules
By Kristi E. Swartz
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta-based Southern Co. spent $17.5 million lobbying against federal
environmental rules that eventually will cause the nation's largest utility
to close or retrofit several of its coal-fired power plants, according to a
report released Tuesday.
http://www.ajc.com/business/report-southern-spent-17-1460730.html
Mississippi mud may be used to stave off erosion
AP
NEW ORLEANS — There's mud - lots of it - flowing down the Mississippi River
and getting washed out into the Gulf of Mexico every day.
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/article/20120620/NEWS01/206200313/Mississippi-mud-may-used-stave-off-erosion
W.Va. chicken grower sues EPA over order to clean up water that flows into
Chesapeake Bay
By Associated Press, Updated: Wednesday, June 20, 5:59 AM
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A West Virginia chicken farmer is suing the EPA to stop
it from imposing wastewater rules on her farm as part of a multi-state
effort to clean up Chesapeake Bay.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/wva-chicken-grower-says-epa-overstepped-its-authority-in-issuing-water-pollution-order/2012/06/20/gJQA7iyrpV_print.html
Criminal Inquiry Focuses on EPA Email
Wall Street Journal
By DEVLIN BARRETT
Federal prosecutors are conducting a criminal investigation into whether
the Environmental Protection Agency misled the courts about a pollution
case in Omaha, Neb., that led to a $187 million settlement with the former
owner of a lead refinery, according to court records and people involved
in the matter.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303379204577476580345904836.html
Opinion
Mercury rule at center of the war on coal
By James Inhofe, Special to CNN
Editor's note: James Inhofe, a Republican, is the senior senator from
Oklahoma and ranking minority member of the Senate Committee on Environment
and Public Works.
(CNN) -- On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate will have the opportunity to put a
stop to one of the most expensive Environmental Protection Agency rules in
history: the Mercury and Air Toxic Standards rule. This is the centerpiece
of President Obama's war on coal.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/19/opinion/inhofe-overturn-epa-mercury-standards/index.html
Press Releases
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Secretary Vilsack Announces 23 New Water Quality Improvement Projects in |
| Nine Mississippi River Basin States |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
|WASHINGTON, June 19, 2012—Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced |
|that $8.4 million in financial assistance is available to support 23 new |
|partnership projects in several Mississippi River Basin states under USDA's |
|Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI). These projects|
|will fund producer activities that will avoid, control and trap sediment and|
|nutrient runoff from agricultural lands, improving water quality throughout |
|their operations. |
| |
| |
|"We are building on our Mississippi River actions from previous years by |
|continuing to target priority conservation practices in priority watersheds |
|to improve water quality in the basin," Vilsack said. "USDA is committed to |
|working cooperatively with agricultural producers, partner organizations and|
|state and local agencies to improve water quality and the quality of life |
|for the millions of people who live in the Mississippi River Basin." |
| |
| |
|The MRBI was first announced in September 2009 and provides financial |
|assistance for voluntary projects in priority watersheds in Arkansas, |
|Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, |
|Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and Wisconsin. MRBI is helping producers implement|
|conservation and management practices that prevent, control and trap |
|nutrient runoff from agricultural land. Selections were based on the |
|potential for managing nitrogen and phosphorus -- nutrients associated with |
|water quality problems in the Basin -- while maintaining agricultural |
|productivity and benefiting wildlife. USDA's Natural Resources Conservation |
|Service (NRCS) manages the initiative. |
| |
| |
|The 23 selected projects are located in Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota,|
|Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. |
| |
| |
|Below are examples of selected projects and the financial assistance |
|available for their implementation in fiscal year 2012: |
| |
| |
| · Middle Cache River Project (Arkansas) - $222,900 to improve water |
| quality, reduce sediment and enhance wildlife habitat in a watershed |
| near the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge. This project supports |
| the America's Great Outdoors Initiative, a commitment by federal, |
| state, and local entities to preserve and protect the nation's natural|
| and cultural heritage. Sponsor: the Jackson County Conservation |
| District. |
| |
| |
| · Upper Minnesota River Project (South Dakota) - $247,287 to improve |
| water quality by helping landowners avoid, control and trap nutrient |
| and sediment runoff from private and Tribal lands. Sponsors: the |
| Roberts Conservation District, the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribe and |
| others. |
| |
| |
| · Lindsey-Honey Creek Watershed Project (Iowa) - $329,000 to reduce |
| nitrogen entering the Mississippi River from the Maquoketa River |
| Basin. Sponsor: The Delaware County Soil and Water Conservation |
| District. |
| |
| |
| · Middle Fork of Salt River Watershed Project (Missouri) - $366,188 to |
| improve and monitor water quality and agricultural productivity. |
| Sponsor: Randolph County Soil and Water Conservation District. |
| |
| |
|The projects are funded through NRCS's Cooperative Conservation Partnership |
|Initiative (CCPI), which engages local partners to help provide outreach and|
|technical assistance to agricultural producers. CCPI funds both new and |
|existing projects each year. Earlier this year, NRCS provided nearly $64 |
|million in financial assistance through Farm Bill conservation programs to |
|support the 95 existing MRBI projects first funded in 2010 and 2011. |
| |
| |
|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. In 2011, USDA enrolled a record number of|
|acres of private working lands in conservation programs, working with more |
|than 500,000 farmers and ranchers to implement conservation practices that |
|clean the air we breathe, filter the water we drink, and prevent soil |
|erosion. 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. |
| |
| |
|Learn more about the CCPI and the MRBI at |
|http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs. |
| |
| |
|# |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
The U.S. Conference of Mayors Praises EPA's Newly Released Integrated
Planning Framework
PUBLISHED TUESDAY, JUN. 19, 2012
WASHINGTON, June 19, 2012 -- Framework Marks Major New Milestone
Modernizing EPA's Implementation of the Clean Water Act
WASHINGTON, June 19, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Conference of
Mayors welcomes the release of EPA's Integrated Planning Framework for
implementing the Clean Water Act (CWA). The Framework, (also known as IP3),
is designed to promote greater flexibility for cities struggling to finance
and maintain existing wastewater infrastructure and services and respond to
new federal regulations that expand city responsibilities, such as costly
control of stormwater and sewer overflows.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110125/MM36443LOGO)
The Framework outlines several key principles to guide how EPA will work
with cities and utilities "...to implement an integrated approach to meet
their wastewater and stormwater program obligations under the CWA." The
Framework contains a description of the elements that should be included in
an integrated plan. EPA states that cities can ask the Agency to work with
them and state regulators on integrated plans whether or not they are in a
consent decree agreement, or are developing one.
Tom Cochran, CEO and Executive Director of the Conference stated, "We are
delighted to receive the Integrated Planning Framework from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, and look forward to working closely with
the Agency in our cities and regions to move forward on clean water goals
that are affordable and sustainable."
Cochran added, "The Framework provides a way for the federal, state, and
local government, as well as the citizens in our cities, to rebuild a
partnership to solve water quality issues. It establishes a formal
recognition by EPA that unfunded mandates should consider a city's limited
resources, and that they can work together to direct local investments that
address our most pressing water quality, public health and environmental
issues."
The Conference will continue to work with its member cities and the EPA to
implement this important new approach to making progress on clean water
goals and determine how to deal with critical issues such as: affordability
and fiscal impact on our most vulnerable households (low, moderate and
fixed income households); moving away from enforcement driven consent
decree actions to planning and partnering with EPA; and how to merge
consideration of drinking water mandates simultaneously with CWA
obligations.
"The EPA has, with the issuance of this policy, opened the door to
cooperation. It signals a modernization of the regulatory approach, and
provides a foundation from which adversarial relations can now morph back
into the intergovernmental partnership that cities value so much,"
concluded Cochran.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of
cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are 1,210 such cities in
the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its
chief elected official, the mayor. Find us at usmayors.org, on
facebook.com/usmayors, or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/usmayors.
SOURCE The U.S. Conference of Mayors
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/06/19/4573439/the-us-conference-of-mayors-praises.html
